Here’s What You Need To Know About Choosing a Hostel
So you don’t get bedbugs while your friends get luxury living
1. Decide whether or not a hostel is for you.
Hosteling isn’t for everyone, and there’s no shame in admitting it if it’s not your cup of tea. If you prefer the luxury life or are very introverted, then maybe you should look into other accommodation options.
However, don’t discount hostels before you try them.
Hostels are far less daunting than they seem. The best ones offer far more than a place to sleep, and can be the foundation of many travel friendships!
As a bonus, they’re usually the most budget-friendly way to travel!
2. Work out your budget.
Hostels are well known for being the cheapest way to travel. While this is true, they are by no means uniform in price. Expect to see hostels ranging from 15€ to 80€ in any European city. How much you’ll pay will depend largely on what room you choose — a 4-bed female dorm will be cheaper than an 8-bed mixed-gender.
In most of the cities I’ve been to (all European) I’ve paid about 20–22€ a night for my hostel. Exceptions to this rule include the incredibly expensive city of Geneva, which I visited while interrailing in 2019. In South-East Asia or Central/South America, you can expect to pay less.
3. Use Hostelworld.com
I’m sure there are many sites through which you can book hostels. I have only ever used Hostelworld, and love it.
The website collates loads of different hostels and encourages travellers to provide thorough reviews. As well as written reviews, you can review numerical ratings on seven different criteria (security, cleanliness, location, facilities, staff, value for money, and atmosphere). This is super helpful as you can decide what matters most to you when choosing a hostel. I always prioritise cleanliness and security, although I appreciate a good atmosphere too.
If you are using Hostelworld, it’s important to note that they only take a deposit from you, with the rest payable at check-in. This can work well, but beware that some hostels only accept cash, or charge extra for card payments. They should always state this in their description, so just check before you buy!
4. Order reviews by date order
This one’s pretty self-explanatory, but when considering hostels, make sure you’re looking at recent reviews. Hostels can change a lot in a short period of time, and a case of bed bugs from three years ago isn’t too concerning. Bed bugs in the last six months however? Yeah, don’t book that.
5. Location, Location, Location.
If you’ve done plenty of research into the city you’re visiting then you might already know exactly what neighbourhood you want to stay in. Great! If you don’t, here’s how to figure it out.
You can either have a look at what you want to do in a city first. It’s worth making sure that your hostel is nearby (or at least close to a metro/bus stop that will take you there). If you’re not sure yet, or you want to do things in a variety of places, there’s no harm in just using the map feature on the Hostelworld website.
Often, you will see a group of hostels clumped together — if they meet your budget, or there’s a hostel you like the look of, then have a look into the neighbourhood. Here are three questions you want to know the answer to:
- How safe is it? No travel is entirely risk-free, but know where you’re staying. Is it pretty safe, or is it the sort of place you don’t want to be in after dark?
- How easy is it to get to the main attractions? Again, if you already know what you want to see, look this up. If you don’t, just scope out how close it is to a few different points in the city.
- How do I get there from the airport/train station etc.? When you arrive in a new city, you want your journey to your hostel to be as stress-free as possible. Especially if you’re flying budget in the early hours of the morning.
I hope these tips helped, I know that I was terrified before I stayed in a hostel for the first time, but they have since become my favourite way to travel. Do you have any tips for travelling in hostels? Maybe you have queries? Either way, let me know!
If you liked this article, you can subscribe to get what I write in your inbox here. As well as writing about travel, I talk about politics and life as a twenty-something. I promise I’ll never spam you.
If you don’t already have membership to Medium, why not? For only $5 you can get access to everything I write, as well as content from far more talented writers! If you sign up through this link I’ll get a percentage of your fee, and will be eternally grateful!