Looking for unforgettable, affordable experiences for the months ahead? Here are 24 ideas for hostel trips in 2025 – because after all, calendars are there to be filled. Happy travels!
1. YHA Ambleside for wild swimming
Lake Windermere, on the hostel's wonderfully scenic doorstep, is renowned for its open-water swimming. Head out early in the morning to make the most of the quiet or check out swimthelakes for guided swims.
2. YHA Grasmere Butharlyp Howe for discovering Wordsworth
Named 2023's Small Visitor Attraction of the Year by Visit Cumbria, the Wordsworth Grasmere Museum takes you inside the writer's fabled Dove Cottage, which has been brought back to life.
Stay at YHA Grasmere Butharlyp Howe
3. YHA York for getting gory
The multi-award-winning Bloody Tour of York gives a hugely entertaining 90-minute romp through the darker side of York's past. Your host is Mad Alice. Need we say more?
4. YHA Hartington Hall for going underground
This grand Peak District hostel is well placed for all sorts of natural spectacles, but it's hard to top the nearby Poole's Cavern, a two-million-year-old limestone cave.
5. YHA Liverpool Albert Dock for dance music
The fabled Baltic Weekender returns to Liverpool at the end of May, shaking the city's foundations with grime, techno and house music. Dancing shoes on.
Stay at YHA Liverpool Albert Dock
6. YHA Stratford-upon-Avon for theatre
The world-famous Royal Shakespeare Company has three permanent theatres in Stratford, giving multiple options for soaking up sonnets and soliloquies.
7. YHA Windermere for meeting Peter Rabbit
Located just minutes away from the World of Beatrix Potter, this Lakeland hostel makes a memorable base for a family getaway.
8. YHA Manchester for Pride
It's now 40 years since the first Manchester Pride was held in 1985, and the event has become a colossal festival over four days in late August, with a spectacular mass parade.
9. YHA Bristol for getting curious
Bristol's harbourside science museum We The Curious makes the city an even brighter option for a family city-break.
10. YHA Brecon Beacons for exploring Bannau Brycheiniog
The hulking majesty of Pen-y-Fan is enticingly close to this popular hostel, but it's just one of many superb hikes in this part of the national park.
11. YHA Black Sail for a unique stay
There truly is nowhere quite like YHA Black Sail. Beautifully remote and accessible only by foot, it makes an unforgettable base for a Lake District break.
12. YHA London Oxford Street for visiting Van Gogh
In 2024, the National Gallery marked its 200th anniversary by hosting its first ever Van Gogh exhibition. Running from mid-September until January 2025, Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers isn't to be missed.
13. YHA Helvellyn for hitting the slopes
This hostel sits almost 1,000ft up one of the largest peaks in England, with excellent self-guided hikes and first-rate mountain biking.
14. YHA New Forest for getting in the saddle
Hire a bike (or bring your own) and explore the villages and woodlands of this peaceful swathe of pony-dotted countryside. Great for all ages.
15. YHA Whitby for haunting beauty
You’ll find some of Yorkshire's most dramatic coastal scenery around this atmospheric mansion, which sits in the shadow of the ruined Whitby Abbey.
16. YHA Beer for fossil-hunting
The Jurassic Coast is one of the best spots in the UK for beachcombing, with the very real chance of uncovering prehistoric fossils at your feet. Lyme Regis is close by.
17. YHA Dartmoor for getting outdoors
Of all the National Parks in England and Wales, few have the wild pull of Dartmoor's rolling green contours, where you can truly feel you're getting away from it all.
18. YHA Cambridge for sampling a brew
There are endless good reasons to visit the university city, but for connoisseurs of good ale, May's Cambridge Beer Festival is a highlight – it's CAMRA's longest running festival.
19. YHA Ironbridge Coalport for museums
History-mad kids will love the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, where no less than 10 family-friendly museums can be explored.
Stay at YHA Ironbridge Coalport
20. YHA Broad Haven for dolphin spotting
Based a stone's throw away from beautiful Broad Haven beach, a visit to this hostel is a must in the warmer months. Keep an eye out for the dolphins.
21. YHA Street for hostel history
Our oldest hostel is this chalet-style beauty in the Somerset hills, with some 93 years of guestbook entries under its belt and the timeless pull of Glastonbury close by. Be sure to climb the famous Tor for a sweeping view across the region.
22. YHA South Downs for art
The seaside town's Towner Gallery hosts the Turner Prize until mid-April this year, and has a fine permanent collection too. Its emphasis is on 20th-century British artists, and the gallery is particularly renowned for its works by Eric Ravilious, whose watercolours capture the rolling beauty of the South Downs.
23. YHA Tintagel for myths and legends
Immerse yourself in the age-old world of Merlin's Cave and Tintagel Castle with a stay at this extraordinary clifftop hostel on the north Cornwall coast.
24. YHA Sheringham for seeing the seals
There are many good reasons for visiting the north Norfolk coast, among them taking a boat trip to Blakeney Point to marvel at the local seal colony.
Photo credit: Danoz / dudlajzov / harlequin9 / Ian Woolcock / Jaroslav Moravcik / AdobeStock
