Sometimes you can stay in some beautiful hostels, with friendly staff and great people. Other times, the trees and floors are infested with ants, the staff tape over windows because there isn't any glass, and the other travellers throw dirty clothes on your bed. We’ve had experiences where it’s felt like Ant and Dec are going to pop out at any moment, and award us stars so can eat something other than rice and beans. So, we’ve made a list of how to survive the night if you have to suck it up and stay in a less than desirable hostel.
Most hostels tend to have safes or lockers, but the smaller ones don’t, so keeping your stuff safe is important. You don’t want someone coming in drunk and thinking your backpack is theirs: PADLOCK IT. Get a lock with a code that’s not super obvious, so your passport, money and clothes are safe.
It sounds ridiculous but bring toilet paper EVERYWHERE. Even a small pack of tissues. Some hostels don’t stock toilet roll so just bring some because you don’t want to get caught short and end up having to use your sock. I mean, anything works in a pinch, but laundry days are few and far between...
The best part of travelling can be making friends with new people and experiencing the local life. But if you’ve just got off a 12-hour flight and need to sleep off the jet leg and there’s a group of rowdy boys singing about how much they love Liverpool FC, you’re not going to be happy. We recommend packing multiple packs of ear plugs to block out any noise.
We’ve been in hostels and the resident mosquitos have had an absolute field day. Not all hostels work to keep out bugs, so we cannot recommend having either a mosquito net, spray, or coil on hand. There is nothing worse than being dive bombed at 1am by a gang of hungry mosquitoes.
It might sound gross but some hostels don’t clean their showers, and some have NEVER cleaned their showers. Most of the time, you can put on some flip flops and be fine, but some bathrooms aren’t even worth going into. We recommend that you stock up on baby wipes so you can have a temporary wash in the sink. It’s not the most glamorous but it’ll do the trick.
Don’t get us wrong, hostel life can be so fun and it’s all a part of the experience, but it never hurts to go on the trip prepared! If you're travelling for the first time, take a look at our blog full of tips and tricks for first timers here! Safe travels!
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