Even though I'm diving head-first into my first Couchsurfing experience this summer, I will probably end up staying in hostels for at least two or three nights. Whenever I travel solo, this is usually my favorite form of accommodation, and even if I was offered a room in a 5-star hotel for the same price, I'd pick the hostel nine times out of ten. I'd like to think I have enough experience hosteling to create a fairly basic how-to guide for those that feel overwhelmed (or even scared) by the idea of staying in hostels while traveling abroad. I have stayed in sixteen hostels in ten cities in five countries (the list: Edinburgh- 2 hostels, Glasgow, Paris- 2 hostels, Amsterdam- 2 hostels, Munich, Florence, Rome, Nice, Barcelona- 2 hostels, and Madrid- 3 hostels), and I think by now I have a pretty good idea of what makes a "good" hostel and a VERY good idea of what makes a "bad" hostel.
1. Location, location, location
This should be fairly obvious, but it is the biggest factor that could make or break your hostel experience. When selecting a hostel, don't simply be satisfied to find a place to sleep anywhere in the particular city you want to visit (some cities, like Amsterdam, are tiny, and some, like Madrid, are enormous!) so make sure to place the hostel on a map and compare its location to the various sites you will be visiting. Google maps makes this very easy, using their "search nearby" feature. If there are lots of pubs and clubs on the same block, you'll likely not get any sleep due to loud music and drunken dorm-mates stumbling in at 4am. However, if you pick something too rural, you'll end up spending more than you bargained on public transportation. Pick a place that is central, but not too central. Look for nearby bus or underground lines, grocery stores (more on this later), ATMs, and police stations or outposts.
2. Freebies
Find out what's included in the price of a bed. Everyone will have their own idea of a must-have freebie, but my list is: wi-fi or internet cafe, breakfast, towels, luggage storage, and bed linens. Yes, you'd be surprised at how many hostels will offer you a bare mattress and make you pay to rent sheets! Free internet used to be a big perk, but nowadays it's nearly standard in Western Europe, especially in big cities. If you're staying in Paris or London and you don't get free wi-fi, you're getting ripped off. Free breakfast is usually the same wherever you go: bread with jam, and either coffee or hot chocolate. This is a big deal when you're on a budget, and I'm not ashamed to say I've stashed an extra bagel or two in my daypack for lunch later on! If you have a big breakfast, you can usually skip lunch and have cheap street food for dinner. Hostelers are not normally the type to eat at restaurants every day, after all.
3. The "Vibe"
This is something very personal, and only you can decide whether the hostel will have the right atmosphere for you. If you're booking in advance, you can gather this information from the reviews (at a third-party booking website), the hostel's own website, and picture galleries. If the place looks boring, it probably is boring, and not worth a stay. My favorite hostels have graffiti and murals on the walls, lending libraries, on-site pubs, and lots of planned group activities. If you're in a city already and need a place to stay on a later date, ask around. When you meet other travelers, ask where they're staying and whether they like it or not. Hostels will give you a tour of the facilities if you ask, so ask before you book!
Okay, you've booked your room, arrived at your destination, and checked into your hostel... now what?
This is the fun part, and the part I wish I knew on my first night. As soon as you check in, you're probably going to be very tired and very smelly. Before you hit the town, you'll want to settle in a bit, even if you're only staying for a night. Find your room and locate your bed. Most hostels have dorm-style rooms with bunk beds, and sometimes these beds are assigned, so make sure you're not taking someone else's spot. If there is someone else in the room when you arrive, introduce yourself! Some of the best friends I have made were people that stayed in my hostel dorm with me, and if you're traveling alone, this is imperative. If you've arrived in the afternoon, this is the best time to take a shower, as there is almost always a line (and cold water) in the mornings when everyone is just waking up. This might sound silly, but it happens... if you can't figure out how to operate the shower, don't be embarrassed to ask! At my first hostel in Paris, you had to hold a button on the floor down with your toe to keep the water running, and it took me nearly 20 minutes of standing around, naked and confused, to figure this out. When you're all cleaned up, go and explore the hostel before you head out. You'll want to know where the toilets, kitchen, and common areas are. Whenever you see someone, always introduce yourself... many of the other guests will be traveling solo, even if they are sitting with other people, and will be glad you took the first step. When you've got your bearings, you are ready to head out! Ask the staff at reception if you have any questions, no matter how silly they may be.
Things to Know About Your Hostel:
1. Is there a curfew or lockout? Some hostels let you come and go as you please, but others lock the front door after a certain hour, and you might get locked out. Others have a "lockout" period so that they can clean the rooms, where you must be out of your room between certain hours during the day. During this time, you may not have access to your bag or to showers, so make sure to ask!
2. Are there lockers? I never had issues with security in hostels, but I may have just been lucky. If you leave your bag in your room, anyone who stays there can access your things while you're out for the day. Ask reception if there are bag lockers or a locked luggage room. If not, invest in a small padlock for your suitcase or pack and keep it locked at all times. Never leave your money, passport, or other valuables in your room when you're not there.
3. Are there any planned activities? Many hostels will offer free walking tours or pub crawls. Take advantage of these, as you will meet other guests, make friends, and learn lots about your host city! Some hostels have themed nights so that guests can get to know each other. My favorite was in a hostel in Edinburgh - the pub downstairs had "crazy hat night" on my first night there. I didn't have a hat, but I didn't think it was a big deal, so I went anyway. It WAS a big deal! Everyone there had on a funny hat of some sort, and as silly as it sounds, it was a great icebreaker. A French guy, Olivier, made a hat for me out of newspaper, and I ended up making some great new friends that night.
4. What are the hours for the kitchen? The hostel kitchen is your new best friend, especially if you're staying for more than a couple of nights. It's much cheaper to get your food from the corner grocery and cook for yourself than it is to eat out for every meal, and some of the best times I've had in hostels were spent in the kitchen, making group meals and eating together. In Paris at the Woodstock Hostel, my group of friends (all of whom I had met at the hostel) would go to the bakery and the grocery every day, and everyone had to bring one baguette, something to put on it (cheese, tomatoes, tuna, etc), and one bottle of wine. Every evening, we set all our loot in the center of the table and shared the lot of it. Some of the best nights of my life!
The whole point of staying in hostels is to meet people from all over the world and make new friends. You can't get that in a hotel, no matter what you pay for it. Sometimes you'll be "roughing it" a little bit (no air conditioning and ice-cold showers in Rome at the height of summer is no fun at all) but the experiences and the stories you'll get out of it make travel so rewarding.
