5 COOLEST Hostels in Pai (Insider Guide!)

The Broke Backpacker is supported by you. Clicking through our links may earn us a small affiliate commission, and that's what allows us to keep producing free content 🙂 Learn more.

From sublime to shitty, accommodation in Pai cater to every taste and budget. To spare your suffering though, I’ve given you my favourite spots.

1. Nolo Hub Pai: Best Overall Hostel

• Price: $
• Best for: Solo backpackers who want a social hostel with both organised fun events and chill time
• Highlights: Friendly staff, volunteers and resident dogs, pod-like dorms, comfy chill out areas
• Dorms from: $8
• Private rooms from: N/A
• Location: 10-15 minute walk from Pai Walking Street

It’s fairly easy for me to say that this hostel is in my top five of all time. It’s hard to get out of the classic Pai hole when a hostel also feels like home. Cosy dorms, friendly reps, dick-shaped pool…and let’s not forget the legendary gender bender (if you know, you know). Every need is met here: community, activities, grub and good company to go out with every night if your heart so desires.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Dick shaped pool: Why swim in a normal pool if you could in a dick shaped one?
• Your whole day planned for you: cultural days out before heading back to the hostel to gear up to go out
• A team that cares: Jordin, the owner, is a legend. I still keep in contact with him and many other Nolo volunteers and their love for Pai and surrounding communities shines in everything they do

What makes this hostel so special is the daily tours they set up free of charge, it creates a real sense of community to explore during the day and party hard at night. They visit secret waterfalls, ethnic villages, sunset spots, and even head up to the Myanmar border. I spent well over a week in Nolo, making my way through each tour (which is completely free of charge, just drive yourself or pay for the communal taxi!) and by the time I checked out, I properly felt like I had ticked Pai off.

Oh man, do I miss this place.

2. Common Grounds Pai: Best for Solo Travellers

• Price: $$
• Best for: Solo travelers who want a social scene without the chaos of a full-on party hostel
• Highlights: Pool table, on-site bar, free coffee and tea all day
• Dorms from: $10
• Private rooms from: $10
• Location: 50 meters from Pai Walking Street, 1-minute walk from the bus station

If hostels in Pai are spectrum from full blown benders to the ‘hey man’ spirital hippy folk, Common Ground Pai sits firmly in the middle. The vibe is social and easy going, making friends isn’t hard as everyone kicks it back in the common area and you won’t need weed or alcohol as a crutch. Events run every night to get people involved, and the staff really listen to what people want from night to night, so there’s less of an emphasis on organised (ergo forced) fun. Come 10pm the common area closes, meaning you can either choose to progress onto Walking Street or get a good night’s kip.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Super chill and social vibes, friend-making is on easy mode here
• Staff regularly pull solo travellers into group day trips to waterfalls, the canyon, and hot springs
• Central loation with Walking Street at your doorstep

The rooms are comfortable, with decent beds and privacy curtains, and the female dorms are especially impressive. I remember it handled me pretty much unpacking the entirety of my life out fairly easily. You’ve got free tea and coffee all day, friendly staff and volunteers to chat too, and a pool table that gets two thumbs up from me. And I’m a snob about my pool tables. The location gets brownie points too, being a literal two minute walk to Walking Street and two 7/11’s (gotta love Thailand) whilst keeping super quiet and serene. If you’re vibe-oriented when picking a hostel, this is a stellar spot.

3. Revolution Hostel Pai: Best Party Hostel

• Price: $
• Best for: Party-first backpackers who want a riverside setting and don’t plan on getting much sleep
• Highlights: River access for tubing, beer pong, weekly pub crawls
• Dorms from: $10
• Private rooms from: $30
• Location: Pai River, 7-minute walk to Pai Walking Street

Revolution have made a name for themselves in the hostel scene in Thailand, and this spot in Pai is no exception. They host nightly social events like pub crawls, pool parties, tubing trips, foam parties, canyon tours, and more! They’re the official pre-party for the largest tubing event in Pai, Jungle Tubing, plus the official pre-party for Secret Sunrise urban rave – think DJs, All You Can Drink, dancing on tables and other shenanigans! Be prepared for it to be messy, and have some of the best nights of your life to remember (or not).

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Riverside location on the Pai River with a tiki bar, fire pit and hammocks
• Official pre-party spot for Jungle Tubing and Secret Sunrise urban rave
• Unreal social vibes

It’s not all drink, drink, drink (though it very easily could be), the staff and volunteers are happy to show you why people get stuck in the famed Pai-hole. They organise day trips to all of Pai’s heavy hitters, like the stunning White Buddha, Chinese Village, Yun Lai Viewpoint, Hot Springs and more. From a social crowd, friendly reps and TONS to get involved in, it’s no wonder why this Revs is such a raucous spot.

4. The Famous Pai Circus Hostel: Best for Views and Vibes

• Price: $
• Best for: Travelers who want a valley-view infinity pool, daily circus activities, and a social atmosphere that doesn’t require being in the thick of town
• Highlights: Luxury infinity pool overlooking the Pai Valley, poolside bar, nightly campfire
• Dorms from: $9
• Private rooms from: $15
• Location: Valley slope east of Pai town, 700 meters from Pai Walking Street (bamboo bridge route) though a longer walk if the bridge is down in rainy season

Over the years, Circus hostel has earned a reputation for feeling like an epic mini festival on a hill with amazing backpackers and reps always around to hang out and party with. It’s got famed views of the picteresque Pai mountains, making it hard to ever really leave the hostel. I’ve wasted many an afternoon, by the pool, tripping balls amongst the mountains. This is the Pai hole down to a T.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Pai’s most-booked hostel since 2013 – it’s an OG for a reason
• Slacklining, trampoline to practice your circus skills
• Weekly pool parties run throughout high season

The backpacker scene leans heavily to the social side here. It doesn’t have to be a rager every night, but it’s still easy enough to check out and find you’ve made a gang of friends. If you wanna learn to slackline, juggle, hula-hoop or do acro yoga Circus Hostel is the place to come. This is where to mifit kids of the world congregate and get to weird out in peace. Even if that’s not your scene, it’s pretty damn cool to kick it back in a hammock and watch the world go by whilst they practice acro.

5. Butterfly Hostel Pai: Best for Chill Vibes

• Price: $
• Best for: Travelers who want to decompress rather than party, with countryside views and the most comfortable beds in Pai
• Highlights: Relaxed countryside property with beaaaaautiful rice paddy views, free tea and coffee, free weekly family dinners
• Dorms from: $14
• Private rooms from: $7.50
• Location: Outside central Pai, 10-minute walk from Wat Phra That Mae Yen, free shuttle to town

Butterfly Hostel is where you come to recharge but then somehow end up on a spontaneous jungle trek, at an all-night jam session, or in a deep conversation about the meaning of life with a guy who definitely looks like he lives here. It’s tucked away in nature, giving you that peaceful, laid-back vibe… but don’t be fooled. The social scene is alive and kicking, and you can almost guarantee there will be someone in the corner with a guitar playing wonderwall.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• On-site Jerk Shack restaurant serving Caribbean food and breakfast. Rogue, but don’t knock it until you try it
• Free shuttle into town and cheap scooter rentals on site
• Chill lounge area, hammocks, pool table, bar with books and board games

If you want Pai without the madness of the party hostels but still crave good vibes and new friends, this is your spot. Pai has a way of keeping people, and Butterfly is no exception.

Travel Insurance for Pai

Unfortunately, things can go wrong when you least expect it. This is why good travel insurance is essential before you head on your trip to Pai.

ALWAYS sort out your backpacker insurance before your trip. There’s plenty to choose from in that department, but a good place to start is Safety Wing.

They offer month-to-month payments, no lock-in contracts, and require absolutely no itineraries: that’s the exact kind of insurance long-term travellers and digital nomads need.

SafetyWing is cheap, easy, and admin-free: just sign up lickety-split so you can get back to it!

Click the button below to learn more about SafetyWing’s setup or read our insider review for the full tasty scoop.

Backpackers and digital nomads have been washing up here for decades, drawn in by the rice paddies, the hot springs, the canyon sunsets, and the kind of slow pace that makes it very easy to stay longer than planned. Full warning given where it’s due: the Pai hole is alive and well.

If you’re still figuring out where to stay, Nolo Hub Pai is a no brainer for me everytime. It’s the perfect blend of community, activity and getting a lil feral in the evenings to balance out the culture in the day.

You’ll find your people quickly, whether that’s the tubing crew, the perpetually in a hammock crew and the ones who discovered the valleys at Two Huts and never left <3