Which Riga hostel is best for meeting other travelers on night one?

Naughty Squirrel. The 24-hour bar, the beer pong and the fact that half the dorm ends up at the bar by 10pm makes it near-guaranteed. Cinnamon Sally is second, with the breakfast buffet and the 11am walking tour as the two meet-people gateways.

Are the social hostels in Riga only for young backpackers?

Naughty Squirrel skews 20-30 with occasional stag crowds. Cinnamon Sally is adults-only and the crowd is 25-40 on the breakfast shift. Hedgehogs covers both with the restaurant crowd and karaoke bringing in older travelers.

Do Riga hostels charge for the social events?

Most are free or included. Walking tours are free (tip the staff), pub crawls are free but you pay for drinks, karaoke is free, trivia is free. The Sigulda bobsled day is €95 and the AK-47 shooting day is €60, both bookable at Naughty Squirrel reception.

Can I stay at one and go to events at another?

Yes, and this is the move. Cinnamon Sally and Hedgehogs share a building on Merķeļa iela 1, so you literally climb a stairwell between them. Naughty Squirrel is 8 min walk away in the Old Town. The walking tours, pub crawls and bar happy hours are open to non-guests if you ask at reception.

Social Events✻Riga✻3 hostels✻Handpicked✻Real reviews✻Social Events✻Riga✻3 hostels✻Handpicked✻Real reviews✻Social Events✻Riga✻3 hostels✻Handpicked✻Real reviews✻

Riga Social EventsRanked guide

Best Hostels with Social Events in Riga

Riga's social hostel scene is compact but active, anchored by Naughty Squirrel's 24-hour bar and Cinnamon Sally's staff-led pub crawls through the Old Town and Central Station bar strip. Three hostels run actual event calendars — beer pong, trivia, karaoke, live music and the Sigulda Olympic bobsled day trip that has no equivalent anywhere else on the Baltic backpacker trail.

◉ Ranking · 3 picks

01Cinnamon Sally Backpackers Hostel€18
02Naughty Squirrel Backpackers Hostel€21
03Hedgehogs Backpackers Hostel€19

§ 01 — Traveler's take

“Three social hostels, three different vibes. Naughty Squirrel is where you go if you want a night one that definitely involves beer pong and possibly a bobsled ride the next morning. Cinnamon Sally is where you go if you want to make friends over a free 11am walking tour and a waffle breakfast. Hedgehogs is where you go if karaoke on Wednesday and live music on Friday sounds like the right calibration. All three are within a 5-minute walk of each other on or near Merķeļa iela, so you can crawl between them.”

§ 02 — The ranked list

Our Top 3 Picks

★ 9.02,315 reviews€18/night

Cinnamon Sally Backpackers Hostel

Cinnamon Sally sits at Merķeļa iela 1, directly opposite Riga Central Station and a five-minute walk to the Old Town. Famous in Baltic backpacker circles for its homemade breakfast, bottomless free coffee and a strict adults-only, no-stag-party policy that keeps the vibe travel-sociable rather than chaotic.

Directly opposite Riga Central Station, 8 min walk to Old Town
9.0 rating over 2315 Booking reviews, top-tier Riga backpacker rank
Included fresh-waffle breakfast and free coffee all day
Adults-only, no-stag-party, no-under-18 door policy

See the hostel

★ 8.7503 reviews€21/night

Naughty Squirrel Backpackers Hostel

Naughty Squirrel has been Riga's headline party hostel since 2007, a three-minute walk from Town Hall Square and home to the 24-hour on-site bar that runs beer pong, trivia and movie nights on rotation. Australian-owned, dog-friendly, and famous for organizing the Latvian Olympic bobsled trip in Sigulda and the AK-47 shooting day at the firing range outside town.

Three-minute walk to Town Hall Square in Riga Old Town
24-hour on-site bar with happy hour 8pm to 10pm nightly
Bookable Sigulda Olympic bobsled run and AK-47 shooting day
Smart-card dorm access, under-bed lockers fit a 70L pack

See the hostel

★ 8.3525 reviews€19/night

Hedgehogs Backpackers Hostel

Hedgehogs sits on the second floor of the same Merķeļa iela 1 building as Cinnamon Sally, opposite Riga Central Station. The split is clear: Cinnamon Sally does breakfast and quiet, Hedgehogs does the bar, karaoke, ping-pong and live music nights. In-house restaurant, mini-mart, 24-hour front desk and a 9.6 couples location rating anchor it.

Same building as Cinnamon Sally at Merķeļa iela 1, opposite Central Station
In-house bar with nightly happy hour, karaoke, live music
Ground-floor Latvian restaurant and mini-mart on site
Soundproof air-conditioned rooms, 9.6 couples location rating

See the hostel

§ 03 — Tips

Tips for Choosing a Hostel with Social Events in Riga

Tip Nº 01

Naughty Squirrel's Sigulda bobsled day trip books 48 hours out, weekend slots sell first. €95 including transport, the real Olympic track at 80+ km/h.

Tip Nº 02

Cinnamon Sally's 11am free walking tour is led by staff, not an outside agency — it's where you meet the other guests your first morning.

Tip Nº 03

Hedgehogs' Wednesday karaoke runs past midnight on the second floor of Merķeļa iela 1. Ask for a 3rd-floor dorm if you want to sleep before 1am.

Tip Nº 04

Happy hour at Naughty Squirrel (8-10pm) and Hedgehogs (6-8pm) overlap perfectly — start at Hedgehogs, walk 30 seconds downstairs, finish at Naughty Squirrel.

Tip Nº 05

Folkklubs Ala on Peldu iela is the off-hostel social add-on for Riga Black Balsam shots and live Latvian folk music, 4 min walk from any of the three hostels.

Tip Nº 06

Cinnamon Sally's 'no stag parties' rule is strictly enforced. If you want stag-weekend energy, Naughty Squirrel is the only option on this list.

§ 04 — Other vibes