How to Backpack & Travel Round the World

How to backpack and travel round the world is a great question. No two travelers are alike, and what works for one, may not work for others.

At y Travel Blog, we share our top backpacking tips of how we were able to backpack round the world over a 10 year period, and what you need to consider before setting off on your trip of a lifetime.

When thinking about how to backpack and travel round the world, we suggest you ask yourself these questions:

• What regions of the world do you want to backpack?
• How long do you want to travel round the world for?
• What’s your backpacker travel Budget?
• Are you traveling alone or in a group?
• And what’s your desired style of travel?

The answers to these questions are important, because they’ll go along way towards making sure you give yourself the best chance to have a richly rewarding travel experience.

Caz hiking the Tiger Leaping Gorge & Yangtzee River, China

Whether you’re a seasoned backpacker, or you haven’t done any backpacking trips before, our site offers advice on what your backpacker travel plan could involve, but our 3 top backpacking tips would be:

1. Always Leave Yourself Room for Flexibility in Your Schedule….You’ll meet people who recommend great places you’ve never heard of, you’ll discover interesting tours, and places you thought you only needed 2 days in you’ll need a week. If all your flights, tours and accommodation is pre-booked, it can be costly to change and frustrating to leave a place you love!

2. Spend a Longer Amount of Time in Fewer Places….Why? It costs you less! Transport can really eat into your budget, so instead of racing through 20 countries in 20 days or 5 continents in 5 months, get to know a region well. Racing round the world and visiting too many countries can also be tiring.

Having to pack and unpack, deal with many airports or bus terminals, boarder crossings and visa issues, can get you down. So slow down a bit, and take more in. That way, you won’t suffer from burn out, and you’ll really get a feel for a place and learn about the cheap places to eat and cheap things to do.

3. Travel Like the Locals on Public Transport as Much as Possible….you get great knowledge and insight by hanging with the locals, it costs you less, and is a more authentic travelling experience! We, Caz & Craig, backpacked from Kenya to Cape Town using nothing but public transport – it was amazing!

at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

So, What’s Your Plan?

Everyone has different personalities, likes, dislikes, budgets, and comfort levels. Some people could just jump on a plane without any plans, and everything would just fall into place. But if this is your first time to travel round the world, having “some type of plan” would be recommended.

However, one of the great things about long term travel is that once you get a feel for it, the best way is to just let it happen. You can over plan and leave yourself with no flexibility!

We go into a country, a city, and a town with a list of the must do activities, and then we like to just walk around and immerse ourselves in the local day to day activities and heartbeat of the place, and get tips and information from the locals. And of course, meeting and talking with fellow backpackers who have walked the road you plan to travel, is always invaluable!

For more detailed tips on travel planning, check out our What’s Your Plan page.

it's Beer O'Clock on the Mekong River, LAOS

Your Travel Budget & Finances:

If you’re a backpacker, an independent budget traveller, or you’re doing some gap travel, then determining how much you have, and how long it will last, is important. You need “some type of budget” in place so that you give yourself the best chance to make your money travel further!

Your travel budget will obviously depend on your travel style…

• Are you willing to rough it in hostels and camp, or do you need some extra comfort like a hotel?
• Are you willing to stay in dorms, or do you need a private room?
• What are your eating habits likely to be like?
• Are you planning on taking many tours?

For some great ideas on making your money work for you, see our Travel Budget & Finances page.

Craig in Koh Tao, THAILAND

Stay in Cheap Backpackers Hostels:

Backpackers hostels are a great option for budget travel, and a great place to meet other travelers and get top backpacking tips. Rooms in hostels can consist of dormitory style (both same sex and unisex), private single, and private double rooms. And they can be geared towards all traveler types: young, old, single, couples, male and female.

Certain regions of the world cost more, so consider your destinations carefully. We personally spent most of our time traveling in South-East Asia and Africa, where the costs of staying in hostels and camping is very minimal, in comparison to regions like Western Europe, Australia, and the US. For the Lowest prices guaranteed with no booking fees visit Hostel Bookers.

Try Couch Surfing:

Couchsurfing is a worldwide network that connects travelers with locals. Members are located in over 230 countries, use over 302 different languages, and live in over 67,000 different cities. Couchsurfing (sleeping at a members home) is absolutely FREE, and the only thing that’s expected is an inspiring experience!

Find An Affordable Hotel:

If you are in need of a little more comfort, and your budget allows it, then the obvious step up from a hostel is a Hotel. Finding an affordable hotel has been a desire several times for us, a little splurge for a night or two never goes astray after a while. To search all the best travel sites at once and to find the cheapest price visit Hotels Combined

Caz in Koh Lipe, Thailand

Find Cheap International Flights:

As far as finding deals on flights, you should have several websites bookmarked. Flying around the world can get expensive, so another one of our backpacking tips is to shop around for your air travel discount. The strategies listed on our Cheap International Flights page will help you to get cheap airline flights!

Cut Your Costs on the Road:

Learning how to backpack around the world and cut costs on the road plays a vital role in your long term plans. It makes no sense to put in the effort to save up for your trip, and then blow it all in a short period of time and you don’t get to do half the things you dreamed of.

Now, you will have to adjust your budget as you go, as there are just too many variables to take into consideration that you can never prepare for. But having that budget in place, and writing in a daily journal and tracking what your expenses have been each day is recommended.

For some practical tips for saving money on the road and making it work longer for you see our How to Travel Budget page.

Craig biking in Yangshou, CHINA

Participate in a Working Holiday Visa Program:

A working holiday visa program is a great way to have an extended stay in a country and to explore a particular region of the world. It’s a great way to base yourself in a location and save money for further round the world travel. The opportunity to work in another country gives you the greatest immersion into its culture, and can be a richly rewarding experience.

If you come from the following countries…the United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and the USA, then you can qualify for a Working Holiday Australia visa.

If you come from…Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Monaco, then you can qualify for a Working Holiday Uk visa.

Caz in Times Square, New York City

Take Advantage of Student Discounts:

Are you a student, or under the age of 26, then STA Travel is a one-stop shop for every student’s travel needs. They create opportunities for students and young adults to make the most of their time and experience the world face-to-face in any way they choose.

They provide:

• Travel scholarships to university students to help subsidize travel costs.
• A World Traveler Internship for two young students to travel the world during their summer breaks for free.
• Student Airfare discounts.
• Discount cards like the International Student Identity Card (ISIC)

To learn more about student discounts, visit the STA Travel Site.

Caz on the sunset cruise, Zambezi River, Zimbabwe, AFRICA

Teach English Overseas:

Another great way to travel round the world is to teach English. You can spend a considerable amount of time in a country or region of the world whilst funding your stay through teaching. You can get great immersion into a culture and live and travel in exotic places.

Teaching English abroad is not for everyone and you don’t have to look at it as a new career, but the experience could look great on any resume. To learn more about this option, see our How to Teach English Overseas page.

Craig on Cable Beach, Broome, Western Australia

Take a Tour:

If you’re more into organized tours and group adventures, if your solo looking to meet people, or if you have limited time, then consider a tour with these companies:

• Intrepid – Huge variety of tours available  - from the back streets of Asia, to the wilds of Africa, the landscapes of Latin America, the picturesque National Parks of North America, the delicacies of Europe, & ancient cultures of Australasia.
• Acacia Africa - experts in Africa, we have hundreds of tours available including multi country Overland Safaris,Small Group South African Adventures, Luxury Adventure Travel on our Comfort Class Safaris.

Rocky Mountains National Park, Colorado

Get Backpacker Travel Insurance:

Another important task to think about when considering how to backpack the world, is to organize Backpacker Travel Insurance. It is something we would all love to avoid, but is necessary. We’ve had to claim several times in the past, and we wouldn’t leave home without it.

Here’s some travel tips from the Backpacker Travel Insurance experts:

• Cancellation: It’s no fun if you fall ill before you leave and can not go on your trip. Not all insurance policies cover cancellation, so please read the policy wording relevant to you carefully.
• Lost or stolen gear: most travel insurance policies have a per-item value limit – make sure its high enough to cover your gear or choose a policy that allows you to increase the limit.

We personally use World Nomad’s on our backpacking trips!  And they also come recommended by Lonely Planet.

Learn More From Us:

We trust that all this information and our travel blog proves useful in helping you to take the first step in how to backpack the world. To learn more from us and to keep in touch, you can subscribe to our Free Newsletter, join our Facebook fanpage, and follow us on Twitter.