Hostelling International USA San Diego

Community Walls is a fun and educational program that connects youth to community through art. Groups of youth in grades 2-12 work collaboratively to explore, discover, and artistically express life within their community, in order to gain:
Cultural understanding
A working concept of community
A personal vision of their own community
A meaningful sense of self
A powerful voice for self-expression within the community

HI-San Diego's volunteer Speakers Bureau delivers free travel workshops to the public at travel stores, Girl Scout Centers, high schools, colleges, and other community locations.  Workshops include World Travel 101, Women Traveling Solo, Sustainable Travel, and destination-specific workshops.

Young leaders (ages 18 to 30) gather for an annual conference to discuss ways to expand peace building efforts locally and globally. Throughout the event, they discover how to build a more peaceful world through travel, gain skills in cross-cultural communication, mediation and conflict resolution, work collaboratively with other non-profits, learn how to take action in their community and meet like-minded young adults from around the country.

Our primary program, hostels provide an in-depth cultural experience for travelers, by offering low-cost, safe and comfortable overnight accommodations.The hostel experience is unique because of the opportunity for cross-cultural exchange. Common areas and activities, such as community dinners and tours, are designed to foster interaction among travelers. The San Diego Council operates two hostels; HI-San Diego, Downtown, a 153-bed hostel in the Gaslamp Quarter and HI-San Diego, Point Loma, a 55-bed hostel.In FY10, the two hostels hosted 17,000 guests from 80 different countries.