Backpacking and beyond

Advice on how to budget and plan for a successful backpacking trip

Rowena Selby
Image by: Justin Tang
Rowena Selby

Backpacking, the art of living off only what one can carry, is a common experience for many university students, especially those hoping to occupy themselves with something other than a summer job.

Emre Amasyali, ArtSci ’11, said he backpacked through Europe the summer following his high school graduation.

“I started in Istanbul, went to Greece, crossed with a boat to Italy, from Italy then to south of France, then we ended up in Spain, then we took a cheap charter flight from Spain to Greece and actually hitchhiked all the way back [to Istanbul],” he said.

Amasyali said he set off with a budget of 700 to 800€ that included his food, which was to cover grocery-bought items such as tuna, bread and canned goods—lodging and extra spending money. His additional expenses included an Inter-rail pass that cost 469€.

When he hitched a ride back from Greece to Turkey, Amasyali said he rode with Turkish truck drivers because his train ticket had expired.

“We took a boat from Brindisi in Italy to Igoumenitsa in Greece and we were stuck there because our train tickets had expired,” he said. “We set up our tent by the dock and decided to wait for the trucks to unload from the boats in the morning, hoping to see a Turkish truck.

“We woke up at five in the morning and started waving a Turkish flag,” he said. “Eventually two trucks stopped and agreed to take us to Tsaloniki in Greece. … They ended up driving us all the way to Istanbul, about a 25 hour drive.”

Amasyali and his companions couldn’t find a hotel in Nice, so they ended up sleeping on the beach.

“It was pleasant until a rat ran over our sleeping bags,” he said.

To avoid unfortunate encounters, Amasyali said organizing a successful trip not only requires extensive planning but starting out with a rough idea of what you’d like to experience when you go travelling.

“The important thing is laying out what you want to experience beforehand with your group mates,” he said. “What do you want to do here? Do you want to have a random experience? Do you want to experience the country? Go into random places and shops? Meet people? Or do you want to go the museums and stay in nice places and don’t get your hands messy?”

Denise Johnson, a travel consultant with the Travel Broker & Cruise Centre, a Kingston-based travel agency, said determining the type of experience desired is crucial in planning a rewarding trip.

“Students should start planning about a year in advance,” she said. “By that I mean find the destinations they want, find out what they want to see in those destinations.”

Students travelling during the summer, the high tourist season in Europe, should arrange travel and accommodations early, Johnson said.

“If they are planning on doing it anytime through June to the beginning of school in September, they want to at least plan six to eight months prior,” she said.

Even though it’s already spring, Johnson said it’s not too late for students to organize a summer backpacking trip now. They will need to devote substantial time and effort to organizing the trip, though.

A helpful resource at Queen’s, is the Queen’s University International Centre (QUIC).

Rowena Selby, the QUIC’s education abroad advisor, counsels students throughout the year in travel planning. She said most Queen’s students are heading to Europe.

“We have a lot of students leaving Queen’s on all sorts of different trips,” she said. “Study, work, volunteer opportunities. … Every year, the largest amounts of students are still going to Europe, whether that’s on exchange, or to the castle or summer backpacking.”

Selby said throughout the year, the QUIC gives pre-departure orientation sessions to all undergraduate students going travelling.

“We give information on travel logistics, health and safety, concerns abroad, and then we talk to students about the emergency support programs here at Queen’s,” she said.

Selby said backpacking through Europe is an expensive endeavor. She added that students should be aware that expenses can add up—even when pursuing an economical backpacking trip.

“I’ve met many students who have tried, through Europe, to keep it to a $50 a day budget,” she said. “That’s pushing it, but it’s possible. Then transportation is generally on top of that. You’ve got your youth hostel, which is going to be minimum $30, and you’ve got to eat, and buy subway tickets and pick up little things in between. $50-a-day is not much, really.”

Students should also balance their expectations with their budget before embarking on a European backpacking trip, Selby said.

“This is perhaps maybe the only time in your life you are going to be in Spain or Italy or Australia and you want to go bungee jumping and skydiving and white water rafting because you may never ever get the chance in your life again,” she said. “I’ve done it myself, I know that need. These are very special experiences we are talking about. The thing is they are very expensive.”

Selby said it’s important for students to be realistic and strict about their budget. Having the necessary visas and vaccinations are also imperative for a smooth backpacking experience.

“Whether you’re a Canadian or from another country, how to get into the different countries needs to be looked at quite a while in advance,” she said. “You need to look into whether you need vaccinations at all,” she said. “Some places, particularly in southern Europe, students may need vaccinations to go to certain areas.”

Despite the extensive planning and budgeting required, Selby urges travelers to take time to relax while travelling.

“To me, real travel, real backpacking travel, is about taking your time in a city and walking through the beautiful streets.

“Sure you can go to 14 different cities in 14 different days, but you will have hardly seen anything.”

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content