Duet Hostel in Karakol | My short term home in Karakol

Writing about hostels is not my niche (so far) but I realized I reallyyyyy liked staying in hostels. I decided to start writing about them so that fellow budget travelers can use my experiences to help you plan your journey. In my first post about hostels (or what I call now my Accommodation Archives), is this homely hostel in Karakol. Let me show you what’s all about it below!

Location in Karakol

3-kilometer away from the Northern Bus Station, the hostel is located next to the Karakol Meeting Point (Karakol Meeting Point is closed during my visit). Pobedy Park and Holy Trinity Cathedral is close to the hostel and a 24/7 supermarket is on the adjacent side of the road.

I’m not sure if it’s because I stayed during an off-season but the nearby coffee shops and restaurants are all closed. So I have to walk a little further whenever I want to eat something. Not that I mind walking but this is something to consider if you prefer having nearby establishments.

Hostel Facility

Let me get it straight, the property doesn’t have an out-of-this-world facility. However, it exudes a homely feeling because it’s simple. Not that it means bare or basic and boring. It’s a modest (and family-run as I heard) hostel with superb cleanliness (I saw the kind lady who cleans the hostel every morning).

From a receiving area, kitchen and dining area, it has everything you may need. It is enough to hold a few guests for meals and socializing. There are also reminders that the hostel is not a ‘Party Hostel’ which I find nice. I haven’t been to a Party Hostel (thank God) but I liked it to remind other guests to be a little sensitive to others who wants to rest early at night.

Oh and I love those windows! I can’t tell you how I enjoyed watching locals passing by and filling their cars with petrol in the gas station on the other side of the road. People watching is my thing since my South Korea trip!

Anyhow, going back to the topic, let’s move inside. Further inside are the bunk beds and a comfort room with two sinks, two shower areas and two toilet rooms. No bidet spray but don’t worry it’s not a squat toilet but a western one.

The hostel provides towels and lockers too if you need one and you can borrow a bucket if you want to wash your clothes by hand. I didn’t notice/asked about the washing machine since I don’t need to laundry my clothes. But from the level of service I experienced (from K mostly – K is the name I got from the gentlemen who assisted me in everything), they can probably help you on that.

Hostel Cost

As a heavy user of Booking.com, I prefer booking in advance so that’s where I booked my hostel. I am expected to pay around $21 for 3 nights upon my arrival (May 2022).

Upon conversion into local currency, I paid SOM 1,700 in person before checking in.

Travel and Hiking Resources

What got me hooked with this hostel is the amount of travel and hiking resources they share to everyone. When I contacted them thru Whatsapp about Altyn Arashan, they responded right away. They even shared their BLOG forward for other travel inspirations.

Even at the property, there are some resources laying around for use.

While I really want to do the Altyn Arashan hike up to Ala-Kul Lake, I opted not to go since the lake is still frozen as advised by the hostel.

Last but not the least is my favorite corner in the receiving area! In this corner are small notes that guests can take (and use) to reach the nearby tourist attractions from Karakol. I took two notes (Skazka Canyon and Jeti Oguz) and used their information on how to go to Skazka Canyon by Marshrutka as well.

Despite a little far from all the action of the town, the Duet Hostel in Karakol made my trip a comfortable and memorable one. That’s how I ended up writing about my collection of hostels which is now another section of this blog!

Looking for accommodations in a different location? Check my ACCOMMODATION ARCHIVES and you may discover something you’re looking for!