Step 3 of 5 · A few days ahead
Where you sleep makes the whole stop
A good hostel hands you your travel mates for the rest of the week. A quiet private room gives you exactly the night of sleep you needed after a long bus ride. For hostels we use Hostelworld, for hotels and apartments Trip.com. Below is when to pick which, and what a bed costs you per country.
- From €4 a night for a bed in a dorm
- Traveller reviews from people who were just there
- 2 days ahead is usually all you need
- Often free to cancel check it per hostel
From dorm bed to resort
In Southeast Asia prices sit so close together that you can pick something different at every stop. That is exactly what most backpackers do.
- Dorm Four to twenty beds, from about four euros a night. The cheapest option and the fastest way to find travel mates. Pick a smaller dorm if you are a light sleeper.
- Private room in a hostel Your own door, but still the common areas and the hostel's activities. The best of both when there are two of you.
- Guesthouse Small, often family run, usually with your own bathroom. Quieter than a hostel and rarely much pricier. This is where you get the best local tips.
- Homestay Sleeping in a family's home, mostly up in the mountains and out in the countryside. Simple, warm, and the part of the trip you end up telling people about most.
- Hotel or resort Your own bathroom, air con that works and a pool. After a few weeks of dorms this is a full reset for surprisingly little money.
- Just mix it up A hostel in the big cities to meet people, a private room on the islands or after a night bus. It does not have to be expensive: a simple private room often costs not much more than two dorm beds.
A bed, country by country
Ballpark prices for a dorm bed, the same ones as on our country pages. A simple private room usually costs two to three times as much, which for two of you works out barely more expensive.
| Country | Bed per night | Daily budget | Cheapest stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | €8 | €30 | Pai · €4 |
| Laos | €6 | €25 | Don Det · €4 |
| Vietnam | €6 | €25 | Da Lat · €5 |
| Cambodia | €5 | €25 | Battambang · €5 |
| Philippines | €7 | €35 | Moalboal · €6 |
From €4 to €9 a night, measured across the 50 destinations on this site. Prices climb in high season, around holidays and on the small islands, and drop again as soon as you walk one street back from the tourist strip.
Hostel or hotel?
There is no right answer, only the answer that fits this particular stop. Run through the two sides below and you will know which it is.
- Book a hostel via Hostelworld
Pick this if you want to meet people
Hostelworld is where the backpackers are. For every hostel you see what other travellers thought, how social it is and whether there is anything on at night. That last bit you will not find this clearly anywhere else, and it is exactly what you look at when you travel alone.
- For solo backpackers who want to meet people easily on the road
- For travellers on a small budget who still want a good place
- Dorms of four to twenty beds, often with private rooms too
- Heads up: a party hostel is great, just not the night before an early bus
- Book a hotel via Trip.com
Pick this if you want peace and privacy
Rather have your own bathroom, a bit more comfort or just a door that closes? On Trip.com you compare hotels, guesthouses, apartments and resorts, from simple budget rooms to a place where you properly recover for a few days.
- For couples and friends sharing a room
- For backpackers who need some quiet after a few weeks of dorms
- Handy for short stopovers and late arrivals at the airport
- Heads up: check the location, out of town you are quickly a taxi ride away
Plenty of backpackers switch between the two, and that is exactly what we do. A hostel in the big cities to meet people, a private room on the islands or after a night bus.
Six things that save you a bad night
Picking a hostel is more than grabbing the lowest price. This is what we check before we press book.
- Book your first nights ahead After a long flight you do not want to wander around with your backpack looking for a bed. The rest of the trip you can happily book as you go, a day or two ahead.
- Be early for islands and holidays On small islands, in high season and around holidays, full really means full. Lock those in a few days earlier.
- Read the recent reviews Look mostly at the last few months. Hostels change owners, and a score from three years ago says very little about tonight.
- Check where it is Two euros cheaper out of town is no saving if you need a taxi back every night. Drop the address into your map app first.
- Look at the check-in time Rolling in off a night bus at six in the morning means standing in front of a closed door for seven hours at most hostels. Book the night before too, or check whether they allow early check-in.
- Look out for lockers A good hostel has a locker per bed that fits your laptop. If the description says nothing about it, assume there is none and bring your own padlock.
One more thing
Do I need to book hostels for the whole trip in advance?
No, and that is the beauty of backpacking. Book your first few nights, then a day or two ahead each time. That way you can stay longer somewhere you love and move on when it is not for you. Only in high season, around holidays and on small islands do you lock things in earlier.
What does a hostel bed cost in Southeast Asia?
Count on four to ten euros a night for a dorm bed. Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam sit at the bottom of that range, Thailand and the Philippine islands at the top. A simple private room often starts around fifteen euros, which for two of you is barely more than two separate beds.
Is a dorm safe for my stuff?
With a locker and your own padlock it is fine in practice. Pick a hostel that lists lockers in its facilities, bring a small padlock and never leave your passport, money or phone lying on your bed. Most of the bad stories are about things that were left out in the open.
Hostel or hotel when there are two of you?
Do the maths before you choose. Two beds in a dorm often cost about the same as a simple private room in that same hostel or in the guesthouse next door. You keep the common areas and the activities, and you sleep behind your own door.
How do I spot a party hostel?
From the description and from the reviews. Words like pub crawl, beer pong and rooftop bar are a clear signal, and so are reviews that talk mostly about the vibe and barely about sleeping. After some quiet? Look for words like quiet, garden and chill, and check whether there is a separate quiet dorm.
Can I still cancel my booking?
At plenty of hostels, yes, but it varies per place and per rate. Check the terms before you pay: free cancellation up to 24 or 48 hours before is very normal, and the deposit you pay online usually does not come back. You cancel with the platform you booked on, not with us.
Sort the next step right away
Route first, bookings second
Booking is a lot easier once you know which way you are heading. Our destination pages have the route through each country, how long to stay and roughly what it costs.
The booking buttons on this page are partner links. Book something through them and the platform pays us a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Which partners we recommend is our call and nobody else's. Read how we do that.