A question about hostels in New Zealand
 

My friend and I are planning a trip to NZ and have never stayed in hostels. In doing my research there are 2 organizations we can join. The INternational Youth Hostel (IYH) has 62 hostels in NZ and the Budget Backpackers Hostel (BBH) has 340 locations. Are the hostels basically the same? or is one preferred over the other? I'm not a young person and don't want to go where there is a lot of partying. I'm assuming we'd have a much easier time getting intoa BBH only because there are so many of them.
I'd appreciate any advice.

I would suggest taking this question to the Australasia Forum on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Web site (http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/). You will find many more low-budget travelers there, compared to Fodors' Travel Talk.

I have stayed in both YHA and BBH hostels in NZ. And the short answer is NO - one is not always preferred over the other. You ask if they are the same. Well a YHA in Auckland is not the same as a YHA in Invercargill. But then a BBH member in Pahia is not the same as one in Queenstown. The YHAs in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are purpose-built buildings. Others can be quite tiny. BBH places are unlikely to be purpose-built, and each is more of an unknown quantity. You can get a BBH book on arrival at the airport for free (and I guess they have a web site). The YHA certainly does. You have to assess each place according to your needs. Learn to read between the lines.
If the blurb for a place trumpets theme nights; games room; free vouchers for anything - then you are looking at a party place.

Have fun.

PS not young either!!

We used two BBH hostels in our trip to NZ earlier this year. Their website is really helpful - www.backpack.co.nz/index.html

We stayed at Lloyds Lodge in Whakatane (a 1930s house, very cozy and the owners are super) and The Missing Leg just outside Egmont Village (a funkier property; great hosts but a not-very-good mattress in our double room).

We also spent a night at the Kiwi Paka YHA in Waitomo, and while the property was new, it felt more institutional than the BBH hostels we visited. It was quite a bit bigger, too. OTOH, we stopped in at the Wellington YHA and thought it looked very pleasant.

Each hostel is described at the organization's websites, and you can always call or email the owners with questions. Depending on what time of year you're traveling, you shouldn't have problems booking a room with either YHA or BBH. We stayed in double rooms with ensuite baths at each location.

Lee Ann, not as young as I used to be

Thanks very much for the information. I appreciate it. I guess I do realize it does depend on the individual hostel, but if I was going to join one, I wasn't sure which one.
reason tells me to join BBH only becasue of the number of hostels listed.
Since we are trying to travel on a budget, I really don't want to join both, when one memembership would do. So I suppose I'm really asking which one would be the best to join. Or is it necessary to join at all?
I have always stayed in small inns and mostly B&B's , so hostels are new to me. But I understand that's the way to go in New Zealand. My friend is younger and wants to stick to a fairly tight budget. I'm game for it, but don't really want to end up in a party atmosphere hostel,or ones that aren't up to standards of cleanliness. I don't mind basic as long as it's clean.
Any more ideas on hostels?

Hello Kodi,

How about figuring out your itinerary first? Then you won't have to worry about the quality of ALL the properties in each organisation's portfolio. You'll only have to research the hostels in the few locations in which you want to sleep. At that point it may emerge whether or not one organisation's properties will serve your needs better than the other.

Hey Judy, you helped me so much with my Rockies trip and here you are on the NZ forum!!! Thanks for the advice. I'm going to get together with my friend next week to start working out an itinerary, so then we will do more research on individual hostels as you suggest.
Thanks.

Hi again - just to say you don't have to be a member to stay at a YHA, ditto BBH. The YHA organisation runs a 'collect a stamp for staying' scheme in Oz (and Europe) - guess NZ unlikely to be different. After staying at 6 different hostels you earn membership. Being a member saves you $2 or $3 (AUD or NZ) per night. And qualifies you for a range of other discounts on transport, trips, etc. BBH may have something similar.

The standard of hostels in Australasia is amazing - never stayed in a really dirty one - though some better than others. Always assuming that my dirty and yours is the same. If you are travelling with a friend will you be looking for a twin room? That would rule out a lot of small places with character. There you would have to stay in a dorm.

Look forward to seeing your itinerary.

And PS - dorms are fine even if 'no longer young'. Honest!!

Alice, Thank you, you are so kind and I appreciate the information. I didn't know about collect a stamp. I thought we'd have to join the different organizations. I don't know that we will be staying in twin rooms. We may just decide to stay in dorms. I'm getting together next week with my friend to really get going on our itinerary. She is younger and also on more of a budget than me, so I'll leave it up to her.
I'm sure I'll be asking lots more questions. OUr trip isn't til January.
I've heard that some seniors feel a bit out of place at hostels, but I'm game for anything and think young!!! ( or so I think!!)

I don't know how long you'll be in New Zealand, but it might be worth a membership if you plan to stay in hostels every night.

Each property listing should tell you what kind of rooms are available. If it's just the two of you and you want to avoid partying, go for the smaller properties and the twin room. That way you won't be disturbed by partiers coming back to the dorm room from the pub.

Lee Ann

Thanks for the added information Lee Ann.
I appreciate it. Smaller hostels sound like the way to go.

Hi Kodi,

I'm new to this forum, but hope I can help! I spent a couple of months in New Zealand 4 years ago, and am heading back next year, and will definitely use hostels again! I've never seen as good a set up as many of the hostels in NZ. I used both BBH and YHA, and from memory, the difference WAS (and may not be the case now) that you needed to be a member to stay at YHA hostels, but the BBH ones let anyone stay, and you got a discount with the membership.
If I can help with hostels in different places, please do give me a shout. I'm not sure how often I can chack back here, but will look - or feel free to email me.
Have fun!
Jen

Jenstar, thank you so much . My friend and I are going to get together later this week to start preparing our itinerary, so I'm sure we'd like to have your advice, once we know where we are going.
I'll be in touch.