Define Backpacking vs. Traveling

I've asked myself that too. The only difference I can see between us and most backpackers is we dress better and stay in nicer places. We backpack our stuff, ride on about the cheapest modes of transportation that we can find, and usually eat cheap. On our infamous third class train trip from Istanbul to Stara Zagora (I like saying that) we shared our six person compartment with an Austrian woman and her boyfriend as well as a young guy from Hungary. We were talking to the Austrian and she said, "We're backpacking". I said, "So are we" pointing to our convertible carry-ons which were about half the size of her's. There is one other difference, we don't have a bunch of stuff dangling around on the outside of our bags. Really, that's the only difference I can see.

I've heard people call their trip a backpacking trip, but then refer to the hotels they are staying in. Are hostels required? Is it just what they put their belongings in? Does it have to be a hikers type of backpack or does a convertible bag count? In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter what someone calls themselves, but I was just curious.

ha ha, In 1985 my friend and I were young and we went on a "back packing " trip around Europe for three months,, but we refused to carry back packs. I think what defined our trip as "backpacking " was we had a very loose itinerary( like we had 3 months and a list of places to go , no reservations at hotels or hostels) , we stayed in dumps , we travelled "no class" ( bus , train, whatever) we ate food from grocery stores ( and this was before everyone glorified picnics, this was just we are poor cause we blew too much drinking last night, we are eating cheese and crackers today) I still remember it as the best trip of my life.

For me, a real "backpacking" trip in Europe conjures up certain images: university students, cheap hostels, a big backpack with all of your crap, eating cheap street food and picnicking (not just for the experience), drinking a lot of cheap beer at dive bars, partying, taking buses, etc. My guess is that most people here who talk about backpacking aren't really doing the backpacking thing...more likely staying in B&Bs and eating fairly well....not the same as a broke student doing a true backpacking thing. Just because you have a backpack on your back, you're not necessarily "backpacking" around Europe. This makes me wonder if there can be sort of a snob thing about saying one is "backpacking" around Europe. You know, "Well, I'm backpacking around Europe all summer," when they're really taking a three-week vacation from their insurance job. Who knows?

In the 70's, had big-frame backpacks, sleeping bags, a copy of Europe on $5 a Day and Let's Go, no itinerary, maps, hitchhiked, slept outside, inside, anywhere with plumbing or without plumbing. Was that traveling or backpacking? Now, I definitely travel.

I think my definition of Backpacking is much narrower than most people. Backpacking to me is actually packing all my stuff, including food, tent, and sleeping bag; hiking (not riding) through parkland/remote areas; and camping in remote/primitive sites. I might backpack through Yosemite, but I wouldn't call a walk through the Roman Forum backpacking (and I'd ditch my pack at the train station for the day, because I can, rather than carry it with me everywhere). Backpacking ended when we had kids, and became "tent camping" that was reachable by four-wheel drive (though hopefully as remote as possible). We did a mountain bike trip with two of our kids through West Virginia, carrying our stuff and camping along the trail, last year - that's the closest I've been to actual backpacking in a couple of decades. Since most backpacks don't fit the carry-on limits, I seriously doubt I'll ever "backpack" Europe. We do enjoy hiking, whether long strolls or serious trails, and I'd like to plan at least one trip using a tent at European campgrounds as our primary lodging.

Bets and Michael's descriptions are pretty much how I think of 'backpacking' through Europe, as opposed to what most of us do, which is 'traveling' through Europe. In my mind, what kind of case we carry our belongings in is irrelevant.

Agree with Brad's definition.

I agree with Brad, too, when I think of backpacking in more general terms or backpacking in the U.S. In this case, I identify the term more with a backcountry trip through Yellowstone or something like that. But "backpacking across Europe" is a different thing altogether...more of student thing...traveling as cheaply as humanly possible and looking for a good time while doing it. And I suspect very few of us here travel that way anymore.

Andrea, THIS website provides some interesting thoughts on the topic of "backpacking". The definition has probably evolved somewhat over the years, and therefore is somewhat "broader" now. Cheers!

"In the 70's, had big-frame backpacks, sleeping bags, a copy of Europe on $5 a Day and Let's Go, no itinerary, maps, hitchhiked, slept outside, inside, anywhere with plumbing or without plumbing. Was that traveling or backpacking? Now, I definitely travel." I would agree with this definition, but I have to say I've not seen too many true backpackers in the past few years! I think costs these days prevents poorer students from travelling: - The interrail pass seems to be much more expensive now in relative terms than it was in my day
- The old hostel system with it's large dorms and cooking your own food has been replaced it a more expensive version.

Brad's description epitomizes backpacking in the traditional sense. But I don't really think we need to be concerned about the details. To me, backpacking means only two things; 1) all of your stuff is in a backpack and 2) you have a tight budget and/or a casual travel style. We've traveled all over Europe using backpacks instead of suitcases, but otherwise traveling as anyone else would - sometimes driving, sometimes riding the train - sometimes staying in hostels and sometimes staying for a week at a time in a rental. I probably wouldn't really call that backpacking. But in contrast; I will soon spend two weeks in New Zealand doing several multi-day hikes with a backpack, but not camping in tents. I'll have four walls and a roof each night. I'll have a rental car to get me from one corner of the country to the next, but I'll also be walking over 100 miles with the backpack on my back and frequently carrying all my food with me. That pretty much seems like backpacking to me. Yet, those two examples really only differ in that I will be walking more frequently in one trip than the other. So is the difference really that important?

When I think "backpacking through Europe", I think of basically what Pat, Bets, and Michael said: Shoesting budget Sleeping in hostels, on trains, and other low-cost or no-cost places Cheap food (ramen noodles cooked in the hostel kitchen, hot dogs, etc.) Extended trip Usually age 20something Very loose itinerary Going out drinking and dancing until the wee hours Sleeping on the beach on some Greek island to recover And so on

I agree with those who say that backpacking implies carrying all you need on your back. No hand luggageladies/girls can have a purse of some sort. It's about staying in hostels or pensions that are low budget. You're usually a student or a just graduated. You are picnicking at lunch, eating at student restaurants at night, and partying into the wee hours. You've got an international student ID, you may have a student/second class Eurail Pass, but maybe you actually hitch now and then. If you're from Australia, you're probably working a few months in the UK. ; ) If you're carrying a tent, you're not in Europe, you're in New England or the Rockies. Pam

What would you call it if you carry a tent? A few years ago my brother (not a student, or even young) went to Europe for 4 months with his backpack, sleeping bag and tent. He spent some time with our cousin in Cologne, but camped in Switzerland, France and Denmark. He also stayed in some hostels and a very occasional B&B. He took trains everywhere. In my mind I think I would consider that backpacking.

"Backpacking" is often a generic term to describe any number of ways to travel loosely long-term without a minute-by-minute itinerary culled solely from guidebooks. In 2013, it doesn't have to specifically involve pitching a tent (that would be "camping"), external frame bags affixed to your torso, or standing by the side of a road with your thumb out & a cardboard sign. There is no specific age requirement that states you must be in your 20s. You don't have to eat ramen noodles. "Backpacking" can be on the cheap, or not-so-cheap, depending who you ask. Ken's link includes references to "Flashpacking" & "Poshpacking". In the past, I've taken some very lengthy trips where I have happily combined all 3 modes at different points along the way simply because I could. I've taken multi-day hikes with my belongings, food & water strapped on my back & slept in huts along the way with no heat or indoor plumbing ("backpacking"), I've slept in hostels & run the gamut from booking a private room to sleeping in co-ed dorms that accommodate more than a dozen other hostelers, I've bedded down in some total dumps and woken up with flea bites ("backpacking"), I've stayed at budget chain hotels & B&Bs ("flashpacking"), college dorms rented out to tourists, sofas of a friend of a friend ("couchsurfing"), & when I'd felt like I needed some "luxury", I plunked down my Visa to check into some extremely nice hotels just to enjoy a few nights sleep on a plush mattress with high thread-count linens, cable tv, & lots of premium toiletries lined up on the bathroom sink ("poshpacking"). In the end, it's just a way to travel. It's not about whose method gives them more travel cred - the backpacker or the budget traveler. That's just a pissing contest between travel snobs.

Although I'm in my sixties, I read some of the backpacker forums and a lot of them now take rollaboard suitcases so "backpacker" is a very loose term. I take a convertible suitcase, stay in B&Bs and use public transportation. If that qualifies as backpacker, that's fine.

Ah, but when I think of backpacking the essential experience would include international romance. I may be traveling with a convertible bag with my husband but I do lament that I didn't go to Europe as a young person and have that sweet experience.

Betcha none of the 'backpackers' have a friggin decent set of boots.

For many of us "backpacking" merely means traveling with luggage strapped on our backs. I traveled that way for a number of years and kept telling people "I'm not backpacking, this is just the way I carry my stuff." I gave up and started calling it "backpacking". I spent some time in the mountains sleeping in a tent on the ground in isolated places; "backpacking" in Europe was a different experience. With tent, sleeping bag, etc. I always carried about 30# and definitely wore some real hiking boots. When carrying only travel needs for Europe I carried 18-20# and wore walking shoes. (I gave up and got some wheeled luggage a few years ago. My shoulders and back were bothered by the weight of the backpack.) I can usually tell from the context when people on this helpline talk about "backpacking" they will be sleeping in a bed and not carrying a tent with them. Some I've seen in Europe are carrying enough stuff they may be planning on sleeping out in a tent.

This is yet another example of "two countries divided by a common language.". It originally had two different meanings, one to North Americans and one to Brits/Aussies/Kiwis. I am a "backpacker" in the sense of doing multi-day hiking trips into the mountains, carrying everything in my backpack. One summer I spent six weeks on a backpack trip the Sierras in California. Before that, I spent six months as a student in Germany, traveling on weekends by train and staying in hostels. We didn't call that " backpacking" then (1960's), maybe that was because we were Americans. But the kids we met didn't use the term either; they would say they were on a gap year if they ware British or Irish. I never heard the word backpacking used to apply to travel on the cheap in Europe until much later, maybe when I started reading the Thorn Tree travel forum. So I know what it means, but I don't use it that way. It is just like the word "boot". I know in the UK it can mean the trunk of a car. But to me boots are what I wear on my feet when I go backpacking. And yes, they are proper Italian hiking boots.