I’ve visited 43 countries and over a hundred cities and stayed in just as many hostels.   I guess you could call me a seasoned backpacker.

I’m a far way away from that wide eyed newbie traveler on his first trip back 10 years ago.

In that time, I’ve figured out what works and what doesn’t work for me when I go traveling.

Here’s a list of my “travel rules” that I give myself…

Set up a “home base”

In the last couple trips I was moving from city to city and hostel to hostel every couple of days.   It was too much and too hectic.   There was also no room for improvisation to the trip plan because I had to be in a certain city on a certain day.

From now on, I’m trying to stay in one “base” city and just do day trips to the other ones.   This way I get grounded in my hostel and its’ surrounding area.   I get to know the staff and make better connections with fellow travelers.

Also, it gives me the option of switching things up and changing my plans if something should arise.   There were times in past trips where I met people who were going one way while I was going the other.   Now, I can change my plans if I want.

Which leads me to…

All about the people

Something I figured out early on is, the great adventure you have on a backpacking trip is the people you meet along the way.   Years from now I won’t remember all the attractions I saw or the food I ate, but the people I came across while I was traveling.

Staying in hostels in the best thing.   Yeah, you share a dorm room with others and the bathroom is usually down the hall but, man, meeting fellow travelers and sharing stories from the road is the bread and butter that gets the juices flowing.

I’ve met people young and old from all over the globe.   My Facebook feed is filled with their stories back home and it’s cool to know such an eclectic mix of people.   They also inspire me to go traveling every time they post their photos from trips they’re on.

Travel overland

In an ideal world, I try to only book two flights when I go on a trip – one in and one out.   Everything else is by bus or train.

Now, sometimes, whether by cost or practicality, I need to book a flight in between to get to my next destination but I really, really try to figure out a way to avoid doing it.

A flight has to be booked ahead which means I have to be in a certain city on a certain date.   By traveling overland, I have the freedom to come and go as I please.

I can switch up how many days I stay somewhere and even change the route I go.   The only thing I need to do is be at my final destination on my final day.

Imagine how much more free your trip feels when your only certainty is that you have to be in your exit city 6 weeks from when you start.   How you get there and where you stop and for how long is open to improvisation.   Let me tell you, it’s an amazing feeling.

Plan before I go

Funny thing – when I first starting traveling I would hardly plan anything before I left on my trips.   Yeah, I knew what cities I was visiting and what attractions to see and roughly how long to stay there, but that was it.

While there’s something to be said for being free and spontaneous and not sweating the small stuff, I’ve since found out that figuring out the “small stuff” while you’re traveling can be very stressful.

There have been too many nights on past trips where I was sitting in front of my laptop at the hostel trying to figure out the logistics of the next day.   Whether it was transporting from one city to the next, figuring out how to get to the hostel, where the walking tour met, or what time was best to visit an attraction – it sometimes led me to literally pull my hair out.

Things don’t always work out.   Trains don’t travel the same time every day or flights only go on certain days.   There’s all sorts of things that pop up and mess with your plans.

Trying to figure it all out at 8:00 at night after a long day of adventures is annoying.

Now, I spend a good amount of time figuring out the little things before I take my first flight.

I use an offline map (maps.me) on my phone and I’ve got everything marked on it including obscure transit pickup points, instructions for how to get to my hostels and walking tours, as well as any gluten free restaurants in the area.

To be honest, I may have swung too far in the other direction from not planning enough to overplanning, but I’d rather be overprepared and not worry about all that planning stuff while I’m on my actual trip.

Do nothing days

It’s easy to get stuck into the mentality of “oh my God, I have to see and do everything while I’m here, because I’m probably never going to be here again!”

I know, I’ve had that mentality alot!

It’s important to remind yourself that you’re on vacation.   The world will not end if you take a lazy day, wake up late and just hang out for the day.

When you’re traveling for an extended period of time, it’s important to take off days or you’ll just literally need a vacation from your vacation when you get home.

I really think this has been my biggest weakness while traveling and probably the impetus to cutting some of my trips short.   I didn’t pace myself and was always “go, go, go”.

I’m going to try my best to nip this in the bud in my upcoming trips and we’ll see what happens.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

I have literally argued with someone over $2 before.   It’s comical to say now but at the time I was livid with my taxi driver because he was trying to rip me off for a measly $2.

There was also the time in Phuket, Thailand where I literally walked away from a street food stand selling pad thai over 40c.

Yup, you read that right.

I was so used to being able to get pad thai in northern Thailand for 40 baht ($1.60) that when I went down to Phuket and found a stand charging 60 baht ($2) I walked away in search of another stand that was selling for the price I was accustomed to paying.

It’s crazy now that I think about it, but something about traveling puts you on high alert.

There’s always this nagging feeling that you’re about to get scammed.   And, yeah, sometimes you do get scammed – but you know what, it’s literally for only a couple of bucks.

So yeah, don’t sweat the small stuff.

Shit’s gonna happen and just let it happen.   You’re gonna get scammed, you’re gonna feel like you’re getting ripped off and things aren’t going to go according to plan.

So what, just go with the flow.   You’re on an epic adventure and lucky enough to be able to afford the time and money needed to do it.

Enjoy it!

And with that, it’s time for my adventure…

Only 7 days to go!   Oh my God, this time next week I’ll be on a plane!

Let’s gooooooooooo….