Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
I don’t usually like to endorse specific hostels, especially when I’ve only stayed in them for a short period, but I have to make an exception for Drift Backpackers Hostel. That place is so cheap, fun, and happily run that it sucks me in every time. If the showers weren’t cold water only, I think I’d stay there for more than just a few days (and I have friends that have spent an upwards of three weeks in dorms and had to be dragged away).
The Vietnamese staff is incredibly friendly, good humored, and bursting with touchy-feely love for their patrons. Every time I walked through the doors I was greeted with some sort of snack and a moment of giggly hand-holding.
The leader of the love-team is Anna, an adorable woman whose make-up was always on point and whose five-inch heels constantly clack between the dorm rooms and the front desk. I don’t understand how she constantly makes her way up and down the thin, steep spiral staircase that leads up to all the rooms, but she’s always on her game.
This is one of those hostels that you can get sucked into pretty quick. Every night they have happy hour from 6PM-8PM. It consists of two kegs of cheap, warmish beer. You get a mug and drink for free until they’re empty. And that’s that. It doesn’t matter how many people are downstairs; there are always kegs. The environment is so friendly; tons of people travel through these doors and there are always people sitting downstairs, ready to meet others. You’ll definitely make friends if you spend enough time hanging around at happy hour.
Expenses:
Dorm Bed Per Night: $2.50
- Happy Hour: FREE