Explorer Backpackers

Super cool hostel, comfortable, great price, and wonderful staff. I also got to meet great travelers!

This is a fabulous Backpackers one that SA can be very proud of from staff, facilities and cleanliness it's an excellent home from home.

Rooms are a bit hot during the day but the fans work well at night

Great! Felt a safe area with some good restaurants (an italian place pretty much next door that was open 24.7 and had a good breakfast menu), good place with a chill out living room and kitchen, and nice staff. Bedrooms were relatively spacious and comfortable, as were the toilets and showers, which there seemed a lot of them. Kitchen was spacious and there was drinking water and a fridge etc. Would recommend staying here if on a budget the main problems with this place when i stayed was that at times, the water and the WIFI seemed to be turned off, and the front gate wasnt opening very well (so had to be manually done), which was annoying. but there was always a staff member there helping. and the other issue was that there was no Air conditioning, which meant that the fan in the room was both noisy and in the way, AC would be a good investment! didnt seem to be too much to do though, felt like there were longer term guests there and wasnt super social

Very nice staff, friendly guests, great location. A temporary power loss but that was corrected: can't blame the staff.

Great staff, the place was comfortable, people were nice and there was an amazing braai night event

Safe, walkable location with lots of restaurants nearby and a mall not too far off. Big common area to chill and meet people. Staff are great. Even organized a bbq one evening. Clean and has lockers for valuables. The mixed dorm is a bit tight on space but very ok.

Clean and good neighborhood

Safe location, friendly staff No group activities or tours to Cradle of Humankind.

Stayed here twice. Great location. Johannesburg has a bad rep when it comes to safety, and this hostel is located in one of the relatively safe areas in the city. There are a number of restaurants and bars around as well as a convenience store. Bed was real comfy and each dorm bed had its own electrical outlets. Wifi worked great. The staff were incredibly helpful and nice. Made me feel welcome. Great vibe. There’s a good mix of travelers and long termers and there’s a sense of community. At least in our dorm room, the doors and lockers were incredibly creaky/ squeaky. Not a big deal, but you’d definitely wake up everyone in the room if you’d open the door in the wee hours of the morning. May need to oil up those hinges a bit hah.

I recently stayed at this hostel and had a genuinely mixed experience. On the positive side, the facilities are impressive. The building is spacious, with plenty of bathrooms on each floor—something you really come to appreciate in a hostel setting. The bathrooms were kept clean throughout my stay, and the beds themselves were also fresh and comfortable, which initially gave me a great impression. Unfortunately, the good facilities were seriously overshadowed by how poorly the dormitory rules are enforced. Despite clear house rules about no food in the dorms, people were constantly eating inside very late at night—I’m talking past midnight—bringing in strong and often very unpleasant smells. This created a deeply uncomfortable sleeping environment. One night, I woke up to the overpowering odor of curry food being eaten just above my bed. It wasn’t a one-off incident either—it happened multiple nights. Even after I switched dorms in hopes of finding a more respectful group of roommates, the issue persisted. Sleep became a struggle, and rest—something that should be a given in a place like this—was nearly impossible. Another major downside is that a significant number of guests appear to be long-term or permanent residents. Many of them have cluttered up the shared space with their belongings, and in several cases, hygiene was not a strong suit. This permanent-resident dynamic changes the atmosphere entirely and detracts from the sense of community and openness that you usually expect in a hostel. It felt more like invading someone else’s messy room than sharing a temporary space with fellow travelers. It’s a shame, because with better staff oversight and enforcement of basic rules, this place could be exceptional. As it stands, I can’t recommend it to anyone looking for a peaceful and traveler-friendly stay.

Super nice common area, quite well equipped kitchen. The bathrooms were reasonably comfortable. The room felt quite hot, an extra fan would be great.

The hostel felt like home! It was very clean and there was lots of space. The staff were very friendly, especially Thabang.

Exceptional

Superb

I loved the location mostly about this property - very safe with plenty of cool restaurants and bars max 10 mins on foot

Great hostel with all the necessary facilities, located in a quiet and safe neighborhood. A bit far from the supermarkets. 30 min walking.

Passable

Very good

Very clean, friendly staff, strong WiFi. Great neighborhood, safe.