Hostels in Victoria

Victoria is the state in the southeast corner of mainland Australia. The major city is Melbourne and it is one of the hippest cities in all of Australia, renowned for its culture and nightlife. You'll find ample hostels in all pockets of Melbourne to stay in and you can explore different areas of Victoria state from here.

The most popular region of Victoria is the Great Ocean Road and for good reason. The stretch of road between Torquay and Warrnambool is home to one of the most spectacular coastal drive's in Australia. Making your way from Torquay, you can stop in at the towns of Anglesea, Airey's Inlet and Lorne for a snack or even want to stay in a hostel here and get an early morning start for some of those spectacular views. Lorne is home to the popular Falls Festival, a three day music festival to ring in the new year. Other options for food and hostels is Apollo Bay which is a popular destination for those who wish to drive the road in two days.

It's worth a side trip down into the Cape Otway National Park. Down here you can see koalas hanging out in trees along the side of the road. They're really quite spectacular to behold in the wild and here is one of the few places left in the country where you can do that.

Continuing along towards Port Campbell, the sheer cliffs start getting larger and the famous limestone formations known as the Twelve Apostles start appearing. They're the most popular sight to see along the road and you'll want to spend some time here to get amazing photos. Towards Warnambool, stop to see the Loch Ard Gorge and the Island Arch to round it out.

The Grampians National Park is another area that is stunning. There are hostels in the closest town of Halls Gap. There are ample hikes here, the most popular being the pinnacle but you can find more information about these in the Information Centre or in your hostel.

Heading east of Melbourne is the Gippsland region. Definitely stop at Phillip Island and check out the Koala Sanctuary, The wildlife park here is spectacular and a must do for anyone in this area. You can feed the kangaroos and emus in a free range area and find most of the animals native to Australia within the zoo. The most popular of activities here is the Penguin Parade where you can sit on the beach at sunset and watch a thousand little penguins run up the beach and back into their burrows. The Visitors Centre on the way in can sell you tickets for this and give you maps and other information about things to do here. Hostels are scattered across the island and are very popular in high season so make sure you book in advance.

Keep continuing east you'll find the popular Wilson's Promontory. A stunning national park, this area has very different flora and fauna to the rest of mainland Australia, more similar to Tasmania and New Zealand. There are some amazing beaches and hikes to do within the area.

There are so many different things to see and do in Victoria it can take a good couple of weeks to get around it. The best way to do it of course is in a car but you can also organize day trips to places through the many travel agencies and companies that operate tours out of Melbourne. Your hostels reception can help you with this. Expect to pay approximately thirty Australian dollars a night.

Handwritten by local expert for Victoria hostels Globetrotter