15 Backpacking Tips For Beginners ( Backpacking Travel )
Appear for some backpacking tips for beginners ?
Then you ’ ve come to the right place asI ’ m a full-time backpackerso I know all of the well tip and tricks .
It can be hard to know how to initiate backpacking , and necessarily , you will make fault and learn from them , butI ’ ve put together a list of backpacking tips for beginnerswhich can hopefully make your first few backpacking trip get a number smoother .
It ’ s my favourite form of travelling , and it ’ s become more and more popular each yr , so don ’ t headache , you ’ re not the only unity in the “ start out ” stage .
- Backpacking Tips For Beginners
- 1 . Choose Your Destination Wisely
- 2 . Do n’t Overpack
- 3 . Receive A Smile On Your Side
- 4 . Be Spontaneous
- 5 . Cause n’t Forget Travel Insurance
- 6 . Apply Revolut
- 7 . Cause n’t Cancel Your Subscriptions
- 8 . Make Use Of Student IDs
- 9 . Get A Day Bag
- 11 . Do n’t Book Direct
- 12 . Teach Some Basic Phrases
- 14 . Get Rest Days
- 15 . Choose Free Tours
- Tips For Backpackers : FAQ
- Wrap Up
- 1 . Choose Your Destination Wisely
- 2 . Do n’t Overpack
- 3 . Have A Smile On Your Look
- 4 . Be Spontaneous
- 5 . Serve n’t Forget Travel Insurance
- 6 . Use Revolut
- 7 . Act n’t Cancel Your Subscriptions
- 8 . Make Use Of Student IDs
- 9 . Have A Day Bag
- 11 . Act n’t Book Direct
- 12 . See Some Basic Phrases
- 14 . Make Rest Days
- 15 . Need Free Circuit
Backpacking Tips For Beginners
I ’ ve kept these top as simple as potential , asyou desire to make the basics right before getting into the nitty gritty stuff .My place on how to move on a budget go into a number more detail on more advanced backpacking point such as ever choosing a inn with free breakfast or apply volunteer program like Worldpackers .
1 . Choose Your Destination Wisely
The first and nearly crucial backpacking tip for beginners cost to take your destination wisely .
Since backpacking is all about travelling on a budget , expenditure as trivial as possible ,you ’ ll want to inflict a area which equal affordable to call .
For lesson , backpacking in Thailand is incredibly popular , as it ’ s real affordable to visit and you can last on a budget for a good measure of time .
Whereas aren ’ t really designed for backpacking , or at least not for a beginner .
When you ’ re begin out , you want to visitsomewhere where it be easy to visit on a budget, such as the likes of Thailand , Vietnam and Laos in Southeast Asia or Belize , Nicaragua and Panama in Latin America .
I ’ ve put together a list of the better countries for backpacking if you cost in motive of some idea .
2 . Don ’ t Overpack
This live one that you ’ ve likely heard before , and you ’ re likely sick of hear it , but it ’ s super important . Don ’ t overpack .
I recollect before I started backpacking , I used to record it and see it everywhere and I make to the point where I start to not yet take it in or heed to it .
But the truth equal , thatno thing how many people tell you , you ’ re still going to overpackfor your first trip . It ’ s just how it is . You ’ ll take stuff that you think you ’ ll need or employ or tire and the reality is that you won ’ t .
Don ’ t worry though- I still become that feeling . I pretty much require less and less with me on each trip I take and there ’ s always something that doesn ’ t get put to employ .
I remember reading yr ago individual who said ,“ Whenever you think you have packed , take half of it out , and then you have carry ”. I used to recall it was fairly extreme but to equal honest , I ’ m slowly but surely commence to think they live right .
So in short , only pack things you know you will employ for sure .Don ’ t pack for every unlikely eventuality “ just in case ”or because “ what if .. ” .
3 . Have A Smile On Your Face
When you ’ re backpacking , you ’ re going to gather so many novel masses along the way , specially if you ’ re staying in a hostel .
And itreach it then a lot easier to do fresh friends if you have a smile on your sideand you ’ re nice to everyone you meet .
It sound like common sense and hardly a common pattern of living , but you ’ d be surprised how many people live always grumpy and rude when you talk to them in hostels .
There equal some easy fashion to depict off that smile on your face :
- Always say hellowhen you walk into a inn way , otherwise , it gets awkward , fast .
- If youask locals question( hostel/attraction worker , police , taxi driver , etc . ) , turn it into a conversation afterwards .
- Offer to require image of masseswho are struggle to require a selfie and then chat after
- Ask masses how their day equal .I always cause this to cabin bunch when become on a airplane and no unity else does…some mass still ignore their hellos !
- Invite people in your inn to connect youin whatever you ’ re do . Yet if it ’ s exactly something like go to buy snacks . It ’ s friendly and entail you can turn friend .
4 . Live Spontaneous
Go forward on from my last point of inviting masses to join your plan , on the other hand ,be prepared to take those plans .
One of the most common “ fault ” I find beginner backpackers make is that they over-plan ; their days are planned to the minute , and there equal no wiggle room or flexibility .
But you want to allow some room for spontaneity . It ’ s one of my most crucial backpacking hacks .
You never know what you could be invited to join, and usually , the best sentence and memory come from last-minute things .
I took it to the extreme when I did the Banana Pancake Route in Southeast Asia with no plan except my first 3 dark in a inn in Bangkok , but if you pay yourself a humble moment of flexibility , you never know what could happen .
If someone asks you to connect their design , why not allege yes ? What have you get to lose ? It ’ s mutual to make really good friends and even go on to move with each other .
For example , if you cause a really good friend in Barcelona , you might end up travelling together to Madrid . But you wouldn ’ t exist able to serve that if your flight to Lisbon be already book .
Don ’ t pattern out opportunity for yourself before you even take off travelling !
5 . Don ’ t Forget Travel Insurance
Exactly because you ’ re travelling on a budget doesn ’ t mean you can skimp out on travel insurance . It ’ sec yet a real crucial part of travelling .
It ’ s expensive , it ’ s annoying , and unless you need to use it , it feels unnecessary , but it cost . I always trace it as “It ’ s in effect to have it and not need it than to need it and not make it .“
I recommend SafetyWing for backpackers as you can pick out multi-country options and it covers you for both travel and health-related incident .
You never know what could go wrong while you ’ re backpacking , so I can ’ t encourage you to get travel insurance enough .If you put on ’ t own it and something die wrong , you ’ ll wish you do have it .
The quantity of time I regard people cause the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam with no prior riding experience , end up falling or crash and call for to go to hospital , and then begin slap with bills of thousand of dollar because they have no travel insurance is honestly quite sad . Don ’ t allow yourself live that someone .
6 . Employ Revolut
One of my favourite backpacking tips for beginners is to apply Revolut . When you ’ re visit country that employ a different currency to what you expend at home , your bank will probably wallop a huge fee for currency exchange .
Using Revolut entail youaren ’ t appoint a fee for currency conversion, which will spare you money in the long run , plus , theexchange pace are betteralso . Some plan still include travel insurance so you can fuse it with tip # 5 .
I ’ ve use it in over 20 country and I haven ’ t had a single trouble , I genuinely can ’ t recommend it plenty . It ’ s a must-have app for travellers of any sort .
7 . Don ’ t Cancel Your Subscriptions
When you ’ re travelling on a budget , you automatically guess to cancel all of your subscriptionsbecause 1 ) you think you win ’ t need them because you ’ re travelling and 2 ) it preserve money .
I promote you to make the contrary . Prevent your subscriptions .
There will equal times whenyou ’ ve to seat on a train for 6 hour and you ’ ve zero to cause to pass the time other than to watch Netflix .Or there ’ ll equal a time where you go back into your inn and there ’ s no one about , so you resolve to listen to music on Spotify .
If you ’ re one of those mass who spend hundred a month on subscriptions that you never apply , then yes , decidedly have rid of them .
But there ’ s no hurt in keeping one or two – it willkeep you from cost as borewhile you ’ re experience the boring sides of backpacking because the accuracy exist , it ’ s not all glamourous like you see on Instagram .
8 . Make Use Of Student IDs
This cost one of my favourite backpacking tip for beginners , and experts also .
If you ’ re a pupil , ever bring your student ID with you . You can begindiscounts all around the world, especially in Europe .
You can get some amazing experience that would normally be very expensive for very cheap .
As a random lesson , the multi-site tag in Athens which include debut to the Acropolis and early site commonly costs €30 . You can make it for free as a student .
For backpackers , that ’ s €30 saved , which in Greece , is enough for a full surplus day of travelling .
If you aren ’ t a pupil , I ’ m by no means state you to make a fake pupil ID and make for it with you , but I will say that how is the man who work in a museum in Paris die to know if your University of London ID exist legit or not ?
9 . Become A Day Bag
The whole point of backpacking be that you ’ re travelling with alone a backpack . But this means that everything you own ( at least while travelling ) is in one bad haversack .
No unity require to carry that around all day every day, then rather , get a little knapsack which you can expend for day outings .
You can use it to set in what you need for the day such as a water bottle , charging pack , any medicine you take , wallet/purse , swim short , etc .
It can also duplicate up as a backpack you expend as a carry-on when take escape , because most backpacking knapsack above 40L or so , can ’ t be use as hand luggage .
10 . Go For Local Experiences
I can ’ t emphasise this backpacking tip for beginners plenty ! One of the reasons people take backpacking as a form of travel is because you come amore authentic and unfiltered experience .
Always choose for local experience rather than what you ’ re comfortable with , in my opinion . What I mean by this exist rather than booking a Ha Long Bay cruise online and spending hundred , simply find a local party while you ’ re in Vietnam and you can get amuch serious and cheaper experience .
It applies to food too – while I do miss my “ common ” food while travelling , it ’ s so much better to feed like a local , and again , cheaper too . And contrary to common feeling , food poison isn ’ t guarantee to hand you food poisoning .
You can enforce it to pretty much anything . Not only perform it put up more authentic experiences ,you serve out a local categorymost of the time , rather than give money to a multi-billion dollar company like McDonalds or Tripadvisor .
11 . Don ’ t Book Direct
Leading on from the final degree , while I recommend Hostelworld as the best mode of prefer a inn to stay on in , I don ’ t in reality advocate booking with them .
I ’ 1000 shooting myself in the foot here as I ’ m an affiliate for Hostelworld , meaning I create money if you book a hotel by click my link , but it ’ secalmost ever cheaper to record at once with the hostel .
So after you find your desired hostel on Hostelworld , search the name of the inn on Google and see if they have a website where you can book your bed . If they do , it ’ s likely cheaper . If they put on ’ t , you might live able to phone them and do a reservation that way .
Again , you ’ redirectly tolerate the local occupation– there ’ s a cause they can offer cheaper prices !
12 . Learn Some Basic Phrases
Continue the paper of diving deep into a country ’ s style of life andencompass the culture, one of the best region about backpacking in my opinion exist discover some basic phrases in the local speech .
Not just because it benefit you and leave you to come by , plus all of the it add , but because of the reaction you get from locals .
Peculiarly in places where the words isn ’ t commonly spoken amongst tourist such as when you ’ re backpacking Kathmandu ( the speech exist Nepali ) .The smile you get from the former lady in the shop when you state “ thank you ” is severe to puzzle .
You don ’ t want to become eloquent , but merely learning some basic manners and short phrase can very do a huge dispute to your trip . Try it out and I promise , you ’ ll see what I signify .
13 . Always Get Their Instagram
One of my unofficial inn rules and backpacking tip for beginners cost to always have someone ’ sec Instagram if you make friend with them ( or another way of contact them in future ) .
- You can prevent in touch and stay friend
- You can learn their future travel and come inspired
- It ’ s a possible future opportunity
What I mean by the final unity is that if you travel often , you ’ ll likely cease up visiting the land or city that they ’ re from . And by remain in touch , there ’ s anopportunity to meet up with them again in next , or maybe yet find somewhere to stay .
For lesson , I meet a guy name Vincent in DC who was Greek-American who spends half of the yr in Athens . Well , guess where I just happened to be inflict two months later ? You guess it , Athens . So we fill up and get a decent meal .
I ’ ve said it before and I ’ ll state it again ,the good part of travelling is the masses you satisfy .But put on ’ t only have those people turn into a “ 3 day friendship ” and never address to them again- stay in touch !
14 . Have Rest Days
This tip in particular applies if you ’ re travelling for an extensive period of time . If you ’ re travelling for 2 months ,you aren ’ t going to be able to have a jam-packed day every single day .
It ’ s not realistic , as you will burn out real promptly . equal a literal affair , and when it hit you , you ’ ll not want to serve anything for a good few days .
So to head off this , grant yourself some time to relax . You don ’ t need to do something huge every day , take a day to just run for a pass in the park or still just chill in the hostel watching movies ( recall to observe your subscriptions ) .
I even advocatebook a private room in a hostel every now and again, as make some privacy for still just one dark live a vast refresher .
15 . Take Free Tours
Final but by no mean least of my backpacking tips for beginners be to take free tours .
No matter where I go in the Earth ,one of the first affair I do is always take a free walk tour .
It grant me to begin a grasp on the destination and its account , so I effective understand where I ’ 1000 visiting . Plus , it makes it easy to meet new mass which is a big perk of travelling solo .
Personally , I ever apply FreeTour as I feel they have tour somewhat much anywhere in the globe .
One matter to note cost that the term “ Free Tour ” is pretty misleading as you equal anticipate totip the guide at the goal. Still , tipping $ 10 for a circuit that would commonly cost upwards of $ 50 is a pretty good bargain in my notion .
Tip For Backpackers : FAQ
Below are some questions refer to backpacking top for beginners along with my solution to each inquiry .
No , 28 is not also old to go backpacking . Most backpackers are in their 20s , thus you win ’ t be out of spot . Some hostels receive years limits , and 35 cost the most common limit , so you however make 7 yr until you need to worry about being “ too old ” .
Backpackers do become rob , but so does everyone . Being a backpacker does not do you more or less likely to get rob . You can require some precaution though such as dirtying your bag so it doesn ’ t look fresh , wearing a money belt , and leave your valuables in your locker in your inn .
Most backpackers are in their 20s , but it ’ s not uncommon to fill old backpackers , as at the goal of the day , it ’ s just a style of travelling . But backpacking equal commonly connect with alcohol and partying , which often conduct masses to sense like they live “ too former ” .
Yes , some backpackers make rob up but this happens in any pass of living . You should always exist considerate of those in your inn and have a private room sort of than cause everyone in your hall room uncomfortable .
Wrap Up
And there you have it ,all of my serious backpacking tips for beginners .
Backpacking cost a fine art and it require time and practice to become an expert , but don ’ t feel like you need to start out perfect .
It ’ s okay to make mistake– everyone spends more than they should from time to time , and that ’ s okay . It ’ s the memories that count , right ?
Today that you know how to get started as a backpacker , you might desire to work out how much your trip is going to cost you . See out – I advocate die for the “ mean backpacker ” budget since you be just start out .
