Galway
Ireland.
Ireland · 6 districts · 4 vibes
6 handpicked hostels in Galway, sorted by traveler rating.
Galway is the west-of-Ireland capital of traditional music and Cliffs of Moher day trips — an 83,000-person city that punches above its size in backpacker scene density. The hostel circuit clusters around Eyre Square (Kinlay, Galway City Hostel, Snoozles on Forster Street) and the north-river Woodquay strip (The Woodquay Hostel, The Dawson), with The Nest Boutique Hostel breaking away to the Salthill seaside. The main sell is Shop Street's 15-pub medieval spine, nightly trad sessions at Tigh Cóilí and The Crane Bar, and the morning Cliffs of Moher buses from Eyre Square at 9:30am. For backpackers who want Ireland unfiltered: pub crawls, fiddle sessions, Atlantic seafood chowder.
What to do in Galway.
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Best Hostels in Galway
6 handpicked hostels in Galway, sorted by traveler rating.
Galway City Hostel
Galway City Hostel is the highest-rated hostel in the city on Booking — 9.0 across 1,385 reviews, on Frenchville Lane between Eyre Square and Ceannt Station. Dorm beds and private rooms, small, staff-run, and visibly cared for.
Kinlay Hostel Eyre Square
Kinlay Hostel Eyre Square stands on Merchants Road at the corner of Eyre Square, about a 2-minute walk from Galway's train and coach station. Dorms of 4, 6 or 8 beds use pod beds with all-round privacy, six-bed female-only dorms exist with shared or private bathroom, breakfast is included, and guests share a self-catering kitchen, a large dining room and a lounge with a pool table. Rated 8.9 from 3,804 reviews.
The Nest Boutique Hostel
The Nest Boutique Hostel is the Salthill-side option — a boutique-styled hostel on the Salthill promenade, 8.8 across 2,777 reviews, dorms with modern wooden bunks, a rooftop terrace looking toward Galway Bay, and breakfast included. Quieter than the Eyre Square hostels and closer to the sea.
Snoozles Galway City Centre
Snoozles Galway is the repeat guests' hostel on Forster Street: rated 8.7 across 1,918 reviews, with dorms that include a continental breakfast, two minutes on foot from Eyre Square on its quieter side. A long-running, family-owned operation with a high rate of returning guests.
The Dawson Hostel Galway
The Dawson Hostel (formerly Sleepzone Galway City) is a refurbished 100-bed hostel on Bóthar na mBan, rated 8.1 across 2,981 reviews, with an included continental breakfast, a ground-floor outdoor terrace and a 5-minute walk to Eyre Square. Returning guests rate it among the best-value hostels in Galway.
The Woodquay Hostel
The Woodquay Hostel is the budget pick on the quieter side of the River Corrib: rated 7.9 across 2,792 reviews, a 6-minute walk from Eyre Square, with a two-building layout, a big kitchen and trad pubs within easy reach.
Hand-picked guides.
Galway is the kind of small city where the social scene organises itself — you walk out of Eyre Square and within five minutes you're in a S…
Galway is a two-minutes-end-to-end walking city, so the 'city tour' that matters here is the day trip out: Cliffs of Moher (90 minutes south…
Galway is not a rooftop city by Mediterranean standards — the weather doesn't reliably support open-air terrace culture, and most hostels ar…
Galway's live music scene is synonymous with traditional Irish music — 'trad' — and in this small city the sessions happen within walking di…