25 Nov, 2009

Flashpacking – it sounds like a sordid group ritual of public nudity, or a marathon night of classic ’80s dance films. You’ll be glad to know it’s neither. Flashpacking is more to do with being a comfort-conscious budget traveller than a maniac on the dance floor, and, with the recent proliferation of upmarket hostels to meet this demand, flashpackers are loving it.

So what exactly is a flashpacker? Well, they’re a traveller who likes a bit of comfort and good facilities for eating, sleeping and Twittering; who’s not willing, or able, to completely blow the budget on the finer things in life, but who’s equally less willing to live on two-minute noodles in a dark, damp, lice-infested hell-hole.

How is this different from a backpacker?

A backpacker is more likely to choose the cheapest hostels, trips and meals available, and less likely to be travelling with a rucksack full of technology. (Think laptops, iPods, and cameras.)

A backpacker is happier to pay fewer dollars to sleep in a strange-smelling hostel, or cut the mouldy bits off last week’s bread come breakfast time. The backpacker sees these sacrifices as a more authentic travel experience, and every dollar saved is a day longer they can spend on the open road.

A flashpacker, however, will happily put up the extra cash for a nice environment where they can cook up a delicious meal and sit in a comfortable common room uploading photos of the day’s adventures to Facebook.

What does a flashpacker hostel look like?

It’s usually a backpacker hostel that’s undergone a makeover. Actually, forget the makeover analogy, most establishments have undergone full-blown surgery. Ditch the days of dragging a 20kg pack up the back stairs of a dingy pub, stepping over a drunken man with private parts sketched in permanent marker on his face, as you enter a dark, stuffy overcrowded room.

A flashpacker’s hostel has as extravagant an entrance as any place, fast computers, and Wi-Fi throughout its sparkling-clean premises. There’s often a pool in the tropical areas, a spotless kitchen with facilities fit for a Jamie Oliver stop-by, an adjoining pub or restaurant, plus a communal area, all for less than 30 bucks a night. 

Nomads flashpacker’s in Melbourne (nomadshostels.com) offers a women’s- only princess wing, industry bar, lounge and cinema. Gilligan’s Backpackers Hotel and Resort in Cairns, Queensland, (gilligans.com.au) is another uber-cool flashpacker stop, as is the Northern Greenhouse (friendlygroup.com.au) just around the corner. This one has cute terrace apartments overlooking a pool and abutting a large wooden deck littered with cosy couches!

It sounds too good to be true. Seriously, what’s the catch?

The only thing flashpackers and traditional backpackers still have in common is enduring sleeping with a bunch of strangers all bundled into the same room. But, with flashpacking, you’re sharing a room with just four to six like-minded people, aged from 20 to 40, from all around the world.

With the economic crisis credit-crunching its way through holiday dreams, ladies hoping for a relaxing getaway would do well to sniff out what’s on offer in their own backyard. Flashpacking offers everyone a chance to cut footloose, and in style.