How to Make Friends in a Hostel

Last Updated on November 14, 2019

How to Make Friends in a Hostel

When travelling alone, staying in hostels is the best way to meet people.  Usually, you will have great room-mates who you might team up with to explore the city you’re in and they usually become some of your lifelong friends.

Here’s a quick guide on how to make friends in a hostel!

 

Choose a lively hostel with good reviews

There are loads of hostels that have great facilities and that are fun and lively!  You need to choose a hip and social hostel otherwise you may find yourself in a room alone with no one to explore the city with!

 

Stay in a dorm room

Probably the most obvious step ever, but to make friends you actually have to have people in your room!  Shock!  Sometimes smaller dorm rooms are better because instead of 12 people, you might have 6.  A smaller room of people means you can usually get to know them better.  Plus 12-bed dorms are flipping annoying.  I once stayed in a 20 dorm room and I was on the third level of beds.  Which meant climbing over 2 people, trying not to fall a million meters to the ground and while not showing my knickers!

 

Don’t be shy!

When you first move into your room say hello to everyone, be friendly and ask them where they are from.  That is usually a good question to start a conversation with.  Also don’t be one of those bitches that seem to think they are too good for anyone and doesn’t need any friends.  No one likes ‘those’ types of people.  Rant over.

 

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Ask your hostel if they host any type of events or tours

This can be a good one because usually hostels organize good social events or free walking tours.  My hostel in Las Vegas hosted a different type of party every night including a limousine and free alcohol night.  I stayed in a few hostels that would do free walking tours so you could get to know the city a little better while making friends.

 

Say yes!

If someone asks you if you want to do something with them, always say yes to new opportunities!  If you don’t like them, then say no next time?  Simple.  If you never seek, you will never know. This is one of my top tips on how to make friends when travelling alone.

 

Be social

Hang about in the common areas because usually other fellow lonely travellers will hang out there too.  Don’t just hang out in your bed all night because the chances of you making friends isn’t going to be high.  Include yourself in pool games, relax and have fun!

 

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Be open-minded.

Travelling opens your views of everything in life.  Don’t be narrow-minded because of someone else’s beliefs, dreams or culture.  Let it all go and just be open-minded about people.  One of the rules of travelling is to learn new things and by shutting certain people out, means you are just shutting down the chance of some cultural education.

 

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness”  – Mark Twain

 

Let me know of other ways to make friends in a hostel down below!

 

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The Comments

  • darwinontherocks
    March 31, 2015

    This is an awesome post ! I agree, friends you make when travelling are always lifelong friends 🙂

    • ahdykstra
      > darwinontherocks
      March 31, 2015

      Thanks so much! Travel is a great hobby to find amazing friends! 🙂

  • realplacespeoplestories
    April 2, 2015

    Great list of advices! Hostels are one of the easiest places to make friends when you are out travelling. But it is important to stay in a dorm! If you have a single room it is far from that easy.

    • ahdykstra
      > realplacespeoplestories
      April 4, 2015

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂 Hostels have a amazing community feel don’t they?

  • The Guy
    April 10, 2015

    Nice reflections Anita and great advice for any solo traveller. Sometimes being a shy character can make it difficult for people to come out of their shell. However simple steps can open massive doors. As people often say if you don’t ask then the answer is always no. At least if when you ask to join with someone the worst you’ll get is a no, so you are no worse off than when you started.

    Shared dorms can be fun when everyone is respectful and understanding. I can do them in little doses. Who knows, in a dorm you might find a travel buddy and in future be able to stay in a 2-4 bed room in future if you club together.

    I love the Mark Twain quote – he was such a smart guy.