Hostels in Florence

A room at the Plus Florence hostel, Florence
A stylish room at the Plus Florence hostel, Florence.

Hostels (ostelli in Italian) and other cheap digs in Florence, Italy

Grabbing a bed in a traditional hostel is a bit like staying at summer camp, only without the lanyards.

These days, such rooms full of 40 bunk-beds sharing one big, funky bathroom down the hall are being replaced by friendlier hostels with teensy "dorms" of just four to eight beds each, often with a bathroom attached to each share room.

Many hostels also now have private rooms, often sleeping 2-5.

How much do hostels in Florence cost?

A bunk in a shared dorm usually goes for around $15 to $40. This is undeniably a savings over the price of a single room at a hotel, B&B, or other type of lodging—but only for the solo traveler.

Two or three people traveling together can usually find a private room in a cheap hotel or B&B for the same price but with fewer rules and less of a party atmosphere.

Private rooms at Florence hostels start around $40–$55.

What is a hostel in Florence like?

If you're really scrimping on every eurocent, or are particularly fond of fraternizing with primarily youthful backpackers, you might want to stay in a hostel. (For the record, I'm not a fan of hostels. Never did like them, really, not even when I was a backpacking student, but that's just me.)

You might enjoy the camaraderie, the chance to rub elbows with other English-speakers, the evenings of contributing an ingredient to the shared spaghetti dinner someone is whipping up in the communal kitchen while your laundry spins in the back room, a dreadlocked dropout strums a guitar, and everyone sits around and shares travel tips and recently discovered gems not yet in the guidebooks.

Oh, and the massive savings. That's the upside to the hostelling experience for solo travelers.

The downsides, though, are enough to keep me away, despite the savings.

Though some private hostels have done away with most of the old rules, some (especially official HI hostels) still impose evening curfews (10pm-midnight or so), midday lockout periods, and limits on how long you can stay (often no more than three days). » more

Favorite Florence hostels

 

Tips & links

Booking hostels in Florence
Hosteling tips
  • Private hostels are usually far superior to HI hostels—better locations, nicer decor, smaller rooms (often only 4-8 beds per room), more private baths, far fewer rules, and better perks (like free WiFi, often free breakfast).
  • There are lockers for your bags; use them,
  • Bring a sleep sack, which is basically a sheet folded in half lengthwise and sewn across the bottom and most of the way up the side—sort of like an ultra-thin sleeping bag. These are required at some official IYH hostels.
  • Hostels are mostly a savings for singles - since you pay a per-person rate, two or three people traveling together can usually find a hotel for the same price or even less
  • Families can often find hostels with 4-bunk rooms for semi-private housing.
  • Meals will be cheap (if offered), but lackluster. Many hostlels also feature communal kitchens where you can cook your own food (or go in with some other residents on a shared dinner).
Florence hotel & lodging links
Useful Italian for lodging
English (Inglese) Italian (Italiano) Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun
Good day Buon giorno bwohn JOUR-noh
Good evening Buona sera BWOH-nah SAIR-rah
Good night Buona notte BWOH-nah NOTE-tay
Goodbye Arrivederci ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee
Excuse me (to get attention) Scusi SKOO-zee
thank you grazie GRAT-tzee-yay
please per favore pair fa-VOHR-ray
yes si see
no no no
Do you speak English? Parla Inglese? PAR-la een-GLAY-zay
I don't understand Non capisco non ka-PEESK-koh
I'm sorry Mi dispiace mee dees-pee-YAT-chay
     
Where is? Dov'é doh-VAY
...a hotel un albergo oon al-BEAR-go
...a B&B un bed-and-breakfast oon bet hand BREK-fust
...a rental room un'affittacamera oon ah-feet-ah-CAH-mair-ra
...an apartment for rent un appartamento oon ah-part-tah-MENT-toh
...a farm stay un agriturismo oon ah-gree-tour-EES-moh
...a hostel un ostello oon oh-STEHL-loh
     
How much is...? Quanto costa? KWAN-toh COST-ah
a single room una singola OO-nah SEEN-go-la
double room for single use [will often be offered if singles are unavailable] doppia uso singola DOPE-pee-ya OO-so SEEN-go-la
a double room with two beds una doppia con due letti OO-nah DOPE-pee-ya cone DOO-way LET-tee
a double room with one big bed una matrimoniale OO-nah mat-tree-moan-nee-YAAL-lay
triple room una tripla OO-nah TREE-plah
with private bathroom con bagno cone BAHN-yoh
without private bathroom senza bagno [they might say con bagno in comune—"with a communal bath"] SEN-zah BAHN-yoh
for one night per una notte pair OO-nah NOH-tay
for two nights per due notti pair DOO-way NOH-tee
for three nights per tre notti pair tray NOH-tee
Is breakfast included? É incluso la prima colazione? ay in-CLOO-soh lah PREE-mah coal-laht-zee-YOAN-nay
Is there WiFi? C'é WiFi? chay WHY-fy?
May I see the room? Posso vedere la camera? POH-soh veh-DAIR-eh lah CAH-mair-rah
That's too much É troppo ay TROH-po
Is there a cheaper one? C'é una più economica? chay OO-nah pew eh-ko-NO-mee-kah
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Booking hostels in Florence


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