Salty Dog Hostel

This is the best place you can stay at. The hostel owner Arif is the most kind and helpful person ever and makes you feel welcome and happy to stay at salty dog. We planned to stay for 7 days and ended up leaving after 22 days but we could stay there forever. You can rent scooter & surfboard at the hostel. We had a lot of fun activities with the hostel such as going to Nias Pro, a canyon with waterfalls, a traditional village, pizza evenings at the hostel and many more. It’s a very social place and perfect to meet other travelers. The juice shop in front of indomaret nearby is also highly recommended ;)

The hostel is right next to the sea, where you can sit and enjoy the view or go swimming. It is a very peaceful place, where you can meet other travellers to chat with, read a book in a hammock or just relax. If you don't surf, there are other activities to do like visiting a local village or waterfalls. Arif, the manager, is very helpful and communicative. He helped me a lot to get to his place and back to the mainland. He took me also to the local village and told me interesting stories. Thank you for that, you made my stay very enjoyable:)

It's better to know how to ride a motorbike, otherwise you will be a bit stuck, as you have to organise dinner yourself.

When I arrived at Salty Dogs I immediately felt that I wanted to stay here longer. Aryf and his family are really great people who do everything they can to create a good vibe. Nias is a great place for surfing for beginners and advanced surfers. I ended up staying 2.5 weeks and will definitely come back. Thanks Aryf!

chill, fun & cozy hostel. A place where one could and can write a book 😉 highly recommend if you’re looking for a place to just be and relax 🌞

The hostel is located right on the calmer parts of the ocean on a lagoon. It is an amazing property with wonderful people, great host Arif and his lovely family who runs this place. The two surfing spots are around 20 minutes drive each, which make this location quite quiet, and the hostel has very good social vibes, and overall a place where you will come for 2 days and end up staying 2 weeks.

There is nothing I didn't like for this place.

Best place to stay in Telukdalam. Owner is very helpful. Location is calm and beautiful. Great common area.

Salty dog is one of my favourite hostels I ever stayed in. The location is really beautiful: in a quiet bay with palm trees and the best sunset in this part of the island. There is a nice place on the water where you can have breakfast or watch the sunset. One evening we even saw lots of green bioluminescent worms in the water, it looked like cgi! You can also go snorkeling at the end of the bay. The hostel is also close to Teluk Dalam, so you can easily get food or go to the supermarket/stores/pharmacy/laundry by driving 5-10 minutes with a motorbike. You can rent a motorbike and surfboard at the hostel. The hostel is in the middle between two famous surfspots: Sorake and Rockstar, it's about a 30 minute drive to each. There are also many traditional villages in the area that you can visit to see the beautiful traditional houses, megaliths and stone jumping. The hostel is owned by a local family, who are really lovely and helpful people. Arif is always happy to help to organise anything you might need, and can tell you a lot about the local culture. Even though he is very busy, he always makes time to hang out with the guests and make sure they can enjoy their time here. He would also get breakfast for everyone in the morning, usually different kinds of local food. For the price of the room it is actually really great that breakfast is included. The beds in the dorm are small but cosy and all have a curtain for privacy, and a light and electricity plug next to the bed. There is also AC in the dorm. In the common space there is a pool table and some comfy hammocks. There is a kitchen and fridge where you can store some drinks or fruit. The hostel is very social: it's easy to make friends with other guests, and there are also often some local people around who are very friendly. Occasionally the hostel organises a pizza night (they have a pizza oven), which is a famous event in the area!

Amazing, very social hostel! Arif is the best host.

Arif, the host, is the nicest guy ever. He helps with everything you can imagine, is super friendly and funny. Just a cool guy to hang out with. The Hostel is located in a bay next to the ocean, away from the noise and business of the city. Very nice and chill atmosphere and a beautiful place to watch the sunset. There are hammocks, yoga mats, three super cute dogs, a pool table and a speaker to relax between your surf sessions or in the evening. To go for food or to the surf spots its only a short ride with the scooter. Really the dream location in paradise. Definitely a place to stay for a long time.

The kitchen was clean. Scooter rent was cheap. The dogs went with you for a walk.

Owner acted cynical with no smiles. Room was hot with mosquitoes and no hammock. Smoking at the breakfast table by the owner (one sigaret after the other). There was no cooking, though you can find food close by. Breakfast is take-away from town, not substantial.