Federal Backpackers

Bundaberg

8 of 12

Address	221 Bourbong Street, Bundaberg Queensland, Australia Map
Price	6-8 bed dorm $143 p/w, 3-4 bed dorm $148 p/w, Doubles & Twins $150 p/w, also a refundable deposit of $30 applies to all guests

Location/Contact

Details

Online booking is not offered for this hostel, contact them for availability and reservations (any contact info we have is listed above).

Description

Features

Kitchen
Lounge / Common space
Food/Restaurant
TV
Book Collection/Exchange
Washing Machine (laundry)
Clothes Dryer
Travel information provided
24 Hour Free Hot Showers

Ratings & Comments

3.1 Average from 22 Ratings

This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.

Comment by Linzi, Belfast

October 2009

The best hostel/people i've ever met
Ended up staying in Federal for just over five months. Didnt think much of it at the start but it has def been my favourite experience in Australia. Staff are amazing, Belinda is mummy bear. They never see you stuck and did a lot for me, my sister, and my friends! Met the most amazing people that i hope are friends for life. Best hostel in Bundy, thats why all the other backpackers try to take over our beer garden, cause they dont have one of their own and if they do its sh*t cause there aint any of the federal crew around! Love it, when i'm passing through again i'll be sure to stay at federal.

Comment by stavros, spain

October 2009

Bedbug heaven
i've been traveling for a couple years and the hostel is a sh*thole, the worst ever. i got bitten to f*** with bedbugs they bruised and i have never seen anything like nor did the people staying there. we stayed for a month. the staff are rude and they are ruff as f***. beer garden is sh*t. i met some cool people there but they do not make the hostel. the whole set up is a joke, the mattress was a piece of foam (sperm soakers). bedbugs, the biggest cockroaches ever seen -- they will make the Thailand ones look like babies. rotten food all over the place. in general the whole place is a ran down sh*thole. let's hope the place gets shut down or bombed!

Comment by Monkfish

April 2009

The best time ever.
All in all, i spent about six and a half months living in that sh*t hole and i don't regret a minute of it. I think i am the only person i know who did my three months for my visa extension, left to travel australia only to return a year later for another three months completely voluntary. This is because it has a fantastic atmosphere. I had the time of my life there. It's complete escapism; there is just the farm work in the sunshine during the day and the beer garden during the night. After three months, you'll get to know the people here so well you'll feel like your leaving your home again. The place gets under your skin. As the old adage goes "you can check out, but you can never leave." Go to federal, stick it out for a few weeks until you settle in and have many, many happy and blurry memories drinking Passion Pop in the beer garden. Don't worry about the farm work -- if i can get through six and half months of it anyone can.

Comment by TOM THE POM, POM

November 2008

Awesome, best in oz
this place rocks. i stayed there for a very long time, about eight months in all. every time i was passing though that part of the coast i always stopped in. the staff were brilliant especially pom. the old fella was like a grumpy old grandad to me and a few mates of mine. he would always see you right. bloody legend. this place gets mixed reviews. often the bad ones are from short time stayers that dont get a real feel for the place. it has a better atmosphere than any hostel i ever stayed at. some of the best times of my life i had in that beer garden. make sure you stay here. get the feel of the place give it a week and you could stay a year!

Comment by Kirsty, England

September 2008

What a dump! It really is horrid
First of all when you arrive you will see the ogre of a woman that is on reception, after she has spent ten minutes on the phone on a personal call she will check you in and look at you like you just stole her daughter. Then you walk inside and oh my god, what a dump, the rooms are filthy, the walls and ceilings are filthy, and the bathroom is just terrible, I do not know how the authorities allow this place to open. The old bus driver is sleazy and there is a guy selling drugs from the top floor, never ever again will I find such a horrid place, I hope.

Comment by Jackie, England

April 2008

Great place, i didn't want to leave
I stayed here for three months and had a great time. there are no mice or cockroaches running throughout the place. But yeah, it is a bit old and the kitchen is not perfect, but it is a wonderful place to stay work and party, great people, and great staff.

Comment by Leo, Japanese

April 2008

Not so great
This was one of the worst hostels I've stayed in Oz. The bathroom window was missing its glass, the shower kept changing its temperature, the bathroom sink was broken. Some of the bathrooms had no lights, or no locks. I once had a shower with a cockroach next to me. There were some mice and cockroaches in my tiny room and once a mouse jumped out of my suitcase when I opened it. The kitchen and the fridge room are locked nightly at nine, and the cleaner, who is a racist and a sexist by the way, starts cleaning the kitchen at eight throwing stuff and mopping the floor together with your feet. Your food will be bitten away by mice and possums if you leave it in the kitchen or even in the fridge room unless it's covered and protected. I reckon that's the reason why the box of plates and cutlery they give you when you check-in is covered with cling film. Of course you meet people and make friends and have a good time there, and the place feels like your second home when you get used to it, but that happens anywhere you stay anyway.

Comment by Mike, brilliant

January 2007

ok, it's dirty, small kitchen and the place is old. but this is more than just a hostel, it's a way of life. if you're a snobby five-star backpacker that stays here for one or two nights then you shouldn't comment on it because you don't know what you're talking about. when you get to know everyone (and you will get to know everyone) you will become addicted to the place. they talk about the bundy trap, well i got caught in the federal trap, fancy dress nights in the beer garden are what i'll think of on my deathbed. TV room is so comfy, despite the fact that you will probably end up watching the matrix and kill bill about three times a week. the place got me eight weeks of steady work and brilliant fun. read the comments on the wall, they know what they're on about. enter the pool competition, you'll do better than you think. get smashed at beer garden happy hour. above all, stay here for a while because the memories will be like a crystal ornament in your mind.

Comment by Jen

January 2007

When i first got to Federal i wanted to leave straight away. its not the cleanest hostel in the world but the people you meet are amazing. I went for four weeks and stayed for eight then I went back for another eight weeks. I met some of my best friends there and they made my trip to oz. The work is hard but the people make it worth it, the beer garden helps too. thanks to everyone I met in bundy it was the best four months I had.

Comment by Louisa Mellon

January 2007

I made the best friends and had the best memories there about six and a half years ago. It made my trip. The people i worked with fruit picking got me through those jobs. The beer garden was indeed where we all gathered. Got pissed every night.

Comment by elie

August 2006

Thats right, when you get there it is really really dirty. and it is also expensive for what you get. kitchen facilities are rubbish. i found some member of the staff really unfriendly and annoying. the thing they will always tell you when you are there is -- do this or you lose your key deposit. my opinion about this hostel is they love your money. they will charge you for anything -- for example, being late to pay the rent will cost you $20. you will be overcharged for alcohol you buy from the bottleshop because you will drink in the beer garden as it is forbidden inside the crappy building. on the other hand i met many nice people but the hostel is not responsible for that. the rate i'm giving does not correspond to the fun i had or the people i've met but to the facilities and the staff.

Comment by Carole Ann

July 2006

The hostel was not the best i stayed in in Oz, but the atmosphere was fab and the people I met I'll keep in touch with for the rest of my life!! The beer garden was the place to be -- to meet, moan, drink, and generally have a laugh with the many people from all over the world after a hard day fruitpicking! One of my best memories of oz for meeting great people. The staff were cool too.

Comment by Anon.

October 2005

What can I say? This had to be the biggest sh*thole i have ever stayed in. It makes hell look like a godsend. The rooms were crap and the staff were rude. One night in this place and you will be wishing you were home. If you want a decent place to stay, avoid this place at all costs.

Comment by Lisa

September 2005

I was there a few weeks ago. It ruined my trip. It was dirty, dingy and disgusting, not a place for the faint-hearted. There are better ones around. There is no pool, and no Internet cafe on site.

Comment by Colin Stefanyk

September 2005

I stayed here for 5 months. The place itself is not so great but the atmosphere is great. The people who work here are great and friendly. The beer garden is the place to meet people from all over the world. You come here to work and party. Be advised that it's an easy place to get trapped into. If you come here with open mind and the intent to make lots of friends this is the place to be. Don't work at Oscar's or pick any zucchinis. And take the building with grain of salt. Trust me; go here with open mind and you will have lots of fun. Thanks to all the people and friends I met and talked with here. Best time I had!!!

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