Finding the perfect hostel is never easy and looking from a million miles away can be even more daunting. With the seemingly endless list of hostels choosing the right one can appear an impossible task.
We all want to feel somewhat settled and happy to call a place home, even if it’s only for a little while. Browsing every travel blog you can think of and Google page that comes up after searching your destination will only get you so far. You’ll be left with long lists to cross-reference, little to no photos to compare and even more confusion then when you began. I’ve been there before; most backpackers have at one point. After years of experience I can tell you that out of every resource option there are only two websites you need to book the best hostel, anywhere.
Where to start
Firstly, HostelWorld.com, an online booking service and hostel “bible” of sorts. Simply enter the destination and dates of check-in/out and your options will appear. Every bit of need-to-know information about the hostel is organized and conveniently made available to you. Dorm sizes, prices, photos, star ratings based on reviews, facilities available on site such as laundry machines, free or pay-per-use Wi-Fi, and more. Booking and cancellation policies are outlined and all contact info provided. Most will even include directions from major airports and bus or train stations.
Searches can be modified and filters applied to list lowest to highest price or star rating and vise versa. The trouble comes when you start scrolling through the selections and they appear to never end. HostelWorld will list every hostel available in the given destination; larger destination city means larger list of options. This can be intimidating at times, making it hard to pick the right one. Read reviews from the most previous guests, most will be brutally honest confront any declining conditions.
Narrow down the search with website number two
The second (not so obvious) site is one we’ve all heard of but most won’t check, Pinterest. It isn’t just for mason jar salad recipes anymore! Bloggers of all sorts are utilizing this site as an outlet to gain traffic to their pages and travel bloggers are no exception. Top 10 best, must-stay, funkiest or most glam hostel lists can be found for nearly any city in any country. No place better to seek advice then a travel blog written by a fellow adventurer. Their ‘top and must-stay’ lists narrow down searches for larger cities where the options seem endless on HostelWorld. The benefit of using Pinterest as a blog search engine is because it will prompt fewer hits than a sites like Google, meaning less time researching. Less time choosing the perfect temporary home leaves more time to find everywhere you want to explore once you get there!