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Railway Square YHA: Sydney Hostel Review

If you’re looking for a hostel in Sydney, Railway Square YHA is an awesome Sydney backpackers to consider.

We’ve stayed at a few YHA’s in Sydney including; Sydney Harbour YHA, Sydney Central YHA and now Railway Square YHA. We’re here to tell you all about the YHA Railway Square and why it’s a great hostel for backpackers in Sydney.


1. YHA Sydney Railway Square is located at Central Station

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One of the awesome things about staying at this Sydney accommodation is because of the location. Did you know this Sydney backpackers hostel is actually located at Central Station aka Sydney’s main railway station?

This means you’ll easily be able to get anywhere from here. Want to go up north to Newcastle? Easy. Blue Mountains? Easy. Bondi? Easy. The list goes on and on.


Watch Our Sydney Harbour YHA Video


2. You can stay in an actual train carriage at Railway Square YHA

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There’s a bit of a theme going on at Railway Square YHA because you can actually stay in a train carriage. Admittedly I didn’t get to see inside but they looked super cool.

The train carriages are located outside on the train tracks and are dormitories. I doubt you’ll find another hostel in Sydney where you can stay in a train carriage! FYI – there are dorms inside the hostel as well 🙂


3. The double rooms have ensuite & Dyson hairdryers!

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We stayed in a double room at YHA Railway Square and whilst there aren’t many to choose from, they do have ensuite options. After staying in other YHA’s in Sydney, we can confirm they YHA Railway Square have the best en-suites. Make sure you book your double in advance from HERE as they do book up fast.

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Also, I couldn’t believe how our double room came with a Dyson hairdryer. I mean, this is a $500+ premium hairdryer in a backpackers hostel in Sydney!

You know, usually if there is a hairdryer in a hotel, it’s never that good, yet here we are in a backpackers with one of the best hairdryers in the world! I hadn’t ever had the chance to use one before so this was my first time experiencing the Dyson! Now I’ve used it, I’m hooked! I even found it half price HERE!


4. Park your car for $38 a day

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When we stayed at Railway Square YHA, we had just come from our road trip to Canberra, meaning we had our car with us.

Parking in Sydney in the week is a nightmare because it’s so expensive everywhere. You’re looking at usually at least $20 an hour. But, when we booked into Railway Square, we asked the Adina Hotel next door if we could use one of their parking spots because we were staying next door, they gave it us for just $38 a day. We were then able to come and go in our car as much as we liked throughout the next 24 hours. To me, this is gold dust.

Just make sure you check with Adina first because their parking spots are given to their guests so if they aren’t busy they seem to be happy to offer them out to the YHA guests.


5. It’s got a good backpacker vibe

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We found Railway Square YHA to have the best backpacker vibe out of the three YHA’s we’ve stayed at in Sydney. Because the hostel is small, it’s easy enough to meet lots of other people for anyone doing the solo travel around Australia.


6. There’s loads of activities going on

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When we stayed at YHA Railway Square we noticed how there were loads of activities going on.

They have a speaker you can hear throughout the hostel where staff encourage their guests to take part in their free activities.

When we stayed, they had a trivia night on and it was packed full of people playing along, trying to answer Australia related questions (we couldn’t actually answer all of them!).


7.  There’s still a mixture of people staying at Railways Square YHA

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Although it definitely felt like there is more of a backpacker vibe going on a Railway Square YHA, there’s still a variety of people staying there.

I overheard a group of Aussie guys in the kitchen (they looked around 20 years old).

I saw older couples there and I met an old American guy (above) who told me all about how he’s looking to move over to Sydney as he’s been coming over to visit for years – he even remembers when the Sydney Harbour Bridge was being built!

Watch Our Sydney Central YHA Video


8. There’s a cheap cafe on site

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If you’re looking for cheap food options, there’s a cafe on site as well. This is the cheapest cafe we saw out of all of the three YHA’s in Sydney. They also serve up a full breakfast for just $7. You won’t find anywhere else in the area serving food this cheap.


9. It’s close to Spice Alley

If you’re looking to venture out near Central Station in Sydney and not sure where to eat, then pop over to Spice Alley which is about a 7 minute walk from there. Here you’ll find one of the local gems where you can get some of the best Asian food in Sydney. Dishes are cheap, costing no more than around $13 and portions are massive.

Looking for a food tour around Sydney? Check out these tours below!


10. How is Railway Square YHA different to the other Sydney YHAs?

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If you’re wondering which YHA to stay at in Sydney, here’s our lowdown on why Railway Square YHA would be perfect for you.

  • Stay here if you want to be close to transport
  • Stay here if you want to meet other backpackers
  • Stay here if you want to stay somewhere cheaper – we found Railway Square YHA slightly cheaper when you factor in the costs of the rooms and cafe as well.

How much does it cost to stay at Railway Square YHA?

Looking to stay at Railway Square YHA?

4 bed dorm: from $38 per night

8 bed dorm: from $32 per night

Double / Twin: from $112 per night

Double / Twin with ensuite: from $123 per night

Book your stay at Railway Square YHA here >

Read what other travellers have to say about Railway Square YHA at TripAdvisor here >


Our stay at Railway Square YHA was kindly hosted by YHA Australia. All content on this post is our own and as you already know, we love YHA Australia and would stay with them regardless. 


Don’t Forget To Watch Our Video At Sydney Harbour YHA

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