The Backpack & Africa Travel Centre, Cape Town: Accommodation Review
The Backpack & Africa Travel Centre
74 New Church Street
Cape Town | Map
Accommodation type: Backpackers/Hostel
Number of stars: 4
Rooms starting from (per person sharing): R100
SA Blog recommends? Enthusiastically!
Snippet
The pool is huge, the food is good, the activities are many, the location is central and The Backpack is popular – not to mention Fair Trade-certified and a major Baz Bus port o’ call – so book ahead!
(See full review below.)
Low season specials? Yes
Breakfast included? No
Dedicated non-smoking rooms? Yes
Staff friendliness (out of 10): 9
Staff competence (out of 10): 9
Room options: Single, Double, Suite, Dormitory
Room comfort level (out of 10): 7
Noisy? A Little
Does the TV remote work? Not reviewed
Fan or A/C? Fan
Pool? Yes
Concierge? N/A
Restaurant? Yes
Conference facilities? N/A
Three ink blot adjectives: Fair Trade (of course!), Convenient, Relaxing
Value for money? Yes
Booking information
The Backpack
74 New Church
Cape Town 8001
Tel: +27 (0) 21 423 4530, Fax: +27 (0) 21 423 0065
Review
The Backpack is a luxury backpackers of note in Cape Town, straddling the line between hostel and hotel with its dignity intact. In a superb location right on the fringe of the city centre, it’s Impossible to miss as you crest the hill where Buitengracht Street turns into New Church. Its size is also impossible to guess from the outside: offering quite a range of accommodation, the place sleeps almost eighty.
Options include normal dormitory beds, deluxe dorms (4 to a room), and single and double rooms – some en suite. Prices begin at R90 per person. All rooms are non-smoking; the en suite doubles are a favorite with families.
The Backpack is a Fair Trade-certified destination – meaning that by staying there you encourage socially responsible tourism – and is also Cape Town’s original Travel Center for Africa – meaning that you can use it as your launch pad into the rest of Africa.
The pool is huge, the food is good, the activities are many, the staff are friendly, the location is central and The Backpack is popular – as well as a major Baz Bus port o’ call – so book ahead!