10 Reasons You Should Stay In A Hostel

Meet fellow travelers

Making genuine connections with strangers makes up some of the most profound memories you'll have while traveling.  The backpacking community is one of the friendliest group of people you'll ever meet because everyone's on an adventure.

You'll be amazed at how easy it is to connect with people in hostels and, before you know it, you'll be sharing crazy adventure stories, learning about new cultures and making future plans.

Inevitably, when you look back at your travels you'll find your memories will be more defined by the people you met instead of the things you did.

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Cheap rates

Staying in hostels is what lets a savvy traveler turn a 2 week vacation into a 6 month adventure.  By trading in a little privacy and comfort you can save thousands of dollars by staying at hostels instead of hotels.

Instead of shelling out $200/night for that hotel room in Paris, you can stay at a hostel down the street for several days for the same amount of money.

You're going to be out and about most of the time anyway, so why waste so much money on where you stay?  Save it and spend it on adventures instead!

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Hostel extras

Many hostels include a free breakfast with your booking and some even include a communal dinner as well.  They also put on different free or discounted activities like pub crawls or walking tours.

Along with free wifi, most hostels have an entertainment area where you can lounge around, read a book or watch some TV.

Friendly staff

The staff at hostels are usually younger people who are also interested in traveling.  In fact, some of them may just be fellow travelers like yourself who've decided to just stay put there for awhile and work in exchange for free room and board.

With that in mind, they understand what you're looking for and how to find it.  They know the city well and will go out of their way to give great advice on things to do, what to eat, where to go, and the best way to get there.

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Common areas

Think of a hostel as your home away from home.  While most hostels have a designated common room or lounge, the whole hostel is really just one big common area.

You'll see people cooking together in the kitchen, others playing cards on the deck and another group just sitting in the dorm chatting about their travel adventures.

The bottom line is that hostels are set up to connect people so take advantage of it. 
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Community

The backpacker community is made up all types of people.  Some are easy going, some are crazy, but they're all interesting and they all have amazing travel stories to tell.

You'll get helpful advice and travel tips and they'll help motivate you to go on more adventures and experience more of the world.

Backpackers are a genuine, friendly, helpful and caring community.  We get each other.  We understand each other and you'll find life long friends you never would have met otherwise.

Unique locations

One of the beautiful things of hostels is that no two are alike.  They are usually built in cool, old converted buildings and many will be right in the thick of it in the city center.

There's also unique sleeping experiences out there as well.  You can stay in a treehouse in Greece, a cave in Turkey, a castle in Brazil, old converted train cars in Bangkok or even a crazy house in Da Lat just to name a few.

Relaxed atmosphere

Hostels, unlike hotels, have a huge chill factor attached to them so there's no problem if you want to wake up late or just hang out on the rooftop patio all day.

You'll actually find some of the best days are when it's pouring rain outside and you're just hanging out playing cards and sharing stories all day.

Most people you'll meet aren't in a rush as they're not on a one week vacation but in the middle of a months long journey that follows a rough itinerary of "I'll get to the next city when I get to it".

Community kitchen

As much as eating out is a big part of traveling, it can get expensive fast.  Luckily hostels all have a fully equipped communal kitchen at your disposal so make use of it.

Go out and buy some groceries at the local market down the street or some fresh produce and seafood at the farmer's market.  If you ask, maybe one of the people working at the hostel will show you have to make something you've never tried before.

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Special events

Even if you're an introvert, good hostels know how to put on unique events to get everybody together.

At most hostels you'll find everything from pub crawls and live music to free guided tours and movie nights.  It's a great way to meet people and come out of your shell.  You'll also be able to experience some more of the city and its' culture.
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Where To Next?

Barcelona
London
Paris
Vienna

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