Been backpacking most my life but have never been backpacking in the cold before and I’m looking to get a little taste of what it’s like. Looking to do a short 2-3 day trip somewhere mellow on the east coast or mid west. Anyone have any recommendations on where to go or just any tips for backpacking in cold weather? Thanks!

I was gravity-filtering with my Sawyer Squeeze (normal size, not the mini, the 128 or 129) and it took me 25+ minutes to fill up a 50 oz bottle. I decided to gravity filter because the effort in squeezing my reservoir and forcing the water through the filter was literally not worth the squeeze.

Is this flow rate pretty standard or do I have a defective Sawyer product?

PS I checked their website FAQs and this question was answered very generally and nebulously. Thus I come here for an anecdotal verdict. Thanks.

Hi all, I am planning a 3-month trip to South America. I am trying to decide between Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Suriname/guyana, argentina and chile. This trip will probably start in August.

Do you have any recommendations/suggesties on how to choose destinations? I think 4/5 countries is optimal, but open for other opinions ofc.

Important aspects on which I want to decide are budget, travel time between destinations, safety, weather and possibility to experience cultural and nature highlights.

If anyone has any recent experience with costs per day/week of (some of) these countries, I would gladly like hear it.

Thank you in advance!

curious if malaysia offers any great treks? prefer multiday. trying to take a break from latin america and return to SEA. anybody trekked in malaysia and can offer some insight on the scene?

Looking for recommendations on a place to stay for a night before/ after doing a 2 nighter loop in Red River Gorge. When we go to Dolly Sods (from Cleveland OH), we always stay at the Billy Motel in Davis WV. Hoping for a similarly hiker-friendly town like that with cool local stuff and maybe not a big chain hotel :) Thanks!

Are Ubers in Colombia safe at night? I know it’s safer than walking, but isn’t there still a risk of being robbed by the driver? I’ll arrive at 10pm in Bogotà but really scared. Maybe i’m gonna wait the whole night at the airport and take the Uber in the morning

Hello everyone,

I'm 23 and in September 2025 I'm going to South East Asia as a back pack. My budget is between €7,000 and €10,000.

At the moment I'm planning to take a single ticket for about 8 months (which could potentially be limited by my budget?) and I'm planning to visit Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia (I'm also interested in Nepal and Sri Lanka, but they are a bit further away geographically).

I don't have an itinerary planned at the moment, I think I will let myself be guided by what I meet, the advice of locals/travellers and your advice :)

That's why I'm writing these lines to you today, to hear your suggestions for a few must-see places in each country, so that I'll have some objectives when I arrive in a country. As far as I'm concerned, I like adventure, nature, trekking and visiting cultural sites (limiting the over-touristy areas) and I don't rule out a few heavenly beaches from time to time.

What's more, if you have any advice/recommendations for my trip, I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you and I look forward to talking with you :)

Hi,

We've got our Latin America itinerary finalised and would love any final feedback and amends.

Day 1-2: Guadalajara

Day 3: Guadalajara to Puerto Escondido to Mazunte

Day 4-5: Mazunte/ Zipolite

Day 6: Mazunte to PE to CDMX 

Day 7-12: CDMX

Day 13: CDMX to Guatemala City to Flores

Day 14: Get to Tikal 

Day 15-16: Tikal 

Day 17: Tikal Guatemala City to Antigua

Day 18-20: Antigua (includ. Acatenango hike)

Day 21: Antigua to Lake Atitlan

Day 22-23: Lake Atitlan

Day 24: Lake Atitlan to Guatemala City to Puerto Vallarta

Day 25-27: Puerto Vallarta

Day 28: Fly home

Thank you so much!

I am doing one month backpacking in South America. I intend to do a 2 night hike in Patagonia, and want to use this pack for future overnight hikes. I want something that is reliable, comfortable and has hip pockets. Which pack would you choose and why? Do you think I will want the extra 4L the last one offers while travelling?

Columbia Newton Ridge Pack - 36L - $167 AUD

Columbia Triple Canyon Pack - 36L - $236 AUD

Decathlon Quechua Mountain Walking Backpack - MH500 - 40L - $150 AUD

I will post links below in the comments :)

EDIT: A little more info - I will be leaving all my backpacking clothes in an expandable duffle bag at the hostel, and then renting a tent (shared between two people), sleeping bag, matt and stove. Hopefully it will all fit in the pack, or at least have the sleeping matt attached to the outside.

I currently have a 70L Kathmandu pack. I have done a practice run and the pack is half full - sitting around 35L. I am looking to avoid unnecessary check-in baggage fees as I will take quite a few domestic flights which adds up to $350 in extra baggage fees

Im a frequent solo backpacker in India. I have been to many places throughout India from ladakh, Himachal, Northeast of India, South India and now I want to step outside this country. For starters, my place to start is Vietnam since its very economical!! This March, Im planning to start from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and end my trip at hanoi.

Inbetween i have made this plan Ho Chi Minh City - La Gi - Kê Gà - Mũi Né - Quy Nhon - Măng Đen - Huế - Phong Nha - Mai Châu District - Ninh Bình, - Hanoi

I'll be traveling on a scooty! And will mostly stay in hostels, homestays. Also, I hope i get someone to travel with me when im in one of these hostels!!!

Please lemme know if this itinerary is good. I'll be staying for 3 weeks at a max. If i should add any other place? I dont care much about night life but more about nature, culture, history, and calm places haha!

Just finished a month-long trip through Eastern Europe and was blown away by some incredible hostels that aren't well known on the usual booking sites. Would love to hear about your favorite under-the-radar hostels in this region!

I found some amazing spots in smaller cities that offered unique experiences, home-cooked meals, and great opportunities to meet fellow travelers, all at fantastic prices. Let's share some lesser-known gems to help other backpackers discover these special places

If you have any beginner questions, feel free to ask them here, remembering to clarify whether it is a Wilderness or a Travel related question. Please also remember to visit this thread even if you consider yourself very experienced so that you can help others!

------------------------------

Note that this thread will be posted every Monday of the week and will run throughout the week. If you would like to provide feedback or suggest another idea for a thread, please message the moderators.

Hey there,

I know people ask this a lot, but I'm just hoping to ease my anxiety about saving and budgeting enough for this. I'm planning to do a fairly long trip to the following countries:

1. Mexico (4 weeks)
2. Colombia (4 weeks)
3. Ecuador (4 weeks)
4. Peru (4 weeks)
5. Bolivia (3 weeks)
6. Chile (3 weeks)
7. Argentina (3-4 weeks)
8. Brazil (4 weeks)

I'm based in Australia so I'm hoping to fly from Sydney to Honolulu, and then fly on a separate flight from Honolulu to Mexico (this seems to be the most affordable option for Australians but feel free to correct me).

I've made some fairly rough estimates of how long I'm planning for each nation (subject to change). I'm just not too sure about budgeting! Especially as someone who is happy to cook at home, tends to eat fairly cheaply, and doesn't drink or smoke or party. I'm happy staying in hostels, but I'm would want to budget for a lot of outdoor experiences as I love hiking and nature.

If anyone has any insight on roughly how much I should be budgeting, please advise :)

Thanks again

Hey r/backpacking!

i'm a student and for a class I’m working on designing a travel setup that includes a front pack that attaches to the shoulder straps of a backpack. The idea is to keep all the essentials super accessible without having to stop and dig through the main pack.

I’m thinking of adding spots for things like a passport, snacks, a water bottle, maybe a first aid kit, and some electronics like a phone or power bank. But before I dive into it, I’d love to hear from all of you: what are the items you always need close by when you’re traveling or hiking?

Are there things you’ve wished were easier to grab without taking off your pack? I’m open to any and all suggestions to make this as practical as possible. Let’s brainstorm the ultimate travel bag setup together!

Thanks for your help!

I'm planning a trip to Guatemala in February. It's my first time to Central America. We have 6 full days, and 2 travel days. We are planning to visit Antigua, hike Acatenango, and see the towns on Lake Atitlán. I'm not sure what order to do things in?

On one hand, it might be nice to hike Acatenango early on so we can relax after. On the other hand, I'm a little nervous about altitude sickness so maybe it's a better idea to do the hike at the end? That way I have more time to aclimate and if I get sick it doesn't ruin the rest of the trip. Anyone who has done a similar trip in the past, is it better to save the hike till the end?

What do you all recommend? Also if you have recommendations for places to stay, must see spots or activities, or tips for my first time to Guatemala/Central America, please let me know!!

Just picked up a marmot tungsten ul 2p today and man, that floor material is super thin compared to the big Agnes I have been using. Is there anything I can do to protect the floor from being punctured by my dogs nails? I plan on getting a piece of tyvek for the footprint, but do I also need to do the same for the inside?

Hey all!

Me and my brother got into a debate about comfort when backpacking. We enjoy hiking out into the woods and setting up camp a couple miles in. (both of us are far from experts, although he does it quite a bit more than me). We were debating bringing things for comfort, specifically a pillow. He basically called me a wimp and to just lay on my backpack which is what I've done in the past, but I've seen a lot of outdoors people on the internet use inflatable pillows and use things to keep their feet warm in the cold etc..

My question is, how much emphasis do you put on comfort when you're camping/backpacking and do you think there is an advantage one way or the other?

I spent one week in Colombia and within the first four days of my trip I met 3 kidnapping victims and 2 armed robbery victims who all stayed in the same hostel as me (Los Patios Medellin & Cartagena). The first victim I met was a fellow Canadian in Medellin who I talked with at the hostel bar the night he was express kidnapped. When I saw him the next day he told me what happened the night prior. He went out to the bars in El Poblado and then left alone to go meet up with two other guys at a different bar. As we he was walking down the street he was snatched and pulled into a car where a bag was put over his face and a gun to his head. He had to hand over his phone with the password as well as all his money and cards. After this he was kicked out of the car where locals helped by calling a taxi and getting him back to the hostel. Once back at the hostel he was able to call his dad to have him get in contact with the banks to shut down his accounts. He bought a new phone but due to two factor authentication still wasn't able to see what damage had been caused.

There were also two German guys who were robbed at knife point the same night as the Canadian. They were walking home after the bar crawl around 2am in El Poblado and rough 50 meters from the hostel on the main road (Calle 10) when four robbers came behind them with knifes and demanded their phones. One had his taken from his hand and the other German who was 6'2 quickly lifted his arm to put the phone above his head where the robbers could not reach. After a short struggle a car stopped on the road began honking so the robbers ran away without being able to get the taller Germans phone. The next day they tried tracking the one phone that was taken and it brought them to a street lined with probably 50 phone shops. They realized it was useless trying to locate it and just came back to the hostel.

After hearing these two stories I was more than ready to leave Medellin after only two nights. My next stop was Cartagena. The day after arrival I booked a 5 island tour where it would mostly be people from my hostel Los Patios Cartagena. While on the boat I noticed two 25 year old Americas. One was from OC and a typical frat bro who was trying to chat up a girl on the boat and the other was from Houston who seemed very distracted and on his phone for the entire first half of the tour. As we spent the day together they opened up and said how they had been kidnapped 2 days prior on their first night in Cartagena. They had been drinking with other tourists at the pier when they decided to buy drugs off one of the guys selling on the street. While negotiating the police pulled up and demanded money or risk being arrested for buying drugs. They paid off the police with whatever cash they had and after the police left the drug dealers then also demanded cash saying they had to repay their "debt". They were taken to an ATM to withdrawal as much cash as they could. Then a car pulled up and they were dragged inside and taken 20 minutes outside the city. The kidnappers took them to a bar where they had to keep using apple pay they also supplied drugs and alcohol to loosen them up. After a few hours they were then brought to an apartment where the kidnappers continued to go through the phones. After 6-7 hours they were dropped back off at the hostel. The next day they both had to buy new phones. The guy from OC was able to get back into his icloud and wipe the phone however Houston was not and on the morning of the tour received a notification that one of his cards was still being used. Houston roughly calculate that 6k USD was taken from his accounts/credit cards. He was also concerned about further cyber attacks with all the identification he had on his phone. That being said no lessons were learned as once we arrived at party island I saw both of them walk off and appear to be buying drugs again. After walking away with one of the vendors they came back with big smiles and never got back in the water. They also went out partying later that night and flew back to the US the next day.

I write this as a warning to other tourists that Colombia is NOT safe and more and more tourists are being targeted. These are 5 guys who I just so happened to interact with and staying at the same hostels as in my short time in Colombia. I was also told of a girl who had her bag slashed a day prior to my arrival while getting off a booze cruise in Cartagena but thankfully nothing fell out.

Please be aware of the dangers and if going out at night bring only cash and an old phone with limited financial information. Never walk home even if it's only 10 minutes, you can load money onto the Uber app to avoid any credit card being linked. The hotels and hostels will not tell you of these dangers as they don't want to scare off tourists which I believe is very negligent and only contributing to the problem.

Hello!!! I'm from Costa Rica 🦥 In June I will travel for the first time to Europe, I have 9 days for the trip and I have saved about USD$1199, I have not yet bought plane tickets ✈️ Is this budget good or is it lacking money?

*I plan to travel light, just with a backpack 🎒

I wanted to know if you recommend me to go with an agency or on my own? If it is on my own (I would be excited to do it! but maybe because I have never visited other countries other than latam, it might be better not to do it ?) I am all ears!!! I will read you guys in full! Any advice is well received 🥹 with phone lines, internet, transportation, food, itineraries, activities, lodging and everything useful for this kind of trip.

And if it's with agency and someone from CR reads this, if you recommend me some good one that doesn't scam haha 🥹

The countries I want to visit are: Spain Germany (spend more days here) Portugal (optional) France

I have a Mountain Hardwear Bozeman Torch -16 °c sleeping bag, I have had it for several years, it is very comfortable and warm, although its problem is that it is very large and even heavy (2 kg), it takes up a lot of space, I would like to get one Similar alternative but lighter (and more compact), what alternatives do you give me?

I would also like to know what price I could sell it for, on different websites I can find it for 150 USD, it has been with me for more than 4 years even though I used it 5 times, it is in perfect condition.

Thanks for your help!

https://preview.redd.it/57ca37zy0c4e1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=f61ec64dfc803fe2cb805683550ef2c685e358df

Hi all, I’m going to backpack Indonesia and the Philippines for about a month and a half and want to go diving in Komodo and Palawan, among other places. I am a strong swimmer and have been snorkeling many times but I have never done diving. How do I do this in Indonesia? From what I understand I need a PADI license. How and where can I get that, how long does it take, and what does the certificate mean in terms of what I’m allowed to do afterwards? I would prefer to do in in Indonesia somewhere since I will be starting in Jakarta and heading east then up to the Philippines. I obviously don’t have any gear and don’t plan on buying any, I just want to go on guided tours to see underwater life.

Hi all. I'm currently backpacking Central America and have decided to extend my trip another 3ish months into south America. I'm looking for some recommendations between Columbia, Peru, and Argentina. I'm for sure going to Columbia and Peru, and I'd like to end up in Argentina. Are there countries in between that you'd recommend adding, such as Bolivia or equador? Or chili? And is getting into Argentina through the top by Bolivia worth it? Or should I just fly? It looks quite remote up there but I'm not sure.

Hello,

Im planning for a trip to South Korea, with the korean visa transit B2.

Since im vietnamese and im having a french resident card, i plan to fly from France to South Korea, stay for 2 weeks and then fly to Thailand. Does anyone know if flying from Europe would be possible to enter SK by the B2 transit visa ? I see a lot of reviews departing from the US but not much from Europe.

Thank yall.

Has anyone seen one of these before?

Hi all! I'm planning my first long solo- backpackIng trip and a bit lost. I did solo trips in Europe, and "turisty" trip to Malasia and Singapour.

Now I want to reach a new level and go for 3 months trip to visit new countries, combining vacation days in rural areas for a few days/location and longer stays for workation.

I'm a bit stressed about choosing "correct" workation destination, as I need a visa for all the countries and have to plan every stay in advance, but not just with a flow "oh it's nice here I'll stay here".

What I'm looking for, are cities/towns with:

• good internet,
• have cafes, which are OK with people workation with leptop for a couple of hours
• there are a lot of events happening or has hotels with travel communities, so I can find people to connect with.

Do you have any recommendations/tips?

Thanks!

Any advice need as I'm going for the first time. I like beer and ribs and I've heard they have very cheap beer there. I'm currently not married but I'm open to bringing someone back with me where I'm in a good position to at least provide shelter and a warm bed.

I've heard there are a lot of munks here. Are they armed or do they do this whol "non violence" sh*t? It would be cool to see one of those shaved head guys. It's my first time outside the country if that isn't obvious with my newbie questions.

I also have a sensitive stomach so I guess it will be a problem right?

I'm thinking of bringing my dog, but I can imagine that it's hard to do that.

Stopped at an outdoor store while visiting family and they had a sale on Marmot gear. Got these three items for $150 total. Couldn’t pass it up