The Alberg Els Andes Hostel is the perfect backpacker accommodation for budget travellers visiting and exploring Andorra. I loved it so much that I stayed 10 days there.
I arrived at the Estació Nacional d’Autobusos del Principat in Andorra la Vella, having travelled from Barcelona using DirectBus.
Andorra la Vella is the capital of Andorra and is literally next door to Escaldes-Engordany, the 2nd largest city. So if you are heading to the Andes Hostel you are basically crossing 2 cities. But it’s only like 2km. This gives you some idea of how compact everything is here. Nothing is very far. And if you didn’t know there was actually a road which separates one from the other, you could be forgiven for not knowing which one you were in.
A nice friendly welcome from Juan, on my arrival. He gives me a quick tour of the place.
The first thing I noticed was how clean everything was.
There are 2 kitchens, one on the ground floor and one on the 5th:
It was nice to stay in a hostel with a kitchen again, though I kinda got out of the habit of cooking myself. Although I did make an effort on my last two nights, cooking some pasta. I would mostly buy a box of salad with some bread and cheese. There is a small supermarket 3 doors away and 2 slightly bigger stores, 5 minutes away.
Next door is the Two Shots Espresso Bar, which I frequented to do some work. Across the street is the Siracusa bar, where I would just go to chill.
Blogging from the Two Shots Espresso Bar in Andorra:
There are bathrooms on each floor, all cleaned regularly, throughout the day:
Each floor has a different WiFi connection, so you can be guaranteed a strong connection:
I’m in room one on the first floor and I chose the lower bunk:
Each bed has its own socket and light (simple but effective):
And I loved the free towel. It’s been more than a month since I left Mexico, staying in hostels and this is the first hostel that offered free towels. I don’t know why that has now become a thing. A free towel is a nice touch!
There are laundry machines available and a washing line on the terrasse on the top floor, great for me as I always like to do my own laundry:
Rooftop at the Andes Hostel in Andorra:
On my 3rd day, I met Pablo and Lorena who own the Alberg Els Andes and they gave me some recommendations on places to visit outside of the city and I have already written about some of them.
Pas de la Casa, which is the town on the border with France, and Canillo, which is on the same road but just 10km out of town. Both were cracking places. I have a few more day trips lined up, and you can be sure I’ll be blogging about them too.
And finally I got to go to the Caldea Spa:
If your budget has been taking a pounding due to the insane accommodation costs in Europe, you will be relieved and probably very surprised, things are about half the price here, including accommodation. And this is 1 of 2 hostels listed in Andorra, it makes sense to come and stay a while.
Alberg Els Andes
Av. Carlemany, 15
AD700 Escaldes-Engordany
Andorra