Come visit for Christmas, if you can. On Christmas Eve, everyone's houses are lined with luminarias (paper bags with candles), and everyone walks through town and visits. It's a beautiful, non-commercial, community-oriented way to spend Christmas! Also, the best restaurant in town is Fuego, in La Posada de Santa Fe-- but it's VERY expensive. If you enjoy the arts or architecture, be sure to visit the Santa Fe Opera House. It's a gorgeous semi-outdoors building-- I saw Carmen there, and during her death scene, we were also watching a lightning storm. Cold, but fabulous! Santa Fe is a great place to visit. Be warned, however, that the shopping is expensive-- and if you don't like pretentious art galleries and boutiques, you probably won't enjoy shopping there at all.
Hostels in New Mexico 
Looking for the best hostels in New Mexico? You are in the right place!
On this page, we have listed every city in New Mexico with backpacker hostels and budget-friendly stays. Hostelz.com makes it easy to find your ideal New Mexico hostel by comparing prices across major booking platforms. Save money while backpacking New Mexico and sleep comfortably on a budget.
All Backpacker Hostels in New Mexico
We have got you covered with a complete list of every hostel in New Mexico, across 3 cities! Not all cities have hostels, but many offer alternative budget options like guesthouses and affordable hotels. Use our filters to quickly find cities with hostels or other budget accommodations to simplify your trip planning.
All New Mexico hostels on a map
Alright, you are more the visual type? Planning your trip with a map is always handy.
Therefore, this map shows you all cities with hostels in New Mexico. It will help you to plan your trip. Just zoom in the map and click your destination for more details. Just so you know: If we do not have a hostel in a city, it is likely that there is no hostel in that city.
Our handwritten guide on Backpacking New Mexico
New Mexico is not one of the most prominently travelled states of the US, but you will still find plenty of things to do here. Unfortunately there are hostels in only a few places throughout New Mexico, and these aren't necessarily near the really cool things to see and do in New Mexico. If you want to see and experience everything that this state has to offer you are going to need a car to get around.
The main hostels are in the two larger cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe. These cities are only about 100 km from each other, so your range to span yourself out and use these places as a base is minimal. Albuquerque until recently was a pretty boring place to visit. For anyone who is a Breaking Bad fan, you will now find that you can tour around a lot of the filming locations of the show as this was where it was set. Spend a day at your Albuquerque hostel and check it out.
Santa Fe is the capital of the state and also has some interesting history to take in while you are there.
In the south there is a hostel at Mountain Park near Alamogordo and this is a good base if you can stay here to explore the natural wonders of the Carlsbad Caverns and the White Sands National Monument. Carlsbad Caverns have some of the world's largest open cavern caves, and they are impressive to explore. The White Sands National Monument is a giant mound of white sand hills that pop out of nowhere in the middle of the desert. They are very cool to see and sandboard down.
As you head north, there is also a hostel at Arroyo Seco which is close to the skiing town of Taos. If you are here in New Mexico during the winter and plan on skiing, here is where you will need to stay.
The state is home to quite a large amount of Hispanic and Aztec history if that also interests you. Do your research, plan ahead and make sure you book in advance. There aren't enough hostels in enough locations in New Mexico for "winging it" to be an option.
Handwritten by local expert for New Mexico hostels Globetrotter
Travel Tips for New Mexico - from the Community
Hey fam! Here are a few more tips from the community, from them to you, and you to them. This space is dedicated for travellers to share their best tips on backpacking New Mexico. Have a closer look - the Hostelz community share real hidden gems, insider knowledge and overall impressions of New Mexico. Everyone is welcome to add something useful, funny, unexpected and the "absolutely necessary to know before you go" - share, share and then share a little more!
FAQ on Hostels in New Mexico
There is a lot of travel planning to do. So let us help you once again by putting together the frequently asked questions:
Finding Hostels and Prices
What hostel booking sites are best to use?
There is several hostel booking sites, such as Hostelworld.com, Hostelsclub.com and Booking.com. While every platform has its pros and cons, there is a universal truth you as a traveler should be aware of: Not a single booking site can always offer the best prices.
This is where Hostelz.com comes in. You can compare all major booking portals with one click.
For you as a traveler, Hostelz.com is the best booking site to actually save money.
How much are hostels in New Mexico?
Prices always vary, depending on various factors. Weekends tend to be more expensive, same goes for special holidays. Please also take into account local vaction time.
You can search for exacty hostel prices in New Mexico here on Hostelz.com. Pick your destination and pick a date. The system will track down the prices to give an idea of what budget and prices you can expect.
When to book hostels?
If you want to stay at the best hostels, it is a good idea to have your hostel booked around 1 month before you travel. For the regular hostels, booking one week before should be okay. Yet again, this always depends.
We dedicated a full article to the topic of when to book hostels.
Safety and Packing
Are hostels in New Mexico safe?
Generally speaking, hostels are as safe as you make them. We highly recommend always to bring your own padlock, using the lockers and taking care of your belongings. Make sure you pick a safe hostel, offering lockers and a safe location. Please always pay attention to the reviews; they can give you a great insight on what to expect and safety tips.
What to pack when staying in hostels?
There is a few basics you should always pack when staying in hostels.
There is more actually. We wrote a complete guide with more details. Read our full hostel packing list.