I’ve been converted! After 34 days across Europe, hostels are the best way to see the continent.
Not only are they nearly always the cheapest places to stay, they are the best places to meet new people, get advice on planning trips and just generally, have a good time.
Last week, I took you through my trip with ‘Roamies’, the new travel style from G Adventures and Hostelworld, from Innsbruck, Austria to Split, Croatia.
After Split, my ‘Roamies’ group of 16 solo travellers spent the last 13 days of the tour visiting Korcula and Dubrovnik in Croatia, Kotor in Montenegro, Tirana and Saranda in Albania, Corfu, Meteora, Delphi and Greece and Athens in Greece.
Here are a few things you should know if you’re planning a similar trip…
Get the cable-car up to Srd Hill to watch the sunset in Dubrovnik
In Dubrovnik, we stayed in Hostel 365, a brand new hostel in the center of the city with great amenities and it’s within walking distance of everything - about a 15 minute walk to the old town, which is where you want to be.
There is so much to do in Dubrovnik, like kayaking, cliff jumping and just enjoying the amazing historical center.
It’s easy to see why ‘Game of Thrones’ chose this as the location for King’s Landing!
One of the best things we did was take the cable car up to Srd Hill.
The entrance is about a 25 minute walk or five minute taxi from Hostel 365 (it’s a beautiful walk though).
The cable car takes you over 700 metres up and on a clear day you can see 60km out.
The sunset was full of deep oranges and reds, one of the best I’ve ever seen.
A round trip ticket is €27.
Take Kotor hostel’s bus trip to a fortress for a BBQ
‘Old Town Hostel’ in Kotor was one of my favourites of the 34-day trip, it was just so much fun.
I would highly recommend heading here if you’re a solo traveller looking to meet new people.
They have so many group activities you can take part in to get chatting to people, like boat trips and game nights.
On our second night’s stay, the hostel arranged a bus to an Austro-Hungarian fortress, Fort Gorazda where there were unbelievable views as the sun was setting over Kotor and it included a great BBQ dinner prepared by hostel staff.
It was a lovely and easy way to strike up a conversation with other people staying in the hostel.
Take a boat trip in Saranda, Albania
Albania is becoming more and more popular and Saranda is a really beautiful place, you’re basically getting Greek weather and sunsets without the Greek-pricetag.
We stayed in Hostel Hasta La Vista, a really bright and airy hostel, close to the beachfront.
Six of us took a boat tour for just €25 each out to the most stunning beaches and dive spots you can only access by boat.
Stay in a ‘hostel resort’ in Corfu
Corfu is a staggeringly beautiful part of Greece and is home to everyone’s favourite hostel on the trip, ‘Sunrock’ Corfu.
Our group arrived here close to the end of our trip for some rest and relaxation before we left for Meteora, Delphi and Athens.
We arrived in the late afternoon from Albania, just in time for a mindblowing sunset. Sunrock is an incredibly unique hostel; a better description for it might be ‘‘hostel resort".
It’s a family run business and the food they grow on their farm is transformed into delicious greek dishes, they even make their own feta and wine.
The hostel has a huge sundeck where we shared some of the best meals of the trip while the sun was going down over Pelekes beach.
It was also an extraordinary spot to go night swimming - we managed to see some bioluminescent plankton in the water under the moonlight!
Meet Dora Papa in Hostel Greco, Meteora, Delphi
The owner of Hoste El Greco in Meteora, Greece, Dora Papa is a fascinating woman and so motherly to her guests.
We had an early start from Corfu to catch a boat and then a bus to central Greece to see the amazing rock formations in Meteora and on arrival to Hostel Greco Mrs Papa had an incredible greek lunch prepared for us with stuffed peppers, fresh tomatoes grown in her own garden, homemade cheese and iced tea. It truly was a hostel that felt like home.
Dora went above and beyond for us and spent six hours the night before we left preparing spanakopita (a greek spinach pie) for breakfast before we left for our next Destination, Delphi.
Dora also donates a large portion of the money made from hungry backpackers eating her dishes to charities she works with in Tanzania.
Explore ancient ruins in Delphi
Exploring the ancient greek ruins in Delphi was one of those tours that really gets your adrenaline pumping.
The old ruins of Delphi are located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus looking over the Corinthian Gulf, on the mainland of Greece, 165 km west of Athens.
It is a site of great religious importance for the Ancient Greeks and was the seat of Pythis, the oracle consulted on important decisions for the Greeks.
Our guide Peni explained, scientists discovered that fault lines crossed the seat of the oracle and it’s believed hallucinogenic gasses released here likely caused visions inspiring the creation of the oracle at this point!
We stopped in Delphi to explore for the day and spent the night in Hotel Castri, it had unbelievable views of the surrounding hills.
Have lunch in Shedia Home, Athens
The last stop of the 34-day tour across Europe was in Athens.
We headed to Shedia Home for lunch which was one of the ‘G for Good’ moments on the trip.
G Adventures include lots of responsible travel experiences on their trips with a goal of supporting the local communities in the places where they create their tours.
Shedia means ‘raft’ and the home acts as a support centre for people suffering homelessness and long-term unemployment but it’s also a wonderful place for everyone in the community to grab a bite to eat. It even has a menu created by a Michelin-starred chef.
The goal is to bridge the divide between the homeless and housed community and encourage reintegration in a dignified way.
They have a monthly street paper created by vulnerable population groups in the city, it costs €4.00 and €2.70 goes directly to the people it aims to support.
Shedia also holds workshops for people who are struggling to develop skills like craft making so they can sell products and begin to earn money for themselves.
Lunch here was delicious and it was wonderful to learn about the communities Shedia Home supports.
Next week, I’ll update you on my 11-days spent in Peru with ‘Roamies’. You can also follow along on Instagram .
For more information on the Roamies Ultimate Europe and other Roamies trips across the world click here .
For more details on the Southern Europe: Croatia, Montenegro and ancient Greece tour: click here .
