It’s one of the biggest traveller’s conundrums- settle in, but don’t get too settled! It’s hard to find opportunities that let you jump into something, immerse yourself fully, but also bounce when your ready for a change of scenery (we are backpackers after all).
Loki to the rescue! Loki Hostels, with 5 locations sprinkled around South America offer “friendly, fun-loving, travelers in need of a family for awhile” a fantastic opportunity. Free accommodations, free dinners, and a huge discount on hotel services. In exchange for picking up 4 shifts a week working at the hostel bar. Free lodging to hang out with other backpackers? What a glorious idea!
If a month still feels like an overwhelming commitment, or you simply don’t have the time to stay- make sure to add Loki to your list of hostels to explore. They’re social, affordable, comfortable, and in some pretty breathtaking locations. In Máncora, you can have your own private balcony with an ocean view for a mere 10 dollars.
Treking to Machu Picchu? Why not embrace the theme and spend the night in a 450-year-old Peruvian National Monument? For less than 9 dollars a night a bed in Loki’s Cusco location is yours. Or take solace in the mountains in Loki’s newest member nestled into the Argentinian countryside.
Backpacker digs at their finest.
Just in case fantastic rooms and low commitment work opportunities aren’t enough, Loki has also taken an invested interest in the communities surrounding their hostels. Regularly they organize group trips- volunteers only paying for food and transportation- giving you a chance to meet other backpackers and gain a deeper understanding of living conditions beyond the hostel walls. Currently Loki is focusing on Azul Wasi a home which provides shelter and protection to at risk children and adolescents living outside of Cusco, volunteers join in after school activities. Loki has also made an impact in Taray, a community in the Sacred Valley. Floods have decimated the village and volunteers have been working to prepare the area for rebuilding, create temporary shelters in Pisaq, and have even become to rebuild homes and schools.
Nikki Scott | Founder & Editor
Nikki is the founding editor of South East Asia Backpacker. At age 23, she left the UK on a solo backpacking trip and never returned. After six months on the road, she founded a print magazine about backpacking in Asia. The rest is history.
fantastic! Sign me up. I’d be more than happy to stay near that pool in Peru for a month 🙂