People everywhere around the world seem to be enthusiastic to explore every place around the world. Where many people agree that travelling gives you the exposure of a lifetime, the fact of the matter is that travelling is very expensive. The plane tickets, the passport and vise fees, the accommodation, the shopping, everything costs a lot. In this scenario, isn’t travelling just for the rich?

Cheap Travelling: Backpacking

Well, not really. There are ways to travel without spending a fortune if you know how to. Backpacking, for instance, is the cheapest way to satisfy your wanderlust without going broke. The concept of backpacking comes for minimalism and requires you to bid goodbye to everything that is even remotely unnecessary. So, when you backpack, you only take a backpack full of supplies and survive off of them. However, backpacking is not easy and requires plenty of effort. Here is how you can get started:

Research for suitable destinations

As easy as the concept of backpacking sounds, you should not think that you can simply go anywhere around the world with your backpack and survive. Moreover, not every country is cheap enough for you to visit and have a great backpacking experience. Since backpacking is all about saving money in the first place, you need to ensure that you find destinations that fit in a small budget.

So, before you do anything – apply for a visa, check your passport expiry, look for places to visit in a country – you need to research about the backpack friendly places to visit. The best backpack friendly destinations do not just cost little to travel to, but provide services such as accommodation and supplies at lower costs. Moreover, have a great public transport system that you could use instead of going for expensive taxi rides.

Gear

Now that you have sorted out how to pick the destination for your backpacking, now you must decide what you really need for your backpacking. After all, you just cannot backpack without the right equipment. But wasn’t backpacking all about minimalism? Yes, it was. But minimalism does not require that you completely let go of worldly commodities, it just requires you to get only those that are absolutely necessary. So, what you really need to do is make a list of essentials for your backpacking tours. Once you have this list, go out and get these materials but do not think about saving money here. Get the best you can because if they break or tear or falter during your tour, you will be in trouble.

Research about your Destination

Just picking out a destination to backpack to is not all that is required off you for research. What is really required is that you look into the culture and habits of people in that place. You should know how to act and what to do once you get to that place. Moreover, you should also know what places to visit and what currency denominations you need and make a budget for yourself. However, not all information that you find is important. For instance, if you are going to Docklands, you do not need to know the engagement venues at Renzo’s Bar in Docklands unless you plan to get married on your tour – which we highly advise against on a backpacking tour. Gather all relevant information including accommodation spaces, public transport and eating places before you actually set out for the destination.

Worth It?

Many people tend to ask whether so much hard work is even worth it in the end. Well, it definitely is. Not only does it teach you to explore, but also to budget your resources effectively.

To read more on topics like this, check out the travel category.