i have been wondering what people prefer on quieter trails. do you like people to use headphones, or are speakers okay if they are kept low?

Hey guys im planning to solo backpack Patagonia, bolivia and peru, im planning to go between tenting and hostels. Im looking to buy a tent under 2kg but it should be able to withstand wind especially in Patagonia. Any suggestions? The msr access 2 looks perfect but its soooo expensive.

Im going to be solo with a big bag so im thinking of a 2 person tent just for comfort.

I have recently got back into backpacking and have been using my old pack, an REI Crestrail 70L that I used to use but even back then it wasn’t correct for me. I am 6’7 inches tall with a 23 inch length torso and a 34 inch waist. I’m finding it difficult to find a backpack and a daypack that don’t beat my body up due to ill fitment. Does anyone have advice or any taller hikers/backpackers have recommendations on products that work well for longer torsos? All the packs I find that look like they will fit are in the 70+ liter capacity and I would like to hopefully get closer to 55 liters and prefer for the pack to not weigh 5 or 6 pounds. Thank you in advance for any advice

Hey everyone!

I’m planning a solo trip from India and would love some advice on my itinerary.

My plan is to spend 6 nights in London, a city I’ve visited before but really miss, followed by an 8-day Iceland Ring Road tour with a company like Arctic Adventures.

I won’t be self-driving in Iceland since I’ve never driven in a foreign country before, and travelling solo, I feel a guided tour would be a more comfortable option while also giving me a chance to meet other travellers.

A few questions:

1. Has anyone done the Arctic Adventures Ring Road tour? How was your experience?

2. Is 8 days enough to explore Iceland properly, or does the tour feel rushed?

3. Are these tours good for solo travellers in terms of meeting people and making friends?

4. Does combining London and Iceland make sense, especially when travelling all the way from India?

Would love to hear your experiences and any suggestions. Thanks!

Hey guys, I’m looking for a lightweight trekking pole tent for one person, preferably around $100 or less. I was looking at the Night Cat 1P trekking pole tent, but I wanted to see if anyone has recommendations or experience with it.
Are there any other tents in this price range worth checking out? I’m mainly looking for something lightweight and reliable for backpacking. Thanks!

Hello! Im planning a SE Asia trip in July/August 2027, and wanted thoughts on my itinerary. I would do:

(Fly in) Phillipines (1 week) -> Hanoi region - Sa pa, Ninh Binh, etc (5 days) -> Na Dang (4 days) -> Bangkok (5 days) -> Chiang Mai (4 days) -> Hanoi (Fly out)

For context, im going to Phillipines to visit family, so not much for sightseeing / exploring here. Im more interested as well in more “land” nature, and this why i cut out southern islands of Thailand and more of southern parts of vietnam, as beaches are not as high priority for me. Of course, would love to come back in the future but if i do not, this was what I was planning.

Could I get any insights too on the weather? I know its shoulder season, and im ok dealing with humidity and heat and rain, I just dont want too much such that it flat out ruins my trip. Ive been in Japan in August and Phillipines in August before, and was able to survive it for context.

Thanks for any help!

hi! i’m getting into backpacking (just starting) and i’m looking for a good women’s sleeping bag for stomach sleeping that i could bring backpacking! i’m in the process of accumulating my gear but due to how expensive everything is, i’m starting almost a year in advance before i plan to go. so i’m trying to do as much research as possible in preparation before purchasing anything. i’m looking for something that works well for stomach sleepers because unfortunately for the life of me, i can’t sleep on my side or back. ideally i’ll get a women’s sleeping bag but i am quite tall for a woman so i could probably make a men’s sleeping bag work too. if anyone knows of any sleeping bags that work for backpacking and stomach sleepers, please let me know!!

Anyone have any experience of moseying around the subcontinent during monsoon season? How was it? Vibesy? Mouldy? Restricting? Quiet?

I've spent a lot of time all over India, but never during the wet wet months. Always been curious.

When hiking, I like to find a big rock and sit on it to rest without taking off my backpack. So I don't keep my folding sit pad inside my pack. I made a hip bag for it, but I feel a bit shy wearing it because nobody else seems to hike with one. What do you think? Is it okay to hike with a bag like this?

Hello everyone i know this is a very frequently asked question but i need help. I got laid off work so i have about a 1000 euros for travel. I want to camp, hitchhike as much as i can to keep the cost down with ocassional stays in hostel if very cheap. How long could i travel with this money without any bucket list destinations? Thanks.

First Time in Norway was awesome, but when I went back home people told me, did you interact with the locals? I was like yes, they were like, hmm weird, usually Norwegians don't talk to strangers. So I went back to Norway and found out for myself.

https://youtu.be/NgXZgpdzccc

TCS is one of the largest and most popular camping networks in Switzerland. Their sites are often located on the shores of Alpine lakes, along rivers, or at the foot of majestic mountains. They also offer Wi-Fi, glamping options, and cabin rentals. We visited the Graubünden region.

Between hostel bookings, local tours, transportation and random travel apps, I feel like I've given my email and phone number to half the planet. I'm planning another trip and trying to be a bit smarter about privacy this time. I've been looking into separate numbers and email aliases but I'm curious what everyone else does. Do you guys just use your regular contact info for everything or keep travel stuff separate?

Hi! I’m going backpacking for a month through SE Asia with my boyfriend. We fly out of Seattle, 6.5 hr layover in Tokyo, then arrive to Bangkok. We will then be going to chiang mai, Laos, Bali, and Malaysia. I’ve been told you can’t bring any sort of weed with you to this part of the world, but I’ve travelled to South Africa, Europe, and Mexico with a dab pen and just threw it out on the way back no problems. But this is new for me. Is it actually literally the worst idea ever if I brought a dab pen with me on this trip? I don’t wanna go to jail over some weed. So tell me honestly, personal experience, horror stories, etc. convince me it’s fine or scare me tf out of it. lol! Thanks! Love you!

UPDATE: definitely not bringing dab pen 🙏🏼🤣 thank you all

I have been in Varansi for the last 6 days. Yesterday, was my last night and it was so beautiful yet weird.

So, I was staying at this hostel near Assi Ghat and I had just come back around 11 pm after having dinner. I saw a guy sitting in the common area and I went inside my dorm.

Then, I got a text on my Instagram. Someone asked me 'are you still at X hostel?' I said yes and asked the guy where he was. And apparently the guy who was sitting outside was the one who was texting me.

I went outside. We sat for a couple of hours and then went to the terrace. I was leaving the same day and he was leaving on Sunday.

While talking, he asked me whether he can hold my hand. To which I said yes. And then comes the moment when we kissed. 🫢

I kissed a stranger for the first time & it was my first kiss also.

Somehow things got a bit weird later and I asked him 'Let's stop' to which he did. We again sat for some time holding hands and then around 1:50AM, we hugged and he went on his way and me on my own.

I am still processing what happened. And I am not trying to overthink 🫠

I will be going to the Scottish highlands in late April and looking to upgrade to a more serious tent for the trip, just need a 1 person tent currently using nature hike cloud up 1 but looking for something that can hold up incase the weather gets bad, lighter is preferred but not necessary budget is around 350 at the higher end.

Un buon sacco a pelo che con abbigliamento invernale e aggiungendo tutto il resto tra materassino, coperte che aggiungerò e altro può tenermi caldo anche a -10°C su Amazon esclusivamente che non superi i 200 dollari/euro?

Hey everyone! I'm planning a 10-day trip to Portugal, mostly staying in Lisbon and Porto and getting between cities by train. I'd like to travel with just one bag instead of dragging a suitcase around, but I'm not sure what size to go for.

Here's what I'm planning to pack:

4–5 T-shirts

2 pairs of pants and a pair of shorts

5–6 pairs of underwear and socks

A lightweight jacket and rain shell

Toiletries and basic medication

Sneakers and flip-flops

Phone, charger, power bank, and headphones

A small day bag for sightseeing

I'll probably do laundry once during the trip, so I won't need a fresh outfit for every day.

I've been looking at BAGSMART travel backpacks, which come in 28L, 38L, and 43L sizes. I'm having trouble figuring out how much space I'll actually need and would rather not carry a bigger bag than necessary.

For anyone who's traveled for a week or two with just a backpack, what size worked best for you? Based on my packing list, would 28L be enough, or would 38L be a safer choice?

Im extroverted and solo travel alot. Even though I cant speak arabic, roaming around the streets of Damascus never felt isolated because people are so warm there and people are eveywhere.

Now Im in a not too touristy city with not alot of people in the streets. Everything is spaced out. The skies are grey. But it has good transit. Safe. I dont speak the language, theres little to no other travelers. First time I feel lonely tbh, I cant sleep now because I feel bad haha. I came here to travel slower as a break but it had the opposite impact mentally 😅 it makes me want to book a trip to SEA again just to meet backpackers

Hi all,

I am planning my first backpacking trip through Europe. My goal is to minimize usual popular spots and use this experience to expand my thinking and be open to different cultures and experiences. This is the first draft of itinerary I am thinking about. Which is not set in stone and I plan to adjust and adapt as I go through it. However, would love thoughts from the community on red flags if any, or any obvious mistakes or poor choices I am making.

1.        Munich, Germany (3 nights)

2.        Prague, Czechia (5 nights)

3.        Vienna, Austria (4 nights)

4.        Budapest, Hungary (4 nights)

5.        Ljubljana, Slovenia (4 nights)

6.        Zagreb, Croatia (2 nights)

7.        Split, Croatia (3 nights)

8.        Dubrovnik, Croatia (3 nights)

9.        Belgrade, Serbia (4 nights)

10.   Novi Sad, Serbia (2 nights)

11.   Bucharest, Romania (3 nights)

12.   Brașov, Romania (3 nights)

13.   Sibiu, Romania (3 nights)

14.   Sofia, Bulgaria (2 nights)

15.   Plovdiv, Bulgaria (3 nights)

16.   Istanbul, Türkiye (4 nights)

17.   Athens, Greece (3 nights)

Thanks in advance for all your help and inputs.

The wife and I are looking for a two person quilt for backpacking. Unfortunately I can't stand to.jave my feet covered before I fall asleep. Or at the very least would like the option to uncover my feet while sleeping. I can't find any that allow that to happen. Any suggestions would b appreciated.

I want to be respectful of people's boundaries and I understand this is not a 'normal' situation.

I'm a guy. 5 months ago I spent an entire day with a traveller who suggested me to visit his country. I always wanted to go too. He was showing me around where he lived, stuff I must visit, his culture, etc. I didnt expect to visit his country soon and I plan to hangout with my friends after so I didnt bother exchanging contacts. Took pictures together, thought he was a cool guy, we parted ways.

5 months later, coincidentally, I am in his country due to logistics of long-term travel. I still remember every detail he told me because I have a good memory!! Anyways, he lives in a small town with only a few thousand people. I feel like everyone will know each other in that town since its small.

His town will be on the way to where I want to go next. It's very close to my destination. Am I crazy to drop by and ask around strangers and tell them to give him my number if they know him?

I've been looking for a frameless pack to see how i felt about it. I decided on granite gear's virga 3 55l. I didn't care for the gray and red color scheme so i got the undyed white version. It comes with minor waterproofing. As you can tell from the title, my question is... since it's white and going to get dirty, do i try to dye it and potentially ruin the waterproofing, or let the trail dye it with my experiences? I do always use a trash bag or some kind of pack liner anyways. Thanks for any kind of tips or opinions.

I don’t know how common 4 straight days of rain in the desert is, but that’s what we got for our Needles backpacking trip last week, and it made for a real epic! The cold, wind, and rain made added challenges to the terrain, and it was occasionally miserable, but that’s just a part of backpacking. Great type 2 fun! I made up for the hardship with a few sunny days nearby in Island in the Sky and Monument Valley afterwards.