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Amsterdam hostels are extremely popular for a couple of key reasons. Hotel prices in the city tend to be quite expensive since space in the center is very limited, and Amsterdam tends to attract far more than its fair share of backpackers and students. If a senior citizen is touring Europe they might stop in Brussels and then skip right on to Hamburg, but there is no way in hell a real backpacker is going to leave Amsterdam off their list!

Fortunately there are loads of hostel in Amsterdam able to meet the high demand, if you’ll pardon the pun. The area around the Red Light District is where you’ll find most of the backpackers, but there are a few good Amsterdam hostels further out near the Leidseplein entertainment district and the Museum Square.

The most famous hostel in Amsterdam is the Flying Pig, which shares its name with a well-known prop used in Pink Floyd concerts, so that tells you a little about the place already. There are two locations: one Downtown (near Centraal Station), and the other Uptown (adjacent to Vondelpark and close to Leidseplein and the museums). It’s one of the few remaining hostels that enforce age limits (ages 16 through 40 are okay), and they are known as notorious party spots in addition to being well-run establishments. The Downtown one has bunks in their 20-bed dorms starting at around €20, with smaller rooms being progressively more expensive.

Bob’s Youth Hostel has been an Amsterdam institution for well over two decades now. This place has almost 150 beds divided into large dorm rooms with about 16 bunks in each. Prices start around €22 per night, and the location is excellent as it’s close to everything, but not in a seedy neighborhood like a few of the others.

If you scan the listings you’ll see that not all Amsterdam hostels are real hostels. Some hotels sneak into the picture. The tricky part there is some of the less expensive ones may be tempting, but they are going to be in less-desirable parts of town. You generally get what you pay for when booking beds in Amsterdam so if one place is half the price of another there is always a good reason why.

The city center is quite compact, but there are three major areas that are much more desirable than some of the more far-out areas. Any place that advertises that it’s near the Red Light District or Centraal Station is going to be in a good spot, especially for younger people who might be wanting to check out some coffee shops. Places claiming to be close to Rembrandtplein are also well-located as this area is also dense with interesting things to see and do, and it’s not too far from Centraal Station itself.

Places claiming to be near Vondelpark, Museum Square, or Leidseplein area also great, although this area is further out. Any place that advertises more than a 5-minute walk to any of these places will be in a somewhat boring (although safe) neighborhood. And any place that advertises they are a 5 or 10-minute tram ride from these places is going to be remote. It’s worth it to pay a bit more to be close to the center of Amsterdam.

Hostels in Netherlands (Amsterdam)