- Here's a bonus tip,
how to keep your stuff safe while you're sleeping.
Hey guys, my name is Shayla
and I make these videos every Wednesday.
I have been YouTubing since 2015,
and I stared this channel out as a travel channel.
I have since moved in one spot,
but I wanted to go back and answer some of the questions
that I got asked all the time.
And they usually revolve around,
how can you afford to travel?
So the number one tip that I can give you
is stay at a hostel.
So this is your hostel 101 video.
We're going to talk about what is a hostel,
the five things that you need to know about hostels,
and the four things that you need to bring to hostels.
So let's get into it.
What is a hostel?
A hostel is the greatest thing of all time.
If I could stay in a hostel or a hotel
for the same price,
I would stay in a hostel every time.
Because it's such a cool way to meet people
while you're traveling.
Everybody's like, "Oh, where are you from?
"How long are you traveling for?
"Where you traveling to?
"Let's hang out, let's go do this."
I did a video in Greece,
we all rented ATV's and just went out in ATV's,
and made ourselves a Quad Squad.
I made up the name, I thought it was clever.
It's typically 20 year olds, maybe early 30s,
but if you're in your 40s, 50s, 60s, 90s,
you can stay in a hostel.
It all depends on what you're comfortable with,
just know that there's about 20 year olds.
I remember last time I went,
I'm in my late 20s, and I was like,
"Ugh, everyone feels so young!"
And then I made friends with everyone.
What else can I tell you about hostels?
It's a giant room,
where you share its bunk beds.
So everybody's sharing a big room,
and everybody shares the bathroom.
I've done everything for 5 dollars a night
to 60 dollars a night.
The 5-dollar-night was not something I'd recommend,
it was in a bar, and there was,
the fan to cool you off would just blow
the cigarette smoke in there.
It was gnarly, but that's an option.
They have the one that was 60 dollars
in Europe somewhere, and it was beautiful.
So, here are the five things that you
need to know about staying in a hostel.
Okay, number one, how do you find a hostel?
www.hostelworld.com is what I use all the time.
I'm not an affiliate with them,
it's just literally what I use.
They have reviews for hostels,
so you can kind of see what other travelers say about it.
It shows you all the hostels that are available,
which is super awesome.
Thing number two about what you need to know about hostels
is that there is a wide variety of options.
You can stay in a room of 14 people,
you can stay in a private room where you have no roommates,
you can stay in a room of 4 people,
an all-girls room, a co-ed room where there's
guys and girls sleeping in the bunks.
I don't care, I'll stay in co-ed, I'll stay in girls,
it doesn't really bother me.
People think that that's not safe,
but I think if someone tries to do something
in a room full of 14 people,
you just have to open your mouth
and other people are going to help you because travelers
are typically, we're all in it together.
But as I've gotten older, I've preferred the 4 room hostel,
because then I only have to share a bathroom with 4 people,
and I don't know,
I just, I don't know, it's better.
Tips three, four and five are all about things
that you need to check if your hostel has.
So the first thing that you need to check,
does it have a locker that you can lock all your stuff up.
This is important!
People are worried about losing their things
or people stealing their stuff.
Knock on wood, I've never had any of my stuff stolen
from staying at a hostel
but I'm pretty good about keeping everything like,
locked up.
Another thing you want to ask about is if there's Wifi
just in the common area or if it's in the rooms too.
That can be really frustrating
if you're trying to text your boyfriend
before you fall asleep.
It's good to know.
And some people just go sit
out in the common room before they go to bed.
The last thing is free breakfast.
Hostels are great because a lot of times
they offer free breakfast.
And to get your coffee, which is what this is,
before you start adventuring is amazing.
It's also a good way to meet people sometimes.
Sometimes they have a bar where you can meet people.
Those are the five things you need to know about hostels.
Four things to bring to a hostel if you've never been.
Thing number one is a lock.
And I've kind touched on this,
but you want to make sure that you have a lock
to lock up your stuff.
I keep my laptop in there,
my computer in there,
my laptop is my computer.
My camera, I keep all of my valuables in the locked thing.
It's great when you're out,
it's great when you're in the shower,
it's great when you're sleeping, it's locked.
If it doesn't have a locker I'd recommend not staying there
but if that's not an option,
I would just lock your bag.
Most of the time people are going to do what's easy.
So if you leave your laptop on the table,
you run to the bathroom,
you come back, it might be gone.
If you leave your laptop in your locked backpack,
typically people aren't going to steal an entire backpack.
It's a lot bigger, a lot harder,
versus just a laptop.
So, make sure you bring a lock.
I always forget to bring a lock,
and then I have to go searching for a lock
in whatever country I'm in.
Usually the hostels know where you can buy them
but just do yourself a favor and get one ahead of time.
The next thing that I would recommend bringing are towels.
Some hostels will let you rent them for like, a dollar.
You use them, and then you whatever.
These are great.
I will do a link for these,
but these are just like, really thin microfiber towels.
Dry you off really nicely
and you can just hang them on your bed
and they dry really quickly.
And they don't take up a lot of space in your backpack
which is crucial.
So I would recommend doing a microfiber towel.
The third thing I would recommend bringing to a hostel
is shampoo and conditioner and body wash.
But what I usually do is just go to Target,
get Dr. Bronner's like, travel size
and then use that for my body,
and for my hair, and for my face
and sometimes for my underwear in the sink
if I'm like, in a hotel or something.
And then conditioner so that it's silky smooth.
But those things are not provided in a hostel,
and I usually forget about that as well.
So, do better than I do and remember that.
Thing number four that I'd recommend for a hostel,
I don't do this personally,
but I know that people recommend
bringing earplugs and eye masks.
This is my eye mask.
It's super boujee.
It's like, a $30 eye mask or something really stupid
but I love it.
And so, there's that.
But I just, I don't know,
I can sleep through most things.
I can sleep through noise,
I can sleep through whatever.
Plus if somethings really going on,
I kind of want to know.
So, here's a bonus tip.
How to keep your stuff safe while you're sleeping.
So either it's going to be locked in your locker,
which is fine.
I usually charger my phone,
and I keep it literally like,
under my pillow on Airplane Mode so I don't get like,
(beep) going into my brain.
And then I also sleep with my purse and my passport
and I like, wrap it around my wrist a couple times
and just like, lay with it and snuggle it
just so that nobody can take it from me.
Those are the tips that I have for you
if it's your first time going to a hostel.
If you have anymore questions
put them in the comments below.
Thank you all so much for watching
and I'll see you next week.
Bye.