Hostels hostels hostels….. Other than ‘are you travelling up or down?’ ‘where are you going next?’ and ‘where are you from?’…. ‘what hostel are you staying in next?’ will be one of your most asked questions whilst you are travelling in Aussie. Lucky for you, the East Coast is FULL of some sick hostels to crash out in during your trip.
We’ll be sharing with you:
- How to book a hostel..
- Making pals in hostels…
- The do’s and dont’s of hostels..
- How to be cash savvvvvvy
The RatPack crew have popped together their ULTIMATE hostels on the East Coast, we’ve been there and stayed there and now sharing our tips with you…
Click images to see more.
The best spots to stay as a backpacker
Hostels are a travellers best friend when it comes to meeting absolute legends that turn into travel buddies and having crazy experiences that you’ll never forget.
Trust us, you will learn some cracking drinking games, how to drink goon, witness some strange concoctions in the kitchen and you’ll see some hilarious drunken antics…. {We won’t talk about the streaking around a hostel in Agnes Water after a competitive game of drunken Jenga!}.
Australia is FULL of hostels, in the majority of spots you will be spoilt for choice of good quality hostels in great locations, with awesome facilities, events and good value for money. We love hostels in aussie because you’ll bump into the same faces up/down the east coast and will become pals with a lot of legends!
The best hostels
Cairns
Hostel: Mad Monkey
Vibe: Super Social
About: Be prepared to have a lot of choice of hostels in Cairns, it’s a backpackers paradise {when you visit you’ll see} we’ve bounced around a few of the hostels and love Mad Monkey. It’s got a great social vibe with loads of events on in the huge outdoor bar area, we’re talking pub quiz, beer pong & they even have free pancakes for brekkie >> yewwwwwww!
Magnetic Island
Hostel: Base Magnetic
Vibe: Party
About: This little slice of paradise is a hostel like NO other, you’ll honestly be surprised that this place is a hostel. It is right on the beach with its own pool, huge bar, and the rooms are set in little huts in the lush tropical grounds.
This place is renowned for its awesome night time entertainment…. Boozy bingo being one of them, get involved and get up to the bar for happy hour or for some of the epic food. We offer an epic package that includes your return ferry transfer, 2 or 3 nights accom and we’ll even throw in a few vouchers yewwwwwww….
Airlie Beach
Hostel: Magnums
Vibe: Tropical party hostel
About: This place is set out in a jungle theme and each room is in a little shack, expect to see bush turkeys, parrots, possums and a couple of spiders around the place! This place is surprising because even though its chilled…. It has its own bar and nightclub attached to it which create some pretty hilarious nights before or after your Whitsundays trip!
Agnes Water/1770
Hostel: Cool Bananas
Vibe: The most chilled of all things chill
About: This is without a doubt one of RatPacks absolute faves when it comes to our vibe… This little surf town is abit of us and Cool Bananas hostel is all about that relaxed chilled pace, were talking hammocks everywhere, cosy common room, campfires with someone playing the guitar. The crew that work at this spot are legends and can help you organise surf lessons and how to see this epic little town.
Noosa
Hostel: Nomads
Vibe: Proper Party
About: The ultimate Fraser Island after party hostel… If you head out on the Nomads Fraser Island Tour, we can hook you up with $10 a night stays at this legendary spot in the heart of Noosa. By staying here before & after your trip, you’ll get extra time with the legends on your tour, we promise that you won’t want to miss the after party, at the Nomads very own bar KB’s.
The hostel is basic but is in a great spot and provides a good time!
Hostel: Flashpackers
Vibe: Luxury
About: This spot is epic and is for the flashpackers amongst us {clues in the name!}, you’ll be impressed by the up market quality of the facilities here and how awesome the crew are! The hostel is a beauty and has a pool, the best kitchen we’ve seen in a hostel and the room facilities are great. These guys have a shuttle bus from the bus station and they put on loads of events throughout the week inc. BBQ, cheese and wine, all you can eat pizza & movie nights.
Brisbane
Hostel: Summerhouse
Vibe: Super Social
About: Located just near the transit centre (roma street) is Summerhouse, we love this cosy hostel and not just because it has a rooftop with epic views of the city, they host so many events inc. BBQ, Cheese & Wine, Movie nights, Pub Crawl & even a talent show {rumour has it Miss Sophie Wilks won this one night…..}.
You’ll become part of the fam in this place and the location is awesome for exploring the city and the next neighbourhood Caxton, if you get time check out an event at the Suncorp Stadium just next door.
Surfers Paradise
Hostel: Bunk
Vibe: Super Social/ Party
About: This place is right next door to the greyhound so walking time is minimal yewwwwwwwww. This hostel is in the middle of Surfers Paradise and is super modern inside, each bed is a little pod so privacy is the one here.
The common area and pool is stylish and they hold events like BBQ, drinking games and you can get involved with a huge bar crawl with all the hostels in the town.
Byron Bay
Hostel: Backpackers Inn on the Beach
Vibe: Super Chill
About: This cruisy little spot is right on the main beach of Byron so if you want to get on the surf, enjoy being on the beach and be close to town then this is for you!
They have hammocks everywhere, a pool and its everything you’d hope to get from Byron Bay!
Hostel: Cape Byron YHA
Vibe: Super Chill
About: This spot is located right in the middle of town and a 3 minute walk from the beach. It has a real tropical chill vibe to it, the pool is surrounded by palm trees, hammocks and fairy lights >>> all about the Byron vibe.
These guys put on great events and make it really easy to meet others, they even do pancakes for brekky a couple of times a week.
Sydney
Hostel: Sydney Harbour YHA
Vibe: Epic views
About: You’ll be absolutely mind blown by the view from the rooftop of this hostel, you have the best view of the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, and Circular Quay, trust us you’ll get quite a few cracking panos up here!
This hostel is based on an archaeological site and caters for backpackers, families and groups, so expect a mixed crowd in this spot.
Hostel: Sydney Central YHA
Vibe: Super Social
About: This hostel has undergone a makeover and when it comes to a beautiful looking hostel this one fits the bill yewwwwwww.
You’ll love the look of this place, it even has a rooftop with a pool & sauna. You’ll also find a cinema with a free popcorn machine << that’s what we’re talking about!
The crew organise events such as BBQ, cheese and wine & pub crawls so you’ll make friends in no time!
Melbourne
Hostel: Space hotel
Vibe: Flashpacker central
About: If you like things a bit fancy and prepared to pay a little bit more then check out Space in the centre of Melbourne! This is the hostel of all hostels as it has a beautiful rooftop with the best views of the city with an 8 person hot tub, not only that but it has a legit cinema, gym and a hilarious bar downstairs. You’ll be really impressed by this spot and will find yourself keep extending and extending……
About the Author: Sammy
with RatPack Travel?
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From our RatPackers
Ben was amazing and went above and beyond to find us amazing deals and exactly what we were looking for. He did it all in record time too! We were very close to our travel date and Ben was doing so much for us so quickly! Definitely recommend
Mikey was fantastic from start to finish. He was so efficient and easy to talk to. 10/10 for him, would highly recommend the service. So happy I chose to go with RatPack Travel.
Friendly helpful and accommodating. Thanks Ryan. You made it all very easy.
Great service from Ben, came back with answers within minutes and walked us through the process, great experience, thanks Ben
George was fantastic, I came in very vague and he gave me the time and examples to lock in what we were looking for. He found great deals and was easy to talk to - he was able to give tips about the process without putting any pressure. Would recommend using Ratpack.
Ben made it so fast and easy for us to reserve our camper van for our trip in the fall! Excellent service!’n
I had a call with Ryan who was super nice, knowledgable and made me feel really at ease with making my decision. He asked me all about what I want to do and achieve on my trip, although I didn’t really want to pack too much in… nor gave much detail on what I want to do, he gave options and ideas for me to look into. He used his own experience as an example which was really helpful to hear and made me feel like I’m right at home with RatPack, I knew then I was making the right choice by talking to him. He answered any questions I had, even if they seemed like silly questions to ask. The booking process is really easy and straight forward, they do all the hard parts for you. Once Ryan talked me through my options, I made my selection and all I had to do was enter my card details for the deposit and I was done! Thanks to Ryan’s detailed and calm approach I knew I was booking with the right company/team. I can’t wait for the next step!!
George has been amazing. He put together the costings for our trip, and then I changed the dates completely and he redid everything and said it wasn’t a problem. I felt that he worked hard to get me the best deal, advised me which pickup town was the best deal, when was the best time to travel, and how I could save money by adding a day to our trip (yes, it was cheaper to go for 21 days than go for 20!). George sent through mountains of advice on travel destinations, camping sites etc. I would definitely recommend RatPack Travel and George.
The Ratpack team and specifically Ryan f were great for booking our dream New Zealand campervan trip. Ryan worked hard over several days trying to find the best possible deals for us and the communication was great with updates regularly. He was able to get us 2 vans that out did any other quotes that we received and we are really looking forward to our trip with Ratpack being by our side. Thanks a lot Ryan F!
Lovely people, more than helpful.
I am so stoked with the service I received from Ryan at RatPack Travel. He was so proactive and on the ball to help me with all my questions and variations. He gave me several options and gave me other things to look at to make sure I had all that I needed. Ryan did all the legwork in following up the availability of the type of van I wanted. If you are wanting to go on a Campervan holiday no matter how long or short, I would recommend RatPack Travel! They will be you support in every step of the process, in the lead up and while on the road. Thanks Ryan! You're a legend! They are a one stop shop when it comes to sourcing campervans and motorhomes from different providers! I nearly forgot to say - he got me a great deal on a newer model. ;)
Thijs and Gemma were just so lovely to communicate with and explained everything so well. Booked us our campervan seamlessly, and with a great deal too 😊 10/10 service from them both!! Couldn’t recommend more! 😊
Ben was super helpful, easy to deal with and always got back to all my questions nice and quickly, with all the campervan options out there we really didn’t know what one to go with but Ben did all the searching for us and made the whole process really simple.
Amazing and outstanding customer service, Ryan exceeded all expectations, he and his team found the perfect deal for us, if you are looking for renting a campervan in NZ or Oz, don’t look for more! Go straight to them and you’ll see you are in the best hands! 🙌
Greg was superb! We told him what we wanted in a camper van. Even with less than two weeks notice, he didn’t disappoint. We loved our camper van and it was perfect for the two of us!
