Adventurous Holidays: an Essential Checklist for New Backpackers

If you’re an adventurous type, then no doubt you’ve thought about backpacking. Perhaps you’ve gone exploring another country before, or maybe you’re curious about how to get started. Backpacking is a journey through whatever country you can think of. Want to explore the sights and culture of Japan? Or perhaps you want to visit some remote areas of the Himalayas? Maybe a trip to Europe sounds more exciting?

To help you get started on your backpacking adventure, here’s a short checklist of what you need to prepare beforehand. The preparation isn’t as scary as it sounds, but it’s vital so that you don’t get lost in the wilderness without any assistance.

Decide Where You Want to Go

Consider where you actually want to go on your backpacking adventure. For beginners, it’s recommended that you pick an area with a lot of amenities and facilities. Don’t start in a remote area because you aren’t used to the freedom of travelling yet. Once you’re more experienced, you can pick more obscure areas and rural parts of a country.

There won’t be luxurious hotels or fast food. You’ll spend some nights camping out and you’ll have to prepare some rations whenever you get a chance. You can search online resources like a survivalist blog to learn more information about how to overcome the challenges of preparation.

Bring Someone With You

Backpacking is a great solo holiday because you’ll get to interact with many strangers and make friends. However, it’s always better to bring someone with you. Whether it’s your friends or family members, you’ll have to arrange for group transportation to your destination and make a decision together where you’d like to go.

When backpacking with friends and family, it’s important that you split supplies and share your duties. Someone could carry cooking equipment, someone could carry a tent, and another person could carry food.

Budget

Make sure you carry enough of a currency to live comfortably while you backpack. You don’t need to bring loads of credit cards and a thick wallet. If you’re backpacking in rural areas, costs for food and supplies should be fairly low, but it’s always best to do a bit of research before you fly off to your destination. Always keep a reserve stash of emergency money in case something happens.

Gear Up

Now you need to pack your supplies and equipment. As a general rule, never carry too much. If you want to explore mountains and be more flexible with here you explore, then it’s best to pack light. Remember the golden rule: less is more, but there are some things you shouldn’t forget like a waterproof backpack.

Some essentials would be your phone, money, emergency contact information, and identity cards. If you plan to backpack in urban areas, then you don’t need to carry a tent or other camping supplies, and you won’t need to carry cooking equipment but some rations and emergency snacks and food would be a good idea. If you do plan to backpack in the wilderness, then you’ll need to carry a tent with you, a sleeping bag, and perhaps some cooking equipment and other survival tools.