Feature photo by
fortes
Everyone wants to
party on the road but with a million hostels in the world,
where should you go?
I’ve searched high
and low, drank with the best of them, and endured sleepless nights
by the toilet to find the best party hostels out there.
Here are twenty that
will keep you drinking, dancing, flirting, and hugging the
porcelain goddess until the sun comes up:
Surf N’ Sun
Location: Gold Coast, Australia.
With a swimming pool and open courtyard, the Surf N’ Sun
packs the young, the wild, and the alcoholic.
Bar Crawls take place every night and the hostel offers punch
and free club entry. Boxes of goon start flowing late afternoon
when people come back from the beach.
The Clown and Bard
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
With a 36 person dorm room, this place is always hopping. There’s
a bar downstairs with a two for three happy hour beginning at 7pm
and a live band filling the air.
Music gets blasting and four deck games of Kings have been known
to break out as people forget there’s a city outside the hostel. If
you’re in the 36 bed dorm, bring earplugs as this place does not
follow any of the hostel sex rules.
The Flying Pig
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
With its bar and pillow lounge, the Flying Pig is the spot for those
looking to channel their inner Bob Marley. There’s a constant cloud
of smoke seeping out into streets at all hours of the day and
night. Don’t worry if you run out- there are two coffeeshops across
the street!
Base
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Base
features a downstairs club that pumps out music every night. You
won’t get any sleep as the music filters up the floors and entices
you to come down and party until dawn.
The young and the restless fill the dance floor after drinking
pitchers of beer and cheap, colorful shots. There’s usually theme
and karaoke nights that let you embarrass your self all night
long.
Loki
Location: Cusco, Peru
Located in a 450 year old building, Loki is known throughout
South America for its parties. With regular events, an open lounge,
and theme nights, I wouldn’t expect any sleep here either. The bar
is regularly packed so tight, you’ll be practically grinding
against your neighbor.
#11 Happy Guesthouse
Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Why: Located by the lake in Phnom Penh, #11 Happy Guesthouse
features a huge patio, two big screen TVs, a pool table, and one
dollar beers. Always packed, this hostel is filled with the party
seekers who spend their days sightseeing and night drinking beer
before heading to the infamous Heart of Darkness.
St. Christopher’s Inn
Location: London, England
A bar, karaoke, cheap drinks, and a license to go until 4am all
means that this hostel is bursting with partygoers and one the
busiest in London. After you drink it down, you can take it off at
the rooftop hot tub. People
here know where the action is and if you play your cards right,
it just might be your room.
Kabul
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Located in the center of Las Ramblas, Kabul has a very open second floor where
all parties happen. Happy hour officially begins at 7, which is
usually a few hours after everyone wakes up.
With a reputation for partying, this place keeps drawing those
who start partying at 2 a.m. and sleep until 2 p.m. This place
gives new meaning to the term “late night.” I was called a quitter
for sleeping at 5 a.m.
The Rising Cock
Location: Lagos, Portugal
The Rising Cock is
infamous for its parties and it’s well deserved. Two things happen
at the Rising Cock: drinking and drinking.
Start your day with the hostel’s booze cruise on which the
majority of people get naked, and then keep the partying going with
drinking games at the hostel. If you can’t handle 24 hour partying,
this hostel is not for you.
The Pink Palace
Location: Corfu, Greece
The Pink Palace is
one of the world’s most famous party hostels in the world and with
good reason: toga parties, cheap shots of ouzo, happy hours, and
theme nights. After a day at the beach (which is just minutes away)
or their booze cruise, you’ll be spending the night dancing at
their club, Palladium, until the sun comes up.
The hostel has over 300 beds- there’s a good chance, you might
not end up in yours!
The Treehouse
Location: Ko Chang, Thailand
Every night is a bucket night at the Treehouse, and it’s the
perfect blend of a relaxed hippy vibe and partying with a very
active dance floor and a lot drinking. This place has all the
ambiance you need and you don’t have to stay there to party there.
People trickle in from all over to have fun, making this a hotspot
on Lonely Beach.
The Yellow
Location: Rome, Italy
With a bar downstairs and semi-nightly pub crawls, it’s pretty
easy to meet people at the Yellow. It’s not a huge hostel
either making the close quarters also convenient for meeting fellow
travelers.
Ostello Archi Rossi
Location: Florence, Italy
This place has
been popular for a long time as evident by the walls covered by the
names of past guests. A big courtyard and common dining area keep
people mingling and drinking vino rossi.
There are some clubs down the street and, when they close, you
can move back to the courtyard to keep the party going. The rooms
are a little away from the action so you can actually get some
sleep if you want.
Wombats
Location: Berlin, Germany
Known for its partying, Wombats rarely sees
anyone over 25. With an ultra-chic bar, everyone breaks out their
best attire and pickup skills here. Cheap drinks keep travelers
mingling all night long. If you can’t meet anyone here, you can’t
meet anyone anywhere.
The Jazz on South
Beach
Location: Miami, Florida USA
Located right near
the beach, The Jazz on South
Beach has an excellent bar that hosts the bold and beautiful of
South Beach. This is the place to stay if you’re looking to be seen
in South Beach.
Carnival Court
Location: Capetown,
South Africa
There’s no chance of a good night’s sleep at Carnival Court.
Located near a lot of bars (there’s also a bar in the hostel), this
place is a hangover waiting to happen.
It’s wild here and everyone is looking to break a new drinking
record. The staff will point you in the direction of the parties
but you just might have trouble walking there as the fun here
starts well before the sun goes down.
Millhouse Hostel
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
The music is on 24-hours a day at the Millhouse and the
atmosphere is extremely social! Each night has a different activity
such as dance party, karaoke night, and tango lessons.
Definitely a hostel for those that want non-stop fun and
excitement right at home! Most commonly heard line: “Were those
moans from the porno shop next store or did you get lucky last
night?”
Auckland Central Backpackers
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Located right down town, this hostel
draws upon the fact its part of the Base chain. That means all the
craziness of Melbourne spills over with people getting down and
dirty all night long. It will give you another reason to keep
staying longer in Auckland. !
India House
Location: New
Orleans, Louisiana, USA
A funky converted
house that was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the
India House
features eccentric local characters and travelers who just can’t
leave. Maybe it’s Bourbon St. Maybe it’s the jazz. Maybe it’s
the beer vending machine in the kitchen. Whatever it is, people
here know how to have a good time.
Tina’s
Backpackers
Location: Caye
Caulker, Belize
Located right on the
beach, Tina’s Backpackers keeps people in close quarters. Everyone
here is into island living – sun by day, drink by night.
Though the crowd
tends to be a bit older (30ish), you wouldn’t know it by the way
people party here. It is way off the beaten path but it’s worth
it.
Matt
Kepnes gave up the cubicle to pursue a life of adventure,
hoping to avoid an office for the rest of his life. You can find
his daily musings at Nomadic
Matt.