A hostel is not just a place to crash for a night; it’s an experience. Forget what Europe taught you about hostels, and feel this:

You’re in the heart of Cretan wild nature, in a 178 yo traditional mansion with Catalonian elements. It’s sunny and warm, so you get a refreshing local drink from the bar, chat with the guys there and head to the pool to get your feet a bit wet. You pass by the trees in the yard, spot a shadowy corner and relax in the hammock with that book you are carrying around aiming to finish. You feel fresh. Want to meet people, try something new. Everything and everyone around seems inviting, welcoming. You hear stories from around the globe and it feels like you experienced them too, cause you are living in the moment, fully.

Want some privacy? Many spots around. Want to sleep? The bunk beds in the dormis have curtains all around, individual lamps, bedside tables, power sockets. Want to enjoy the crystal clear, turquoise waters of the island? We can give you a ride. Work? We got a coworking space, office-equipped. Feeling playful? We got a Fantasy Game Room. Hungry? There’s a mini market with local products and meals. All you may need, unfolding before you. But our personal favourite? Those sunsets that look like the sky is on fire, generously presenting us all colours of nature’s palette. And a nice drink, great company and deep music vibrations to complete that perfect day we just had.

But never forget, our Hostel is a living organism. One day you may find us chilling around, and the other crawling from hungover or exhaustion after an event or festival; cause yeah, we have these too. Check, check aand check.

The Story of the YOD Bing Bang

We live in the paradise we created, it didn’t just grow on the dreams‘ tree.

Ever had a moment of realisation? A light bulb over your head with the answer of how life could finally be full of pleasure? Our story here involves a bus station in Chile, two friends deciding to change their lives, 117 hostel experiences around the globe, and a family heirloom in Crete that was about to host a dream.

But what dreams usually need to get kick-started? Struggle. Introduction to backpacking can be challenging and often makes you pass your limits, but maybe no other experience can be as rewarding: wanderlust, communal life, constant movement with new stories popping up from each corner of the way; the absolute feeling of freedom, via not knowing what will come next- just letting your heart decide for you. Picture yourself in unity with these feelings, and spice it up with some flavours of the Latin-American culture. You know, colours everywhere, music & dancing all around, everyday people from all around the world carrying stories and experiences you’d never have heard if you were not exactly at this place, exactly at this time. It is an experience that makes the world make sense, and these two guys were lucky enough to have shared it.

Nothing can be more fulfilling than being inspired by the dreams of your loved ones; your desires and needs complementing one another until they finally emerge as a whole. That’s what the YOD Hostel is to us- the end result of real friendship and co-inspiration. Exhausted, sweaty, probably hungry from all the walking while carrying 2-month supplies in their backpacks, they finally sit on the dirty bench to wait for another long bus ride. And then, the truth. The dream, the hostel, the vibes. The fear of change, the conflicts, the arguments. But also the hope; the planning, the re-planning, the re-re-planning. The moments, the fights, the love. The people. Life.

Five years and a million stories after that bus station talk, in 2022, the YOD Dream had Bing Banged. A place that could embody the wildest initiative: contentment for all who enter it. A combination of projects: supporting art workers, coming back to nature, bringing the traveller’s feeling into our everyday lives, exploring the island, self-caring, producing/hosting festivals & events, all coexisting under the umbrella of the Youth Of Dope: the platform of our dreams. Built upon our founding member’s family efforts across generations, a 178 year old mansion was renovated to host this initiative, our imprint; a family heirloom became the symbol of our potential.

And now, you know where to find us. We’d love to hear your story, too.