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“Staying at the Sydney Beachouse has been an incredible experience. I recently arrived in Sydney for a two month internship after graduating from Washington State University. Initially I had planned to stay in the hostel for only a short period while looking for alternative housing for the remainder of my stay. However, I found that I was more impressed with the location, accommodations, and affordable rates offered at the Beachouse than any other options. Not only has the Beachouse been a great location for my stay it has also been an easy way to meet tons of wonderful new people.

When I first accepted my internship here I was unsure how it would be travelling to a new country on my own. After arriving, I discovered that the social atmosphere found at the Beachouse was perfect for someone like me travelling alone. Everyone I have met has been extremely welcoming and friendly. Within the first week I met so many incredible new friends which have helped to make my experience here better than I could have expected. Just a few of the highlights from my first few weeks include going mountain biking, kayaking, surfing, and out to the bars for drinks and dancing with friends. Similarly, it’s been incredibly fun just hanging out at the hostel around the pool, making dinner, listening to music, and getting to know the other residents. Hearing others’ stories about travelling Australia has also made me excited to start planning my own trip along the east coast.

The Beachouse offers tons of resources on working and travelling in Australia; this has been extremely helpful for planning my own adventures. Originally when I arrived I thought that two months would be a long stay, but after being here for only three short weeks I am already planning to extend my stay to continue working and living here while travelling. I am looking forward to many more amazing experiences at the Beachouse as well as the chance to travel and explore Australia.” – Sarah Pistorese

We set out on our round the world adventure in January 2011, travelling through North America, Canada, Mexico & New Zealand before arriving in Sydney.  Our plan was to find a nice area, a decent hostel, get work, save money & enjoy living & travelling Australia for 6 months before travelling on to Asia.

Before we arrived in Sydney we booked a hostel in Balmain for 3 nights.  We arrive outside the hostel and immediately new we had made a big mistake!!  Inside was worse than we could ever imagine, run down, dirty, smelly and not a beach in sight to escape to.  Unfortunately we had to stay 0ne night before we made a quick exit to Kings Cross.

The hostel in Kings Cross was decent but still not the image of Sydney we had in our heads, where was the beach?  Where was the ocean?

After a week in Kings cross we needed a holiday, we travelled to Brisbane where we staying in YHA Hostel and loved it.  We’d stayed in YHA hostels before in America; although they varied quite a bit from place to place we were always pretty happy with what they offered.

Matt had work lined up in Sydney, so we checked YHA website to see what they offered in Sydney.  We came across Sydney Beachouse YHA.  It read “High quality backpacker situated 50 metres from one of Sydney’s best surf beaches. Modern accommodation with swimming pool, BBQ area, common area  arcade games, pool table, ping pong, internet cafe, TV/video room and lounge with log fireplace. 24-hour security access and on-site backpacker’s cafe serving breakfast and lunch. Lots of work for backpackers in local area – hostel has information and advice”
 
We thought perfect, just what we are looking for plus the price suited us too. So we booked a week here to see what we though.
 
We’ve been here 3 months now and this hostel lives up to all our expectations and requirements.  We both have full time work; we spend weekends down the beach.  It has all the facilities mention in its advert and they all work!!!  Matt’s a bit of a cook so would like to see an Oven in the kitchen but you don’t need an Oven to russell up our cheap backpacker’s favourite meal …..Tomato pasta!  The staff and fellow travelers are friendly helpful and fun so we feel quite at home here and happy not to move on until our time in Australia comes to end and our travels begin again.