Over the summer, I went backpacking around the Balkans and southern Europe for a month before a couple of weeks in Spain. This was my first time properly backpacking, staying in hostels and taking the cheapest transport possible – even if that meant overnight or all day buses from one country to another. I genuinely had the best time over those six weeks. I’m already trying to work out when I can next go backpacking. However, having now backpacked once, I think there are a couple of things that I would have liked to know before I went.
Buses are best
Okay, I will fully admit this is a personal preference. However over the month backpacking, we (two girls both on our first backpacking trip) only took one train – from Sarajevo to Mostar. And that was to see the views someone in Albania told us about. Buses are by far the cheaper option than trains. When planning this trip, it was originally designed to be an interrailing trip. However the first few countries we were visiting had much better bus links than trains. And we continued this even as we went into places like Croatia, Italy and Spain as they were so much cheaper – and also stop off at more places.
Get By Bus and FlixBus are amazing websites to prebook buses (even if its the night before from the top bunk in a hostel). However, overnight buses, I’d recommend booking a couple of weeks in advance. Just a note if you are doing a Balkan trip, in Albania you should just turn up and get on a bus at a station rather than booking. I’ll go into a lot more detail for specific countries when I get round to writing them!
Pay more to be in a sociable hostel
Me and my friend booked a mixture of hostels, rooms in shared apartments and a couple of private rooms in cheaper places. Generally, we went for whatever was cheapest. Next time I backpack, I would go against what I thought prior to the trip: that I’d want more space for myself. Absolutely not! The dorms and hostels that had large common areas, the more ‘party’ hostels and the ones with spaces for people to work in the day were by far the best.
Some of the most memorable moments from the trip were made with people we met in hostels, laughing while getting ready with some of the girls from the dorm room or having a drink in the common room before we all went out. Sociable hostels are a great way to meet people. Plenty of times, people are doing a similar travel route and able to recommend places to go when you arrive in another country.
Although I totally understand wanting some time to chill out – and a couple of private rooms in a hostel or a night somewhere you don’t have to share a bedroom might be a good idea every couple of weeks. But the main takeaway is – it’s worth paying a bit more to make sure your hostel is really sociable!
Do your Research
Me and my friend had a running joke through the trip about how organised our itinerary was – with a list of places we wanted to visit in each place, list of possible restaurants and bars and a few foods we wanted to try. While I’m not saying you need to be that organised, it’s well worth knowing as much as you can about a place before you go. Especially if you don’t have much time (or you’re on a budget), planning ahead helps to make sure you do everything you want to – and cheaply.
You don’t necessarily have to follow it – ours was a guidance that we sometimes went with, sometimes took ideas from, and sometimes completely ignored. What it meant was that we were never stuck with a day having to do research into what was around us when were abroad.
Make sure you plan in a couple of chill days
Backpacking can be very full on. And even when you think you’ll have slept on the bus for 8 hours or more, you end up being shattered at the end of the journey and needing another sleep. A lot of days you’ll be running around and cramming everything in. You will need some time to rest. It doesn’t need to be a day to do nothing on – a couple of our chill days were spent by a river or on the beach. This just means that you have enough energy to keep going all through the trip.
Don’t be afraid to just go!
I get that it can definitely be a big step – especially as a female traveller or a solo female traveller. One thing that really helps me to know the real situation in countries is reading blogs of people in the same situation who have been. You can find loads online and then get a real feel for the country through these before you commit to going.
It can be scary. But for me, stepping off the plane alone in Bulgaria with a few days before my friend arrived (one of the best days!) was such an amazing experience that just continued for the whole month. It forces you to make friends, push your limits, explore new things and get so many more passport stamps!
Over the next few weeks (probably months), I’ll be starting on a backpacking series – with tips, advice, travel stories, itineraries and some country specific advice. Check back for more soon!
In the meantime, if you’re trying to decide where to go next, check out: How to Best Pick Your Next Destination
