Planning your first backpacking trip is so exciting! There’s nothing quite like setting off into the unknown with only the possessions you can carry on your back. I would know, as I have traveled solo to more than 70 countries and stayed in countless hostels along the way.
However, your first hostel stay can be daunting. If you’re used to staying in hotels with your family and friends, or renting an Airbnb, then sharing your sleeping and showering spaces can take some getting used to.
You might also be feeling nervous about how to interact with the other people in your hostel, who are likely to represent a wide variety of ages, nationalities, budgets and travel styles. Will you have anything in common?
In this guide I’m going to share ten hostel tips that will make your first forays into backpacking easier, less stressful, more comfortable and more fun. I’m basing this advice on more than ten years of backpacking experience (including one eight-month around-the-world trip as a solo female traveler) and the knowledge that I gained through my own travel experience, and from talking to hundreds of other travelers.
I like to reserve my hostels on Booking, as it’s so easy to compare properties’ prices, locations and amenities. Many people don’t realize that they have a dedicated hostel section, highlighting some of their top-rated and most-reserved hostels in popular backpacker locations from Amsterdam to Rio de Janeiro to Bangkok.
1. To chain or not to chain?
As budget travel has become more popular, a number of big hostel chains have sprung up around the world. For example, Generator and Wombats are two popular chains in Europe, while Selina is become a market leader in Latin America.
Often, these chain hostels offer benefits like professional, well-trained staff, partnerships with local businesses and common experiences across their properties (so if you know you liked their location in Vienna, their location in Berlin will probably please you too). I stayed at a hostel in Bagan, Myanmar called Ostello Bello, and I liked it so much that I planned a stop in Milan on my next Italy trip to stay at their flagship location!
On the other hand, if you book at an independent hostel that isn’t part of a chain, you’re more likely to be supporting a local business, you might have more opportunities to make local connections and your experience will probably be more unique.
Story time! When I was staying in a family-owned hostel in Brasov, Romania, the owners’ uncle came by one night and offered to take us “bear watching”! We ended up driving behind some apartment blocks and parking beside a dumpster, when, like clockwork, two big black bears descended from the forest behind the apartments and started scrounging for food. That would never have happened in a big chain hostel with a liability insurance policy!
2. Private rooms = the best of both worlds
Even though I’m not a gap-year backpacker anymore (I’m more like a mid-career professional who banks her vacation time), hostels are still my preferred type of accommodation – as long as they have private rooms.
I think private rooms offer the best of both words: the amenities and social connections of a hostel, with the privacy and comfort of a hotel. I don’t even mind sharing a bathroom down the hall, as long as I can escape back to my own space when it’s time to sleep.
Since they’re more expensive than dorm rooms but cheaper than a hotel, private rooms in hostels are perfect for couples and friends traveling together.
3. Hang out in the common areas
You’ll quickly discover that it’s very easy to retire to your bunk bed each afternoon for a little YouTube or Spotify. However, the best thing about hostels (besides the price!) is the opportunity to meet other travelers. I mean, just check out the common kitchen in the Ostello Bello in Milan!
Story Time! When I was backpacking in Riga I was hanging out in the common area of the hostel, reading a book. A guy I’d never talked to walked up to me and said, “So, where are we going for dinner?” I liked his confidence and sense of humor, so I put my book down and asked if he had any ideas. We had a super-fun night out on the town, with dinner, drinks and dancing, and then we both went our separate ways the next day!
It can be hard at first, but try to step out of your comfort zone. Leave your phone in your locker and head down to the hostel common room. Spark up a conversation with another solo traveler. Announce that you’re going to explore this cool area you read about and see if anyone wants to join you. Ask if anyone wants to go to the grocery store to buy a bottle of wine and some snacks for an early-evening aperitivo.
If you need some tips on exactly what to say to start a conversation with other travelers, check out my article about making friends when you’re traveling. It explains where you can meet other travelers and gives you ideas for getting the conversation flowing.
4. Join in the hostel activities
The best hostels have a full slate of activities and events to help travelers get to know one another and the local area. To make the most of your hostel stay, you should join in!
Some of my favorite hostel activities have included food tours (like the one in Delhi, India, shown above), day trips to hard-to-reach villages and towns, language classes, cooking lessons, walking tours and even pub crawls. These activities are usually led by the local staff who know the safest, most interesting, most fun places to visit, and who speak English well.
In my experience, another great reason to do activities through your hostel is that they are often much cheaper than if you booked them through a traditional tour operator. Hostels cater to people on backpacker budgets, so you won’t necessarily be in the fanciest van or eat lunch in the most upscale restaurant, but you will have an authentic experience that won’t break the bank.
5. And pack the right gear too!
I already wrote a hostel packing guide, so you can click over to that article to see what gear I recommend you pack for your hostel trip. It includes the travel products that you’ll want in your dorm room and in the communal bathroom, along with a list of things you shouldn’t bring (and why not!).
6. Pay more for the right room
What was the worst hostel I’ve ever stayed in? It’s hard to say, but a place I stayed in Singapore comes to mind. The dorm rooms were windowless, long and narrow, with eight bunk beds sleeping a total of sixteen people in prison-like rows. With no air circulation or natural light the rooms were damp, dark and depressing.
That was the last time I ever stayed in a co-ed dorm room with more than six beds total. Now, I prefer to pay a little bit more for a smaller dorm room, typically that sleeps four or six people. I also skip over any rooms that don’t seem to have windows, and I’m usually willing to pay more to have an en-suite bathroom shared with just my roommates.
One of the best things about booking a smaller dorm room is that you’ll often find that the backpackers on the tightest budgets won’t make the same splurge, so you could find you have the whole room to yourself!
7. Secure your stuff
In more than a decade of hosteling I have never had anything of value stolen from a hostel. I think someone took my shampoo and conditioner from a shower stall while I was drying off nearby, and I recall returning to a hostel in India to find some domestic travelers trying on my clothes, but overall your average backpacker is a traveler, not a career criminal.
Still, I think it’s important to keep your stuff locked up when you’re not in your dorm room. When I’m choosing a hostel room I always look for one that has lockers, and honestly I wouldn’t consider a room without a locker unless it was the only hostel in town. I keep my valuables locked in the locker at all time, even when I’m just popping down the hall to the washroom.
Personally when I’m backpacking I carry three different locks:
- A larger combination lock that fits on most lockers
- A smaller luggage lock for unusually small lockers
- A retractable cable lock to secure my backpack to my bed frame, so nobody can walk out with my pack
I get double-duty from the cable lock as I also use it to secure my bag to the luggage rack on long-distance trains, and I use the big combination lock when I’m at the gym back home.
8. Follow the unspoken rules of hostel etiquette
A hostel is a temporary community of budget travelers who have to work together, and follow some basic norms, in order to ensure everyone has an enjoyable stay. Although some hostels will have their rules and regulations posted, generally speaking you learn hotel etiquette through observing more experienced travelers and following their lead.
In case you don’t have someone to show you the ropes, here are a few basic hostel etiquette tips:
- Don’t bring guests from outside the hostel into a shared dorm room.
- If you make a mess, clean it up immediately. This is especially important in the shared kitchen and bathroom.
- Throw out your food from the hostel fridge when you check out.
- If the hostel has laundry facilities, remove your clothing from the washer and dryer promptly so that the next person can use it.
- Keep your personal items in your locker and bed area if possible. If not, make sure to leave space on the table or counter for other people too.
- If you choose to stay in a dorm room, be quiet when people are sleeping. Don’t wrap every single thing in a plastic bag that scrunches and scratches every time you touch it.
- If the lights are off at night, use the reading lamp at your bed or the flashlight on your phone instead of turning on the overhead lights.
- When you have to leave early in the morning, pack up your stuff the night before.
- Never, ever, ever hit “snooze” on your phone alarm!
9. Switch hostels mid-stay
If I’m staying in one location for more than a few nights, one of my top backpacking tips is to switch hostels mid-trip!
- Change locations: Start in a quieter, more local part of town then switch to the busy center for the weekend
- Change vibes: Switch from a hostel with a big coworking space to one that has a bar and movie room
- Change prices: Spend most of your trip in a budget hostel, then splurge on something fancier for your last two or three nights (don’t do this the other way though – it’s too depressing!)
- Change rooms: Move from a private room to a dorm room (or vice versa) if you’re craving socializing (or quiet!)
By moving to a new hostel you’ll meet new people, have opportunities for new experiences and see your destination from a different point of view. Nearly every hostel will have free luggage storage, so you can store your bags in the luggage room, spend the day exploring, and then come back in the early evening to grab your bag and make the move.
Note: I find some hostel staff are personally offended if you tell them you’re going to a competitor, so I usually lie and say I’m checking out to catch an onward train or bus later that day. Then I just hope I don’t run into them around town! 😲
10. Pay it forward – leave a review
The best way to know if a hostel is good or bad is to hear from other travelers who have stayed there. Now that you’ve stayed in a hostel (or two, or three!) you should help other travelers by leaving an honest review on the site where you made the reservation and on Google Maps. Tell the truth about what was good and bad about your stay, who you think would enjoy staying in that hostel, and anything else that might help the next traveler make a more informed choice about which hostel to choose.
Looking for more budget travel tips?
Check out my guide to saving money when you’re traveling, or read my travel diary from my around-the-world backpacking trip!
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