Hi,can anyone give me any information on hostels? im going to sydney in january and would like to know which hostels are the best.And are they safe to stay in them,and are your belongings safe??

Try Sydney Central YHA. It's located in the centre of Sydney right next to the main train station. Rooms are clean and pretty safe. Stay there back in 2000.<BR><BR>It's a short walk to Darling Harbour and quite close to Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. You can checked them out at http://www.yha.org.au.

When I first stayed in Sydney - over 10 years ago, I stayed for 2 weeks at the official Youth Hostel at Glebe. Shared a room with one other. OK but nothing special and I am not a great fan of the location. The official YHA's can also be a bit puritan - there were a couple of couples there - about 60 or so- and the beer bottles were kept in the paper bag just in case the nannies woudld give a telling off. So my advice is check out the backpacker hostels on the net. There are an awful lot around Kings Cross which is a major nightlife area - but also one which many would find totally unpleasant - some of druggies and hookers and drugged up hookers at 3pm can be pretty gross. Not always like that, but even Kings Cross fans would acknowledge the rough side. Some of the hostels are pretty dire there. And whatever you do, check on things like fire escapes etc - one hostel burnt a few years back with people dieing because fire exits were locked to stop people breaking in easily. Places also around Bondi serving the backpacker market - I would rather be there than the Cross. Generally with hostels you have to be a bit careful. I never had any problems, but the basic fact is that you will find people staying there (often long termers too) who are short of a buck, and valuable stuff may come in handy. I would advise trying to get a private room - rare, PTD did you have single room?, but in Melbourne one hostel had a lot- or a one-person share. Avoid the dorm set up.

Hi, Andy!<BR>Both the above posters have given excellent advice. Kings Cross is definitely a non-desirable area, and the Sydney Central Youth Hostel is easily the best of the bunch. There's also one right at the wharf in Manly which certainly has a delightful location, but I don't know about conditions inside. My understanding is that there is always a certain amount of risk of theft involved in staying at youth hostels.<BR>My main purpose in posting a reply was to suggest alternatives to the hostels. There are many hotels in Sydney which are just about as cheap as the hostels, and you can get a single room, so the risk is reduced. Also, since many of these are not so well-known, you could just turn up without a booking and probably score a room. <BR>The best of these, as far as location is concerned, is the Criterion Hotel. It's on the corner of Pitt and Park Streets, right near the Town Hall, Hyde Park, the Queen Victoria Building, and the Pitt St Mall shopping centre. A single room there costs (two months ago, anyway) $55. I can't imagine the hostels will go much lower than that! There are also hotels right at railway stations in such easily-accessible suburbs as Erskineville, Strathfield, and Lidcombe... I don't know the rates there, but I would imagine they would be in the same range as the Criterion. There are cheaper places around, especially on the south-east side of Sydney Terminal Station and Redfern, but the safety angle doesn't look as good as the Criterion, which, for my money, is the absolute bargain for Sydney. (It's mentioned on www.cyberplace.com.au/ta/hib.htm)<BR>Good luck!

Hi, if your budget runs to $55 a night and you really would prefer a single, then Alan's advice spot on. <BR><BR>But just in case you need something cheaper - I travelled for 6 mths in Oz 5 years ago - in YHA and backpacker dorms in every state and the only thing I lost was a T-shirt which probably just blew off the washing line. Just observe some simple rules. If you have anything really valuable - camera, laptop - put it in the hostel safe. Essential valuables - passport, credit card - keep them with you at all times - put them under your pillow and take them to the shower. Don't leave stuff lying around.<BR><BR>It's an approach learned in places where you really do have to be careful eg. Africa. But no harm in adopting it everywhere. More recent experiences in hostels here have been equally hassle-free.<BR><BR>Hope you enjoy Sydney - it's hard not to!!

Hello there<BR>I was in Sydney in Oct of this year and stayed at the Wake-up and I loved it very clean I stayed in a room with my freind and had a shower.paid 44.00 per person australian dollars .it is brand new and Im impressed very nice and nice people not really cheap but very very nice<BR>

Barbiegirl, can you tell us the address of the Wake-Up, please? This is another one I have never heard of (the third this week!), and it isn't listed in the Sydney 2002 telephone book. The price of $88 a double isn't too bad if it's a good location (The Criterion is less, at $66 a double, but you have to share a bath).

hello<BR>I looked for the flyer and I cant find it.But it only opened July I think of 2002.But I will garentee you will like it very clean and nice.<BR>It is just down form yha.hostel.<BR>it is Wake-up so I hope you find it very very nice<BR>

I also stayed at the wake_up a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was very nice. Very clean,well organised, and in a great position. I must say I do not agree with Alan that youth hostels<BR>are a security risk. I have had things stolen from very good hotels, but have so far not had a problem in the hostels. Fingers Crossed I suppose.<BR>Also I thought the Criterion or the CRY as the locals call it was not really that nice. emma

Did not see or hear about the wakeup but did stay at the syd yha, i thought it was just fine. I also walked past the criterion and thought it a little more for the older generation perhaps.<BR>I did do the telecom tower and that was awesome !!!!!!! as was the zoo.<BR>Syd Zoo is a must.

Barbiegirl, I must thank you for your reference to the Wake-up, which was new to me; I checked up on it this week, and if it is good inside as you say it is, I would have to commend it to people looking for an economical stay in Sydney. Its location -- it's one of the older buildings on the perimeter of Railway Square -- is not one I usually recommend, but only because the other cluster of hotels on the same perimeter -- the Medina, the Mercure, and the Country Comfort -- are all far too high-priced to justify their location, so far from the water (but right at Sydney terminal Station, and only a couple of blocks from Chinatown). The Wake-up, however, is not in their price range, and it must be considered a good deal, like the Central Station YHA (which is in the same block). One thing, however, if you turn up there looking for a room: it might pay you to pretend this is a retuen visit, and say to the desk clerk &quot;You're not going to put me on the side next to the church steeple again, are you?&quot; Right next door is a lovely old church whose bells are still fully operational -- and loud, as I found to my surprise as I stood checking out the Wake-up. It struck me that the name may have a touch of irony -- but maybe they don't play the full range of bells at night!