St. Petersburg hostels: Overview

The first international youth hostel (called the St. Petersburg International Youth Hostel) opened in St. Petersburg in 1992, and until quite recently was pretty much the only accommodation option for backpackers in the city. In the last few years, however, scores of new hostels aimed at international travellers have opened in the city, and visitors on a tight budget have an ever-improving choice of St. Petersburg accommodation.

We try to list only hostels where more work has been done to convert the space properly for travellers' requirements, or where guest numbers are kept to a comfortably low level. While backpackers' budgets may be very tight, it is definitely worth paying a few dollars more per night (and booking a little earlier) to get a place in a well-established and popular hostel.

Even good hostels, however, vary considerably in what they offer, especially in terms of atmosphere and clientele. If, for example, you are coming to St. Petersburg for intensive sightseeing and aim to be at the Hermitage by 9am, you won't want to be sharing a dorm room with noisy partygoers crawling back from nightclubs at dawn. On the other hand, crawling back from nightclubs at dawn may feature prominently in your travel plans. There are good hostels in St. Petersburg that cater to both types of traveller, so check our recommendations to ensure you choose a St. Petersburg hostel that suits you.