MY 19 favorite HOSTELS IN EUROPE

Last Updated: 4/7/22 | March 7th, 2022

I’ve been staying in hostels in Europe for over twelve years. I’ve probably stayed at close to a thousand by now. Some were wonderful; others I couldn’t leave quick enough.

Some have stood the test of time while others have long because vanished. The hostel scene is very popular and recognized in Europe, and the growing “luxury” hostel trend that incorporates much more amenities (and higher prices) for travelers.

Hostels today aren’t the hostels you found ten years ago. They are way nicer and offer a lot much more amenities!

As I’ve been going to Europe for so long, I’ve stayed in dozens upon dozens of hostels around the continent. There are a lot of things to consider when selecting a hostel. The top four when picking the best hostel in Europe are:

Location – Cities in Europe are substantial and it can take some time to get around. pick a place that is central to the sites and nightlife you want to see. All the hostels noted here are in central locations.

Price – In Europe, you really get what you pay for, so if you choose a really low-cost one, you’re probably going to get a hostel that is small, cramped, and doesn’t offer terrific service.

Amenities – many hostels offer totally free Wi-Fi and numerous include totally free breakfast, but if you want much more than that, be sure to do your research to find the hostel that best meets your needs!

Staff – All the hostels noted here have incredible staff! They are very friendly and knowledgeable. even if you don’t end up staying at one of the places noted below, be sure to look up reviews to guarantee you end up somewhere where the staff is valuable and friendly! They can make or break a hostel!

To help you plan your trip, here is my list of the hostels in Europe that I like the most. If you don’t want to read the longer list below, the following hostels are the best in each category:

Best Hostel for budget Travelers: Sophie’s Hostel
Best Hostel for Families: Generator
Best Hostel for Solo female Travelers: Goodnight Hostel
Best Hostel for digital Nomads: Generator
Best Hostel for Partying: Greg and Tom’s
Best overall Hostel: Kabul or The flying Pig

Want the specifics of each hostel? Here’s my extensive list of the best hostels in Europe:

1. Generator Hostels

The Generator is a hostel chain with locations throughout Europe. I’ve stayed in a few of their locations but Dublin and Copenhagen are my favorites. The hostels have terrific bars and restaurants, clean showers, comfortable beds, laundry services, and highly competitive rates. My only complaints are that the Wi-Fi is typically slow and they charge for breakfast, but having stayed in a few of their locations, I’d certainly stay in others. (They also have karaoke at their Copenhagen location.)

Generator Hostels at a glance:

Great place to meet other travelers

Modern, clean design

Lots of common areas for unwinding and mingling

Beds from 22 EUR, privates from 95 EUR.

Book Generator Hostel Dublin here!

Book Generator Hostel Copenhagen here!
 
2. City Backpackers (Stockholm)

I stayed here years ago and recently returned when my trip group was in Stockholm. The place was just as incredible as I remember. They still have a very good café and an outdoor eating/sitting area. Their beds and pillows are still very comfortable and comfortable, plus they have a substantial kitchen, common room, sauna, and laundry facilities. and you can’t turn a corner without bumping into a public computer. City Backpackers was and still is one of the top hostels in Europe.

City Backpackers at a glance:

Organizes tons of events

Lots of totally free perks (free coffee/tea, totally free pasta, totally free sauna)

Social outdoor patio for unwinding and meeting people

Beds from 23 EUR, privates from 80 EUR.

Book City Backpackers here!
 
3. St. Christopher’s (Barcelona)

Located best near Barcelona’s many well-known thoroughfare, La Rambla, everything about this place was brand new when I last visited. I really love the curtains on the dorm beds and the enormous bar/outdoor area next to the hostel. In general, I really like the St. Christopher’s brand. They offer fun, clean, sociable, and modern hostels all over Europe.

St. Christopher’s at a glance:

Huge bar/outdoor common area makes it easy to meet people

Fun, social atmosphere

Privacy curtains so you can get a good sleep

Beds from 23 EUR, privates from 165 EUR.

Book St. Christopher’s here!
 
4. The flying Pig (Amsterdam)

This is still one of my all-time favorite hostels. The facilities here are conventional and the price a bit expensive, but I love the atmosphere. While this hostel is popular with travelers wanting to chill and smoke, the bar area gets very busy at night with people who don’t want to get high. The staff here is what really makes this place special. They hang out with guests, are experts on the city, and are always helpful.

Moreover, this hostel has someof the comfiest beds and fluffiest pillows of any hostel I’ve ever stayed at. The flying Pig has three locations in Amsterdam (uptown, downtown, and the new beach location). I choose the uptown location because it’s smaller and simpler to meet people.

The folks behind the flying Pig also run Winston’s, another hostel. That place has a terrific bar and is next to a rock club that showcases a lot of good local musicians. tell Allen I say “hi!”

The flying Pig at a glance:

Great place to meet people

Super fun and social atmosphere

Bar on-site

Beds from 37 EUR, privates from 130 EUR.

Book The flying Pig here!
 
5. Goodnight Hostel (Lisbon)

I stumbled across this hostel in Lisbon (mostly because it was super cheap), and I’m really happy I did. conveniently located downtown, they offer totally free dinner and sangria and organize nights out. There’s a small common area, and the showers had incredible water pressure. This small hostel becomes very intimate and makes it easy to meet fellow travelers.

Goodnight Hostel at a glance:

Organizes lots of activities (pub crawls, walking tours)

Free breakfast

Intimate atmosphere makes it easy to meet people

Beds from 15 EUR, privates from 49 EUR.

Book Goodnight Hostel here!
 
6. Skanstull (Stockholm)

My second favorite hostel in Stockholm after City Backpackers, this place was remodeled in 2013 and has a brand-new, larger kitchen and common area. They really did a good job, and the kitchen is one of the nicest I’ve seen in a hostel in a long, long time. The hostel is quite small overall, but that offers a close-knit setting for getting to know other travelers.

Skanstull at a glance:

Huge kitchen for cooking your own meals

Cozy atmosphere (it’s a smaller hostel so it’s easy to meet people)

Recently renovated so everything is clean and new

Beds from 27 EUR, privates from 44 EUR.

Book Skanstull here!
 
7. Gallery Hostel (Porto)

This “luxury” hostel in Porto, Portugal, is probably one of the best I’ve ever stayed in and is certainly a new addition to my “all-time favorite” list. It’s not the most affordable in Porto, but this hostel/art gallery features home-cooked Portuguese food, a backyard, totally free after-dinner drinks, a game room, and friendly staff committed to making sure everyone gets to know each other. The art on the walls is from local artists and is available for sale (for those not traveling on a budget). I loved the nightly dinners they organized the best.

Gallery Hostel at a glance:

Delicious communal meals

Great place to meet people

Free drinks

Beds from 25 EUR.

Book Gallery Hostel here!

 
8. Hostel Mostel (Bulgaria)

This hostel has locations in three cities in Bulgaria (Sofia, Plovdiv, and Veliko Tarnovo), and they all follow the same principles: comfy beds, totally free breakfast, totally free dinner, totally free beer, totally free shots, a pool table, and free, fast Wi-Fi. I honestly haven’t ever seen a hostel offer so much totally free stuff to travelers.

Usually everyone stays whatsoever the Hostel Mostel locations, so you run into the same people frequently. I found them booked up a lot, so book in advancement if you want to stay here.

Hostel Mostel at a glance:

Social atmosphere so it’s easy to meet people

Lots of totally free perks (free drinks, totally free breakfast)

Organizes lots of activities

Beds from 7 EUR, privates from 26 EUR.

Book Hostel Mostel Sofia here!

Book Hostel Mostel Veliko Tarnovo here!

 
9. Kismet Dao (Brasov)

Probably the best hostel in Romania, Kismet Dao had a terrific backyard to unwind in, a fairly good breakfast (Frosted Flakes!), a large and clean kitchen, comfy rooms, and a substantial common area. I didn’t like the showers, as there wasn’t a lot of privacy (think gym style) but overall, this place is social, in a good location, and checks all the best boxes on meeting a traveler’s needs.

Kismet Dao at a glance:

Chill backyard for unwinding and mingling

Great place to meet other travelers

Free breakfast

Beds from 12 EUR, privates from 30 EUR.

Book Kismet Dao here!
 
10. The Yellow (Rome)

The Yellow is just a fun hostel. There’s no common area, so everyone hangs out in the bar downstairs. people come here to socialize and party. It’s a loud hostel in that respect, but because the party is separated from the main area, you don’t really hear much in the rooms. They have terrific security, high water pressure in the showers, comfy beds, and good enough Wi-Fi. They also run walking trips throughout Rome.

The Yellow at a glance:

Bar on-site makes it easy to meet people

Party vibe

Organizes lots of activities

Beds from 35 EUR, privates from 107 EUR.

Book The Yellow here!
 
11. Tallinn Backpackers (Tallinn)

This hostel in Estonia is for those who want to party, which I didn’t really do while I was there. but I still found the hostel to be fantastic because the beds were comfortable and the staff really put an emphasis on getting the guests get to know each other and interact. They do a nightly pub crawl, before which everyone gets together in the large common area (which they shut down at 11pm, so people who don’t want to go out can get some sleep).

Tallinn Backpackers at a glance:

Social party hostel

Great place to meet other travelers

Organizes lots of activities (like a nightly pub crawl)

Beds from 11 EUR, privates from 72 EUR.

Book Tallinn Backpackers here!
 
12. central station (Kiev)

Not so much a hostel as a series of apartments in the same building, central station is a true hostel’s hostel. It’s got enormous dorm rooms, a few showers, a tiny kitchen, and a little common area. It’s mostly the spirit of the place that makes it cool: activities every night, really friendly staff, and that tiny space that forces everyone to socialize and meet each other, not just sit behind their computers.

Central station at a glance:

Organizes tons of activities

Lively social atmosphere

Super friendly staff make it easy to socialize

Beds from 8 EUR.

Book central station here!
 
13. Greg and Tom’s party Hostel (Krakow)

I came here on the strength of a friend’s glowing recommendation. What I liked about this hostel was that on the one hand, there’s a strong focus on taking full advantage of Krakow’s lively nightlife.

On the other hand, they have two separate buildings, so if you want quiet at night, you can stay in the non-party building. They offer totally free breakfast, they cook you a meal every night (salad, potatoes, pasta, or meat), they have Nintendo Wii and Playstation, and there’s a large film collection. but what I loved the most was the massaging showers. It was the best shower I took in months.

Greg and Tom’s party Hostel at a glance:

Great place to meet people

Lots of totally free perks (free breakfast, totally free video games)

Separate building for non-partiers so you can get a good sleep

Beds from 13 EUR.

Book Greg and Tom’s here!
 
14. Kabul (Barcelona)

Kabul is tied with The flying Pig as my favorite hostel in Europe. It attracts travelers who are searching for a good time. This isn’t a quiet hostel where people go to bed. If you come to hostel, be prepared to party.

They have a lively common room area and organize nightly outings. The dorms are very clean, the beds comfy, and the showers high pressure. but what makes Kabul so fantastic is the downstairs common area. The common area takes up a whole floor of the building and comprises a café, bar, tables, Internet kiosks, and a pool table. here travelers eat, play pool, drink, and hang out – and the people here want to hang out. It’s a good hostel for a solo traveler because everyone here wants to make friends. The hostel is booked out weeks in advance, especially during summer, so don’t book last minute!

Kabul at a glance:

Lively party atmosphere

Organizes lots of activities

Really easy to meet people

Beds from 23 EUR, privates from 119 EUR.

Book Kabul here!
 
15. Archi Rossi (Florence)

They had me at breakfast. I’ve never been to a hostel that had a menu for breakfast. You can get eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes – the works. It’s not the normal European bread and coffee breakfast that makes me sad in the morning. It’s a full-on hearty breakfast! much more than the food, the hostel has character. You can sign your name or draw on the wall, their kitchen is a size of a cafeteria, and they have a terrific outdoor garden where you can kick back with a bottle of wine! and did I mention they have a full breakfast?

Archi Rossi at a glance:

Amazing breakfast

Laid-back outdoor garden for unwinding and mingling

Great place to meet people

Beds from 35 EUR, privates from 120 EUR.

Book Hostel Archi Rossi here!
 
16. Francesco’s (Ios)

With a view like this, how could you not like this place? There’s a pool, kitchen, very clean rooms, and comfy beds. The owners are very friendly and accommodating, the patio area is a terrific place to make new friends, and every night they have a hostel get together so everyone can meet people (free shot included). They also organize pub crawls (because it’s Ios and everyone comes here to party). It�