Just the other day I was chatting and as is quite usual with me these days the conversation turned to my Australia Trip…
- Visa… Check!
- Flights… Check!
- Accommodation for Arrival… err, let me get back to you with that…
- Insurance… err, OK just let me get the accommodation sorted for now!
When you are leaving next month and there isn't even somewhere for you to stay you should be worrying, "You absolutely must book a hostel right now!". The words that came from my friends mouth and To be honest they had a point.
I am already throwing myself in the deep end alone on the other side of the world without one of the Gap companies that babysit you the whole way. Why make life even harder on yourself? Guaranteed when arriving you will not want to be wandering around looking for somewhere to stay after a 23 hour flight Jet Lagged to Hell just to find out that you can't get a roof over your head for the night!
The Hunt was On! One site that has come highly recommended to me at several steps was www.hostelz.com which is basically a site for comparing reviews of hostels around the globe. The beauty of this site is that there are a ton of reviews from previous customers.
The Voice of a Traveller is one I would Trust Any Day
over The Swish Salesman who knows it all…
The reasoning being that a salesman may have targets, earn commissions and be very biased when discussing places for you to stay. When you read a review from a previous customer you know they are speaking from personal experience in a location and therefore are giving their judgement based on real experience, not what it tells them in the brochure or sales pack!
As I was saying I browsed the various hostels available in Sydney… They all had a star rating available so I could tell at a glance which were the best. After viewing a selection there were two main Hostels I shortlisted.
- Wake Up! Sydney
There were a few reasons this made the shortlist. Main things being that these guys offer free assistance setting up Tax Files, bank accounts etc and even run a free orientation morning for guests. Not only this but they apparently have one of the best bars in the city and I had heard of them previously in my research. I assure you the bar had no sway on why I chose this hostel for my first week in Australia
- Sydney Central YHA Hostel
This one seemed to come out top for quality and the such and I may have gone for them had there not been so many reviews stating that it attracted an older crowd. This obviously could be fine for some people but I wanted to surround myself with people in a similar situation to kick start my trip.
I booked 7 Nights with Wake Up as I figured this would be enough time for me to get over my Jet Lag meet a few people and start to fully come to terms with my situation. This is also the reason that I chose between some of the better known, higher class (also read: expensive) hostels for my first week.
There will be plenty of opportunities to save and make money throughout your trip so the first week of your stay you may as well make sure that you get a good introduction to the country and start off on the right foot. The last thing you want after booking a hostel is to arrive in some dingy old hole and not know any better on where to go!
A review of "Wake Up" in Sydney will be added as soon as I have some experience under my belt. Check In is on the 20th November!
Oh and about the Travel Insurance, it's the next thing I'll cover…
P.S. I am so excited about this trip it's unreal, it's got to the stage I have that fuzzy feeling in my stomach even when I'm just looking at travel insurance for the trip! It's like being a kid on Chrstmas eve, except this time Christmas Eve now lasts 48 Days!