Kelsey's travel diary

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I’ve come to realization that nearly a month in Sydney is just way too long. I spent a week in Wake up central and 2.5 at Wake up Bondi. Now I’m sure all of you are asking “how in the world are you sick of being at the beach.” I asked myself this as well trust me. The weather has been more crap than good. When I am living on the beach I want to enjoy the beach weather, not rain. I would say that Bondi gets as busy as Panama sometimes. Which is not enjoyable honestly. The people in Bondi have been absolutely unreal, not the good way either. It’s sad honesty. Maybe it’s just the hostel life, maybe it’s just me, or maybe it’s even just the area. I’m not a fan. I’d definitely come back to visit just don’t think I live here. Maybe that’ll change after hostel life though.

They both do have pros and cons which I will share. Wake up central is basically in the middle of Sydney. Super city vibes. If you like city, I think you’d really like Sydney. Wake up Bondi is right on Bondi beach. They also have a wake up in Byron bay.

MY honest review of the hostels:

WAKE UP CENTRAL

*Didnt get any pictures of this hostel but you can look it up on their website*

• The bathrooms at this one were the best out of the two. Cleaner than the one in Bondi. They do clean bathrooms, your rooms & the halls daily at both which is nice.
• The rooms were bigger. They had a long counter along with a long mirror. At least in the rooms I stayed in.
• They have a bar at the bottom of the hostel called Side bar. I’d say half of the people I have met have said they loved it and the other half said they hate it. Can you guess which side I was on?
• Coffee shop attached to it
• Only a bus or tram ride away from downtown Sydney.
• Not a city gal so I didn’t enjoy it that much
• Close to good shopping malls!!
• Beds were very comfy for a hostel
• VERY small kitchen
• Laundry costs $10 AUD

WAKE UP BONDI

• More sociable than wake up central
• Steps away from the beach
• Great coffee places around
• Bondi – Coogee coastal walk was by far my favorite thing to do here
• Staff is friendly & parties with everyone
• AMAZING rooftop with the best view of Bondi beach
• The common area next to the roof was also very enjoyable to be in. They have a TV with Netflix. Just an overall good space for hanging out.
• They do clean the bathrooms daily but the people in the hostel were just gross when I was here. I’d personally hate to see what their houses look like.
• Steps away from the beach (Yes I said this twice for a reason)
• Better kitchen just was super busy at times.
• Laundry costs $10 AUD – people will stop the dryer and your clothes won’t dry all the way. So ya just have to keep an eye on it.
• 2.5 weeks was way too long to stay in one hostel. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if I was only at this one for a week.

I will say I liked the one on Bondi better just because I am more of a beach gal than city. These two hostels have events daily/nightly which helps you meet people. They post the schedule’s all over the hostel and it’s also on their website. It’s so crazy the amount of people I have met over the past 4 weeks. So many different walks of life it’s just wild to me. My 3 roomies made my stay at Bondi absolutely unforgettable though. I will miss them so much!! The boys called me grandma and Bex mom because we were the oldest ones & didn’t party much.

This is a list of the activities they have. They had different ones for Christmas and New years! Ya just have to put yourself out there to meet people. Solo travel is amazing. Wouldn’t change it for anything honestly.

Cannot wait to go to my next destination.

Xo