$10 per night, double with shared bathroom, 24 October-3 November & 14-18 November 2014

Vibe

Creative, quirky and cool.

Location

Located in what is essentially Granada's 'backpacker alley', La Libertad is an easy 15 minute walk from the main bus station, a five minute walk to the main square and 10 minute walk to the local nightlife – all in all, an excellent location!

Best thing

The price. This is by far the cheapest accommodation that we have stayed in in Nicaragua. We also thoroughly enjoyed the social area and atmosphere of the hostel – the exceptionally comfy hammocks are an excellent place to chill out for a few hours and the lay-out of tables and chairs encourages travellers to spend some time getting to know each other.

Worst thing

The internet. We don't expect super-speedy internet but never has so much frustration been caused by a router since 1995! This was in fact the only reason we changed hostels – simply trying to check your email frequently proved too difficult, so attempting to update a website was impossible. It wasn't just us who felt it but everyone at the hostel as it would only work when...nobody else was in the hostel with you! The management state that it was a problem for the entire area yet the internet in their other building (and other hostels on the street) was far superior.

Value for money

Excellent. Yeah, the bathrooms were a little shoddy, the rooms noisy, the kitchen lacking a few integral items and a couple of the doubles basic at best – but for $5 a night per person, these things don't really bother you.

Recommended for

Young solo backpackers or groups. Their dorms are some of the best and most comfortable we've seen. They also come with large individual lockers, big enough for your backpack.

Top tip

The hostel has larger, quieter rooms in their other building (where there's a fantastic breakfast place) – if the main hostel is full, do ask about here!