One of the main reasons people don’t travel is because of money. But there are definitely ways to travel on a budget. One of these ways is to skip the 5-star hotels and stay in hostels. And no, hostels are nothing like they are portrayed in the horror movies. After traveling for 5+ months on a budget I have stayed in my fair share of hostels. Hostels are a great form of accommodation that is affordable, comfortable, and social. I would say some of the hostels I stayed in were nicer than some hotel rooms. And if you prefer privacy, most hostels even have private room options. If you are a solo traveler, I personally believe hostels are the best places to stay as you can easily meet people and most hostels will have events and activities planned each day for you to join. Plus, most hostels have free wifi! Below I have listed the hostels I have stayed at in Europe and Oceania.
Europe
Norway:
Bergen YMCA Hostel: The Bergen YMCA Hostel is centrally located and right near the harbor. You can walk to most attractions, bars, and restaurants in Bergen from this hostel. The YMCA hostel is your typical hostel with basic necessities. It is clean with friendly staff. Plus, this hostel has an amazing rooftop with a gorgeous view!
Sweden:
Generator Stockholm: Located in beautiful Stockholm, this hostel is one of my favorites! Generator Stockholm was honestly better than some hotels I have been in and I even shared a room with 4 other people! Very modern, clean, and updated. The hostel doesn’t have a kitchen, but has a bar with great food. I recommend the Swedish Meatballs (see picture below). This hostel has an awesome atmosphere and is a great place to meet people. The hostel is also located close to the train station which is perfect if you are traveling around Europe by train.
Denmark:
Urban House: Copenhagen: Stay in the heart of Copenhagen at Urban House. It is literally two minutes away from the train station and it is an easy walk to the center of the city. One unique thing about this hostel is you check yourself in which is much faster than having to wait in line at the front desk. This hostel is clean, modern, and updated. It has various rooms to relax in, an outdoor area, and a bar with food.
Germany:
MEININGER Berlin Central Station: Located right near the central train station, this is a great hostel to stay at in Berlin. This hostel is located near some of Berlin’s attractions, bars, clubs, and restaurants. The staff is super friendly and helpful. There are various public spaces to hang out in, a kitchen, and a bar.
Wombats City Hostel Munich: Located close to the train station and the city center. This was a fabulous hostel. This hostel offers tours that leave right from the lobby. One of which was to the beautiful Neuschwanstein Castle (and the tour was cheaper than most we could find). The staff was great and the rooms were clean and equipped with everything you would need (we rented a private room for this hostel). We even had our own balcony to chill on! This hostel also offers an affordable all you can eat breakfast.
Spain:
Hostel One Sants: Located in the beautiful city of Barcelona, Hostel One Sants is definitely for you if you enjoy a good party and like meeting people. The hostel is smaller than most, but offers FREE dinner to their guests. They also have day and night activities planned during the week. Every night you can expect a group to go out to a bar and then to a club. You can definitely expect to experience Barcelona’s well-known night life.
England:
Clink 261: This is a smaller hostel, but Clink 261 is located right near King’s Cross Tube and St. Pancras International Station in London. London is very spread out and you will be taking some form of transportation so this hostel was great because we were by the international trains, the tube, and several bus stops! Clink261 has shared dormitory style accommodation, private rooms, and girls only dorms.
Ireland:
Sheep Island View Independent Holiday Hostel: Located in the small town of Ballintoy…literally the tiniest town. You can look down the street and see the whole town. It is an adorable town that attracts Game of Thrones fans. One of their bars has a replica throne and one of the famous G.O.T doors. There are also multiple filming locations nearby. But besides that, this hostel is the perfect place to stay for a night if you are driving through Ireland and need a rest. It is your basic hostel, but it is clean with friendly staff. The views from this hostel are amazing!
Kinlay House Hostel: The Kinlay House Hostel is the perfect hostel to stay in while visiting the famous Galway, Ireland. This hostel is located in the center of Galway’s nightlife and a few minutes walk away from the harbor, shops, and restaurants. This hostel has large common areas, a kitchen, and free breakfast! Maybe you will even run in to Ed Sheeran singing Galway Girl.
Rowan Tree Hostel: Located in the quaint medieval town of Ennis, the Rowan Tree Hostel is settled along a beautiful river and was once the Clare County Gentleman’s Club. This hostel is located near lively pubs with a great Irish music scene. The hostel is also connected to a delicious restaurant and coffee shop. The Rowan Tree Hostel is located close to the well-known and famous Cliffs of Moher.
Neptune’s Hostel: This hostel is located in downtown Killarney and is close to shops, pubs, restaurants, and parks. This is another hostel that offers free breakfast (being on a budget, having free breakfast is the best). Another reason this hostel is great is because it recently joined the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS), a non profit organization that aims to reduce the impact their hostel has on the environment. Go Green! This hostel also offers discounted tours and bike rentals!
Abrahams Hostel: Located near the heart of Dublin, Abrahams Hostel is a great place to stay when visiting Ireland’s capital. The staff is friendly and helpful..they even helped us book a ride to the airport! The hostel is clean and has common areas to relax in and a kitchen to use if you want to cook meals. Abrahams hostel offers free walking tours, city maps, and city guides.
Australia
Port Lincoln YHA Hostel: Most people travel to the small coastal town of Port Lincoln to do the Calypso Shark Cage diving and this is the best hostel to stay at. The hostel works closely with Calypso and can book charters for you along with a transportation to and from the harbor. This is the cleanest hostel I have stayed at. It is very social as there are many areas to hang out at including a movie room and a bar. The owners are very friendly and make you feel right at home. In my opinion this hostel’s kitchen tops all hostel kitchens. It’s huge! Plus, they have a replica shark and cage right in the lobby!
New Zealand
The Black Sheep Backpackers: This hostel takes on the feel of an old ski lodge that is surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Located only a 2-3 minute walk from downtown Queenstown, this is the perfect place to stay if you are looking for affordable accommodation. Let me tell ya, accommodation in Queenstown is not cheap! This hostel has private rooms, although all the facilities are shared with others.
Hostel Tips:
- Bring ear plugs: let’s face it, people snore.
- Bring a lock: most hostels have lockers or a drawer that you can lock your belongings in so you can keep your valuables safe when exploring the city you are staying in
- Wombats, MEININGER, and Generator are all hostel chains that have hostels all over Europe. They are all great and I would recommend these hostels to anyone!
- Sometimes if you stay at a hostel chain in multiple locations they offer you a discount so be sure to ask the front desk!
- Most hostels don’t let you check in until after 2 or 3 pm.
- If you are on a budget, some hostels offer free breakfasts…so book those!
- I didn’t run in to this problem, but some hostels may require you to have your own sheets, so just check before you book it.
- Bring your own towel! Although some hostels will provide you with one for free or you can rent one for a small fee.
If you are interested in staying at hostels, Hostelworld is an amazing website. You type in a location, dates, and how many people you want to book for. It then shows you the available hostels. Once you click on a hostel it shows you several pictures and provides a detailed description of the hostel and all of its amenities. You can then book right from their website. It is a very well organized and easy to use website. So go ahead, take your dream trip! Stay in a hostel and save money on accommodation so you can use that money on an attraction, tour, or new food you have always wanted try. Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive! Cheers!
