This section is dedicated to take away all your "I wish someone had told me that before I went!" experiences. This way, you can spend less time settling in, and more time making new friends in your chosen hostel. We share our insider knowledge of tips, tricks and important things to look out for in Konstanz.
How can you be this charming and such a pretty little marvel, Konstanz!? If you asked one of the thousands of university students studying here why they chose the city, you will most likely hear that he looked at some cities and when he got to Constance, he looked no further. It's not the city that pops to young people's minds when it comes to prime destinations, but on arrival that changes.
There rarely is a place with a location as pristine and at the same time rewarding as this one. It's surrounded and crisscrossed by the lake and its side arm, plus a nature reserve to the side and lots of woods and other greenery; the Alps are a backdrop, and a big handful of entirely original, unharmed medieval- to modern-classic architecture is what's on stock. From a more practical point of view, there's water sports galore in summer, you can be in the outdoors all year round, and it's forty minutes to the next skiing resorts in winter -- plus student bars in thousand-year-old buildings!
Add to that an immensely friendly atmosphere and alternative lifestyle (Konstanz had the first green mayor and that trend is still going strong!). It's not big, most things can be reached walking, and for those further away there are good train and bus connections. Especially for nightlife, you might want to not just walk around in the city center but get some info and take the bus to the hotspots that are not in the center (and are absolutely worth the travel!). All other needs can be catered to in the center without much difficulty. And for the explorers that get bored quickly -- a ten-minute walk will get you to Switzerland!
As with so many towns of this size in this part of the country, your Konstanz hostel options are very limited, but very nice! The location is a bit out of town, though, and taking into consideration that for the same price, you can probably find a cheap room in some guesthouse, it might not be worth putting up with the school groups usually frequenting the premises. You could also go to Kreuzlingen in Switzerland. This is kind of the second half of the city just cut off by an international border, and your hostel options there are actually much closer to Konstanz than your Konstanz hostel options. But please heed that this is another country (you may need to check your visa status ... and be prepared to dig deeper into your pockets).
Written by local enthusiast for Konstanz hostels
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