The people you meet in hostels

I have written previously about the potentially wonderful experiences one can have whilst staying in hostels. Without the people within them though, they are just empty shells. A unique mix of people can be found there; those who in the ‘real’ world would almost never cross paths share rooms and stories alike. There may be, of course, a rare unpleasant experience - I wrote about one of my own here - but the majority of people simply share the same desire for new experiences. No one can be defined by one simple label but I have attempted to broadly describe the wide range of people you may meet whilst staying in a hostel.

The ‘Quit their Jobs’

It is the people within this category that I consider to be one of the biggest catalysts for how my own travels transpired. From my very first solo-trip - three weeks or so in Belgium and the Netherlands between my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees - I was genuinely shocked by the number of people whom I met that shared with me the same story.

It more or less goes something like this: “I have had the same job since finishing school/college/university and after *insert number here* years I realised I wasn’t happy anymore so I quit and I am going travelling for a year.” This story has many variations of course and ranges in extremity too; from those taking a brief sabbatical from work, to those who sold everything and never intend to return to their former lives.

For a twenty year old with no idea of what to do post-university this was particularly eye-opening and a large factor in inspiring me to fully dive into travelling immediately rather than a job I didn’t truly want. Having always had a passion and a desire to travel, I wanted to learn from these people and five years later I am very glad I did so.

One final note on this type of traveller; I have found they often share the same doubt, one which is quickly proven to be unfounded. Often in their mid- to late-twenties, these travellers are often concerned that they are too old to stay in hostels and to integrate into the traveller community. Anyone with even a basic level of hostel experience will appreciate how wrong an idea this is, and these people quickly realise this themselves. However, it is worth saying once more, hostels are amongst the most welcoming and tolerant places in the world and age/experience/anything else is irrelevant.

The Content Creators

Any traveller has access to almost limitless content and a phone with which to capture it, and, given this, it is unsurprising how many people have some form of Instagram following. I remember meeting an older lady in her sixties from Uruguay whilst travelling in Bulgaria; she herself has been travelling the world for over ten years and shares her adventures on Instagram (@grandmaswanderlust). I would hesitate to call most of these people genuine content creators, indeed I wouldn’t put myself into that category; this website is more of a hobby made public, with, crucially, no intent to make any money from it. The definition is a blurry one I admit.

In hostels you do however stumble across the occasional genuine content creator, with large established audiences and high quality material to share. I recall meeting one such person in the city of Salta in the north of Argentina. Ameer is better known as Blackman the Traveller and is someone I respect for pushing boundaries with his content. Unlike the endless stream of bland, repetitive content out there, he is trying to push those boundaries and share parts of the world that generally remain unseen; he is also very open to the idea of serendipity - for example recently hitchhiking in the rural mountains of Pakistan and spending time in Afghanistan. I still mainly keep track of his adventures through Instagram (@blackman_datraveller) and he has a large following on YouTube too.

The Volunteers

Often they fit into a variety of these categories but given how important a role the volunteers play in the hostel experience, I feel they deserve a category of their own. The volunteers are often the first people you meet when you arrive and remain a constant presence throughout your stay. On top of basic cleaning and administrative responsibilities, generally their main role is to bring a positive energy to the hostel and its guests. In my experience 99% of these people are as interesting as they are friendly - that is to say, very.

Often travellers with no fixed plan -  hence the ability to stay in one place for a long period of time - they so often are the most memorable aspect of a hostel. Having good volunteers (and paid staff too) is perhaps the most important aspect of any hostel and fellow travellers generally fit the role perfectly in such an hospitable environment.

I have many friends who I have met in hostels and many of them were volunteers at the time. Indeed my girlfriend was a volunteer at a hostel in Barcelona when we met and Joe, who has written for this website, was a fellow volunteer at the same time as her.

The Flying Visits

Often amongst the most energetic people in the hostel, they have a desire to fill every moment of their trip with excitement. The simple reason for this is that they only have a finite amount of time before they return to the real world. From a long-weekend to a few weeks on holiday, these travellers possess the true traveller mentality whilst still maintaining their life in the ‘real world’ too.

Many will talk about their jealousy towards all the long-term travellers they meet; some will eventually become one themselves. Others are simply comfortable in getting their fix of the travel lifestyle but prefer to have a more stable base in which to spend the rest of their time. Regardless, they always integrate seamlessly into the hostel environment, as does anyone with a positive outlook and willingness to socialise.

The Gap Years

Often the youngest guests in the hostel, there is perhaps no obvious criteria which describes a typical gap year traveller. There are those that possess boundless enthusiasm and a fearless attitude to try new things, whilst others are more cautious and timid as they explore the world for the first time, often alone. Most fit somewhere between these two extremes, as I did on my first solo trip when I possessed a strong desire to see every possible attraction and meet new people from all over the world without the experience to really know how to go about that. Of course that is one of the benefits of staying in hostels, there will always be people willing and able to help you.

The Ones Who Will Never Stop

These people will have evolved from one or more of the categories listed above. Some - or even most people - eventually tire of constant long-term travel and eventually desire some form of base; even if they continue to travel regularly from that point. However, there are those who never reach that point, whose desire and energy for travel never wanes.

I personally don’t think I will be one of those people. After five years or so of regularly moving around I recently moved to Buenos Aires where I will stay for nine months or so. Whilst I am still in a foreign country and travelling in a sense, the sense of community and stability from having a base is relaxing after so long on the road. I have no desire to ever stop travelling, but truly ‘living’ on the road is not a long-term goal for me.

Written by: Tom Taylor (@tomtayloor)

Posted: 24/11/2022