Tips & Tricks to Enjoy Your Hostel Stay to the Fullest
Ever since I was in middle school, something about hostel-hopping the world has always fascinated me. While my parents and relatives met my enthusiasm with reservation, I was not to be swayed: one way or another, I was going to travel via hostel hopping. My opportunity arrived this past summer during a summer study abroad program in Israel. My experience of staying in hostels (and more importantly, the connections I made through them) has only deepened my obsession with travel. Through following these tips and tricks, your own hostel experience can be just as incredible.
1. If you could only pack two items, make them shower shoes and some earplugs.
Not to scare you right off the bat, but shower shoes especially are a must. Personally, I have never been in a hostel that was grossly unkempt. In fact, I found most of them to be cleaner than my showers in college dorms! However, with bathrooms being shared spaces, some cheap flip-flops are needed.
Another item I didn’t pack but will be during my next hostel stay are earplugs. During my hostel stay in Lisbon, Portugal, the next Fast & Furious movie was being filmed on the adjacent street. This was nothing more to me than a fun, exciting fact to share with friends and family — until I realized it meant that my night’s sleep would be punctured with car crashes until 4 a.m. While the chances of car crashes being filmed outside your hostel are admittedly low, hostels can be generally disruptive sleeping environments as people enter and leave at all hours of the night. Regardless of whether or not you consider yourself to be a light sleeper, it is best to come prepared with some earplugs. Who knows, maybe your hostel street might be the scene of some car-crashing movie too!
2. Consider a female-only dorm
This is more of a preference than a recommendation. Personally, I’ve noticed a correlation between the cleanliness (and…smell) of female-only rooms in hostels versus all-gender rooms. Note that most hostels do charge higher rates for the former, so depending on your budget and preferences, it is definitely worthwhile to consider whether investing in a female-only dorm room would enhance your hostel experience.
3. Take advantage of the free amenities!
When searching for hostels, it is important to not only consider the upfront cost of a reservation, but to factor in the different amenities that may (or may not) be included. While their cheap prices might suggest otherwise, many hostels offer free breakfasts or access to a kitchen — both of which can also minimize your daily travel costs, providing you with some wiggle room to go on excursions that might otherwise be out of your budget.
4. stay open to random adventures
In my opinion, the highlight of hostels is the people these places bring together. Not everyone I met was a twenty-something studying abroad, but rather people who were young, old, employed, unemployed, freelancing, staying abroad for a year or just beginning their journey —there are simply no shortages of stories that l encountered. A particular highlight was when my friends and I met a group of local musicians as well as two Canadians belonging to the “Rainbow” hippie counter-culture at our hostel’s rooftop bar. All of us — a very dynamic group of study abroad-ers, musicians, and hippies — ended up exploring the streets of Jerusalem that night, hopping from one underground bar to the next.
It is nights like this one that have only deepened my absolute obsession with travel. Hostels truly place you in the centerfold of a community of people who share one common motivation: the desire to see the world. To meet people, my biggest recommendation is to hang out in shared spaces. Most hostels have a common living room. Others even host group tours or other events to facilitate meeting other travelers. While these can be daunting as a solo traveler, (especially if you’re more reserved) know that hostels are a mecca for other solo travelers. Simply reach out and say hi. Share your desire (and your story!) with them. The adventures that come with it are ones that you will tell for a lifetime.
5. But also, listen to your body and honor its physical and emotional needs.
While the connections I’ve made through hostels is the reason why I’ve fallen in love with this mode of travel, I also want to stress that not every hostel stay is not going to bring you the world’s craziest and most random adventure. More importantly, this is a good thing.
After a month of studying abroad and traveling throughout Israel, I decided to break up my journey home with a stop in Lisbon, Portugal. As excited as I was to explore another city, at the same time — I was tired. My social battery was in desperate need of a recharge and after a day of navigating airports and planes, all that really sounded nice was a solid night’s sleep. When I (finally!) arrived at my hostel in Lisbon, however, a girl invited me to go out with several other people staying in the hostel that night. My fear of FOMO immediately kicked in and I thought, yes! In actuality, though, the thought of interacting with new people in a new place made my brain hurt. I declined, somewhat regretfully, until I spent the evening at a corner street restaurant, enjoying pasta and a good book all to myself and was reaffirmed that this was exactly what my mind and body needed.
While I am sure that going out with those girls would have produced a slew of stories and adventure, my mental and physical health was begging to be prioritized. In a highly sociable environment such as hostels, honoring these needs can be difficult. However, there is value in the solo part of solo-traveling, and you cannot uncover them without giving your body the breaks it deserves.