Party Hostels and the Drunk Backpacker Culture

There are pockets of Europe which are notorious for attracting your scores of backpackers who tour Europe seeing the inside of as many clubs, pubs and bars as they can sink their teeth into. Generally it is major cities – you won’t see the picturesque town of Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic attracting scores and scores of partiers. I’ve started this trip in a party town pocket, (Lisbon - Madrid - Barcelona) and I must confess that as someone who isn’t a partier, it is kind of demoralising. I remember when the notion of a wild Contiki tour in Europe was your equivalent to the drunk backpacker wave. As backpacking and budget travelling have become more accessible to the every day person, I suspect there has been a stronger movement away from the organised tours and instead, a movement into the party hostels of Europe.

When I talk about drunk backpackers, I am referring to people who sleep through the day and wake up for happy hour. I don't mean anyone who likes to go out. There is room to enjoy the night life without merging into the drunk backpacker category. I’ve met people who literally lived this life – people who have been to London without seeing Buckingham Palace (come on – you’ve got to do it at least once!) or who go to Berlin without seeing the Berlin Wall. There has become such an influx of these travellers that the Party Hostel is in its best place ever to thrive.

Sometimes, a party hostel is clearly labelled as such. In its descriptions online, it will say things like ‘want to come to Europe to party? Want a free vodka shot on arrival?’ Others aren’t quite as blatant but depending on the season, it morphes over into having that culture – summer is more likely to bring party backpackers, for example. These hostels will generally have a bar, they will run pub crawls and sometimes will have later check-out times and later breakfast times – all things in support of people who want to stay out late. In a party hostel, you can expect the noise volume to be louder, you can expect people to be coming and going from the dorm rooms at all hours, you can expect the light to remain on nearly all night.

I have such mixed feelings about party hostels. I’ve indicated before when highlighting how to pick a hostel that the hostel culture is something you need to keep in mind when booking your trip. For some people, party hostels are ideal. If you’re an outgoing solo traveller who wants to party and is happy to stroll into the hostel bar and make friends, then the party hostel is your place. If you’re in a group who want to party, the party hostel will also be for you. But if you’re an experienced traveller, then you’ll know that even if you aren’t the type to party every night, that the party hostel should not be discounted just because of its reputation.

In some cities, the reality might be that if you’re not willing to compromise your budget or your other requirements – such as location and wi-fi – that you simply might have to book into a party hostel. Often, there are amenities and features at party hostels that you may not get if you choose to stay somewhere smaller. Most party hostels are larger, which means that they generally come with a slightly wider variety for breakfast, may have day and night activities run by the hostel and usually will have good, central locations.

As I write this entry, I’ve just finished my stay at Kabul Backpackers in Barcelona, Spain. They are your classic party hostel which I do not like. The bathrooms are gross and they have taken all of the power outlets out of the rooms to deter theft, but the common area at night was loud, loud, loud music even after the pub crawl departed. So there’s effectively nowhere that you can just sit in peace and quiet and have your eletrical items charging. As a non-partier I may have been allocated the worst bed in the entire hostel – right by the door of a 24 bed dorm where the door slams every time someone closes it, right across from a balcony overlooking a nightclub and a busy, thriving, loud square. I’ve never felt older as I looked forward to the hour where all the ‘kids’ would be out for the night, where there would be a few solid hours where the ones who go out late have left, where the ones who come back early are yet to come back, and there is a few blissful hours of crossover of quiet.

Not all party hostels are like this, though. Most hostels will have some sort of a divide between a ‘drinking’ area and a general chill out area – sometimes they overlap, but the status quo is that there is a divide. I’ve mentioned before that I enjoyed my stay at party hostel SameSun Lodge in Vancouver – because the common room was far away from the bar. Yes!Lisbon in Portugal had a bar and a pub crawl and yet the common room didn’t feel overtaken by a drinking culture –the staff did an amazing job at being able to maintain a positive vibe in the room, without turning up the music to nightclub volume and therefore being offputting to everyone else trying to enjoy the lounges and comfort. Las Musas hostel in Madrid had a 12am – 8am ‘quiet time’ rule – they turned down the music and the lights in common areas, which I found flowed through in that people were more respectful when entering the dorm rooms and moving around the hallways.

I think it is this drunken backpacker mentality that bothers me most while travelling. Not that people aren’t allowed to enjoy Europe the way they want to; and not because of my sleep and personal space being interrupted. But more so, because it is harder to meet likeminded people. A lot of my best travel experiences have come from when I've met someone in the hostel - whether it be over breakfast, in the common room or in the dorm - and we've hit it off and then spent time hanging out together. Finding people who I will hit it off in party hostel central is difficult. I was reading through the reviews for this place I’m at in Barcelona, because I was curious as to how long ago they brought in this ridiculous power outlet thing –and came across a review which stated the following:

“People have been commenting about how rowdy it can get, but if you're in Barcelona and planning to sleep at 10pm, then you really shouldn't be in Barcelona, or backpacking for that matter."

This in itself brings about that discussion of the difference between travelling, backpacking, vacationing, touristing... I’ll leave that for another entry. But I find that a lot of the time, when I’m staying at a louder, rowdier hostel, people look at you strangely when you’re in bed before midnight. We're on different wavelengths on every level.

Well you know what, person side-eyeing me, I think you’re bit strange for being drunk every night of the week, for coming all the way to Europe just to see the inside of every bar and club. I judge you for not having seen X castle or X monument. But I will let you do your thing, if you let me do mine. Show a little bit of courtesy as you’re ducking back into the room to pick up more money at 2am, and I’ll show you a bit of courtesy when I wake up in the morning. We’re all human beings, a bit of courtesy can go a long way. If people think it is acceptable to slam the door and carry on at 2am, then at 8am when I’m organising my things to leave, I won’t even try to be quiet. Reality is that the people I’m trying to affect are likely so deep in drunken sleep that they are oblivious to my movements, but there is a vindictive part of me that takes pleasure in rustling around with my plastic bag covered laundry and shoes a little bit longer than necessary.

Unfortunately, it’s practically impossible to judge a hostel and the ‘vibe’ from the advertisement alone. When it’s day 2 and you’re looking around the common room at 10am and people are enjoying their first beer of the day – you know that you’re pretty much going to be on your own. And hope that next time, your hostel choice is little wiser!