Patagonia | A Hostel Guide

Patagonia August 20, 2019

After six months on the road we’ve met travellers with all kinds of budgets – from as low as €1 a day to mid-range flashpacker budgets to luxurious short-term vacays. While travelling long-term, we often opt to spend less on accommodations and stay in hostels so that we can splurge on things we care more about, like experiences and food. It can be challenging to save money without sacrificing quality and comfort, especially in pricey Patagonia. We put together this guide to Patagonia Hostels that includes what to look for and three all-star choices to help you do just that.

What we look for in a hostel

Bedroom – Depending on price we alternate between private rooms and dorms. Patagonia accommodation is a bit steep so we were often in dorms. The sweet spot for us is 6-8 beds per room. We find less can be awkward and more means people are coming and going at all hours. Extra points for lockers, a shelf, a plug, curtains, and a light for each bed.

Bathroom – Dorms should not have ensuites. Full stop. Learn from our mistake and you won’t have to listen to your bunkmates doing their business beside your bed. Once we’ve confirmed the bathroom is separate from the bedroom we look at the shower sitch: is there a changing area where you can leave your things? A shelf for shampoo? Enough bathrooms/showers to service the hostel?

Kitchen – A shared kitchen is mandatory so that we can buy groceries and cook meals. While they are often fairly barren with dated supplies, being able to whip up eggs or pasta for a few dollars can be a budget life-saver in costly destinations like Patagonia and Africa.

Living Space – If we are spending more than a night or two somewhere the shared living space is key. Lots of comfy seats and break out areas are key to enjoying our time catching up on emails, photo editing, trip planning and blog writing.

Reviews – The crucial final step is narrowing our search to ratings above 8 on both Booking.com and Hostelworld. Before we book we check some of the lower-scored comments to see what people complain about and make sure there are no deal breakers.

We typically use Booking.com to make our reservations. We like that we can see the whole range of hostels, hotels and even apartments. After we have a sense of what’s out there we check Hostelworld and Airbnb as well.
If you’re using Booking.com use the this link to get $25 CAD off your first booking (and send the same gift to us!)

Our three favourite hostels in Patagonia

1 // MaPatagonia in Puerto Varas, Chile

Puerto Varas in Northern Patagonia should be on your list of places to visit, not just because it’s beautiful, has great food and countless activities, but because it’s home to the best hostel in South America: MaPatagonia.

It checked all of our hostel wish list boxes and then some. The kitchen was wonderfully well-stocked and the ladies bathroom (featured above) was like stepping out of a hostel and into a spa. The host, Pierre, is incredibly knowledgeable and accommodating. He even helped us plan out our Chile Road Trip and his insider tips for Chiloé Island and Lake District were fantastic.

The entryway to 90-year old heritage home transformed into MaPatagonia Hostel.

MaPatagonia – Dorms starting at 8,000 CLP ($11 USD) and private doubles at 22,000 CLP ($30 USD)

2 // Entre Vientos in Punta Arenas, Chile

As Chile’s gateway to Patagonia, there’s a good chance you’ll be passing through Punta Arenas at some point. We visited the sleepy town for an exceptionally long time to pre-plan for our Torres del Paine trek, so accommodation was extra important for us. Even if you’re only visiting for one night we’d highly recommend Entre Vientos.

The best part is the bright, cozy living room overlooking the Straight. We often saw dolphins swimming past at dusk from the patio overlooking the sea, and even the occasional spray from a whale. The breakfast was also excellent as it included waffles, toasties, eggs and lots more.

Entre Vientos in Punta Arenas, one of our favourite hostels in Patagonia — The sunny living space at Entre Vientos was divine and we often saw dolphins from the balcony.

Entre Vientos – Dorms starting at 12,000 CLP ($18 USD) and private doubles at 47,000 CLP ($66 USD)

3 // Oshovia in Ushuaia, Argentina

Once you’ve made the journey to Patagonia you might feel the pull to visit the world’s Southernmost city, Ushuaia. As the launch spot for exploring the Antarctic and surrounding waters, this city is not cheap. Budget accommodations were hard to find, especially last minute. Thankfully the relatively new Oshovia saved our wallets.

The long(ish) walk to the city centre is worth it once you arrive. The hostel was spacious with heaps of sitting space and many rooms. The breakfast was great which is a huge win in South America where it’s usually just ham and cheese. And the dorms and bathrooms were pristine.