Backpacking can really change your life: It certainly did mine and I really wish I had done more of it before "life got in the way"
The notion of gap year seemed so crazy to me and my fellow Americans... until I did something like it and took what I considered to be a crazy-long vacation of 6 weeks. It's difficult if not impossible to pull off backpacking once you have a house, a career, kids, other things that you can't just walk away from for a while.
However, so many people do backpacking "wrong" and I was one of them. I no longer make this mistake and here are some tips from someone who ended up backpacking for several years....albeit with a gap in-between.
Take half of what you "think you need" and then cut that down by another half
The biggest mistake I see of most people is that they bring stuff to accommodate ANY situation, including situations that they are extremely unlikely to encounter. If you are going to primarily beaches, you are not going to need hiking boots.
If you are traveling to primarily poorer countries, most of your heavy cotton shirts are going to be far too hot and believe it or not, most countries actually sell clothes and at a far lower price than what you may be accustomed to.
Extremely popular and inexpensive destinations like Nepal are frequented by backpackers and while yes, the Himalayas are in fact quite cold, the local areas thrive on tourism and have all of the top gear available for rent for very little money. I have seen people on global trips that had to carry loads of mountaineering gear around everywhere they went just for the 8 days or so they spent trekking in the mountains. Most of these people eventually tried to sell this heavy and otherwise useless gear and others ended up simply throwing it out.
Those $200 Timberlands can be rented in Nepal for $1 a day, do you really want to carry them all over the place?
Toiletries are for sale EVERYWHERE
I was guilty of this: I brought a massive toiletries bag complete with all manner of stuff as if I was going to be arriving in the middle of the desert with no access to supermarkets. This is almost certainly not going to happen to anyone. People all over the world bathe and brush their teeth, you do not need to stockpile this gear for your travels.
Trying to find the places off the beaten path could get you in big trouble
There are a ton of people out there that want to avoid the crowds and experience parts of the country that no one else will ever see - it's understandable to want this but you could also be opening yourself up to some pretty terrible situations. Many of the "fun" backpacking countries can be quite unsafe and there is nothing quite as horrible as being held and knifepoint by a homeless drug-addict as you are wandering down the street with a massive backpack on - a backpack that they are aware probably contains at least 1 valuable Bluetooth capable device - this situation actually happened to me and it haunts me to this day, and it only occurred because I was "too cool" to go the heavily traveled route.
This isn't to suggest that you should live your trip in fear but honestly, the chances of you getting to unseen places is extremely unlikely anyway, why no share the experience with a group?
Booking everything in advance isn't always the best idea
This one is more and more difficult to get into the heads of modern backpackers because everything is digital now. When I first started backpacking I was using a Lonely Planet that had a bunch of phone numbers and addresses in it.
I quickly discovered that part of the fun was knowing just in a general sense where I was going, meeting some strangers at a local bar, becoming friends, and trading advice on where to go and what to do next. I ended up meeting a bunch of people that I am still pals with today because of this. The reasoning behind not booking everything in advance is because many of these low-cost booking sites have no refund policies and now you will find yourself either losing money or having to leave your new found pals in order to head somewhere on your own.
I realize that some countries require you to book lodging before granting a visa and if this ends up being the case I say book a few nights only, then start to figure it out. It really was a game changer for me once I simply didn't have a plan. It also eliminated all stress because we were all content to just hang out until we didn't like it anymore and then we moved on as a team.
Which brings me to my last point
Get off of social media and talk to the people around you
If you don't come out of your shell and actually talk to the others at the hostels that you stay in you are going to miss out on what I consider to be the most important part of backpacking: Meeting people from all over the world that very well could end up being awesome people.
Like I said before, the people I met from as long as 20 years ago while backpacking are still friends of mine today. Growing up in the middle of USA, I never thought I would have friends from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Nepal, Scotland, Poland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and Brazil but I do... all because we simply talked to one another while mutually traveling. Of course smart phones and tablets didn't exist 20 years ago so I guess I had a bit more opportunity to break the ice.
There's a lot more to backpacking than just this but mostly in summary the tips I have are this:
- Take very little with you in your backpack
- Pick up toiletries at the millions of minimarts that exist globally instead of bringing them all with you
- Don't make a rigid schedule by booking everything in advance
- Don't put so much emphasis on "staying away from the crowds" because this can be dangerous and / or counterproductive
- Get off the phone and talk to those around you
And most of all, have fun... This experience is a life-changer for most of the people I know and it can be for you as well.