Many people ask me about hostels and how they work vs a hotel. For me, a hostel is the only way to go. The main difference between a hostel and a hotel is that you’re sharing a room with others, sometimes people of the opposite gender. It basically a dorm room with communal bathroom. As a solo traveler, hostels are the best for multiple reasons.
1) They are considerably cheaper. Obviously because you’re putting multiple people into one room, there are fewer costs. There are also fewer bathrooms to clean. Most amenities that are offered in hotels aren’t offered at a hostels (i.e. complimentary toiletries, free use of towels, etc). This also keeps costs down. My average bed for a hostel in Mexico is about $12.
1) It’s not just the cost of staying that’s cheaper. All the extra stuff is usually cheaper as well such as tours, laundry, airport transfer, etc. I did a day tour in Oaxaca and when I was talking to another gentlemen on my tour about it, it turns out that he paid twice as much when booking it through his hotel than I did booking it through my hostel. In San Cristobal de las Casas, there was a sign next to the tour information stating that the prices were “ONLY for guests of the hostel.” Most hotels charge per item for laundry so the cost can be over $20. At a hostel, it’s usually about $4 per load.
2) Easier to meet people. In a hotel, people usually go into their rooms. Hostels are much more social. There’s usually a communal area (sometimes with a TV or a firepit or something similar) where people can hang out. One can also meet people in the room since there’s multiple roommates.
3) Less stuffy. Hostels are simply more relaxed than hotels. They are usually super flexible about early checkin/late checkout, luggage storage, etc. Some hotels are flexible as well, but I just find hostels to go above and beyond. They know they are working with people on tight budgets and they are really accommodating.
4) Use of a kitchen. Almost all hostels have a full kitchen available so people can cook their own food. I don’t personally do this a lot, but many travelers save a lot of money by cooking themselves.
Hostels aren’t for everyone. Some people might not be able to stand the small bathrooms, having to climb to the upper bunk, and/or the snoring roommate. For me, they are what enables me to do trips like this.
The idea for this post came to me because I’m in an especially awesome hostel today and I was in an especially awful one last night. One thing about hostels is that you really never know what to expect. Last night I was in Palenque which might be the worst city I’ve ever been to. It really has zero redeeming qualities. If it weren’t for the Mayan ruins nearby, tourists would never end up in Palenque. Anyway, this hostel was tolerable, but I wouldn’t recommend it. My room was on the third floor with no elevator. It had ten beds and only one bathroom. The bathroom was walled in, but the walls didn’t go all the way to the top so light and sound would spread to the dorm room. We had to use our own toilet paper (they didn’t provide it).
Tonight’s hostel in Campeche is perfect. There are a few little things that can make me happy when it comes to hostels. They are (in no particular order) fast wi-fi that’s available in the rooms (not just the common areas), enough electrical outlets for everyone (preferably near the bed so I can use the device while it’s charging), lockers for security (the bigger the better), plenty of room to spread out my stuff, hooks in the bathrooms to hang my stuff so that it doesn’t get wet, reading lights for each bed so the overhead light can be turned off when people are just in their beds reading, high upper bunks (usually the upper bunk is so low that one can’t sit up straight on the lower bunk without hitting their heads), and use of a refrigerator since I love my water cold. These are all little things that can make a big difference in comfort. Some hostels have some and not others. This particular hostel has them all. The one drawback to this place is that I seem to be the only one here. It’s the off season so none of my hostels have been full, but this is a first. I’m off the tourist trail as well. I haven’t met another traveler who was headed to Campeche so that might explain why I have the room to myself. Oh well, I guess it’s good to have some alone time as well!
Some things that people who don’t frequent hostels might not appreciate-the good quality beds (many are flimsy metal and when someone is climbing to the top bunk it feels like it will fall apart), the large lockers, a place to hang a towel to dry so that it won’t be in other people’s way), and the abundance of space (it actually might not look like a lot, but I’ve stayed in places with a LOT less space than this).
Personally, I prefer female only dorms. Most hostels offer at least one female only dorms and some hostels have every room being segregated. It really just depends on the hostel. I loved this sign on this particular walkway leading up to the girls’ dorm.
I bought this dohicky to help with the lack of electrical plugs in some of the rooms. I haven’t had to use it much since most of my electronics don’t necessarily need to be charged everyday.
There are quiet hours in many hostels so that people can sleep. This is a particularly funny way to announce the hours.
Most hostels have kitchens so that guests can cook their own food. This one is a bit larger than average. Notice the storage area on the far wall for dry goods.
A typical hostel fridge. Each bag is labeled with each person’s name and room number.
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