Cuddling a puppy. Squishing sand between your toes. Flipping your pillow over to the cool side. Taking off your thirty pound backpack after a long day of hiking.
*These are a few of our favorite feelings!*
Views like that make all that hard work worth it.
Backpacking isn’t for the faint of heart. You sweat, squat, suffer through a number of undignified tasks, and somehow smile through it all. The sense of accomplishment you feel after completing a long day of trekking through rough terrain is truly unparalleled. (Except by maybe the puppy cuddling thing).
So what better way is there to travel the world? Backpacking trips allow you to tromp through jungles or deserts, giving you a true sense of the landscape and allowing for real connection with the local people. Plus, forgoing some of the luxuries of travel makes backpacking an affordable way to see the world. Read on to find out some of our favorite backpacking programs for college students!
5 budget-friendly backpacking programs for college students
1. Stray Asia
Instead of searching for backpacking trips for college students, craft your own through this program. Stray Travel provides all the resources you need to plan your own backpacking route around Asia. Their hop-on hop-off pass gives travelers access to “travel network” through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. Each stop boasts expert guides to recommend the yummiest place for local cuisine or the can’t-miss attractions. At the end of a day of exploring, the guides can help you book accommodation if you choose, on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Besides the guides and accommodation options, Stray Travel provides passage between stops with buses, trains, boats, and even tuk-tuks. While you can stick to their route, you can also just rely on Stray for guides, occasional accomodation when you don’t feel like camping, and a lift if your feet need a little rest. You can select whichever countries and time limit suits you best, but The Lot package is the best buy for your money. It offers twelve months of unlimited access to hop-on hop-off transport, guides, and entrance fees to popular attractions for just ~$2,200. You could plan multiple summer backpacking trips, or, better yet, spend the entire year in Asia, which would put your total at about ~$40 per week. Try and beat that!
- Where: Southeast Asia (but they also have a program in New Zealand)
- Cost: as low as ~$40 per week
- Read Stray Asia reviews
2. Australia's Ultimate Road Journey
If you’d love to dip your toes into backpacking trips for college students but feel cautious about committing to an entire trip, this program is a great happy medium. The bulk of travel on this trip is driving, but there are extensive hikes and walking involved daily. The accommodation for each of the eight nights is solely camping, and one of the campsites doesn’t even have flushing toilets. Talk about roughing it! The hiking and camping vibes make this program a great example of backpacking destinations for beginners.
Plus, hiking around gorgeous Australian landscapes allows you to marvel at sights like the quartzite peaks of Barren Ranges and the coast of Twilight cove. This program allows opportunities to observe native wildlife like kangaroos, emus, and koalas, and even provides an optional experience of shark cage diving with great white sharks. Costs start around ~$1,600 AUD, or ~$1,150 USD, which equals ~$130 per day. For beginning backpackers, with all that is included in this program, it’s a great option!
- Where: Australia
- Cost: ~$900 per week
- Read Nullarbor Traveller reviews
3. Backpacking Tour of China with Oyster Worldwide
China is the second largest country in the world, making it one of the most popular backpacking destinations for beginners and experienced travelers alike. An especially great way to really get a sense of China’s enormity and culture is to enjoy twenty-five days backpacking through it! Oyster Worldwide has a few backpacking programs for college students, but this one is extra awesome and full of all the important stops.
You’ll get up close and personal with pandas at the Giant Panda Breeding Center, wander the Forbidden City, walk the Great Wall of China, explore the deep and spiritual Dharma Caves, stand in awe in front of the Terracotta Warriors, and look out over the incredible view from Mogan Mountain. You’ll also experience the thrill of rafting down the River Li, the simple enjoyment of a cup of tea at a traditional tea house, and the pleasure of a lesson in Kung Fu. This program covers almost 3,400 miles of terrain, but, don’t worry, you’ll be taking bullet trains for the longer chunks. Embark on this amazing (almost) month-long adventure for ~$2,200. That’s less than ~$100 per day to see all of China. Talk about cheap backpacking trips!
- Where: Hong Kong, Yangshuo, Chengdu, Xi’an, Shaolin, Beijing, Moganshan, Shanghai, Fujian, Macao
- Cost: ~$600 per week
- Read Oyster Worldwide reviews
4. Everest with Gokyo, Poonhill & Community Project
You’ve heard of Mount Everest, but have you heard of AmaDablam or Gokyo Ri? You’ll see all of these majestic mountain ranges in Nepal on your backpacking trip with Gap Year. Gap Year Nepal offers some of the cheapest backpacking trips for college students available. While they offer trip lengths from two to twelve weeks, this particular trip is eight weeks for ~$2,500. This fee covers room and board, various entrance fees, and in-country travel. On this trip, you can experience religious ceremonies in ancient temples, interact with native people, and try the local food, getting a true sense of Nepal culture.
This trip isn’t all culture and hiking though. Participate in a community project to improve local life. Experience an adrenaline rush from paragliding, river rafting, and canoeing around Nepal. Marvel at the gorgeous landscape as you interact with elephants (yes, seriously). This stands apart from cheap backpacking trips because of all that is included!
- Where: Nepal
- Cost: ~$300 per week
- Read GAP Nepal Reviews
5. Southeast Asia Gap Year
If you’d love to visit countries like Thailand and Laos and prefer one of the more structured summer backpacking programs, Pacific Discovery’s Southeast Asia Gap Year may be for you. This program offers experiences such as meditating with Buddhists monks in Thailand, assisting with elephant conservation, and a variety of hiking, boating, biking, rafting, and snorkeling through diverse national parks. This program may not have backpacking in the title, but it still features a variety of adventures and backpacking destinations for beginners.
Something that sets this program apart from other backpacking programs for college students is their huge focus on personal development. They help participants to face challenges with resilience and resourcefulness. You will come away with new found independence and confidence. This program comes out to ~$1,000 per week, which is similar to other cheap backpacking trips. But there are ten amazing, adventure filled weeks in the program. Since ten grand is a lot to throw down at once, Pacific Discovery offers a couple scholarships and has an extensive list of external scholarships here to apply for as well.
- Where: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia
- Cost: ~$1,000 per week
- Read Pacific Discovery reviews
[Browse ALL Backpacking Trips for College Students]
Go backpacking without going broke
Get planning—your next adventure is right around the corner.
Whether this is your first time backpacking or your fifteenth, there are backpacking travel programs for everybody! These programs help travelers explore countries to a deeper level. Plus, all the money you save from backpacking can be put towards awesome travel experiences.
So grab your hiking shoes and dust off your adventurous spirit by taking on one of these awesome backpacking trips. Whether you choose one of the summer backpacking trips or a longer year round trip, you will have a wonderful adventure! Bon voyage!
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