Accommodation: Port Douglas Backpackers

We stayed just one night in Cairns before heading to Port Douglas Backpackers for a week, so this was basically our first proper stay in Australia. And it set the bar pretty high!

The hostel has enough beds for 180 people so I thought it’d be dead crowded but it wasn’t at all, there was such a friendly and relaxed vibe. And there are such great facilities. They have a pool, a bar, lounge, indoor and outdoor dining area, pool table ($2 a game), two kitchens, a laundry area with washing lines, a small gym, a tv room, a hammock balcony, and free bicycle hire.

And that’s all before the activities they put on! During our stay they had something for every day except Monday and Friday. Tuesday there was beach soccer which we didn’t do but we did do the free sausage BBQ afterwards! Wednesday was a trivia night, which we missed. But George then won Thursday’s pool competition and Saturday’s bingo night, lol! Sunday was a movie by the pool, which after a month without tv was actually really nice, even if the film (Transporter 3) was pretty ridiculous.

The hostel also does a free shuttle between Port Douglas and Cairns on Tuesdays, Thursday’s and Sunday’s, which, when the normal bus costs $35 each way, is a great perk! Just book onto it when you book the room as it gets full really quick. Another great perk is that the owners also own the nearby Global hostel and the attached bar Rattle & Hum, so everyday there’s a different meal you can have at that bar for $10 – including T-bone steak and chips, fish and chips, and Sunday roast. Pretty decent!

The hostel rooms are really secure, with key card entry and a locker each – it was hard to fault the place and I was sad when it came to our last night!