Backpackers Guide 101: Planning & Research
Start Planning!
If you’ve never traveled independently before, your primary concern may be cost related $1,000 per month is a fair medium estimate for a backpacker’s monthly budget. This estimate should keep you fed, clothed and with a roof over your head in any country around the world (as some places are cheaper than others, you will be surprised at how much you can do on this small budget). There are, of course, many other variables to consider including pre-trip expenses. If money is still your main concern, go to: Go to Backpackers Guide 101: Budgeting & Money to start building your budget.
Choosing Destinations
Go where you’ve longed to see, keep your areas of interest in mind!
Europe has always been the foremost popular destination for backpackers. It’s rich in culture, easy to navigate, has a ton of photo opportunities and, of course, many sexy Europeans. But, because Europe is not the cheapest destination, you may have to cut your traveling time to make up for the difference. To maximize the time you can afford to travel, check out developing areas like South East Asia or South America. These places are extremely affordable, safe, full of off-track adventures, parties and hedonistic pleasures. For inspiration, check out these Top 10 Destinations for Independent travelers in 2009 and 7 Natural Wonders of the World.
- You will most likely plan more activities and destinations than what is realistically possible. Once you start traveling, you’ll find that some destinations consume more or less time than what you originally imagined. The beauty of backpacking is you can choose to stay or leave whenever you want. You might even end up traveling with other backpackers you meet along the way. We suggest to setup some definite key places to visit and keep other plans flexible.
- You’ll be coming across many websites you will want to re-visit, setup a bookmark folder in your browser and save all the webites you find helpful.
- As you start planning, you are going to amass a collection of papers, documents, copies, notes, maps and lots of other things you’ll need and might end up losing. As with anything else, you want to be organized from the get go. We suggest buying a travel journal or planner with inserts to conveniently contain this stuff from now until the end of your trip.
Climate & Seasons
Better weather means you will be competing with bigger crowds and dealing with things being more expensive. Although there could be more action in the midst of tourist madness, it is not a bad idea to hit the “shoulder” seasons just before and after the “high” season. You’ll enjoy cheaper prices, flexible booking arrangements and a better cultural experience. One small downside is you will likely have to pack for harsher weather. Climates vary drastically around the world. Thailand is a good example. Whether it’s raining or dry, the temperatures always stay hot or warm. So packing for a winter in Thailand is drastically different to packing for winter in Russia. Also, keep in mind seasons are opposite above and below the equator – The U.S. celebrates Christmas when Australia hits the peak of summer. The cherry on top is global warming, which will throw some surprises your way too.
- Go to BBC World Weather Centre Guide to check the average temperature and climate of every country in the world
- Need to convert Celsuis to Fahrenheit? here you go.
- To pack the right stuff for any season, check out Backpackers Guide 101: Backpacks and Packing
Festivals, Holidays & Events
If you plan to attend any festivals or big events, be sure to make your bookings way in advance (including transportation and accommodations to and from your festival destination). Do your research to find what, where, and when things go down. To find out all about festivals, holidays and events around the world, check out: Whats on When: A global calender of festivals and events organized by time, place, and interest. Also check out Matadors “10 Biggest Parties Around the World” article.
Language Barrier
Ok, prepare for some shocking news…are you ready? Not everyone in the world speaks English! It’s crazy, but it’s true. You may actually find yourself in a place where NO ONE will speak English. What do you do? Don’t freak out. First off, the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. You won’t have to go out and spend $600 on Rosetta Stone just yet. Although coming to a country speaking a second language will definitely broaden your experience, communicating with people who don’t speak your language becomes part of the adventure. Most people will try to help you, but it is essential that you learn the very basics before you go to any country (just to show the locals you’re not arrogant and you’re trying). Use Google translator to convert the below words into the language your destination country(ies) speak:
- Hi
- Excuse me
- Where is…
- Thank you
You’ll be shocked at how far these four words will get you!
If you’re an over-achiever, check out:
- Intrepid Travels free basic online lesson guide for almost every language.
- For $2 you can get thousands of phrases in any language downloaded to your ipod/iphone through World Nomads.
- If you’re looking to study a new language abroad intensely, Transitions Abroad offers a ton of worldwide language courses and programs.
We Suggest...Don’t carry around a translation book; that’s just plain ridiculous. Imagine how you will look whipping out a book when you come up to a stranger and try to ask them about a nearby bar or eatery. Instead, write down or print out some of your own language lessons and carry it in your travel journal. You can read it on your way to and from your destinations.
Political climate
Think about this: your presence in the American work force as a young adult is more profitable when you’re in the country than when you’re journeying about in another country. A good way to keep you where you are is fear of the unknown. For this reason, the U.S. and our media, like to embellish the unsafe conditions and extent of political dilemmas present in foreign countries. Be sure to read about the safety conditions and political climates of the countries you plan to visit but don’t be discouraged from visiting destinations the U.S. advises against. If necessary, take it a step further and do some of your own research. Common sense and taking normal precautions will get you by in most places.
As a less biased source of information, use the UK’s foreign office website to check up on current political and safety issues for any country.
We suggest…A great way to learn about foreign political and safety issues is by talking to locals and recent travelers directly. Search online travel forums. You can check out our own, Off Track Planet Backpackers Travel Circuit Community.
Travel Style: Solo/Partner/Group
Solo
If this is your first time traveling abroad independently, seriously, Go Solo! We feel damn strongly about this assertion (even if not for the entirety of your trip, at least for a portion). Why? Well:
You will decide what YOU want to do, where to go, what you like, dislike, how long to stay or when to leave. It is a time to learn about YOU! You will have more time to take photos, write in your journal, read, study, observe, reflect…You will feel empowered to know you can survive on your own with very little in this big world, FREEDOM AT LAST! You have the opportunity to meet many other travelers going solo and open yourself up to meeting locals and enriching your cultural experience. For you introverted types, you may find a whole new extroverted you. Traveling solo may initially sound intimidating, but if you overcome the initial hesitation to go solo, the reward will be tenfold. If you are concerned about your solo safety, check out OTP’s Backpackers Guide 101: Safety + Health.
Travel Partners
If your partner is platonic, you must closely examine the relationship you have with this person and whether it will withstand the added pressures of traveling. Some things to think about:
- How well do you communicate problems?
- Are they independent enough to allow you some alone time?
- Do they have their own budget/funds?
- Are they an experienced traveler?
- Have you spent a prolonged period of time with this person in close quarters before?
- How motivated are they to physically travel?
- Does he/she snore? If yes, consider your threshold
- Is your travel partner really fun at parties. If so, are they fun because they’re drunk and passed out? Maybe you should reconsider.
If you mentally hit on all these points, and your partner fails the test, find a new travel buddy here at travbuddy.com. But remember, you can always cut out the headache by traveling solo. Check out OTP’s: Relationship + Travel article.
Traveling in Groups
You love your friends and why not have a great time together all around the world. Additionally, you’ll enjoy group rates and splitting costs. First though, consider the following:
- People smell. One more smell other than your own can be doable; 5 more smells and you’re in nausea territory.
- People bitch. When everyone wants to do the same thing, at the same time, for the same duration, at the same price, traveling in a group is beautiful. Sadly, unless you’re all clones of each other, there is no way everyone will ALWAYS agree on EVERYTHING. Fights will break out over stupid non-issues and miscommunications.
- People get sick. Some people are whiny when they’re sick and you will have to deal with them dragging you down until they’re better.
- People are late. When one person is late, everyone is held up. So enjoying your group rate will be impossible if you miss the flight.
..and the bigger the group, the more issues you may potential have to deal with.
Obviously, it’s not impossible to have a great trip as a group but you will have to compromise your own idea of the perfect trip to incorporate the wants, needs and sometimes the ridiculousness of everyone you choose to travel with.
If you love your friends more than your sanity, STA Travel has a good handle on setting up group travel rates at discount prices.
Research: Guidebooks, Blogs & Travel Agencies
Guidebooks are still a great source of information for making your travel plans. But with a barrage of travel blogs now all over the internet, you can find amazing and current insight and advice posted by travel writers who are out traveling your preferred destination RIGHT NOW…
Online guides, blogs and communities you must check out:
We suggest…Open a fresh word processing document. Copy and paste all the good stuff you’ll want to keep for your travels as you browse through these sites. Print it out before you go and stick it in your travel journal. You’ll be a genius!
Guidebooks:
Guidebooks that focus more on independent, low budget backpacking travel include:
- Rough Guides
- Footprint
- Let’s Go
- Lonely Planet
- Time Out
Read through and compare the different publications to see which fits your style best…
How to go about guidebooks…
- Make sure to check the publication date of the book (usually located on the first page or inside cover). You’ll find some books were published 5 years ago making them obsolete and more useful as a doorstop.
- Unless you intend to spend the majority of your time in one single country, get a book that focuses on an entire continent (or broad region) instead (South East Asia, South America, Europe, etc.) No need to waste your travel budget, and precious backpack space, on a collection of travel books.
- If you do intend to buy books and you’ve picked out the ones you like, buy them online! You can save up to 85% buying used books through Amazon or Half.com. Maybe you have friends that just came back from abroad; borrow their books. Sharing is caring and the money saved is major mula that can go towards a night at a hostel or booze.
- You can only afford to buy one guidebook? No prob. You can always go to your local library as they carry recent releases of most guidebooks. Check them out and write down what you need. Remember to return them on time to avoid pesky library charges.
- Instead of bringing your massive guidebook (which will occupy prime real estate in your backpack and make you look like a douche) tear out the pages you need, staple them together and stick it in your travel journal.
Travel Agents & Tour Guides:
Travel Agents: These guys take the discount hunting for your travel needs out of your hands. In many countries, GAP year (where people take a year off to travel before moving on to college or work) is popular and travel agencies cater specifically to the GAP year crowd which results in many great deals and options for 18-25 year olds. Check out UK’s based site, GAPYEARS.COM. Unfortunately, this is not the case when it comes to travel agencies in the United States which cater to an older, less “backpacky” more luxury travelers. (Yes, we think this sucks too…we’re working on it). For the most part, agents will try to sell you pre-packaged guide tours, which are boring and a cop-out to real backpacking. One agency that comes close is STA Travel who generally caters to young people 25& under.
Tour Guide Packages: Packaged tour guides provide you with a choice of itineraries chocked full of popular travel destinations and activities (usually you’ll have to buy your own plane tickets to and from your starting point). You’ll have a built-in group of friends and you won’t have to worry about the details. This might be the right decision for some, but this also DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF INDEPENDENT TRAVEL. It’s also touristy as hell and, just like your trip, your travel stories will be bland and pre-packaged. But, If you’re into that kind of thing check out Intrepid Travel and Contiki.
Finally, don’t stress out too much about trying to figure everything out all at once. One of the most valuable things you’ll learn from this experience is how adaptable you are. In fact, you might even miss the point if you stay completely within all your plans. This is a journey enhanced by learning to change direction or by getting a bit…Fuck it, for the sake of being cheesy, OFF TRACK!
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
RSS Feed
Comments Closed