JOLLY SWAGMAN BACKPACKERS HOSTEL IN SYDNEY

Our visit to Australia was more of a long layover in Sydney so we looked for a hostel that was close to downtown for us to easily visit in a short amount of time. Jolly Swagman Backpackers looked like a fun hostel and its location was close to Kings Cross train station and was a 30 minute walk to the Sydney Opera House.

Private Room:

Our room was private with a queen size bed, table and chairs, TV, and a small kitchenette with a sink and fridge. The bathroom was shared, but was rarely ever busy even though it felt like a lot of people were staying in the hostel. There were several dorm rooms in our hallway, but all the guests were respectable making it surprisingly really quiet. The hostel also had noise and alcohol rules after 10 pm, which seemed like they enforced.

Amenities:

Free WiFi was in our room and throughout the building. It would kick us off if we were inactive for 3 minutes and we’d have to log into the WiFi again. Sometimes that was bothersome, but wasn’t a big deal. There was a communal kitchen that was often busy, so we only used it once. In the morning was free breakfast of just toast and cereal. We chose to buy our own breakfast instead since that wasn’t enough food. The hostel also provided lockers and laundromat for extra cost.

Pricing:

Jolly Swagman Backpackers cost us $218 USD for 3 nights. It was one of our costlier hostel stays on our entire trip. It was hard to find anything cheaper though, at least from our online searches. It seemed like there were many backpacker hostels near Jolly Swagman once we arrived that might have better prices.

Location:

The hostel was a 5 minute walk to the train station, which was easy to use to get downtown or to go to the airport. It was about a 30 minute walk to the Sydney Opera House. The route there also made for a nice run, which we saw many people do, and ended up doing ourselves for one of the mornings. Be sure to check out sunset on the stairs from Victoria St. to Brougham St. that is just around the corner from the hostel for a skyline view in the picture above.

Next hostel on our travels: the cosy BUNGI BACKPACKERS HOSTEL IN QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND.