We have regularly used Ocean Backpackers for a residential fieldtrip since 2014. It is an excellent choice for group visits, particularly with the option for exclusive use.

Alex has made some great updates to the accommodation itself, with a brilliant communal area, small drying room, updated kitchen and bedroom facilities.

Jimmy and the team are welcoming, efficient and helpful.

The hostel itself is centrally located, providing a great point from which to explore Ilfracombe and further afield.

A recommended, well priced, comfortable place to stay.

We were as cricket club on tour in N Devon and stayed for one week at Ocean Backpackers. It’s ideal for groups, centrally located, near the port a pubs, easy parking right beside it and with a kitchen if needed. Rooms clean and quiet – would certainly recommend it.

We booked exclusive use of Ocean Backpackers for a group of 30 for our annual brass band tour, which this year was in sunny Ilfracombe.

Our group spans a range of ages and preferences, and the hostel offered flexible and comfortable accommodation that met everyone’s needs.

The communal areas and kitchen area are modern, well presented and well equipped. We had communal breakfast and lunches, and ate out in the evenings.
The hostel is conveniently located for bars and restaurants, as well as the beach and lovely coastal walks – which we enjoyed when we weren’t performing on the bandstand 5 mins walk away. We were also really touched that Alex and Jimmy came to watch us in concert.

With a friendly welcome and great vibes, Oceans is highly recommended!

Really lovely hostel. Super well stocked kitchen and bathroom freebies. Comfy bed made up on arrival. Receptionist v friendly and informative. Felt v safe. The lounge had loads of seating, games and books.
Oh and the drying room came in handy after a day’s walk in the rain!

Solo female – beautiful very clean and peaceful hostel. It also smells really good! Has a feel more like a Buddhist retreat because it’s all so calm. Lovely little room on top floor with shared bathroom just outside door which was also immaculate. The live in manager is very welcoming and goes above and beyond for guests. It’s really a little oasis in Ilfracombe. Don’t hesitate to stay if you a single female. You will feel really safe and I had some really interesting chats with the other guests. Think it tends to attract like minded people – surfers, divers etc. Makes a good base to travel to nearby Croyde and Saunton for surfing. I will be back soon!

Fantastic place for my first hostel experience. Super friendly staff, very clean, cozy, and updated spaces. Fantastic location, was able to walk out the door with a cup of tea and watch the sun set over the sea. Would 100% recommend Ocean Packers to all budget travelers.

I came with my family from Wednesday till Sunday. Really enjoyed the stay.
The environment was really relaxed, safe and comfortable.

We came with my 8 year old daughter and we enjoyed playing table tennis and darts.
The place is very clean and has everything you need for cooking. There are books on the local area, walking guides and fiction. Lots of space for relaxing, chatting and reading. You can be as sociable or as quiet as you wish, something for everyone.

Our room was fine. I ended up sleeping on the bunk and my wife and daughter in the double. The mattresses on the bunk were hard, but I guess for kids it might be fine. Clean and well maintained.

The staff were great and so friendly. I would stay here again in a heartbeat!

Location is great for the town and harbour. Car parking behind the hostel (£9.50 ish a day with Ringo) with ev charging. (although the podpoint charge didnt work on our Renault Zoe for some reason, but others were charging just fine.
Its a 22kw charger and has 2 ports)

A truly great hostel, the perfect place to explore all that North Devon has to offer for a good price!
Booked to stay at ocean backpackers for just under a week after our wedding. Ocean backpackers is a beautiful hostel, very conveniently located near the lovely Ilfracombe harbour and is a great base for hiking, surfing and enjoying all that North Devon has to offer.

We had a private room which was comfortable and clean with a private bathroom, paying a very good and fair price in contrast to other hostels and budget hotels we have been to.

The staff are incredibly helpful and friendly, giving the hostel this fantastic homely feel when you are there. Alex, the hostel owner, made some great hiking recommendations which are reachable on foot from the hostel.

The kitchen is well equipped for cooking and storing food during your stay AND they offer surfboard and wetsuit storage areas too! I’m not too sure what more you could want to be honest!

Thank you ocean backpackers for our post-wedding hostel stay. We will be back 🙂

We booked the whole backpackers for a large party (a choir) for a weekend in lovely Ilfracombe. First of all – banish any preconceptions of grotty, basic, old-fashioned ‘hostel’ accommodation from your mind! The backpackers is really homely and attractively designed with everything you might need, a well kitted out kitchen and more. The shared space was particularly nice. It’s right in the middle of town so on the doorstep of beaches, shops and eateries. It’s also spotlessly clean and a lot of thought had gone into good environmental practises (recycling etc) which we appreciated. The staff were also really lovely and helpful – even helping us set up and promote choir gigs – and the whole thing was run really efficiently. It was a well oiled machine! The only thing I’d say is that if you book a large party (we were 45 people) you’ll need to be prepared to share double beds and to stay in bunks in dorm style rooms – you may want to consider a group of fewer people if you’d prefer slightly more space per person. (This was flagged to us in advance by the staff though. We accepted the arrangement and it wasn’t a surprise.)

Fabulously friendly and superbly equipped hostel. Just can’t fault it: cosy/friendly/clean/centrally located.
Thank you! Quite a find. Great for walkers – coastal path to Combe Martin a favourite with our group..

What a fantastic find Ocean Backpackers has been. We have just returned from our annual cricket tour after spending a fantastically sunny and cricket filled weekend in Ilfracombe and the surrounding area. If the weather was not enough to make the weekend perfect, then the gem of an accommodation in Ocean Backpackers was the cherry on the top. Alex and her team went above and beyond to ensure that our stay was smooth and perfect and the accommodation they run is amazing. Beautiful rooms, fantastic kitchen and dining area, town centre location and well priced- it was everything we needed and more. With sole use of the space, we were able to enjoy the comfort of home in this brilliant backpackers. If you are coming to this part of the country, then Ocean Backpackers is the place to make your base and explore from. We will be coming back for sure in the future

A friendly, welcoming hostel and lovely people – a great place for surfing and hiking.
I stayed for a week in June, in the 8-bed dorm room. I hadn’t stayed in a hostel before, but I really landed on my feet – Ocean Backpackers was fantastic.

The staff and volunteers were all super welcoming and helpful, and it was always lovely bumping into them around the hostel. Thank you Alex, Johanne, Jimmy, Yeye and Audrey 🙂

The dorm room was clean and comfortable – beds were as comfy as you need after a day of surfing or hiking – and really well-equipped with plugs, secure lockable storage space, phone chargers next to the beds, and room to dry a towel or two. I had a lot of different roommates over the week, but everyone was great – no complaints at all!

The hostel generally is super well set up. Showers and bathrooms are really decent, and really clean. There’s a proper nice common area / living room and loads of books, it’s a cosy spot for reading or listening to music. The kitchen literally has everything – it’s way more equipped than I was expecting! There’s cupboard space and fridge space to store your things. And I really liked the outside area too – there’s a little private terrace with tables and chairs.

Ocean Backpackers was a perfect base for what I wanted to do in Devon – there’s a decent bus to Woolacombe for surfing, a bunch of other beaches within walking distance of the hostel (I likes Rapporee Cove, Broadsands, and Tunnels Beaches) and you’re right on the coast path for beautiful hikes.

Ilfracombe is also a nice town and fun to explore. I liked walking up Capstone Hill and St Nicholas Chapel on Lantern Hill. The views and the sunsets were incredible.

I can’t recommend Ocean Backpackers enough! Hope I’ll be back!

Great Hostel!

One of the best hostels I’ve stayed in! A really comfortable and clean hostel with great rooms and facilities. The staff were also really friendly and helpful.

The location is awesome for exploring the area, nice walks and pubs nearby and less than a 5 min walk to the sea.

Definitely recommend staying!

Perfect Place
Had a lovely time staying at backpackers hostel. My boyfriend and I are keen surfers and loved the drying facilities available here (no squeezing into wet wetsuits).
The rooms are lovely and beds super comfy. The kitchen is also kitted out for you to cook.
The staff are all so lovely and welcoming and always happy to help- great to
Meet you jimmy! Top guy!
Definitely would recommend to anyone.
Thank you ocean backpackers

Lovely place, perfect for walkers.
I had a very enjoyable two night stay at the ocean backpackers’ hostel in Ilfracombe. The manger, Lydia, was helpful in every way, and went out of her way to make my stay as pleasant as possible. It was quiet, clean, and I would thoroughly recommend it to
anyone looking to explore North Devon

Great Weekend Stay
Had a lovely weekend with old friends at Ocean Backpackers. We had our own rooms on the top floor of the hostel (mine even had a seaview!). The top floor has a brand new, well equipped kitchen which was really useful. The hostel is spotlessly clean and comfortable and has had a recent refurb so has a fresh and modern feel to it. The location is great, right in the centre of Ilfracombe, we had some lovely food nearby. Great for beautiful coastal walks straight from the front door, will definitely be back!!

A great start to our holiday staying at Ocean Backpackers – lovely atmosphere and facilities
Warm, friendly Staff and very cosy and clean.

A gem of a hostel! All the notices and information was clear and we really appreciated that there was a big effort to have quiet – after 10 pm, which we didn’t expect but it really helped our early start the next day. The manager also kindly offered us some spare milk to use in the fridge and the kitchen was excellently supplied with cooking equipment. All in all a very well run and friendly hostel, and great value for money. We also met some other travellers and played some guitar with our 88 year old father in the lounge – a very enjoyable evening! Many thanks to Lydia, the incredibly helpful manager, we will tell all our friends its a great place to stay if going to Lundy Island!

Fantastic base for exploring the coast
Back again for a 3 night stay at Ocean Backpackers and once again, a great base for exploring the incredible coastline with some incredible food in ilfracombe. Alex and the team couldn’t be more helpful and it’s all had a bit of a refresh since we were here last – the rooms spotless as ever and the communal areas downstairs all looking super fresh and welcoming. We’ll be back!

Good Vibes
Wonderful Hostel, Friendly Staff, Great Location. I stayed over Easter and the hostel was busy but never appeared crowded. Freshly decorated and spotlessly clean everywhere, and one of the best showers I’ve had in a hostel.

Great stay
We enjoyed a weekend at the hostel which has recently been renovated to a really high standard. The rooms are fresh and stylish and had everything we needed. Great location right in the heart of town and an easy stroll to all the facilities. We will be back for sure in the summer this time!