Best Hostels in Europe

Looking for the absolute best hostels in Europe?

Welcome to the most outstanding and greatest hostels in Europe; the 5 Star Hostels! All these European hostels are brought to you by Hostelgeeks, your independent travel brand and guide to hostels.

We’ve done the research, so you don’t have to waste time. Simple, take a look at our collection and pick out your favorite hostel for the destination(s) you plan on travelling. In fact, we have stayed in over a thousand hostels all over the world by now.

Are these the best hostels in Europe?

Oh, YES!

If you are looking for social, safe and fun accommodations, this is your best website to find them. This guide covers the cheapest hostels in Europe, as well as the coolest hostels; from Poland to the best hostels in Paris and from Naples to Oslo in Norway… not forgetting that all important party hostel or two!

It could be argued that Europe holds some of the best hostels in the world!

UPDATE: We’ve put together a more concise guide to the 21 best hostels in Europe.

If you prefer to support one hostel brand, it’s worth checking out our guide to the best hostel chains in Europe + promo code.

Put on a Map: Best Hostels in Europe

In this map, we show all 5 Star Hostels and European destinations we cover.

Please zoom in to Europe to take a closer look. We reviewed hostels in Spain, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Greece, Malta, Denmark, Portugal and all over for you.

Filter the map by:

Best Party Hostels⁣ – Party Hostels

We wrote unique hostel guides for all major cities in Europe. Click here to jump to see all top hostels for your European backpacker trip.

How to book Hostels in Europe?

In every destination guide and hostel review, we give you the options to book (Hostelgeeks does not offer a booking service).

What is the cost of hostels in Europe?

You can pay anything from €5 to €50 – this really depends on 1. Country 2. Your time of travel 3. The type of room/dorm you choose.

If you are wondering how much are hostels in Europe for adults, or perhaps youth hostels in Europe, we recommend heading to the booking platforms (below) to investigate. We give you the most popular booking platforms, and ways to get better prices. The websites are:

  1. Booking.com
  2. Hostelworld.com
  3. Hostelz.com – price comparison <<< the best to save money!

These platforms also offer mobile apps worth downloading if you book hostels frequently. Just search for Hostelworld app and/or booking.com app in your search engine.

As for Hostelz.com: Hostelz compares all hostel prices directly with 1 click. This way you can always get the lowest price. This is very useful to save real money when backpacking Europe. It is the best place to find the cheapest hostels in Europe.

Read our guide on how to book hostels (with websites to use). This also includes info on when to book hostels in Europe.

Here’s our guide on how to book hostels with Hostelworld.

Hostelworld in Review - How does it work?

We handpick the Top Hostels in each City

This is your shortcut to your hostel-picks, saving you lots of time in your accommodation research. And for sure, it gives you the security of a top-hostel choice without any bad surprises.

For instance, The Passenger in Porto is one of the absolute best hostels in Europe. Casa Gracia in Barcelona is another example of the best European hostels.

We cover curated ‘3 best hostels’ guides to all major and interesting cities in Europe for Backpackers and Travelers. We cover destinations like Paris, Barcelona, Dublin, Athens, Rome….and so many more!

Hostels in Europe for all Types of Traveler

What are hostels in Europe like? We narrowed it down for you.

Whether you are traveling with your partner and want to socialize, or you are one of the brave solo-travelers. There are many, many wonderful hostels in Europe designed with many traveler types in mind.

Some of them are certainly better for the younger backpacker crowd, such as the many youth hostels Europe offers. Others are family-friendly and accept small or large groups.

Read: 7 different types of hostels

Make sure you opt for the right hostel in Europe that matches your traveling style!

Let us help you out, no matter what traveler type you are:

Are hostels safe for women travelers or families in Europe? Absolutely! Make sure you check out our dedicated lists below:

Get ready for stunning private rooms, swanky dorms, sociable common areas and fun activities perfect for meeting new people.

Budget traveler? How to travel the world for FREE (top 10 tested ideas)

Useful Hostel Guides

We know Europe and the hostels in Europe like the back of our hand. We have been traveling since 2007, staying in the coolest places around. Therefore, we decided to put together this list of great European Hostels.

And not just that.

We also created a big guide to European Hostels – a must-read.

It gives you an insight to what is a hostel in Europe, with prices and pitfalls to avoid.

We will show you how to book your hostel the smart way, what to take into account, and more smart travel tips to help with your planning.

Here you can find ALL our articles about hostels.

The most important articles to read are:

15 Essential Tips for Booking Hostels (incl. Apps, Discounts and Hacks) – The Starter Guide

Fall in love with the Best European Hostels

And now? Keep scrolling, you will love these accommodations!

Are you a world Traveler? Then you also want to check out the best hostels in the world here.

Destination not listed?

Then please please please let us help you. Just drop us a line and include a fun travel pun; we will get back to you in person as soon as we can!

We will send you over a handpicked hostel recommendation for that destination.

Useful info for Traveling Europe

Before you pack your bags and board that flight, there are always necessary preparations to ensure you not only have a great time, but also stay safe and save money.

First things first; book your accommodation!

You don’t want to be disappointed to find your favorite hostel fully booked on your travel dates.

Top tip: Don’t overpack! Here’s a handy guide to what NOT to pack to stay at a hostel.

Hostel booked, what next?

Travel Insurance for Backpacking Europe

Whether you’re looking for short-term or long-term travel insurance, it’s always a good idea to look at your options. Personally, this is one of our least favorite topics when it comes to travel. But, well, it is necessary.

We especially recommend getting travel insurance for Europe if you’re planning on going skiing, hiking and trying your hand at scuba diving.

Here’s a simple step-by-step guide for Long-term Travel Insurance (with prices).

We also wrote a big detailed review of Safetywing Travel Insurance, one of the most popular choices. Here is our review of HeyMondo.

The two travel insurances we use are:

Travel Insurance for Backpacking Europe

Sort out the Visa for Europe

This does, of course, depend on where you’re from and if a visa is even needed.

Always make sure you check the website ivisa.com before you take off! Otherwise, you could arrive in your destination only to be denied entry. No, thanks.

iVisa has this super cool tool of checking your requirements. Just type in where you are from and where you are heading. And the system tells if you require anything special like an invitation letter or visa etc. And yes, it also tells you if you require a Visa or not!

Here is our full review of iVisa.com to get you started.

iVisa Review for Europe

Hostel Packing List

It is time to see what you should pack in your backpack or suitcase when youth hosteling in Europe. Make sure you always pick a quality hostel. It totally reduces the things you need to pack. Here is our ultimate hostel packing list.

It features 23 items you should really throw in your backpack.

Download Hostel Packing List

Staying up to date

This list of the best European Hostels, and the 5 Star Hostels, will always stay up to date.

We will keep adding all the greatest budget accommodations across Europe. Whether it is a Design Hostel, Boutique Hostel, Eco or Green Hostel – we will take a close look at these backpacker accommodations.

You can subscribe to our newsletter to get first news.