I thought it was time to write a guide to hostels in Europe. Why? Because I love staying in hostels. Most people think of hostels as being the home of 18 to 35’s but that’s far from the case these days.
I’m in my mid 50’s, and we have seen much older folks there and plenty of kids as well. Sure, there are hostels that do cater for the young adult demographic, but they are outnumbered by the ones with a more open-door policy.
These days when I’m booking a family holiday, I am more than happy to book us all into a hostel. I always have a budget in mind when I’m booking a holiday. Sometimes we can afford to stay in a hotel.
In some countries however, the cost of a hotel is just too steep. That is when I check the hostel options, and that will allow us to come in within budget.
How Much Do Hostels In Europe Cost?
As of October 2021, you can get a hostel bed for between $20AUD and $60AUD. For context $100AUD is equal to $75USD and £54GBP. The price varies due to the location, but more importantly, how many people you are willing to share with.
At the lower end of the scale you would be in a large mixed gender dormitory, with bathroom facilities down the hall. The other end of the scale is a double room with en-suite bathroom.
Importantly, what you are paying for is a bed rather than a room.
What Are Hostel Rooms Like?
As you may expect from the previous section there is a great variance, however, if you are in the dormitory, then you can expect bunk beds.
You won’t always have a say in which bunk you get, as sometimes the bunks are individually numbered within a room. They normally also have a numbered locker which goes with it, and your access card works for the room and the locker.
So, you may want to make sure that you’re fit enough for the climb. If you are travelling with a larger group, it is easy enough to organise your bedding arrangements between you, and let the fitter ones climb to the top bunk.
You can get rooms that hold between 4-20 people, and I’ve heard that some hold even more.
The bigger rooms come with a couple of challenges. The first is that people are coming and going at all times of the day and night. This could be the late-night party animals, or just those who are moving to and from the airport.
Even those with the best intentions, trying to move around quietly, can still disturb light sleepers.
It’s nice to see that most hostels also have female only dormitories to help ensure their safety.
Family Rooms
A lot of modern hostels have family rooms now as well. This will generally have a double bed and a couple of bunk beds. These can work out to be very good value. They offer a good mix of cost, along with the security of not having strangers in the room with your kids.
Bedding
These days the beds are pretty good. Twenty years ago, you rated a hostel based on the quality of the mattress. Back then you also used a sleep sheet every time.
A sleep sheet is like a sleeping bag but as a sheet. The idea was you got into your own sleep sheet before you got between the sheets. This was to avoid touching the linen or blanket.
Things have come a long way since then and I haven’t taken a sleep sheet for the last 10 years. When you get to your room, your bed will have a bare mattress and pillow. Folded on the bed will be a blanket, 2 sheets and a pillowcase.
You make your own bed at a hostel. That said, the linen is always freshly cleaned and doesn’t smell funky like they used to.
Storage
There is generally a locker provided for each bed, and normally it will fit carry on sized luggage only. In some of the newer establishments the lockers will have card access. I always bring a couple of spare padlocks though, just case it is the older style locker. You can use the locker for your most valuable items.
As for your main bag you just slide it under the bed. For this reason, I think soft luggage is the best option as it can flatten down a bit more and is easier to store than a hard-shell case.
I have seen some people bring a bike lock and cable so that they can secure their bag to the bed. That sounds like overkill to me, but maybe they’ve had a bad experience before.
Getting Some Rest
For most people sleeping in a new environment can provide some challenges getting to sleep. When you add in strange people coming in and out of your room, that can make it difficult.
For this reason, a lot of people opt for ear plugs and a mask when sleeping. No, not the mask we’ve become used to during Covid-19. The one for your eyes.
A few of the hostels advertise themselves as a party place and have a bar on site so the ear plugs can help if you don’t like a bit of noise around when you sleep.
Food And Drink
As I just mentioned, some of the hostels have bars in them. So this can be a great way to meet your fellow travellers, if you haven’t already seen enough of them.
A great place to swap stories, get tips on the best places to visit and what deals are going on in the area. Most folks in hostels are on a budget, so they love to find the cheap deals on everything from tours to laundry.
Alongside the bars there is generally some sort of activity area. This can be a lounge with T.V.’s and a DVD player. Or maybe something with pool tables and table tennis tables.
Kitchens
A lot of hostels also have kitchen facilities with everything you need to cook your meals. Just make sure that you label your food before you put it in the fridge. Having the kitchen available can really save you a lot of money, which in turn can help to extend your trip.
Breakfast
I always try to find a place that serves breakfast, and these days the breakfast are very good. It used to be a case of toast, which was cooked by someone in charge of the toaster, and inevitably was just warm bread. Along with a couple of cereals and some instant coffee. It was still welcomed though.
Most of the places today have upped their game and include cold meats and cheese, a variety of fruits, boiled eggs and a few different bread options. It feels like a much more substantial spread.
Internet
Quite often the hostel was the place that had the free computers to use. Of course, this was before everyone carried a computer with them all the time.
There are still a few with computers to use, but all of them have free Wi-Fi. In today’s world, if you don’t provide internet, you probably don’t have customers.
Extra Activities
Many of the larger hostels also provide extra activities for their guests. It used to be that they were able to give advice and make bookings on your behalf. Now however, they often conduct walking tours themselves, or hire bikes out.
If they’re near the coast they can provide water-based activities or hire out the equipment for you. Theme nights are also popular. This maybe centred around local holidays or events, or just simply themed food at the bar.
Bookings
There was a time when you had to be member of Youth Hostels International, or their local subsidiary in order to make a booking. Thankfully that has opened up now, and booking a hostel is as simple as booking a hotel.
I generally use Hostelworld as they are huge. They have an enormous range of hostels on their site and make it very easy to compare them.
Final Thoughts
As I said at the start I love staying in hostels. I get to mix with other travelers in a way that just doesn’t happen when staying in hotels, and it allows me to hear other people’s stories, and get inspired for my future journeys.
Importantly it allows us to stay in cities that we may not have been able to afford in our budget. Staying in a hostel means we don’t miss out on seeing what the world has to offer.
So, get there and give hostels a try. Once you’ve done it once, you’ll be back time and time again.
Here’s a couple of extra posts to help you on your way.
Checklist for traveling overseas.
How to pack for overseas travel.
Cheers and happy travels.