What’s a hostel and why should I stay in them?

You’re headed overseas for the first time, you’ve got your backpack filled with all your essentials. Every app you could possibly need download and ready, you’ve booked the flights, gotten a Eurail pass, googled how to use it, have your itinerary memorized, and know exactly what you want to do. You’re set, ready for the adventure of a lifetime… except where are you gonna stay? Sure you can sleep on the trains when you need to, but you’re looking at hotels and gosh almighty they are pricey and way out of your budget. I have stayed in literally hundreds of hostels all over the world and I'm here to answer some of the most popular and concerning questions from first hand hostel mistakes to stumbling upon the coziest places to stay in the world. Never fear! Hostels are here!!  

OKAY. Here we go.

First question: What is a hostel and why should you stay at them?

A hostel is a genius way for travelers to stay in a cheap and safe place from one night to as long as you need without spending your entire savings account on a hotel. Hostels are used literally in every country of the world except America it seems, though I have stayed at hostel in Chicago and in Nashville, both were incredible. Hotels are expensive, there's not getting around it and even if you stay at Motel 6 right off the interstate, you’re still going to be spending a pretty penny by the end of your stay. A typical hostel in Europe will cost you anywhere from $10-50 a night depending on what kind of luxuries you want, making it a dream for someone traveling through on a budget. In most hostels there is a cafe, a common bathroom, a bar, a common room to hang out in, and lockers to keep your belongings safe.

Second Question: I hear hostels aren’t safe…

I always answer when people tell me they think traveling or a certain place isn’t safe with “It’s not about where you travel, it’s about how you travel.” If you go looking for trouble, odds are you will find it. If you’re prepared and take precautions, odds are you’ll be safe, fine, and dandy. Thats not to say that bad things don’t still happen to good prepared people, because surprise, they do. But when you’re looking for a hostel to stay in, make sure you have a checklist of safety precautions you require (see my blog post on Hostel Checklists!). Most hostels have lockers provided in your room for you to store your stuff in at night or you can rent one at a low cost while you’re out exploring the town. I also always and I mean ALWAYS, travel with several travel locks so no matter what I can lock anything up I need to. One thing you do have to remember is that you are staying in a room full of strangers and you have no idea why they are there, just like they have no idea why you’re there. You could be a thief for all they know, but odds are they’re just like you, traveling from one place to another trying to live their own lives. Now I personally have never had a problem with anything being stolen, but I have come across travelers who have and 99% of the time it is because they didn’t lock their stuff up or choose a hostel with lockers provided. So take that as you will and go buy a travel lock from Target to give your mind some peace.

Third Question: Ahhh… wait! You mean I’d have to stay in a room full of strangers?!

YES. I mean YES. This is 99% the biggest concern people have with staying in hostels, you stay in a room full of strangers, and by strangers I mean a room full of other travelers trying to find their own adventures and not get robbed too. I have stayed in mixed (yes that means both male and females are sleeping in the room with you) hostels with 40 people and some with only four females. The beauty of that is that when you’re looking for a hostel you’re comfortable to stay in, you can filter and choose whether you want to stay in a mixed “dorm” (slang for your room) or if you’d prefer staying with your own gender. If you’re super lucky in your hostel search and are willing to pay more for a room, some hostels will offer a single room for yourself at more of a cost, yet still cheaper than a hotel room. You also will have to share a bathroom with these people. Sometimes the bathrooms are in your dorm room itself, other times they are down the hall with four or five showers with no doors. You can always select a preference when choosing the right hostel for you. By staying in hostels I have made some of my absolute best friends and travel buddies all over the world just by them sleeping in the same room with me. If its your first time in a hostel, try staying in a gender only room to allow yourself to get comfortable with staying in a room full of strangers, and then build up. The more people in the room, the cheaper it will be, but only do what you’re comfortable with! My first hostel experience was in Athens, Greece, I had never stayed in a hostel and I was terrified. I selected a mixed dorm with six people in it thinking I wouldn’t be the only girl and lo and behold it turned out to be five guys and me. Waking up to seeing five shirtless Australians was definitely not something I was use to, although I wasn’t complaining!

Fourth Question: I’m staying in a room full of people I don’t know in a country I'm not from, what if something happens to me?

First let me say that this is a very genuine concern and you have every right to feel worried that by staying in a room full of people, men and women, that this could happen to you, especially if you are a female traveling alone. Second, this is a HUGE American stereotype way of thinking and it’s because we aren’t use to the idea of staying in a hostel because they aren’t common here in the states. Yes there are terrible people in this world who do terrible things to people who don’t deserve them, but terrible things happen everywhere. Literally everywhere, and it seems more so in America than anywhere else if you watch the news, sadly, you could get shot at a movie theater or kidnapped walking home from school. But things are different with hostels. The people you are staying with in those rooms have probably stayed in loads of other hostels before and honest to goodness probably have no interest in as a sexual predator because if that's going to happen, a hostel is not the place to do it. Hostels are packed with people, there are people sitting in the halls, in the common room, smoking on the street, drinking at the bar, up FaceTiming their boyfriends at 3am, walking to the bathroom, literally everywhere someone is awake at all times. It would be pretty hard to commit a crime while you have fifteen by standards watching. This is again why I choose rooms full of people, a 24hr guest service, and try to make friends with as many people as possible staying in the same room as me. It can be very scary to be thrown into a room full of strangers and trusting them with your most valuable possession, your health, while you are at your most vulnerable state asleep, but traveling is all about being smart and trusting strangers basically with your life, it’s scary, but worth it.

Fifth Question: These people in my room just invited me to hang out with them, what should I do?

Hostels have been where I have met some of my absolute best friends and it was all because we were strangers traveling staying in the same hostel. When you’re traveling alone, there are times it can be lonely, but I have found ninety-nine times out of a hundred you can find someone to be your friend. Meeting new people different than you can be intimidating but hostels are by far one of the easiest and quickest ways to do it. There is a sense of community with travels that isn't found anywhere else. It goes along the lines of “you're alone?” “I’m alone too, let's be alone together!” A certain type of person who is seeking adventure, and odds are if you’re staying in a hostel, you’re that kind of person too. You never know where a random new friendship could take you. Now I’ll remind you that you should always travel safely and be aware of your surroundings. If someone gives you the creeps then of course don’t agree to go anywhere with them, but if a group of people are going downstairs to the bar or out to that museum you’ve been wanting to go to, get out of your comfort zone and go make a friend.