Melbourne Hostel: It’s Not in the Books

A new youth hostel opened recently in Melbourne, Australia. It offers low-cost lodging, daily economical tours and is so new it’s unlikely you’ll find it listed in guidebooks.

The Queensberry Hill Hostel, at 78 Howard St., North Melbourne, Victoria 3051, telephone (03) 329-8599, is just less than a mile from the city center, and on the Skybus route from Melbourne Airport.

Dormitory accommodations (4 to 6 beds per room) are available for about $13 to $16 per night. It is also possible to rent single-to four-bedded rooms for $45 to $60 per room, per night.

The hostel offers security lockers in all dormitory rooms, a licensed cafeteria, self-catering kitchen, parking, foreign currency exchange, 24-hour access, a travel service and daily tour opportunities.

For example, daily trips to visit a sanctuary with penguins and koalas on Phillip Island are available for about $24. For about $38, you can stay overnight and also visit Wilson’s Promontory National Park.

Another tour offers the opportunity to join half-day four-wheel-drive trips of Halls Gap in Grampians National Park for about $19.50, and stay the night at Halls Gap Hostel for an extra $8. Those traveling between Melbourne and Adelaide have the opportunity to turn it into a three-day trip, enjoy the coastal scenery and make two overnight stops en route for about $77. Additional tour information is available at the hostel.

After several delays, China’s first internationally affiliated youth hostel is due to open this month. Although it’s expected to be a little more expensive than some of the budget hotels favored by backpackers in Beijing, it will be a good place to meet fellow travelers and share information on getting around within this vast country.

The 60-bed hostel is located in a traditional four-courtyard-style building, which was originally the Lu Song Yuan Hotel, telephone 401-5882. It’s at 22 Jiao Dou Kou Lu, in the East District, north of the Art Gallery. You can reach it from the rail station by taking bus No. 4.

Transpacific trips are terribly long. Fortunately, air travelers often have the opportunity to make stops in exotic island nations such as Fiji, where special budget-priced facilities do exist.

One interesting option is Beachcomer Island. Here, you don’t have to worry about budgeting for a variety of expenses. All meals, evening entertainment, coral viewing in glass bottom boats, volleyball and snorkeling are free.

There are three types of accommodation. You can head for the large, thatched, co-ed dormitory bure for about $39 per day. There are also two- and three-bedded lodge rooms, which cost about $54 per person. The lodge rooms share the same “cold water only” facilities as the dormitory bure. Singles that want to share a beachfront bure (maximum of four the same gender) pay about $68 per night each.

Beachcomber also offers scuba diving, water-skiing, mini-golf, board-sailing, fishing, sailboats and canoes, all for a fee.

The resort’s buses provide free service from Nadi Airport and major hotels in the Nadi area. The bus takes you to Lautoka for a boat trip to the island, which takes just over an hour. The boat fare is about $34 round trip.

To make reservations from the United States, call (800) 233-0888; in Australia, call (008) 222-3220; in New Zealand, (09) 379-319, and in Fiji, (679) 661-500.

The Ecuadorean Youth Hostel Assn. has reached an agreement with the Airline TAME, which provides transportation from Quito to the Galapagos Islands. The new arrangement: Members of the International Youth Hostel Federation are eligible for a 20% discount for travel to the Galapagos. The association also has arranged a concession for hostel-goers with the tour operator Ecuagalapagos. For more information, contact the Ecuadorean Youth Hostel Assn. at Venezuela 1459 y Oriente, Quito, Equador, telephone 593-2-510-558, or fax 593-2-502-399.