Thinking about staying in a backpacker hostel? Check out these hacks, written by a pro-traveller with over 30 years of experience.
I spent most of my backpacking years living in hostels, sleeping in dorm rooms. I have shared open-plan rooms with up to 37 other travellers. If a town or city had a backpacker hostel, that’s where I would be staying.
Forget the generic backpacker hostel hacks/essentials written by people who have never gone away for more than a fortnight before, claiming to be a travel hack expert.
I have spent the majority of my travels staying in backpacker hostels; travels which have taken me through 130-plus countries.
These hacks will help you survive your next backpacker hostel experience.
My Travel Hacks eBook is now available for purchase through Gumroad.
Backpacker hostels were always the cheapest option for low-budget travellers, beyond camping or sleeping under a tarp.
Nowadays, hostels can be more expensive than a cheap backstreet hotel.
You always met cool people; you learned the ropes from those who had been on the road longer than you.
You could meet a new travel buddy and even a no-strings-attached fuck buddy.
Hostels were (before they invented the smartphone) great places to hang out.
On my first trip to Australia and Canada (5 months), the number of nights when I didn’t stay in a hostel can be counted on two hands.
My second trip as a backpacker took me to Australia and New Zealand (8 months); I spent every night in a hostel.
Privacy
You’ve been on the road for years, sharing rooms with others, and you crave privacy, but single rooms are out of your budget.
- Use a sarong as a makeshift curtain. I have used mine as a towel, a sheet, a sarong, and a beach towel.
- A shemagh (not an affiliate link) can be used in lieu of an eye mask, which is a single-function item, whereas a shemagh is a multi-functional piece of gear.
- Earplugs. A little bit generic, but essential for a half-decent night’s sleep.
Security
Most dorms have lockers, but some don’t. Sometimes the locks are good; many times not.
Mostly you need to bring your own padlock. The small ones can be opened with a couple of screwdrivers. Get ya self a decent padlock.
Better still, don’t rely on the locker. They offer a false sense of security.
I have been robbed just once on all my travels. I used a locker in a hostel in Basel. The key lock was compromised. My scumbag roomie helped himself to the cash in my wallet whilst I went for a run.
When using a sleeping bag, I would put my money belt at the bottom of my sleeping bag and attach it to the zip.
Sometimes I would just keep it in my day pack, which was secured to the bed frame in two places with a simple carabiner. This works best when sleeping on the top bunk or under my mosquito net.
Other times, I have slept whilst wearing my money belt, or a security money pouch, worn under my T-shirt.
In other places, I just slept with my eyes open.
Of course, I never leave my wallet, phone, or laptop just casually lying there on the bed.
Normally, I lock my unimportant stuff in the locker and carry my money and passport around with me.
I travel with a The North Face 50-litre Base Camp Duffel (not an affiliate link). I love the substantial zips that you can use with a padlock. Something like a Pacsafe® 55L anti-theft backpack & bag protector (not an affiliate link) would be ideal, but I have never used.
I normally secure it to the bed frame using a number of innovative techniques.
Hygiene
Flip-flops are an essential item for any traveller where shared bathrooms are the norm. In recent hostel stays at Kex Hostel and Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage, the bathrooms were cleaned multiple times a day. Hostels in Kings Cross, Sydney, and St Christopher’s Inns in London were staffed by travellers who had never even picked up a mop or a bottle of disinfectant. Think foot infections.
Free Coffee
If you are a coffee junkie, you can save a shit load of cash if the hostel offers free coffee. Imagine!
If you drink three or four cups a day, at two or three bucks a time in the local caf. Hell of a saving if you can get free coffee.
Many hostels these days don’t even offer as much as a kettle or a microwave.
That’s when travelling with a mug, a jar of coffee, and a portable water heater makes sense.
Self-Catering Kitchen
When I first started travelling, every hostel had a self-catering kitchen. I never ate out. I certainly saved a lot of money in the early days, self-catering every night.
Now, many hostels have small on-site restaurants. How things have changed.
Rooftop/Balcony
A hostel with a rooftop and/or balcony is a Godsend. Nothing beats drinking your first coffee of the day on the hostel rooftop or balcony as the sun rises and the city still sleeps. Quiet time is an essential requirement for any traveller.
Rooftops are great for hanging out your washing when you have hand-washed your few belongings! I always travel with a small bag of laundry powder and a dry bag that doubles as a bucket!
At the end of a hard day backpacking, nothing beats relaxing on the rooftop.
I did the hostel thing for a consistent stretch in Southeast Asia. Your tips are highly practical.
Pack ear-plugs. Appreciate some semblance of quiet; especially if the hostel is in a party area. Aka, Khao San Road in Bangkok. Yikes. I did not sleep a wink that evening because things get going at 11 PM there and last to 6 AM or so. Loud bass thumping.
Be social. Hostels introduce you to fascinating people. Some are weird. Others are interesting. As you said, pay attention, learn the ropes and for the most part, travel on the cheap.
Never did the Khao San Road thing as seen in The Beach…. I stayed in the less hectic Rambutri zone, which is pretty near.. I wear earplugs at home sometimes,,,, though am getting the hang of the noise… Hoping Gemini says my rewrite is less generic than it was,
Khao San Road is intense. We visit for 2 to 3 days tops before heading off to the beach or Chiang Mai.