Mooloolaba Backpackers, an all-inclusive hostel

By Bobbi Lee Hitchon // 16 April 2010 // Comments: 1 // Related Categories: free, Hostels, mooloolaba, Things to do

Enter through a vibrating, red and metal gateway to escape from the busy Brisbane Road.  Some people lounge by a centered pool, as others lay in the shade on balconies one, two, three stories above. After parking the camper van, make your way through a large tiled room, open on all sides and decorated with Bohemian-themed lounge furniture.

Check in with a smiling receptionist and head to the main common area, where more wicker lounge furniture surrounds a flat screen TV. Don’t feel bad just putting down your backpack there and crashing into cushions. You may never want to leave and you actually don’t have to for the the length of your stay.

It may read like some swanky all-inclusive, island resort, but really it’s a hostel.

Mooloolaba Backpackers on the Sunshine Coast offers just about everything a backpacker needs during the course of his or her stay in town. With free breakfast from 8-10 p.m., next to nothing meals most nights ($6 Taco Tuesdays, even a free Sausage Sizzler every Saturday), Goon Pong on Thursday, cheap hostel-run day tours, free board hire and stand-up paddle board lessons, one could spend a few days just following the hostel’s weekly schedule.

The hostel mood matches that of the town. Mooloolaba is an ideal rest stop for backpackers traveling up the east coast, but the town isn’t by any means sleepy. Visitors can dive with sharks or just admire marine life at Underwater World, duve recks and more with Scubaworld, take a surf lesson with QSurf School and more. Most come to visit the Irwin family (and all their “little beauties”) at Australia Zoo, about a 30-minute drive from town.

Location

Stretching about five square kilometers, everything in Mooloolaba is literally in walking distance from the hostel. Located on Brisbane Road, Mooloolaba Backpackers is about a ten-minute walk to the beach, five-minute walk to the docks, right next door to an inlet used for stand-up paddle boarding and across the street from Mooloolaba Bowls Club, so make sure to bring some white slacks and a sweater, as well as your game face.

Staff

Made up of backpackers working for free accommodation as well as Aussies, they’re fun and engaging. Judging by a chalk board outside reception offering free accommodation in exchange for work, this hostel welcomes people ready to take a break from traveling to stay in one place. Guests can get to know the staff better by joining them on a tour of the Hinterlands ($15), which is offered weekly or participating in Goon Pong, offered on Thursday nights. But watch out, there are some fierce competitors on staff when it comes to pong!

Vibe

The main common area best depicts the mood at this hostel. The enclosed room, which opens up to an outdoor sitting area is usually packed at night. In the enclosed area, heaps of people lay around watching movies and playing games, while outdoors people party. But partying at the hostel ends at 10 p.m. daily, as just about everything is closed up and quiet downs. So pre-game there, then walk to local clubs and bars.

Mooloolaba is by no means a “party” town, so those who feel like their on a drinking tour of Australia can give their liver a rest here. But for those that would rather sleep when their dead, nightlife does exist. Just be sure to bring out your passport, as bars do not accept driver’s license as a valid form of identification, even from English-speaking countries.

Price

Standard four-bed dorms with a common bathroom costs $28 per person per night, four-bedroom ensuite dorm with private bathroom costs $31 and a two-person private room with TV and private bathroom costs $70 per room per night. The hostel offers discounts for VIP members and visitors staying a week or more. Plus every floor has its own balcony, which adds a little something to your stay.

Overall

It's an accommadation many won't want to leave, and they don't have to. At Mooloolaba people are not treated just as numbers. The common area will make people feel so much at home, they may make it so. So venture out, stay in, but make sure to stop by.

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Many special thanks to VIP Backpackers and All Seasons for being our gracious hosts throughout this trip!