Hostel survival tips are pretty essential for making the most of budget travel. I have plenty. As many of my readers know, I prefer hostels over anything else when I travel. They save me money and have introduced me to some really cool people from all over the world. I work as an English teacher in Spain. While I certainly make more than enough money to live comfortably in Granada (Spain is cheap and basically all the restaurants serve tapas with a drink), traveling can be a tad bit trickier. Either you have those folks who saved up for years before moving to Spain and jet off every weekend or you have people like me. People who choose to travel on whatever is left over each month and the extra cash earned from private lessons taught to adorable children in the evenings.
When I write about hostels on here, I always get a mixed range of reactions. Everything from “wow, that’s a cool place. I’ll have to remember it for the next time I’m in Lisbon” to “I have never stayed in a hostel and don’t think I could do it.” There are many who have never really experienced staying in a hostel. So I thought I would offer some hotel survival tips for those considering a hostel stay and those who stay in them regularly.
My hostel survival tips
1. Not all hostels are created equal
It seems like some people get a very false idea in their head of just what a hostel is. They think it’s some old building with several rooms of like 20 beds each. They think they’re dirty and everything is run-down. While some hostels I’m sure do fit this image, a lot don’t. The fact is more and more people are staying in hostels. Every time I travel to a new place in Europe, I have easily 15 to choose from. So for them to get business, they have to compete with each other. One of my biggest hostel survival tips is to use that to your advantage.
I mean … here are a few pictures of hostels I’ve stayed in before …
The Circus Hostel, Berlin, Germany
Destination Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
Here are a few things to look for:
- How many people to a room? I’ve seen as little as four and as many as 20. If it’s the same price for less, I always go with less. Also most hostels have a private room option. Many people don’t know that and assume it’s all shared.
- Are the rooms mixed genders? Some people don’t care about this and others do. I’ve found that more men tend to snore than women, so that’s the only reason I spring for all female dorms. However if the co-ed one is cheaper, it’s never worth the extra money for me.
- Do the beds have curtains? This makes such a difference! I’ve stayed in hostels where each bed has curtains around it. This is wonderful in the morning and late at night as people have different schedules of coming and going.
- Does each bed have a plug? This is one of my most essential hostel survival tips. After a long day of exploring a city, I always need to recharge my phone. It can be annoying when there are only a few outlets in a room for like 10-20 people.
- Does each bed have a reading light? This is also essential late at night!
- What are the bathrooms like? Does each room have it’s own or is it all shared? What are the showers like? This is where looking through the photos is key.
- Is breakfast included? If not, how much?
- Is there a kitchen? This is really only a thing to consider if you like to cook while traveling to save money. If you plan to eat all meals out, this isn’t as big of a thing to be concerned about.
- What are the reviews like? On hostelworld.com, people can leave reviews. Also each hostel will show an overall review out of 10.
- Are there lots of social activities? This is something to consider if you’re traveling alone or simply wanting to meet new people. Lots of hostels like Sunset Destination Hostel in Lisbon organize tours of the city and pub crawls. It’s easy to meet new people when there are lots of social events.
- What are the common areas like? Are they places you’d like to hang out in and lounge around in?
- What is the wifi like? Did anyone have any issues with the wifi while staying there?
- Are there lockers to store your things? Many hostels I’ve stayed at have given me a locker space that was activated by my room key.
Just a few hostel survival tips and things to consider before making a reservation.
2. Bring flip flops!
Unless you booked a private room with a bathroom, it looks like you’ll be sharing a shower! This may gross some people out of course. However it doesn’t have to be as daunting. Luckily flip flops are inexpensive to buy and pack easily! Many people consider flip flops to be one of their essential hostel survival tips.
3. Bring earplugs and a night mask
It would probably surprise a lot of people that I’m a rather light sleeper. Like it’s hard for me to sleep if there’s a lot of noise. This can be tough as sometimes you get snorers in a hostel. Furthermore, you always have people coming and going at different times. Perhaps someone has a super early flight and has to leave at 6 a.m. Perhaps you don’t really like to go out and you’re in bed at 11 p.m. Perhaps you do like to go out and you find yourself returning at 5 a.m. Whatever the reason, everyone is coming and going. I have found earplugs to be absolutely wonderful. I have never needed an eye mask, but friends of mine have found them to be very helpful.
I’ve even found that some hostels give these out for free or sell them for a small price! If not, make sure to bring them or buy them at a nearby shop! This is one of my favorite hostel survival tips as it makes it all so much easier.
4. Lay all your stuff out before you go out
As mentioned above, we all travel differently. Some of us spend all day exploring and crash early. Some of us love to explore the night life of a new city. I typically am the second type of traveler. Plus I find it to be a great way to socialize with my hostel mates.
One thing that annoys me to no end are those people who return late and try to grab everything in the dark. Their plastic bags are super loud and they wake up half of the room. I know I’ve also been that person myself. I never want want to disturb other people, so I had a great idea the last time I stayed in a hostel.
If you know it will be a late night, get everything you will need together and put it on your bed. I’m talking your pjs, your toothpaste, your face wash, your towel, your hairbrush, etc. Then instead of using your phone as a flashlight and waking everyone up, you can simply grab and go. It will be less of an ordeal for everyone.
Excuse the quality … this was from my Insta story. However you all get the point, right?
5. Be open and social
One of my absolute favorite things about staying in a hostel are the people you meet. There are people that I’ve added on Facebook and follow on Instagram from the hostels I’ve stayed in. In general, people are very open to chatting and exploring the city together. Hang out in the common areas, eat meals at the hostel and join the social events if there are any. I guarantee that your time will be even more enjoyable if you do this.
Overall, staying at a hostel does not have to be scary. It can be a way to really make travel affordable. Just do the math. If you spend two weeks traveling in Europe and each hostel is about 10-15 euros per night, that’s a lot less than a hotel. You can use that money for so many things! In my case, I’d just use it to travel to more places and there’s always more to see!
Have you stayed in a hostel before? What hostel survival tips do you have to get the best hostel experience?
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