Second Home Hostel

The location is excellent, as it is close to the subway, tram, bus lines, and several major sights in Istanbul. The atmosphere?! You won’t feel like you’re staying in a hostel at all! It’s more like a social club, especially in the evenings. You’ll have the opportunity to sit and chat with people from all over the world at night when you come back from a long day of exploring the city. The rooms and services are absolutely worth the price you pay. Everything is clean and well-maintained. Although it is located in a busy area, it is not noisy at all. The staff is another big plus — friendly, welcoming, and always helpful. So if you’re thinking of staying in Istanbul for a while without any headaches and want to have an amazing experience, Second Home Hostel is definitely your best option!

We stayed here in the beginning of the year for two nights and at first liked the hostel a lot. The front desk was very helpful and people were super friendly. After our first night there, two of our bunkmates left and I just happened to see the cleaning lady “clean.” All she did was brush the sheets down to make it look fresh on and did not change any of the linens. Do with this information what you will but my sister and I were grossed out. Location was central.

The hostel is clean, the staff is super nice and the place is well located. In my opinion extra activities such as the pub crawl costing 20 euros, dinner 10 euros, a water bottle costing 1 euro, or transfer to airport for 18 euros made it feel like they were charging a lot for things you expect to be included (like have drinkable water available or free pub crawls). Also getting to one airport (SAW Airport) is super convenient by metro so the transfer doesn’t make sense in most cases (depending on your time). Those prices can separate a bit the people in the hostel making the activities and the ones that don’t want to pay extra. Overall good experience but prices of water or food can be found for cheaper and better quality outside.

Second Home is amazing! The staff is super friendly and fun! The rooms and facilities were very clean and the reception was very cozy! We went on fun pub crawls, played card games on the roof, and went to a Turkish Hamam. I would definitely recommend this hostel to anyone coming to Istanbul!

UNREAL PEOPLE. UNREAL HOSTEL. Memo, Frank & Arnie are absolutely beautiful people we loved every minute. Not to mention the hype they bring for parties. They made us feel so welcome and special. If you’re looking for a very hospitable stay and a Turkish experience I 10000000% recommend this place. Family dinners (tasted insanely good), cozy vibes with Mimi the cat, D&Ms w shisha, and of course epic music for the hype of going out to town. ✨✨✨✨✨

Best hostel I’ve done so far, it really felt like home !! The staff is amazing (thank you guys <3), I’ve met so many friends here. The family dinner was delicious, the Turkish breakfast too ! Had a loooot of parties here (I recommend the pub crawl - with the best dancer Samira). I really had so much fun. Very confortable and clean hostel, good location ! I will remember this ✨and tell Mimi the cat I love her

Extremely well run hostel with such good staff: Semira is such a vibe - had the best pub crawl experience with her and also just in general she was a good and very friendly host. Farouk did a great job also and the Manager Memo was very helpful, too. Location is amazing, walking distance from the main sights. Private room was fine for a hostel. Definitely recommend!

Had a great time staying at second home, the staff were very nice and I met some very cool people on the way, The location is central and the family dinner was delicious. Ahmet was super helpful and welcoming. Would definitely come back.

I stayed at Second Home Hostel 10 years ago for 4 nights while visiting Istanbul and had an absolutely wonderful, memorable time here. My friend and I shared a room - as not all rooms are dorm style. This way, if you prefer to have your own room, you can, as well as be in the hostel environment where you can meet travelers from around the world. I returned this month and have stayed over a week here as my base in Istanbul. It is just as great as I remember it, and they are continually renovating the building and rooms. As we speak, they are putting new paint on the whole interior building, adding new beautiful lamps, art and design. The PRO's of Staying here: *The most friendly, hospitable staff: ---The owner, Çan, is so accommodating and chivalrous. We have kept in touch through social media since I came a decade ago and coming back felt like I was here yesterday. ---The main employees: Zack (2 years working here) and the Manager, Memo (10 years), who are super friendly and helpful. They all feel like brothers and that you have arrived to your "Second Home" *The rooms are very affordable, either $15 a bed in a 6-8 person room (shared bathroom). Or $30 for a single room in the Hostel building. I opted for a spacious studio apartment style room in the next building over: Second Home Suites for about $45 a night *The lobby area is welcoming for all guests to hang out at, ask questions about tours and recommendations, as well as to use the full kitchen/fridge *Turkish style Breakfast and Dinner is an option for a low affordable price. Just let them know the day before and they will have it prepared for you. As in classic Turkish Hospitable, you will be welcome to eat all together with Staff and Guests. *The Rooftop is another main attraction. Indoor where you can lounge on the Turkish Carpet, smoke Shisha and get laptop work done. With a balcony overlooking the city (+ a small garden they have planted) *Located in the Old City, it's 10 minute walking distance to Hagia Sophia and all the main touristic attractions people come for. (Main bridge is just a 7 minute walk down hill) *There are restaurants, markets, cafes, shisha spots, shops all within steps from the hostel *They provide laundry service which is convenient and overall is very customer service oriented I prefer to walk as the mode of transportation in Istanbul. As a solo female traveler, I feel very safe walking alone (even at night). The area the hostel is in is very safe as well. If you want to reach Karakoy or Taksim square, it's about a $2-3 taxi ride (20 minutes) or a 30 minute walk. I have been walking daily and absolutely love it.

Located in between Galata Bridge and Hagia Sophia, Second Home is well-positioned as a convenient base to explore the historic Istanbul! The hostel itself is also a comfortable place to rest - my single bedroom was as comfortable as my own bedroom (and thus matched well with the Second Home name). I unfortunately stayed here for only a night as a stopover, but I will definitely choose to stay here again on my return to Istanbul.

I've stayed in this hostel during trips to Istanbul over about 4 years, so it has become a second home. The location is perfect--close to the main sights of Sultanahmet, but tucked away from the busy streets. I am always welcomed and treated like family here. Memo has excellent recommendations for restaurants and things to see. He's helped me book trips to other locations and schedule airport transfers. It's nice to have a person in Istanbul who you can trust absolutely, and Memo is the one that I trust.