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.

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.

The Basics: Passenger Ship Maria Alberta
Docked in Amsterdam’s Nautisch Kwartier (Nautical Corner) near Central Station, the Passenger Ship Maria Alberta provides a B&B-style option, from communal breakfast to ship cabin lodgings, for those wanting to spend a unique night in Amsterdam.

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: 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: Docked near Centraal Station and with easy access to most major city sights like the Nemo Science Center, the Amicitia (formerly Friesland guesthouse) is a hostel-on-a-motor-barge with only a few rooms, but lots of personality.

The Basics: Flying Pig Beach Hostel
Located in the beach town of Noordwijkbinnen, the Flying Pig Beach Hostel is a fun, cheap sleep in a unique location. And, check this out: the hostel actually provides a daily shuttle to and from its doors to Dam Square. 

The Basics: Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark
The Stayokay Vondelpark is situated smack-dab in the green heart of Amsterdam next to the city's lush Vondelpark and within easy walking distance of the renowned Van Gogh museum. 

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. 

The Basics: Flying Pig Downtown
The Flying Pig Downtown Hostel is located on one of the Red Light District's busiest shopping streets and sits next to Amsterdam’s Central Station. Beds here are cheap and in the middle of it all.

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?

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.

Hostel Description: Poised near a canal in Amsterdam’s busting Western Canal Ring, with easy access to major city sights as well as Central Station, the Hotel My Home is a budget one-star that offers dorm rooms and cheap, private twins.

The Basics: Flying Pig Uptown
Situated in the Old Center of Amsterdam, close to the famous Rijksmuseum and within walking distance of Vondelpark, the Flying Pig Uptown offers both dorms and private rooms for less.

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 Shelter Jordan is a Christian-run hostel situated in the Western Canal Ring of Amsterdam’s city center. From here, it’s easy to get to and from most major sights.

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: 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.

The Basics: Youth Hostel Meetingpoint
As the name might imply, the Hostel Meetingpoint prides itself on being a solid base where backpackers from around the globe can link up and live it up in Amsterdam. The hostel benefits from a great location smack-dab in the middle of it all too. From the front door, it's just a few blocks to Centraal Station.

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.