Whangarei Accommodation

Greetings from Whangarei Northland, its August 2015. I’m in the car with Vanessa from Germany and Thea from the US, two ladies from the hostel.

Last night we stayed just outside Whangarei, accommodation was easy to find. We stayed in YHA Whangarei Falls, a traditional Kiwi backpacker style hostel.

The hostel itself is very dated, so dated, I found cassette tapes in the lounge area! But we were surprised to find how clean it was, and cheap. I paid just $24.30 for the night with my YHA card, which is pretty good for Whangarei accommodation.

It’s laid out in a way that each area is a separate building, which was a bit cold to walk between since it’s winter, and would probably be much nicer in the summer.

The beds were really comfy and the water was really hot! It’s a cozy place that makes you feel right at home, wherever that may be.

Whangarei is Northlands only big cities, but it’s quiet with not a whole lot going on. There’s a rugby club with a big stadium I was going to check out, but didn’t get the chance.

A highlight of Whangarei are the Abbey Caves. Usually the water only reaches your lower legs but since there was a lot of rain, Vanessa had to walk in neck high water (in a wetsuit) to see the caves. Good thing I didn’t go with my camera! The caves are really cool to see, full of native New Zealand glow worms.

The waterfall two minutes behind the hostel is also extremely beautiful, and you can walk there in flip-flops, like I did, preferably would be better not to in the frost.

Thea came to do some diving at Poor Nights Islands, which our Whangarei accommodation helped her out with. The marine reserve is one of the most revered reserves in the world, the dive is a bit pricey at $300, but she said it was beautiful and definitely worth it. Snorkeling is an option too at a significantly lower price.

Looking for Whangarei accommodation? YHA Whangarei family run backpackers hostel is your place.

YHA Whangarei Falls