How To Plan a Backpacking Trip

Let me walk you through the process on how I plan my backpacking trips. I feel like each trip is different and I plan them a little different too, so I'll explain the different ways you can do it.

I've planned weekends away in London, to 6 months backpacking around India, even 2 months from Portugal to Romania by bus. There's many types of trips you can take, but they all require some sort of planning, some more than others. This is a general overview but I will also go into detail on my 6 month India trip and my bus trip in Europe too on separate posts.

It all starts with an idea...

Maybe you've seen a post on social media, or there is a country you have always wanted to go to. It will always start with a spark of curiosity. The next step is gathering as much information as you can. I really enjoy watching YouTube videos or using blogs to discover the must see places in a country. I then do a bit of research and see the top places I want to go.

Cost

Cost is going to determine everything in your trip. Starting from where you are going. A 2 week all inclusive in Vegas or a 3 month backpacking in Thailand might cost the same but are very different experiences. You need to consider your flights, transport in the country, food, accommodation, activities, souvenirs and shopping and also an emergency fund. There are also costs you need to consider before you even leave, such as travel insurance, vaccinations, visas and passport renewal. You need to determine how much budget you have and then work out how much per day that would allow, then you can decide how long you are going for and potentially cut or add places to your list. I will do a separate post on how I budget and save for a trip.

I usually start by saving up as much as I can, once I have the amount of money I want to spend i'll first deduct the costs before I get somewhere, such as the flights, the vaccinations and the travel insurance. Then I'm left with a final number. Let's say your final number is £2,000 for how much you want to spend on your trip and you want to go to Portugal for 3 weeks. Divide £2,000 by 21 gives you about £95 a day which is a decent budget for Portugal (although backpacking you can half that). You'll need to work out average price of accommodation, transport, food and activities. This is where you can manipulate things slightly to fit your budget, maybe staying in hostels instead of hotels, or taking buses instead of trains or Ubers. Once you have your daily budget you can make it work for your needs.

Algarve, Portugal

Logistics

Once you have your list you need to work out how to get to each place, so you can create an itinerary that actually works! You don't want to be in a city and realize there is no way of getting to the next place you want to go. This bit can be tedious and sometimes frustrating and boring, but making sure you know how you can get to each place will make life on the road a lot easier. I use websites like Rome to Rio to figure out logistics of travel. Once you have figured this out, you can either book your transport and lock in your itinerary or save it and go with the flow once you get to your destination. I usually like going with the flow if I have time, and I lock in and book if I'm very tight on time (like when I travelled India with my friend for 2 weeks). It's important to find out if you need to book transport in advance or if you can go with the flow. Trains in India book out fast so it's important to book in advance, however, in Europe you can book a train a few minutes before. Do your research before you go.

Admin before you go

It's not exciting, but it needs to be done. Do you have everything you need? Is your passport valid, do you need any visas? Check and obtain these things before you book your flights. As a dual citizen of Portugal and UK, I usually use my UK passport to travel outside of Europe and so I rely a lot on the Foreign Travel Advice on the UK's government website, it will tell me everything from safety, visas, vaccinations and general advice. Hopefully country has something similar you can check.

If it's your first time travelling to South East Asia, it's likely you'll need some vaccinations, go to your local travel clinic and speak to a doctor to arrange before you go. These can be pricey, so budget for them, although the vaccinations last a long time.

Waiting for my rabies vaccine in India after I got scratched by a cat (my own fault)

Booking your flights

Once you have all your information and you have worked out cost and logistics and you have your list of exciting places you want to see, its time to book your flights! I use Skyscanner to look at my flights beforehand and check prices and also to book, although personally I prefer booking directly with the airline other than 3rd parties even if its a little more expensive, I feel more reassured booking directly if something goes wrong.

Going with the flow or booking everything in advance?

I've done both kinds of trips before and it mostly depends on time constraints and the country I am travelling to. When I did my first solo trip to Malaysia I only booked my first night accommodation and had a rough idea of where I wanted to go, but it gave me the freedom to travel around at my own pace and also meet people on the road and travel with them which was a lot of fun. However when my friend met me for 11 days in North India during my 6 month stint, there were 5 cities we wanted to visit and long train rides, not to mention the trains book out months in advance so I booked everything in advance. Once she left I then went with the flow as I had time. Whatever you decide is going to be personal to you, but you will also learn from your mistakes on the road and might do it differently next time!

Meeting lovely local ladies in Pushkar, India

Just a brief overview on how I would plan a backpacking trip. I'll be doing separate posts on how I actually budget, and my specific trip examples, from the weekends away to the 6 months trip to India, so stay tuned for that!