Experiences your guests would love!
Travelling is said to be the healthiest addiction one could possibly have. But let’s pause and understand, why is it addictive? The modern age backpacker doesn’t just travel so they can post it on their social media profiles or tick every country off their bucket list. They travel to get away from the mundane routine and they actively seek extraordinary experiences. Experiential travel is not exactly a new trend, but it’s becoming an increasingly popular way to travel. While travellers continue to chase the genuinely local and authentic experiences, some hostel owners worldwide are getting more innovative and personalizing tours and activities, to create unforgettable immersive travel experiences for their guests!
“A great hostel always aims to enhance your time spent in that particular city.”
Experience-driven hostels around the world
We’ve curated a list of hostels that offer exceptional experiences that are real game changers and also a source of inspiration to many. While some hostels have strategically introduced tours and activities factored on aspects like the geographical advantage and thoughtful personalisations, some of them have also introduced experiences first of their kind, revolutionising tourism in the region!
Fawzi Azar by Abraham Hostels is a 20 decades old Arab-mansion in Nazareth, that has been converted into a backpacker’s guesthouse by its Founder, Maoz Inon in 2005. It then later became part of Abraham Hostels and Tours. It is literally the starting point of the famous path of the Jesus trail; a 65 km hiking trail in the Galilee region of Israel which covers important historical and religious sites. One would think the Jesus trail existed much before, and the hostel just happened to be situated in the right location, right? Well, not quite so! The trail was founded in 2007 by Maoz and was officially marked in 2008, much after they established the hostel. Now, the Jesus trail tour has become even more famous than the hostel itself!
The Jesus trail tour has become very popular amongst modern-day travellers, symbolising the simplicity of travelling as Jesus did with just his staff! Now it’s an experience that is sought by both religious tourists and modern-day backpackers. Abraham Hostels and Tours started the Jesus trail, and now there are several other tours and travel agencies who have also monetised on this experience. The trail, however, is public and tourists are free to do the trail by themselves too. It has truly revolutionised tourism in Nazareth and plays an important role in supporting local shopkeepers, cafe owners, guides and other businesses.
Vietnam Backpacker’s hostels are very well-known for offering ‘off-the-beaten-track’ tours. Their most popular tour is the Castaway Island, Ha Long Bay tour. The Hanoi Original Hostel, known for its relaxed social atmosphere and the Hanoi Downtown Hostel, known for its party vibe, are both popular Vietnam Backpacker’s Hostel and are perfectly located for backpackers to conveniently explore the city.
Castaway Island is privately owned and is exclusive to the Vietnam Backpacker’s Hostel. It is accessible via a two-hour boat ride through the spectacular limestone cliffs in Ha Long Bay. It is the most popular tour in all of Ha Long Bay and can only be booked through the hostel. A three-day stay on one of the most stunning Island that has open-air beach bungalows and all transport, activities and meals included. A paradise for party backpackers, they also have a live DJ every night and while you dance away on the 300 meters stretched beach, you could also witness the bay’s bioluminescent phytoplanktons!
Mosquito Hostel is a quirky and extolled hostel in Kraków with a social and laid back atmosphere. It has been receiving consistently exceptional reviews on all major booking channels. It’s definitely favoured by many backpackers because of its convenient location; a walking distance to all major attractions in Kraków. But that’s not all, they’ve paid great attention to every need of their guests by providing every facility a traveller could need. And in terms of activities, they have aced it; they organise different activities like quiz, flip pong, etc on all days of the week!
Mosquito Hostel also organises their own discounted tours to the historically relevant Auschwitz — Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp during World War II and now a world heritage site. You’d probably think why would anyone want to visit a place with such a horrific past right? Well, such is the power of immersive travelling! it’s a way to connect with the past, experience it, pay homage to it… it’s a way of self-educating! The Mosquito Hostel tours are quite familiar amongst tourists for its convenient pickup location (even those not staying at the hostel). And a big plus for providing door-to-door service and qualified English speaking and multi-linguistic guides for the tour!
Dreamtime Traveller’s Rest in Cairns is a popular accommodation choice for those who want to experience the great barrier reef. A family-run hostel for over the past 30 years, Dreamtime Travellers Rest is an independent, award-winning hostel with a vibrant homely atmosphere. It always delights the hostel staff to help and they have a vast knowledge of the region. The fact that they are an eco-conscious hostel is very impressive; the hostel has a solar system installed for daily electricity usage, water pump heaters that save 70% of the power used, waste management and compost pits for organic wastes.
Although they do not have their own tour operations, they are affiliated with one of the oldest agencies that have been in business for the past 30 years. And they have made it super easy to organise any tours right from the hostel. It’s great that they do not charge any booking fees for the tour, additionally providing discounts on package tours when booked via the hostel, and also providing a free t-shirt when you book a tour through them! This is a good example of personalisation, even though the tour is executed via a third party. It’s simple yet brilliant to give something to the guests for them to keep as a souvenir of great travel experience!
Loki Hostels are probably one of the most well-known hostel chains in South America, with three hostels in Peru, one in Bolivia and one in Argentina. Each property is unique in its own way, but they all have the same social and fun atmosphere with the friendliest staff! Most of the properties offer dorms, shared and private rooms as accommodation options. While booking your accommodation on their website, you are asked your purpose of visiting; this allows them to provide and enhance the exact experience their guests are seeking. Whether it’s for parties, relaxation or a short visit, they ensure it’s worthwhile. And if you just want to visit any of their properties to get some work done in their large common areas during the day or party the night away at their bars without staying there, they provide you with a bar code that grants you free access when shown at the reception. So needless-to-say, the hostels are quite popular amongst backpackers and the locals too!
South America is one of the most sought-after backpacker destinations, and Loki Hostels know exactly how to leave them with an unforgettable experience! They are distinguished for organising epic day time games & activities and nigh themed parties. And when it comes to partying, Loki Hostels takes that experience to a whole new level! Each property has an in-house bar and their signature bloodbomb shots are as famous as the hostel itself. They even have a bloodbomb ranking board on their website that keeps a score of the bloodbomb shots had by each hostel every day!
So in final thoughts, there are many ways a hostel can add value to their guest’s experience and make it extraordinary. Hostels must be consistent in continuing to strengthen their bond with their guests by providing these remarkable experiences, which is what helps sets them apart from the others. And of course, there are plenty of ideas out there already that one can draw inspiration from, and maybe even reinvent, but it’s important to choose the right ones that work well with the property type and location, resources available in the city, demographics of the city, the overall personality of the hostel and the type of travellers a hostel would like to attract. The key thing to remember is that activities are always a great way to strengthen the bond of the community, and that’s one of the major advantages that hostels have over hotels with immersive travelling!
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things .”— Henry Miller.
