If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
quiet small hostel in Sydney - mission impossible?
planning a trip to Australia (Sydney-Adelaide-Sydney, taking about
three months) departing late November. First stop is Sydney to get over the jet lag and buy a car. We've been there a couple of times before but not for a couple of years, and are looking for a small and most importantly QUIET hostel/backpackers. Done a lot of BBH hostels in New Zealand and have found similar idyllic places in Oz. Clearly it won't be as cheap or as quiet, but we don't want to end up in the all-night backpacker party places; we're in our 40s!! any ideas? have found some possibles on the web and Rough Guide but nothing like recommendations! many thanks Helen please reply to group, e-mail address given doesn't work (or insert my middle initial 's' so that it does) |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
quiet small hostel in Sydney - mission impossible?
On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:52:59 -0700,
wrote in . com : planning a trip to Australia (Sydney-Adelaide-Sydney, taking about three months) departing late November. First stop is Sydney to get over the jet lag and buy a car. We've been there a couple of times before but not for a couple of years, and are looking for a small and most importantly QUIET hostel/backpackers. Done a lot of BBH hostels in New Zealand and have found similar idyllic places in Oz. Clearly it won't be as cheap or as quiet, but we don't want to end up in the all-night backpacker party places; we're in our 40s!! any ideas? have found some possibles on the web and Rough Guide but nothing like recommendations! many thanks Helen please reply to group, e-mail address given doesn't work (or insert my middle initial 's' so that it does) Hi, Helen, Can you be a bit more specific? Are you talking about the "City of Sydney", which is the downtown area, or "Greater Sydney" which comprises all the suburbs, which extend for many kilometers? If "Greater Sydney", how far from "Sydney City"? Travelers, especially from the USA, tend to disregard suburb names. They might hop into a taxi, and ask, for example, to be taken to "83 George St." The wise cab driver will ask "which suburb" for there many "George Streets" in Greater Sydney! For the 3 km [1.86 mile] square which includes "Sydney City" see: http://www.arta.com.au/nswmaps/sydney/sydkey17.html Sydney Airport is just below centre of this map segment. Sydney City near upper right corner. Each of the names in blue on this map segment is a separate suburb, postcodes in red. Sydney adjoins East Sydney. Kings Cross is only a few blocks from the East Sydney, but both have different postcodes and are separate suburbs. If click on "Sydney" on this map, you will get a zoom in to: http://www.arta.com.au/nswmaps/sydney/g15.html Or you can start with the this address and zoom out. ------------------------ Actually, even ran across a better site to find accommodation, and not only from Sydney City. See: http://www.street-directory.com.au/sd_new/mapsearch.cgi 1/ Select state, city, suburb , council,location in space provided. This should give you Current location: Australia NSW Greater Sydney Sydney Sydney 2/ select what you are looking for, which is accommodation 3/ specify distance from center point, marked with a star. I specified " Hotels, Motels & Accommodation" "within 1 km" and got 137 results, ranged by distance. The first 10 ranged from 0.02 km to 0.27 km. If advance through the numbers you will find accommodation further out. ..02 km = 20 metres=~ 22 yards away, so not much of a walk to #1 on the map.:-) ..27 km= 270 metres = ~ 295 yards This should be enough to get you started. A very useful location, this site. With it, and computers, and the web had been available when I first came to Sydney decades ago! Hope it will be useful to you and other travelers. For those unfamiliar with metrics, see length conversion site at http://www.onlineconversion.com/length_common.htm For general conversions, see http://www.onlineconversion.com/ This one even includes clothing sizes in different countries, subheads include shoe sizes, ring sizes, etc. Australian sizes do differ from US sizes, incidentally, so may be handy in shopping. Although to play it safe, try it on. Suppose I could crosspost to misc.immigration.australia+nz, but so few posts on the two groups that, IMHO, both tourists and immigrants should be reading both anyway.:-) Cheers, Kangaroo16 |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
quiet small hostel in Sydney - mission impossible?
On 27 Oct, 02:31, kangaroo16 wrote:
On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:52:59 -0700, wrote in . com : planning a trip to Australia (Sydney-Adelaide-Sydney, taking about three months) departing late November. First stop is Sydney to get over the jet lag and buy a car. We've been there a couple of times before but not for a couple of years, and are looking for a small and most importantly QUIET hostel/backpackers. Done a lot of BBH hostels in New Zealand and have found similar idyllic places in Oz. Clearly it won't be as cheap or as quiet, but we don't want to end up in the all-night backpacker party places; we're in our 40s!! any ideas? have found some possibles on the web and Rough Guide but nothing like recommendations! many thanks Helen please reply to group, e-mail address given doesn't work (or insert my middle initial 's' so that it does) Hi, Helen, Can you be a bit more specific? Are you talking about the "City of Sydney", which is the downtown area, or "Greater Sydney" which comprises all the suburbs, which extend for many kilometers? If "Greater Sydney", how far from "Sydney City"? Travelers, especially from the USA, tend to disregard suburb names. They might hop into a taxi, and ask, for example, to be taken to "83 George St." The wise cab driver will ask "which suburb" for there many "George Streets" in Greater Sydney! For the 3 km [1.86 mile] square which includes "Sydney City" see:http://www.arta.com.au/nswmaps/sydney/sydkey17.html Sydney Airport is just below centre of this map segment. Sydney City near upper right corner. Each of the names in blue on this map segment is a separate suburb, postcodes in red. Sydney adjoins East Sydney. Kings Cross is only a few blocks from the East Sydney, but both have different postcodes and are separate suburbs. If click on "Sydney" on this map, you will get a zoom in to: http://www.arta.com.au/nswmaps/sydney/g15.html Or you can start with the this address and zoom out. ------------------------ Actually, even ran across a better site to find accommodation, and not only from Sydney City. See: http://www.street-directory.com.au/sd_new/mapsearch.cgi 1/ Select state, city, suburb , council,location in space provided. This should give you Current location: Australia NSW Greater Sydney Sydney Sydney 2/ select what you are looking for, which is accommodation 3/ specify distance from center point, marked with a star. I specified " Hotels, Motels & Accommodation" "within 1 km" and got 137 results, ranged by distance. The first 10 ranged from 0.02 km to 0.27 km. If advance through the numbers you will find accommodation further out. .02 km = 20 metres=~ 22 yards away, so not much of a walk to #1 on the map.:-) .27 km= 270 metres = ~ 295 yards This should be enough to get you started. A very useful location, this site. With it, and computers, and the web had been available when I first came to Sydney decades ago! Hope it will be useful to you and other travelers. For those unfamiliar with metrics, see length conversion site athttp://www.onlineconversion.com/length_common.htm For general conversions, seehttp://www.onlineconversion.com/ This one even includes clothing sizes in different countries, subheads include shoe sizes, ring sizes, etc. Australian sizes do differ from US sizes, incidentally, so may be handy in shopping. Although to play it safe, try it on. Suppose I could crosspost to misc.immigration.australia+nz, but so few posts on the two groups that, IMHO, both tourists and immigrants should be reading both anyway.:-) Cheers, Kangaroo16 Thanks for the reply - allow me to clarify! I'm a tourist so I want the touristy bit, which I realise is not in the geographic centre of huge sprawling Sydney, or somewhere within reasonably easy reach, i.e . doesn't have to be Kings Cross! What I want to avoid is the huge 'party all night, sleep all day, trash the kitchen, pay a deposit on the cutlery and lock the fridges at night' places; stayed in one of those and that was enough for a lifetime! Are there any small hostels down quiet side streets, without an attached bar? I tried the site and will keep trying, but it only comes up with two hostels both of which are huge party places. all ideas welcome cheers Helen (from England) |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
quiet small hostel in Sydney - mission impossible?
On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:52:59 -0700,
wrote: planning a trip to Australia (Sydney-Adelaide-Sydney, taking about three months) departing late November. First stop is Sydney to get over the jet lag and buy a car. We've been there a couple of times before but not for a couple of years, and are looking for a small and most importantly QUIET hostel/backpackers. Done a lot of BBH hostels in New Zealand and have found similar idyllic places in Oz. Clearly it won't be as cheap or as quiet, but we don't want to end up in the all-night backpacker party places; we're in our 40s!! any ideas? have found some possibles on the web and Rough Guide but nothing like recommendations! many thanks Helen How much do you want to spend? I've stayed a few times at the Roslyn Gardens in Elizabeth Bay http://www.roslyngardens.com.au/ It's not a hostel but a type of basic motel. No bar, no "common room". Rates used to be a little cheaper if you booked via Wotif http://www.wotif.com/hotel/View?hote...1&viewType=all or needitnow, http://www.needitnow.com.au/NeedItNo...AccommId=29636 but I notice they are much the same as the home site now, and they can get booked out at peak times. The rooms are basic but comfortable and include a kitchenette so you can save a little on breakfasts and meals and can have up to four beds (usually a double/queen plus a double bunk-bed). Bus to the city to Circular Quay or Central Station is 100m away and takes about 15 minutes. Bus-ferry-train ticket information is he http://www.sydneybuses.nsw.gov.au/ti...or_tickets.php It's within walking distance of the Cross and it's attractions, including the backpacker's vehicle exchange place. The other option you might investigate would be to stay somewhere in Manly but I have no knowledge of accommodation available there. Cheers, Alan, Australia -- http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/ latest: Slovenia http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/ latest: Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
quiet small hostel in Sydney - mission impossible?
On 28 Oct, 05:28, kangaroo16 wrote:
(lots of good stuff snipped) Cheers, Kangaroo16 hi again, just to say a big thank you for taking the time with all that, I really appreciate it. Further research reveals that we have to think about things like the 'stamp duty' when we buy a car, which seems to be a few per cent of the value, and also that registration is quite pricey, almost at UK levels. Still, all good food for thought. you asked 'why hostels?' at their best they are like living in the place you are visiting; lots of help and information but also a comfortable if simple room (don't do dorms!) a lounge and a kitchen where you can cook your own food and make your own cup of tea. (british to the core...) You can't do that in a hotel. Many places will have a stack of books and magazines, a comfy sofa etc; my home in the UK is currently rented out so while I can't complain at the opportunity to cross the planet, I do appreciate feeling at home. while everyone is entitled to let their hair down, there are plenty of hostels where the all-night partying will stop others sleeping; I've chosen the wrong place once or twice in NZ and been woken at 2am and again at 6am by shrieks, shouts, crashing doors and loud music. This also means trashed kitchens, and while the hostel staff will clear up it is not very pleasant when you come down in the morning. So I think it best that there are two sorts of hostels; ones for those who are travelling to party, and ones for those who are travelling to enjoy the country, rest at night and enjoy socialising with locals and visitors while still being able to see straight. As long as we all pick the right place for the group we're in, no problem! incidentally if anyone is off to NZ I've been to 60-odd hostels there and can help with suggestions. back to the Oz research! cheers Helen |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
quiet small hostel in Sydney - mission impossible?
On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 14:48:22 -0700,
wrote in .com : On 28 Oct, 05:28, kangaroo16 wrote: (lots of good stuff snipped) Cheers, Kangaroo16 hi again, just to say a big thank you for taking the time with all that, I really appreciate it. Am retired, so lots of time. As am sure some readers of the group will know that I am very seldom at a loss for words. :-) Further research reveals that we have to think about things like the 'stamp duty' when we buy a car, which seems to be a few per cent of the value, and also that registration is quite pricey, almost at UK levels. Still, all good food for thought. When left the US decades ago, my state was very slack on car safety. You could register any car in any condition. No safety inspection, no third party rego required. One of my mates bought an old car for $100, which was actually in pretty good shape. He drove it around for about 9 months, and when it developed automatic transmission problems, just called the nearest scrap yard. They sent out a truck to tow it away, paid him $25 for it. So $75 for 9 months transport, including at least one 400 mile (~ 644 km round trip) which I took with him. No idea how many miles he put on it in the 9 months, but ~ $8.33 a month was pretty cheap transport. No idea what the current situation is in this state, let alone the other 49 states, but I suspect some of them are still pretty slack. Why? Well, consider things like laws relating to seat belt use, very low fines for not wearing them, etc. for all states. See: http://www.rvhelpdesk.com/seatbelt-laws.html Motorcycle & Bicycle helmet laws? http://www.iihs.org/laws/HelmetUseCurrent.aspx New South Wales, and most of the other states, would be a lot tougher on both. Can't easily find data for all US states on random breath checks, but suspect that the U.S. even more slack here. Which is one of the reasons why the US is a more dangerous place than Australia. If a pedestrian is crossing the street and is run down by a possibly drunken driver, who runs the red light, in a car that may have cost $200, just what is the legal situation? Suppose the pedestrian, as a result of his injuries, is paralyzed from the waist down. Can he recover any damages? Not usually, unless the driver has liability insurance, and he very often doesn't. Sure, if he is 18 or older he can be sued, but how many 18 year olds have sufficient assets to make it worthwhile? His only "asset" may be the car and some used clothing. Australia is much tougher on all of the above points. you asked 'why hostels?' at their best they are like living in the place you are visiting; lots of help and information but also a comfortable if simple room (don't do dorms!) a lounge and a kitchen where you can cook your own food and make your own cup of tea. (british to the core...) Not as important to me, would be just as satisfied with a No-Doz caffeine tablet or a caffeine containing sports drink, like "Adrenalin". Although in most travel situations I've ever encountered I could manage to boil water, even if it was in a tin can over a fire.:-) If was more desperate would stop by some second hand "thrift" shop and buy an old electric jug for $2. You can't do that in a hotel. I could in pub that I lived in shortly after arrival in Australia. Was given a key to the front door for 24 hour access, was free to use the hotel kitchen. No free access to the bar, though!:-) Many places will have a stack of books and magazines, a comfy sofa etc; my home in the UK is currently rented out so while I can't complain at the opportunity to cross the planet, I do appreciate feeling at home. I don't expect that much. All travel involves a certain amount of inconvenience. I suspect that you will learn a lot in your travels here.:-) while everyone is entitled to let their hair down, there are plenty of hostels where the all-night partying will stop others sleeping; I've chosen the wrong place once or twice in NZ and been woken at 2am and again at 6am by shrieks, shouts, crashing doors and loud music. This also means trashed kitchens, and while the hostel staff will clear up it is not very pleasant when you come down in the morning. So I think it best that there are two sorts of hostels; ones for those who are travelling to party, and ones for those who are travelling to enjoy the country, rest at night and enjoy socialising with locals and visitors while still being able to see straight. As long as we all pick the right place for the group we're in, no problem! OK, will see how long it takes me to find a listing. Google number hostels in australia ~1,800,000 returns. Select first reference: -------------- Abouthostels.com - Hostels In Australia, Australian Backpacking .... Hostels in Sydney Sydney, Australia's most famous city, is the entry point to the country for many visitors. A number of days if not weeks can be well spent ... www.abouthostels.com/australia.html A glance at this page reveals a link to http://www.hostelsydney.com/ A glance at this page reveals a link List all hotels in sydney which leads me to the list at http://www.hostelsydney.com/findabed...ntry.Australia Quick count of listed hostels indicates that 49 shown. Estimated total time required? 2 or 3 minutes perhaps, at the most. Not including the time to copy the info and make the comments on how I found the info. :-) Actually, I'm surprised that there are so many of them. Stayed in a few in S.E. Asia decades ago, merely because they were cheap. Pretty low security, though. Have never stayed in any in Australia, although admit never tried to find one.:-) incidentally if anyone is off to NZ I've been to 60-odd hostels there and can help with suggestions. back to the Oz research! cheers Helen Would suggest that you spend some of it on travel conditions, especially in anything farther west than the Blue Mountains.:-) Several years ago my wife and I drove to Cairns from Sydney on main highway 1, paved all the way. What did I carry on that trip? -------------------- Does the main coastal highway flood often? Not that often, but when it does be prepared to camp for possibly 3 to 4 days, possibly longer. However, when highway closed for a couple of days the RAAF [Royal Australian Air Force will parachute in food and water. Have heard that this can be pretty basic, though. When my wife and traveled it, we carried food for a week and at least 40 liters of water, gas stove, cooking utensils, etc. How much water to carry? Probably about 4x as much as you would think each passenger would consume per day. This on main highway, remember! In hot weather in outback travel, the RFDS advises carrying 10 liters per person per day. See WATER (Dehydration) http://www.flyingdoctor.net/travelin...20(Dehydration) To quote first paragraph this section: "It is surprising how many emergency calls we get from people unprepared for the rig ours of outback travel. It is hard to imagine how vast the Outback is, and how easily emergencies can happen, until it is too late." Chief Medical Officer, Dr Bruce Sanderson (South Eastern Section) From previous post, details follow: Newsgroups: rec.travel.australia+nz Subject: Looking for caravanning folk Sender: kangaroo16 Message-ID: References: signatu kangaroo16 Lines: 323 Date: Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:52:04 GMT ---------------------------- Admittedly, we are both reasonably cautious types, I doubt that most people would carry as much as we did. However, if made the same trip again, would probably take much the same gear. Delays and breakdowns can occur anywhere, anytime. Safety is the main consideration, of course. I don't know how much travel experience you have had, but road travel in Australia has its own hazards, even on inland highways. Most people don't travel at night, if they can help it. Kangaroos are nocturnal, and a considerable hazard. They can suddenly hop in front of you, in which case they can be over the bonnet and through your windscreen before you even have time to react. One or more can be standing on the highway at night, and when your headlamps pick them up, you had better be able to react quickly, for they will just stand there looking at your approaching car. Big trucks use the highway at night, but you will note that they have driving lights to illuminate the road several hundred yards ahead, as well as a dirty great bull bar. This isn't for decoration, it is to allow the truck to hit a 'roo at speed with no damage to the truck. Nor are they the only hazard. Livestock such as cows and sheep sometimes breach fences and stand on the road. Another point is that smaller towns may have 4 or 5 petrol stations, but highly unlikely that any will be open at night, and you may not be carrying enough spare petrol to reach the next town. Not all towns on road maps even have petrol stations, stores, or even pubs. Some are just a few scattered homes. I suggest that you read the RFDS [Royal Flying Doctor Service] link given above for hints on safe Australian travel if you haven't already done so. Cheers, Kangaroo16 |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
quiet small hostel in Sydney - mission impossible?
we stayed at this place a couple of months ago-seems like the kind of place
you're looking for: http://www.glenferrielodge.com/ ian wrote in message ups.com... planning a trip to Australia (Sydney-Adelaide-Sydney, taking about three months) departing late November. First stop is Sydney to get over the jet lag and buy a car. We've been there a couple of times before but not for a couple of years, and are looking for a small and most importantly QUIET hostel/backpackers. Done a lot of BBH hostels in New Zealand and have found similar idyllic places in Oz. Clearly it won't be as cheap or as quiet, but we don't want to end up in the all-night backpacker party places; we're in our 40s!! any ideas? have found some possibles on the web and Rough Guide but nothing like recommendations! many thanks Helen please reply to group, e-mail address given doesn't work (or insert my middle initial 's' so that it does) |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Quiet small town outside of Venice ? | Bobby McGee | Europe | 60 | September 3rd, 2005 10:31 PM |
quiet hostel in Adelaide, South Australia? | Anonymous | Australia & New Zealand | 0 | July 30th, 2004 05:43 AM |
Sydney Youth Hostel Recommendations | TanQ10 | Australia & New Zealand | 13 | July 30th, 2004 05:41 AM |
quiet hostel in Adelaide, South Australia? | Helen Gerald | Australia & New Zealand | 3 | May 17th, 2004 12:21 PM |
Sydney Youth Hostel Recommendations | TanQ10 | Backpacking and Budget travel | 11 | March 27th, 2004 02:25 AM |