BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi! I am trying to convince a friend that she should not stay in a nice hotel inCairo and that instead she should stay in a hostel. She will be there for 10 nights. I am looking for a place that is relatively clean and not too sketchy. Since she has budgeted for a hotel, any price on the hostel will probably be lower than that, so that won't be a restriction. If you have any recommendations, please let me know.

The latest posts I found on here for hostels were from several years ago, so I wanted to pose the question again.

Well...ummm, I guess it's all about what she's expecting. I've only stayed in one - the Canadian Hostel - but it wasn't the cheapest on the list, and it was nice enough by my standards. It was cleaned, had western toilets, served breakfast (admittedly just a hard-boiled egg). But it was a real Egyptian apartment, with the shower just being in the middle of the bathroom, so everything was wet after use, and the toilets, while western, were older and stained. And, while breakfast was included, it was just a hard boiled egg and some bread, so we always went looking for more, even ate at the Hilton a couple of times (brunch buffet cost more than a night at the hostel, but still quite reasonable, I think about $10 each, unlike their room prices which are little different from what they charge in more expensive countries.)

But I think in Egypt there really is a large difference between hostels and hotels (I find in many countries, the only difference is shared vs private bathroom). So what I'm trying to say is that if she's not stayed in hostels before, Egyptian hostels aren't the best to start out with. Still, at $15 for a double room, or $6.50 for a dorm bed, it's sure a money saver...and that's far from the cheapest game in town. There were a number of hostels offering €1 beds when we were there two years ago...not sure I would have trusted them to be nice places, though. There are plenty of top rated hostels on hostelworld for less than $10, though I'm always wary of the potential for fake reviews.

Hi there...I stayed at the Luna Hotel/hostel in Cairo. It's probably on the more expensive side being 110 LE per night for a single with a private bath. However, the place is spotless, the rooms are huge, and they don't push tours nor let touts hang around their lounge area. Breakfast is bland but filling, and you can even request an Egyptian breakfast (fuul and falafel) if you like for no extra charge.

I've not stayed at any other places in Cairo, but I've heard good things about the King Tut Hostel as well as the Canadian Hostel that 2wanderers mentions above.

The really, really cheap places likely earn their profit from selling tours and are known to be quite pushy.

I think the only downside to most of the downtown area hostels is the noise. If your room faces street side, be prepared to hear the crowds and honking horns until 2-3am. Just pack a good set of earplugs or try and get a room facing the back of the building if you're a light sleeper.