Pro tip: I just hit 100 nights in hostels and the math is kind of wild

I was cleaning out my email and saw all my booking confirmations, so I added them up. I've spent exactly 100 nights in hostels across Europe and Southeast Asia over the past 18 months. The crazy part? My average cost per night was $14. That includes a mix of dorms and a few private rooms when I was really burnt out. In Bangkok, I stayed at a place called Lub d for $8 a night and it was cleaner than some hotels I've paid ten times that for. It really hit me how much I've saved compared to even cheap hotels. The trade-off is obvious, you deal with snorers and weird roommates sometimes, but for long-term travel, it's a game changer. Has anyone else tracked their total hostel nights and been surprised by the number?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason.margaret1d ago

Yeah that $14 average is actually really good. I read a blog post a while back where someone broke down their costs after a year and their average was way higher, like over $20, because they kept booking last minute in western Europe. Planning ahead even a little, or hitting up countries like Vietnam or Thailand, totally keeps the average down. It's the only way I could travel for more than a couple weeks at a time.

karen_shah561d ago

Ever feel like your travel style is just "expensive panic"? Mine sure is. I'm that person booking a hostel bed five hours before the train arrives. No wonder my budget looks so sad.