Author:
Zoe – an eco Scottish solo traveller and digital nomad: @girlwiththesuitcases and girlwiththesuitcase.com.
1. Cost
Hostels are a lot cheaper. They save you money which can then be spent on exciting activities as well as food and drink.
2. More fun
Most hostels hold several events: from free walking tours to pub crawls to food tasting nights and lots of quizzes. By staying in a hotel, you miss out on things like this and are less likely to meet new travellers.
3. Meeting travellers
You can meet people from all over the world in hostels, plus you are guaranteed an audience eager to hear your travel stories. You can all sit together swapping travel fails and successes while you try out the local food and local drink together.
4. Plans and trips
You may have arrived with no plans, hungry, but no idea what you’re doing. Ask the people in your room, or communal areas, what they’re plans are (maybe don’t ask in the bathrooms though – don’t want them to think you’re weird just yet). Quite often I’ve ended up going out for breakfast and dinner with people who already know their way around. I’ve had great tips from room mates. Hostels are like a gold mine for information on the area you’re staying in. A real life google.
5. You can be sociable or private
To be alone or not to be!
Remember you can have your own room in a hostel, you don’t have to stay in a shared dorm. You can still meet people in the shared kitchen and communal lounge/bar areas. Even if sharing a room though, you can still decide when to spend time with others and when to spend it hanging out by yourself. Whereas in a hotel, if you don’t feel like a solo activity, then it’s a lot harder to instantly come across travellers willing to join you or a plan to tag along on. Hostels give you the best of both worlds.
Find out more about Zoe’s experiences in hostels here and get more tips on her site – girlwiththesuitcase.com
Zoe:
I’m Zoe, a 26 year old girl who grew up in the Scottish Highlands. The only time I truly feel at peace is when I travel, I am definitely not a 9 – 5 person – I am a ‘let’s get lost, meet new people, try too much new food and drink and become immersed in new cultures’ sort of person.
My mission is to inspire and inform like minded travellers. I want to share it. From the bad to the good.