The location of this backpackers on Waitangi Island is spectacular, and while there is not much of…read morea view from the actual hostel, it's only a short walk down to the beautiful Onetangi Beach. When I say a short walk, there are actually like 200 stairs to descend, but it doesn't take very long and the beach is worth the walk. It's climbing back up which is the shit part anyway. The backpackers itself doesn't have that much going for it in terms of the actual rooms and the condition of the place, but it is a backpackers don't forget, and it is cheap; You can't really expect a resort. The Staff are nice, and I met some good people here. As there are not many cheap accommodation options on Waiheke Island, this hostel is a decent and inexpensive place to stay.

From the owner: Kina Backpackers provides true value for money on Waiheke Island, 35 minutes from downtown…read moreAuckland, New Zealand. It's your very own piece of paradise. Formally known as Waiheke Island Hostel, the backpackers is now leased by Erin & Luke. Kina Backpackers offers million dollar views for the budget conscious, the location cannot be beat! Enjoy the big sea views over Onetangi from the large front lawn where you can have a bbq with friends or relax with a book in the hammock. Wake up to the sound of the seagulls or Tui's and head down the hill for a walk or run along Onetangi Beach (with its 2.5 K of beautiful white sand) to end up at a local beachside cafe for a morning coffee. Enjoy an afternoon stroll to one (or two) of several award winning Waiheke Island vineyards for wine tasting or bite to eat. Miro/Casita Miro, Obsidian, The Hay Paddock, Stonyridge,and Te Motu vineyards or sample a the local boutique brew at Wild on Waiheke they are all within walking distance.

This was my first time ever staying at a hostel so I don't have anything to compare it to, but…read morethere definitely are some pros and cons to Base Auckland! Pro's: - Great location; situated right on Queen Street and a quick walk to basically anything in CBD or on the water (ferries, Britomart, Sky Tower) - Sky Bus shuttle from the airport drops off/picks up right outside - Has a rooftop bar + Habana Joe's backpackers bar right next to the entrance (depending on how you see you it could be a fun night or a noisy night if you're trying to get some rest) - Reception is open 24/7 - Beds are comfortable - Free wifi, but password changes everyday so you have to check the sign at reception Con's: - Showers and toilets are in seperate rooms - Showers are kinda gross and one of the shower's on my floor didn't have a door (also please don't forget flip flops...I did and uhhh yeah) - Reception can get busy with long wait times - Walls are paper thin- you can basically hear people's convos in the next room Overall, I was in a four person mixed dorm and I liked it! There's nothing bad to say about it and met some great people who were coming and going. I can't comment on Base's other amenities since I never used them (laundry, kitchen, breakfast, travel/job services) but I would consider Base if I'm ever in Auckland again.

This review is long overdue! Now that I've had time to settle after my backpacking experience, it's…read moretime to get typing. Full disclosure: I refused to stay at Base when I was in Australia because I'd heard the worst (party, drunken brits, unhelpful staff, etc ad nauseam), but in Auckland there's not a huge wealth of hostel options so I gave Base a go. Location: The hostel is right across from Macca's (oh hello soft serve my old 4am friend) and Starbucks (oh hello shoddy wifi and much-needed caffeine) and Domino's ($5 pizzas are a food group when you backpack ok) and Countdown (grocery store). It's a few blocks away from the harbour and main bus pick-up (InterCity, Manabus), and has a close drop-off/pick up for the airport shuttle SkyBbus. Kiwi and Stray buses pick up right downstairs. Westpac is under the hostel (easy ATM access), and there's everything you need within walking distance. Staff: I can't say the staff are particularly welcoming or accommodating, but they're running a mammoth of a reception, so I can't judge too much (I know what it's like being a hostel receptionist he-yo). Checking time is... you'll need a drink at the Sunshine Bar after, lemme tell you. Services: The job centre is soooo not worth your money. They didn't find me a job (didn't expect them to but I have a blog to write, so I gave it a go because reasons). For a first time backpacker, I think Base can be really overwhelming, but I don't think you need the guidance of the job centre to help you with your forms and bank account, etc. For people who have roughed it through Australia already (or elsewhere), y'all be alright without dropping money on this. Facilities: Closing the kitchen? Nah, I'm not about that life. Communal facilities are eh? Like, they're spacious, but there's really just one big area that consists of computers, couches, travel desk, job centre. To access laundry and kitchen, you need your key card (doesn't keep people from stealing the leftover pizza or milk). There's huge amount of traffic at this hostel (it's massive), which means that 24hr access to facilities has to be a thing. You can't cram everyone in before 11pm. Not to mention people with hospitality jobs usually get home around that time...? Rooms: I stayed in four types of rooms - private double (no windows, dude), four share mixed (huge windows but so run down), four share female (tiny bedroom), and eight share female (best of all). Level 7 has Sanctuary rooms - female only, which (at the time) cost $200/wk. Whether you'll be in a 4-share or 8-share is ~unknown~. I must say, the beds are comfortable, and all the bunks have locker space below. All in all, it's not bad night's sleep if you're lucky. The lack of windows in certain rooms was just -- I never wanted to know what living in a submarine feels like, but thanks. Also, if you're staying towards the lower floors / front of the hostel, you WILL hear the music from Habana Joe's. Habana Joe's: Base's seedy -but fun at times- backpacker hub club. Usually will be part of the Thursday, city-wide pub crawl. You get vouchers when you check in. Those blue jars should come with warning labels. RE: Sanctuary It is advertised as being a female only safe space. It isn't. The rooms are female only, but the floor is shared, and showers are not separate. Some roommates I had were upset by this, and I understand why. Guys hanging out in the little (fancy) Sanctuary lounge didn't help things either. If you advertise a safe space, you have to deliver in full. Sanctuary (and the price) would be worth it if the entire floor was women's only. I stayed here quite some time, on and off. It's not my favourite, but there were many positive aspects of it (namely proximity, price, and comfortable beds) that were worth returning if my favourite place (The Attic) was booked out. Tips: Bring earplugs (doors bang and Habana Joe's). Expect to wait for the elevators (three, no stair access unless you want to set off the alarm - oops). Request a room with window, else you might end up sharing a shoebox with strangers (which can be fun, but you gotta be willing.) Premium internet ($15/wk I think) isn't really... worth it? Head over to the Library for free 1GB.

This YHA is just off Queen St, providing easy walking access to the core of Auckland. There are a…read morefew YHA-operated paid parking spots available but they have to be booked in advance. The double private ensuite room I stayed in was quite clean, and interestingly, during my stay some of the furniture was actually replaced with new ones as part of a hostel-wide makeover. Note that the room didn't have its own hair dryer, the nearest was in a shared bathroom. This differs from YHA Lake Tekapo which has a hair dryer in the ensuite rooms.

I believe this Hostel was recently renovated. We checked in after a very long fight with two small…read morechildren from Hawaii. Front staff was friendly and accommodating to a family with two small boys, let's just say they don't get too many boys under 18. They Quickly helped us find a parking spot in their small lot out front for $15 New Zealand. ($30 deposit) They even searched high and low and called other hostels to find us the one crib for our two year old they had. She brought it up that night and helped my husband set it up. The crowd is a typical hostel crowd with lots of 18 to 26-year-olds from all over the world. Also, a couple what seem like retirees from Spain and Britain. The crowd is quieter & more well behaved than what I'm used to in hostels. Of course the last time I stayed in a hostel it was probably 1998 in Amsterdam. They have a beautiful commercial type kitchen. There is laundry on site & a game room in the basement. The room is very small, basically our bed, but it was perfect for our family for one night after a long fight. The price was right! (~$50 US) The bathrooms and showers are actually private. I loved the stainless steel shower stall, HOT water & Strong pressure. The breakfast situation wasn't great as nothing is open till late 9ish on Sundays & my kids were starving & up at 0600. We loved dinner in the Stables. We would stay again.

Excellent place to stay, nice and quiet area, and it's run by extremely friendly people, who go out…read moreof their way to help you with anything you need... I stayed for two nights last November at the beginning of my 4 month trip , and it was awesome to wake up and hike up to the Mt Eden summit, ( an extinct volcano ) which is just a few blocks away, and affords an incredible 360 degree view of Auckland, from what seems like the same height as the 1000' tall Auckland Sky Tower, but at an even better vantage point to see all the surrounding areas of the city...I went back up at night to see all the city lights, and that was really enjoyable. I plan to stay at Bamber House again, on the return leg of my trip...I highly recommend it to anyone.

I enjoyed my stay at Bamber. We were upgraded to an Ensuite private room (I assume because they ran…read moreout of everything else), and it was a very nice little mother-in-law apartment type thing, completely separate from the main house. This was nice because it was quiet and accessible from the side yard without having to go through the house, but bad because it was more prone to break-ins. There were signs around warning us as such and offering storage at the front desk if we want it, but we felt alright and didn't leave much after dark anyway. It was very quiet and friendly, little notes all over the place letting us know to ask if we need more blankets, how to use the facilities, etc. Seems to be owned by a family. They were also very helpful when checking us in about giving us a map of the area, telling us where to go and what buses to catch, she also offered to call around for us when we mentioned we'd be hiring a car. Great service, cozy place to sleep. I loved it. Location was decent, about a 20 minute walk to K road for all the restaurants and bars you could want.

Pretty normal and standard YHA. It's a couple of k's from the harbour though. There are other…read morehostels much closer to the harbour and the train station. Plus, if walking from the city centre to this hostel, it's a bit of an uphill walk. Internet is expensive. The city library is less than 1 km away, and free. There are lockers available, but they're expensive as well. I had a problem here due to being given wrong information by one of their staff members. After everything was all sorted out, nobody even apologised. I asked for my e-mail address to be given to the owner, thus giving the owner a chance to apologise, but he didn't. I don't mind the fact that mistakes are made. It's what happens after those mistakes that separates the good guys from the bad ones.

Pretty standard fare for a backpacker/ hostel type stay. One of the bonuses is the location, right…read morein the central city and its pretty safe and secure and best of all clean! When I first arrived in the city, I stayed here for two weeks while I was looking for somewhere permanent to live and it was a perfectly pleasant base to centre my search from, close to everything an within easy walking distance of all major Auckland attractions. The mix of people staying here is always really eclectic and different and I met many different travelers on my sojourns to the communal spaces in the hostel (I.e the kitchen, bathroom/showers and laundry room). The people who man the desk are always quick to point out good travel advice, things happening in the city etc, which is awesome. When I stayed here, I rented a room with a double room that was tidy, lockable and even had a nice view out the window all for almost peanuts! And if you want even cheaper you could go for one of the communal rooms, not really my thing however. The only dampener on my stay was having to venture down to the damp, dark laundry on the bottom floor which reminded me of something out of the movie Saw and the creepy guy in the room next to mine.

Tiritiri Matangi is a magical island paradise less than an hour and a half on the ferry from…read moredowntown Auckland, or also accessible by private boat. I just spent a week on the island as a volunteer and it was just fantastic. More fantastic is that anyone from the public is able to book to stay at the Department of Conservation operated bunkhouse on this amazing open bird sanctuary. The views, birdlife and atmosphere are everything you ever wanted from a trip out of town. The bonus of going on an overnight trip of course is the opportunity to see the island's nightlife which includes kiwi, tuatara and morepork, and of course rouse yourself horrifically early for a dawn chorus. The bunkhouse itself is an excellent facility. Dorm-style rooms with complete kitchen, bathroom and dining areas. The island runs on tank water so be prepared for short showers (but with hot water!) and other water conservation practices. You're responsible for cleaning up and taking any rubbish with you when you leave. Also, the island is predator-free so be prepared to undergo a complete biosecurity checklist before heading to the island. This might mean vacuuming out your pack or picking seeds out of your socks but it is most definitely worth it.