Contents of Post
These days the hostel industry is booming. Both long-time and first-time travellers have started to abandon hotels for hostels. People are no longer as scared of experiencing a hostel for the first time. Maybe that’s due to the awesome stories people tell about them. Perhaps it’s due to the price of hostels just being so much better than hotels. Whatever the reason, we approve. From Jumbo Stay to Wombat Hostel, All Days to Hurricane Hostel. We recommend going the hostel route. The question is: Is Dragan’s Den a hostel worth staying at?
What Type of Hostel is Dragan’s Den?
Like most hostels, Dragan’s Den hostel is a mixture of one to two different types of hostel.
Primarily Dragan’s Den is a homely hostel. Located in the residential area of Korcula, it was Dragan’s family home that he turned into a hostel. Literally putting the “home” in homely.
The place is mostly run by Dragan himself, but he does take on volunteers to help with the cleaning, bed and room turnover, and the odd check-in. He is always ready to help his guests with whatever they need. Going the extra mile with rides to Korcula and Lumbarda, as well as taking groups out to the cliffs for some cliff diving action.
The other type of hostel that Dragan’s Den fits right into is the cheap hostel. Its location is far off from the main area of Korcula (about a 20-30 minute walk), and the amenities are kind of lacking with some even requiring payment. Despite this, the cost can become pretty high during the tourist season.
What we need is to get to the nitty-gritty of it.
The Good
Dragan’s Den was a bit of a surprise to us honestly. With how small of an Island Korcula is I wasn’t expecting there to be any hostels. That alone puts Dragan’s Den in a pretty good spot as when we were there it was the only hostel in Korcula. However, there are some other definite positives. It gets pretty hot in Croatia so luckily every bedroom has air conditioning.
The house/hostel has a gorgeous patio surrounding the house. It also has a deck on each level of the 2 story house. Giving plenty of space for socializing between the guests. The patio is also equipped with a decent-sized pool and barbeque that we saw get a lot of use in our time there.
Overall the hostel is very well set up to encourage socialization. Dragan even has different things posted on a noticeboard that he will take groups of people to go do.
The Bad
Where to start, where to start. Although Dragan’s Den gets points for being a hostel in such a remote area, its location loses points. The hostel is located in the residential area of Korcula. So from the time you get off the Catamaran (fast ferry goes straight to Korcula, slow ones go to the other side of the island) you are a bit confused about where to go. If you don’t have google maps getting directions is a pain since it’s a 20-30 minute walk.
Let’s talk about the amenities for a moment. The AC is super nice, especially after not having it for two years in Germany. Yet the WiFi was pretty rough and there is a charge for doing laundry and extra towels. If you don’t get your laundry off the clothesline in time someone else will for you.
There is also only one official hostel dorm with 12 beds. When it gets super packed Dragan turns the second kitchen into another dorm. Most of the rooms in the house are private rooms that go for quite a bit more.
If you are looking to save some money maybe you can even volunteer there. You’d get a free stay, some food cash, and the odd meal.
The Ugly
The ugly is usually me knit-picking things about a place just to find something “ugly”. However, with Dragan’s Den, there were a couple of things I would consider ugly.
The cleaning is reliant on the volunteers and how much effort they are willing to put in. That means sometimes the place will be spotless and other times… Yikes. Most of my time there it was pretty well kept, but as more people came it got a bit rough.
The worst, in my opinion, was the hard noise curfew. Most places will have a soft noise curfew where after a certain time you have to bring the noise down to a very dull roar. That’s reasonable, right? Here at a certain time all noise has to end. To a point where there is a sign saying that cops may be involved if there’s a bunch of noise after a certain time. The choices are either pack it in and go to bed or head up to the church (5-minute walk) or down to the beach (10-15 minute walk).
Also if you know what’s good for you don’t confront Dragan about anything.
My Review
I know with everything written above the place looks rough at best. Honestly though, I wouldn’t trade my time at Dragan’s Den for anything. I had an incredible time and met some pretty amazing people. If it weren’t for Dragan’s Den I probably wouldn’t have had half of the impromptu adventures I had.
I gave you the information above to give all the information I could. The good, the bad, and the ugly. My personal, biased opinion is that I absolutely loved Dragan’s Den. My memories of late nights, drinking cheap wine up at the church with fellow nomads will always be cherished. The view from the hostel was splendid and the walking was both nice and probably good for me.
Plus if you build a large rapport with Dragan then chances are he’ll usually forego the prices to use the washing machine or towels.
I would recommend Dragan’s Den to anyone.
Ratings:
We developed a simple rating system for Hotels and Hostels to make reviews simpler.
Cleanliness:
It’s kind of hit or miss here. The fact that the cleaning is mostly done by the volunteers can be either a really good thing or a really bad thing.
Location:
As stated in “The Bad” section the location kind of sucks. It’s a decent walk to either Korcula or Lumbarda
Atmosphere
Dragan’s Den Hostel is incredibly chill. The atmosphere here with or without guests is always laid back and go with the flow. Until 11 that is.
Amenities:
The Wifi is rough and having to pay for washing machines and towels is kind of B.S. Saying that though if you build a rapport with Dragan he might wave those fees. Plus that air conditioning is to die for and the pool-barbeque combination just ties the place together.
Overall Friendliness and Professionalism (Staff and Guests):
Dragan is super friendly most of the time. Usually, the volunteers are too. However, the level of professionalism leaves a bit more than something to be desired.
Overall Ratings:
I hate that I couldn’t give Dragan’s Den a higher rating. I really liked the place. Yet with my reviews and ratings, I have to give as honest and objective ratings as I possibly can. Not just personal opinion. It’s part of being authentic in my opinion.
Have you been to Dragan’s Den Hostel? What did you think?
Until next time, stay authentic, stay nomadic, and let the world inscribe itself on you as you inscribe yourself on it.
