Best Budget Hostels in Udaipur That Are Actually Worth Staying In

Ditching the Palace Price Tags: Where the Smartest Budget Sleepers Land in Udaipur

There are about forty hostels clustered within walking distance of Jagdish Chowk and the City Palace, but the vast majority of them exist in a strange twilight zone, all fairy lights on Instagram but not much soul on the ground floor. Having spent most of the last three winters sleeping in and reviewing cheap accommodation Udaipur visitors obsessively ask me about, I have narrowed the field to the ones that actually work for a real traveler on a real budget.

The backpacker corridor here is concentrated in two concentric rings: the Old City inside the walled streets around Jagdish Temple and Hiran Magri/Shobhagpura just outside the wall. The rules of engagement differ accordingly. Inside the wall, you trade space for noise and atmospheric decay; outside it, you get swimming pools and rooftop infinity views but a rickshaw ride to the waterfront. My only metric for inclusion was whether I would personally stay there again, not whether it has a bean bag and a guitar.

The Hostel Crowd That Picks Up Where the Heritage Trail Drops Off

Zostel Udaipur (Hiran Magri)(Rs 350-600 dorm, Rs 1,200 private)
The best budget hostels in Udaipur share one DNA trait: they figured out that a rooftop matters more than a lobby. Zostel's Hiran Magri rooftop has a view of the Aravalli ridgeline that no heritage hotel will ever match for free. Run by a young management team that replaces mattresses every sixteen months (big by hostel standards), it operates twelve beds across three mixed dorms. What surprises first timers is the full kitchen; you can actually buy raw paneer from the adjacent grocery lane and cook it without negotiating with a kitchen attendant.

Arrive by noon on Mondays. The cleaning crew deep scrubs every room then, which is also the only window to grab the corner eight bed mixed dorm alcove that gets late afternoon cross breezes. Oddly, and something no listing mentions, the Wi Fi dies completely between 9 PM and 7 AM on the top floor because the router shares a circuit with the solar water heater. The 800 meter gap to Lake Pichola's nearest ghat is a gentle walk through fruit vendor territory where keto dieters can stock up on fresh figs and custard apples for almost nothing.

The Hosteller Udaipur (Lake Shore, near Lake Palace Road)(Rs 400-700 dorm, Rs 1,100 private)
Set deeper into the lake's residential backstreets than most backpacker Udaipur operations dare, The Hosteller relocated to this campus in 2020 from a smaller foothold near the original property in Ganesh Gati. The move paid off because the new building has a courtyard large enough for fifty people to sit without bumping elbows. Monsoon evenings here produce what feels like a private concert when the western wall channels water from the rooftop into a rain curtain that fills the open air dining area.

Their policy of no after 10:30 PM music is unusual for hostel culture, but it keeps the neighbors alive and lets you sleep. I recommend the lakeview four bed female dorm because the only window faces east, catching sunrise colored light off the water. The kitchen turns out a dal makhani every Thursday that locals from the surrounding Brahmpuri alleys queue up for. Ask the night manager for a raw onion and green chili, because that is how the people here fix their own rasoi to taste. Finding genuinely cheap accommodation Udaipur travelers rave about means accepting that places like this, where thirty cents extra buys you a mattress one tier up, are worth every rupee.

Old City Gems Behind Crumbling Walls

Moustache Udaipur Hostel (Hathi Pol Road, near City Palace)(Rs 300-550 dorm, Rs 950 private)
Moustache has roughly two dozen beds housed in a converted haveli courtyard, and it is probably the closest you can get to where a history student would sleep if they had an unlimited semester. The building predates independence and you can see the old merchant family's faded frescoes in the east corridor behind the stairs. Dorms are basic, no frills bunk beds with individual reading lights and power outlets (small miracle in the Old City), but the ground floor cafe serves a cold coffee that uses fresh Malabar ice sourced from the shop two doors down.

The best time to show up is late Tuesday afternoon, when the weekly rooftop acoustic jam session starts and you can meet the sort of people who actually stick around Udaipur for weeks, not hours. What almost nobody knows: there is a narrow back staircase on the north side that leads to a terrace where you can see the full sweep of Lake Pichola without paying any of the three lakeview restaurants their markup. Bring binoculars for the winter months when the migratory birds show up on Jag Mandir. Service slows down around check in time (1 to 3 PM) so do not arrive hungry expecting the kitchen to remember you.

Anamkara Hostel (inside Chandpole Gate)(Rs 250-450 dorm, Rs 800-1,000 private)
Anamkara is where a backpacker hostel Udaipur purists go when they want to be inside the walls but cannot pay for Moustache's haveli cachet. It is a straightforward building with mixed dorms, hot water in the morning until the geyser trips (roughly 9:30 AM if six or more people shower), and a rooftop that, like every rooftop in this price category, delivers the same Aravalli views that the Oberoi charges four hundred dollars for. The hostel sits directly behind a Jain temple whose daily evening aarti becomes your free soundtrack if you are in a top floor room.

I recommend booking a six bed dorm for the best value. The room on the far left when you climb the stairs has a window that opens to the narrow lane below, and if you wake before 6 AM you can watch Sadhus in saffron walk silently past on their way to the lakeside for morning rituals. This is also how you find where to stay cheap Udaipur style: target the lanes behind Chandpole because rent is thirty percent lower than on the Jagdish Chowk strip, putting downward pressure on dorm pricing. The obvious tradeoff is that auto rickshaws cannot reach your front door, so the last 200 meters is always a walk with a pack on cobblestones. On festival nights, Annakut in particular, the noise level from the temple next door can be significant, so bring earplugs for those dates.

The Pool Crew: Little Retreats With Big Enough Yards

Bunkstar Hostel (Shobhagpura, NH8 bypass)(Rs 350-500 dorm, Rs 1,000 private)
Bunkstar answers the question "Udaipur hostels with swimming pool but still under a thousand rupees?" with a confident yes. The pool is modest, roughly twelve by twenty feet and four feet deep, but after a July afternoon barefoot walk through Sajjangarh's hill slopes it transforms into a social hub. Beds are arranged in mixed and female dorms of six to eight, each with individual charging fans and lockers. They run a daily shuttle to the City Palace at 9 AM for anyone who does not want to navigate the last two kilometers alone.

Saturdays are the busy day when weekenders from Ahmedabad and Delhi show up in private cars. If you want the pool at a human density, arrive Wednesday or Thursday. What did not make it onto any travel blog: there is a chai wala 150 meters down the road, outside a tire repair shop, whose cutting chai uses a higher tea to milk ratio than anything inside a formal cafe. The owner will let you sit on the plastic chair and just watch the bypass traffic, which at dusk becomes its own strange lightshow of truck convoys heading north. The building is relatively new, so sound insulation between rooms is actually decent, a genuine advantage over the Old City's century old walls that transmit every cough and conversation.

OYO 16617 Hotel Ashoka (near Surajpole)(Rs 200-400 dorm, Rs 700 private)
This is the outlier on the list because it is technically a budget hotel that added dorm beds to fill off season capacity, but the price point and the rooftop make it relevant. Ashoka sits on a side street off Surajpole's main market road, surrounded by fabric shops and a surprisingly good street food lane that comes alive after 7 PM. The dorms are four bed configurations with shared bathrooms, and the rooftop has a clear view of the City Palace's illuminated facade at night, which is worth the price of admission alone.

The best day to check in is Sunday, when the fabric market is closed and the street is quiet enough to actually sleep past sunrise. What most tourists would not know: the building's ground floor has a family run printing press that has operated since 1978, and if you ask the owner politely he will show you the old letterpress machine and let you pull a card. It is a small thing, but it connects you to the commercial history of Surajpole, which was Udaipur's wholesale trading hub long before tourism arrived. The Wi Fi is unreliable in the back corner room, so if you need to upload photos or make a call, stay near the front desk.

The Quiet Ones: Where Introverts and Remote Workers Hide

Krishna Niwas (Brahmpuri, near Gangaur Ghat)(Rs 200-350 dorm, Rs 600-800 private)
Krishna Niwas is the kind of place that does not appear on most booking platforms because the family that runs it prefers word of mouth. It is a three story residential building converted into a hostel with four dorm rooms and two private rooms, all opening onto a central courtyard where the family's grandmother sits in the mornings sorting spices. The dorms are bare bones, thin mattresses and ceiling fans, but the location is extraordinary: a two minute walk to Gangaur Ghat, where the lake is at its widest and the morning light turns the water a shade of green that no filter can replicate.

I recommend the top floor private room with the window facing the lake. It costs roughly 800 rupees in peak season and 600 in monsoon, and the view rivals rooms that cost ten times as much. The family serves a home cooked thali for 100 rupees if you order it a day in advance, and it is the sort of food that makes you understand why Udaipur's cuisine is considered the most refined in Rajasthan. What almost nobody knows: the building's back wall has a small door that opens directly onto a stone step ghat used by local washermen, and if you sit there at dawn you can watch the entire lakeside come alive before the tourist boats start their engines. The obvious drawback is that hot water is bucket only, heated by a gas stove, so winter mornings require some planning.

Asha Guest House (Delwara Road, near Fateh Sagar)(Rs 250-400 dorm, Rs 700 private)
Asha sits on the road that connects the Old City to Fateh Sagar Lake, in a neighborhood that most tourists pass through without stopping. The hostel section is a recent addition, four dorm beds on the second floor of a family guest house that has operated since the early 2000s. The draw is the proximity to Fateh Sagar's north shore, where a morning walk reveals a completely different Udaipur: university students jogging, old men playing cards under neem trees, and the occasional camel cart still making deliveries.

The best time to visit is October through February, when the weather is cool enough to walk the full lake circuit without collapsing. What most listings omit: the guest house owner is a retired schoolteacher who keeps a shelf of English and Hindi novels in the common room and will lend them freely if you leave a small deposit. It is a tiny gesture, but it transforms a cheap bed into something that feels like a home. The neighborhood has no nightlife to speak of, which is either a pro or a con depending on your temperament. If you need to work remotely, the Wi Fi is stable during the day but drops occasionally in the evening when the family streams cricket matches on the same connection.

When to Go and What to Know Before You Book

Udaipur's hostel pricing follows a brutal seasonal curve. October through March is peak season, and dorm beds that cost 250 rupees in July will jump to 500 or 600. April through June is the furnace months, when temperatures cross 42 degrees Celsius and only hostels with strong air conditioning (rare in this price range) remain comfortable. Monsoon, July through September, is the secret sweet spot: prices drop forty percent, the lakes fill up, and the Aravalli hills turn a shade of green that makes every rooftop worth the climb.

Booking directly with the hostel, either by phone or WhatsApp, almost always beats the online platforms by ten to fifteen percent because it cuts out the commission. Most Udaipur hostels respond to WhatsApp messages within an hour during business hours. Always confirm hot water availability, because "hot water" in a 300 rupee dorm can mean anything from a modern geyser to a bucket heated on a gas stove. Bring a padlock for lockers; most hostels provide them, but the keys have a habit of disappearing.

The Old City hostels are walkable to everything but require you to carry your bag over cobblestone lanes that no vehicle can navigate. Shobhagpura and Hiran Magri hostels are rickshaw accessible but add a 50 to 80 rupee auto ride to reach the main tourist sites. Neither option is wrong; it depends on whether you prioritize atmosphere or convenience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are credit cards widely accepted across Udaipur, or is it necessary to carry cash for daily expenses?
Most hostels, street food stalls, auto rickshaws, and small shops in Udaipur operate on a cash only basis. UPI payments (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm) are accepted at some mid range restaurants and larger stores, but you should carry at least 2,000 to 3,000 rupees in cash for daily expenses. ATMs are available near Surajpole, Hathipole, and on the main road in Hiran Magri, though they occasionally run out of cash on weekends.

What is the average cost of a specialty coffee or local tea in Udaipur?
A cutting chai at a street stall costs 10 to 20 rupees. A cappuccino or cold coffee at a cafe in the Old City or Hiran Magri ranges from 120 to 200 rupees. Specialty single origin or pour over coffee, available at a handful of newer cafes near Fateh Sagar and the university area, runs 180 to 280 rupees.

What is the standard tipping etiquette or service charge policy at restaurants in Udaipur?
Most budget eateries and street food vendors do not expect tips. At sit down restaurants, a service charge of five to ten percent is sometimes included in the bill; if it is not included, rounding up or leaving ten percent is standard practice. Hostel staff generally do not expect tips, though a small gesture of 50 to 100 rupees for exceptional help is appreciated.

What is the safest and most reliable way to get around Udaipur as a solo traveler?
Auto rickshaws are the most practical option for distances beyond walking range; always insist on the meter or agree on a fare before boarding, as drivers in tourist areas frequently overcharge. The local city bus network connects major points like Surajpole, Hiran Magri, and Fateh Sagar for 10 to 20 rupees per ride, though buses can be crowded during peak hours. For the Old City, walking is the only realistic option since the lanes are too narrow for vehicles.

Is Udaipur expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers.
A mid-tier traveler can manage on 1,500 to 2,500 rupees per day. This covers a hostel dorm bed (300 to 600), three meals at local restaurants or street stalls (400 to 700), auto rickshaw transport (150 to 300), and a modest allocation for entry fees, chai, and small purchases (200 to 400). Staying in a private room or dining at upscale lakeside restaurants can push the daily total to 4,000 rupees or more.