5 Best Hostels in Playa Del Carmen

Playa Del Carmen is a huge destination for backpackers because the great beaches, fun nightlife and is a great place to hangout for a while. Playa Del Carmen hostels are trying to keep up with the fun-loving people that come to town. We wanted to tell you about the best hostels in Playa Del Carmen here.

Playa (as called by the locals) has been getting more popular with every level of traveler and prices have been on the move to more luxurious levels lately. The good news is there are more hostels in Playa Del Carmen than in the past and you still can stay here on a budget.

For independent travelers and couples looking for a good deal, hostels are a good option. Dorm beds average about 200 pesos a night and private rooms start at about 450 pesos a night.

Here are 6 tips for you when looking to book a Playa Del Carmen Hostel

1. All hostels in the center of town and certainly on this list are just a few blocks to the beach, so don’t book just based on what is advertised in regard to distance from the beach.
2. Playa Del Carmen is a popular place. Make sure you book ahead for Christmas, New Years and Semana Santa (Easter) holiday times. Trust us, you don’t want to be walking around with you bag in the sun looking for a place. Everything gets booked during these times.
3. There are some Playa Del Carmen hostels and guest houses on booking websites that are not in the center of Playa Del Carmen and are really not a good location for tourist. It may be a few pesos cheaper, but you will spend that and more in transportation just going to the beach. Any hostel that says it is 2 kilometers or more from the center, make sure you know exactly where it is before booking. You will want to be below the 307 highway and between 38th St and Playacar neighborhood on the south end of town.
4. Almost all the Playa Del Carmen hostels are close to a grocery store. We have three big grocery stores in the center of town. Mega and Walmart are the best grocery stores.
5. Almost everyone likes to stay in Playa Del Carmen compared to Cancun. They are very different cities. In Playa Del Carmen you can walk to the beach and all-around town. There is a more laid back and international atmosphere in Playa that more people appreciate. You can easily fly into and out of Cancun Airport and stay in Playa Del Carmen. There is easy bus transportation from the Cancun Airport to Playa Del Carmen.
6. There are some hostels now on Hotels.com. The good thing with this is when you use the site you get a free night after booking 10 nights.

Top 5 best hostels in Playa Del Carmen

We listed these hostels in somewhat order from the top down. You may not want to stay at a party hostel, or you might like somewhere quiet, so read through the list and see what the best fit for you might be.

Hostel 3B

This Playa Del Carmen hostel is on the south end of town and is described as a boutique hostel and a rather new concept than the days of bare bones dorm rooms and kitchens with plastic plates. The moment you walk in you feel like it is a nice place.

Some dorms only have a few beds which is nice, and it has air-conditioning for hot times of the year.  The dorms have good storage for large bags in lockers. It may be a few pesos more, but you will thank yourself later. This is also the life of the party place.  Think electronic DJ’s spinning on the roof and weekly parties.

This is what you expect from a good hostel in Playa. It can get a pretty good size crowd so expect some noise, drinking and hanging out that might carry over into the dorms. This can be a slight drawback from trying to balance a good roof top party and having a clean and quiet place to sleep.

• Pros-Smaller dorm sizes available, air-conditioning used when it is extra hot, roof top area with Sunday parties. Rooftop bar. There is a pool on the roof! This is one of seven roof pools you can visit in Playa and this one is the cheapest for sure and you have young people to hang out with. This hostel is also very close to the ADO bus station on 5th Avenue and Juarez Avenue, this makes it an easy walk from the bus when you arrive from the airport in Cancun.
• Cons-South end of town so you will need to walk a little into the center for clubs and going out. Breakfast is not included and not the best place to cook.

Tequilita Hostel

Just the name sounds fun and so it the paint job at this hostel. The bright colors will let you know you are in Mexico and the roof top is a nice place to reflect back on your day. This hostel has both private rooms and dorms. This hostel is on 6th Street between 15th Avenue and 20th Avenue. It is right next to Hostel Che.

• Pros-good location on 6th Street and near cheap eats. Fun vibe and you should meet fun people.
• Cons-it is not going to be the quietest hostel because of its popularity and youthful vibe. This hostel is for outgoing people so just expect that.

Hostel Che

This is a smaller hostel, but they must be doing something good because they are always busy and word of mouth from fellow travels always seems to recommend this place. This Playa Del Carmen hostel is especially popular with Argentinian travelers.

Although the building looks small from the street, they have added space on the roof for a bar and chill area and can have 54 people stay here.

• Pros-popular place, it is close to a lot of inexpensive restaurants (see list below), has a roof top bar and weekly events. Young crowd to mingle with.
• Cons-it is a smaller hostel and there is not much space if you just want a quiet place to relax. With the roof bar and people coming and going it does get complaints of noise. Small kitchen to use.

Now that you have read about the best hostels in Playa Del Carmen you might want to know how you can save money on eating while here.  Also, if you are traveling within Mexico we have a great article on using domestic airlines to save money.

We hope you have a great stay in Playa Del Carmen and a hostel here. Anything else you might want to research, just use the search box or menu here on our site. We have lots of information on how to take the colectivos to save money, day trip information and much more. 

What is your favorite Playa Del Carmen hostel to stay at in? We would love to hear from you in the comments below.

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