A Guide to Vacation Employment

Young travelers interested in paid or volunteer employment in foreign countries can find information on opportunities through a variety of publications. The 1987 editions of these guides published by Vacation Work are available:

“Overseas Summer Jobs 1987” includes job listings of positions in 40 countries, ranging from couriers and hotel workers to teachers. It includes whom to contact, salaries, conditions and facts about visas and work permits. Keep in mind that the basic research was done for British readers, so wages are quoted in pounds. $8.95.

“Summer Jobs in Britain 1987” concentrates on summer work in England, Scotland and Wales. Positions range from farming, child care and hotel work to au pair and volunteer work. Listings include wages, conditions and whom to contact. $8.95.

“Work Your Way Around the World,” by Susan Griffith, includes tips on how to find work in a wide variety of foreign destinations. Jobs range from fruit harvesting to traveling free by working your passage. The guide includes firsthand comments by young working travelers. $10.95.

“Kibbutz Volunteer,” a guide to kibbutz life, includes contact addresses and information about living conditions and expected behavior. You’ll also find information on other short-term work, and vacation opportunities in Israel. $8.95.

Guides published by Vacation Work of Oxford, England, are distributed in the United States by Writers Digest Books.

Turkey does not have an official youth hostel organization, but discussions are going on to form one. In the meantime, the IYHF (International Youth Hostel Federation) has inspected and accepted the Yucelt Youth Hostel in Istanbul as an associated supplementary hostel.

Istanbul’s Yucelt hostel is next door to historic St. Sophia Museum, a short walk from the famous Blue Mosque. It only caters to foreign visitors. It has 164 beds, in rooms shared by two to six travelers. It also has a cafeteria, dining area, bookstore, library, Turkish bath and outdoor garden.

A youth hostel has been opened in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Sol y Mar hostel is at 2839 Vistamar; telephone (305) 566-1023. It is one block from the beach and has a swimming pool. The rate is $10 a night. This is one of 30 new American youth hostels included in the 1987 edition of the AYH handbook.

The handbook covers more than 250 AYH hostels, and includes regional maps, information on hiking and cycling trails, and historic sites and other attractions near the hostels. The hostels range from a lighthouse on the California coast to an 18th-Century mansion in Pennsylvania. Many are in historic buildings. Eleven of the new listings are home hostels--overnight lodgings in AYH member residences.

Overnight fees in U.S. hostels range from $4 to $10 a night. The “AYH 1987 Handbook” is available for $5, plus $2 for postage, from American Youth Hostels, P.O. Box 37613, Dept. 590, Washington, D.C. 20013-7613; telephone (202) 783-6161.

From that address you can also get a free copy of “World Adventure 1987.” This brochure outlines AYH hiking, cycling, and motor and adventure trips operated in North America and abroad. The trips have separate departure dates for age groups ranging from youth to 50-plus.