Traveller’s guide to hostel safety

Picture this: you're backpacking across an exciting new city. Your home for the night? A lively, vibrant hostel filled with fellow travellers swapping stories and tips. 

Hostels have long been a favourite choice for budget-conscious travellers seeking adventure, community, and affordable accommodation.

However, while the social aspect and affordability are huge draws, it's important to be mindful of safety when staying in shared spaces. From choosing the right hostel to securing your belongings and trusting your instincts, being prepared can ensure your trip is memorable for all the right reasons.

Here's what you need to know to enjoy your hostel stay in Australia and beyond while keeping safety in mind.

Let's start with the most important item to keep safe - you! Just because you're on an adventure doesn’t mean safety should take a backseat. Here’s how you can be the savvy traveller who makes memories – not mistakes.

Before committing to any given hostel, you'll want to check the reviews left by those who have stayed there before you. Don't go onto the review page of the hostel's website - they'll just be showcasing the good stuff. Google '[hostel name] reviews' and see what comes up.

And look out for fake reviews. Think over-the-top positivity, several reviews in a short amount of time all saying the same thing, or a lack of information.

Negative reviews will give you an idea of what isn't so enticing about the place. If you find all the one-star reviews are because there's no hot water, well, that might be something you can live with. But if several travellers have left reviews saying they felt unsafe, the doors don't lock, or their stuff went missing, then it might be a sign to book accommodation elsewhere.

We get it - you're on holiday! And hostels tend to have a bar attached to them. But if you're travelling on your own, you need to keep your wits about you. The last thing you need is to have too many beers and then lose your keys/wallet/passport. You also want to really lean into your gut feeling when it comes to other people staying at the hostel who you don't know, and alcohol makes it harder to read those feelings. 

And always - always - keep an eye on your drink, and don't accept drinks that you haven't seen being made with your own eyes.

The value of good travel insurance should never be underestimated. While this may not seem particularly relevant to the safety of yourself and your belongings while staying in a hostel, good policies tend to offer coverage for your belongings. This means you're protected in the unfortunate event that they get lost or damaged.

In this way, travel insurance helps you stress less about the things you've left behind in your room when you go out exploring for the day.

If you're a solo female traveller, you might find that staying in a female-only hostel is a good option. There's a growing trend around the world to cater for solo female travellers, so it might be an option worth considering!

You might think it's a given, but not all dorm rooms will have a working lock. Double check when you book that you have a room where you can lock the door. This will give you - and your belongings - an added layer of security.

Of course, while you're travelling, you'll also want to keep your belongings safe too. Here's how.

You'll also want to think about the location of your chosen hostel. Areas with high crime rates may be a lot more stressful to stay in.

And while staying in a safe area is important, you'll have a better experience if you pick a hostel close to the activities you're going to be wanting to do. This helps keep you safer because you're travelling less distance.

As a bonus, it also means you'll be able to reduce the amount of time you spend commuting, therefore leaving more time for fun. Speaking of commuting, if you're travelling down under, make sure you're aware of Australia's road rules and road signs.

Don't bring everything and the kitchen sink! Packing light means you'll have a smaller bag, and smaller bags can usually be kept closer to you, like on your bed while your sleep. Having a huge suitcase to lug around is not only annoying, but you are also limited to where you can put it on public transport and in hostels.

Most people you come across in hostels will be honest travellers just out to have a good time like yourself. That doesn't mean, however, that you're never going to encounter someone with sticky fingers.

To avoid running into issues or losing any of your valuable possessions, we suggest keeping them secured at all times.

Most hostels will offer lockers for particularly valuable belongings, and making use of them is recommended. Just remember to keep a padlock handy so you can make sure no one else can get in.

To clarify, when we say valuables, we mean the things you absolutely have to take on holiday with you - passport, wallet, phone. Keep your jewellery and flashy watch at home.

Accidents happen and things get lost, but this usually isn't a big deal. If, however, the things in question are any of your important documents (especially if your passport is part of the equation), things can get incredibly messy in a very short timeframe.

After all, everyone can agree being stranded in a foreign country without your passport, running into visa issues due to lost paperwork, or experiencing many other document-related problems isn't fun at all.

To help avoid this, we suggest keeping digital copies of everything. Ideally, you'll keep them in cloud storage, or email them to yourself so they're available from any device, but where exactly you keep these digital copies is up to you.

Pack a lock that you can put on your bag to add an extra layer of security to your things. Petty thieves are often looking for quick and easy wins, so locking your bags with a padlock can be an excellent deterrent.

Like all shared spaces, hostels have some extra etiquette requirements. You are sharing your sleeping and personal spaces with others after all.

If you want to keep everyone happy and friendly in your dorm, we suggest that you:

• Keep things tidy
• Be mindful of noise levels while your roommates are asleep
• Avoid setting the temperature to extremes if there's climate control
• Be polite at all times

Oh, and for the love of all that's good in this world, always book a private room if you're intending on getting up to, shall we say, extracurricular activities.

Staying in hostels can be a great way to make your adventures more budget-friendly while also enriching your travel experience. While there are, obviously, a few additional safety concerns in comparison to staying in a hotel, the positives outweigh the negatives in nine out of ten cases.

In addition to the above tips, we also suggest travelling with a companion. However, with solo adventures on the rise, we understand this isn't always desirable (or even possible).

The good news is that by following this guide, travel companions shouldn't be a necessity, so you can enjoy your holiday however you please.