The Best Party Hostels in Rio de Janeiro

Where do Cariocas, as the people of Rio are called, go to dance samba and party? The answer is Lapa, which is where this poshtel is situated. Close to the city center, it’s part of a global chain aimed at party-obsessed digital nomads. Decor and furnishing have boutique-y touches: lounge spaces with drape curtains and leather sofas, blocks of color, distressed woods and tasteful street-art murals. Expect, too, coworking areas, a yoga space on the roof and a bar with live music and DJs.

Dorm beds are squeezed in snugly, doubles and suites are compact, and the location of this big hostel is hard to beat; it’s a block from Copacabana Beach and a 10-minute walk from Ipanema. Parties happen every night in the huge, in-house Taverna bar and club, where live bands and DJs play and you can buy beer passes valid for a week or buckets of caipirinhas. Organized events here include karaoke, pub crawls and caipirinha-making workshops.

Beginning life as a single hostel, El Misti is now a well-established Rio chain, with hostels in Copacabana, Ipanema and the beach town of Búzios. An excellent location (El Misti on Copacabana is practically jumping distance from the beach), combines with lots of communal spaces to meet (and party with) fellow travelers. Expect great rates for the hotel-style hostel accommodation. El Misti Copacabana has no dorms, just simple suites with double beds or bunks. It throws great parties and offers nightlife tours throughout Rio.

Set in quiet, suburban Laranjeiras, Villa 25 is a 20-minute metro ride from the beach or Lapa, but it’s one of the plushest hostels in the city. Dorms have wooden bunks with reading lights and privacy curtains. Alternatively you could take one of the doubles, in modern whites offset with blocks of muted color, which occupy a restored 19th-century villa. There’s a swimming pool and garden as well as a modish restaurant-bar in brick and distressed wood. Come for strong cocktails, ceviches and petiscos (Portuguese tapas) on its large al fresco dining patio.