When you think about the word hostel what comes to your mind? Is it imagery of backpackers sleeping in bunk beds 8 to 10 in a room? Or maybe a bunch of 20-somethings partying all night? Don’t feel bad if those are the first things that come to your mind when you think of a hostel. To be honest I used to think the same things. But as I was planning our travels through SE Asia I noticed that hostels were abundant and would often have the highest ratings with customers. I decided to take the leap and book a couple of hostels to see what all the hoopla was about and to also see if this would be a reasonable option for traveling families.
As a traveling family, the last thing you may be thinking about when deciding where to stay for your SE Asia vacation is a hostel. Before you close your mind, humor me for a few moments as I break down the 5 reasons I think you should consider hostels as an accommodation possibility for your family.
Table of Contents
Family Rooms
So the first thing most people think of when they think of hostels are bunk beds and shared bathrooms, but what if I told you that a good chunk of hostels offer family rooms? Family rooms vary based on the hostel, but most have a standard size bed and an additional bed that may be a bunk bed or standard sized bed.
For our stay at Siri Poshtel in Bangkok, we completely forgot we were even in a hostel. Not only was our room large, but it had a queen size bed with an additional twin size bed which is perfect for a traveling family of 4. The added bonus of booking a Family Room typically means that you have a private bathroom. This was important to us because Roo is still at the age where she needs to use the restroom in the middle of the night, and traipsing down the hall to a shared bathroom was not appealing to me.
Breakfast
So often when planning trips we focus on saving money prior to the trip but splurge on everything from fancy lattes to one of a kind souvenirs once we are on vacation. As a full-time traveling family, we have to be a bit more conscious of what we splurge on, so I try to make sure that our accommodations offer breakfast.
You have to keep in mind that breakfast around the world means different things, and if you are expecting a full breakfast spread at every accommodation you may be sorely disappointed. However, if you are looking for some fuel to get you started with your day or that cup of coffee to perk you up, be sure to look for free breakfast options. In my research, most of the hostels I came across offered some form of breakfast. During our stay at Boutique Village Hostel in Krabi, Thailand, we were greeted each morning with coffee, eggs, meat, fruit, and toast.
Tour & Attraction Connections
Hostels are intimately connected with the local community and they can provide excellent recommendations and in some cases some awesome discounts. Because the “usual” crowd staying a hostel are backpackers or budget travelers you won’t find services and tour operators that have a huge markup. We have all heard the stories on travel forums or facebook groups where someone boasts about being able to arrange something much cheaper than their 5-star resort was selling it for.
This is similar, the hostels want to make sure that you have a good time, but they are also aware that you are being budget-conscious so they aren’t going to refer you to places that are going to upcharge just because you are staying someplace “fancy.” In Krabi, our hostel host arranged everything for our longtail boat tour, and not only was it was significantly cheaper it was much safer than arranging it ourselves.
Build community
Traveling long term, even as a family, can at times be lonely. You may be missing your co-workers, your kids may be missing their school friends, and every one is probably missing Nana/GiGi/Grandma. Staying at a hostel provides you the opportunity to be around other travelers.
A big chunk of travelers staying in hostels are well-traveled so they can provide you with valuable insight into the local community or even tips for your next journey. Depending on the size of your hostel and how many family rooms they offer you may even run into other worldschooling families which is always a great thing for curriculum swapping, pen pals for the kids and talking to people who actually “get” the life you live day to day.
Cost
I put cost last because depending on your budget and travel spending habits the cost of a hostel may not be a make or break factor for you. When you sit down and envision your traveling experience you may want to go all out and spend the week at the Ritz-Carlton or you may want a mountainside cabin secluded from civilization. It is all about your family’s dreams and desires for your travel experience. That is a precisely why Tribe on a Quest isn’t labeled as “luxury family travelers,” even though we love 5-star accommodations and frequent them. This experiment confirmed to our family just travelers.
If we only consider 5-star luxury accommodations when we travel we would have missed out on all of the amazing people and connections we made when we stayed at hostels and homestays. Staying in a hostel allowed us to allocate more money for activities like island tours on a long-tail boat, and eating at fabulous restaurants. If you are traveling on a tight budget you should know that family rooms are going to cost more than a bunk bed in a 10-bed room. However, when you consider the amenities and benefits of staying in a hostel you will find that it is worth it!
Have you stayed in a hostel as a traveling family? What did you think? We’d love to start a conversation with our fellow tribe members about the benefits of staying in a hostel!
