Best Hostel Stories – Travelers share their Best Stories from Hostels

Best Hostel Stories

A lot of fun and interesting stories happen as well at hostels! Ready for some Hostel Stories to enjoy a good laugh and “oooohhhh“-yourself out? We prepared some beautiful anecdotes for you.

Hostels are about people, they are full of life! At Hostels people get together, share a window of their lifetime, and maybe some food as well! We present you short stories from, at, and with hostels – from funny, crazy, weird, over to maybe even life-changing stories?

Great Hostel Stories in less than 30 seconds

We collected these anecdotes from our readers and 5 Star Hostels. Same as the Short Travel Stores, these stories are kept short, readable in less than 30 seconds! Jump in and read beautiful Hostel Stories from all over the world.

If you want even more great hostel stories, check out this Reddit about the best stories at hostels. Get some popcorn, it is a hilarious, fun read! Curious what is a hostel in the first place? We help you find out.

Losing the camera in a Hostel? Not on my watch!

Yawning, we stumbled off the night train, stepping foot on new territory: Berlin. It was inevitable that we were real-life zombies. Night trains have never been my thing. We arrived at the hostel in Berlin before it was open, so we sat at the beautiful park across the street.

Read: 3 coolest Hostels in Berlin compared

Shortly after 9am we walked into the office where a young man was working away on his computer. We assumed we were too early to check in, but were hoping to drop our bags off and then find a coffee shop somewhere. However, he greeted us kindly and, perhaps taking pity on the bags under our eyes, worked some magic and snuck us into a cute private hostel room early. With many thanks, we hopped into our beds and slept until the afternoon.

When I awoke from a fabulously long nap, I realized my most prized possession, my DSLR camera, was missing. Frantically, I searched the room, the closets, under the bed, in the bathroom, but it was nowhere to be found. Near tears, I raced out, heading towards the park we sat at earlier that morning, thinking I may have left it there. I nearly pummeled the hostel worker, who looked delighted to see me.

The young man waved me to his office while saying, “you left something behind”. He turned towards me with my camera bag in his hands,

“I figured you might need this”.

He smiled. I nearly burst into tears of gratitude. Thanking the man over and over again for all of his help today, I grasped my camera a little closer to me. I was happier than ever to have the privilege to take silly tourist photos of Berlin, my heart thankful for all the kind and honest people in this world.

This Short Travel Story was sent to us by Lexie, an amateur photographer who decided to follow her dream of exploring the world.

Read: Funny Hostel Stories – From Russian Spies to Harpoon Budgeting

Loosing the camera in a Hostel ? Not on my watch!

An unexpected surprise at Bus Hostel Reykjavík

It was only my intention to stay for one night at the Bus Hostel Reykjavík, but when my bike—the one I was about to cycle around Iceland for 4 weeks—went missing, I ended up staying two.

Little did I know I would meet a fellow bicycle traveller that night whom I got on splendidly with—we ended up sharing our first week together and had a blast; crossing rivers, wild camping and eating far too many cakes. I can safely say I got off at the right (bus) stop!

Traveling on a budget to Reykjavík?

We wrote a brand-new hostel guide to Reykjavík. In this guide we cover the 3 BEST hostels in Reykjavík for solo-travellers, backpackers and all travel styles.

Read the full hostel guide about the 3 top hostels in Reykjavík here.

Find here the absolute best hostels in Iceland with itinerary.

An unexpected surprise at Bus Hostel Reykjavik - Hostel Story

You’re Never Fully Alone When Traveling Solo (first-time solo-travel)

Prior to my stay at the Happynest Hostel, one of the best hostels in Chiang Rai, I had been traveling the islands and Chiang Mai with my husband and 6 other friends.

Needless to say, we were rolling deep, which is a rare concept considering we’re all American, and it’s hard to get that many people together to head overseas, let alone a weekend in Vegas!

So it came without saying, that when everyone headed home to LAX.

I stayed behind to trek Thailand solo for a week, I felt alone and depressed.

Don’t get me wrong, I was ecstatic to continue my travels, but the thought of being alone after being so accompanied by, felt like a shock in the weirdest way possible.

The 3-hour bus ride from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai was painful, even though I tried mercilessly to take my mind off it by gazing out the window watching the beautiful Thai countryside pass me by.

“Focus on the positive. Focus on the positive”

I kept telling myself.

A few breathing exercises and a short nap later, I arrived in Chiang Rai. I got off the bus, dazed and confused, and it hit me. I snapped out of the “poor Chloe” mode and into fight or flight more as I have landed in a new city, unsure of where to go, and with no taxis in sight.

Furthermore, I’m sure the look of worry showed on my face because before I know it, a police officer that spoke broken English, was helping me locate a taxi.

A smile came across my face at the kindness of this sweet stranger and as I climbed into my taxi, the young driver offered to drive me for free considering that Happynest was right around the corner.

A tear rolled down my cheek as I was thinking about how silly I was for feeling down, and my heart began to open up to the experience of solo travels.

Read: 10 most-common backpacker mistakes to avoid

When I arrived at Happynest, I was greeted with happy faces and beautiful smiles at check-in (it’s amazing what a smile can do!).

After checking into my amazing room, I went downstairs to grab a beer and peruse the bookshelves for something to read.

I picked up a Lonely Planet Thailand Travel Guide book to help me plan for the remainder of my trip.

I cracked open the first page and there it was, a forward written by three female travelers who had once stayed at Happynest.

Read: 13 Crazy Travel Stories – when the Hostel burns down

Message You’re Never Fully Alone When Traveling Solo

The forward struck me and I suddenly felt connected to these women, even though we have never met, it was as if our paths had crossed in one way or another.

And there it was at the bottom of the note; one of the traveler’s names was Chloe – like me.

At that moment, sitting alone in my room, I suddenly didn’t feel so alone.

I felt as this was a sign that I had made the right decision to travel solo.

It made me realize that while the familiarities of home were over 6,000 miles away, that I could do this.

So I got a good rest, started off the next morning with a pep in my step and kept a smile on my face for the remainder of my trip.

Read our huge guide of 3 BEST hostels in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

There are more 5 Star Hostels across Thailand, including boutique-styled hostels and smiley friends:

Happynest Hostel Chiang Rai Life

A message at Happynest Hostel

Meeting friends can be easy…but it doesn’t have to!

“Hostelgeeks” in Traditional Chinese – Wallyard Concept Hostel

Berlin in late November already gives you an idea of the cold winter the German capital is facing. It is a chilly Saturday evening when we arrive back to Wallyard Concept Hostel in Berlin.

Read: complete guide to best hostels in Berlin

On our way to the rooms, posters across the building tell us about a chill out DJ party this night, taking place in the stylish design lounge of the hostel. After a long day exploring Berlin, this sounds like a great idea for a tranquil night.

We are sitting in the lounge, chatting with fellow travelers and neighbors while listening to the DJ. By now we are quite a big group. Another guest opens the door, she looks at the bunch of strangers. Sure, a big group in a hostel can look intimidating in case you don’t know anyone, right?! So instead of joining, she walks past by to sit by her own.

We invite her to join us.

As it turns out, Mengying is a female solo-traveler from China.

She is currently backpacking Europe, having a blast! Everybody shares a fun story while traveling through Europa until we end up talking about languages.

She explains to us the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese.

And not just that.

She actually shows us the difference by writing down words in Mandarin and Cantonese. As Europeans with no clue about Chinese or Sino-Tibetan languages at all, this was very interesting!

At the end, our new friend Mengying wrote for us Hostelgeeks in Mandarin. Should we change our logo now?!

Read: 24 Fun Things to Do in Berlin, Germany

Wallyard Concept Hostel in Chinese

Thailand: Locked at a Hostels Bathroom And Rescued By a Thai Man

The day started out like any other, perhaps lazier. We stayed at a hostel in Phuket, Thailand (all 5 Star Hostels in Thailand), and we had to check out at 12. At around 11am, we decided to get showered.  I stripped off outside the wet room and closed the door behind me. Next thing I knew, I was standing in the bathroom with a doorknob in my hand.

Caroline heard the noise and asked what was happening. We laughed until she tried the handle on her side. Nothing.

We utilized our cutlery like locksmiths, hoping to crack it. I stood stark naked, not a towel in the room, asking Caroline to fetch help. I thought this only happened in movies! She returned with a member of staff, and I was staring down the possibility of a Thai man opening the door on me in all my glory like some sort of flashing nutcase!

Whilst he hunted for tools, I asked Caroline to post me my pants. I jumped into them as the guy returned to attack the lock again. He cracked it, revealing me wearing nothing but my boxers and a grin.

The guy did not know where to look. He ran, and we still managed to shower, pack and check out before 12 o’clock.

Locked at a Hostels Bathroom And Rescued By a Thai Man

Sharing a room with glass walls to the bathroom with strangers!

When I came for the first time to teach English in China, I crossed the border on a bus from Vietnam. My journey took around 8 hours and I met two people there, a French guy and a Chinese girl. Once we got off in Nanning, we realized that there were no tickets available for any trains that night, we had to wait till the morning to carry on to our destinations.

We decided to share the cost of this night’s accommodation and reserved a hotel room with two beds. Nothing would have been strange about the experience if we knew that it is very common in China for the hotel rooms to have glass walls in the bathroom.

Now, three strangers of different genders had to share a room with transparent walls in the restroom. After the first shock, we just decided to in turns leave one person in the room to shower.

Well, that was the first experience I had with China, and I learned way more strange customs over the years. I highly recommend you visit China too and discover something mind-blowing yourself!

Sharing a room with glass walls to the bathroom with strangers

Winter is not coming in Berlin – A Simple Story why I love Hostels

Going to Berlin in November was a challenge for me, since I’m not really an enthusiast of low temperatures. My boyfriend and I started looking for hostels online, and found some incredible photos of the Wallyard Concept Hostel, one of the coolest Berlin Hostels.

We are attracted by places with great design projects, and this is one of the things we look forward to finding on our trips together.

Amazed by the decor of the Wallyard Concept Hostel, but traveling on a low budget, we booked a shared room for 4.

We often travel, and sometimes the hostels are nothing like they look like in their website photos.

But as we arrived at Wallyard Concept Hostel, we realized that it was even better than we expected.

Design, graffiti and art work aside, the owners and their mother were the cherry on top of the cake! They were more than welcoming, always ready to help and give us different information about Berlin. And I haven’t even started talking about the home-cooked breakfast at Wallyard Concept Hostel.

Everything was fresh and made with love, like we were their friends staying over the weekend.

And to end our stay with great style, the owner gave us a room upgrade, so we had a suite of our own to spend Sunday night. All these little treats made our trip to Berlin so special that I even forgot the winter, since I felt really warm inside!

Read: 24 fun things to do in Berlin, Germany


This Short Travel Story was sent to us by Anna Carolina Caldas, a fashion lover and world traveler. Follow her daily print shots on her Instagram @tododiaumprint.

Winter is not coming, a warm Hostel Story

Travel with Rose-Colored Glasses – My Nicaragua Experience

Nicaragua was not kind to me. My luggage was delayed, I had a violent bout of food poisoning. My belongings were drenched with rainwater when a hostel roof collapsed, and I suffered through a debilitating, week-long illness.

And when my prized DSLR was stolen from my hostel dorm room? I had thoroughly had enough.

But if Nicaragua taught me nothing else, it’s that every single experience is valuable. Every experience shapes you; I learned from those hardships and am better off because of them. Travel comes with no guarantees, except that it’ll be worth it. And now, when I look back on those memories, I see Nicaragua through rose-colored glasses.

Read: Are hostels safe?

Travel with Rose-Colored Glasses

When the Hostels Tag Line keeps its promise

I stayed at BoutiQuito Hostel in Quito for a few nights, went away to Laguna Quilotoa for a night, and then returned.

Two Americans that were there at the same time as me happened to leave when I did, and then came back on the same day as me. I arrived late at night and was relieved to see familiar faces.

We laughed that we had proofed the hostel’s tag line #youwillbeback to be correct!

They had just got to Ecuador and were interested to hear about where I had been so far.

I had been in Montañita before coming to Quito, and they were taking a bus there that night. I told them what to expect and as I planned to return there, we added each other on Facebook in order to meet up.

I got back to Montañita a few days later, and I saw them on the beach every day.

Read: best hostels in Quito

When the Hostels Tag Line keeps its promise -BoutiQuito Hostel

3 Best Hostels in…

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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.

Find all our 3 best hostels guides here.

Tips & Tricks for Hostels

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Here are 3 hostels-101 articles we highly recommend reading:

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

Books with Crazy and Fun Stories in Hardcover

For even more beautiful travel stories, check out the following books:

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