6 Best Hostels in Santiago (2026 edition)
Jan & Valeria. We travel to Chile often and love sharing tips to help you experience this beautiful country.
On our first Santiago trip together, I wanted a hotel with a proper lobby. Valeria wanted us close to her old streets without sleeping in Centro. We landed east, in Providencia, and that compromise still shapes every hostel link we send. A social bed is fine. A sketchy night walk back from Plaza de Armas is not the trade we make.
This shortlist is Hostelworld research, not a diary of bunk numbers. We filtered for ratings at 8.7 or higher with enough reviews to mean something, then we kept the properties that sit in Providencia, Lastarria, or Forestal more often than they sit in a Centro nightlife pitch. One Bellavista exception is here on purpose, with the honesty it deserves.
If you want the wider Booking.com-style hostel page we already published, use Santiago hostels. For the neighborhood we trust most, read best hostels in Providencia. Safety: is Santiago Chile safe?
How we would filter a Santiago hostel
We open Hostelworld the same way we open a hotel map. Neighborhood first. Then lockers, late check-in, and the last month of comments about noise. A 9.0 in Bellavista can still be the wrong bed if you need quiet after an overnight flight.
Prefer a private room even if you like meeting people in the kitchen. The gap between a good private in a hostal and a mid-range hotel is smaller than people expect in Providencia. Use Metro Line 1. Ride apps after 10 p.m. when you are tired. Keep the phone off the cafe table in crowded places.
What Valeria says: Friends who want cheap still get the east-side lecture from me. Lastarria and Forestal work for walking to museums. Bellavista works for one lively night if you lock your bag and ride home. Centro as a home base is the choice I talk people out of.
Arrival night is where people make the expensive mistake. A late SCL landing plus a hostel in an unfamiliar pocket of Centro is how a first Santiago hour turns tense. We would rather you take the airport transfer or Metro toward Providencia, even if it costs a little more, and walk a tree-lined block to a door you already have the address for. That is the same habit we use when we book hotels. The hostel version should not be sloppier.
Once you are checked in, use the city the way we already describe on safest neighborhoods in Santiago. Metro by day. Ride apps when you are tired. Phones in pockets on crowded sidewalks. An eSIM before you leave home matters here because losing signal in a new city is how you also lose maps, ride apps, and the hostel WhatsApp thread.
We also look at how a hostel talks about late check-in. International flights do not respect 11 p.m. desk hours. If the listing is vague, message them. A good Santiago hostel answers with a door code, a night person, or a clear window. A listing that shrugs is a listing we skip, no matter how pretty the rooftop is.
Ventana Sur Hostal
Ventana Sur Hostal is the Providencia listing we would book first on this page. Hostelworld shows 9.9 from 1,354 reviews, which is the kind of volume that usually means the basics are handled: cleanliness, staff, and a location people can describe without hedging.
We would still confirm a private room and read recent notes about street noise on the block. Providencia is livable, not silent. What you buy is context: bakeries, Metro, and a night rhythm that does not require a pep talk. That is why this hostel sits at the top of our Santiago filter.
- Hostelworld 9.9 from 1,354 reviews
- Providencia, our default east-side neighborhood
- Private room plus locker before you look at dorm prices
Best for first-timers who want a hostel in the part of Santiago we actually recommend.
Eco-Hostal Tambo Verde
Eco-Hostal Tambo Verde sits on the quieter edge of Bellavista, which is a useful distinction. Hostelworld lists 9.6 from 265 reviews. The sample is smaller than Ventana Sur, but the score is high and the property pitches a calmer house more than a rooftop party.
We would treat it as a Bellavista-adjacent option, not a Centro crash pad. Read the newest comments about noise from the hill and from nearby streets. If you want Patio Bellavista for one dinner, you can walk or ride. You do not have to sleep in the loudest pocket to reach it.
- Hostelworld 9.6 from 265 reviews
- Bellavista-edge location, not Plaza de Armas
- Scan recent noise comments if you are a light sleeper
Best for travelers who want a highly rated smaller hostel near Bellavista without making the club strip their address.
Merced 88
Merced 88 is the Lastarria and Forestal pick on this list. Hostelworld shows 9.4 from 731 reviews, with a location facing Parque Forestal and easy walks toward Bellas Artes and Lastarria cafes.
This is closer to the historic core than Providencia, which we accept for daytime museums and then we get more careful after dark. We would book a private room, use lockers, and ride east or ride back if the walk feels empty. Lastarria is one of the pockets we discuss in is Lastarria safe?
- Hostelworld 9.4 from 731 reviews
- Forestal and Lastarria walking access
- Private room and a ride-app habit at night
Best for museum days and Lastarria evenings when you still want a well-reviewed hostel, not a Centro party address.
Guanako Rooftop Hostel
Guanako Rooftop Hostel is the Bellavista rooftop listing with a huge review pile: 9.0 from 2,263 Hostelworld reviews. The location is next to Patio Bellavista energy. That is useful for some travelers. It is not our quiet default.
We include it because the score and volume are real, and because lockers plus a private room can make a social hostel usable. We would not send a jet-lagged first-timer here as their only Santiago night. If you want one lively base, lock valuables, and plan the ride home before the second pisco sour.
- Hostelworld 9.0 from 2,263 reviews
- Bellavista and Patio Bellavista, louder by design
- Private room and lockers if you still want this energy
Best for travelers who want a social rooftop hostel and accept Bellavista noise as the trade.
Hostal Forestal
Hostal Forestal is the long-running Lastarria option with the deepest review history on this page: 8.7 from 3,042 Hostelworld reviews. The score is the lowest of our “calm-leaning” picks, which is why we kept it sixth in spirit even though it sits fifth here by neighborhood.
We would read the last two months of comments more carefully than the lifetime score. Big review counts can hide a noisy week. The location near Parque Forestal is the reason it stays on the list. Filter for a private room and confirm how late check-in works after an SCL arrival.
- Hostelworld 8.7 from 3,042 reviews
- Lastarria and Forestal, better than a Centro nightlife pitch
- Trust recent reviews more than the lifetime average
Best for travelers who want a established Forestal hostel and will read fresh comments before booking.
La Chimba Hostel
La Chimba Hostel is the honest Bellavista exception. Hostelworld shows 8.7 from 4,661 reviews, one of the largest samples in Santiago. It is lively. It is not the quiet east-side bed we default to for friends who ask us where they will actually sleep.
If someone wants a social hostel on purpose, we would still say private room plus lockers, and we would say ride apps at night. Do not treat this as our recommendation for a first Santiago week. Treat it as the well-known social option, with the neighborhood trade written in plain language.
- Hostelworld 8.7 from 4,661 reviews
- Lively Bellavista, not our quiet default
- Private room and lockers only if you want that social scene
Best for travelers who specifically want a social Bellavista hostel and will lock their bag.
Six Santiago hostels is enough. Book Providencia or Forestal when you can. Use Bellavista for an evening, not automatically for a week. Compare this page with Santiago hostels and Providencia hostels if you want a second pass.
Before you pay, do the five-minute Hostelworld pass we actually use. Open the map pin, not just the score. Read the newest ten comments for lockers, noise, and how late arrivals get in. Click the private-room calendar before you look at dorm prices. If the private is gone, decide whether a hotel in the same neighborhood is the smarter night. Often it is.
Santiago is usually three or four nights before a second region. That is not enough time to recover from a bad first bed. We would rather you spend a little more in Providencia and show up in wine country or the south already liking Chile. The hostel is a tool. It is not the point of the trip.
We hope this helps you land in Santiago without gambling on the wrong block. East-side habits, private rooms, and a phone that stays in your pocket will do more for your trip than a cheaper dorm next to a club. Book the street you would walk after dinner. Then go see the city.