By Mick Gallagher, Adelaide accommodation beat.

Raglans Backpackers sits at 92 Franklin Street in the Adelaide CBD — close enough to the Central Bus Station that you can roll your pack across the street, far enough off Hindley Street that it’s not the loudest spot in the city after midnight. It’s been operating in some form for two decades, has had a couple of brand reshuffles, and as of 2026 is back trading as Raglans under independent management with a phone on the desk and 24-hour reception.

It is what it sounds like — a city backpackers. The plumbing creaks, the carpet has seen a million suitcase wheels, and the kitchen will have someone using your saucepan if you don’t label it. But the location is genuinely excellent, the staff are responsive, and the price point ($35–$45 a dorm bed on the rates we’ve seen in 2026) makes it a sensible base for anyone arriving in Adelaide on a budget.

Who it actually suits

  • Long-distance bus arrivals — Greyhound and Firefly both terminate across the road; you can be checked in within 10 minutes of stepping off the coach
  • Festival / Fringe budget travellers — the Adelaide Fringe in February-March pushes hotel rates up sharply; hostels stay flat
  • Backpackers stopping over en route to the Murray, Kangaroo Island ferry, or the Stuart Highway leg to Alice/Uluru
  • Working-holiday makers looking for cheap first-week accommodation while they orient and job-hunt

What you get

The mix of rooms runs through 4-bed, 6-bed and 8-bed dorms (mixed and female-only), plus twins and doubles for privacy. All have shared bathrooms on the same floor. The common kitchen is communal and reasonably equipped; bring a padlock for the food shelves.

Amenities: free wifi, free linen, 24-hour reception, an outdoor courtyard, common-room TV, and the usual hostel job-board listing local cafe and farm-work opportunities.

Why Adelaide for a hostel-based trip

Adelaide’s a backpackers’ underrated city. Compact (everything in the CBD is walking distance), genuinely good food (the Central Market is 6 minutes south on foot), and a strong cluster of cheap-to-free things to do — the Art Gallery, the SA Museum and the State Library are all free entry. Day trips out: Adelaide Hills (30 minutes by train), Kangaroo Island (ferry from Cape Jervis), Barossa Valley (45 minutes north).

Practical details

  • Address: 92 Franklin Street, Adelaide SA 5000
  • Phone: 08 8231 4703
  • Reception: 24 hours
  • Across from: Adelaide Central Bus Station (Greyhound, Firefly, Premier Stateliner)
  • Distance to: Rundle Mall 4 min walk; Central Market 6 min; Adelaide Railway Station 8 min

For a sense of the broader hostel landscape in town, Hostelworld’s Adelaide CBD pages give live ratings, and South Australia Tourism has the city accommodation index.

For things to do see our Adelaide destination guide, our Barossa Valley day-trip writeup, or the SA destination index.