Since returning home from studying abroad and traveling around Europe, I have been asked by many people about my experiences staying in hostels, especially while traveling alone. Usually these questions are accompanied by the phrases, "You're so brave!" or, "I can't believe you did that!" or something similar. Also, I often get told how they would love to budget travel but are too worried about the negatives they have heard about hostels: noise, dirt, 20 person dorm rooms and lukewarm shower water. Contrary to what appears to be the popular opinions about hostels; staying in them is not really that bad... So, here is some information, advice and words of reassurance to those who think hostel hopping might be their way to access Europe but are nervous to try it.
"SO… what exactly is a youth hostel and how does it work?"
Simply put, a hostel is a cheap place to stay while your traveling. Most groups can achieve the same prices by cramming into an AirBnB but if you are traveling alone or with just one other person, hostels are usually the cheapest option.
Like summer camp, the rooms are set up as dorms with anywhere from 2 to 12 bunk beds in a room and shared bathrooms. You pay for a bed not a room so yes, you will be sleeping in a room with a bunch of strangers. The smaller the room, the more expensive. Usually there is an option for an all female dorm for those who would feel more comfortable there, although it will probably be a smaller dorm and therefore slightly more expensive.
Most, but not all hostels have a common kitchen. All of them have some sort of lounge or common area where you can hang out, meet people and usually get free wifi.
Many hostels organize social activities such as pub crawls and partner with a group to provide free walking tours of the city. These can be great ways to meet people and get to know the neighborhood you are in.
"How do I find a good hostel? What should I look for?"
The two best places I have found to look are Hostelworld.com and Booking.com. Hostelworld has a pretty reliable ranking system and Booking.com lets you frantically book everything then adjust dates or cancel reservations for free (a feature I LOVE). Hostelworld makes it easy to find places to stay, and Booking.com makes it easy to make and change reservations. If one site is out of beds, check the other and then check the hostel's own website to see if they have one.
Anything ranked above an 8 on hostel world is a solid bet. Anything above and 8.5 is great. and if you can find one ranked above a 9 with comparable prices just go ahead and book it.
There will always be reviews written by someone who thought they were booking a 5 star hotel and are disappointed when their coffee isn't delivered to the room in the morning, so read reviews critically.
If you want a good time out, look for hostels with bars or high rankings for social atmosphere. If you want a quiet stay, look for a family friendly hostel. If your looking to save money, make sure you're in a hostel with a well equipped kitchen. The best thing about hostels is that each one is different. With a little research you can find one that fits your needs.
"Weren't you scared or worried?"
Yes, at the beginning I was terrified. I'm not the best people person so being surrounded by strangers in a new environment was scary. But otherwise no. Most hostels have small safes or even lockable trunks for your valuables and most make sure only the people staying in your room can get in. Again there are varying levels of security in every hostel, but they usually advertise online what you can expect.
As far as people go, I have never had a problem. Hostels are set up for solo, young and budget travelers. All groups who are somewhat concerned with safety and security. The atmosphere of most hostels is something like a college dorm. You are all just trying to travel or live cheap and happen to be in close proximity to each other.
So on to my advice.....
I am going to qualify this whole article, but especially this section, by saying please do your own research. I have only traveled in hostels for about two months total and my advice is only one voice of many. But for what it is worth, here is what I learned and what I think it would be useful to know:
1. Adjust your expectations a little bit. You are getting what you are paying for.
Imagine the water bill for one building where anywhere from 30 to 100 people have to shower, wash dishes, brush their teeth, and go to the bathroom each day. How much did you pay for your room? Now, don't begrudge the hostel if they have a 6 minute time limit on hot water or the shower operates on a push button that goes off every 20 seconds. Similarly, some of the largest hostels only have reliable wifi in the common areas. This can be frustrating, but then again, you are getting to sleep in a bed in the center of a city for around 25-30$ a night. And you'll probably get free breakfast and free walking tours too.
2. You are sleeping in a youth hostel. Bring a sleep mask and/or ear plugs.
Just by nature of being a youth hostel, it will probably not be the quietest or darkest sleeping environment. There will be people getting up at 6am in the morning to catch a flight and people coming home at 2am from a night out. You can either complain and be grumpy (like I was for about a week until I bought earplugs) or you can deal with it as best you can. Other suggestions besides earplugs include making a tent by hanging your towel or a sheet from the top bunk, wrapping a sleeve of a long sleeve shirt over your face like a sleep mask, and listening to audiobooks or rain noises to cover up noise.
3. Hostels offer a ton of ways to save money on food - if you're smart.
Most hostels have common kitchens and are equipped with the cooking basics. Unless you specifically want restaurant food you can save a lot of money by buying your own food from the local grocery store.
If you're traveling for a longer time then bring with you: some spices (buy one of spice kits with a bunch of separate sections and fill it with whatever you want) and a small bottle of olive oil or cooking oil of some sort. It's hard to cook the simplest meals without olive oil salt and pepper, and microwave meals and frozen pizza gets old really quickly. If you really like mac and cheese bring a small ziplock bag of flour, that way with a little butter, milk and cheese you can make cheap and easy cheese sauce.
Check the "free food" box if the hostel has one before you go shopping, you can usually find free pasta or rice or other non perishables.
Free hostel breakfast is usually just toast and jam and cereal with milk so buy some eggs if you need more sustenance in the morning. They are cheap and you can make breakfast sandwiches.
If you are really on a budget, you can try to get two meals out of the free breakfast. Buy a jar of PB or Nutella and use the jam and bread to make sandwiches for later. Be discreet though, this behavior is usually frowned upon.
4. Meeting people.
Lucky for us Americans, English is the social language of most European hostels. It is the one common language that most people speak, so usually you won't have an issue conversing with people from all over the continent (and further!)
Be courageous! If your travelling alone then you will have to be the one to walk up to groups if you want to meet anyone. I find it the least awkward to do this at meal times when you can just go say "Hi - mind if I eat with you?" and then ask their names or where they're from. 8 times out of 10 you guys will get along splendidly and go out for drinks later or walk around the city together the next day. If you don't, just go talk to someone else or enjoy the chance for some alone time.
If you're traveling in a group, invite solo travelers to eat or sit with you. Again asking will be awkward and they might refuse but many will love the chance to converse with someone.
5. Etiquette
This is based solely on avoidable things that have annoyed me or things I have done that I felt were annoying. They are simply guidelines for doing your part in keeping hostels an enjoyable way to travel and to not be "that guy".
First: Plastic bags. Ziplock bags are the best way to keep all your stuff organized in a small space like a duffle or backpack BUT for some reason the crinkle of a ziplock bag at 6:30 in the morning as someone gets dressed to catch their 7:00 bus to the airport is the worst way to get woken up and you can never fall back asleep. If you have to get up early, pull out the close your going to wear the night before - your fellow travellers who forgot earplugs will thank you.
Second: Flashlights. Yes. I too have stumbled into my hostel at 2 or 3 am and needed to change and find my toothbrush in the dark. But after being woken up and the kept awake by a full fifteen minutes of siren like flashing from someone's Iphone flashlight at 2 or 3 am I swore I would never be that guy again. You don't need that much light. In most city hostels enough light comes in through the windows that you can see fine if you let your eyes adjust for a minute or two. And if you still need to see something, use your phone screen and try not to flash it all over the dorm room.
Third: Wash your dishes. Don't be an asshole.
Lastly: Pay attention to the check in and check out procedures at each individual hostel. Hostel staff have enough to do without picking up after you. The reason hostels can be so cheap is that they don't spend money on paying people to do little things you can do yourself.
