Life on the Road - Hostels
I felt like starting a series showing my experience of the day to day backpacker life - something which is full of its own little challenges every step of the way.
First up: hostels. The most basic element of any day is where you put yourself at the end of it, and you have a few different options on the South American landscape.
Party Hostels
These places are wild. The fiesta literally never stops at a true party hostel. Many of them are chains you can find in many cities and countries such as Loki and Wild Rover, but there are also smaller ones such as Kultur Berlin in Sucre. They have massive capacity, onsite bars or clubs with volunteers whose job it is to get people to mix together, usually via a drinking game. If you want to have a good time, you don't even need to leave the hostel!
...which is the weird part of party hostels. Some people swing from one to another across the continent, strange denizens barely sobering up from one day to the next, not taking the time to see any sights or interact with the community. It's a bizarre lifestyle that seems pretty common among certain groups of people. As well as this, party hostels are expensive. The average low cost hostel is $10 a bed, these places usually go for at least $15, and thats to share a very noisy, very crowded dorm where sleep is basically a write off. They also charge more at the bar than other hostels, and normally have in-house food that is very poor value.
I haven't stayed at one of these places so far, but I have visited them from time to time. It's a great way to spend a night if you are in town alone looking to meet people, plus if you get friendly/flirty enough with the volunteers they give you free drinks when the managers aren't looking. It's the best of both worlds: a good night out and a good nights sleep at a quieter second location.
Backpacker Hostels
These are the quieter places. They can vary wildly in price, quality and comfort, but what they will all have in common is they are smaller than the party hostels and almost entirely occupied by foreigners, most of those being European. You can book them online before you go, but I have mostly gone for a quick google and strolling on in and getting a price, which is normally lower than online. Breakfast is usually included, but best to check to prevent being surprised by a rumbly tummy in the morning. That said, hostel breakfasts are usually nothing to write home about, except in Buenos Aires, where they were amazing.
Advantages: normally quiet at night, you're around a lot of people you can meet, they practically push you out of the door during the day while they clean so you're encouraged to do stuff.
Disadvantages: you are still in a dorm, which means if some moleman has a snoring problem you WILL know about it; if the wrong crowd is there it can be difficult to have a good time and meet people; if the staff don't feel like doing their job you ill be left high and dry in terms of activities.
You can also find volunteer positions at some of these to save some money for a couple of weeks, though it will be more boring than those on offer at the party hostels.
Hostals (with an 'a')
These are odd places, and kind of a subset of backpacker hostels. You find them in smaller towns, usually one that are off the tourist trail a bit. They are normally run by foreigners, but sometimes by locals too. The reason for the different spelling is that when it is spelled with an 'a', the owner lives onsite. This means that they are basically family run, with a small number of beds and very personal service.
These have been my favourite places to stay so far. In La Serena, I stayed at one where the owner was a Belgian bloke who was kind enough to cook us a fresh omelette every morning, gave us an overwhelming knowledge of the local area and had chats with us in the evening when he wasn't too busy. The only downside is that if the owner is a little weird it makes it a different experience - I have heard of some odd folks running hostals in Patagonia, but haven't experienced it myself. Plus if your fellow guests get on your nerves, they are harder to escape.
Local Hostels
Normally when you are rolling around a town in South America you will pass a few signs saying HOSTAL or HOSPEDAJE. These are the local places, and they are really more like motels which cater to domestic visitors. Quality will vary immensely, but they will almost always be the cheapest option. For example, in Copacabana, Bolivia, a mate and I found a place that gave us a double room with internet, ensuite and hot water for $6. That same privilege would have set us back four times as much in a backpacker hostel.
The downside is that it is nigh impossible to meet people at these places. Most of the guests are families or older locals who obviously aren't as keen to hit the local watering holes with the cheeky gringo next door. It's best to come to these places with a group unless you really want a night by yourself. With a group you can grab a cheap bottle and crowd a single room if you feel like a party. You can usually barter the price down a bit - I have found that just going 'hmmm' after they tell you a price is enough to get them to drop the cost. They are not usually good places to get tourist info as the people behind the desk are usually more interested in maintaining order in their kingdom, so the wandering backpacker must be prepared to go hunting. You also need a Spanish speaker to reserve these, any attempt to ask in English is not taken well.
Now that I have officially ditched Booking.com and Hostelworld and started rocking up in a town and going desk to desk, the mix I have been getting is a real free for all. I still avoid staying at party hostels for cost reasons if nothing else, and mostly end up at backpacker hostels. To me, each serves a different purpose, with the backpacker places being the regular for meeting people and getting the lay of the land, party hostels for an occasional big night, and local hostels to give the wallet a rest and use my Spanish a bit more. Overall, pick what's right for you and your goals, and remember that nothing solves a problem like a good night's sleep!
First up: hostels. The most basic element of any day is where you put yourself at the end of it, and you have a few different options on the South American landscape.
Party Hostels
These places are wild. The fiesta literally never stops at a true party hostel. Many of them are chains you can find in many cities and countries such as Loki and Wild Rover, but there are also smaller ones such as Kultur Berlin in Sucre. They have massive capacity, onsite bars or clubs with volunteers whose job it is to get people to mix together, usually via a drinking game. If you want to have a good time, you don't even need to leave the hostel!
...which is the weird part of party hostels. Some people swing from one to another across the continent, strange denizens barely sobering up from one day to the next, not taking the time to see any sights or interact with the community. It's a bizarre lifestyle that seems pretty common among certain groups of people. As well as this, party hostels are expensive. The average low cost hostel is $10 a bed, these places usually go for at least $15, and thats to share a very noisy, very crowded dorm where sleep is basically a write off. They also charge more at the bar than other hostels, and normally have in-house food that is very poor value.
I haven't stayed at one of these places so far, but I have visited them from time to time. It's a great way to spend a night if you are in town alone looking to meet people, plus if you get friendly/flirty enough with the volunteers they give you free drinks when the managers aren't looking. It's the best of both worlds: a good night out and a good nights sleep at a quieter second location.
Backpacker Hostels
These are the quieter places. They can vary wildly in price, quality and comfort, but what they will all have in common is they are smaller than the party hostels and almost entirely occupied by foreigners, most of those being European. You can book them online before you go, but I have mostly gone for a quick google and strolling on in and getting a price, which is normally lower than online. Breakfast is usually included, but best to check to prevent being surprised by a rumbly tummy in the morning. That said, hostel breakfasts are usually nothing to write home about, except in Buenos Aires, where they were amazing.
Advantages: normally quiet at night, you're around a lot of people you can meet, they practically push you out of the door during the day while they clean so you're encouraged to do stuff.
Disadvantages: you are still in a dorm, which means if some moleman has a snoring problem you WILL know about it; if the wrong crowd is there it can be difficult to have a good time and meet people; if the staff don't feel like doing their job you ill be left high and dry in terms of activities.
You can also find volunteer positions at some of these to save some money for a couple of weeks, though it will be more boring than those on offer at the party hostels.
Hostals (with an 'a')
These are odd places, and kind of a subset of backpacker hostels. You find them in smaller towns, usually one that are off the tourist trail a bit. They are normally run by foreigners, but sometimes by locals too. The reason for the different spelling is that when it is spelled with an 'a', the owner lives onsite. This means that they are basically family run, with a small number of beds and very personal service.
These have been my favourite places to stay so far. In La Serena, I stayed at one where the owner was a Belgian bloke who was kind enough to cook us a fresh omelette every morning, gave us an overwhelming knowledge of the local area and had chats with us in the evening when he wasn't too busy. The only downside is that if the owner is a little weird it makes it a different experience - I have heard of some odd folks running hostals in Patagonia, but haven't experienced it myself. Plus if your fellow guests get on your nerves, they are harder to escape.
Local Hostels
Normally when you are rolling around a town in South America you will pass a few signs saying HOSTAL or HOSPEDAJE. These are the local places, and they are really more like motels which cater to domestic visitors. Quality will vary immensely, but they will almost always be the cheapest option. For example, in Copacabana, Bolivia, a mate and I found a place that gave us a double room with internet, ensuite and hot water for $6. That same privilege would have set us back four times as much in a backpacker hostel.
The downside is that it is nigh impossible to meet people at these places. Most of the guests are families or older locals who obviously aren't as keen to hit the local watering holes with the cheeky gringo next door. It's best to come to these places with a group unless you really want a night by yourself. With a group you can grab a cheap bottle and crowd a single room if you feel like a party. You can usually barter the price down a bit - I have found that just going 'hmmm' after they tell you a price is enough to get them to drop the cost. They are not usually good places to get tourist info as the people behind the desk are usually more interested in maintaining order in their kingdom, so the wandering backpacker must be prepared to go hunting. You also need a Spanish speaker to reserve these, any attempt to ask in English is not taken well.
Now that I have officially ditched Booking.com and Hostelworld and started rocking up in a town and going desk to desk, the mix I have been getting is a real free for all. I still avoid staying at party hostels for cost reasons if nothing else, and mostly end up at backpacker hostels. To me, each serves a different purpose, with the backpacker places being the regular for meeting people and getting the lay of the land, party hostels for an occasional big night, and local hostels to give the wallet a rest and use my Spanish a bit more. Overall, pick what's right for you and your goals, and remember that nothing solves a problem like a good night's sleep!
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