Christmas in Sydney -need to book?
I'm on my way to Australia, currently on a tropical island in
Thailand, but will be making my way down through Malaysia and down to Singapore in the coming couple of weeks. I'll be taking an outbound flight from Singapore on the 21st of December, arriving in Sydney, and plan to celebrate Christmas there -I hear people go to the beach to celebrate it, so this would make for something special for me! Anyway, I've been told by many people that Sydney really gets packed during this time of the year and that I really need to book in advance: 1) is this true, or will I be fine even though I don't book in advance? 2) any recommendations for where a backpacker can stay without having to pay a fortune? It's got to be safe and clean, but I don't need any extra luxeries like TV etc (unless it won't cost me any extra). A single room would be nice, but if it's really expensive I can settle for a dorm (hopefully not with a bunch of party-crazy people fresh out of school). 3) any nice beach where I could celebrate Christmas? Christmas eve that is, not Christmas day as I guess the Australians celebrate (I'm from Norway in case someone's wondering). Hallvard |
Christmas in Sydney -need to book?
Hallvard Tangeraas wrote:
Anyway, I've been told by many people that Sydney really gets packed during this time of the year and that I really need to book in advance: 1) is this true, or will I be fine even though I don't book in advance? People over on the lonely planet thorntree have been talking about this: many of the cheaper places are fully booked and people have to try a large number of places before striking it lucky. So, I'll skip your second question and suggest that if you can find somewhere, grab it: New Years eve is reportedly fully booked. Check out www.yha.org.au and www.bugaustralia.com as online places you might be able to use to book. www.nomads.com might be worth looking at too, but the word is they turn off their booking thingey for this period. Having said all that, it does seem that you can get hotel rooms through http://www.au.lastminute.com/ but their cheapest is $60 a night. |
Christmas in Sydney -need to book?
alfred wrote in message ...
Hallvard Tangeraas wrote: Anyway, I've been told by many people that Sydney really gets packed during this time of the year and that I really need to book in advance: People over on the lonely planet thorntree have been talking about this: many of the cheaper places are fully booked and people have to try a large number of places before striking it lucky. So, I'll skip your second question and suggest that if you can find somewhere, grab it: New Years eve is reportedly fully booked. I'll probably be in another city by then, not too far away though, either north or south along the coast, which would be Canberra or Brisbane I guess. Would it be just as hard finding a place to stay there, for the New Year? Is it generally hard to find (cheap) places to stay in Australia, or is it just the Christmas/New Year period which is difficult? I'll check out the sites you've mentioned. But something which I'll have a hard time figuring out from here (within reasonable time): is Sydney a large city, and if it is, does it mean that I might get into problems getting around if I book at a "wrong" place, or is public transport good, and just about anywhere is OK to stay if I want to see the city and get around? Hallvard |
Christmas in Sydney -need to book?
Another question regarding accommodations in Australia....
Are there usually curfews? If so, do they usually say that at their booking sites? As a grown up person I'd like to be free to come and go as I please. Hallvard |
Christmas in Sydney -need to book?
Hallvard Tangeraas wrote:
I'll probably be in another city by then, not too far away though, either north or south along the coast, which would be Canberra or Brisbane I guess. Would it be just as hard finding a place to stay there, for the New Year? It is Sydney which is being talked about in particular as hard, although wherever you go there will be some pressure (don't even think about the Great Ocean Road they say, although I booked a hostel at Warnnambool for Near Years Day a week or two ago, no problems). In Brisbane, I think a lot want to be on the Gold/Sunshine Coast, so you might well be Ok with an inner city hostel - there is a very good YHA there. I don't know that you'll have much of a problem in Canberra, it tends to be a bit off the map in terms of backpackers. But I would suggest that you get your NY eve and night sorted out as soon as you can. Is it generally hard to find (cheap) places to stay in Australia, or is it just the Christmas/New Year period which is difficult? The holiday period makes it hard: last time I was there it was Easter, and apart from Byron Bay (it was blues festival time) I had no problem finding accomodation in upper NSW and lower Queensland. I am going over just after Christmas and have my first week booked - not quite the way I want to travel, but I need soewhere to sleep! I figure that as I move away from Melbourne and then go West, it will be easier to travel on the fly. But something which I'll have a hard time figuring out from here (within reasonable time): is Sydney a large city, and if it is, does it mean that I might get into problems getting around if I book at a "wrong" place, or is public transport good, and just about anywhere is OK to stay if I want to see the city and get around? If you have a good internet connection, you may be able to use this very helpful map of the Sydney bus system: http://www.sydneybuses.nsw.gov.au/as...egionalMAP.pdf Enjoy your travels. |
Christmas in Sydney -need to book?
Hallvard Tangeraas wrote:
Are there usually curfews? If so, do they usually say that at their booking sites? As a grown up person I'd like to be free to come and go as I please. Hostels handle this in a number of ways: the big ones have 24 hour reception, others have keys or cards which you may need to pay a deposit for (up to $20). So far, I have not struck a hostel that shuts up shop and won't give you some form of access since the 1980's (except for one in Penang, but I just snuck into the next open hostel as if I was staying there!). |
Christmas in Sydney -need to book?
vicki Steven wrote:
I remember a couple of years ago there was a feature in the SMH on the shortage of beds over the Christmas NY period. You could also try Sydney University. From memory one of their halls of residence is converted to a hostel for the summer - it may be run by YHA. Many of the hostels/colleges allow short term stays directly. Here is the accomodation office at UNSW information on its hostels: http://www.international.unsw.edu.au.../hs_type.shtml and the same for the University of Sydney: http://www.summer.usyd.edu.au/uselinks.html |
Christmas in Sydney -need to book?
alfred wrote:
Many of the hostels/colleges allow short term stays directly. Here is the accomodation office at UNSW information on its hostels: http://www.international.unsw.edu.au.../hs_type.shtml Replying to my own post, I have found that there are hostels with online booking and availability at Christmas in Sydney: http://reservations.bookhostels.com/....com/index.php |
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