Port Alberni Hostels | BACKPACKER HOSTEL

Cheap Hostels in Port Alberni

Fat Salmon Backpackers – Port Alberni

Fat Salmon Backpackers in Port Alberni is a funky retro hostel in the small(ish) town of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. The hostel is family owned – the owner lives below the actual hostel. He is also a builder who built and designed most of the rooms which gives the hostel a very unique and fun feel to it. The actual building is bright yellow and cannot be missed. There is also a good and cheap Chinese restaurant next door.

The hostel is definitely a party hostel, so if you are looking for a quite place, this is not the place for you. This is the place to be if you are looking to meet new people or looking to find a few drinking buddies.

The hostel only offers dorm rooms. There is either a large 10 bed dorm, or a “couple’s” dorm which has 2 bunkbeds in it (2 couples in 1 room). All bathrooms are shared. There is a communal kitchen and dining area, some seating outside and in the front reception area. Hostel staff is happy to help with any tourist information or information about onwards travel.

There is free tea and coffee, however they had run out of coffee during our stay. There is also a ‘free box’, where other travellers have left various things – including free camping gear from travellers that had hiked the West Coast Trail.

We could not connect to any WiFi – the reason given was not too clear. Not sure whether the internet was not working during our stay or whether they didn’t provide free WiFi at all.

The hostel is about a 25 minute walk from the bus stop and only a 5 minute walk to the port from where you can catch a ferry down the inlet to the coast.