budget hostel accommodation

Hostels are the best friend of budget travellers and backpackers.  They allow us to travel around with far less accommodation expenses and meet wonderful people from all over the world.  But hostels can be hit and miss.  There will be some you love and some you hate.  This page looks at the key things you should consider when looking for budget hostel accommodation.

Common area and atmosphere

As a lone budget traveller or backpacker, the better the common area and the personality of the hostel, the easier it is to meet people. You don't want to be spending all the time on your lonesome so the hostel is great to meet other backackers.  You never know who you might find.

The best way to find out about the feel of a hostel is through a recommendation from another traveller.  When chatting to them, you'll get a feel of the places they have been, what they like, dislike and their personality so you'll have some idea whether you'll like a particular place.

Guidebooks and websites will also help you judge whether a particular hostel has a decent atmosphere to it. At least you won't be totally in the dark about what the hostel is like.  However, I find that it is quite difficult to decide from a guidebook or a website whether you will like particular budget hostel accommodation.  You can't gauge the personality of the writer. You also don't get a personal connection compared to when you are chatting to a fellow backpacker.  

Cleanliness

All budget hostel accommodation should retain a good level of cleanliness.  If a hostel isn't clean, you won't be enjoying your stay no matter how good everything else is.

Just like a hostel's atmosphere, it will be tough to determine the cleanliness of a hostel before you stay there.  Generally, I have found Hostelling International (HI) hostels to maintain a good level of clenliness. HI Hostels are accredited with the HI name for a reason. You will be guaranteed of a certain level of cleanliness if the hostel is part of the HI chain. However, be wary that some hostels claim to be HI affiliated when they actually aren’t. These hostels will certainly disappoint!

Location

It is very convenient to have a hostel close to public transport and close to the city centre.  If it is close to public transport, you will be saving money because you can easily get around each day. There is no need to walk for a long time or catch a taxi somewhere. 

Being close to the city or close to the centre of the action will also be convenient.  It saves you time each day travelling and it may mean that you save money with transport costs because you don't need to travel as far.

However, being in a better location may mean that accommodation is more costly each night. If you are budget conscious, this is something to take into account. But for a little bit extra, the convenience of being in a better location is well worth it due to savings in transport costs and time. You should decide for yourself whether you wish to be saving the money or are looking for the better location.

But how do you know what is a good location for budget hostel accommodation? Have a look at the public transport maps and compare the stations/stops to the sights you want to see and how easy they would be to get to.  Also have a think about where you will be heading out at night. It will be far more convenient to head back to the hostel after a long day of sightseeing knowing that you won't need to go far to hit the happening night spots.

Number of beds in a dorm

Generally, the less beds in a dorm, the better.  With less people around, there is less chance of being woken up whilst you are sleeping.  As a traveller you'll have many big nights out where you may stumble back into the room late at night. Hopefully you won’t wake people up (I know I’ve certainly woken people up and apologise to everyone I’ve woken up after a big night!). But by staying in hostels, you have to expect this.  Obeying simple hostel etiquette will make your (and everyone else's) enjoyment of the hostel a lot better. But there will be times where it simply can't be helped. Having fewer beds in a dorm minimises the chances of disruptions occuring in a budget hostel accommodation.

Free internet

Free internet is a big tick for budget hostel accommodation. Quite often, hostels will provide internet free but they only have one or two computers.  I don't spend a lot of time on the internet and only send a few emails so I am willing to wait for my 10 minutes of internet use.  It's more convenient than spending the time to find an internet café and paying for internet.

If you really need to spend a while on the internet or want to use a decent computer, find an internet café. That way you won't annoy others at the hostel for hogging the computer and you'll be able to do what you need to do faster and without any hassles.

Read more about:

• Other things to consider whilst staying in budget hostels accommodation

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