A Guide To Hostels

One of the biggest money drainers when travelling is accommodation. You can't avoid it because you need to sleep and most of us would prefer not to have to do it on the streets in a foreign country (or in any country for that matter). The most popular options are (obviously) hotels, hostels and b&b's. All of these options can be expensive if you don't know what you're looking for and aren't organised. The most expensive option would definitely be hotels, although prices vary in different locations they usually tend to be on the dear side. Bed and breakfasts can sometimes also be pricey as well as a little scary since you're sometimes living in a strangers house. Although in recent years numerous websites have popped up that list b&b's available in hundreds of different countries making it convenient and super easy to find one that is perfect for you. More so, they mostly all provide safety checks on the hosts and the "customers" so that neither of you worry about being murdered by the other party (which is also a bonus).

Hostels are often wrongly viewed as "dodgy" and cheap, therefore dirty and unsafe. My initial thoughts on hostels were quite similar. Sharing rooms with a bunch of randoms sounded scary and the thought of how many people would have been in the beds made me feel a little itchy. However, since travelling Europe and having stayed in over 30 different hostels, I can honestly say that they are no where near as bad as they are sometimes perceived and some of them are even nicer than hotels.

There are a number of websites that allow you to book budget hotels and affordable hotel rooms including booking.com, trivago.com, expedia.com, lastminute.com, etc, as well as the ever-growing airbnb.com, for bed and breakfast's all over the world. All of these websites are reliable and really helpful if you're looking for that kind of accommodation and can afford it. However, if you are on a budget and are hoping to travel for as long as possible on what money you have saved then I would highly recommend opting for hostels.

What is the difference between a hotel and a hostel?
Hotels typically offer you a private room with a private bathroom for a standard price. You are treated like a guest, your bed gets made every day, your towels get washed, you get access to room service and many more luxury services depending on where you stay. Hostels are usually a lot cheaper as you pay for a bed in a dorm more often than a room. Private rooms are sometimes available depending on what hostels you visit, but they more commonly offer dorms. The more beds in your dorm, the cheaper the room gets. Hostels aren't as "luxurious" as hotels (obviously) they don't usually clean your room everyday, some are more clean than others, and they also have more of a community feel than hotels. They have common rooms, community kitchens, TV rooms and/or bars where you can mingle with other travellers, make friends, etc. Most of them have secure lockers or storage places where you can safely keep your stuff without worrying it will get stolen.

How many beds do hostel dorms usually have?
Dorm sizes vary on different hostels, sometimes you can pay for a dorm with up to 30 beds which would be very cheap but also probably very noisy. Most hostels typically have 2 bed dorms, 4 bed dorms and 8 bed dorms. You can choose between having the same gender in your dorm or a mixed gender dorm depending on how you feel about it. This helps people who are a bit on edge about sharing with strangers feel a little safer if they're able to share with their own sex. Some hostels have curtains around the bed for ultimate privacy, some don't. Some hostels have single beds, some have normal bunks and some have bunks that are three beds high which kind of make you feel like you're in a concentration camp (a very overdramatic but slightly necessary comparison there). Private rooms are either two single beds or a double bed, much like a hotel might offer. You can sometimes get a four bed private room if there are four of you rather than two. It usually costs more to also get a private bathroom so you can pay extra or have a private room but share a bathroom with everyone else.

How to find the best hostel
Once you've got a rough idea of where you want to visit, how you're going to get to and from each place (buses, trains, flying, etc) and how long you want to stay for, then you should start checking out the accommodation. The absolute best website (hands down) to book and find hostels on is Hostelworld.com. You can type in a name of a city, the dates you will be there between and how many people you are booking for. It will then come up with a list of hostels in the area with the most recommended at the top of the page. They usually list the prices beside the hostels so you can get a general idea of prices before you open them up to have a better look.

Once you see one you like the look of (and price of) it will open to that particular hostels page with photos, room rates, maps/directions, facitilites, a description/convincing few paragraphs of why you should choose them and most importantly reviews. Reviews are essential to read and photos are essential to look through (thoroughly!). In the photos you want to make sure they show photos of the rooms because otherwise you're going in blind. Read their description listing what they offer and whether it suits your needs (e.g. if they say they're a party hostel and you aren't interested in partying then you might not book it). The review tab has reviews from people who have stayed there and ratings that can also help you choose what you're looking for in a hostel. These include: value for money, staff, facilities, security, atmosphere, location and cleanliness. All are rated out of 10 and are more important to some people than others. You might be looking for somewhere you can meet people in which case the atmosphere rating will be important. If you're a neat freak then the cleanliness rating will be important to you, etc.

The actual written reviews are helpful as they offer an insight from other travellers who have stayed at the hostel. They are usually quite descriptive listing pros and cons as well as personal comments and an overall rating out of 10. Some hostels don't have enough reviews because they're less popular or newer, in which case you should additionally search the hostel on tripadvisor.com. Trip Advisor usually have lots of photos taken by actual people who stayed at the hostels, rather than just professional photos taken by the hostel themselves to make it look more appealing. It also provides a LOT more reviews and will help you get an idea of whether you will enjoy staying there. Definitely make sure you do your research, don't just book a hostel because one photo looks nice.

Personally, I think one of the main things you want to watch out for is the location. A lot of hostels advertise being "close to the city centre" but then when you get there it isn't and they just meant it's close by car (when you can't drive) or close as in, a 50 minute walk, or a "quick" train ride which is really half an hour. So the ratings on location are vital, as well as scouring the reviews for any comments on the location of the hostel. Again, it depends what you want to be near. For example, a hostel in Paris might have a high location score/rating if its close to the Eiffel Tower, but if you don't particularly want to see the Eiffel Tower and would rather be near to the Palace of Versailles, then you would have to check the map more than just the location ratings. You also want to make sure you know the address and how to get to the hostel from either the airport or the bus station or however you're entering the city. You don't want to be stuck in a foreign speaking city with no internet and no idea how to get where you're going.

Luggage Holding
Most hostels provide a service (similar to hotels) that can look after your luggage before or after check in/out so that you can continue sight seeing and enjoying yourself without having to pull a huge bag/suitcase around. They mostly charge for these services but usually aren't too expensive.

Free Walking Tours
The majority of hostels also offer free walking tours of the cities or places you are staying. You should definitely take advantage of these as, for one, they're free (sort of: you're expected to tip a little/what you think is fair) and they're led by locals who know the area well and are usually really interesting.

Food (most important)
I've stayed in a mixture of hostels, some that have amazing bars that offer really nice food, some that have little restaurants attached that they can give you discount for, some that provide free breakfast or dinner and some that have absolutely no options and expect you to feed yourself. If there is a free breakfast it tends to be continental (cereals, toast, tea and coffee, fruit and similar bits). Other free meals are very rare. A lot of them do have kitchens so that you can cook for yourself as well as meet other travellers whilst cooking. Everyone is usually pretty good at respecting other peoples food in the fridges, you're expected to label and date your food so that if you leave and forget about it they know when they can throw it out, otherwise no one will mistake it for theirs.

Pub Crawls
Pub crawls are among the greatest and funnest experiences when staying at hostels. If you're in a hotel you don't get opportunities like pub crawls presented to you as such because I suppose everyone keeps to themselves and maybe you're above pub crawls. But for semi-poor, young, party-animal travellers, they are great! Most hostels run a pub crawl or advertise one near by. They basically cost a minimum price for you to join and you are taken around to some of the best local pubs/clubs/bars and if you make it to the end of the night, those locations are usually the best. Pub crawls are great to meet people and even to just experience the local night life. The basic cost of the pub crawl usually includes some free shots and free entry into all the clubs. Some of the best pub crawls I've done have been in Prague (where there was a 5 story night club and every floor had a different theme), Galway in Ireland (where there was a huge group of Aussies and we played "the world" in beer pong and flip cup) and Krakow in Poland (where the night life was so great and the drinks were dirt cheap).

Facilities
Make sure to have a brief read of the facilities tab to make sure that your hostel has everything you require or want. Sometimes you might have to compromise if your hostel is perfect but doesn't have free wifi or if there's no kitchen but you're only staying for a few days, etc. A lot of hostels do have wifi or computers with internet, laundry facilities either free or (more likely) that charge, kitchens, bars, common rooms and heaps of others. Some have pools, some have gyms, some aren't as lush and don't even have a reception.

Bedding
Unless you've chosen to camp, most hostels provide a bed and will note if you are required to provide your own bedding (or sleeping bag).

Things to have on you
Generally it's a good idea to have a micro fibre or fast-drying towel, so that when you have a shower you can hang it over your bed or bunk and it won't have to hang out all day or not dry in time for you to shower again or to leave. A sleeping bag is sometimes needed from some hostels (as mentioned above). Its super convenient to have a hanging wash bag as most of the showers have hooks and you can just hang your soaps and toiletries up for easy access. Shower shoes or thongs (flip flops) are always a good idea just to be on the safe side, but not necessary if you aren't that much of a germaphobe. Padlocks are rarely provided for lockers, you can usually hire one for a price or bring your own (the obvious cheaper option) so its always good to have a few decent padlocks on you so that you can keep your things safe. Earplugs and sleeping masks are a good idea if you are a light sleeper as there are always snorers (mainly men), people who come in late and turn the lights on or are noisy and might wake you up.

Some of my favourite hostels
I have stayed in hostels all over Europe, and my boyfriend has stayed in even more. My personal favourite hostels that I would stay in again and 100% recommend would be:
Wombats Hostel: Wombats have hostels in a few European locations, my favourites were the London one and the Budapest one. They are great for big groups of friends or for if you want to meet people. The rooms are really spacious and the beds quite big. Each room has its own bathroom (or mine did) and the receptionists/hostel workers are always really helpful and knowledgable about the city.
Far Out Village: This hostel is more like a resort and is located in Ios, Greece. It has an amazing pool, massage and beauty therapists available, it's right on the beach, has a great bar and party area in the summer. The rooms vary between huts and big rooms. The location is superb with shuttle buses taking you up into town for the clubs or in the day. Taxis back from the clubs at night are 5 euro (very cheap) and quad bikes to hire are just down the road. It was one of my favourite places in Europe and this hostel was one of the main reasons.




















The Generator: This hostel also has a few locations around Europe including Barcelona and London (may be more that i'm unaware of). I stayed in the Barcelona Generator and it was super quirky, provided an amazing hot breakfast, had some very interesting architechure/layout and a really awesome games/mingling area. I wish I'd stayed longer to appreciate it/explore it more.



























Overall, make sure you research any hostel before you book it, make sure you read their policies incase they have certain reception hours (so if you're late you won't be able to check in) or rules, they might only accept cash (so you'll have to get cash out), etc. Every hostel is different so don't expect them to all have the same facilities and feels. You will probably have some amazing experiences and some average ones.