Discounts Not Only for Students

Many young people are eligible for travel discounts even if they are not students. One way to plug into them is with an International Youth Identity Card. It costs $10 and is available to anyone under 26. To get one, proof of age and a photograph must be provided.

The card was created by the Federation of International Youth Travel Organizations. Services affiliated with it are listed in a brochure that comes with the card. They are foreign agencies that cater to young travelers.

Card holders should show the card anywhere student discounts are offered. Although it is not a student card, it’s often honored.

More details are available from Council Travel, 1093 Broxton Ave., Suite 220, Los Angeles 90024; (213) 208-3551.

This summer five youth hostels will open in the Cape Cod area. Each will provide travelers of any age with clean and safe accommodations for $9 per person, per night.

The Cape Cod area, which is known for its white-sand beaches, has 300 miles of coastline and bicycle paths, and lures visitors with such activities as fishing, boating, ocean diving and whale watching.

Three of the summer hostels are on that cape. Another is on Nantucket Island and another on Martha’s Vineyard.

The hostels, open for the summer season, offer dormitory-style accommodations, with separate men’s and women’s rooms, plus fully equipped, self-service kitchens. Guest can furnish their own or rent linens. Blankets, mattresses and pillows are provided. Some hostels rent bikes. Where bikes or mopeds are not rented, the staff will know about nearby rental shops.

The 48-bed Little American Hostel, (508) 349-3889, in Truro within Seashore Park was originally a Coast Guard station. It can be reached by car, bike, bus or the ferry from Boston to Provincetown. The hostel closes for the season Sept. 7.

The mid-Cape Hostel, (508) 255-2785, at Eastham, is a 15-minute walk from the Bay of Cape Cod, and a short bike ride from ocean beaches. Accommodations are available in four- to six-person cabins. It is open until Sept. 15.

Hyannis, a popular place for whale watching and the location of the Kennedy family compound, has a year-round, 48-bed youth hostel, (508) 755-2970, at 465 Falmouth Road. Bicycles can be rented. Some separate rooms for couples and families are also available.

On the island of Martha’s Vineyard, five miles inland from Edgartown, is the 85-bed Manter Memorial Hostel, telephone (508) 693-2665. It’s accessible by bike path, and it will be open until Nov. 30.

On Nantucket you can stay at the Star of the Sea Hostel, (508) 228-0433, in what was the first life-saving station on the island. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 72-bed hostel is three miles from the village of Nantucket at Surfside Beach. You can reach it by paved bicycle path. It will be open until Oct. 9.

The best time to visit is June or September, when crowds are down. If you go in the summer, try to avoid weekends. Beds at youth hostels can be reserved upon receipt of at least a 50% deposit.

These hostels are part of American Youth Hostels. Non-members can use the hostels if they buy a two-night guest card for $6.

Be prepared for the hostels to close during the day, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., and expect to clean up after yourself.

Free AYH Cape Cod Hostels brochures are available from American Youth Hostels, Dept. CC, P.O. Box 37613, Washington, D.C. 20013-37613, (202) 783-6161.

A free copy of “Experience California Hotels,” which lists all 28 AYH-Hostels from Oregon to San Diego’s Imperial Beach, is available form Los Angeles Council of American Youth Hostels, 335 West 7th St., San Pedro 90731.