5 Euro Hostel Vilnius

For a budget stay or a longer visit, this is decent value. The kitchen is well stocked, with two cooking areas and a fridge, and there are big shared spaces for watching TV, eating, or chatting with other travelers. It’s right across from the central bus station and the market. The drawbacks are the fifth-floor location with no elevator and the key deposit. Staff aren’t there around the clock, so if you leave when they’re off duty, you lose the deposit.

The bathrooms are awful, and the kitchen doesn’t even have utensils or cutlery. The staff were rude, and the atmosphere was miserable. A lot of the guests seemed to be Eastern European workers living there. Don’t be misled by the name, it doesn’t really cost 5 euros once tax and the linen fee are included.

The location is good, but the staff weren’t very friendly and there was only one bathroom for the women, so just one person could use it at a time. We didn’t actually pay 5 euros per night: after arriving, we had to pay almost 4 euros for the sheet, which was compulsory. That brought the total to 8 euros a night.

Handy location for a night before an early train, bus, or flight. In a six-bed room I paid about 8 euros, not counting the 5-euro key deposit, so it costs more than 5 euros. The women’s bathroom was the only one, but it was kept fairly well. If you’re leaving early, you need to return the key the night before. The administrator was very open about her frustration and kept rolling her eyes while struggling to communicate in English with an elderly Japanese woman.