The 10 Best Backpacker Hostels in Kuching Malaysia

Apart from Hero Hostel’s central location, budget-travellers usually enjoy their stay due to the excellent value for money. Choose between a bed in a six-person dorm and a private queen, or double rooms with either a shared or private bathroom. Expect a comfortable environment with the ever-essential air-conditioning as well as a games console and TV in the common area. With flexible, friendly and helpful staff at rock bottom prices, Culture Trip recommends this hostel in Kuching for a short trip to the city.

For less than $10 per night, backpackers and shoestring travellers will get a bed in an eight-person dorm with breakfast. Le Nomade Hostel, just minutes on foot from Kuching Waterfront, is a magnet for solo travellers. Guests will find clean and cosy rooms, chatty staff and a social atmosphere inside its welcoming common area. After a long day, travellers can relax outside chatting to other backpackers. Or simply watch movies on the flat screen TV for a quiet night.

The red-painted former shophouse transformed into a hostel acts as a hub for all travellers. Threehouse offers beds in an eight-person dorm as well as single or double rooms catering to both solos and couples. For a few dollars per night, expect excellent hospitality, immaculate rooms, a wide selection of books and movies as well as a garden, terrace and comfortable lounge. Guests have access to a communal microwave (not that it’s needed in Kuching) and lockers to store valuables. Travellers consistently give Threehouse positive feedback for the ease of meeting other backpackers.

Gibbon Guesthouse along Green Hill Street sits a few minutes from Kuching Waterfront Bazaar. Each of the 10 beds inside the mixed dorms come as a pod, with curtains for privacy and a convenient plug socket. Comfortable mattresses, reliable Wi-Fi, hot showers and chatting with John, the enthusiastic owner at this centrally located hostel in Kuching, are guest highlights. Solo travellers who are taking things slow appreciate the chance to chill out and relax at Gibbon.

Located near Kuching’s Waterfront above a 24/7 convenience store, Loft Waterfront is in a prime spot near the city’s attractions, souvenir shops and malls. With fewer beds compared to other hostels in Kuching, there’s more privacy and it feels much less crowded. Options include a bed in a four-person dorm or a private room with shared bathrooms at prices much lower than a hotel. Culture Trip recommends Loft Waterfront for couples who want their privacy in a hostel environment, and more introverted budget travellers.

Travellers looking to have a local experience in Kuching should check out Marco Polo Guesthouse on Padungan Road. Located in a former shophouse with simple furnishing and decorations, the family-owned hostel provides an insight into the local Bornean way of life. Guests can choose between a dorm bed or have their own private space with access to a shared kitchen, lounge and common area. Remember to chat with the owners, who are always happy to tell you about life in Sarawak while giving their guests excellent hospitality. This isn’t one of the typical run-of-the-mill hostels in Kuching. Instead, it provides a deeper cultural insight.

Backpacker’s Stay sits in a prime location along Carpenter Street giving easy access to late night bars, restaurants and souvenir shops. Unlike some of the other hostels in Kuching, guests have a wide choice of room types from female-only and mixed dorms to a private single, double and a superior room catering for all kinds of traveller. Expect the essential amenities at ultra-low prices with a variety of local and international backpackers who are always eager for a chat.

Backpacker’s looking for more privacy in their dorm will find the comfortable Sunset Homestay an appealing place to spend a night or two. Privacy curtains cover capsule beds in the dorm with their own lamp and plug socket making it feel more like a private room than communal lodging. Guests have access to shared bathroom facilities, a kitchen and common area. While this might be further from the centre than other hostels in Kuching, the owner does offer bicycle rentals at a reasonable price. Solo travellers looking for a cheap and quiet place to spend a few nights can consider Sunset Homestay.

Housed inside a colonial-era shophouse, Always Growing 79 is a suitable place for couples. Apart from a six-bed dorm, it offers double rooms with their own bathrooms for more privacy. Excellent value for money consistently features as feedback when describing this relatively small hostel in Kuching. Despite being a little further from Kuching Waterfront, it is next to Bako National Park bus stop making a convenient spot for those planning the popular day trip.

Cat-themed QuiikCat has a fitting name and style, as Kuching in English means ‘cats’, and is a favourite with feline-loving guests. Images of cats decorate the walls and bed linen in the dorms, twin and family rooms. Large cartoon cats cover the top of the hostel’s exterior too, making it almost impossible to miss. Expect free flowing coffee, friendly staff and a cosy environment inside this themed hostel in Kuching.