Viru Backpackers Hostel
Small, self-check-in Old Town hostel around the corner from the Town Hall Square
Viru Backpackers sits at Viru 5, thirty seconds from the Viru gate and ninety seconds from Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square). Self check-in, a shared kitchen, board games in the lounge and a tight mix of dorms and privates make it the Old Town pick for travelers who want the medieval streets as their front yard. 8.4 on 801 reviews.
Viru Backpackers is the Old Town hostel with a genuine Viru address. You cross the threshold and you're on Viru street, the medieval pedestrian axis that runs from Viru gate to Raekoja plats. Every single sight on a standard Tallinn walking tour is under eight minutes on foot: the Town Hall, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Kiek in de Kök tunnels, Toompea observation deck, the city wall towers.
The hostel itself is small — around twenty beds across a handful of dorms and private rooms — and that scale is the appeal. You see the same travelers at breakfast and in the lounge, and it's the kind of place where someone invites you to Telliskivi on night two. Rooms are notably spacious for the price, with proper wooden bunks rather than metal frames, reading lights that work, and lockers inside every dorm.
A shared kitchen, a lounge with board games, and free tea-and-coffee are the social glue. There's no in-house bar, but the Old Town's drinking infrastructure is at the door: Hell Hunt at Pikk 39, Porgu at Rüütli, and the Monks Bunk crawl starting at 21:00 ten minutes away on Lai street. Self check-in means late arrivals from Riga buses or Ryanair landings at 23:00 are painless — the keycode hits your WhatsApp on the morning of arrival.
- 01Viru 5 address — 30 seconds to Town Hall Square, not 8 minutes
- 02Small-hostel feel in the heart of the medieval Old Town
- 03Wooden bunks and in-dorm lockers, not metal-frame economy
- 04Self check-in that handles midnight Ryanair arrivals
- 30 seconds from Viru gate, 90 seconds from Town Hall Square
- Small scale with genuinely spacious dorm beds
- Board games, shared kitchen and a lounge that gets used
- Self check-in via keycode for late Ryanair arrivals
“Location was fantastic. Right in the old town and close to all main sights. Value for money also fantastic. Small hostel but that's what made it — you actually met everyone in the lounge over board games.”
“Cozy hostel with a spacious room in the heart of Tallinn's old town. The hostel was very clean, well maintained, and the kitchen was stocked with basics. Staff gave us proper tips for Telliskivi.”
“Exactly what you expect from an old-town hostel. Small and simple, but the location at Viru 5 is unbeatable for a weekend ferry trip. Self check-in saved me after a 23:00 arrival from Helsinki.”
- Town Hall Square (Raekoja plats)2 min walk
- Viru Gate1 min walk
- Alexander Nevsky Cathedral7 min walk
- Toompea Castle observation deck8 min walk
- Kiek in de Kök tunnels9 min walk
- Viru Keskus mall and bus terminal3 min walk
