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This city on Hawke’s Bay has a lot going for it so naturally there are quite a few hostels in Napier to house the many budget travelers who come through the area. It’s one of the Twin Cities on Hawke’s Bay, but there are far more hostels in Napier than there are in its brother of Hastings. Hotels in the area range from upper budget up to luxury, but the Napier hostels are quite cheap by comparison so they make it very easy on the traveler who wants to see the famous Art Deco city without spending a fortune on a place to sleep.

The center of Napier is famous as one of the two most prominent examples of Art Deco architecture in the world, alongside the more-famous Miami, Florida. So even though this is a wonderful beach community the center of town is one of the big attractions. Fortunately all the hostels in Napier are within a short walk of the main Art Deco district so you can’t really make a bad choice here.

By the way, in case you aren’t from this part of the world you should know that in Australia and New Zealand hostels are called “backpackers” instead, even though they are the exact same thing. You almost always have cheap dorm beds, self-catering kitchens, lounge areas, game rooms, TV rooms, and in this area the backpackers almost all have private rooms as well. In fact, all the Napier hostels have private rooms for only a bit more than the dorm beds.

And even though the name backpackers makes it sound like these places are only directed at student travelers and hippies, in fact the hostels in New Zealand in particular are very welcoming of everyone. Age limits and curfews are almost completely things of the past now, and many older travelers have discovered that staying in hostels is a great way to stretch their travel budget, and also a great way to meet fellow travelers.

Since most visitors to New Zealand tend to fly into Auckland or Christchurch and then spend most of their time traveling around the countryside, staying at the Napier hostels, for example, is a great way to hear stories from people who have just come from the direction you are headed. You’ll hear about many great things to see and also places to avoid if you spend a bit of time in the lounge areas at the hostels in this country.

The Waterfront Lodge & Backpackers is usually the highest rated hostel in Napier. They get very high marks for their facilities, and their location right on Hawke’s Bay certainly doesn’t hurt either. Their dorm beds start around $US19 per night, but they’ve also got private single, double, and twin rooms for very reasonable prices for this resort area.

Archie’s Bunker Backpackers has not only a clever name, but also a great location near the city center. They’ve got all the usual hostel features as well as internet and a pool table. Beds in their 6-bunk dorms start around $US17, and their private rooms are only a bit more expensive.

Hostels in Napier