#TRAVEL HACK: 9 Outstanding Reasons You’ll Love Staying in a Hostel (#yourewelcome)

Revised 4/2/2022

I absolutely and 100% prefer staying in a hostel rather than an Airbnb or a hotel.  You may be asking yourself, aren’t hostels for gap year students and partying 20-somethings? And Cindy, aren’t you…um…older than that???  And are hostels safe? Can’t people steal your stuff while you’re out? Or murder you in your bed as you are sleeping!!?? What about that movie “Hostel”? (which I haven’t seen, but have been told it’s super scary!)

My experience with hostels has been incredibly amazing.  True, there have been a couple of mediocre places with squeaky bunk beds and inconvenient shower setups, but all in all, I wholeheartedly recommend them. 

Here’s 9 reasons why I  love staying in hostels and recommend you try it:

1.  Price.  This could be reason enough, in my opinion!  I’d rather pay $7 for a hostel in Vietnam or $38 for a bed in Barcelona than a hotel price of $75 – 250.   In Atlanta a few months ago, I had to pay $220 for a room PLUS TAX – I almost had a coronary after what I’ve grown accustomed to paying the past 2 years at hostels while traveling abroad! Less money spent on a place to sleep equals more money to spend on food, wine and fun!Many hostels even have free or cheap dinners a few nights a week, and most have breakfast included as well! It’s a win-win, if you ask me!  On my recent trip to Lisbon i stayed in the award winning hostel Home and joined Mammas Dinner – I signed up to join a full Portuguese dinner with 20 of the hostel guests and had a blast!! Although I almost always use the Hostelworld app to find, review and book my hostels (or the online site) it doesn’t hurt to check to see if the hostel has its own website – I’ve saved money booking directly.  On top of the low nightly rates, many hostels offer free or cheap bikes to borrow or rent (Alysha and I paid 80c for the day to rent a bike from our charming hostel in Hoi An, Vietnam), and there can be pool tables and ping-pong,  board games to play,  big-screen TVs with tons of DVDs to watch, snorkel gear to rent for a couple of dollars for the day, organic shower products to use, blowdryers, and even Chinese food delivery service!       
2.  Meeting like-minded people.  I have met sooooo many extraordinary people while staying in hostels. I met Joanne, a 62-year old badass woman from the Virgin Islands, while in the hostel in Dubrovnik, staying in the bunk bed across from me. Met the adorable Alysha from London, age 26, in the kitchen at the fun and funky Ron & Neo’s in DaLat, Vietnam and spent about 10 days traveling through Vietnam with her.  Then there’s my (now) good friend, Rachel, also 26, from Houston and Billy, 24, from Dunedin NZ – met at my very first hostel stay in 2016 (and still favorite hostel – I went back again in 2019) at Good Morning Hostel Lisbon, on the tour to Sintra.  My friend Faten, 31, from Canada, and I met at the upscale (but cheap!) and gorgeous Castaway in Canggu hostel, and we motorscootered around Bali for 7 or 8 days together.  I spent time with these and other awesome folks – sometimes for a day or a dinner,  or traveling to the next town or country…or maybe meeting up again a bit later – sometimes by surprise!  And hey, if you’re not feeling sociable or just want to read in your room, catch up on laundry, go to sleep early or watch a movie, that’s not a problem either.  You can relax in your room or in the common area…It’s really the best of both worlds!
3. Activities and the ability to see the local scene.  In most hostels, there are daily activities that you can join – free walking tours (one of my FAVORITE THINGS to do!!), pub crawls, trivia night, happy hour with free beer, cooking classes, dance instruction and surfing lessons, and learning how to make Agua de Valencia cocktails, too! Some activities are free, and if not, are super cheap – better than Viator or TripAdvisor prices, by far.  Many are hosted by locals that work in the hostel, so they’re gonna take you places you’d possibly never find on your own – the best places for Fado or Flamenco, for example.  And, there are often coupons and discounts to other tours and adventures that the hostel can hook you up with.
4. On that note, you’ll get incredible recommendations from the front desk.  I learned about an amazing tiny tapas bar in Ronda, Spain called La Lechugita, where the tapas prices were under a euro and the food was outstanding. Located on a quiet street in an unassuming storefront, I would have passed it by without a second glance except for the recommendation!  Another time, I got a tip from the awesome dude at the front desk of The Hostello (one of my favorite hostels) about an amazing wine bar frequented by locals next to the Arena in Verona, where I had my first  (but not my last!) Aperol Spritz while waiting for Andrea Bocelli’s concert to begin.  And I thoroughly enjoyed a great paella place in Barcelona where they served an outstanding duck and Padron pepper paella with creamy local cheese spooned on top…and never would’ve noticed the tiny bistro on the crowded rainy streets of the Raval neighborhood without the recommendation from the hostel.  While in Singapore, the girl at the front desk at the hostel told me of the Michelin-star rated food carts under the bridge – and although I’m sure these places are mentioned in guidebooks, I had no idea…so I headed over there to sample some amazing noodle cuisine.  (She also sold me discount tix to Gardens by the Bay – a spectacular attraction in Singapore that’s a must see!)
   

   Duck paella – outstanding!

   

   Aperol spritz in Verona…

   And thanks to my hostel in Fez, Morocco I was able to experience a local yoga class and a memorable authentic hammam bath (that’s a whole ‘nother interesting story – my new friend Lizzie from Sydney, Australia whom I met in Lisbon at the hostel and traveled with to Morocco – we had an experience like no other…buy me a glass of wine and I’ll tell ya all about it!!)

5. Centrally located.  It’s no fun to rent a car and then try to find parking, especially in a city like Hanoi, Paris or San Francisco.  Hostels are often located right in the thick of things so you won’t need a car – you’ll find hostels on the main thoroughfares, near the train station or close to the subway stops in all the fun neighborhoods.  I stayed in Florence in a hostel that was just steps away from the Duomo! Often referred to as the “backpacker district”, you’ll know you’re getting close to where the hostels are when you see many folks wearing their backpacks and all headed in the same direction (not that everyone has a backpack at a hostel – there are many that travel with traditional suitcases, so don’t worry about that!)  You choose a neighborhood, find a hostel that is close to the city center or wherever you’d like to be, and simply walk out the door and enjoy!
   

   Cave hostels in Cappadocia, Turkey

   

   Shipping containers – Danang, Vietnam
6. But aren’t they dirty and old and rundown?  Heck no!  First of all, I use the Hostelworld app and filter my results to only hostels rated 8.5 (out of 10) or better.  I make sure I read the reviews to see if it’s a party hostel (no bueno for me!) or a quiet and clean place.  There’s even an annual award called the Hoscars (like the “Oscars” – haha!) given by Hostelworld that will show you the hostels voted best in class and you can choose to stay there.  I’ve found amazing places that way…

   

   I have stayed at hostels with rooftop bars in Istanbul and Barcelona, a swim-up bar in Bali, and a gorgeous hostel right on the water in the harbor of Kotor, Montenegro.  One of the cleanest hostels ever was on the south island of New Zealand – it was immaculate! There are hostels in treehouses and on boats – you’ll be surprised and delighted to see what’s out there.

7.  Distinctive, different and unique.  I know there’s something comforting about a Marriott hotel – the assurance that you’re going to get a clean and “normal” room…but how fun is it to stay in a place made of shipping containers called Rom Casa Hostel in Danang, Vietnam? Or stay in a cave hostel in Cappadocia, Turkey, where the bubbly owner, Anna, invited me to join her for dinner every night!   Good Morning Lisbon’s entrance is through a gift shop, through a secret door in the back of the store – how cool is that! And I tent camped in Montenegro at a camping hostel (with Joanne, from Dubrovnik, who met me there), and got to hang out with this adorable pup in the hostel in Kathmandu, Nepal.
8. OK, cool…but is it safe? Most, if not all, hostels have front doors that you have to either get buzzed in or use a keycard to enter. All offer lockers or huge drawers to store your stuff, and rent or sell locks (bring your own padlock to save a couple bucks!) Some have locking cabinets at each bed with outlets so you can safely charge your phone and Kindle without worrying.  I’ve honestly never had a problem with security or safety.
9.    But wait…bunk beds? Seriously? Can you get any sleep???  Here’s what I do – I book the female dorms with 4-6 beds, rather than the co-ed dorms that are oftentimes 12-18 beds. It sometimes costs a dollar or two more per night for the smaller occupancy rooms, but I’d rather not share a room with a dozen people – it increases the odds that there will be a rafter-rattling snorer, noisy plastic bag rustlers, backpack unzipperers at 5 am and partiers stumbling in at 4 am.   Many people bring ear plugs – I’m not a fan, but others love them.    I always contact the hostel after I receive the confirmation email and request a bottom bunk.  Much easier to get in and out of (especially in the middle of the night!) and better for getting ready each morning by unloading your backpack or suitcase onto the bottom bed vs. the top bunk.  The best places offer bunks with curtains on the beds, private shelves with space for your phone and water bottle, individual lights for reading, and even a personal fan once in the bunk!

   In Southeast Asia, I often got a private room instead of a dorm.  For about $15/night (vs. $7-10/night for a dorm) I could spread out all my stuff, make a mess, do some laundry in the sink and hang my unmentionables anywhere I wanted to, since I had the room to myself.  Totalllllly worth it.  So definitely take a look at the “room options” when booking – you might be surprised at how cheap it is to have a room all to yourself.  It’s a nice switch every few stays to get your own room, and you still get all the social benefits of hostel-life!

Staying in hostels has literally changed my life – I have saved tons of money, met some of the best and most interesting people on the planet (and still get together with them), enjoyed local hospitality, gotten insider scoop on where to eat and play, and thoroughly immersed myself in the culture, rhythm and scene in every place I’ve been.  I seriously can’t recommend hostels enough – try it, see what you think, and get back to me — I’d love to hear your stories!

And here are my 9 favorite hostels in case you’d like to get started:

1. Ron & Neo’s – Dalat, Vietnam
2. The Hostello – Verona, Italy
3. The Black Swan – Barcelona, Spain
4. Good Morning Lisbon -Lisbon Portugal
5. Equity Point – Marrakesh, Morocco
6. Garden Cave, Cappadocia Turkey
7. Suite Thing Hostel – Lagos Portugal
8. Pupa Hostel – Kotor Montenegro
9. Castaways Hostel – Canggu, Indonesia (featured photo)

And remember…Enjoy.  Relax.  Go with the flow. Immerse yourself in the culture, the music, the food and the people – after all, this is why we travel – to seek new experiences!

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                           See you there! 😉

When traveling solo, we’re removed from all that is familiar. We discover who we are when no one is looking….when we have to rely on strangers for help we learn to trust our intuition.  All these experiences, this learning – promotes spiritual growth.   ~  Oriah Mountain Dreamer