Expert Tips For First Time Backpackers: How To Plan Your First Backpacking Trip

I’ve taken three gap years to go travelling, the first back in 2011 after uni and the most recent whilst taking a career break in my 30s. There are lots of differences between backpacking in your 20s vs your 30s, but the fundamentals stay the same, and I like to think that after a collective 27 months on the road over three separate backpacking stints, I have some knowledge to impart. So, if you’re planning your trip and looking for some tips for first time backpackers, I can help!

Before I get into the practical bits like packing, safety, and my top tips, congratulations! It’s no small thing to take the leap to leave everything you know, pack your life into a backpack and head out into the big wide world. Whether you’re travelling with someone else or heading out solo, you are truly going to have the best time. It’s like nothing else – which is why I’ve done it three times!

It’s normal to be a bit anxious before heading to the airport, maybe even question what you’re doing entirely, but I promise you will never regret taking some months out from work to see some more of this beautiful world. The best way to feel more comfortable about it all is to prepare yourself, so on that note: here’s how to plan for your first backpacking trip.

How To Plan Your First Backpacking Trip: Before You Go

Backpacking may be something you’ve been planning to do for a long time, maybe waiting until you finished studying, or it may be that you’ve unexpectedly got the opportunity to take some time out mid career; perhaps via a redundancy or gardening leave.

Once you’ve made the decision to go travelling, it can feel a little overwhelming to get your plan in action, but taking it step by step with this backpacking preparation timeline helps a lot.

Choosing Where To Go

Chances are you will have a country or region you have long dreamt of exploring and this will shape the course of your travels. But if you don’t have anywhere that sticks out for you, you should consider the following when choosing a destination:

• Budget: do you have the money for Europe, Australia and New Zealand, or do you need to keep costs down in South East Asia?
• Time of year: consider weather, festivals, high and low season
• Interests: do you like diving or hiking? Are you a beach bum or do you prefer the mountains, or cosmopolitan cities? Are you a foodie?
• Visa restrictions: dependant on the passport you carry, this can make or break your plans to visit certain destinations

Best Countries For First-Time Backpackers

I would always recommend South East Asia as the best region for where to go backpacking for the first time, with Thailand being my number one pick for first time solo travel in particular.

South East Asia has very well trodden, easy backpacking routes; especially the Thailand – Laos – Cambodia – Vietnam route, so whichever way you go you tend to bump into the same familiar faces. This is not only fun but really comforting when you’re travelling for the first time. Even better if you’re travelling solo!

South East Asia is well established for tourists and has good transport connections overland and cheap flights across the region. It has everything first time backpackers want and need: fantastic food, good hostels, friendly people, beautiful nature, rich culture and all at great value and cheap prices compared to many other backpacking destinations.

You may feel you want to go somewhere with less cultural shock, somewhere with a more similar culture and the same language as home like Australia or New Zealand. It is definitely a comfort to be able to talk to people easily when you’re travelling for the first time, but Australia and New Zealand are also really expensive destinations, so consider how much you have to spend on your trip.

Set A Realistic Budget

Figuring out how much you need to save will depend on various factors:

• Where you are travelling
• Time of year
• If you are travelling solo
• What kind of backpacker are you: boujie or budget?
• How long you plan to travel

I’ve written a blog about how to save for travelling that talks in more detail about the above which you can read here. I have also shared budget breakdowns of what I actually spent on my my recent backpacking trip which you can find here.

Different countries and regions have wildly different daily spends, and the costs can be affected by the time of year you are travelling. If it’s high season, Christmas or there are popular local festivals, the costs will go up accordingly due to increased demand.

Travelling solo always comes at a slight premium when it comes to costs: you can’t share taxis, private rooms or even meals (portion sizes are huge in some places!) If you like things a bit fancier like me, your spend will go up unless you are willing to sacrifice certain things.

Check Visa Requirements

In advance of leaving, be sure to check for any visa requirements for your chosen destinations. Whilst most will have pretty easy visa on arrivals, it does depend on the country and on the passport you hold. Don’t get caught out, be prepared.

Do You Need Proof Of Onward Travel?

Some countries require proof of onward travel before they let you in. If you are intending on travelling overland or haven’t got round to booking a flight out as you’re not sure of your plans just yet, you can buy a dummy ticket to meet these requirements.

Buy Travel Insurance

ALWAYS. Do not make the mistake of travelling without travel insurance! It is simply not worth the risk.

Research and Get Your Vaccinations

Vaccinations are a slightly irritating but necessary cost to protect yourself from getting seriously ill. Try not to leave these until the last minute as you can get some for free on the NHS if you book in advance enough, and some vaccinations will need multiple injections to ensure you are fully covered.

Backpacking For Beginners: What To Pack

Backpacking Essentials

You’ll want to be prepared with your packing and chances are you’ll need to invest in some things you need to take for your trip – some obvious and some less so. You can find my full backpacking essentials packing list here; it lists everything you need, as well as everything you didn’t know you needed.

Choose The Right Size Backpack To Take Travelling

I highly recommend you invest in a good quality backpack, since you’ll be living out of it for weeks, months, maybe over a year. The last thing you want is for a budget backpack to split whilst on the road, and there’s no guarantee that this will happen in a city with access to replacements.

What size backpack to choose comes down to how lightly you think you can pack, if you’re planning on flying with only carry on luggage to save money, and where you are going. If you’re going to be travelling through different climates or solely cooler places and doing a lot of hiking, I would recommend a larger backpack. If you’re travelling predominantly in hotter countries, you could get away with a 40l backpack. I know of people who have managed with a 40l in cold countries but I could never!

The Art Of The Capsule Wardrobe

Given you’ll be travelling with a (very) reduced wardrobe, it’s best to pack clothes that easily mix and match. Use neutral clothes as a base or colours that mix well with each other to create a small but perfectly formed capsule wardrobe.

Medication and Toiletries

If you take any prescription medication, be sure to get enough of it in advance of travelling so you don’t run out whilst you are away. It’s also a good idea to look into where you would be able to restock should you need to.

Basic over the counter medication and toiletries can be found in most destinations, but if there is anything you absolutely know works for you or that you’re particular on, stock up. You don’t need to take 6 months worth of shampoo or suncream, though be prepared that these will cost more abroad than at home – especially good suncream.

The one thing I have found difficult to get in certain countries is tampons, so consider bringing a decent amount if you use them – at least they’re light. May be worth switching to a moon cup whilst travelling.

Tips For First Time Backpackers: What To Do On Arrival

There are a few things I recommend first time backpackers do to ease the culture shock and stress of a long journey, especially at the very beginning of their trip.

Book Accommodation For The First Night

Long gone are the days of me rocking up somewhere after an overnight bus and traipsing around from guest house to guest house trying to find a good price on accommodation without anything booked.

I know people who still wing it, but given I’m in my thirties and the standards of accommodation I have now, I like to book a place to stay before I arrive somewhere. As a solo traveller it feels a lot safer and a whole lot less stressful to know I’m sorted, especially after a long journey.

Know How You’re Getting From Airport to Accommodation

Similarly, know the best way to get from the airport to your hostel or hotel on arrival. It may be that cab is the safest and most reliable option, or you may just want the most direct route after a long haul flight. But there may be a super easy and much cheap option via a tourist bus or the Metro that works better than a taxi, so do a bit of research in advance of arriving.

The exception comes when you are arriving after dark – get a taxi, ideally one through Uber or similar so you can track where you are going. Make sure you have a back up charger for your phone and ideally have maps downloaded offline.

Get Connected

Making sure I’m connected to the internet as soon as possible gives me a level of assurance; it’s not an addiction thing, it’s a safety thing.

I will usually get a local sim card or e-sim sorted at the airport on arrival as it’s by far the cheapest option, but if I can’t or I won’t be in the country long enough to warrant it, I’ll get an e-sim sorted in advance of arriving in a new country. It will automatically connect when I arrive and I’ll be able to book an Uber, track maps and share my location as well as stay in contact.

Learn a Few Words of the Local Language

I am no natural linguist, but it takes only a small amount of effort to learn what please and thank you are in the local language. It’s one of the first things I do on arrival in a new country; a few basics go a long way!

Practical Safety Tips for First Time Backpackers

Tell Someone Where You’re Going

I used to have these fantasies about going off grid and travelling the way they used to, when the only form of communication was by a letter that would arrive home weeks after you’d sent it.

I quickly learnt to tell somebody (my parents in most cases) where I was, when I was leaving somewhere and when I arrived in a new place. Not long after I started backpacking a boat went down in Ha Long Bay, locals and backpackers both dying in the tragedy. My parents knowing I was in Laos and not in Vietnam reassured them I was not involved when they couldn’t get hold of me quickly.

With natural disasters a real possibility, do the decent thing and let someone know where you are. I promise you it takes nothing away from your independence or enjoyment of being away.

Stay Connected: Always Have Access to the Internet

Wifi was actually very hard to come by in lots of places on my first round the world trip in 2011 – we actually had to go to an internet cafe and pay for an hour of internet on an old desktop computer, would you believe!

There were advantages to this, namely that it was easier to meet people as no one hid behind their phones, but as a solo female traveller the introduction and ease of widely available wifi and local e-sims has made me feel a lot safer whilst travelling.

Be Aware Of Local Scams

Often you’ll hear about local scams from other backpackers during your travels, but it’s good to be aware of any particulars that may occur in advance if possible. Researching your destination and listen to other backpackers.

Be Mindful Of Your Valuables

It sounds obvious because it is, but it’s easy to become a bit too relaxed on the road after a while. Exercise caution and have a specific place you keep your passport every time to help mitigate any panic.

When on buses, especially overnight coaches, keep your valuables in a bag on your lap, and hold onto that bag whilst you sleep. You should always keep your bag locked, but it’s not enough to rely on just that and keeping it above your head – bags are often slashed and sometimes swiped completely. Keep your valuables on your body.

Keep Digital & Physical Copies of Documents

In case you lose your actual passport, things are made easier when you have a digital copy saved to your phone. In the case of your phone also being lost or stolen, it’s a good idea to have a few photocopies on you too. Keep them in different places.

Take Multiple Bank Cards With You

Chances are at some point one of the following will happen:

• An ATM will eat your card
• You’ll lose your card or it’ll get stolen
• Your card will be cloned

I don’t say this to panic you but to warn you. Take multiple bank cards with you on your trip, and don’t keep them all in the same place in case of theft. Especially important if you are a solo traveller without access to a companion’s bank account in the situation that something goes wrong.

Another thing to be aware of is in a lot of places the ATM gives you back your card after the cash is dispensed. This is the opposite way to the UK, and it’s easier than you think to leave your card in the machine after using it.

Trust Your Gut

Gut feelings are given to us for a reason. Women’s intuition has helped me on my travels on more than one occasion; if you have a bad feeling, listen to it and get out of whatever situation you’re in.

Respect The Local Culture

There is nothing worse than the backpacker who has a complete lack of respect for their surroundings, solely focused on only getting hammered at beach parties with no regard for the locals and the culture of the country they are in. Aside from being a bad traveller, you run extra risk of getting yourself in trouble if you don’t show respect and manners.

The beauty of travelling is experiencing countries with different customs and ways of life than those you have grown up with, and not respecting those differences is not okay. Consider what you wear and how you conduct yourself. Be curious, have manners and respect.

Mindset Tips for First-Time Backpackers

A few mindset tips will help you approach your first days and weeks of backpacking with the right attitude that will make things easier on you.

Expect Things To Go Wrong

Nothing is going to go right all the time when travelling – in fact you’ll encounter multiple things going wrong, but that’s part of backpacking. From delayed and broken down transport, missed flights, bad hostels and food poisoning, the things that go wrong make you resilient, and it’s one of the best things backpacking teaches you. That, and the things that go wrong always make a good story one day!

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Travelling is the best time to get out of your comfort zone, embrace different cultures, try new food and meet people from all over the world. Saying yes to things you wouldn’t usually do and embracing the uncomfortable can lead to brilliant adventures – within reason. Always trust your gut; if something feels properly off, it probably is.

Stay Flexible

I say this as someone who is incredibly type A and often struggles with things going off plan: staying flexible is one of the best mindsets to embrace when you are backpacking. I’m a major planner, so I have never not known which countries I plan to hit and in what order, but hugely respect those who can really go with the flow. That may be a bit too beyond my comfort zone, but I do try to keep space for plans changing where possible.

This may be adding a destination in because I’ve met a fellow backpacker who has raved about it, or changing my plans in order to travel with some friends I’ve made. The latter is particularly special; when you find those connections that become real friendships, the ability to be flexible is fantastic.

Mistakes First Time Backpackers Make (And How To Avoid them)

We all make mistakes backpacking, but here’s some advice to help you try to avoid some big ones.

Rushing

Take. Your. Time.

One of my biggest pet hates is when someone tells me they are going backpacking but are planning on spending about five days in each country. That’s not travelling, that’s barely scratching the surface. I understand that for many people time is limited, and I get wanting to see as much as possible, but it would be my number one tip to not try to fit too many countries in.

Stretching yourself thin between places not only means that you will miss out on loads each place has to offer, but you will spend half your time on buses (or half your budget on planes) and ultimately be exhausted trying to fit everything in. Travel days are long and being on the go all the time is exhausting. I personally like to spend at least 4 nights somewhere, and though this doesn’t always work and some places need less or more time, it’s a good starting point from which to work.

Be selective when planning your route; it’s so much more rewarding seeing fewer places properly. It’s also pretty hard to make friends if you’re travelling around super fast as people tend to take similar routes at roughly the same pace.

Overpacking

It’s so easy to do! So easy just throw things in ‘just in case’ and regret it within days. Within a week of my first backpacking trip I’d thrown out at least 5 items of clothing. We forget that we can (and will want) to buy things as we go along, but we also forget we have to actually carry everything on our backs. What feels doable the first time you try on your backpack does not feel the same weeks later on a 20 minute walk between bus station and hostel.

Overplanning

I like to have a rough plan of where I’m going and to know vaguely when I’ll be where – it’s in my nature to be organised. It’s also good to be aware of local festivals and holidays that may result in very expensive accommodation. Or none available; I once had to sleep on the floor of a guest house reception with mice for company after arriving into Hoi An at the same time as a choir festival.

But being too rigid in your plans means you can really miss out. You may find you fall in love with somewhere (or someone!) and decide to stay longer; you may choose to go off course to travel with some new travel friends. By all means, plan if that’s how you work best, but choose flexible cancellation policies and book flights as late as possible to leave a little room for spontaneity too.

Not Buying Travel Insurance

Obviously the most important reason to buy travel insurance is to cover your healthcare should anything happen to you, but it also covers loss of cash, passports and gadgets. Check you get the right cover for you and ensure to read the fine print – some standard policies won’t cover scuba diving or hiking over a certain altitude. Do not leave home without travel insurance.

Wearing Low Factor Suncream (Or None At All)

I get it; we all want a tan. But I am going to have to sound like your mum here because being in a lot of pain and ill from sunburn just isn’t fun! It’s simply not the vibe we’re aiming for on our travels; it’s not a good look.

Even as someone who doesn’t burn easily, I have been caught out in Thailand and ended up with a blister from sun burn on my nose from sitting on a boat without suncream on before 9am. The UV can be extremely high in lots of popular backpacking spots: don’t make the mistake I did!

Mental Health Whilst On The Road

Homesickness and Travel Fatigue

One thing to be prepared for is the chance you may get some homesickness and/or travel fatigue whilst backpacking. The latter in particular happens to almost everyone who travels for long enough, and getting homesick is really normal too, especially if you’re travelling over Christmas.

It does pass, but show yourself some grace, remember it’s normal and if you can, slow down your travels, get a bit of routine in and treat yourself to some home comforts to help. This could be anything from some Western food, a trip to the cinema or checking into an Air BnB in order to have your own space for a little while.

Meeting People Whilst Travelling

Getting to know new people all the time is exciting for some and daunting for others. Even if you’re an extrovert, the nature of short backpacking friendships takes some getting used to, but I’m a firm believer that the right people make everything better. No one will understand the situation you’re in and challenges you face better than your fellow backpackers. I’ve written about how to make friends whilst travelling, and I hope it helps you if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by it all.

Staying Medicated

If you take any medication for depression or anxiety, be sure to stock up before travelling, speak to your GP about logistics of medication and be aware of the extra sun sensitivity some antidepressants cause.

Final Thoughts For The First Time Backpacker

Remember You Are Never Further Than 24 Hours From Home

One of the things people tell me they are most worried about when they go backpacking for the first time is “what if I hate it and I’m really unhappy?”

I have genuinely never met anyone who hated travelling and regretted going, but if you realise it’s not for you after a good few weeks of giving it a chance, please remember you are never further than 24 hours from home. It is not a failure if you do decide to come home, or move onto another country because you’re not enjoying where you are.

Be Present; Appreciate It All

Travelling and seeing so many brilliant things in a short space of time can become normal surprisingly quickly. Remember to take a step back, remember why you’re doing this and appreciate the time away. It’s a really special thing to be able to travel this way, and these months will hold some of the highlights of your life, so be present and most of all: enjoy as much as possible.

You can find more blogs to help you plan your backpacking trip here.

FAQs About First-Time Backpacking

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