Go budget backpacking.

Reader, if you haven't yet...

It WILL change your life (if done right).

Broke backpacking CHANGED my life. I first hit the road properly at the age of nineteen and spent two years hitchhiking and Couchsurfing around India, it was a challenging yet beautiful and transformative experience.

A solo backpacking trip packed with ambitious planning and plentiful surrenders to serendipity is an experience everybody SHOULD have at least once in their lifetime.

Travelling on a budget puts you so much CLOSER to the land you are exploring. Invisible barriers and boundaries are stripped away.

I could talk all day about the genuine benefits of travelling on a tight budget so if you're thinking of taking the plunge, stepping into discomfort, levelling up your social skills, seeing new and exciting parts of the world, here you go...

There are (at least) 7 ULTIMATE reasons WHY you should go broke backpacking... And how convenient that I have written them all down in one single post...

Let there be no more 'umms' and no more 'uhhs'. More often than not, you CAN do it. And you should.

Then, once you're fired up and ready to hit the road, well, there's still one more thing you need to know...

​How to Go Budget Backpacking​

Oof, this is a fun topic. I could probably dedicate a whole site to the cause. Haha, well, that's how The Broke Backpacker started!

There are a lot of ins and outs to the art of travelling as a broke backpacker, however, there's one golden rule I pass along to all budding budgeteers I encounter.

If the goal is to both travel and travel CHEAP, then there is no better way to do it than to camp and hitch.

Saving on accommodation and travel costs is the ultimate key to budget travel and whilst, yes, they can be uncomfortable you will simply have a better overall time as highs are higher, colours are brighter and little wins are easier appreciated when travelling in this way.

But it's not just that. Hitchhiking is simply one of the best ways to travel.

When you hitch, meeting awesome characters is usually a daily guarantee, as is being shown incredible kindness.

You may end the days camped somewhere miles off the tourist trail and wake up to the gentle still of sunrises far from the density of civilisation (or from the honk of a million cars as you failed to find a ride and are stuck next to a freeway, that can happen too... but it's all part of the experience).

When you do finally arrive at your destination, the feeling is always so much sweeter than if you'd just caught the train...

Because it was a grand fucking adventure.

You don't need a lot to travel. A good attitude is the most important thing. Well, that and a dash of manic, adventurous spirit 😉

So read my VETERAN'S GUIDE to hitchhiking, and then my breakdown of the best travel tents. They'll set you up to go anywhere!

(Oh, and get a sleeping bag while you're at it.)

And One Last Time...
You SHOULD Go Budget Travelling (in case that wasn't clear)

It'll teach you a lot.

• About yourself.
• About the world.
• About life.
• And about what you have to be grateful for.

​The journey WILL change you.

And at the end of that journey, not only will you be a whole lot stronger and more confident in yourself, but you'll have had some suitably smashing ten-outta-ten adventures.

If you CAN, make sure you do this in 2025 - don't wait! The time is now.

PS - If you're booking a trip soon, please support the site and check out our favourite resources.

• Book your hostel with Hostelworld​
• Book your hotel with Booking (15% OFF)
• Book your insurance with SafetyWing​
• Save on bank fees with a Wise card​
• Stay connected with a Jetpac travel SIM​

It is ALWAYS a good time to go travelling.
​- Will, the OG Broke Backpacker