Are you planning your first solo backpacking trip and feeling really overwhelmed? Looking for accommodations but on a tight budget? Search no further, I’ve got the answers! Last year at this time, I was planning my first backpacking trip! I booked my plane ticket and I was over the moon excited… but that excitement quickly turned into feeling completely overwhelmed. I eagerly wanted to enter the “backpacking world” but had no idea where to start! Now, after over a year of solo backpacking, I am here to share 7 simple tips on how to select hostels for your next backpacking trip!
In this blog, I’ll explain in depth how to select a hostel based on reviews, location and price, amenities and most importantly, organized events and the hostel’s atmosphere!
HOW TO FIND HOSTELS 101
Before we get into the specifics, my favourite type of accommodation to stay at when solo traveling is hostels! Although they are not always the most luxurious, you are guaranteed to meet incredible people who are travelling the same way that you are! And when you get lucky and connect with people at a hostel, sometimes your travel itineraries line up and you end up travelling together for a while!
My all-time favourite website for finding hostels is Hostelworld. Their website lists 36,000 properties in 178 countries around the world, with over 13 million guest reviews! They’re trustworthy, reliable and offer customer support. Once you search for your travel destination and provide them with your travel dates, you’ll find a list of hostels available!
Get to know me a bit better in this blog!
SELECTING A HOSTEL
Ratings, Number of Reviews, Price, Location…ATMOSPHERE!
- RATINGS: although this is an obvious point, I never book an accommodation without reading the most recent reviews! If the overall reviews are excellent, but the 10 most recent reviews mention guests seeing rats in the hostel, red flag. And on the flip side, if people are raving about the hostel, it is a huge selling point.
- NUMBER OF REVIEWS: although this isn’t an absolute, I do prefer booking hostels that have a ton of reviews, versus having little to none. This just tells me that the place is popular and usually for good reason, whether that’s the vibe, social activities, location or amenities!
- PRICE: now this totally depends on the location that you are travelling to! In Vietnam, I stayed at hostels that I booked through Hostelworld for $5 CAD/night whereas in Hawaii, I was spending closer to $50 CAD/night. Nevertheless, within each city, you will find budget hostels and more luxurious hostels. Determine your budget before travelling and try to stick to it when looking at hostels.
- LOCATION: there are many aspects to consider when choosing a hostel based on location. Often the hostels that are less expensive, require a public transit commute to the city centre. Things to consider: you may be saving $10/night but how much money is the commute costing you?
- AMENITIES: different amenities to look for can include shared bathrooms vs. en-suite bathrooms, female-only dorms vs. mixed dorms, free breakfasts, free towels, kitchen to cook, fridge available, check-in/check-out time, lockers, luggage storage room, etc.
- ORGANIZED EVENTS: some hostels are simply a place to sleep and nothing more than that. They provide the basic amenities that you’ll need for a good nights sleep and that’s it. Whereas other hostels will offer social events (think bar crawls), organized tours, and so much more! This is where reading reviews and the hostel’s description on Hostelworld is crucial! In Southeast Asia (Thailand and Vietnam), I always made sure to stay at hostels that offered day trips, as they were often cheaper than tour companies, picked me up directly from the hostel and the others in the tour were my age and fellow solo backpackers! The dream.
- ATMOSPHERE: I definitely saved the best for last! The general vibe of your accommodation is what will make or break your stay. After staying at over 30 hostels in one year, I’ve come to learn that it truly is not about the amenities that the hostel provides, the cleanliness (within limits!!) or the location, but rather the group of people that you meet at the hostel! The social vibe is everything and although you can’t predict who will be there at the same time as you, you can still do your research which will increase your chances of having a great stay! The reviews in Hostel world will often let you know if it is a party hostel, chill hostel, or a vibe-less hostel.
- Party hostels… what are they? These type of hostels can be a ton of fun- but only if you’re in the mood for it! Party hostels are generally very social. They often have bars and events organized by the hostel (sometimes every night). This is a great way to meet other solo backpackers and make a ton of friends that you can explore the city with the next day! However, if you’re not looking to party, I would avoid these kind of hostels at all costs. You can often expect loud music playing until 3am and drunk roommates stumbling into the room and waking you up late at night when you are trying to sleep. Here is a TikTok that I made from an awesome party hostel that I stayed at in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, called the Hideout.
- Chill hostels… this is where I stay most, as they often have the perfect balance. You can be social and meet a ton of other travellers, while also getting a good nights sleep. These hostels might still organize bar crawls and other events at night, but will limit the noise level to say 11PM, ensuring you can have fun outside with others but also choose to have a quiet night’s sleep if you decide to stay in for the night.
- Vibe-less hostels… avoid these at all costs! These are the kind of hostels where you show up and instantly have a bad feeling. No front desk, no hang-out/social area, no organized events/tours… etc. You can almost always get this vibe from reviews, which is why I’m emphasizing again just how important it is to read the reviews before booking!
Funny story: I was backpacking Portugal and met a fellow solo traveller at a hostel. After exchanging travel stories, we realized we had both stayed at the same hostel in Lake Como Italy a few months prior! He was telling me how that hostel was the worst place he stayed at during his entire 6 month Europe backpacking trip! From the tiny shower, to the mould in the bathroom and the subpar cleanliness of the place, he hated it. I was completely surprised because my experience at that hostel was the exact opposite! I met an incredible group of girls at that hostel that I am still friends with to this day! We stayed up all night, eating pizza, drinking aperol spritz and laughing into the wee hours of the morning.
If you’ve read through the entire blog, I hope you now feel a lot more confident booking your accommodation for your next backpacking trip! If you have any other great tips that you live by when selecting your hostel, leave them in the comments!
