Backpackers! Here are our tips and recommendations to make your next trip a perfect trip.
The option of going out with your backpack and everything that is associated with this is one of the best ways to travel. Perhaps sometimes it is a bit slower, as it means avoiding taxis, hotels, and others … that you change for the use of cheaper public transport, sleeping in hostels or backpackers’ hostels, or even on a Couchsurfing sofa at the house of a stranger.
It seems easy, and in a way it is, but everything will be better if you avoid making certain very common and easily avoidable mistakes. Although of course, the backpacker’s life also involves learning through experience, taking the seemingly more difficult path, although generally much more satisfying. Despite everything, we give you some tips that may help you get started having taken one more step.
Packing
Be very careful with carrying excess luggage. If your backpack is 65 liters, possibly you tend to fill it as much as you can: a big mistake. Space is a precious commodity as is the weight you are going to carry, and you may add a few things along the way. In addition, you may need to include some food or drinks that you will need in that backpack, and you may not have that space from the beginning.
Baggage
It is always better to leave things at home than to be forced to carry extra bags or leave something that you may later regret. Another fact that should be taken into account is that the fact of carrying a traveling backpack implies that you will walk and a lot with it, more reasons to avoid unnecessary excess weight. As far as clothes are concerned, you must bring enough to be able to change and change the context but in a basic way, you can always wash on the trip. If you know a little about the destination or have informed yourself, bring the appropriate volume of coat and an extra that takes up as little space as possible but provides shelter or insulation as much as possible.
Planning and booking
It is true that you have to have a certain idea of where you are going to go and where you are going to sleep, but you have to do relative planning. That is, it should be as flexible as possible, not overbooking and trying to close ourselves to a specific plan, especially if we are talking about a long trip.
Recommended: book the hostel for the first night, especially if we go to a big city and a typical destination for travelers.
Bad idea: book directly beyond the first nights or hire excursions and activities, especially when they are one after another or in different places.
In general, it is very important to know where and when we are going, that is, arriving in a big city in the middle of spring is synonymous with a high number of travelers and backpackers. In this case, it is advisable to book the first night two or three days in advance, especially to ensure we have the desired accommodation.
We must never forget that we are interested in being flexible, who has not fallen in love with a place unexpectedly and yet has been greatly disappointed with another in principle more popular? Other key planning points are:
– Knowing a word or expression of the local language is never too much.
– It is very important to find out about cultural norms, especially in certain destinations.
– Having a general idea of basic geography will help us more than we think.
Money
Basic and delicate subject. We should never run out of cash, but it is not at all advisable to move with large amounts. It is important to know what access we are going to have to ATMs in our destination and if our card is going to work.
Never keep all your money, cards, and documentation in one place, all separately. It is very important that the money you calculate that you are going to spend in a day is not together with the total, you will be calmer. Also, the total should never be all together.
You can leave an authorization and bank details in your usual place of residence with someone you trust, perhaps it will save you some complications. If your card is a credit card, sometimes it is advisable to notify the bank so that they do not block it for suspicious use. This is especially in certain destinations, such as Bangkok.
Was this guide helpful? We hope so!
