r/hostels

I am a middle aged guy. I made friends with a hostel receptionist. I asked her if I would fit in as a hostel guest. She said there would be no problem. Yes most budget travellers are in college, but there are people in their 30s and 60s also staying in dorms, men and women, and they face no discrimination or suspicion from stuff or other guests. As long as the business allows you to stay there and you respect the rules, it is OK, and you can join in in crawls and activities.

I told her that most people on Reddit would say "Dude..." and that I have seen a thousand videos on social media about being an older man at hostel seen negatively and that even chatGPT advised me not to try it. She told me it's stupid to ask advice from randos on the internet. And that I should do my own thing and try it to see if I like it, and that if someone doesn't like me for who I am that's their problem.

Hope this helps.

Starting my first long trip in September and I'll be in hostel dorms for most of the first month — Dubai, Cairo, Athens, Santorini. I run my own operation remotely, so the laptop isn't just a device, it's my entire income. If it goes, I don't just lose hardware, I lose the ability to earn.

I know the basics: bring my own padlock, use the locker, never leave it on the bed. What I want is what people actually do day to day:

- Do you carry it with you when you go out, or do you trust the locker?

- Do hostel lockers realistically fit a laptop, or is that completely hostel-dependent?

- Has anyone actually had one stolen? What happened and what would you do differently?

- Is there a point where you stop booking dorms and just pay for private rooms because the risk isn't worth it?

So at this hostel in Prague, last night, this one dude came back drunk from a night out around 2am. Made a bit of noise but nothing out of the ordinary and went to bed. I went back to sleep but after about 2 min he got up again, walked to the middle of the room, pulled down his underwear and started to pee. At first I thought I was having a nightmare lol but then I realised it was real, I couldn't believe it. Once he was done he just went back to bed and left a puddle of piss. I got dressed, went downstairs and talked to reception. They came to the room, also shocked, and were nice enough to put me in a new room. They said he will probably get kicked out but I didn't get the chance to see the outcome.

The guy in question, checked in yesterday and said it was his first solo travel and first time staying in a hostel. He even asked me if I had any tips, asked about hostel etiquette and what he should or not do. So I guess this was one hell of a first time to him, I'm glad there were no women in that mixed dorm

Just wanted to share this here, this never happened to me before.

Hi Everyone

I have never travelled alone before. Next month I was supposed to visit Berlin with a friend of mine however the plans have changed and he is not available anymore(and neither is our mutual friend that was supposed to house us).

So, for the first time in my life I decided to go alone, and I know that its a little dumb, but I feel like I'm a little too old to be staying in a bunk bed with random people at a hostel. At the same time my budget is tight so that would be the smartest decision. Last year I stayed at a hostel with my friends in Lisbon (we had a whole room just for us) and I felt like we were the oldest people there, everyone looked so young, it was a strange experience. Am I just imagining things?

Does anyone have any hostel recommendations?

Thanks and sorry for my ignorance!

Hi all!

I’m wondering if anyone has travelled with their partner to a hostel, especially a party one. I’m wondering what your experience is like making friends? As a female traveller I’ve been in a hostel with girl friends before and we found it extremely easy to make friends (especially guys). We would be very open to making friends!!

F (24), in a midlife crisis and really wanting too explore Australia as I’ve always been interested in. But unsure where to start, I am looking at Sydney + Bondi Beach.

I love the ocean, good evening vibes but also quiet relaxing areas. Hikes, lakes, fishing and coed sports.

I would love recommendations, and also what TOP must haves are needed for back packing!?

I was recently traveling to a European country

staying in a hostel. It was an all-male dorm and I was wearing only briefs (the ones like speedo since i find them more comfortable) on bed. I would put shorts on to go anywhere else.

Two other roommates started talking about my underwear choice in their native language (unaware that I could actually understand). They were having a full conversation about how tight and "kid-like" briefs are and wondering how anyone

comfortably fits in them. I chose to stay silent and did not say anything.

​Is it considered okay to wear just briefs while in bed in an all-male dorm? What is your personal go-to sleepwear when staying in hostels?

I recently got allotted a new hostel since it’s the start of my 3rd year. I was smoking a cigarette in my room when some people knocked on my door. I suddenly turned on the fan, hid the half-smoked cigarette outside my window, and opened the door.

They had come to my room to check its condition. They were 30+ years old and wearing formal shirts and pants. They were neither clerks nor wardens. They smelled the room and checked it properly. My window was half-open, so one of them peeked through it and saw my half-smoked cigarette. He said, “You were smoking a cigarette here! Don’t you know that smoking inside the hostel rooms is not allowed? Your parents sent you here to do these kinds of things in the hostel?”

I got really scared and said sorry.

What will happen to me now?

Not interested in hearing about the hike with them, but experiences staying at the hostel.

I know it's a 'party' hostel, but beyond that, how is the cleanliness of the bathrooms, are all the dorms difficult to sleep in due to noise? Bed bug issues? any planned daily events? what's the maximum days you would stay at this place? Other details welcome!

Thank you.

Hi! I’m going to be travelling to Prague solo in November and staying in a hostel for the first times. I really want to meet people to go out with so the Madhouse Prague seemed great but the don’t have any female only rooms. Can anyone suggest a hostel with the same social and party vibe that have female only dorms?

Madrid — 3 nights
Sevilla — 3 nights
Granada — 2 nights
Malaga — 2 nights
Barcelona — 3 nights

I’m traveling on a backpackers budget, I’d love any tips on:

- Hostels that are social but not total party chaos (or let me know if I should just embrace the chaos)

- Must-do activities or hidden gems in any of these cities

- General first-time solo travel advice, especially anything you wish you knew before your first trip

Any advice at all is appreciated!

If I sneak in buzzballz in my suitcase and my hostel has a bag screening system will I get caught?

I spent most of my 20s bouncing around hostels and some of the best experiences of my life happened in those common rooms. Cheap beer, strangers who became close friends, plans made at midnight that somehow worked out. I genuinely loved it.

I'm mid-30s now and recently started traveling solo again. Booked hostels because I love to socialize and make new friends, but this time it felt different. Not bad exactly, just off. Everyone in the common room was between 20-24 years old and I felt I was the older guy. The conversations that used to pull me in now kind of wash past me. I found myself going to bed early and feeling weird.

So I'm curious, is anyone else feeling the same?

I've been in hostels a few times. New to this culture. What I found out is when I joined these groups of people together. Usually one of the guys tries to dominate and force his preferences to others. Do you feel comfortable?

We planned an outing. Three of us were non-veg but this guy guilt tripped us into spending money on veg food only. He also bought stuff for a taxi driver to show his generosity and expected us to split it.

Sometimes I feel being too nice in these environments gets you ripped off. As in you can't let your guards down at all. They're nice until you are agreeable and accommodating. But their behaviours change when you call them out on these things.

This made me stop joining such groups and go solo. What do you think?

I seriously feel many of these hostel bros are manipulative and the hostel culture of quickly forming bonds is a bit risky. I am new though and looking for advice. Should I avoid hostels and only stick to known friends?

I (M 22) went to Australia with a Working Holiday Visa and for my first 10 days I had booked a hostel for the first time in my life but I gave up and quit after 5 days. Before you ask me, I didn't have any particular problem, I just couldn't take it anymore, sharing everything and being always surrounded by people, in the room, in the kitchen, I couldn't relax and have time for myself, I even went to the church to have some silence. Also I didn't like sharing the dishes and cutlery as they were often greasy and despite looking clean, had tiny spots of dirt if you looked closely, and the sponge was there for probably 10 years, disgusting. I wonder if anyone had a similar experience or do you think there's something wrong with me? I think this life is just not for me.

What is the best party hostel you’ve ever stayed at? I’m solo traveling Europe (currently flexible) and want to stay at hostels that hold events or go out together/pubcrawl, etc. I’d also like for it to not be sketchy or anything like that. Also, wouldn’t mind learning where the cute guys stay!

Hi, i'm going to be staying in a hostel for the first time in a week. They don't have true luggage storage, only small lockers for bags/backpacks. I will have a suitcase, should I get 3rd party luggage storage or do I just hope nobody steals my stuff?

Hi all, bit of a long shot, but I'm looking for advice on whether trying a hostel could work for me.

I'm thinking of giving a hostel a go soon to try and cut costs whilst travelling, but i have a few concerns.

1. What are the provisions like for personal items? When i travel around it's normally for pool competitions so i normally have a pool cue with me, so I would either have to keep it in a locker or just in the room, but I'm not sure whether it would be safe when I'm out and not playing pool.

2. What's the general etiquette for sleeping in the mixed rooms? I'm a guy and i don't like sleeping in a full set of pyjamas or similar, happy to sleep in shorts but obviously don't really want to wear a top.

3. Do you normally have a shared bathroom or somewhere to be able to get changed? It's mainly to keep everyone else more comfortable as i have no issues with just getting changed in the room, doesn't really bother me, we've all got our own body parts?

4. Are there curfews or anything for if you want to go for a night out whilst you're away?

So i guess a general run through of what is to be expected from a hostel stay would be much appreciated, I'd like to say that I'm a clean and respectful person, wouldn't just leave a mess everywhere either.

TIA

Went to a hostel for the first time and went solo. 24M and never even been to a party before let alone a party hostel. First thing I noticed is I am way less extroverted and social than everyone else. Everyone drinks beer and tells stories. Me, I’m very inexperienced with alcohol. I realize my life is boring, can’t relate to anyone, and come off a recluse who never lived at 24.