The day I turned eighteen I sat my parents down on the couch
and told them I had made plans for backpacking Costa Rica for three weeks with a friend my age. My entire senior year of high school I saved up all my money from working at a grocery store and booked my plane ticket, which hostels I was going to stay at, and everything I was going to do.
I'm sure you can imagine how telling my parents went, especially since they both work for law enforcement and have been extremely protective my whole life. Nonetheless, I convinced them and embarked on a journey that changed my life. I had never backpacked through a country before and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Because of this, I feel confident that I can tell you what you should and shouldn’t do when backpacking, because believe me, I learned the hard way.
1. Don’t settle for a cheap-o backpack.
When you are lugging forty pounds of stuff you wish you didn’t bring, you’re going to be so glad you spent the extra dollars and got a really sturdy backpack. Make sure you get one that makes the weight rest on your hips rather than your shoulders.
2. Pack light.
I can’t stress this enough. Pick three or four outfits that you can interchange and no more clothes than that. Bring the necessities like sunscreen, bug spray, sunglasses, umbrella, and toiletries - don’t bring unnecessary things. I don’t know why I thought it was necessary to bring three books in my backpack along with five different kinds of sandals. When you backpack, you realize how unimportant material objects are to enjoying your trip. I ended up throwing out a lot of the things I brought just because it wasn’t worth breaking my back over them. It will be so worth it when your bus driver tells you there’s no more storage room under the bus and you have to sit with your backpack on your lap for four hours. Yeah, that happened to me.
3. Bring a money belt.
This may seem really touristy but it was one of the best things my friend and I brought on our backpacking trip. A money belt is sort of like a flat fanny pack that goes underneath your clothes that you can put your money and passport in. If you are going to a country that can be potentially dangerous, it is so much safer to have this rather than putting your valuables in your pockets.
4. Don’t be afraid of staying in hostels.
If you’re traveling somewhere relatively touristy, you won’t have any trouble finding good hostels. Because of horror stories and movies that project only the worst case-scenarios of hostels, many people think they aren’t safe places to stay at.
From experience, I can say that staying in hostels was part of what made my trip so amazing. I met people from all over the world and shared cab rides where five different languages were being spoken at once. I fell asleep to the sound of monkeys in the trees outside and took showers literally in the jungle. I rented bikes from the hostels for a dollar per day and got all the best travel advice from the locals who owned them. On top of all of this, hostels are insanely cheap to stay at. I never paid more than $10 per night at any of the four different hostels on my trip.
5. Make sure you have a basic understanding of the money and language before you go.
If you study up on the language and learn the vocabulary you’ll need as a traveller, it will save you that awkward silence after your cab driver says something to you in the language you don’t speak. Also, if you understand the conversion rate of the money it will also save you the awkward pause in front of the cashier as you try to figure out how much to give them. It will also ensure that you don’t get ripped off.
6. Take pictures of everything.
Take pictures of your room, of the people you meet, your friends crying as they lug their backpacks up steep hills, all the incredible food you eat, the funny signs, your cab drivers aka your new BFFs, and of course all of the breathtaking scenery and places you visit. You will be so glad you did two years later when you’re falling asleep in class and dreaming of your backpacking days.
7. Write down everything.
Keeping a journal or a blog while you travel is such a great thing to do. Write down every crazy story and every detail of that story because believe me, crazy things will happen, and you'll want to remember them.
8. Be adventurous.
With everything you need on your back and the whole world at your fingertips, you will feel so incredibly free. Do everything you’ve ever wanted and make the most of your vacation. Be brave and climb that mountain you didn't think you could, jump off that cliff into the water even though you may be afraid of heights, try new food that looks totally disgusting, and of course, befriend new people. Your trip is what you make of it - don’t hold back.
