8 Reasons Why You Should Try Staying in a Hostel

I would call myself a rather introverted and shy person. Thus I was super nervous when I decided to stay at a hostel for the first time.

I was completely clueless and had no idea what to expect since I’d never done this before. But to my surprise, I honestly liked it a lot and I often choose hostels as accommodation nowadays.

Here are some reasons why you should try staying in hostels too:

(This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking.)

1. Staying in a Hostel is Very Affordable

One of the probably most beneficial reasons is the inexpensive price.

After flights, the second most expensive part of traveling is usually accommodation. So why not save some money by staying in hostels rather than hotels?

That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to share a room with other people. Sometimes you can even have your own private room and it’s still cheaper than a hotel.

Moreover, there are many more things you get that are mostly worth even more! You’ll see what I mean in the following paragraphs 😉

2. The Staff is Very Helpful And Mostly Local

What I experienced during my travels was that most of the hostels I stayed at were small, privately owned ones. Therefore the staff working there were locals with great knowledge so I received a lot of insider sightseeing and travel tips.

Moreover, they were very friendly and always happy to help me with any problems or questions I had.

3. It’s Very Easy to Meet International Travellers And Make New Friends

A hostel is definitely the best place to meet people from all around the world and make new friends.

Additionally, if you travel alone, it’s a good opportunity to find a new travel partner with whom you can explore the city you’re staying at for example.

Staying in hostels can help you to build connections all over the world and I’m very happy that I’m still in contact with many people I met at hostels!

4. They Offer Fun Activities

It’s very easy to find some fun and exciting activities to do if you’re staying in a hostel. Most of them offer things like different kinds of sightseeing tours, pub crawls or even cooking classes at the hostel’s kitchen.

Trust me, you should definitely try and join some of these activities, you won’t regret it! They’re always a lot of fun and another perfect way to get to know other travelers.

5. Hostels Have Lots of Awesome Facilities

As I already mentioned above, a hostel with a fully-equipped kitchen is nothing rare anymore nowadays. In addition, free wifi is standard and some even have pretty awesome facilities like rooftop terraces to hang out or even their own pool!

Admittedly, one of the most beautiful and cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen was at a hostel in Prague! Just because the prices are inexpensive doesn’t mean you don’t get anything nice for it!

6. They’re Usually Located in The Center

Another perk of staying in a hostel is the normally very convenient location since most of them are set up right in the city center.

This way you can save time and money for transportation!

7. Staying in a Hostel Helps You Improve Your Personality

I can’t tell you how much my hostel experiences changed my personality. They helped me become more self-confident, outgoing, and less uncomfortable around strangers.

It’s something completely different to share a room with strangers than with friends. Of course, it can cost some effort to get out of your comfort zone, but you’ll learn and experience a lot which makes it totally worth it.

8. You’ll Make Memories For a Lifetime

Last but not least, you’ll keep the memories you make for a lifetime.

Whether they’re really amazing ones or just some you wish never happened, for example, hearing your drunk roommate puking in the toilet all night long lol.

However, I can guarantee you, it’s a really awesome and different experience everyone should make at least once.

Staying in a hostel for the first time can be a very intense experience and it’s completely different than staying in a hotel.

Creating a hostel packing list can be very useful to make sure you don’t forget anything important. Moreover, if you do some research online you can find a lot of helpful guides to staying in hostels!

I’m curious, have you stayed in a hostel before, and if so, what was your experience? 🙂

---

Do you want to travel like me?
Here are some of my favorite travel tips and resources:

Flights: I prefer using CheapOair or Skyscanner to book flights. The destination everywhere feature is perfect for finding some cheap deals!

Accommodation: Booking.com is my favorite site to find some great hotel deals. I do love staying at a local place as well, thus I book an Airbnb every now and then.

Travel Insurance: There are many reasons why travel insurance is important and I never travel without having one. I use the simple and flexible one from World Nomads to be protected against unforeseen events.

Tours: I love taking tours to explore destinations like a local. My favorite website to book them in advance is GetYourGuide.

Camera Gear: I use a Nikon D5300 camera with an 18-105 mm and a 10-20 mm wide-angle lens to take my photos.