Hosteling in the UK: the Do's, the Don'ts, and the How-To's

If you are studying abroad in the UK, then part of the abroad experience is those weekend to weeklong backpacking adventures, and on those adventures, you will most likely be staying in hostels. The following post is based on my experience in UK hostels, but from my research and from talking with other travelers, this post applies to most hostels in Europe and in the United States.

What is a hostel?

A hostel is a low budget accommodation where you rent a bed for a set number of nights. Hostels offer private rooms (one bed), double rooms (2 beds), and then rooms with anywhere from 6 to 40 beds. Rooms contain bunk beds and are either single-sex or mixed-sex. Single-sex rooms are more expensive than mixed-sex rooms and the more beds in a room, the cheaper the bed.

Most hostels have a strict age limit of 18-35, making hostels a great place to meet other young, international travelers. Don’t be shy. Most travelers are friendly, interesting, speak English, and have a lot to offer in terms of learning about another human being from another part of the world. You might have a good conversation. You might find someone to travel with for the next day or the next leg of your journey, or you might make a friend from another part of the world, giving you both a reason to visit that part of the world and a free place to stay once you arrive. You never know.

Booking Your Hostel:

Book your hostel as soon as you plan your trip, and definitely book your hostel at least a week in advance. Hostels fill up fast, especially in big cities on the weekends, and the cheapest beds are always taken first.

To book a hostel, use hostelworld. It is an easy site to navigate, and it provides a list of reliable reviews for every hostel. The reviews are written by people like you who booked their bed through hostelworld. The price of a hostel does not always indicate its quality, its perks, or its location. So read the reviews, and remember to pay it forward and write one of your own after your stay. Also, look at the hostel website to note what amenities it offers like linens, lockers, breakfast, and a possible curfew.

Hostelworld requires you to pay a $2 service charge and a percentage of the bill online. You pay the remaining balance when you check-in to the hostel. If you do not cancel your stay online 24 hours in advance, then you will have to pay the remaining balance whether you arrive or not.

For $10 you can purchase a Gold Card, which lasts for a year and pardons you from paying the $2 service charge. If you plan on staying in more than 5 hostels over the course of a year, then a Gold Card is worth the investment. If you are studying abroad, then buy a Gold Card; you should make well over 5 trips over the course of the term.

All hostels contain:

-A common room with couches, chairs, TV, and sometimes board games and books where you can relax or socialize with other travelers

-A communal kitchen equipped with standard cookware, where you can prepare and store food. You are responsible for cleaning up after yourself and for putting away what you used. Remember to write your name on your food, and don’t worry about people taking it; food stealing is rare. Most hostels have a shelf labeled “Free Food” stocked with leftover food. Don’t let it go to waste; help yourself to it.

-Toilet, shower, and sink area down a hallway that can be mixed-sex or single-sex. Some of the more expensive hostel rooms will have a bathroom attached to the room. Some rooms contain sinks and a mirror. Most hostels have lockers near the showers where you can temporarily store your belongings.

Most hostels provide:

-Free wifi

-Around 5 desktop computers that you can use for a fee of 50p to £1 per half hour

-Breakfast consisting of dry cereal (usually plain cornflakes), milk, coffee, tea, and toast with butter and jam (and Nutella if you are lucky). Some hostel breakfasts will provide other breakfast foods like yogurt or juice.

Some hostels provide:

-A book exchange, which is a bookshelf that you can take a book from and replace it with a book of your own. Hostel book exchanges are a great way to pick up travel books or to find a good read for those train, coach, or plane rides.

-Free or discounted tours of the city connected with a local tour company. There will usually be signs, but just ask.

-Labor in exchange for accommodation, meaning you can stay in the hostel free of charge in exchange for working in the hostel for a few hours the next day. The work usually consists of cleaning but could also include working the front desk. This option is great for saving money, but it will cut into your travel time, especially since the cleaning usually begins after checkout, around 10:00 am or 12:00 pm.

-Pub crawls, which are like organized bar hopping.

-All day complimentary tea, coffee, hot coco, and milk in the kitchen

Do Bring to a Hostel:

-Passport—you will need a form of photo identification when checking-in. Plus, you should always carry your passport in a secure location on your person when traveling in a foreign country.

-Lock—all hostels should provide a locker per bed for you to secure your belongings in. You can rent a lock for a £2 to £5 fee, or you can bring your own. Only one hostel that I have stayed in required you to purchase a special swipe card in order to access the bed locker. The lockers are big enough to hold a backpack and a coat, so pack light and do not bring a suitcase. Hostels should provide a storage room for larger bags, but these rooms are not secured and sometimes required a fee to access.

-Towel—you can rent a towel for a fee of 20p to £1, but I recommend bringing your own. Remember, packing light is key, so I bring a small hand towel, which works fine and does exactly what a big bath towel does.

-Small flashlight—please, please, please do not forget to bring a small flashlight. When you come into the hostel room, it will most likely be dark and people will be trying to sleep. Use the small flashlight to silently navigate the room, and remember not to shine it in anyone’s eyes. You can also use a phone light in place of a small flashlight.

-Travel alarm clock—bring one that you can sleep with next to your head, because there will not be a stand to place it on. Be considerate and turn it off as soon as it starts beeping.

-Earplugs—if you are sensitive to noise, then wear earplugs when sleeping. Unless you get a private room, then you are sleeping in a room with multiple people who have multiple habits of getting in for the night, waking up in the morning, snoring, talking, moving, unpacking, packing, and the occasional romantic encounter. Noise can also come in from the hallways or from the city outside.

-Eye mask—if you are sensitive to light, then wear an eye mask for many of the same reasons listed above for wearing earplugs.

-Travel size shampoo, body soap, floss, and toothpaste with toothbrush—you can purchase most toiletries at the front desk, but why not save money and bring your own.

-Waterproof sandals for the shower

-Adapter for cell phone and camera charger

-Linens and inflatable pillow—Most hostels provide linens and a pillow free of charge, but check the hostel website to be sure. If they don’t provide linens and pillow, then you can rent these items on site or you can bring your own. To bring your own, pack an inflatable pillow and sleeping bag or sleep-sack, which is like a pillowcase for your body.

-Money belt—this is a zipped pouch you strap around your waist and wear concealed under your pants. It is a standard travel accessory worn to safely store small, important items like money, credit cards, keys, and tickets. Wear it at all times. Sleep in it. Keep it close and within sight when showering.

-Plastic grocery or Ziploc bags—great for storing wet items or items that might leak

Do Not Bring to a Hostel

-Valuables—unnecessary and stupid

-Large bag—see “Lock” under “Do Bring to a Hostel” in the list above. The key to backpacking is packing light, not just because you have to carry everything you bring with you but also because there is little space to securely store your stuff.

-Laptop—Many people do bring laptops to hostels when backpacking, but I say leave them behind. Remember that the key to backpacking is packing light and that you do not want to bring valuables with you. Laptops are heavy valuables. Free yourself from cyberspace for a few days. Even facebook can wait. If you must use a computer, Internet cafés sprinkle most cities and most hostels provide computers, making lugging your own computer around unnecessary.

Extra Hostel Tips:

-Know how to get to your hostel. Before you leave, write down directions from your drop-off point to the hostel.

-Many hostels have 24-hour accessibility, but some hostels have curfews. Check the hostel policy, because if there is a curfew, they will lock the doors.

-Make your bed as soon as you check-in so you will not have to do it later when you are tired and when more people are trying to sleep.

-To reduce weight in your backpack, do not pack pajamas and instead sleep in your clothes for the next day.

-To save money, buy food from a grocery store and prepare it in the hostel kitchen instead of buying food from a restaurant or from a fast food joint. Prepare food that keeps fresh at backpack temperature, so you can pack it and take it with you for lunch and dinner the next day. Bringing collapsible food containers helps.

Other Accommodation Options Besides Hostels:

-Camping

-Bed & Breakfasts

-Couchsurfing

-Hotels

For backpacking tips, see How to Backpack the UK in 10 Steps.

My first UK hostel bed. Edinburgh, Scotland. Caledonian Backpackers. Best hostel I have stayed in.