Belgium
Every hostel-dense city in Belgium. Sorted by the vibes we think you'll actually care about.
The ranked list.
BX Downtown - Brussels
9.1-rated boutique pod hostel a block from the Bourse and a four-minute walk to Grand Place. 684 reviews into its run, it's the highest-rated hostel in Brussels — privacy-pod dorms with reading lights, curtained bunks, in-bed lockers, and powerful showers the reviews can't stop mentioning.
Hostel Uppelink
Hostel Uppelink occupies a 16th-century guildhouse on Sint-Michielsplein, directly on the Korenlei canal and 50 metres from Saint Michael's Bridge. Free daily walking tours leave from reception at 11:00, the on-site bar opens onto the canal view, and the upstairs shared kitchen has the most photographed window in any hostel in the country. Location score 9.8/10.
Snuffel Youth Hostel
Snuffel is the 8.7-rated backpacker pick in Bruges: a bar-first hostel on quiet Ezelstraat, 8 minutes walk from the Markt, with a downstairs beer garden that locals actually drink at, a real shared kitchen, and the cheapest bed in the historic center. If you're in Bruges for the beer rather than the swans, this is where you start.
KaBa Hostel
KaBa Hostel sits in the medieval core of Ghent, a 5-minute walk from Vrijdagmarkt and Sint-Bavo Cathedral, with a private garden and terrace at the back. Mixed dorms have lockers and a shared kitchen with full appliances; private doubles add a TV and private bathroom. Continental breakfast buffet is available downstairs and the location score is 8.8/10.
Treck Hostel
Treck Hostel is the most personality-driven hostel in Ghent — a converted house in the arty Brugse Poort district where you can sleep in a vintage caravan, an indoor camper, or a regular dorm. Live music nights, bike rental, BBQ in the garden, and a buffet breakfast for €5 make it the obvious party-meets-quirky pick. 1.2 mi from the centre but Ghent is bikeable end-to-end.
De Draecke Hostel
De Draecke Hostel is the official Hostelling International property in Ghent, set in a converted 17th-century almshouse on the edge of the Patershol restaurant quarter, 7 minutes' walk from Korenlei. All rooms have private en-suite bathrooms — rare at this price point — and breakfast is included with most rates. Couples rate the location 9.5/10.
Sleep Well Youth Hostel
8.3-rated independent hostel with 16,000+ reviews — the Brussels backpacker workhorse. On Rue du Damier, five minutes from Rogier metro and ten from Grand Place. Shared kitchen, a bar, board games, a courtyard garden, and the largest mix of budget rooms in the city centre.
Hostel Bruegel
8.3-rated Flemish hostel on Heilige Geeststraat in the Marolles, four minutes on foot to the Sunday flea market on Place du Jeu de Balle and seven to Grand Place. Quieter and more local than the Pentagon chains — it's run as a Flemish Youth Hostel Association property, with the feel to match.
The Legacy by 2GO4 City Center
8.1-rated social hostel on Emile Jacqmainlaan, five minutes to Rogier metro and twelve to Grand Place. Run by the 2GO4 group — a small Brussels chain known for running the most social hostels in the city. Shared kitchen, weekly walking tour, board games, and a young common-room crowd.
HI Brussels Generation Europe
8.1-rated HI hostel across the canal in Molenbeek, a ten-minute walk to Sainte-Catherine and twelve to Grand Place. Run by Les Auberges de Jeunesse (HI-Belgium), full breakfast included, shared kitchen, walking-tour meet-ups, and the lowest HI rate in the Brussels centre.