The 10 Best Hostels in the Phillippines

Before you start your travels, make sure you know where you want to stay in the Philippines, which will then make choosing your hostels a heck of a lot easier! These are my favourite hostels in the country.

1. Frendz Hostel El Nido: Best Overall Hostel

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• Price: $$$
• Best for: Social backpackers who want to be in the thick of the action
• Highlights: Buzzing common areas, regular events and bar nights, central location within stumbling distance of El Nido’s main strip
• Dorms from: $20
• Private rooms from: $65
• Location: El Nido

Frendz Hostel is one of those places that ends up in everyone’s Philippines highlight reel whether they planned it that way or not. Perched in the heart of El Nido town, it runs on a rooftop pool, jaw-dropping island views, and a staff-engineered social calendar that basically does the hard work of making friends for you. Every evening kicks off with a free shot on the roof. You will not be lonely here.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

1. Seriously insane views from the rooftop
2. Swanky hotel-like amenities
3. Tour desk offering some of the best day trips on the island

The dorms are spotless and genuinely comfortable – privacy curtains, personal lockers, ensuite bathrooms cleaned daily, and AC strong enough to recover from the ridiculous midday heat. Social backpackers, this one’s yours. Seriously, this is the Philippines’ backpacker scene at its finest (and also one of my favourite hostels in the Philippines)

2. Outpost Hostel – Coron: Best for Solo Travellers

• Price: $$
• Best for: Solo travellers, and social butterflies
• Highlights: Rooftop infinity pool with panoramic Coron Bay sunset views, nightly themed events, daily island-hopping tours departing straight from the hostel
• Dorms from: $25
• Private rooms from: $80
• Location: Coron

Outpost Hostel is the kind of place that makes solo travel feel like its on easy mode. The rooftop infinity pool is the main event here – you’re in Palawan after all. Coron Bay sunsets from up there are genuinely ridiculous, best enjoyed horizontally with a cold beer and zero plans. After dark, you have karaoke nights and themed events to keep you occupied with staff who actually show up and join in on making a fool out of themselves rather than herding you from a distance.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

1. EPIC rooftop pool. It’s the place to be when the sun sets along Coron Bay.
2. Daily nightly events. It’s a social hostel that actually delivers on the social part, from karaoke to themed nights.
3. Offers their own expedition from Coron to El Nido. Meaning you can make hostel mates and sail into the sunset with them for four days. Beautiful, eh <3

What sets Outpost apart from your average lively hostel is the four-day expedition to El Nido. You make your hostel mates, then sail off into the Palawan wilderness with them. A highlight excersion in the Philippines, you’ll be doing yourself a solid by booking it through a hostel this easy to make friends.

3. Fable Hostel: Best for Meeting People

• Price: $$$
• Best for: Solo travellers, female travellers, social backpackers.
• Highlights: Free family dinner nights, free scooter lessons, female-only dorms.
• Dorms from: $21
• Private rooms from: N/A
• Location: Siquijor

Fable Hostel sits among the palm trees on Paliton Beach in Siquijor, and it earns its reputation not through flashy amenities but through something harder to manufacture: genuine community. The owners, staff, and volunteers put real work into making this feel less like a place you sleep and more like a place that feels like home after so long on the road.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Close walk to Paliton Beach, a little further from San Juan (scooter required)
• Free tea, coffee and pastries in the morning
• Nightly family dinners at various restaurants
• SOLID connection with a generator to fight the infamous power cuts

The family dinners every night are the perfect embodiment of the community Fable is trying to foster. Good local Filipino food, with great company to share it with. Fable is also home to some resident dogs, Gozo, Agra & Callao, who are such a part of the family that they feature on the staff shirts.If your ideal morning involves a cinnamon roll, a good coffee, a beanbag, and a dog to share it with, Fable has you covered.

4. Happiness Hostel Siargao: Best for Flashpackers

• Price: $$$
• Best for: Surfers and flashpackers
• Highlights: Stunning design, two pools, daily events like yoga
• Dorms from: $13
• Private rooms from: $60
• Location: Siargao

Siargao is my favourite island in the Philippines and why not spend it at one of the best hostels on the island? If you can get a bed there, you should book it. This place is so popular that it sells out SUPER FAST. It’s not the most social hostel in the world, but it’s still so high up on my list of hostels in the Philippines as it’s just so damn cool. Weekly parties that were amongst my favourite nights in the country, and an on-site restaurant I genuinely ate every day at.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Weekly parties
• On-site restaurant and coffee house
• Perfectly placed between General Luna and Cloud 9

Two pools, indoor and outdoor. Air conditioning throughout. Dorm beds with privacy curtains, shelves, and storage, closer to capsule hotel than traditional dorm. Everything here has been thought through.
It is not the most aggressively social hostel in the Philippines, but solo travellers have never struggled to find their people when they actually want them. Book ahead, seriously.

5. Lub d Manila Makati: Best in Manila

• Price: $$
• Best for: First-timers, city explorers, and digital nomads
• Highlights: Chill but social vibes, free city walking tour, right in the middle of Poblacion’s nightlife
• Dorms from: $12
• Private rooms from: $35
• Location: Manila

Lub d Makati sits on Makati Avenue in Poblacion, which puts you in the middle of Manila’s best nightlife, food, and creative energy from the moment you arrive. It’s a big, well-run operation and a logical first stop for anyone landing in the Philippines for the first time. The free walking tour, led by a local guide, is the obvious move for anyone trying to get their head around one of the world’s most densely populated cities.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Rooftop bar and restaurant with genuine Manila skyline views
• Dorms with privacy curtains, personal shelves, and secure lockers, kept clean and well-maintained throughout
• Co-working space, games area, and a decent cafe

Poblacion is where you want to be in Manila. Indie bars, street food, and Greenbelt Mall are all within walking distance, and the rest of the city is easy enough to reach from here.

6. Frendz Resort & Hostel Boracay: Best for Party Lovers

• Price: $
• Best for: Solo travellers, budget backpackers, and anyone who wants White Beach on their doorstep without the Boracay price tag
• Highlights: Free pasta and taco nights, live music, daily social events
• Dorms from: $10
• Private rooms from: $30
• Location: Boracay Island

Boracay has a reputation for separating backpackers from their budgets faster than almost anywhere else in the Philippines. Frendz Resort Boracay is the antidote: a hostel putting you right up and close to some of Boracay’s most gorgeous beaches. Free pasta and taco nights, live music, organised boat trips, and discounts on diving gear. For a hostel at this price point, that’s a serious lineup.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Female-only 10-bed dorm available for solo women travellers, with a private bathroom in every room so there’s never a queue
• Super chilled out beach vibes that you’d expect from an island this picturesque
• Hostel-organised boat trips

With hostel-organised boat trips to discounts on diving gear, Frendz Hostel Boracay hooks you up with everything you need to explore Boracay Island. So if you have any interest in taking to the waters and discovering the diverse marine life Boracay has to offer, these are your guys!

7. Outpost Beach Hostel: Best for Beach Vibes

• Price: $$
• Best for: Backpackers who want beachfront access without sacrificing a social scene
• Highlights: Hammocks and chill common areas, solid in-house restaurant and bar, super social vibes
• Dorms from: $13
• Private rooms from: $48
• Location: Corong-Corong

If beach access is non-negotiable for you, Outpost delivers in a way that most Philippine hostels simply don’t. Situated in Corong-Corong just outside El Nido town, it pairs direct beachfront access with a social scene built around hammocks, a beachside bar, and a staff that bring an energy that’ll never want to leave. It’s a fun and social hostel with nightly events, cheap drinks, and good vibes all around.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

1. Direct beach access
2. Staff are legends
3. Strong community vibe without going full party hostel

The hostel itself is clean with some insane sea views, and while the dorms are suuuuper nice with spotless bathrooms, there’s also plenty of space to chill when you need a breather. El Nido town is a 35-minute walk or a short bike ride away, but for most people staying here, that stops mattering pretty quickly.

8. Bohol Hammock Hostel: Best for Community Vibes

• Price: $
• Best for: Nature lovers, and anyone who wants to actually connect with the people they’re travelling with
• Highlights: Free breakfast, nightly family dinners, sunrise hike to the Chocolate Hills, open-air setup with hammocks and swing beds
• Dorms from: $6
• Private rooms from: N/A
• Location: Batuan, Bohol, a 20-minute walk from the Chocolate Hills

Bohol Hammock Hostel is a family-run gem that draws in a friendly crowd of backpackers. Sitting on a working coconut farm in Batuan, it is entirely open-air, which means swing beds, hammocks, and the sounds of the island rather than air conditioning and a TV. It’s no frills and not for everyone, but for the right traveller it is one of the most memorable stays in the Philippines.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Free breakfast every morning
• Family dinners every night at 7pm
• A full roster of activities including a free sunrise hike to the Chocolate Hills, yoga, bike tours, cooking lessons, and countryside tours

One of the cheapest hostels on the island, it’s run by local women who have built genuine community into the bones of the place. From sunrise hikes to family dinners, every part of your day is accounted for and part of the community experience. Bathrooms are shared, there is no air conditioning, and the wildlife is very much a part of your stay. If that sounds like a problem, this is not your hostel. If it sounds like exactly what you came to the Philippines for, book it before someone else does.

9. Happiness Hostel El Nido: Best for Chill Vibes

• Price: $$
• Best for: Travellers who want a sociable, centrally located base with a healthy eating focus
• Highlights: Complimentary coffee, tea, and morning snacks all day, balcony swings overlooking the beach, boho vibes
• Dorms from: $13
• Private rooms from: N/A
• Location: El Nido

Happiness Hostel El Nido really lives up to its name – this place is a damn rainbow of good vibes. The location is spot on, with everything you could need right on your doorstep, from diners to shops, all within walking distance. Some pretty cool beaches like Las Cabañas Beach are just a short tricycle away too. The restaurant downstairs really is the main event though. Mediterranean food, healthy food and vibey events every night for you to get involved in.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Central location that is pretty unbeatable
• DJ nights downstairs (they’re pretty funky)
• Super decked out dorms that give you a load of privacy

It doesn’t have crazy hostel energy, meaning you can kick it back and recharge your social batteries or chill with other backpackers in the common area or restaurant downstairs. The staff are legends too – super helpful and always up for making sure you’re having the best time. Add to that the essentials like good air con, fans at every bed, hot showers, and free water, tea, and coffee, and you’re all set for a solid stay. This is a spot that isn’t soul sucking, but rather lets El Nido do the talking.

10. Chief Mau Moalboal Cebu: Best for Adventurers

• Price: $$
• Best for: Divers, snorkellers, canyoneers, and anyone who wants Cebu’s best adventures on their doorstep
• Highlights: Steps from the famous Sardine Run, hostel-organised canyoneering, island hopping
• Dorms from: [check Hostelworld]
• Private rooms from: [check Hostelworld]
• Location: Moalboal

If you’re coming to Cebu to actually do things rather than just lie around, Chief Mau is your base. Sitting a minute from Panagsama Beach in Moalboal, it puts you within swimming distance of the famous Sardine Run, one of the most spectacular marine experiences in the Philippines, and within easy reach of Kawasan Falls canyoneering. The hostel organises all of it, so you’re not spending your first day figuring out logistics.

Why you’ll love this hostel:

• Strong social scene – perfect for solo travellers
• A bar, restaurant, terrace, hammocks, and a social area that actually sees backpackers mingling
• The Sardine Run is literally on your doorstep, and the hostel can point you at every other major adventure Cebu has to offer

The rooms are clean and comfortable, private rooms come with balconies, and the on-site restaurant keeps things easy on the days when you’ve worn yourself out in the water. For anyone who came to the Philippines for the underwater stuff, Moalboal, and this hostel, is the right call.

Travel Insurance for The Philippines

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 the Philippines.

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.

How to choose the right hostel in the Philippines

The Philippines has enough hostel options to make your head spin, and not all of them are worth your time or money. Before you book the first place with a decent rating and a photo of a hammock, here’s what’s actually worth thinking about.

• Location matters more than you think. If you want a central location, expect some noise. If some serious R&R is on your agenda, accept it’ll take you longer to get into town.
• Know what kind of traveller you are. If you’re a mad monkey party backpacker or a more serene traveller, there’s a hostel for you in the Philippines. Check the description of each hostel and read between the lines to gauge the vibe.
• Don’t sleep on the newer or lesser-known spots. The Philippines hostel scene is growing fast, and some of the best value is at properties that haven’t yet accumulated thousands of Hostelworld reviews.
• When hostels are worth the splurge. Some of my favourite hostels were coincidentally the most expensive on the trip. My worst…were also pretty expensive! Knowing when to prioritise splashing the cash for a unique experience or social vibe will almost always elevate your Philippines experience.

Anyways, that’s my two cents, go forth and get involved friends!