Backpacking Lessons Learned - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

bibowj · 01-28-2008, 09:49 AM

As a first time long term backer who learned a ton of info from this site, I thought I should return the favor witha post of a few of the high points of what Ive learned now that its coming to a end...beer in hand, in a London Hostel bar.... one day from my flight home....

anyways, here goes:

1- Solo backpacking sucks. Dont let anyone tell you different. It gets very lonely and sometimes its hard seeing cities alone..... however, it DOES make you better, more sociable and less afraid. Day 1 in any city will suck. Youll get to the hostel at 4pm and it will be empty cept for the desk people. SO you throw your pack on your bed, and go search for food. YOu come home to a empty hostel room still, and crash out early only to hear your roomates come in at 1 am from the time of thier collective lives. Next day you see the sites alone and well... it sucks.... BUT! you come home that evening, and you hang out in the common area and people start filitering in. Conversation comes easy, and soon its you who is coming home at 1am as well..

2- Bring ear plugs and a eye mask. Just do it. Even if you think youre a heavy sleeper. It seems that everyone checks into their room at 1 am on the first night...

3- Hooking up in the hostel world is just plain hard.. so dont even worry about it. Concentrate on making friends...

4- If nothing else, make sure you know the trans/subway system of whatever city youre headed to before you get there...ie how to get to your hostel. The rest will work itsself out but theres alot of stress to finding youre hostel when you dont speak the language and its 10 at night...

5-Pack less than you think youll need. YOu can always buy more on the road..and you will. Bring plenty of socks though... haha

6-If youre crossing the english channe.. try not to take the ferry. Imigration is sooooo much harder to deal with that way instead of the chunnel.

7- I used easyJet a few times and it was great.. as good as any american airline at least.

8- Eurolines bus system is a good deal if youre looking for cheaper travel, and theyre better than Greyhound... however, its still a bus...I did a 13 hour trip from the Alps to London and I wanted to kill myself by the time it was over..

9-Winter travel in Europe is great. With global warming, winters here are very mild for the most part. Youll need a jacket, but not a heavy one. Plus the sites are nearly deserted... I was at the louve last week and 5 of us walked right in, with no wait...

10- If I was to do it again, I wouldnt plan my cities so much in advance. I ended up not going to some of them because I met people on the road and followed them to where they were going,....and that was a great feeling.. changing plans on a dime..

11- Nearly all hostels rent towels for like 50/20p cents for youre whole stay. Its a decent deal really...Id go with that as as plan.

12- Bring at least one good bar/club outfit... I didnt and regreted it. Pub crawls are great fun, but backpacking clothes just dont work...

13- Everyone talks about 2 websites when youre traveling...FACEBOOK and Couch Surfing.com ...I would look into both before hand.

14- Hope you like Aussies and Kiwis ...because youll meet more of them than anyone..

15- I hate to be the one to promote it, but I wish I had brought a mini laptop with me... yes yes I know , hate me for not living in the true spirit of backpacking...but having to pay 2 quid for 15 min of net is horrible... they make some pretty nice super light and small ones that would be ok for backpacking...plus nearly every hostel I stayed in offered free wifi...

16- If you go to Holland, skip Amsterdam... its a pretty great country and youll never see it if you go to Amsterdam...

17- If youre long terming it... plan at least one rest day in each city or youll burn out. You need days of laundry, sleeping in and just talking....if you try to hit everycity in a tornado and than move on to the next, then the only days youll rest are on your travel days...and that just sucks.

18- Hope you like bread, because god knows youll eat alot of it....EVERYWHERE...

19- Bring a contact book...like an address book, for email address. Youll need it, and it will fill up fast...

20- Did i mention ear plugs?

Anyways, these are just the things Ive learned from my trip. Everyone will expierence the lifestyle different of course, so take with a grain of salt..

**Canadian Bacon** · 01-28-2008, 11:06 AM

Awesome lessons learned man. Sounds like you had a great time

I also thought solo backpacking sucked at first... but when you get used to it, its actually an awesome experience

SGRHewitt · 01-28-2008, 11:16 AM

I must say, solo backpacking is the way to go. I agree when you first arrive you wont know anyone, but while in Norway I met two guys from the UK and we had a blast going through Oslo. I went to a couple of places I never would've went too.

And going solo allows for more flexibility. While in Rome I wanted to spend a long time at the Colosseum, and my two friends wanted to go on a tour of the city. It ended in a bit of a verbal fight and I didn't do much talking to one of the friends for the rest of the trip.

I must agree with the rest days, those are key. Especially if you're operating from a "hub" such as London. Fly back and spend an extra day in London, it's a great city to be stuck in, thats for sure lol.

polarbear · 01-28-2008, 03:54 PM

good tips, things for me to think about for my trip.
i wasnt planning on hooking up on my trip, but since you said it was hard... im up for a challenge! :D

**travelpunk** · 01-28-2008, 05:02 PM

It's definitely all perspective. Some people are more comfortable alone than others.
I, for one, loved going solo because I love challenges, I love the unknown, and I love building from scratch and that goes for relationships. But I love to decompress alone and I love the freedom that traveling solo will give you.

And to solve the hostel problem of people coming in at night waking you up, well, that's why I encourage people to "over budget" and to me, that means being able to stay in your own private room as much as you can.

If this is the first time on your trip and you go once in awhile, why not save an extra grand (or a few hundred more before you leave) and fork out the difference on a private room as opposed to dorm rooms? Too hard to save, not making enough money? No excuse. Make it happen. That's what I do

.

This will eliminate ear plugs

.

I wouldn't skip Amsterdam, but maybe don't make it the focus, but rather the last stop while in The Netherlands.

Thanks for sharing, bro!

**marc873** · 01-28-2008, 05:15 PM

Yeah as for Amsterdam, its a great city, and I think it must be seen, but other parts of Holland are just as nice if not far better. Getting away from the mass hordes. For example, we took a train about an hour and a half out into the country, jumped a river boat and got off at small dutch towns hundreds of years old without a tourist to be seen. Other places like Haarlem which is close to the Dam, or Utrecht or Maastricht are all great destinations and have the same dutch vibe without the crowd. But I do feel Amsterdam has to be felt to be appreciated. Its a wonderful yet dangerous city.

**DC_Jessica** · 01-28-2008, 05:50 PM

I like hanging out in the dorm rooms, personally. I am closeted anti-social and really very shy, so if I have a Fortress of Solitude to run to, that's where I'll go when I start to get tired or cranky (aka 3-4 days into a trip) instead of meeting people and getting tips on funky things to see/do.

Also, I get lonely! I sleep with a stuffed animal at home (habit that I formed as an ADULT believe it or not) and since I'm a strict light-packing backpacker, I don't bring anything to cling to. So I like hearing other people around at night.

But I'm also a habitual long-term relationshipper, and have never really been single traveling, hence lack of hooking up. Though it's a bit of a protection because Lord knows I'd end up doing something absolutely stupid like, "sure, I'd love to go back to your place!"

**jengt** · 01-28-2008, 06:13 PM

I stayed in dorms & private rooms. There were nights that I just HAD to get some sleep & I went for the private. I still hung out with folks in the common areas, I just wanted to know that someone wasn't going to be making a lot of noise & turning the lights on while I was trying to get some shut-eye.

Even in the private rooms though I still used my earplugs. The hostels had thin walls & were in busy areas of town.

**Elizabeth** · 01-28-2008, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bibowj

4- If nothing else, make sure you know the trans/subway system of whatever city youre headed to before you get there...ie how to get to your hostel. The rest will work itsself out but theres alot of stress to finding youre hostel when you dont speak the language and its 10 at night...

Would you believe I broke this rule 3 times in a row?

Luckily all times there was either a security guard, a phonebook, or an internet cafe just outside the train station involved. =]

**afterlife3** · 01-28-2008, 11:06 PM

I enjoyed my solo backpacking experience. Sure I went to sites alone (there were times where I went to sites with others from the hostel), but that allowed me more time to absorb what I was experiencing and allowed me time to relax. I met a whole lot more people than I would have if I was with a group of people. I did run into groups of friends that kept to themselves and did not integrate. It was a little annoying because I wanted to meet and talk to them. Good points for the most part, about packing and knowing how to get around the city before hand. I did not really have any problems sleeping in dorms while traveling for two months. On the other hand there was a smell factor... some people do not shower regularly, just a warning (smelly Italian guy in Madrid).

On relationships or hooking up, the challenge can be fun. You just need to realize that there is a good chance you will not see the other person again after you split ways. And... if you feel that at any part of the night that you could possibly be making a mistake, just step away from it.

bibowj · 01-29-2008, 04:17 AM

I tink I meant more that it sucks as its hard sometimes... Ill never travel again w/o doing alone...so I think I mis stated myself. I love it..it jst really hard at first... its almost like a education...or rather a reeducation. I learned to love being me again...etc...

I admit that I had many a late night over pints talk with other travelers about the benefits of both forms of travel, and I found that I got a little snobby (in a nice way) about being a solo traveler because there werent that many (off season and all)...

On the hooking up thing, I didnt mean its impossible... I had plenty of chances...and I admit i swayed from the straight and narrow a time or 2 ...I just meant that logistically its very hard...

On a side note. DO you guys find that single travelers are generally easier to get along with than people that are in small groups? I tended to be weary of 2 or more groups because they seemed to isolate themselves quicker whilst the single guys/girls were always game for anything...

Marc- Utrecht is specfically the town I went to that made me think that I would rather skip Amsterdam...very cool town!

**joe7f** · 01-29-2008, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bibowj

On a side note. DO you guys find that single travelers are generally easier to get along with than people that are in small groups? I tended to be weary of 2 or more groups because they seemed to isolate themselves quicker whilst the single guys/girls were always game for anything...

Being single (not in a relationship sense) I think automatically puts in a different mindset. If you never meet anyone in a hostel that can be lonely (I felt this way a little bit in London, I kept meeting small groups partially due to my weird sleep schedule).

You have to weigh the benefits of traveling solo that is Complete Freedom vs the disadvantage of having the occasional lonely night. I agree with Tony that having the money to get a private room can make sense (especially if you have an early morning flight or something like that) but also with Jessica because without people in your room it can get too quiet. For example, my first night in Bruges (also the day landing in Europe which I agree ALWAYS suuuuucckks) was in an empty dorm. I loved the peace but hated not being able to talk to anyone in my room. It was above a bar so while that was the "common area" the combination of it being offpeak travel and a locals hangout made it difficult to chat in English.

--Joey

**Canadian Bacon** · 01-29-2008, 01:50 PM

Solo backpacking is, in a way, more like real travelling because there is absolutely no type of social consistency. So you have inconsistent surroundings, and inconssistent social networks... so its like totally a crap shoot, and you must rely all on your skills, luck, etc... which is generally when you find out most about yourself.

Basically with solo travelling, you either have awesome nights or shitty nights

**raoulduke** · 01-30-2008, 12:28 AM

When I was looking for a a place to stay I made sure to pick hostels with their own bar, or at least a decent common area. I found them to be much more social and fun.

I've broken rule number 4 a couple of times with extremely stressful results.

Jeans and t-shirts can be worn for ages when you're desperate, but pack lots of underwear.

**ajb3000** · 01-30-2008, 05:52 AM

Travelling alone is definitely the way to do it if you want to immerse yourself in another culture. I have no problem being by myself though, and at times have been the only person staying in an entire hotel and it doesn't bother me for a few nights as I always meet people during the day while siteseeing, be them locals or other backpackers.

One thing I have noticed is that I can be very outgoing in meeting and talking to people while abroad, yet I can be quite shy and quiet when at home in the UK, I wonder why that is...

**Canadian Bacon** · 01-30-2008, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajb3000

One thing I have noticed is that I can be very outgoing in meeting and talking to people while abroad, yet I can be quite shy and quiet when at home in the UK, I wonder why that is...

Ah! Interesting question... one that I have thought of a lot on my own.

Here's the answer: because the social conditions of the backpacker is more conductive to meeting people.

You're at a hostel in whatever country, people expect you to talk to them and vice versa. In your hometown, there aren't too many times that you expect a stranger to randomly come up and start taking to you, much less chilling with you. I mean, it does happen, but its an exception. When you're backpacking, it is the norm.

So many times we're discouraged from talking to others in our hometown becuase they will think we are weird (or we will think they are weird). But when you're backpacking.. there is no such caveat. That's why backpacking rocks and staying at hotels blow.

...And if you ever noticed.. the very arrangements of couches in the common room determines how people interact. Like couches facing each other will have a much livelier common room than couches beside each other... which is why I always like the Los Amigos (Madrid) common room

snowball1982 · 02-02-2008, 09:18 AM

This is great info everyone, keep on it!
Thanks!

erin_canadian_chick · 02-02-2008, 11:25 AM

I like seeing the sights alone..you can take as long as you like, and can easily get caught up in the moment of looking at something or feeling something and not have another person looking over your shoulder all the time, or giving you "the eye" that they want to leave and go somewhere else.

glitterhairdye · 02-02-2008, 03:44 PM

And you don't have to argue with anyone about what to do. I love going out by myself. And then you can hang out with whoever you want later... I love it. And I love meeting people, it's a lot easier to go out with a group when you're a solo traveler than when it's two or more I think..

**worldwidemike** · 02-03-2008, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erin_canadian_chick

I like seeing the sights alone..you can take as long as you like, and can easily get caught up in the moment of looking at something

I agree, erin. Especially if it's a historical sight, it is so much easier to lose yourself and imagine it as it was when you're alone...

worldwidemike