Category: Travel Tips

Budget travel starts before you even pack your bag. The choices you make at the booking stage, which rate type you pick, whether you book in advance, how you use Hostelworld’s guarantees, determine how much you actually spend and how much flexibility you keep when plans inevitably shift. Hostelworld offers several different booking options designed…

There is a question that appears in the Hostelworld City Chats constantly, in every city, asked by travellers who have just arrived or are about to: “What’s the best hostel do you think, or are they all similar?” (Budapest) “Can anyone recommend a hostel that they’re staying at?” (Koh Lanta) “Any reccs in a social…

There is a specific quality of conversation that happens in hostel common rooms around 4pm. Plans forming, routes being discussed, a general consensus reaching its conclusion: somewhere with a view, cold drinks optional but preferred, golden hour mandatory. The Hostelworld chats are full of it. “Anyone knows a good place to see the sunset?” (Bangkok)….

Some hikes keep coming up in the Hostelworld chats. Not just once or twice: consistently, in the same cities, across months of conversations. The same questions repeated by travellers who just arrived and are figuring out their first few days. “Which hostel is best for the Ha Giang loop?” “Is the Salkantay trek worth it…

Renting a scooter is one of the most freeing things you can do on the road. It’s also one of the most commonly misjudged. The island opens up. The temples become accessible. The beaches you’d never find on a tour become yours for the afternoon. And then, for some travellers, something goes wrong. A skid…

The moment you land somewhere new, connectivity becomes everything. You need maps, you need translation, you need to message your hostel, and you need to tell someone back home you arrived safely. What you don’t need is paying €15 a day in roaming charges or spending your first hour in a new country queuing at…

Making friends while travelling is easier than most people expect, and harder than the travel content on social media makes it look. The highlight reel shows spontaneous group dinners and laughing strangers on rooftops. The reality involves a bit more intention than that: choosing the right accommodation, showing up when you’d rather stay in, sending…

The flight was delayed. The bus took three hours longer than Google Maps suggested. The border crossing had a queue that moved at approximately the speed of geology. You’re exhausted, it’s midnight, and you’re standing outside your hostel wondering whether anyone is still awake to let you in. Late arrivals happen to almost every backpacker…