The Drift Backpackers Hostel

What reviewers say

Excerpts from public Google reviews. They are the reviewers’ opinions, not ours, and we have not verified them.

• ★ 53 months ago

  Great hostel in a perfect location right in front of the Cathedral. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and the included breakfast was simple but a nice way to start the day. Staff were friendly and helpful, and the vibe was very social but still relaxed. Highly recommend if you want to stay in the heart of Hanoi!

• ★ 52 months ago

  Stayed at Drift Backpackers Hostel and had an amazing experience from start to finish. The atmosphere was social, welcoming, and made it super easy to meet people while still feeling comfortable and relaxed. The hostel itself was clean, organized, and had a really good vibe overall. A huge shoutout to D2, who honestly made the experience unforgettable. He facilitated everything seamlessly — from helping people connect, organizing activities, answering questions, and making sure everyone felt included. You can tell he genuinely cares about the guests having a great time. Having someone like D2 there completely elevates the experience and makes Drift stand out from other hostels. If you’re looking for a hostel with good energy, great people, and staff that go above and beyond, I’d definitely recommend Drift Backpackers Hostel.

• ★ 53 weeks ago

  Such a good place to stay in Hanoi the staff were so friendly and the cleaners were so great as well. Alot of rooms had a balcony too including the dorms which was really nice to sit at. Also had really good breakfast included each day with fruit, eggs, sausages etc the chef was lovely. I will definitely stay again.

• ★ 46 months ago

  I had an overall good stay at Drift Backpackers Hostel. The location is excellent and very convenient, and the hosts were kind, helpful, and welcoming throughout my stay. The facilities were good and lockers were provided, which were spacious enough to store belongings properly. My only concern was with some roommates. The lanes between the beds are a bit small, and unfortunately a few people did not keep their things inside the lockers, leaving them in the walking space, which made moving around difficult. I was also in a lower bunk, and the person above me was not very considerate of someone sleeping below, which affected my sleep. Aside from this shared-room experience, everything else was good. With a bit more consideration from guests, it would be a very comfortable place to stay. Thank you to the hosts for their kindness and support.

• ★ 43 months ago

  The location was amazing. All the rooms have balconies facing the left side of St. Joseph's Cathedral. The location is very convenient and very aesthetic. The service is also excellent. The rooms and the washing areas are cleaned every morning. The staff were extremely polite and friendly. They do have a rule that the common area closes down by 10 PM which is a bit of a bummer but it's no biggie since you can always hang out with fellow travellers on the street or in the lobby. Shoutout to Mr. Dichu, the front (desk) man who is so warm and super helpful. I've seen him safely escorting travelers who were wrongly booked to the hostel on web aggregators to nearby hostels on his bike. Would definitely recommend this place

• ★ 24 weeks ago

  I've been to a lot of hostels since staying in this one, and I thought it would be worth leaving a review. The bad: one toilet and shower shared between 6-10 people so there are queues, some rooms barely have space (on the top floor there's a box right above you), staff weren't friendly (made me arbitrarily wait 15 minutes before checking in, telling me I can't book the Ha Giang loop with some companies probably because they didn't give them commission), common area closing very early), terrible communication for information about tours. The good: breakfast was good, not just toast and coffee. For the money they're charging, it's really not worth it. Also, don't bother booking the Ha Giang loop with them. They'll overcharge you and be hard to contact for essential information.

• ★ 13 months ago

  We just finished the Ha Giang Loop 3/2 booked through Drift Hostel with the company Mama’s Homestay, and it was honestly very disappointing. We were told groups would be small (max 10), but outside of riding we were constantly merged into large groups, causing delays and poor organization. The route itself was repetitive, all stops were at very touristy viewpoints. While Ha Giang is absolutely stunning, we didn’t visit any villages or have any cultural experiences. We spent long periods (sometimes over an hour) waiting around with nothing to do, often just waiting for the riders to finish their poker game, and were usually back at the accommodation by 4pm with nothing planned. Communication was almost non-existent. The riders didn’t speak any English and didn’t even try to interact with us, and the guide didn’t explain anything, so we had no context about what we were seeing. Accommodation had no hot water and was under construction (noise from early morning), and the food was very basic (rice every days) and repetitive. What made it worse is that we could clearly see other groups offering a much more engaging experience, despite us paying more than average. Because of this, we no longer feel confident going ahead with the Ha Long Bay tour we also booked through Drift Hostel. We requested a full refund explaining the situation, but were only offered 50%. While we understand policies exist, given this experience, we expected more flexibility. Overall, we feel we’ve lost both time and money. We would recommend choosing another company if you’re looking for a more meaningful and well-organized experience, and we wouldn’t trust Drift Hostel to organize our activities again.

• ★ 08 months ago

  We stayed in a 6 bed dorm. The beds were relatively comfy but the covers provided were the fluffy kind which were too thick and I’m never sure how hygienic they are. I didn’t sleep well here at all. Bathrooms are big and shower is hot with decent water pressure. ||The hostel doesn’t offer any social events or happy hours etc. that other hostels do in the area. Everyone kind of kept to themselves and it wasn’t super social when we were there. ||Staff were polite but not overly friendly. At check in, we were handed our key (just one for two of us) and not given any other information and not shown to our room. Good WiFi and good location but I don’t think we will stay here again when we come back to Hanoi.