Backpacking somewhere across the globe is a super exciting and invigorating experience. You get to meet new people, you’re exposed to different cultures and customs and you can try all sorts of unfamiliar food.

If you’re going backpacking for the first time, here are some handy tips that will give you a head start.

Backpacking Tips For Beginners

• Do your research: First of all, make sure to check the weather in the exact location you’re travelling to, so you can pack the right clothes. Most importantly, do a little bit of research about the country, for any important rules or regulations, and even check for areas you’d like to visit there. Also, try to familiarise yourself with basic words or common phrases in the relevant foreign language. This will especially be helpful in communicating with locals who don’t speak or understand your mother tongue.

 

• Don’t use a bag that’s longer than your body: Using a bag that is awkwardly longer than your body will only encourage you to pack a whole lot of unnecessary things and it can be super uncomfortable on your travels. Instead, use a backpack that fits you right and feels comfortable with weight in it. Choose a backpack with a lot of inner pockets to store your valuable necessities and outer mesh pockets to keep your water bottles in.

 

• Comfort over fashion: It’s important to note that you should always choose comfortable clothes over fashionable ones when backpacking. This is simply because you’ll always be on the go and moving from one place to another, so it wouldn’t make sense to dress fashionably in this type of occasion. Choose lightweight clothes that are comfortable, breathable, durable and can be worn more than once. Dressing this way will also prevent unnecessary attention from pickpockets and thieves.

 

• Pack light: When packing your clothes, you want to bring as little as you possibly can. To help you with this, bring out all the clothes you think you’ll need and take away half or even more of those. You’ll only really need a few of your most basic clothes that you can repeatedly wash and wear, which includes a couple pairs of socks and underwear. If you want to organise your things and create more space, use packing cubes.

 

• Roll your clothes: Rolling your clothes is such a great space saver and you don’t have to worry about your clothes being creased!

 

• Bring a ‘loo kit’: Depending where you travel to, some countries don’t quite offer the necessities you need after using the toilet and for the other countries, well, let’s just say the ground would be your toilet. It’s best to bring along a packet of tissues or wipes and anything else sanitary with you on your travel. This will also come in handy in general really.

 

• Bring plastic or canvas bags: You never really know what kind of things will happen on your trip. Perhaps your clothes get really dirty and you need somewhere to put them, or you do a bit of shopping for snacks and more souvenirs and now you have no more room in your backpack. This is where bringing a few plastic or canvas bags come in handy.

 

• Pack small bottles of toiletries: Your aim is to pack light, so don’t go bringing huge bottles of toiletries. Instead, use small bottles to pack your essentials and if they run out, just buy new ones in the local store and refill them, simple! Essentials like toothpaste, which might be a bit awkward to pack, can be bought from small local shops at the destination, so essentials like this can be left behind.

 

• Stay in hostels with free breakfast: Staying in hostels is a great way to meet other travellers and possibly make new (travel) friends. There’s nothing more exciting than meeting like-minded individuals with great stories to share. If you can get to stay at hostels offering free breakfast, that’s even better, because who doesn’t love free food?!

 

• Don’t plan your whole trip: The whole point of backpacking is to be spontaneous and explore your exotic surroundings. It’s okay to plan the beginning of your trip, but from there, you just have to go out, be free and explore for yourself.

 

If you feel like your clothes need a professional cleaning after your trip, you can count on Laundryheap to get the job done for you. Laundryheap is available to clean your clothes in some cities in the following locations: UK, Ireland, Netherlands and the UAE.