What is a hostel like?

A hostel is a place to stay where the spaces are shared with other travelers. It’s less expensive than any hotel I’ve ever stayed in my life, they’re unique experiences, and they provide that traveler feel that you can’t get anywhere else. I’ve traveled quite a bit and have stayed at several different hostels. I thought now would be the perfect opportunity for me to share all of my hostel knowledge with you.

The idea of hostels has been around since the 1930's and was conceived in Europe to accommodate large numbers of travelling people, especially young men. Although the original purpose was to ensure safety and security for young people, hostels have evolved into a unique accommodation experience for travelers of any age, budget, and group size.

Bedrooms

Hostels have several rooms, which can be shared, private, mixed or not. Before making your reservation, decide well, the price may vary by the amount of beds (and people) that will be there. The rooms, in general, have a capacity for 6 to 8 people. Before booking, check about the bathrooms, which are usually shared. But everyone knows that they must preserve the privacy of others.

Safety

Most hostels have a locker for you to store your most valuable and important belongings. Some of them are big enough to hold a large backpack and even a smaller backpack. Other hostels may have smaller lockers, but even so they are essential for you to keep your treasures and feel more secure. So try to carry at least one lock for every suitcase or backpack you have!

Towel and bed linen

The vast majority of hostels have bed linen (check first on the website of the place you are staying), so this will not be a concern. However, it is basic to bring a bath towel and, if necessary, another one for the beach/pool. Hostels rarely offer free towels, sometimes they charge for rent.

Breakfast

On your hostel's website it will be stated if they have breakfast included or not, but many do not offer it to customers, not even paying. It may be that they have a common kitchen for guests. You can find a market nearby, buy what you like best and store it in the fridge/kitchen. Don't forget to put your name on the food.

Check-in check-out time

As in hotels, hotels have check-in and check-out times, that is, arrival and departure times. If you need to leave later than the set time, talk at the hostel, they usually have an area to put everyone's bags or they can even let you stay longer in the room.

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4 lies they tell you about staying at a Hostel

1 – Hostel is just party

Lie! There are many hostels where you can sleep peacefully and it's the vast majority. You can see through the available photos before booking on Booking. If there's a lot of people dancing and drinking, bar photos, you can be sure it's a party hostel. This can also be confirmed in the comments of the people in the evaluation.

I've been to very quiet hostels, where traveling families stayed in a single room and also workers who hadn't been able to rent a house in the city yet.

Remember that the more beds in the room, the cheaper it is, but there is a lot more noise. There will be people snoring and even some flatuencies so take a earplug and cover your eyes.

2 – Hostel is dirty

Another lie, but there are exceptions haha ​​It is always good to evaluate the item cleanliness at the time of booking and read the comments carefully. If you have anything about a dirty bathroom, look elsewhere. And look, this factor needs to be observed everywhere. It's not because it's in Europe that it's always clean!

Also, always take a slipper to shower and do not touch the floor directly if it has not been cleaned well. Bring a towel (most hostels don't provide), soap, shampoo and conditioner. The hairdryer can be borrowed from reception.

Some hostels have a kitchen and cleaning it depends on the common sense of the guests. Always keep the kitchen clean after preparing your food. A hostel with a kitchen reduces expenses on your trip, as you can buy things at the market and prepare something at night like pasta, salad, etc.

3 – Hostel is dangerous

All this time I stayed in hostels I never went through a dangerous situation, but I always took the basic precautions, right:

• not accept anyone's drink,
• do not take a trip with someone without informing the reception (follow your intuition)
• don't leave things scattered
• do not leave electronics, passport and money giving soup

These are some precautions I always take and are basic for first-time travelers who don't know what it's like to stay in a hostel.

Since you're going to share a room with various types of strangers, there's no way of knowing if they're all good-natured. Always take care of your stuff, keep it in the closet and use a padlock to lock everything. You can take some of the money for tours and keep another part hidden in your backpack in the locked closet if you like.

4 – Hostel is cheap because it's bad

That's one of the biggest lies I've ever heard! There are boutique hostels, they are very beautiful, well maintained and more expensive than the others. Some have their own cabins. others even futuristic capsules and some even swimming pools!