Backpacking Adventures Await!

So you’ve decided to take some time away from home to travel, to see the world, and find yourself. Your bags are packed and you might even have handed in your notice - now what? Well, alongside all the usual travel admin, like owning a valid passport, and getting all the required vaccinations, you need to check the advice of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. They’re the guys who decide where it’s safe for UK residents to travel, and that’s the last thing you want to discover once you’ve set foot on foreign soil.

The world is your oyster

Travelling gives you the opportunity to see things you might never see and experience cultures you just wouldn’t come across in the UK. ‘The world is your oyster’ as they say, and you really can go anywhere you wish and do whatever you want, either by yourself or with your nearest and dearest. The Coronavirus pandemic has given us the space to think about what we really want to do, or haven’t yet done, in our lives, and backpacking is no longer reserved for those taking gap years. Travellers have been backpacking across the globe for generations, often making do with all they can manage to carry and taking local transport or walking wherever possible. The aim of the game is to explore diverse destinations which are affordable and beautiful, in order to soak up as much culture as possible and maybe learn a thing or two about oneself along the way.

Southeast Asia has been a hub of exploration for donkey’s years, probably due to Laos’ sandy-white beaches, or the incredible food sold roadside in Malaysia. It could be the gorgeous blooms of Red Lotus Lake in Chiang Haeo, or the dense history of countless temples in the region… the list goes on. Either way, it’s a fantastic backpacking destination for good reason, and thanks to trail routes like the Banana Pancake Circuit, there are countless itineraries and guides out there for first time and veteran travellers alike.

Or you can take the pressure of research and organisation off your shoulders, and book a pre-organised tour. If you want to visit multiple countries for multiple attractions, but still want to pack light and see as much as possible, this is backpacking revamped. Maybe you’ve decided you want to visit California, Arizona, and Nevada, and you want to see Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and the Hoover Dam. If you opt for a tour, this can form part of your travels if you’d like to sit back and let someone take the reins a bit. When it’s over, you hop on a plane or stay where you’ve ended up, for as long as you like without the requirement to move on.

However you decide to do it, backpacking has become a phenomenon which has taken (quite literally!) the world by storm. Whatever your reasons - sightseeing, teaching, extreme sports - this method of travel gives a person the time, the focus, and the space to do your thing.

Remember though, take your time and be prepared for your plans to change. Get nervous, get excited, and overall enjoy yourself!

We’re here to help

Whoever you are and wherever you go, it’s important to have appropriate travel insurance in place. The useful thing about our backpacker or long stay travel insurance is the freedom to move between countries for varying amounts of time, which is a necessity if you’re experiencing the extraordinary! What’s more, if you’ve been travelling for over 3 months, you’ve got the option to return home for up to 21 days - very handy if you’d like to surprise a friend on their birthday, or if you just really, really, fancy a home-cooked meal.

You also might want to cover yourself with a backpacker insurance policy for all the things you haven’t thought about. Regardless of how healthy or how careful you are, the risks (and cost!) are amplified while away for any medical treatment you could need. You really don’t want to top off the trip of a lifetime with a £20,000 medical bill and a bite from a monkey in Thailand.

To look into insuring yourself for backpacker insurance GET A QUOTE with Direct Travel today!