Comments on: Why I Still Stay in Hostels When I Travel

By: Laurence Goldman

Laurence Goldman — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 01:02:40 +0000

I’m 73 and mostly only EVER stay in hostels and have to ditto everything NM said. My INNER UBER JEW app will not justify spending 100 Euros+for a mattress. Although by and large I enjoy the luxury of my own room, in the morning the money is gone, and if I’ve found a $5 gem in Thailand, it puts a smile on my face. Lately, more and more, if been staying in “capsule hotels” which are dorms which are usually modern, wood panelled, with slide down screens that give you a private cocoon like space. I stay in these over and over in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore so they’ve become my homes away from home. They all have posh common area, good internet, mostly free breakfast, excellent locations. Once you sleep in these cool “pods” you won’t want to sleep in open bunks-so I always try to find this kind of hostel wherever I go. It would be great to compile a list world-wide of only container hotels like these-they’re really that much better.

By: Art

Art — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 19:07:53 +0000

In reply to Carissa Walker.

Hostels aren’t for the young anymore. I traveled Europe in 1986 staying at hostels and have rediscovered them in my late 50’s with my whole family.

Another good point, it’s been my experience their location is always prime. On the beach or in the center of “Old Town”.

By: Carissa Walker

Carissa Walker — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 18:20:24 +0000

I do a bit of everything. I tend to stay in hostels in more expensive countries and I like doing Airbnb’s when I travel with people. I rarely stay in hotels on personal travel. Sometimes I do choose hotels for the experience (i.e. opportunity to stay in a castle).

By: Julian

Julian — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 18:23:40 +0000

You can actually have have a great room and go to a hostel at the same time. I’ve been booking nice hotels and airbnbs to sleep in and also getting a bed in a hostel for the same nights. So I hang out at the hostel but go back to my hotel for a good sleep. It took me years to discover this.

By: Roman

Roman — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 04:39:53 +0000

I don’t stay in hostels, because i have a bad sleep, and because I hate socializing. When i want to go cheap, I prefer capsule hotels

By: Carol Leisch

Carol Leisch — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 22:52:10 +0000

I enjoy a mix of hostels and budget rooms as I travel solo as a senior. Love communal kitchens as a way to intermingle and gather travel tips. I like single rooms or small female only dorms with 4 beds. Hostel staf have such great tips on dining and transport and tours for budget travelers like me.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 05:09:10 +0000

I’m the opposite, I’m too cheap to stay in hostels. My most valuable resource is sleep 🙂 If I get overtired, I can’t work and get too cranky to enjoy my time or get work done then I think well what’s the point of travelling when I can be tired and cranky at home. But then it’s all about finding what works for you and your travel style rather than following anyone else’s list of shoulds and shouldn’ts.

By: maja

maja — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 20:59:06 +0000

I’m not sure. 8/10 hostel stays is so boring, people are either snorring or really no social. I am either cold (sheets I stead of bed covers even in Slovakia when it’s not warm at all!) or missing extra socket. And being talkative quing the bathroom…somehow noone is really. Maybe it’s because I’m a girl and very talkative are only very old guys to me…at some point t I realised I really like much more fem dorms because noone is snorring there really. Or is it that social life in hostels is reserved for social butterflies only? If you happen to be moderately shy/extravertic you never get the type of people you would like to meet (and hey, I’m also talking about staying at the hostel with guys who attended the same public event that I did for the whole week…without realising that those people are from the same circle)…well…maybe good Tipps for socialising in the hostels would be great…for non-americans please, from those rather cold European countries 😛

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 16:50:26 +0000

Haha I love this post! I am the same. I always stay in hostels for the same reason. When I see people shelling out hundreds of dollars for hotel rooms it irks my soul. I’ve made some of my best friends by staying in hostels!

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 17:41:52 +0000

One of my favourite travel memories was a result of staying in an Indianapolis hostel. I met a guy from England in my dorm that was travelling across the United States to watch at least one football (American) game in each NFL stadium that season. He invited me to join him at the tailgate parties to see if we could find an extra ticket to the game for me as I decided to go last minute.

Eventually we met the one of the Fire Chiefs of Indianapolis. He had a spare ticket that he gave me for free on the premise that I would pay it forward in the future. I have since honoured that promise multiple times.

The key takeaways from this experience were: (1.) people are genuinely good hearted in nature. If you apply basic common sense and manners, then you will experience this in return; and (2.) if you want something in life, then go for it. Don’t be afraid to ask! Even if I had failed in buying an extra ticket to the football game that day, at least I tried.

Had I made the decision to stay at a hotel instead of a hostel that weekend, then I would have missed out on this great learning experience. Hostels do over more than just “cheap accommodations.” Something we should all keep in mind from time to time.