Hostel tips are essential for travelers of all kinds, and we’re all learning more with each and every trip. Hostels are the best choice for travel accommodation. Gone is the day when hostels were exclusively reserved for young people on a gap year jaunt or partying college students spending their summers abroad. Today’s hostels come in a wide variety of quality and attract an even larger variety of people.
If you’re unsure why you should stay in a hostel to begin with, read these 12 Reasons to Choose a Hostel for Next Trip Abroad. Otherwise, know that hostels are affordable, nice, clean and safe. Here are 10 tips for a better experience staying in a hostel:
Talk to People
The most important hostel tip for travelers is to talk to people. Get out of your comfort zone. Don’t be shy. Strike up conversations, introduce yourself and talk to people.
Hostel guests come in a wide variety but are usually solo travelers. This makes it even easier to find other people willing to interact and make new friends. Most guests are in the same boat as you.
As someone with increasingly introverted tendencies, you might think that the best hostel tip I have is to avoid them. Something changes in hostels, though, and I’m not alone in that sentiment. A lot of people who might normally prefer to quietly keep to themselves flourish in hostel atmospheres. Outgoing travelers, on the other hand, will instantly love the social aspect.
Talking to people in hostels is not only a great way to meet people – it’s good hostel etiquette. Other travelers in hostels share loads of travel tips and advice, and hostels are an excellent source of on-the-ground, current travel information.
Get Off Your Phone!
What’s the point of staying in a hostel to stare at your phone, headphones on, and completely shut out the world? You can do that in a hotel or, better yet, at home.
Several years ago, during my first hostel experiences, travelers were considerably more social than today. This was not in the pre-smartphone era, either. It’s a sad state of affairs when I see a noticeable difference in a relatively short period of time.
Too many hostels are often packed with people staring at screens. We’re all guilty of this at some point these days, but don’t get sucked in and let your phone dictate the travel experience. One of the best reasons to stay in a hostel is to meet people and experience new places, and that won’t happen by scrolling or swiping all night.
Privacy Expectations
Don’t expect peace and quiet in a hostel in the middle of the day. Oddly enough, hostels are often quiet during the day, as most guests are out exploring the destination. But don’t expect to retreat to the hostel for a quiet nap in the middle of the afternoon.
Accept the fact that hostels are places where guests share spaces. If you need to work, expect distractions and interruptions in the daytime. If you need a better work environment, find a quiet coffee shop or local workspace to rent.
Respect that other people are using hostel common areas too. Don’t hog all of the outlets or commandeer an entire section of the room. You can lay claim to your bed, locker and a small area beside/under the bed. Don’t spread your junk out everywhere, and don’t mess with anyone else’s personal space, either.
The final privacy tip for hostels, which I will mention again, is to make a note that a hostel is not your personal harem. There are private rooms available if you really can’t help yourself.
Timely, Courteous Packing
If you have a flight, bus or train to catch early the next morning, pack your bags and be ready to go the evening before. Try to arrange things so you can practically, quickly and efficiently gather your stuff in the morning before leaving.
If I have to wake up early, I lay out a few items that I need in the morning, such as clothes and toiletries. I make sure they are easily and quietly accessible. When I’m about to pack up these last few little things, I usually go so far as to take my entire bag out into a hallway or common area and organize there.
Plastic bags are also annoying. Not only can everyone hear every time you’re digging for that elusive phone charger at the bottom of the bag, plastic bags draw the ire of environmental types. And you really don’t want to be the target of a tirade from a backpacker on their environmental high horse. The solution is to bring a cloth bag (i.e. reusable shopping bag) for smaller, loose items.
No one wants to be awakened late at night or early in the morning by someone rustling through their bags. It might not sound like it would be that loud, but in a quiet room of people sleeping, some jackass digging through their bag at 5 AM sounds like a construction zone. This is a pet peeve for many frequent hostel guests.
If you have to leave early, practice courteous hostel etiquette and pack in a timely manner. Try to be considerate of your fellow travelers.
Packing Tips for Hostels
Staying in hostels means having to change a few packing priorities. Packing isn’t drastically different for staying in hostels versus hotels or small rental units – some hostel essentials might already be on your packing list anyway.
There are a few important packing tips for hostel guests, though. Don’t forget these items:
Travel Towel
One of the most useful hostel tips is something I learned the hard way: pack a travel towel.
A lot of hostels provide towels to guests. As hostels shift from cheap, ratty accommodations to cheap, surprisingly nice places to stay, they are offering more amenities to guests. That’s the beauty of competition – it’s better for us traveling consumers!
Towels are still not a guarantee, though. I’ve stayed in some shockingly nice hostels that didn’t provide towels. Now that I’ve learned my lesson (I once stayed in a hostel without knowing I needed a towel, and drying off after a shower was quite the process), I always pack a travel towel.
I bring a travel towel that is quick-drying, lightweight, super soft and rolls up small. It also has a small bag where it fits nicely and easily clips onto my backpack. This was definitely a wise purchase. If I don’t need it at the hostel, now I have a beach towel, extra cover for sleeping, a picnic blanket, etc.
Earplugs
Yes, people snore. There’s no use getting angry in a hostel dorm because some dude in the bed across the room sounds like a dysfunctional chainsaw. If you want to sleep undisturbed in luxury, fork up the cash and go find a Hilton.
An overwhelming majority of hostel guests are nice, respectable people. And most people in hostels are not so brazen to start doing it in the dorm. Most people… I’ve stayed in scores of hostels in dozens of countries, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard two people going at it. It happens, though.
If people are classless enough to do it in other inappropriate locales, you can bet these same people have no qualms about using a hostel dorm room. That being said, this is still an uncommon occurrence in most hostels, which is why choosing the right hostel is very important.
If you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation near a couple of shameless travelers, you’ll be glad to have earplugs. You might never even know what’s going on nearby.
I always expect hostel dorms to have snorers, late-night revelers and other audible distractions. A majority of the time, I’m pleasantly surprised, undisturbed and sleep well. But I always travel prepared.
Bring earplugs. This is one of the most basic hostel tips for better sleep.
Sleep Mask
No one likes to be awakened at an odd hour by blinding light. Appropriate hostel etiquette is not messing with the lights if people are sleeping (more on that below). More and more hostels are adopting measures that give guests a little more privacy in dorm rooms. One such feature is the curtain. The magical hostel bed curtain is not a guarantee, and sometimes the light is just too bright.
Personally, I love being awakened by natural light, and overhead lights typically don’t bother me. However, I notice a lot of light-sensitive sleepers in hostels wear sleep masks to bed. I always have one packed – they’re minuscule and you never know – but I can’t recall ever needing to use one.
Packing a sleeping mask is a crucial hostel tip for travelers who need total darkness for sound sleep.
Lock
Always bring a small lock. I’m pretty trusting – probably too trusting at times in hostels – but I still pack a small padlock.
I’ve never had anything stolen in a hostel – *knocks on wood* – but this is another one of those things that people report. Be smart about not leaving valuables unattended, and lock away stuff when you’re not there.
Hostels are safe. As long as you have half a brain, you’ll be fine.
If you want to avoid worrying about packing these items, but you still want to stay in a hostel for other reasons, splurge for a private room. They’re usually way more expensive than a dorm room but still cheaper than hotels and the like. Private rooms offer more security, quiet, comfort and (obviously) privacy.
Don’t forget to pack something. Make your travels better and check out my current list of travel and backpacking gear.
Please, Take a Shower!
No one cares how polite, quiet and considerate you are if you smell like a bag of hockey equipment (no sports equipment comes close to the stench of sweaty hockey gear). So, please, for the sake of your fellow travelers, hostel staff, world peace and the ozone layer, take a damn shower.
Travel is not an excuse to forego hygiene, and no one likes a smelly backpacker. It doesn’t matter if you think you don’t smell – you probably do. The nature of travel is just a sweaty and grimy affair. If you’re going to be around others, one of the most vital hostel tips for being a good guest is to keep yourself clean.
While you’re at it, wash your clothes. It doesn’t matter how clean you are if your clothes stink.
Invest in some sneaker balls to keep your bag and shoes fresher, too. These little balls make a huge difference. I toss a couple in my backpack and bring two more for my shoes. No need to chance offending anyone or clearing out a room.
I wash some of my clothes when I travel in the shower. Yes, it sounds weird, but that’s the nature of backpacking. It’s an easy way to extend the time between washes and save a few bucks. Even doing that I still give my clothes a proper wash on a regular basis.
Hostels have showers. Use them. Most hostels also provide cheap laundry service. Use that, too.
Drink Responsibly
Minding your booze intake is one of the essential tips for good hostel etiquette. Hostels are typically sociable, happy environments full of people having a good time. That frequently includes a bit of alcohol.
Throw in hostel happy hours, free shots and other liquid temptations, and people start to get a little tipsy.
I’m not preaching some “one beer, one glass of water” kind of nonsense. If you want a hangover, be my guest. When I say drink responsibly, I mean hold your liquor. Know your limits.
Don’t get so drunk that you’re crawling into the wrong bed, puking all over the palace or peeing somewhere other than the toilet. You can and should be kicked out of a hostel after this. If you do intend to reach that level of inebriation, make sure to do so at a party hostel. They might be more forgiving.
If you are unable to hold yourself together, leave the college partying back home. Have fun, but not at the expense of others.
Don’t Sleep All Day
It is incredibly annoying having to tip-toe around a hostel in the middle of the day. In fact, the more I stay in hostels, the less considerate I am of people sleeping in the afternoon.
After a long night of partying or an exhausting day of travel, many travelers recover by sleeping a little later. Travel can be pretty tiring at times, and there’s nothing wrong with trying to recharge, but spending all afternoon sleeping in a dorm room is terrible hostel etiquette.
During the daytime, hostel guests come and go between activities or sightseeing, to pack for the next day’s travel, to change clothes or for whatever other reason. It doesn’t matter why. A hostel dorm room is not the place to sleep all day. Sure, you’re tired. Every traveler has been there, but get out of bed and do something.
If you are in desperate need of some mid-day rest, I’m not saying you can’t take a nap. By all means, rest up! And maybe don’t go out into the wee hours of the morning every night. I mean, are you traveling to see some place new or just to party?
Sleeping in is fine. Recovering from whatever is fine – there’s no need to drag your fatigue to the next day. But do not get mad when someone comes in the room, turns on the lights, has a conversation or starts digging around in their bag. This is not your private space, and you have no right to demand quiet or darkness in the middle of the day.
Take the Tours
Hostels commonly offer free or cheap tours. These can range from city walking tours to sunset tours and food tours. If the tour is cheap (or free), it is an excellent option for most travelers.
Hostel tours are usually not as involved or detailed as larger, more organized tours, but they still serve a purpose. Arriving in a place with little or no knowledge of the local area can be intimidating. Hostel tours are a great way to familiarize yourself with the destination and meet other travelers.
I prefer to explore a new location on my own and socialize later in the day. The feeling of wandering around and getting lost is fun, even relaxing at times. It’s like a travel mission. Occasionally, for one reason or another, I take one of these tours. I can confidently say they are a great way for most travelers to get comfortable in their destination.
Skip the Pub Crawl
Travelers in hostels looking for tips to save even more money should skip organized pub crawls. A pub crawl with new friends in an exciting new city might seem like a good idea. It’s not. Unless you want to party your travels away or go clubbing, it’s a waste of money.
Hostel pub crawls are simply not a good deal economically. They work by guests paying a small fee to join a group of people from (usually) a few other local hostels. A guide leads you around to various bars/clubs. Sometimes the pub crawl is free, and sometimes it includes a free drink or two.
The guide/company gets a kickback, so don’t expect a cheap, authentic or local experience. Most pub crawls require participants to pay for all of their drinks. If you wind up at a club, expect a cover charge. The costs add up, and it would be significantly less expensive to go to a bar on your own. Not to mention, you can choose a place that fits your style.
In theory, a pub crawl sounds good. More often than not, hostel pub crawls are club crawls leading guests on an overpriced tour of crappy places to party with other backpackers. Don’t waste your money.
Hostel tips for guests are wide-ranging. Some tips for staying in hostels are obvious, while others are learned from experiences, personal preferences and first-hand comparisons.
The reasons why travelers should stay in hostels are abundant. Tips to make the hostel experience better are equally prevalent and even more important. Take a chance on a hostel, and use these tips to ensure a better, smoother and smarter travel experience
Hostels are the best place to meet people abroad. Where else can total strangers become inseparable friends in a matter of minutes? It’s part of the hostel experience.
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