Having just spent the week prior to our arrival hiking in the Drakensberg, Durban Backpackers On the Beach turned out to be exactly the relaxing haven we desired. And although dreams of sunning on the beach and surfing under the sun were all but dashed due to miserable weather we eagerly replaced them with hours under the comfortable blankets.
Soon after checking in and hooking up the Wifi (which was thankfully offered at very reasonable rates) the sound of the waves breaking less than 50m away lulled us into a long afternoon nap.
Situated in Durban North, the guesthouse / backpackers is ideally located, right between the City Centre and Umhlanga, which meant that over the next two days we never had to drive for more than 15 minutes. Shopping lovers will appreciate the close proximity to the Gateway Theatre of Shopping mall and beach lovers have their pick of the coast.
The next morning we awoke to a wonderfully decked out continental breakfast buffet where scrumptious muffins, mueslis and fruit salads were laid out for us to enjoy. Another thoughtful touch I enjoyed was the constant availability of coffee and rusks and they went down extremely well in the cold and wet weather.
Next on the agenda was Stand-Up Paddle Boarding (SUP’ing) in the canals near Point, a 15 minute drive away. After Justin Bing from Xpression On The Beach had shown us the ropes we spent the next hour having loads of fun paddling the oversized boards down the canals around uShaka Marine World.
The trendy Florida Road, and more specifically the famous Bunny-Chows (a half a loaf of bread hollowed out and filled with Durban-made curry), was in our sights next and we headed towards the House-of-Curry’s for a lunch I’ll never forget. That evening we wrapped up our time in Durb’s with dinner at Gateway Theatre of Shopping to see what all the fuss was about & found that it’s really just a big mall.
All in all we really enjoyed our time at Durban Backpackers. In summary I would say that it’s definitely more of a guest-house but with backpacker undertones – or at least it felt that way when we visited. Everything worked, everything was clean & the shower was to die for, albeit it a bit small.
Bests: Shower / Rusks / Beds / Location
Worsts: Lack of Community – it lacked a “vibe”
