Female-Only Hostels: From Search to Stay

Hostels: a symphony of snores, shared showers, and unexpected friendships. A thrilling, budget-conscious way to experience the world.

But for solo female travelers, that symphony can sometimes sound a little off-key. Female-only hostels offer a harmonious alternative – a safe place where women can connect, explore, and truly embrace the freedom of solo travel.

Here on Hostelz, you can filter for female-only hostels on all cities in this world.

How does this work?

1. Just visit your destination e.g. Tokyo
2. open the filter and check for "female-only"

We will show you all women-only hostels as well as hostels offer female-only dorm options.

What are Female-only Hostels?

Female-only hostels cater exclusively to women, providing a safe and supportive environment for solo travelers or groups. No male travelers can stay here. Here’s a closer look at what these hostels offer:

Room Types:

• Options range from private rooms to shared dormitories with 4, 6, 8 or 12 beds.

Very good to know: Many women-only hostels may show their dorms as 4-bed dorm only. They may not show "female-only-4-bed-dorm", since this is self-explanatory. Either way, good to know.

Security Features:

• Enhanced security measures include key card access, secure lockers for valuables, and 24-hour surveillance to ensure guest safety.

Read: Hostel Safety Tips: What to Do When Things Don’t Feel Right

Amenities and Facilities:

• Common areas designed for relaxation and socializing.
• Fully equipped kitchens for self-catering.
• Laundry facilities, often essential for long-term travelers.

Why Choose a Female-only Hostel?

When considering the benefits of female-only hostels, several factors stand out based on traveler surveys and safety studies:

Safety and Security:

• A significant concern for solo female travelers is safety.
• Female-only hostels address this by offering enhanced security measures.
• Surveys indicate that a majority of solo female travelers feel safer in accommodations that cater specifically to women.
• This peace of mind is crucial, especially in unfamiliar destinations.

Privacy:

• Private women-only spaces in these hostels help ensure that personal boundaries are respected, making guests feel more secure and less exposed to potential discomfort.
• The exclusive environments of female-only hostels can also offer a more relaxed atmosphere, allowing women to unwind and dress comfortably without concern.

Sense of Community:

• These hostels foster a strong sense of community, offering a supportive environment.
• The atmosphere can be incredibly enriching, making it easier to form friendships and share travel experiences in a comfortable setting.

Read: Hostel Checklist for Solo Female Travelers

How to Find Female-only Hostels?

Finding female-only hostels can be hard unless you know where to look:

• Revolutionary Search Feature: Hostelz.com is changing the game by making it easier to find female-only hostels. The platform has developed a specific filter that prioritizes these types of accommodations in search results, ensuring that users can quickly identify and book hostels that meet their preferences for female-only environments.
• Comprehensive Listings: If there are no exclusively female-only hostels available in a particular city, Hostelz.com doesn't stop there. The site also highlights the best female-only dorms within mixed hostels, providing options and flexibility for female travelers.

While Hostelz.com is leading with these innovations, other platforms like Booking.com and Hostelworld also facilitate hostel searches but typically without the same emphasis on female-specific options.

Pros and Cons of Female-only Hostels

Pros:

• Safety and Security: As highlighted earlier, female-only hostels offer enhanced security measures.
• Privacy: These hostels often provide more privacy, especially in shared spaces like bathrooms, catering to the cultural and personal preferences of women travelers.
• Sense of Community: A strong community vibe facilitates networking and friendship-building among guests.
• Tailored Amenities: Some female-only hostels go a step further by offering amenities and activities specifically designed for female travelers, such as women-focused tours, wellness programs, and beauty facilities.

Read: Hostel Etiquette (12 Golden Rules on how NOT To make Enemies)

Cons:

• Limited Availability: In some popular destinations, the number of female-only hostels might be limited, which can make finding a spot challenging during peak travel seasons.
• Less Diversity in Interactions: Staying exclusively in female-only environments may limit interactions with a broader range of travelers, potentially reducing the diversity of social experiences.
• Potentially Higher Costs: Due to their specialized nature and additional features, female-only hostels can sometimes be more expensive than their mixed-gender counterparts.

Our Favorite Female-Only Hostels

Here's a quick list you can access that will give you a general idea of what some of the best female-only hostels can provide in different countries:

• Puerto Viejo de Talama, Costa Rica: Booking.com | Hostelworld
• Faro, Portugal: Booking.com
• Kyoto, Japan: Booking.com
• Langkawi, Indonesia: Booking.com | Hostelworld
• London, UK: Booking.com | Hostelworld
• Sayulita, Mexico: Booking.com | Hostelworld
• Seoul, South Korea: Booking.com
• Sydney, Australia: Booking.com | Hostelworld
• Toronto, Canada: Hostelworld
• Ubud, Bali, Indonesia: Booking.com | Hostelworld

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About the author: Nour De Wilde Salhab

A Lebanese-Congolese-French-Belgian girl as likely to be found climbing a volcano in Indonesia or reading a sci-fi book by the sea in the South of France. Always on the hunt for remarkable experiences. My two favorites so far: volunteering in emergency medical services in Lebanon and solo backpacking around the world. Life is enjoyable in all its facets, from its healthy extremes to its mundane slows.