Bonaire (Textor)
Typically, a youth hostel is a property with dormitory-style accommodations and shared bathrooms and showers. Many youth hostels also have kitchens for guest use as well as other facilities. Some youth hostels have private rooms in addition to dormitory-style accommodations; among hostels with private rooms, some have private bathrooms as well.
Though many hostels are oriented towards families and groups, they are typically geared to a younger backpacking clientele. Given this demographic, hostels are great places for university-age travelers (and recent graduates) looking for instant social networks and traveling partners. If you’re nervous about demographics, do your research on a hostel-by-hostel basis.
But before you start fantasizing about hostel hopping across the Caribbean, here’s a necessary reality check. There are very few hostels in the islands of the Caribbean, no matter how you might want to define a hostel—by description, affiliation, or self-identification.
We have researched the region’s hostels, which are listed below. Most are Hostelling International member hostels. Hostelling International is the world’s leading federation of hostels, a network of 90 national youth hostel associations around the world.
There are a handful of official Hostelling International hostels on the Caribbean coasts of Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. FUAJ, the French chapter of Hostelling International, operates one hostel in French Guiana and one in Martinique. Other hostels listed here are independent hostels not associated with any official hostel federation.
Bocagrande (Cartagena): Cartagena de Indias.
Cartagena: Hostal Santodomingo.
Providencia: Sirius Health Centre.
Taganga-Santa Marta: Hostel Divanga.
Taganga-Santa Marta: Casa de Felipe.
Los Quemados (Bonao): Rancho Wendy.
Awaya Yalimapo: Auberge de Jeunesse de Simili.
Tulúm: Hostel Lobo Inn.
Morne-Rouge: Auberge de Jeunesse.
Salem: Hot Rock Hostel.
Isla de Coche: Posada Oasis de Coche.
Isla de Margarita: Posada Las Trinitarias
Isla de Margarita (Playa El Yaque): Posada Casa Perla
Tanaguarena: Costa Real Suites
Note: Not all youth hostels are created equally. We are not responsible for quality control. Our goal with this listing is to be as thorough as possible. We do recognize that bad, dirty, and downright unsafe hostels exist. And we respond well to feedback. So let us know if you deem one of the hostels listed here to be serious bad news. We’ll update our listings to take your feedback into account.