Seasoned travelers understand staying in hostels is different from a typical hotel stay. This hostel kit will be your all-in-one hostel packing guide for staying in any hostel. Unlike a hotel, there are so many items that hostels simply don’t provide. For first-time travelers, hostels may seem daunting but it really doesn’t have to be. Here I’ll do my best to address all the things you need to pack while staying in a hostel.
Hot Tip: Write down the hostel address and always keep it handy. You may go out to a bar club and if you can’t find your way back, no need to worry you’ll have the address in your back pocket.
Make sure to read my post on Staying In A Hostel | What You Need To Know to guide you in choosing the best hostel to stay in.
Must have travel essentials while staying in a hostel:
Eye Mask: Just because you want to go to sleep at 11 pm doesn’t mean your dorm mates will be turning their lights out. The eye mask you want is comfortable and will block out all light allowing you to sleep.
My personal favorite is the molded eye mask from LKY Digital, not only does it block out light your eyelashes won’t brush up against the fabric when you blink. They’re like wearing a bra for your eyes! These are just kick-ass!
No products found.
Padlock: Never stay in a hostel without a padlock. Not everyone is honest and someone may want a 5-finger discount on your stuff. Some hostels may provide you with a lock but not all.
Sure a simple padlock + key will do but I prefer cable locks. My two personal favorites are Forge and Master Lock.
No products found.
Flip flops: Hostels have dorm-type showers so you don’t know who may have a case of nasty athletes’ foot or toe fungus. Seriously just wear flips flops when using hostel showers I can’t imagine catching athletes’ foot while traveling.
Hot Tip: You can double your flip flips for the shower and beach outing as well.
Power bank: I’ve covered this before, and I need to stress you NEED a power bank. Power banks never waste space in your backpack, also when all the sockets are used in the hostel you’ll have your power bank ready to charge your devices. My favorite power bank is from SABANI. This has every cable you need to charge any device. 4 built-in cables, iPhone and Android compatible, compact, and travel-friendly.
No products found.
Ear plugs: There are bound to be snorers, believe me I know, I’m that guy who snores. Stay away from foam earplugs, your ear canal will be sore if you leave them in overnight. I prefer the ones that are silicon and mold to your ear.
- Mack’s Pillow Soft Silicon Ear Plugs – provide great ear protection wherever you need it.
- PQ Ear Plugs – provides great ear protection with 32 Db noise reduction.
No products found.
No products found.
Collapsible Tupperware: This is for travelers planning to stay in a hostel for several days and will be cooking meals. You can go out to the local market get some food and cook in the kitchen. This is a great option because you can then save the leftovers for the following day saving you money.
Just remember to label the tupperware with your name so no one takes your food.
No products found.
Detergent (powder): There may be a time when you want to do some sink laundry at the hostel so don’t feel deterred from doing so. Many of the larger hostels I’ve been to have laundry rooms so it makes it so much easier. All you need is some SinkSuds laundry soap and you’re good to go.
No products found.
Pillow Case: You may be asking ‘Why?’. Are you 100% sure that the pillow case the hostel provides has been washed? Just saying, just bring your own with you and use that pillowcase instead.
Laundry Bag: There will be days when the activity has you sweating like a pig and your clothes will begin to stink. Perhaps you can’t do laundry right away so you need to separate your stinky clothes from your clean clothing. I’ve always separated my dirty clothing into a laundry bag like this one especially when I travel in hot and humid climates.
No products found.
Quick Dry Towel: Most hostels don’t provide you with a towel so you need to bring your own! I recommend a quick dry towel over a typical bath towel because they’re lightweight, pack smaller, and dry quickly. The Rainleaf Travel Towel will be your best choice.
No products found.
Clothing line: Many hostels will have these but not all. This can be any cord or thick string to hang some of your laundry you may be doing in the sink (socks, underwear, bra).
Hot Tip: Use the clothing line and quick dry towel as a curtain for your bunk for some privacy.
Pajamas: For us guys, it’s very simple, it can be a simple tank top + shorts for warmer destinations or full-length bottoms + t-shirt to sleep. Ladies I’m sure you have your own sleepwear you feel most comfortable with.
Remember you’ll be in a hostel dorm setting so going to bed in just your undies may seem a little weird. Yeah, don’t be a weirdo and free ball it, especially in a mixed dorm.
Bonus Item for your Hostel Kit
Packing cubes, personally I can’t praise these time and space savers enough. Don’t forget to check out my post Top 5 Packing Cubes For Travel
Final Thoughts On Hostel Kit Packing List
There you have it fellow travelers! This above list is pretty much everything you need while staying at a hostel. Feel free to add some other items that you NEED but the above list is your essential hostel packing list.
I encourage you to download this FREE Hostel Kit so you can have it handy.
Just remember organization is the name of the game so don’t over-pack! To really make your hostel stay far more memorable say YES to all the activities (most are free) be friendly, and have fun while doing so.
