How to Choose Hostels Over 30: What to Look For (and What To Avoid)

By far one of the most common questions I got asked when I told people I was spending my career break going backpacking again in my 30s was ‘will you be staying in hostels?’, usually teamed with a slightly horrified face.

The idea of staying in hostels in your 30s can take some getting used to, but it’s a huge part of the backpacking experience and boasts lots of advantages, especially if you’re a solo traveller. You just need to know how to choose the right place to stay that suits you and the way you’re travelling.

Learn from some of the mistakes I’ve made along the way with this guide on how to choose hostels over 30; including what to look for in a hostel and perhaps more importantly, what to avoid to ensure you have a great time as an older traveller.

I’m Over 30, Am I Too Old To Stay In Hostels?

No! Look, I I love having my own space, but staying in hostels is a huge part of backpacking – especially as a solo traveller.

My year long career break would be a lot shorter were I paying for private rooms all the time, and I would rather be away exploring the world for a year rather than a few months.

There are also big advantages to hostels that shouldn’t be sneered at or overlooked – particularly the social aspect for solo travellers. They are the best place to meet other backpackers, the best way to get stuck into the travelling lifestyle and they save you money.

I do completely get the apprehension when it comes to tackling hostels over 30 though. The fact is that your comfort levels do change the older you get.

I’ve lived by myself for five years, and at first, the idea of sharing a dorm room with multiple strangers felt like a nightmare concept. I’ve done it plenty in my 20s but now? Ugh. I won’t lie: it did take me a while to get back into it, but choosing the right hostels made a huge difference, and now I’m home from my year of travel I feel oddly nostalgic for them sometimes!

Why Hostels Are Great For Backpackers Over 30 – Especially Solo Travellers

Let’s start with the advantages, as there are many reasons choosing to stay in hostels is a great choice when backpacking, even if you are over 30.

Hostels Are Cheap

The obvious advantage for picking a hostel to stay in is that your travel budget is going to go a lot further if you’re staying in dorms rather than other accommodation, especially as a solo traveller.

You may have a bit more money to spend in your 30s, but many people would choose for that money to result in a longer trip, rather than a shorter one spent in hotels.

The cost of dorm beds does vary hugely between continent and country, though there will also be other factors that lend itself towards a higher price point. Hostels with better facilities will charge more and you even get really bougie hostels with beautiful architecture and infinity pools now, which I absolutely love and always try to book. These will, naturally, cost more than basic hostels but as a backpacker in my 30s, I think they are well worth it, and still usually cheaper than a private room elsewhere. You can read about my favourite hostels for over 30s here.

You can pay anywhere from £5 to £40 for a dorm bed. You’ll find places in Asia tend to be the cheapest, whilst dorms can get spenny in Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Europe.

Whether you are travelling in high or low season will affect the cost, and there are certain dates where you will pay a premium – Christmas, New Year, Day of The Dead, any dates that coincide with a big concert or local festival. The cost will be higher, but they will still be the cheapest option compared with hotels and Air BnBs.

Many hostels will also have kitchens for guests to use, and being able to cook your own food is a great way to help keep costs down whilst travelling, making your budget last for longer and more money for the big ticket activities you don’t want to miss out on.

If you’re travelling with a partner or friend, you may end up paying the same for a private room as you would for a dorm bed each, which is a great advantage I am often envious of – there are pros and cons to travelling solo.

Hostels Are Social

One of the best things about backpacking is the people you meet. Likeminded people with an appetite to see the world and live life a little differently for a while – people like you.

There are lots of ways to make friends whilst travelling, but one of the easiest way to meet people is in a hostel. You’ll quickly settle into the routine of asking your dorm mates where they are from, how long they have been travelling, where they’ve been and where they are going. The same conversation does become a little tedious after months of it, but it works.

Great hostels will put on organised activities for guests too, making it easy even for the shyest of travellers to meet other backpackers.

How To Book a Social Hostel, Not A party Hostel

Just because a hostel is cited as being social, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a party hostel.

A good way to tell this is to look at the photos of the hostel on Hostelworld – do they have photos of organised bar crawls? Do they have a DJ playing at the hostel bar? Having a hostel bar itself doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a party hostel – often this is a great way to meet people without going out all night – but take note of the photos shown. Is the bar right next to the dorm rooms or tucked away on the roof or the basement in a thoughtful way that allows people to opt in or out of a rowdy one?

Check the reviews on Hostelworld – what are they saying? The reviews give the age bracket of the reviewer, so take note of this too; if a reviewer is 18-24 years old and particularly enthusiastic about the social side of the hostel, I will take this to mean it’s more of a party hostel. Looking at reviews from people in their 30s is probably going to give me a better idea of whether I’ll like the hostel or not. 

Hostels Can Be Really Boujie

Hostels are not what they used to be. At least not all of them! There are so many hostels that are majorly boujie now: stylish spaces, infinity pools and thoughtfully designed dorm rooms.

These usually come at a higher price, but that means they attract older travellers and digital nomads, which is a vibe I look for. Who isn’t a sucker for a gorgeous swimming pool to chill in?! Colombia, Panama and Guatemala in particular have some stunning hostels. 

How To Choose Hostels Over 30: Key Features To Look For

There are few winning factors a hostel can have that will vastly increase the likelihood of my booking them, and every backpacker will agree that these features are hugely appreciated, especially when you’re on the road for a long time!

You can also check out my full list of my favourite hostels I stayed inmy 30s on my recent career break here.

Female Only Dorms

I always choose a female only dorm room if I can. I feel ten times more comfortable sharing a room with other women, both from a safety perspective, general comfort aspect and the camaraderie just comes easier.

Whilst I have slept in plenty of mixed dorms, the risk of a mixed room is being the only woman in the dorm, which is an experience I really do not enjoy at all. I find female dorms come with a lot less heavy snoring and better hygiene too…sorry guys!

Unfortunately (and I think this is out of order), you often pay a bit more for a female only dorm, often £1-2 more per night than the mixed. 

Privacy Curtains

Any hostel that has privacy curtains you can pull across your bunk bed when you’re ready for bed or simply just want a break is top of my list. I absolutely love a bit of privacy, especially in a larger dorm.

Personal Light and Plug Socket

I’ve lumped these together as thankfully it’s rare you get one without the other: a personal light and plug socket next to the bed are simple necessities. Nothing irritates me more than a dorm room with two plug sockets for everyone to use – rare, but it does happen. Everyone needs a bit of power, you don’t want to miss that early alarm for your day trip or next flight!

A reading light is not only incredibly handy on a personal level, but it stops people using the big light and disturbing others late at night.

Hostel Activities

Any hostel that puts on activities cares about their guests having a good time, making friends and feeling welcome. Even if I don’t join in, knowing the option is there makes me feel like there’s going to be a good vibe, with effort made on the part of the staff. A free walking tour is a particular favourite, they are a great way to ease into a new place, as well as get chatting to new people!

A Good Common Area

A decent common area really allows you to settle into a hostel: somewhere cosy with comfortable seating and tables with plenty of sockets, an outdoor space you can enjoy when the weather is good. Somewhere that people can crack on with whatever travel admin they have to do, but also get chatting to people easily or play a game.

A bar is great too, as long as you can establish that said bar isn’t turning into a club each night. It’s nice to grab a beer or a cheap glass of wine after a long day out when you get back “home”, and it’s a surefire way to get chatting to people. But I beg of you: more non alcoholic beers on offer please, hostels!

Big Lockers

Almost all hostels will provide some form of locker for each person to lock away their valuables, but the best ones are those that have large lockers so that you can lock your whole backpack away. 

It sounds like such a small thing, but when you’re sharing a room with anywhere up to 11 other people, being able to clear everything away into one space that’s just yours (and do it without struggling to fit everything in) is so helpful. 

I have this lock for lockers and also locking my own bag when needed. 

Heating and/or Air Con

I realise this is stating the obvious, but you really do need to when it comes to hostels – none of these things are a given! 

Somewhere that isn’t going to freeze you out if it’s cold, and preferably providing a decent blanket on your bed, and somewhere with air con if it’s sweltering. Sometimes I’m fine with a fan but over 30 degrees I start to struggle, and when you add multiple bodies in a room? There has to be at least the option of air con.

Towels Provided

Any hostel that provides towels so I don’t have to use my essential-but-evil travel towel for a few days gets points from me. Often hostels will hire them out for a small fee but anywhere that has a towel included in the price is reaping good karma.

Not an essential, but definitely a green flag. FYI – this happens a lot more in Asia than South America I’ve found!

Free Breakfast

Always a nice touch, always appreciated, but not a deal breaker.

Hostels Over 30: What To Avoid When Choosing A Hostel

After making some errors, hostels that have the following features tend to be ones I avoid as a solo female traveller in my late 30s.

The Cheapest Hostel

One huge advantage of travelling in your 30s is you tend to have a bit more to spend than you did in your early 20s, so whilst you need to keep to a budget to make that money last, it means you should be able to spend a bit more on better accommodation.

This may not stretch to private rooms all the time, but it does mean you don’t necessarily have to opt for the cheapest hostel in town. Naturally, facilities in the cheapest hostel won’t be as good, they often won’t have any activities put on and ultimately, you’re more likely to be sharing with 18 year olds as they tend to have less to spend. 

Party Hostels

Some hostels will tell it like it is and say straight up they are a party hostel, which to be honest, I appreciate! Others may require you to properly read their info or investigate further – they may list DJ nights, parties etc, and these are surefire signs.

This may be for you regardless of being over 30 – I like a drink too! But I like a drink and then being able to go to sleep when I want without the bass thumping through my dorm room until 2am.

Dorm Rooms With Sinks In The Room

This may not bother everyone, but I don’t love dorms with sinks in the room rather than in a separate bathroom. This can be really disruptive, especially when someone is getting up (or in!) late at the night, or even if you’re using an electric toothbrush! Generally I don’t really like ensuite bathrooms in a dorm either, I prefer separate bathrooms outside the room.

Hostels With Low Ratings

Whilst it’s important to read the specific reviews left by other travellers on Hostelworld to gauge whether it’s the right hostel for you (and I implore you to look at the age bracket of the people leaving the reviews for a better insight!), I won’t consider a hostel that’s rated under 8 on Hostelworld. There are usually enough hostels in a destination that I don’t have to consider anything below 8, so I’m not wasting my time weighing them up.

Bad or Not Enough Photos Of The Hostel Online

The more photos there are of a hostel, the more likely I am to book it. If there are no photos of the dorm rooms, I won’t even consider it. 

Posed stock photos don’t do it for me, but neither do photos of 25 people clearly on a boozy night out. The photos used to advertise the hostel should give you a decent idea of what kind of place you’re booking. 

How To Find The Best Hostels For Backpackers Over 30

How do you find good hostels to stay in? Many hostels will have instagram accounts now, which serve as a good way to check what the vibe is, but the following methods are my preferred go to ways of finding the best hostels to stay in.

Personal Recommendations

Easily my preferred way to find hostels to stay in is personal recommendations from friends and other travellers, especially those who are the same profile as me – solo female travellers in their 30s. 

I can ask what they liked about it and how much the place is social versus a party hostel, and get a straight answer. I regularly ask travellers I’ve met where their favourite hostels have been on their trip so far, and multiple recommendations for the same place show you’re being pointed in the right direction.

For my own personal recommendations, you can find my favourites on my Best Hostels for Backpackers Over 30 blog here.

Hostelworld

Hostelworld is the best tool for searching online for hostels in different destinations. You can filter out various facilities, private rooms and importantly for me, if they have female only dorms! Hostelworld even takes sustainability ratings into consideration.

Fellow travellers and backpackers can leave reviews which will contribute to an overall rating out of 10, which makes for a good starting point to sort through the options available. Remember to sort by most recent!

The reviews will cite the age group, gender and nationality of the reviewer, and I always take particular note of those by people over 30 and other female travellers, especially when it comes to the comments around how social the hostel is (if someone 18-24 years old is enthusiastic about the bar, it may not be the right place for me to stay!)

When searching you can also see how many people are booked into the hostel on the same dates you are looking at, which will help determine if the hostel will be busy and your chance of making some new pals will be higher. 

How To Book A Hostel

Once you’ve chosen a hostel you want to stay in, you’ll want to secure your booking. There are various options on how to book a hostel.

Book Direct

Booking direct through the hostel’s own website will often get you the best rate. However, I would do your research elsewhere prior – namely via Hostelworld.

Book via Hostelworld

Booking via Hostelworld has it’s advantages; you can see how many other people are booked in at the same time as you and you can get chat started with those people via the Hostelworld app. This feature can also be used whilst staying there to see if anyone wants to go for a drink or grab some food, in the case that the hostel doesn’t have it’s own what’s app group for guests. 

Booking via the app will often get you a better price than on the Hostelworld desktop website, so worth checking both. I also tend to go through the Avios e-store in order to get points on my deposit when booking. 

Book via Booking.com

Hostels are also listed on Booking.com these days, and if you have a Genius discount on your account, this can get you a better price than direct or Hostelworld, so worth checking. You will also gain points per pound for the total value of your booking when you make your booking via the Avios e-Store.

What To Pack For Hostel Living

There are a few items that I would be lost without during hostel living. I want to maximise my chances for as good a night’s sleep as possible, for starters. You can find my full backpacking packing list here, but the below items are those I consider a must for staying in hostels.

• Black Out Eye Mask: An eye mask that fully blocks any light is ideal when you’re travelling – this one is an absolute must. BUY HERE
• Great Ear Plugs: I’m a Loop convert, and these ones specifically for sleep are God tier. BUY HERE
• Flexible Padlocks: These are my favourite padlocks for both hostel lockers and my day bag to keep my valuables safe. BUY HERE
• Travel Towel: BUY HERE
• Adaptor: This multi country use adaptor can be used all over the world and has 3 USB ports, including one for USB C. BUY HERE
• Monopoly Deal: Not only is it the best game in the world, it’s the easiest way to make new friends in a hostel because everyone wants to play! BUY HERE
• Uno: Another easy to carry and widely enjoyed game that will help you to make new pals in hostels. BUY HERE and HERE
• Travel Case for Cards: Keep your games in a safe place and dry with these waterproof cases. BUY HERE
• Silicone Food Storage: I bought these silicone food storage bags for my Latin America trip and they were an excellent purchase ! They are freezer, microwave and oven safe so work really well in a hostel kitchen, and they work well for packed lunches too.  BUY HERE

Final Thoughts: How To Choose The Right Hostels Over 30

Hopefully you’ve picked up some tips from this blog about how to choose the best hostel when you’re over 30, and can use these to pick the right place to stay for your next destination! If you’re at the start of your backpacking planning, be sure to check out my prep guide here.

Ultimately, I’m a big believer that it’s usually the people who make an experience good or bad. You can read all the reviews and scour the photos of the hostels on Hostelworld all you want, but sometimes it just comes down to the other people you meet in a place.

You could be in a rubbish hostel but make a friend for life in the next bed over, or be in one of the most highly recommended hostels on the continent and not click with anyone.

Overall, I think the most important thing is to feel comfortable and safe. Try to choose hostels based on the factors you value most, be it a bed with a curtain, personal light and plug socket; social activities or a great common space.

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