Travellers Oasis Backpackers Hostel has out-of-this-world TripAdvisor reviews. Rarely do you ever see such universal praise for any property, let alone a hostel with shared dorms and bathrooms. I was skeptical, but I went ahead and booked a bed in a triple share dorm on their website for only $27 AUD plus a $2 credit card service fee.
I was dropped off by the FNQ airport shuttle just before noon, which was a good thing since the reception shuts down for a siesta between the hours of 12:00 and 4:00 pm. A super friendly front desk attendant by the name of Helen greeted me and apologized as there were two other guests ahead of me. Luckily there was free WiFi and a number of computers for guest use in the lobby while I waited.
Travellers Oasis Backpackers Hostel
Reception entrance
Many guests book local tours directly with the hostel since they don't tack on any surcharges, and the front desk attendants are just so damn nice and helpful. In fact, I would say out of all the hotels, hostels, and lodges I stayed at throughout Australia, the staff here were hands down the friendliest.
When it was my turn to check in, Helen guided me through the features of the hostel, and then proceeded to answer all my questions regarding several tours I was interested in, despite the fact that she should have been on her noon break already. She even took me on a quick tour of the property and showed me to my room afterwards.
A couple of things about the hostel: There is a $10 key deposit. Every Monday is barbecue night and Thursday is pizza night. Both events are held at Tropic Days Backpackers Hostel, a sister property several blocks away. Travellers Oasis runs a free shuttle to drop off and pick up guests. I would strongly recommend the barbecue, where for $12 AUD, you can try all the kangaroo, emu, and alligator your stomach can handle (the emu was especially delicious). Plus, it's a fun and lively atmosphere to meet other travelers from all over the world.
Free shuttle
Stairs up to my room
One of the great things about Travellers Oasis is the lack of bunk beds in most dorm rooms. To me, this makes a huge difference in comfort when staying at a hostel. There is nothing worse than getting woken up in the middle of the night when your bunkmate returns to the room in a drunken stupor, stumbling into bed while shaking the frame like an earthquake.
When I entered, the two other beds were already occupied, so I settled into the third. The room was super clean for a hostel and the sheets looked positively pristine. There were individual safes for guests under each bed, which was a very thoughtful feature. While there was an air conditioning unit (Cairns is quite hot and humid), it was coin-operated and cost $1 AUD for 3 hours.
Triple share dorm
My bed
Room #6
