Aquarius Backpackers Surfers Paradise: Becoming Part of a Family

We all sat in the beer garden of Aquarius Backpackers, as a young student from New Caledonia began softly strumming her guitar.

After several words of encouragement, she began to softly sing songs from her homeland and others, in a beautiful, sweet voice. The group of us nodded our heads, clapped and praised her.

She had helped to create a relaxed and happy mood which helped our group of  strangers to slowly form a travel bond and learn about each others lives –  so easily done over beers and music.

Jo, the manager of the backpackers, began to tell us the young girl’s story, how she is a student currently studying nearby in Surfers Paradise and staying with her at the backpackers.

Jo knew the stories behind almost every one of her guests. Where they came from, where they were going, and how she could help them get there.

These young people turn to Jo for advice, not just about upcoming trips or how to make the most of their stay on the Gold Coast, but how they can improve their lives and move forward to the attainment of their dreams.

Front Desk

Jo is a strong supportive mother figure and friend within Aquarius Backpackers and she has turned what could have been a normal every day hostel stay into a comfortable welcoming family environment.

An environment that most traveller’s miss on their journey and crave for; a place where family are there to help encourage and support them.

My stay at Aquarius reminded me just why I love staying at hostels.  Staying at a backpackers is an experience and we travel for experiences.

We have had so many stays at hostels around the world that have been so memorable and a place we talk often about and recommend highly to others, not for the bedbug free rooms, or the clean kitchens, or latest flashpacking gadgets, but for the laughter and joy that existed while we were there.

Computer area

For the nights spent sitting around a table listening to traveller’s strum their guitars and sing songs from their home countries. For the evenings spent lazing around on beanbags in bars, chatting and eventually leading to the playing of the drinking game that is popular in France, or Germany or Indonesia.

It is the learning about the stories of the travellers that you cross paths with on the way to the shower or as you cut carrots in the kitchen for your $2 budget dinner, and the subsequent travel friendships that you form.

Aquarius Backpackers in Surfers Paradise has all the elements of a backpacker’s hostel that I love.

It was clean and tidy and the rooms were comfortable, as were the showers and common rooms. The kitchen was functional and I never spied any dirty dishes in the sink. I attribute this to Jo’s philosophy of making the backpackers more like a family than an institution.

I think people are more willing to pull their weight if they know, trust and like the people who are running it and if it feels like a temporary home.

Kitchen

Kitchen

The common room was comfortable with big lounges you knew you would find yourself laying down on, watching movies on a lazy hungover backpacking day.

The outside bar area was done up like a outback bush bar and was where strangers often came to sit and become friends. I really liked the video making TV gadget on the wall, where you could film yourself giving a quick message from the bar and then updating that onto your facebook.

I could only imagine some of the video messages that could come from that after happy hour.

Lounge area

Bar area

Jo also helps to run and organize the unique Backpackers Big Night Out. A twice weekly event where for $30 you go on a guided bar crawl in Surfers Paradise with lots of other backpackers.

The price gives you entry into 4 clubs, including 4 standard drinks, transport for the night, and party chaperones whose role I think is to make sure you have as much fun as possible.

On the evening we stayed at Aquarius, Jo joined us at the Q1 deck for views and cocktails and for dinner afterward. She went out of her way to take us on a little tour of Surfers from the window of the 75th floor of the building, sharing all she knew about the area.

She always went out of her way to make sure you were having a good time and that you loved the Gold Coast as much as her.

Gold Coast locals are so passionate about their region, and they want you to feel the same way. And then at dinner she shared many stories with us about her life and her family.

I appreciated her warmth and friendliness and I left feeling as if we were friends and I always had someone I could talk and share ideas with if I could.

Private room

Pool area

And this is what makes Aquarius so special. Besides having all you need in a backpackers and having a great location close to everything in Surfers, it’s a place where you can create a memory.

And we all know this is why we travel, and why most other people would too. It is easy to create the memories when you are out on the road climbing mountains, or staying in mud huts with minority groups, but it is much harder to do so at places where you lay your head at night.

I always remember places I stayed not so much by the amenities, but by the atmosphere and the people who became part of my story while staying there.

At Aquarius Backpackers you are not just another head on the bead, you are a member of a family.

Aquarius Backpackers, The Facts:

Where: 44 Queen Street, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia 4215 Southport near Surfers Paradise
Rooms: 4 bed female dorm, 4 bed and 6 bed mixed dorm, Private/twin rooms
Cost: Starting at $25 for dorm and $75 for a private room. Aquarius offer 2 night package deals that include  passes to various adventure activities
Perks: Free wifi, free shuttle in and out of Surfers (a huge bonus), free entry into nightclubs, free pickup,  games room , pool table, swimming pool. Can walk to beach and nearby shops.

Website: Visit here.

What have been some of your memorable backpacker hostel stays?…

Disclaimer: Our stay at Aquarius was part of our hosted Gold Coast 3 day tour with Tourism Queensland and Gold Coast Tourism