The 5 Best Backpacker Hostels in Melbourne, Australia

The 5 Best Backpacker Hostels in Melbourne, Australia

In my opinion, Melbourne is the hippest and most cosmopolitan city in Australia. Explore the city’s museums and art galleries, admire the architecture, ride the trams, chill in hip cafes and laneway bars, visit the beach and wineries and drive the Great Ocean Road. You’d be mad to miss it! Melbourne, and in fact all of Australia, is expensive but luckily there are heaps of awesome backpacker hostels in Melbourne where you can stay for cheap and meet lots of other backpackers.

Australia is one of the best countries in the world to backpack, but unfortunately it’s also one of the most expensive but there’s still loads of ways you can save money and backpack Australia on a budget. One of the best ways to save money is to avoid expensive hotels and stay in backpacker hostels and cooking your own food instead of eating out at expensive restaurants.

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There are awesome backpacker hostels all over Australia where you can enjoy a sociable, comfortable and fun stay without spending too much money. Most backpacker hostels in Melbourne have communal kitchens so you cook your own food and some even have awesome freebies like free breakfast, BBQs, movie or pizza nights that can help you to save even further. They are also excellent places to meet other backpackers.

Not all hostels are the same, so it’s important to carefully choose your hostel as where you stay can really make or break your trip, especially if you are traveling alone. To help you plan your trip here’s my recommendations of the 5 very best backpacker hostels in Melbourne.

5 Best Backpacker Hostels in Melbourne

Home at the Mansion

If you’re more of a flashpacker than a backpacker then check out Home at the Mansion – the poshest, backpacker hostels in Melbourne. This swish award winning hostel is set in a majestic converted heritage building that dates back to 1901 in the Victoria district of the city and the free city circle tram passes by the hostel so it’s easy to access the city centre for free!

Some backpacker hostels in Melbourne are huge but this one only has 16 rooms, all of which include flat screen TVs, high ceilings and plenty of natural light, so it feels a lot more homely and intimate than the big hostels.  The hostel also has a café bar which helps solo travellers to meet other backpackers. They’ve also recently improved the free wifi across the hostel. Home at the Mansion is definitely one of the best backpacker hostels in Melbourne, in fact it was voted most popular hostel in Melbourne for 2012, 2013 and 2014 Click here to book!

 

Melbourne City Backpackers

This new, clean, friendly, backpacker hostel is super conveniently located near to the Southern Cross Station, the Skybus and within the free city circle tram route. The rooms and facilities are all modern, air conditioned, clean, new and spacious and the staff go out of their way to create a sociable atmosphere and good vibes around the hostel making it a top choice for solo travellers. It’s also a great hostel for those on working holidays and looking for jobs in Melbourne.

You can choose from private rooms, mixed and female dorms. There’s also the bonus of free wifi, free breakfast, free luggage storage, laundry facilities and a fully equipped shared kitchen which is open 24 hours. Melbourne City Backpackers also put on some great social activities and events that are great for getting to know other backpackers. On Mondays they host movie nights with free popcorn, Tuesday is BBQ night, Wednesday is wine and cheese night, Thursday is family dinner, Friday is free sangria night and there are free pancakes every Sunday morning.

The only downside of this hostel is that they do provide free wifi but only 500 MB per day so it might not suit digital nomads or those who work online. They do have free to use internet stations in the lobby which is handy if you’re not travelling with your own laptop but need to get online. Even so, with so many freebies and a super convenient central location this new hostel is defiantly one of the best backpacker hostels in Melbourne. Click here to book!

 

Base St Kilda

If you want to be close to all Melbourne has to offer but prefer to stay close to the beach then check out Base St Kilda. This modern and funky hostel is only 6 minutes walk from the beach and the cool, old fashioned Luna theme park. It’s also a popular party hostel with a lively onsite bar that hosts events most nights and serves decent and affordable food. There’s also a free basic breakfast and free activities and nightly events including a free BBQ on Tuesday nights, pub crawls, foam parties and silent discos. When you arrive you’ll even get a free drink voucher to use at the bar.

There are many types of rooms available, from dorms to swish private rooms with balconies, all with ensuite bathrooms and heating and air con so you’ll be comfortable whatever the weather. There’s  also a job search desk and travel desk. Click here to book!

 

Melbourne Central YHA

The YHA is usually my ‘go to’ hostel chain in Australia and the Melbourne Central YHA is one of the largest and most popular hostels in Melbourne. The hostel is always busy and buzzing making it a great place to meeting other travellers. It’s a modern hostel that is conveniently located right in the city centre within the free tram zone. It’s also walking distance of most of Melbourne’s attractions and only 6 minutes walk to both the Southern Cross Station and the Skybus Terminal.

There are dorms and private rooms available and the rooms come with heating (handy as Melbourne gets pretty cold in the winter) Bunk beds come with individual reading lights and power sockets and secure luggage lockers There’s also great communal areas including a café bar on the ground floor that serves good pub style meals and a great rooftop terrace with great views of the city and BBQ facilities. There’s also a TV area, shared kitchen, book exchange, jobs board and guests can access a nearby gym for only $5 per day. Click here to book!

 

Flinders Backpackers

Flinders Backpackers is conveniently located in the heart of Melbourne CBD near Flinders Street Station. This hostel won Hostelworld’s HOSCAR award in both 2017 and 2018 and the title of Melbourne’s most popular hostel!

Accommodation is spread across 7 floors and the top floor has cool views of Melbourne’s CBD. You can choose from private rooms, mixed dorms and female only dorms, all with new mattresses, secure key card entry, heating, individual security lockers, lights and power plugs by each bed. Linen, pillows and towels are included, and the bathrooms have free shampoo & conditioner.

Flinders Backpacker’s offers the best all you can eat free breakfast in Melbourne – there’s a variety of breads, spreads, cereals and milks (including soy) and you can make as many of your own pancakes as you want. There’s also a large TV room which is more like a mini cinema and a shared kitchen. The hostel runs free walking tours every day as well weekly free meal nights, movie nights, free goon nights, bingo nights and comedy, karaoke and trivia nights in the onsite bar.

The only downside to this hostel is that the wifi isn’t free (its charged at $4 per day) and there is no air conditioning – only fans but that shouldn’t be a problem unless you visit in high summer. Apart from that its one of the best backpacker hostels in Melbourne. Click here to book! 

Read More: My Ultimate itinerary for backpacking East Coast Australia 

By the way – this post contains affiliate links. This means that if you find my recommendations for the best backpacker hostels in Melbourne useful and choose to book through the links I provide I can earn a tiny commission at no extra cost to you which helps me to keep traveling and to keep this site going. Thanks so much for your support! 😊

Have you stayed in any amazing backpacker hostels in Melbourne? Leave your recommendations in the comments below the post and help out other backpackers!

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