10 Sites For Budget Travel Backpacking Trips Across The World

Backpackers are an adventurous breed. They are also awfully budget conscious too. It comes with the territory I guess, because the taste of adventure cannot be experienced from luxurious couches and air-conditioned coaches. If you are a budding backpacker, you got to hit the trail and keep taking the not-so-beaten path.

Backpackers as the name suggests, carry nothing more than what they can hoist on their shoulders. From hostels to dormitories, from camping out to eating street food, from washing your clothes in the sink to catching a bath in the stream, the backpacking jaunt is a test of the free spirit.

Are you a backpacker? If you are planning to backpack to some far corner of the world, check out these ten budget travel websites.

Backpacker

Backpacker.com is the online face of the magazine. The site is neatly divided into sections that look at destinations, gear, skills, nature etc. One of the more unique features of the site is that a lot of the direction waypoints carry GPS data. You can download the information to any GPS enabled device. Step-by-step guides help the backpacker plan out his trip in minute detail. Backpacking gear gets reviewed, and you can also use the cool interactive Gear Finder search tool to find retailers. The Skills section is a must read for both backpacking fitness and survival tips.

Backpack Forever

The site has a community feel to it as backpackers across the world share their travel stories and tips. In fact, you can also join in and help others discover some cool backpacking trails in your part of the world. The site gives you a chance to earn money (via ad-revenue) as you write about your first-hand backpacking experiences. Every backpacking story gets categorized and linked through a map, so that readers can discover them according to region and country.

The Backpacker

The site has a nice compact section for the beginner backpacker. Trails Database – a collection of user submitted reviews, and Trail Talk – the very active backpacking forum are good resources for the backpacking enthusiast. Also, check out the The Backpacker’s database of backpacking, camping, hiking, and outdoor gear reviews.

Trails.com

Trails.com is a backpackers and outdoorsman’s site with free and paid services. You can browse trails by kind of activity. You can search for trails on a large U.S. map. There is a complete section on travel with a map-based hotels, motels and lodging finder. Also, there’s an active discussion board on the site. Register and upload your own trail stories for other outdoor thrill seekers.

ExploGuide

If you are looking for off-the-beaten-track travel spots, then this site could give some hints. A neat Google Maps mashup narrows down most of them, and you could find some unknown locations (as I did in my own country). You can write your own alternative travel stories and meet other explorers through the site.

Gorp.com

The site covers 50,000 destinations worldwide. If you are looking for a short trip at the end of the week, the Weekender Guide could be the one for you. The Hiking, Camping, and Gear sections should cover most of your backpacking needs. The Practical Advice and Trips of The Month sections are a must read. If you are still unsure where to go, check out the Adventure Finder  and Quick Escapes pages which also connect you to travel deals.

Every Trail

Every Trail is again not a pure backpacking site, but it’s more about hitting the trail with geo-tagged user-generated travel content. You can seek out road trips along with sightseeing tours, sailing trips, hiking, cycling, flying, hang gliding, geocaching, skiing, kayaking trips and more across 80 countries around the world. You can download the mobile apps and map a route with GPS while on the go.

Travel Independent

I liked this page for two reasons – it is ad-free and the clutter freeness helps me get to the information which is arranged very simply. The site makes no bones about being a great site, but it is definitely an informative one. If you are looking to grab some backpacking information quickly, check this out. Also, the Links and Resources page are jumping points for more reading resources.

Adioso

Adioso (beta) is a search engine that can help you catch the cheapest flight from your point of origin to a landing spot for a backpacking trip. I haven’t tried out the price alert, but the search engine (though, in beta) works well enough to dig out cheap air fares. Interesting filters and graphs help to narrow down the lowest cost for each date. A search engine that looks out for travel deals is a must for a budget conscious backpacker.

Hostel Bookers

If you need a search engine for the best budget travel deals, then you also need a place to stay if you plan to backpack across the globe. The search engine and the Google Maps mashup help you find cheap hostels (and hotels) where you can put up. The currency displayed is in Euros and you can book through the site after comparing the deals available. The site offers a secure payment gateway, but do read the fine print when comparing hostels and booking through the site.

Of all the travel websites we have highlighted so far on MakeUseOf.com, the selection below could be of use to the budget conscious backpacker:

Is your backpack all packed up? Where do you plan to go? If you are a backpacking buff share your tips below in the comments.