Since our country has always been a sacred land for backpackers, we thought we’d magnify it! And while we love the throngs of people and beautiful chaos, we also love a clean, comfortable, safe place to stay – a priority and also the hardest thing to find.
So we’re pitching in with our picks of the best hostels in India.
What was once a quaint Portuguese home now plays host to backpackers galore. It is walking distance from Goa’s best restaurants and bars {Thalassa, Sakana, Bean Me Up, Katzensuppe}. You can also channel your inner yogi with morning yoga sessions on the rooftop. Facilities include Wi-Fi, AC, female-only dorms, security cameras, lockers, laundry service, and free breakfast. Best of all, the fridge is always stocked with the bare necessities – water, beer, and chocolate.
Bangalore’s first international-standard hostel, Electric Cats is located in Indiranagar, and is close to some of the nicest restaurants and bars in the area. Apart from lockers, book exchanges, CCTV monitoring, free brekkie and Wi-Fi, what has us sold is The Dreamcatcher Café on the ground floor, a beautiful terrace to lounge on, and a bicycle-hire service to help explore the city.
Where: 1794, 1st Floor, 4th “E” Cross, 9th Main, HAL 3rd
We love it simply because they have the friendliest staff in all the land. They will help direct your cab driver at 3am and make sure you drink gallons of coconut water if you’re unwell – call it the Dilliwala love if you must!
Madpacker’s offers deluxe female dorms and mixed dorms, and the usual breakfast, Wi-Fi, linen, lockers and…wait for it…hot showers! With the Yellow Line just a five-minute walk away, all of Delhi is simply asking to be explored.
Right on the lakeside, and next to the City Palace – it really doesn’t get better than this.
They offer a lakeside superior private room, a six-bed mixed dorm, a six-bed female-only dorm and an eight-bed mixed dorm, and staples such as Wi-Fi, lockers, laundry, TV, AC, and a 24×7 help-desk. Go right up to the terrace and let the beautiful Lake Pichola hypnotise you.
The Pink City Zostel with graffiti and customer reviews on the wall is what you might be looking for. Bean bags, colourful floor cushions and a hand painted map of Rajasthan make up the lounge area, where travellers collect to share their wanderlust. Zostel has six-bed mixed dorms, female-only dorms and three-bed private rooms. Head to the terrace here for a view of the dynamic city.
CrashPad calls itself a Hosthotel – a combination of a hostel and a hotel for budget travellers. They have private rooms, 4-bed dorms and 6-bed dorms, all of which are air-conditioned.
Each room is designed to add some quirk from the different colourful cities of Rajasthan. Facilities include lockers, 24-hour reception, daily housekeeping, washing machine, kitchen, breakfast on request, Wi-Fi, and help with travel planning.
The city of truth and revelation is high on a traveller’s list. Stops offers private en-suite rooms, six-to-eight bed dorms as well as a 16-bed dorm. Each bed has its own charging point – a huge plus point.
From November through February, Stops offers tents on the terrace with yoga sessions in the morning. They even organise a sunrise boat ride down the river Ganga every morning.
