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Being a small island out in a lagoon, space in and around Venice is extremely limited so it will come as no surprise that hotels there are rather expensive. The places on the mainland are more affordable and where budget travelers usually wind up, but the experience of actually staying in Venice is missing if you stay there. There are actually a few Venice hostels located on the island, and even though they aren’t ultra cheap, they are good bargains in this touristy city.

There are hostels in Venice on the mainland as well, and there are actually some good reasons why they may be a better choice than staying out on the islands, depending on what you are looking for.

The upside of staying on the islands is that the city is absolutely packed with day-trippers from morning until the early evening, but after that it mostly empties out. If fact, during the day the crowds are often overwhelming and even spirit-crushing so staying at a hostel in Venice on the islands is a great way to actually see the charm of this special location without being trampled by tour bus passengers. Wandering the tiny, car-free streets early in the morning or late in the evening can be a magical experience.

The downside of staying at a Venice hostel on the islands is that the nightlife is almost nonexistent. Largely due to those day-trippers leaving, restaurants and bars tend to close early and there is nothing wild going on past midnight. The area where the Venice hostels are located on the mainland does have some good bars and late night eating spots, so if that is important you might be better off there.

Another interesting thing about Venice is that it’s so small you can actually see all the main sights in 24 hours or so. Many people wonder whether they should allocate 3 or 4 days for this classic city, and then by Day 2 they’ve actually seen everything and wonder why they booked so long in such an expensive place. You can literally see everything and have a great time if you arrive at noon one day and leave at noon the next day, so it might be worth a splurge to stay in a great location just for one night and then be on to other places the following afternoon.

The Venice Fish Hostel has an excellent location on the island if you are interested in a mini-splurge in a Venice hostel. Beds in their 8-bunk dorms start around €40, and they also have rooms with 4 beds as well as private twin rooms starting around €60 per person. These are great prices for this location so if you are only staying for a night or two it might be worth it.

The YHA Ostello Della Gioventu is the largest and cheapest Venice hostel on the islands, but it’s not on the island with all the sights. You can easily get there on regular water buses that are quite cheap, so this location isn’t terrible. They have over 250 beds in their segregated male and female 16-bunk rooms, all at around €20 per night.

Hostels in Italy (Venice)