The Basics: Beagle Houseboat
Docked on the water (it’s a houseboat, folks) just outside the confines of the Red Light District and Plantagebuurt, rooms at the Beagle Houseboat are unique and worth a visit.

Hostel Description: With a prime location just off of the partially-filled Damrak canal in Amsterdam’s Red Light District (hey, the sex museum is right down the street!), the Hostel Continental Centre is a good place to lay down your backpack.

Hostel Description: With a superior location in Amsterdam’s historic center, the Aivengo Youth Hostel is a solid place to check your bags and your head when you’re visiting the canalled city. 

The Basics: Flying Pig Downtown
The Flying Pig Downtown Hostel is located on one of the Red Light District's busiest shopping streets and sits next to Amsterdam’s Central Station. Beds here are cheap and in the middle of it all.

The Basics: Amsterdam Hostel Cosmos
The Amsterdam Hostel Cosmos, conveniently located in the city’s old historic center and within walking distance of most main attractions, packs in the bunks and then some!

Hostel Description: The centrally-located Budget Hostel Tourist Inn is situated just a quick hop, skip and jump from central Amsterdam’s Dam Square. The one-star property offers 87 beds out of 22 rooms.

The Basics: Hotel Mevlana
The Mevlana Hostel is a smallish place located in Amsterdam’s historic center. It’s got great proximity to all the major sights and offers 17 clean, comfy rooms for less.

Hostel Description: Amsterdam Cribs is located close to the action—it’s about a five-minute walk to Dam Platz—in central ‘dam. Bonus: the joint gets rave reviews from its backpacking guests.

Hostel Description: Conveniently located in Amsterdam’s historic center, De Oranje Tulp hostel and hotel (meaning “The Orange Tulip”) blooms with colorful, cheap private rooms and dorms.

Hostel Description: The smoker-friendly Amsterdam Cribs, located in the Red Light District, is more B&B than hostel. In fact, all rooms here—albeit cheap—have private bathrooms and are apartment-style.

Hostel Description: The Damrak Inn is a budget inn that also offers cheap dorm-style rooms. It’s centrally located in Amsterdam’s historic center close to major attractions and with easy access to Central Station.

Hostel Description: Not to be confused with the nearby Damrak Inn, the Dam Hotel is also situated in Amsterdam’s historic center and is close to the main train station and Dam Square. The hotel has a range of private and dorm-style rooms on offer. 

The Basics: Flying Pig Beach Hostel
Located in the beach town of Noordwijkbinnen, the Flying Pig Beach Hostel is a fun, cheap sleep in a unique location. And, check this out: the hostel actually provides a daily shuttle to and from its doors to Dam Square. 

Hostel Description: The giant Hostel Nieuw Slotania can accommodate 210 guests at once. It's located beyond Amsterdam’s city center, but there’s a bus and tram stop directly in front of the hostel’s front doors. If you want to go cheap and spread your wings, check this place out.

The Basics: Stayokay Amsterdam Zeeburg Hostel
The Stayokay Amsterdam Zeeburg, located in northeastern Plantagebuurt, is a design hostel based out of a renovated school from the early 20th-century.

The Basics: Bostel Amsterdamse Bos
The Bostel Amsterdamse Bos is a hostel-slash-camping-ground that’s located about a 30-minute bus ride south of central Amsterdam. The place is best suited for those who value the great outdoors over being in the middle of it all.

Hostel Description: Docked near Centraal Station and with easy access to most major city sights like the Nemo Science Center, the Amicitia (formerly Friesland guesthouse) is a hostel-on-a-motor-barge with only a few rooms, but lots of personality.

Hostel Description: Docked in the Plantagebuurt neighborhood with easy access to Central Station and the Nemo Science Center, the Vita Nova is a hostel-on-a-ship.

The Basics: Hortus
Located in Plantagebuurt, about a twenty-minute walk from Amsterdam’s Central Station and just ten-minutes on foot from the Rembrandt House Museum, the Hortus is a one-star hotel that’s well poised for traveling to the main city sights.

Hostel Description: Situated directly across the street from the expansive (and super fun!) Artis Zoo in Amsterdam’s Plantagebuurt neighborhood, the Hostel Centraal is a small hostel offering 14 rooms for backpackers ages 18-28.