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If you want to meet interesting travelers, stay at hostels off the beaten track, outside of high-season. (A hostel is like a hotel, but you rent a dorm bed in

If you want to meet interesting travelers, stay at hostels off the beaten track, outside of high-season. (A hostel is like a hotel, but you rent a dorm bed in a shared room instead of a private room.)

FabHK 7y ago
The trick is not so much the hostel, but the off-the-beaten-track. If you go off-the-beaten-track enough, there is not much choice in accommodation, anyway.
- JoshMnem 7y ago
  The hostels make it easier to meet people. Other places with communal areas, like campgrounds, work too.
  - Symbiote 7y ago
    I once met a rich guy (owned an American hotel franchise) backpacking in Viet Nam. We were both waiting for the overnight train somewhere, and ended up in the same compartment. At the destination, I checked into the hostel, and he checked into the 5-star hotel. He came by the hotel bar later to share stories, and bought everyone a drink. (This wasn't especially off-the-beaten track, even 10 years ago, but there were simply fewer tourists then.)
- mrisoli 7y ago
  Having stayed in 40+ hostels, it can get tiring very quickly, at first it's easy to be impressed at seeing so many different people in one location, but eventually I started feeling like everyone was the same, with the exception of someone here and there. I do agree that off-the-beaten-track is better, location really defines the profile of the majority of the travelers you'll meet there, such as the european party trail(Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague-Budapest) where you're more likely to meet people who just want to get wasted(and hit on 'locals' if they are men). Not to mention the universal adoption of smartphones, cheap data tourist plans, google maps and trip recommendations at your palm, more often than not, if I'm stepping into a hostel common area I'm more likely to see a bunch of zombies glued to their phones before deciding to hit some of the top 5 recommendations on TripAdvisor, it also makes it more difficult to start conversations in a place where that was way more natural just a few years back. These days I'm only staying in hostels for the monetary value which is still way cheaper than most Hotels or AirBnBs, trying to stay in dorms that have no more than 6 beds, I end being one of those who is just staring at their phones and doesn't really engage with other travelers(I do believe this is the majority of hostel guests these days). I'll get a hotel for the comfort every now and then. I guess living in a backpacker destination made me a bit bitter about backpackers in general.

FabHK 7y ago

The trick is not so much the hostel, but the off-the-beaten-track. If you go off-the-beaten-track enough, there is not much choice in accommodation, anyway.

JoshMnem 7y ago
The hostels make it easier to meet people. Other places with communal areas, like campgrounds, work too.
- Symbiote 7y ago
  I once met a rich guy (owned an American hotel franchise) backpacking in Viet Nam. We were both waiting for the overnight train somewhere, and ended up in the same compartment. At the destination, I checked into the hostel, and he checked into the 5-star hotel. He came by the hotel bar later to share stories, and bought everyone a drink. (This wasn't especially off-the-beaten track, even 10 years ago, but there were simply fewer tourists then.)
mrisoli 7y ago
Having stayed in 40+ hostels, it can get tiring very quickly, at first it's easy to be impressed at seeing so many different people in one location, but eventually I started feeling like everyone was the same, with the exception of someone here and there. I do agree that off-the-beaten-track is better, location really defines the profile of the majority of the travelers you'll meet there, such as the european party trail(Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague-Budapest) where you're more likely to meet people who just want to get wasted(and hit on 'locals' if they are men). Not to mention the universal adoption of smartphones, cheap data tourist plans, google maps and trip recommendations at your palm, more often than not, if I'm stepping into a hostel common area I'm more likely to see a bunch of zombies glued to their phones before deciding to hit some of the top 5 recommendations on TripAdvisor, it also makes it more difficult to start conversations in a place where that was way more natural just a few years back. These days I'm only staying in hostels for the monetary value which is still way cheaper than most Hotels or AirBnBs, trying to stay in dorms that have no more than 6 beds, I end being one of those who is just staring at their phones and doesn't really engage with other travelers(I do believe this is the majority of hostel guests these days). I'll get a hotel for the comfort every now and then. I guess living in a backpacker destination made me a bit bitter about backpackers in general.