Sydney Youth Hostel Recommendations

Hi

$30US or AUD30? Doubt if there is a backpackers or YHA which charges less than AUD30 for a private room! I know the Sydney Central YHA charges AUD82 for a twin private room. Doubt if they will give you much discount for single occupancy.

Gerrit

Be careful searching for hostels using these sites that take online bookings. They do not list all the hostels and they often state something like 'no online availability', which appears to suggest that a hostel is full. This is often not the case, it can mean the hostel does not have a relationship with the booking company, or the hostel management hasn't allocated any beds to the booking system.

Many of these booking sites are affiliates of the same company (hostelworld) and they therefore all use the same hostel database. They will also list guest houses, instead of hostels, if a hostel is not prepared to play ball and let them take commission on the bookings they take. You could therefore look at one of these sites and think that there is not a hostel in that town.

Much better to get your information from another source...

You are NOT going to get a 'centrally located' 'private room' for 'under $30/night'. The three terms are mutually exclusive.

One site which is useful is the www.bugaustralia.com one which doesn't actually do bookings, but has user reviews of many hostels throughout the Pacific and gives hostels a chance to put their own booking information with the review. I have used and contributed to this site.

There can be advantages to sites like the bootsnall one, as it gives a chance to find some sort of accomodation from anywhere in the world and it can be used alongside the bugaustralia site or a guide book for some sort of commentary.

AS for the original question, my favourite would be Glebe YHA. Others have reported favourably on the Glebe Village Backpackers, just along the road.

season.

Byron Bay is the only place it's ever happened to me. Accommodation always seems to be tight there.

The YHA in Sydney looks good from the outside and it's in a good, central location. You can book it online at www.yha.com.au

There are at least three YHAs in Sydney - central (across from the railway station), Glebe (kinda funky, much more personal, fewer amenities, and a longer walk to the CBD although more than feasible) and a seasonal one on the water.

Yes, Byon's accom. is usually fairly full up but again I've never had a drama.

Not a hostel, but a pub/stay hotel. Assuming you're not from Australia, hotels in the old days used to be a public bar on the ground floor, and rooms for rent above. Nowadays public bars have converted their rooms but there are still a few pub/stay places left.

The Clare Hotel is on 20 the Broadway, just a few minutes walk south then west of Central Station. It's across from the Sydney Institute of Technology, and right next door to Carlton and United Brewery. It's $35 a night for a private room (with shared bathroom facilities)+ $20 key deposit. The telephone number is (02) 9211-2839 (+61-2-9211-2839 if you are calling from overseas). It's nice and clean, although it can get noisy if there is a band playing and you're on the first floor. Really very close to the city, very convenient.

Hope that helps!