Making Hostel-Hops in Australia

This is a popular stop for young travelers. The city is a good base for a variety of day trips. You’ll find plenty of inexpensive hostel accommodations and Cairns is linked to Canada and the United States by international flights.

From here day trips can include visits to beaches, a ferry ride to a tropical island, snorkeling and diving excursions on the Great Barrier Reef, white-water rafting on the Tully River and taking a train inland to explore a tropical rain forest.

There is competition between companies to provide services for budget travelers. This means that the six hostel-style institutions not only provide low-cost lodging but also arrange economical day trips.

In October, Cairn’s only official international youth hostel was opened in a renovated building at 67 Esplanade. It’s only open to members of the International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF) at a rate of $6 (all prices are in Australian dollars, worth about 68 cents U.S.) a night. A maximum of four people share a room. There is a guest kitchen and laundry. The building remains open all day. For pickup service from the bus depot, train station or airport, telephone 51-2225.

A few steps away at 77 Esplanade is Caravella’s Hostel. It has no membership restrictions, the dormitory rooms range from $5.50 to $7 a night and there is a laundry, kitchen and swimming pool. The $7 rooms are limited to four guests and have refrigerators and adjoining bathrooms. Double rooms are available starting at $6.50 per person. For transportation from the railway station or bus depot, call 51-2159.

Guests Can Join

Guests can join in on spaghetti or barbecue nights or they can sign up for special excursions. These include beach trips, river rafting, snorkeling, scuba diving or visits to a rain forest. A popular trip that can be booked at Caravellas (or at the tourist information office at the corner of Aplin and Sheridan) is a $25 dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef. The “Scuba Fun Dive” by AUSDIVE includes transportation, equipment, one dive with an instructor plus snorkeling gear for the day. This dive is also incorporated into a weekend Outer Reef Trip that costs $99.

The Backpacker Hostel is at 149 Esplanade. Its $6 dormitory rooms are shared by up to eight people and twin rooms start at $6.50 per person. At this hostel you can arrange to join trips including snorkeling, windsurfing and white-water rafting.

According to a staff member, they expect to have a book listing all the independent resort hostels in Australia available early in 1986.

The Backpackers Inn at 255 Lake St. is clean and bright and offers dormitory ($6.50), twin and double ($15 per room) accommodations. You’ll find a kitchen, laundry, common rooms, a barbecue and a swimming pool. A free bus will pick you up if you call 51-9166.

A highlight offered through this hostel is an overnight cruise for $45. That covers one night in a twin cabin, snorkeling gear and breakfast. The Sandra sails Mondays and Wednesdays at 9 a.m. and returns at 5:30 p.m. the following day.

You can also arrange to join a variety of trips ranging from a Sunday-night harbor cruise for $3 to a $38 three-day trip into the rain forest and a $42 white-water rafting excursion on Thursdays.

The one other youth hostel is at 178 Grafton St. Its dormitory lodging costs $6 a night and it has a swimming pool.

Green Island, a 90-minute ferry trip costing $12, became a Marine National Park in 1974. There you can go reef-walking at low tide, rent snorkeling equipment, eat, ride in a glass-bottom boat, visit an underwater observatory and a marine zoological exhibit that includes what is claimed to be the largest crocodile in captivity.

Kuranda, Port Douglas

There are also youth lodgings nearby in Kuranda and Port Douglas.

Kuranda (a village in the rain forest) is known for its craft shops, a honey house and a open market on Sunday and Wednesday. It is less than half an hour drive from Cairns or by a scenic rail service.

Across the road from the Kuranda rail station at 6 Arara St. is Mrs. Miller’s Hostel. It offers kitchens, hot showers and color TV for a nightly rate of $6. You can do three bush walks in a day from the hostel.

If you decide to stick to the coast, 65 kilometers north of Cairns is Port Douglas, which boasts four miles of beaches. The Travelers Hostel there has just been given a $450,000 face lift. Rates are $6 a night for dormitory beds and twin rooms are available starting at $20.