Pura Vida Hostel

really nice social party hostel, location is awesome really close to the beach and the girl at the bar (aurora) was sooooo nice 🫶

This is a decent hostel and I had a good stay there. However, it is unfortunately not worthy of its 9/10 rating on most sites. The best thing about the hostel is the location, as it is a few minutes from Copacabana beach and about 10 minutes from Ipanema beach/Arpoador, as well as being very close to cafés, supermarkets, pharmacies, etc., which is very helpful. I also have no complaints about the accommodation itself - I stayed in a private room, which was good and clean (unfortunately don’t know about the shared rooms ). However, on the social/activity front the hostel did not live up to expectations. I appreciate that I visited Rio in the off-season, which obviously affects the social side of things, but the hostel still did not do enough in my opinion. For example, the organisation of the free tours was completely inadequate, with most tours starting half an hour or an hour later than the official time, and little effort made by the tour guide to speak to guests and encourage them to come, other than the occasional message in the WhatsApp group. As a result, on multiple occasions the free tour attendees consisted only of hostel staff, since it was so difficult for guests to figure out how to join. As for the paid activities, information about these was often provided extremely last-minute, with a WhatsApp message being sent only half an hour before the activity began, making it very difficult to plan in advance and join these excursions. Finally, evening events at the hostel bar were often equally disorganised, e.g. dance classes starting an hour after they were meant to, and no effort made by the hostel to encourage guests to meet each other (e.g. I know of other hostels with a ‘welcome drinks’ every evening for guests to get to know each other). This makes it especially difficult for solo travellers like myself. From a hostel that brands itself as the best party hostel in Rio, I expected far more - especially considering that Pura Vida is one of the more expensive hostels in the city. Moreover, I am not the only one with this opinion - multiple guests whom I met there decided to move to other hostels after a couple of days since they also found the social scene very limited and the hostel to not be worth the money. Overall, my stay in Rio was still positive, and Pura Vida was not a bad place to stay, but I believe travellers (especially solo ones) should be aware of these issues, and I sincerely hope that the hostel takes my feedback regarding the free tours, paid activities and general social scene on board.

A very good hostel to stay when visiting Rio de Janeiro. The location in Copacobana is ideal, the rooms are clean, the staff is great and the whole hostel is very well organised. There are a lot of cool tours and activities you can follow. It’s very easy to meet new people but also to do your own thing. So would definitely recommend!

It wasn’t my first time staying at Pura Vida and it will never be my last. The staff are incredible, the vive and energy makes you feel so comfortable that you don’t even feel the need to go out. As far as my hostel experiences go, Pura Vida offers a 5-star experience at extremely reasonable rates. They have multiple activities and free tours happening every day, which also makes it easy to meet other guests and make friends! 10/10 would recommend!

This hostel is excellent and very social. I stayed with a friend during the carnival, and we had a fantastic experience. Our private room was great, the atmosphere was welcoming, and the staff were lovely. The hostel organized daily activities and shared them via WhatsApp, ensuring it was easy to meet new people and always having something to do. The location is also ideal, just a five-minute walk from Copacabana Beach. Michele was exceptional, she helped me with several requests in a personable and professional manner, going above and beyond to make my stay enjoyable. I truly appreciate all her help. I would definitely stay here again - in fact, I’m already planning to!