Backpacking is a subculture of generally youthful travellers exploring the planet on a limited budget. They refer to themselves as backpackers because they can be roughly defined as travellers that travel with a rucksack (a large backpack) instead of a suitcase. They may go hiking and camping, backpacking in the other sense, but they more often explore more urban settings. United in having slim wallets as well as a passion for the exotic, they seek out low-cost options such as sharing lifts, standby flights (or if the backpacking trip is circumglobal, a relatively cheap round-the-world air ticket which permits numerous stops), youth hostels, free hospitality services and buying food at supermarkets abroad instead of going to restaurants. They often collect in beautiful places with low costs of living such as Goa (India), Essaouira (Morocco), or Thailand. Australia's East Coast is also a very popular destination for many backpackers, and many travel and work in the area long-term in order to finance shorter trips to New Zealand and Fiji as well as other South Pacific Destinations. A traveller (American English traveler) is a person or an object travelling between two or more locations. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Knapsack. ... A typical suitcase A suitcase (a type of luggage - that is, something one lugs, or pulls along heavily) is a narrow box-shaped bag, usually made of cloth or vinyl that has a handle at one end and is used mainly for transporting clothes and other posessions during trips. ... Backpacking in Carpathian Mountains, Poland Backpacking (also tramping or trekking in some countries) is the complete combination of hiking and camping. ... Youth hostel in Rome. ... Hospitality Services are networks of people who exchange accommodation. ... Exterior appearance of typical supermarket (Albertsons) Supermarket produce section A supermarket is a store that sells a wide variety of goods including food and alcohol (where permitted), medicine, clothes, and other household products that are consumed regularly. ... Toms Diner, a restaurant in New York familiarized by Suzanne Vega and the television sitcom Seinfeld A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to be consumed on the premises. ... Goa (गोवा in Devanagari) is Indias smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population after Sikkim, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. ... The ramparts of Essaouira Essaouira is a city and tourist resort in Morocco, near Marrakesh on the Atlantic coast. ...

Two Danish backpackers in front of the Vienna State Opera in July 2005

They are generally very social, and a highlight for many backpackers is meeting others on the road. They are quick to share advice on great sights, cheap accommodation, and e-mail addresses. Many strive to meet locals wherever they visit but find that the loose network of backpackers makes them feel at home instantly in a foreign country. When backpackers stay in one place for a while, they often seek a house-share with numerous other backpackers and are likely to share a room to keep the costs down. The common language of backpackers is overwhelmingly English to varying levels of fluency. Britons and Germans typically form among the most common backpacker nationalities in the world, in addition to Canadians and numerous other Western European nations. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1840x2224, 893 KB)Two Danish backpackers in front of the Vienna State Opera in July 2005. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1840x2224, 893 KB)Two Danish backpackers in front of the Vienna State Opera in July 2005. ... Vienna State Opera (German: Wiener Staatsoper), located in Vienna, Austria, is one of the most important opera companies in Europe. ... Ongoing events • 2005 Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes • 2005 Maharashtra floods • 2005 Gujarat Flood • Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan • Fuel prices • Gomery Comm. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Many backpackers gain temporary work (usually low-paid, unskilled, casual, and sometimes in violation of local labor laws) in the countries they visit. For instance, London's pubs are well known for the number of Australian bartenders working in them; "Irish pubs" the world over hire Irish backpackers, although few Irish backpackers would drink in them. In Australia, fruit picking is a popular job among backpackers, although it can be physically demanding and many accumulate their fair share of blisters, scratches and cuts. St. ...

Backpacker culture is perhaps typified by the Lonely Planet series of guidebooks, which is often referred to as the 'Backpacker bible'. The Rough Guide series of guidebooks are also popular. In addition to basic necessities such as clothing, "must have" easily portable luxuries for many long-term backpackers are often a good quality digital camera and a high capacity iPod or other digital music player. More luxurious items, such as laptops may be considered over-the-top and anti-social, as well as a big financial liability. Lonely Planet Publications (usually known as Lonely Planet or LP for short), claims to be the largest independently-owned travel guidebook publisher in the world. ... Rough Guides Ltd is a large travel guidebook and reference publisher, owned by Pearson PLC. Their travel titles cover more than 200 destinations, and are distributed worldwide through the Penguin Group. ... A SiPix digital camera next to a matchbox to show scale. ... A grayscale fourth-generation iPod with earphones. ... Laptop with touchpad. ...

Novels about backpackers include William Sutcliffe´s Are You Experienced? (India), Alex Garland´s The Beach (Thailand), Emily Barr's Backpack (India, Vietnam, China), John Harris's The Backpacker (India, Thailand, and Australia) and Ingrid Marson's The Rules of Backpacking (Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, South Africa). William Sutcliffe (born 1971) is a British novelist. ... Alex Garland was born in 1970, son of the well-known and respected political cartoonist, Nick Garland. ... The Beach (1996) is a novel by Alex Garland about backpackers in Thailand. ... John Harris (c. ...

See also

• YHA (Youth Hostels Association)
• Tourism
• Hospitality Services

YHA is an initialism or abbreviation for Youth Hostels Association, for example that of England, Wales, and Australia. ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Beaches make popular tourist resorts Beaches make popular tourist resorts Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... Hospitality Services are networks of people who exchange accommodation. ...

External links

• Backpacker's Ultimate Guide
• Guide to taking a gap year
• Independent Backpacker Hostels Germany
• Independent Backpacker Hostels Canada
• Swiss Backpackers - Independent Backpacker Hostels in Switzerland
• Ethical Traveler
• InsideOut Travel Magazine
• Backpacker guides to Europe
• Message board for backpackers seeking lifts in Australia
• Backpack-Europe.com - Guide to countries, railpasses, and finding discount airfare