Hostels and Bunkhouses in Aviemore & Cairngorms National Park

When it comes to National Parks, Aviemore and the Cairngorms National Park is number one for Hostels and Bunhouses. The Cairngorms are unique in many ways.  The Cairngorms Park was founded in September 2003.  At 4.2 people per square km, the population density is very low. Key villages of population are Blair Atholl which joined the park in 2010, Aviemore, Ballater, Braemar, Grantown-on-Spey, Kingussie, Newtonmore, and Tomintoul.

Visiting Aviemore and the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland will be one of your best choices for a relaxing and enjoyable Scottish Hosteling experience.  Originally created to help young people of limited means to experience the countryside and cities of the world, hostels and the bunkhouse are now at the heart of international tourism for a wide age group.

There are over 20 Hostels and Bunkhouses around the Cairngorms National Park, from Blair Atholl to Aviemore onwards to Royal Deeside, offering an enormous variety of hostel accommodation: some provide private en suite rooms and well-equipped kitchens, others have only a barn without electricity. What unites them is an aspiration to provide affordable Cairngorms Park accommodation with shared communal facilities to people who love outdoor activities. And now, conveniently, they have been listed on Cairngorms-Park.com. Hostels are ideal for the credit crunch affected traveller. As holidaymakers' budgets have been tightening, hostels in the Cairngorms Park have been upping their game. Perhaps the most noticeable difference is that hostels are no longer the sole preserve of hairy backpackers - most hostels now offer private rooms, some of which wouldn't look out of place in a boutique hotel. Habitat @ Ballater is one such bunkhouse that offers the extra little things that the new age backpackers are looking for.

Hostels and bunkhouses are suitable for visitors of all ages, nationalities and cultures. Individuals, couples, families, small and large groups are all welcome, and it is this mix of visitors which makes youth hostelling such a unique and interesting experience.  You will find most hostels in the Cairngorms Park welcome families and can supply cots and highchairs, if required. Many of our Cairngorms Park hostels and bunkhouses also accept well behaved pets, but do check before booking, even if they do have the pets welcome symbol.

Some of the Cairngorms Park hostels are better suited to particular types of travellers than others, such as the Aviemore Bunk House which tends to have a younger traveller looking for a bit of nightlife, were Glenfeshie Hostel tends to cater for smaller groups focusing on outdoor activities. Further information on all the Cairngorms Park Hostels and Bunkhouse can be found on the individual hostel / bunkhouse pages. No matter which Hostel or Bunkhouse you go to you will find they are generally all quite sociable places, if you want peace and quiet you will be able to find it, but there are also plenty of opportunities to talk to others, compare travel stories, and get tips on what the Cairngorms Park or local village has to offer.

Many of the hostels and bunkhouses in the nation park are quality graded. This means that you can get an idea of the level of facilities available at each hostel from its star grading, a 4-star bunkhouse will have better facilities than a 2-star bunkhouse. However, a 2-star hostel may be in a more remote, idyllic setting, where the location is more important than the hostels facilities. In some of the Cairngorms hostels and bunkhouses you can request a private room. This is particularly good for families and mixed-sex groups. Unless you book a private room in advanced, you may be sharing with people you haven't met before, but that's the fun.  Most of hostels and bunkhouses in the Cairngorms Park have laundry and drying facilities, check out the relevant page for each hostel/bunkhouse to find out what is available. Most have a quiet room, lounge or TV room, a self-catering kitchen and dining room.

Remember that you're going to enjoy nature and that means caring for the environment, so that others can have the same experience after you've left. We all know the cardinal rule" Leave the area just as you found it".  Start plannning your Cairngorms National Park Hostel or Bunkhouse holiday now...search now.