The Basics: International Budget Hostel
Located in the Southern Canal district—it’s close to Leidesplein, Dam Square and the Van Gogh Museum— the International Budget Hostel offers a variety of dorm rooms, all with shared facilities. 

The Basics: St. Christopher's at the Winston
The St. Christopher’s at the Winston is a well-known hostel that’s centrally located in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Rooms are designed by various artists and many feature original artwork. 

Hostel Description: With a prime location just off of the partially-filled Damrak canal in Amsterdam’s Red Light District (hey, the sex museum is right down the street!), the Hostel Continental Centre is a good place to lay down your backpack.

The Basics: Durty Nellys Inn
The Durty Nellys Inn (hostel) might have a funny name and be located in Amsterdam’s grungy Red Light District, but there’s nothing dirty about the sheer volume of spic-and-span reviews this place gets, and it’s smack-dab in the middle of all the action! Did we mention it’s cheap?

The Basics: Stayokay Amsterdam Zeeburg Hostel
The Stayokay Amsterdam Zeeburg, located in northeastern Plantagebuurt, is a design hostel based out of a renovated school from the early 20th-century.

Hostel Description: The one-star Euphemia Hotel sits in central Amsterdam near the Leidseplein, the Heineken Brewery and many of the city’s nightlife destinations.

Hostel Description: Shelter City is a Christian hostel that’s centrally located near Amsterdam's Dam Platz and most major sights.  It’s a friendly place with lots of cheap-and-cheerful room types on offer.

The Basics: Stayokay Amsterdam Stadsdoelen
The Stayokay Stadsdoelen is part of the Stayokay hostel chain. This one, situated in the Southern Canal Ring, is the most central of the bunch. The property offers 176 beds within walking distance of many of the ‘Dam’s most major sights.

Hostel Description: The Hans-Brinker Budget Hotel almost laughingly touts itself as a place without added creature comforts ( “no room service, bellboys, air conditioning, mini-bars, sauna,” reads its description), but if you’re looking for cheap and no-frills, it’s the place to take a load off.

Hostel Description: The Damrak Inn is a budget inn that also offers cheap dorm-style rooms. It’s centrally located in Amsterdam’s historic center close to major attractions and with easy access to Central Station.

Hostel Description: Docked in the Plantagebuurt neighborhood with easy access to Central Station and the Nemo Science Center, the Vita Nova is a hostel-on-a-ship.

The Basics: Beagle Houseboat
Docked on the water (it’s a houseboat, folks) just outside the confines of the Red Light District and Plantagebuurt, rooms at the Beagle Houseboat are unique and worth a visit.

Hostel Description: The centrally-located Budget Hostel Tourist Inn is situated just a quick hop, skip and jump from central Amsterdam’s Dam Square. The one-star property offers 87 beds out of 22 rooms.

The Basics: Bostel Amsterdamse Bos
The Bostel Amsterdamse Bos is a hostel-slash-camping-ground that’s located about a 30-minute bus ride south of central Amsterdam. The place is best suited for those who value the great outdoors over being in the middle of it all.

The Basics: Hotel Mevlana
The Mevlana Hostel is a smallish place located in Amsterdam’s historic center. It’s got great proximity to all the major sights and offers 17 clean, comfy rooms for less.

Hostel Description: Situated directly across the street from the expansive (and super fun!) Artis Zoo in Amsterdam’s Plantagebuurt neighborhood, the Hostel Centraal is a small hostel offering 14 rooms for backpackers ages 18-28.

The Basics: The Bulldog
The International Bulldog Hostel, situated in the middle of Amsterdam’s Red Light District and close to most of the tourist action, is a hip place that offers dorms, private rooms and apartments for less. It’s about a ten-minute walk from here to central station.

Hostel Description: Amsterdam Cribs is located close to the action—it’s about a five-minute walk to Dam Platz—in central ‘dam. Bonus: the joint gets rave reviews from its backpacking guests.

The Basics: Hortus
Located in Plantagebuurt, about a twenty-minute walk from Amsterdam’s Central Station and just ten-minutes on foot from the Rembrandt House Museum, the Hortus is a one-star hotel that’s well poised for traveling to the main city sights.

Hostel Description: The smoker-friendly Amsterdam Cribs, located in the Red Light District, is more B&B than hostel. In fact, all rooms here—albeit cheap—have private bathrooms and are apartment-style.