13 Hostel Tips For Solo Female Travelers

There are so many hostels out there and a lot of times most of them will have a similar price, while their offerings when it comes to amenities and room/bed quality are totally different.

For example, two different hostels could both cost the same price per night, but hostel #1 includes breakfast, beds with privacy curtains and a personal outlet, while hostel #2 is lacking all of those amenities and people report that it’s dirty or god forbid, has bed bugs.

Some things to look for that the best hostels will have:

• Free, stable WIFI
• Privacy curtains for dorm beds
• Personal storage
• Free towels
• Free breakfast
• A swimming pool in hot destinations
• Hot water
• Air conditioning
• How many bathrooms? I prefer when there is a bathroom in my dorm AND communal showers, so that I don’t have to wait around if the dorm shower is being used

Hostelworld is great because they have separate ratings for value, security, location, staff, atmosphere, cleanliness, and facilities. This is a great site to use overall for booking hostels, especially because you usually get free cancellation with the option to pay a little more so that if you cancel, your deposit can go toward a future booking.

2. Pack As Light As Possible

This is one of the hostel tips you’ve probably heard before – it is called backpacking after all! You should aim to pack as light as possible. You may think you need lots of things, but you don’t. Of course bring anything vital to your health, happiness and peace of mind, but anything else should go!

I know for me it was hard to go from packing whatever I wanted to having to cut things out, especially when I was going on a months long trip solo feeling extra vulnerable, but in the end the extra things I bought weighed me down (literally). Now, every trip I go on I try to pack less. It’s a work in progress.

Try to stick to what you can easily carry on your back – so a large backpack with a lot of light weight items if your best bet.

What to Bring And Not to Bring

Do not pack a lot of clothes – backpackers are known for wearing the same outfits over and over, and it will make your life sooo much easier. 

Have two sets of outfits for lounge, travel days, and going out – two so that you have a set of clothes to wear when you’re doing laundry. 

One thing I do recommend is – don’t skimp on things you need to stay healthy assuming you can buy it where you are. This is especially true for people with sensitive skin or specific medical needs.

It’s very frustrating to waste hours or days searching for an item and if you think they may not have it, they probably won’t. I was shocked at how few things I use at home were actually available to buy in Bali as a female traveler from the United States.

I’m going to point out this is especially true for people with sensitive skin or medical needs. For example, I need eye drops with an antihistamine in them for my severe eye allergies and this type of item did not exist in Bali for all I know. I checked in almost every pharmacy I saw until I finally gave up. It was actually one of the reasons I ended up leaving for home a little earlier than expected. Next time, I’ll bring enough allergy eye drops!

3. Keep Your Stuff As Organized As Possible

This is one of the hostel tips you may not have thought of before, and is especially important if you’re like me and find it hard to pack light, and/or if you’ll be moving around to different accommodations during your travels. 

Keeping your things organized will save you time and money throughout your whole trip.

One big difference when comparing a hostel to a hotel is the amount of space you have for your belongings. I find it hard to stay organized while staying in a shared room at a hostel because you will either have a small amount of storage or none, especially in smaller dorms.

There were a few close calls on my latest trip where at the last minute I couldn’t find what I needed, which made me either almost or actually miss the tour I had booked. I think it was a ticket once and a jacket the other. If my stuff would’ve been more organized that wouldn’t have happened.

Here are some things that will make it easier to stay organized:

• Buy a backpack or suitcase with lots of different pockets and compartments like this one
• Use packing cubes and travel pouches 
• Get a large wallet to store important documents
• Make sure your hostel has personal storage options 
• Don’t go to bed without quickly straightening up and organizing your things
• Bring a laundry bag 
• For long term trips, get acquainted with where everything goes in your luggage before you go 
• Organize your luggage by clothes, electronics and/or work things, money & ID & important documents, hair & make up, shoes

4. Pay Attention To Free Amenities And Hostel Social Events

One of the best parts about staying in a hostel are the common areas, free social events and discounted tours. 

It’s very common for hostels to offer a free meal and nightly activities to bring everyone together like barbecues, karaoke or dance lessons. Party hostels will usually have some sort of pregame at the start of the night and then they keep the party going until late night. They’ll also host pub crawls. 

Sometimes the common areas will have games like pool tables, ping pong or beer pong. Take a look at what the hostel offers at the front desk at check-in so you don’t miss out on an opportunity to save money and meet your fellow hostel mates!! 

Something else to pay attention to is for any free items the hostel has for you to borrow or use during your stay. Some common examples are water jugs in areas where it’s not safe to drink the tap water, boogie boards and umbrellas at beachy areas, kitchen ware – usually in the common areas, and plug adapters.

5. Consider Staying In An All-Female Dorm As A Solo Female Traveler

A lot of hostels have female-only dorms, which are especially comfortable for solo female travelers. This is my favorite type of dorm to stay in. It’s fun to connect with other girls and you don’t have to worry about it becoming super messy like you do with co-ed dorms. 😝

To check on this, they will have female only dorms listed as an accommodation option when you go to book.

6. For Introverts: Utilize Pod Hostels And Private Rooms

This is the most important of my hostel tips for introverted travelers. If you need your alone time and you’ll be traveling for a long time, you should definitely utilize pod hostels OR simple private rooms at more basic hostels.

That way you can still take advantage of the social atmosphere in the common areas, while maintaining some space and privacy when you need it.

Pod hostels/hotels are ones that rent out an enclosed pod as opposed to just a bunk bed in a dorm room, allowing for more privacy, although these can be bad for people who are claustrophobic or tall.

Another great option is finding private rooms at more basic hostels, because they will usually be a lot cheaper than your typical hotel room. Even the nicer hostels usually have private rooms at a good rate.

At the very least, if you’re an introvert traveling hostel to hostel solo, make sure to stay in hostels with privacy curtains. You’ll be able to tell by looking at photos of the dorms.

That way you can still take advantage of the social atmosphere in the common areas, while still maintaining some space and privacy when you need it.

7. If You Need WIFI to Work Remote, Stay At A Coworking Hostel to Be Safe

Just because a hostel says they have free WiFi, it definitely doesn’t mean that 1.) it’s strong or fast or 2.) it’s accessible via any of the areas you’d like to work from.

I’ve gotten stuck many times unable to work from a hostel due to these reasons. So, if I’m not staying right next to a coworking space I plan on using daily, I make sure to stay at a coworking hostel during my travels. 

A coworking hostel is specifically set up for digital nomads who need somewhere to work. They will have a designated work space typically along with strong, reliable WIFI and a great crowd of travelers you can network with. 

A coworking hostel is also a great place for first time solo travelers because you can guarantee you’ll be able to communicate easily with the outside world and do video calls without issues, for some extra comfort. P.S. if you are working remote during your travels, check out my digital nomad packing list to make sure you have all your essentials!

8. Don’t Reserve Your Stay In Advance If It’s Nonrefundable, Unless You’re Set On One Hostel

There are multiple reasons for this hostel tip, and it’s only really relevant for long term solo travelers. For one, usually hostels will not sell out more than a few days in advance unless they’re in a very popular area or are famous.

Second, you don’t know when you’ll end up not having a good time at any certain hostel, or meet a group of people you’re really connecting with who may be moving to different hostels.

I made the mistake of booking a bunch of hostels in advance before I went on my most recent trip to Bali, and I ended up racking a few cancellation fees from wanting to change my trip to be with certain people or to go to certain areas I hadn’t known about before arriving.

9. Hostel Owners & Staff Make Great Tour Guides

Get to know the hostel owners and friendly staff members, who will often give you valuable advice that you won’t find online for the best things to do in the area on a budget, and the best places to see outside the city center. They’re generally very nice and willing to help you out, which makes for some memorable conversation and will make you feel more at home.

Usually when I find myself needing information or an answer to a question I have about my destination, somebody at the hostel I’m staying with is happy to help.

This is of course not ALWAYS the case and you may run into some unmotivated workers from time to time, so don’t be offended if that happens. But it’s always worth a shot! And you could end up with a new friend.

10. Learn & Use Hostel Etiquette

Making sure to be polite to your fellow dorm mates will help you make friends and enjoy your hostel experience. No one likes the annoying hostel goer that doesn’t show respect.

Some general rules are for hostel life are:

• Be as quiet as possible during the middle of the night
• Don’t turn on the lights while others are sleeping (unless it’s day time)
• Clean up after yourself
• Keep your things generally isolated to your space in dorm rooms
• Don’t adjust the air conditioning in a dorm room without consulting others
• Be quick in the public showers and restrooms
• When in a common room, leave space for others
• When using the hostel kitchen or communal bathrooms, clean up after yourself
• If you move around a lot in your sleep or think you’ll have trouble climbing a ladder up to your bed in the dark, opt for a bottom bunk

11. Be Friendly With Everyone You Meet

My favorite of the hostel tips – even if you’re in a bad mood or have no interest in making new friends, it’s a good rule of thumb to at least go into your hostel stay experience with an open mind and kind attitude. You never know who you could meet!

Personally, I struggle with this when I travel solo because I’m introverted and I grew up in Washington D.C. where people aren’t the friendliest to strangers unfortunately.

I’ve found that I’ve never regretted having a conversation with someone while traveling solo, and it’s always best to push through the uncomfortable feeling (as long as you feel safe of course). Plus, it’s a great way to push yourself outside your comfort zone and connect with people from other cultures and backgrounds who may offer new perspectives and cool stories.

You also never know when you’ll need a buddy to go do something with, and you may not be able to find someone right at the moment you need them. Opening your heart will help you enjoy the experience more and could lead to you meeting a life long friend or soul mate.

That being said, taking time for yourself, your needs, and to protect your energy is also very important, but sometimes we don’t need AS MUCH of that as we think we do.

12. Bring Ear Plugs or Sound Cancelling Headphones & An Eye Mask

Staying in a shared space means that ear plugs, sound cancelling headphones and/or a sleep mask is essential for peace. This is definitely the most important of my hostel tips if you’re a light sleeper.

Between the sound of the bunk beds rattling, people coming in and out all night, and conversations happening at all times of the day, in order to get your beauty sleep these essential items will make a huge difference.

13. Decide On Your Goals For Your Trip Before Arriving

Since there are so many people in any given hostel, and the hostel will also likely have tours and activities planned, sometimes your plans get derailed. This is fine if you aren’t picky and are trying to go with the flow, but before showing up, put some thought into what your non negotiables are for things you want to see and do.

During my first time in a hostel I completely abandoned my itinerary for one that matched what my new friends were doing. It was fun during that trip, but I wouldn’t want that to happen on all of my hostel stays.

Take these hostel tips with you and have the best time on your solo trip. I hope you enjoy traveling hostel to hostel as much as I do! Check out the rest of my resources for digital nomads and backpackers here, and if you need help convincing your friends and family that your solo trip is a good idea, read my blog on the benefits of solo travel.