Planning Your First Backpacking Trip

Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a new series written to help you plan your next trip.

Imagine this; you’ve just landed in Europe for your first backpacking trip. You make your way out of the airport and all of a sudden, street signs and store-front ads are all in a foreign language.

You try to order a coffee at a spot in town, but the barista responds in the local language. You smile. You’ve made it.

After all of your research, all the time you spent saving up your money, and after all of the nerves of traveling alone for the first time, you’ve finally made it to Europe, and now it’s all yours.

You’re a backpacker now. You travel on a budget. You sacrifice comfort for experiences. You meet other backpackers and share stories over a few drinks. You hang out at coffee shops to watch the local people go about their day.

You wear infinite combinations of the same wardrobe and don’t care who…