Creating a hostel travel budget
Budget is obviously one of the first topics to consider when starting to plan any type of travel. But what should you consider when you are planning a hostel stay? We made essential budget categories for you to start with.
NB: If you travel to multiple places, make separate budgets. One for the whole trip and another that you divide according to the locations you are planning to visit.
Transport
Accommodation
Activities
Food
Extra Purchases
Unexpected Expenses
Transport
How big of a chunk you need to set aside for transport depends a lot on where you are going. In general, transport costs will be split between costs of getting to your destination and getting around at your destination.
Getting to your destination is often the biggest expense, especially if you are travelling far or between multiple destinations. To minimise these costs, make sure to use flight cost comparison websites like Google Flights, Momondo or Skyscanner (we always recommend booking the flight itself on the airline’s own website though. In case something goes wrong, they are way more likely to provide support than third-party providers).
Make sure also to compare the costs of flying to travelling by land or sea. For instance, using night buses to get from A to B is a very common way to travel in many parts of the world, and will often cost a fraction of a flight. When booking transport on less well known carriers, make sure to do a quick search for reviews, both for your safety and to know what level of comfort to expect.
Research whether public transport is a safe and reliable option at your destination. Once you arrive, ask around how locals commute. In some places, you could also consider renting a scooter or a bike. Safety first though! Also, if an area is not safe to walk around, always pick the safe option, even if that means spending money on a taxi.
Accommodation
We have written about accommodation extensively in this guide (it’s a hostel travel guide, duh). Click here to get to the section on choosing your hostel and accommodation.
Food
Obviously, the decision to eat in or eat out will affect your budget. Booking a hostel that offers free/included breakfast (some offer even dinner!) is one way to lower your budget if you’re okay with a simple menu.
For other meals, cooking a simple meal in the hostel kitchen is usually the cheapest solution. However, there are exceptions, and depending on where you travel, local street food might be so affordable that it’s not worth cooking yourself. Do your research! Either way, in most hostels you will have access to the hostel fridge, so you’re free to stock up at local farmer’s markets or keep leftovers from restaurants.
We consider that food is an essential part of travel and experiencing the culture of a country, and both a visit to the local grocery store to stock up on cooking essentials and a meal at a restaurant can be a great way to gain insights on local food culture. However, while cooking at hostels is a great way to stick to your budget, we recommend being realistic about your food budget and clearly planning in money to eat out. Trust us, it’s more fun and saves you a lot of financial planning stress later.
Activities
Depending on your budget, you’ll have to consider what you want to do and experience. Take into account that you will most likely be able to control your budget better the more you plan ahead. Spontaneous planning, while fun, can lead to more (expensive) activities since you don’t spend as much time scouting your options and planning.
Apart from planning, if you are on a smaller budget, we’d advice you to start with your non-negotiable activities and build around them. Is there a specific activity that is a must for you, like a really cool zipline, a skydive, or a hike on a volcano? Add that to your budget first and plan the rest accordingly. You don’t want to have to end up compromising on some core experiences because you didn’t plan them in!
Make sure to look at free or cheap activities: maybe your hostel organises some fun events for free (or for a small extra fee), or maybe you can find such events on sites like meetup.com, Facebook or Eventbrite. That’s an excellent way to get a different perspective on the place, as these events tend to attract both locals and travellers.
Finally, free walking tours are a great way to visit a city for cheaper - do take into account that typically you are expected to give a small tip (usually around 10€ per person) to the guide. Not tipping is just plain rude, but these tours still remain very affordable and can be very educational!
Extra purchases
This varies per person as some people like to shop when travelling while others try to keep it to the minimum. Depending on your personal preferences, habits, and destinations, make sure to factor in a “shopping budget” if you need it.
Unexpected expenses
On 99% of our travels, there’s been some sort of unexpected expenses. Either activities we didn’t factor in and ended up wanting to do, some bigger purchases, changes in itinerary, or things going wrong and needing extra money for hospital or medication bills, additional accommodation, a new flight, a new phone to replace a lost one... Remember that anything can happen and you don’t want to be stranded far from home with no money: have a buffer of minimum 20% of your calculated budget that you still feel comfortable spending, and depending on your trip, minimum 500 - 1,000€ or equivalent on your account as a backup for unplanned expenses if anything goes wrong. You really don’t want to be stranded far from home without money (been there).
Speaking of things going wrong - always make sure your travel insurance is up to date and valid for your specific trip before leaving! This is a small addition to your travel budget that will pay itself off very quickly if anything happens. “I really regret getting that travel insurance” - said no one ever.