12 Methods to Keep away from Staying in a Dangerous Hostel in 2025

I like hostels. Even after over nineteen years touring the world, I nonetheless keep in hostels as a result of they’re one of the best ways to satisfy folks and the most cost effective lodging choice in a lot of the world.

However what makes a good hostel?

And the way do you keep away from a dangerous hostel?

After staying in over a thousand hostels since I first began touring the world, I’ve turn out to be adept at determining in a short time if the hostel house owners know what they’re doing or if they only randomly wakened in the future and stated, “Let’s open a hostel. It feels like enjoyable.”

Whereas hostels are all in regards to the folks, administration can do a number of issues to make their hostel the proper framework for making your expertise higher. Sure options make a hostel memorable (frequent rooms, group actions, kitchens) whereas others could make them forgettable — or worse (push-button showers, normal filth, unknowledgeable workers).

All of my favourite hostels share frequent traits that make them a number of the finest on the earth.

Right here’s a breakdown of what I’d search for in a hostel that will help you choose the very best one in your subsequent journey:

1. Is There a Frequent Room?

I like assembly new folks after I journey. Since I normally journey solo, I must exit of my method to meet folks if I wish to be social. Frequent rooms in hostels make that straightforward. They assist me discover folks to speak with, get ideas from, do actions with, and even journey with.

Plus, they’re good for simply having enjoyable. They normally have pool tables or online game consoles, TVs/films (excellent for wet days), foosball, ping pong, and comfortable couches (comfortable couches are a should!). If you wish to be social, be sure to keep someplace that has an honest frequent room (or a number of). It’s the very best place to simply join with different vacationers.

In hotter locations, a standard space exterior can be an enormous plus. Rooftop bars, patios, BBQ areas, a pool — any social out of doors area is a should.

2. Is It Centrally Situated?

Location, location, location. At any time when I’m on the lookout for a brand new hostel I guarantee that it’s close to the issues I wish to see. I don’t wish to spend all my time commuting after I get someplace new. For that cause, I at all times ensure my hostels are in a central location and that they’re near public transportation. That approach, I can get round simply and don’t want to fret about having to waste cash on taxis.

That is particularly vital in massive cities the place issues are unfold out and if you’re on a shorter journey and time is of the essence. Sure, they may value more cash, however you’ll lower your expenses on transportation. Plus, the extra centrally-located hostels are normally the extra fashionable ones, making them higher locations to satisfy folks.

Don’t waste your trip in transit; ebook someplace central!

3. Is It Clear?

Positive, price range vacationers like issues low-cost — however that doesn’t imply we like issues soiled. Whereas hostels have come a great distance lately, there are nonetheless many which might be poorly maintained and in want of an intensive scrubbing. Because it’s straightforward to get sick on the street, keep away from soiled hostels. Gross loos and showers (in addition to the elevated threat of mattress bugs) aren’t well worth the threat — even when the hostel is affordable. Put money into your self. You deserve a clear room!

For the reason that photographs hostels put up on their web site and social media could be deceptive, ensure to particularly learn opinions on websites like Hostelworld for hints on cleanliness. If only one particular person complains, perhaps it’s not an enormous deal. But when quite a few opinions point out the shortage of cleanliness, take that as a cue.

4. Did You Learn Critiques?

At all times learn opinions earlier than you ebook. Is the hostel quiet or noisy? Is it a celebration hostel or extra laid again? Are the mattresses comfortable? Are the bunk beds squeaky? You may normally reply all of those questions (and plenty of extra) by studying opinions.

Web sites like Hostelworld and Reserving.com have tons of opinions that will help you discover the hostel that most accurately fits your wants and price range.

When you’ll wish to take them with a grain of salt (folks like to complain), they’re positively useful in the case of selecting the very best hostel. Ensure you depart opinions too — good opinions assist hostels develop and dangerous opinions can warn your fellow vacationers so that they don’t make the identical mistake.

Moreover, be sure to solely keep at resorts with a lot of opinions. A hostel might need a excessive ranking on Hostelworld but when it solely has 10 or 20 opinions then I’ll seemingly avoid it (it’s straightforward to faux scores like that). Nevertheless, if a hostel has lots of (or hundreds) of opinions and nonetheless has a ranking of 8 or 9 out of 10 then that’s signal it’s a strong place to remain.

Typically, I attempt to solely ebook hostels with a ranking of 8 or larger on Hostelworld.

5. Do they Manage Group Actions?

In the event you plan on staying at a social hostel and wish to meet folks, select a hostel that gives group actions. These may very well be strolling excursions (my private favourite exercise), pub crawls, trivia nights, cooking lessons, or BBQs. These occasions are an effective way to satisfy different vacationers and find out about your vacation spot.

My favourite hostels are at all times social hostels that manage occasions. It simply makes your keep way more enjoyable and vigorous!

6. Is There Late Checkout?

By no means keep at a hostel with a checkout time earlier than 10am. The very best hostels have 11am checkout instances, and the actually good ones allow you to try at midday. Sleep is efficacious on the street since you’ll hardly ever get sufficient of it. Hostels with late checkout instances perceive this and are sometimes extra relaxed environments. There’s simply one thing fallacious a few hostel asking you to be packed and out so early within the morning.

7. Is There a Bar?

Bars should not deal breakers and there are lots of great hostels with out them, however they make for an incredible place to socialize with different hostel visitors. Normally if a hostel has a bar, they put a robust emphasis on ensuring the folks staying there are having enjoyable, interacting, and being festive.

In the event you’re trying to be social and meet folks, you’ll wish to keep someplace with a bar.

8. Do They Have Lockers?

It’s stunning, however I’ve really been in hostels that don’t present lockers or will cost you for them. This present day, lockers must be normal. You need to by no means pay for safety. It is a deal-breaker for me (particularly since I journey with electronics). At all times carry a lock with you as effectively, so you should utilize the lockers when they’re supplied.

9. Is There a Kitchen?

Attempt to search for hostels with kitchens since you may then put together your personal meals, decrease your meals price range, and share a meal together with your new pals. Nothing binds folks nearer collectively than a shared meal (and some glasses of wine).

10. Do They Supply Breakfast?

Search for a spot with an honest breakfast (i.e., greater than bread and cheese) or not less than one which begins and ends when individuals are really awake (breakfasts that begin round 8:30am normally go late). Breakfast can be an effective way to load up on snacks for the day, chopping down your meals price range.

11. Do They Have Pod-style Beds?

Gone are the times of sleeping on creaky, steel bunks. At any time when doable, search for a hostel with pod-style beds. These beds present significantly better privateness and dampen the noise round you so you may sleep higher. They normally have curtains too, that are at all times an enormous plus in my ebook.

12. Are There Particular person Lights & Retailers?

Earlier than you ebook, discover out if the dorm bunks have their very own outlet and light-weight. Not solely will this guarantee you may cost your units with out having to battle for area, nevertheless it means your fellow vacationers can activate their very own small lamp as a substitute of the room’s primary gentle. (I hate it when folks flip the lights on in the midst of the evening. Use your mattress’s lamp or a flashlight!)

I don’t want a hostel to have all this stuff, however a really great hostel that understands what vacationers are on the lookout for has nearly all of the issues listed above.

Moreover, as increasingly folks shift to distant work, hostels have began to accommodate long-term vacationers who work on their laptops. In the event you’re a distant employee, these hostels are nice locations to remain as they’ve quick Wi-Fi and make it straightforward to attach and community with different digital nomads. Nevertheless, when you’re not working on-line whereas touring, keep away from these hostels since most individuals will simply be on their laptops working and that’s type of boring when you’re not doing it too. As a substitute, keep at a hostel that caters to backpackers. It is going to be way more pleasurable and also you’ll have a better time assembly folks.

Ultimately, what actually makes hostel are the folks and even the worst hostels will likely be nice when you meet good folks. However eradicating the folks from the equation, I search for hostels which have a number of the above qualities in them. Hostels that know what you need as a traveler are there to reinforce your journey expertise, not merely take cash from you in change for a mattress. I’d somewhat keep at a spot that’s trying to verify I’ve time.

Methods to Journey the World on $75 a Day

My New York Instances best-selling ebook to journey will train you easy methods to grasp the artwork of journey so that you simply’ll get off lower your expenses, at all times discover offers, and have a deeper journey expertise. It’s your A to Z planning information that the BBC referred to as the “bible for price range vacationers.”

Click on right here to study extra and begin studying it immediately!