| Will yours be a happy Valentine's Day or will you be | | | | Hugely popular with singles, they are easily reached |
| lonely and looking for a partner? Many singles, | | | | by public transport. To visit Cottesloe, take a bus |
| particularly those in the iGeneration and backpacker | | | | from the bus port at the river end of William St. |
| age group, visit Australia during the freezing Northern | | | | Scarborough is accessed by train from Perth |
| Hemisphere winter to escape the cold and enjoy the | | | | Underground. Alight at Glendalough, then a bus to the |
| warmth, beaches and sunshine of Australia. | | | | beach. |
| In fact, during the summer, Australia is a backpackers | | | | Brisbane. |
| and singles paradise. But where do you go to meet | | | | There are no beaches near the city. Take the train |
| partners and even find love? I put this question to | | | | from the Central Station to the Gold Coast and |
| many backpackers and singles during my travels | | | | Surfers Paradise. |
| around Australia. Here are their 3 top choices for | | | | Adelaide. |
| places to meet people in comfort and safety. | | | | The most popular beach is Glenelg. It is similar to St |
| 1. Best accommodation. Youth Hostels and clean | | | | Kilda and can be reached by tram from North |
| backpacker hostels. | | | | Terrace. |
| This was the overwhelming choice. They are great | | | | 3. Attend sporting events. |
| places to meet people, have organised social events, | | | | Aussies love their sport and they flock in their |
| budget meals, organised trips to sporting events and | | | | thousands to football and cricket matches. Here are |
| best of all, safe, secure and clean places to sleep. | | | | the best venues to meet people. |
| Sydney. | | | | Sydney. |
| Some of the best hostels are conveniently located | | | | Sydney Cricket Ground and ANZ stadium (Olympic |
| close to Sydney Central station. This includes 2 | | | | Stadium) are the popular venues for cricket in |
| excellent YHA hostels. A new YHA hostel close to | | | | summer and football (Aussie Rules and Rugby) in the |
| Circular Quay opened recently. Another new hostel, | | | | winter. A number of hostels in Sydney organise group |
| "Wake Up" in Pitt St is claimed to be the best large | | | | visits to sporting events at these venues. |
| hostel in the world. I was very impressed with the | | | | Melbourne. |
| high standards of accommodation and facilities. | | | | The best venues are the Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Melbourne. | | | | and Telstra Dome. The MCG is Australia's top |
| As for Sydney, YHA accommodation is clean, secure | | | | sporting venue and is used for cricket in the summer |
| and convenient. Check out a place called "Urban | | | | and Aussie Rules football in the winter. Both are |
| Central" at Southbank. It is very popular and the | | | | within easy walking distance of the CBD. |
| location is superb. I have stayed there and can highly | | | | Adelaide. |
| recommend it. | | | | The Adelaide Oval is used for cricket and Aussie |
| Perth. | | | | Rules football is played at AAMI Football Park. |
| Perth Central YHA, close to the train station in | | | | Adelaide Oval is within walking distance of the CBD. |
| Wellington St, provides top quality accommodation at | | | | Perth. |
| a reasonable price. Try also the Northbridge area for | | | | The WACA ground is the main cricket venue and |
| good accommodation at a budget price. | | | | Subiaco Oval is the venue for Aussie Rules football. |
| 2. Best beaches. | | | | Both are some distance from the CBD and public |
| All singles and backpackers travelling around Australia, | | | | transport will be required. |
| love the beaches. They are also great places to | | | | Brisbane. |
| meet people. Here are some of the best. | | | | The Brisbane Cricket Ground is used for cricket, |
| Sydney. | | | | Aussie Rules Football and Rugby. It is within walking |
| Bondi is the number one choice, not only for the | | | | distance of the heart of the city. |
| swimming, but the social life, restaurants, | | | | Finally, places to avoid. |
| accommodation and nightlife. Take the bus from the | | | | The nightclub and pub scene. Some people love these |
| eastern end of circular Quay. Manly is the other | | | | places as venues to meet people. Others are more |
| popular choice and you can reach it by ferry from | | | | cautious. Girls in particular need to be careful. |
| Circular Quay. | | | | Unwanted attention from drunken "yobbos" and |
| Melbourne. | | | | outrageous bar prices, are their 2 biggest grumbles. |
| The 3 most popular are St Kilda, Bells Beach and | | | | It is worth noting that Urban Central in Melbourne and |
| Torquay. St Kilda is close to the city and like Manly | | | | Wake Up in Sydney have their own bar facilities with |
| and Bondi, has a vibrant nightlife. Take the tram from | | | | drinks and top quality meals at reasonable prices. |
| The Princes St Bridge. | | | | Many of the nightclubs are in areas of cities |
| The other 2 are popular surf beaches, some distance | | | | considered to be unsafe and girls should not enter |
| from the city. Take a bus from the terminal at | | | | these areas alone, particularly in the early hours of |
| Spencer St Station. | | | | the morning. The Kings Cross area of Sydney and |
| Perth. | | | | Northbridge area of Perth are 2 places considered by |
| Cottesloe and Scarborough are the 2 most popular. | | | | singles to be unsafe late at night. |