The first and most tantalizing reason why backpacking is the way to go for millennials is that it\u2019s by far the cheapest style of travel. We millennials have been called \u201cthe poorest generation\u201d plenty of times by plenty of people, and for those of us who don\u2019t have an excess of money to set aside for travel, backpacking is the gold standard for getting us there…but, ironically, it comes with a price. When it comes to backpacking, there\u2019s no way around it:\u00a0it\u2019s<\/em> roughing it — <\/em>meaning, it\u2019s no-frills, bare-bones, and absolutely not luxurious. Backpackers definitely don\u2019t stay in expensive hotels, fly first-class, or dine at five-star restaurants. Rather, they spend their nights in hostels, eating street food and taking local buses from city to city. If you opt to backpack, you won\u2019t be living in a sanitized and comfortable bubble while you\u2019re away. Instead, you\u2019ll be face to face with the knitty gritty reality of low-cost travel. The silver lining to this sacrifice, however, is that you won\u2019t have an enormous bill at the end of it all because all these means are very affordable and surmountable for people in our tax bracket. Also, not for nothing, traveling in this way (i.e. eating from local markets, riding the same buses as the locals) forces us to experience our destinations from the perspective of someone who lives there rather than as a distanced guest who\u2019s there looking for the hotel’s room service. That’s why this is really the most authentic way to see a country!<\/p>\n I\u2019ve called hostels the lifeblood of backpacking <\/em>before and I still stand by it to this day. Hostels have an unfortunate reputation of being dingy, run-down shacks filled to the brim with smelly travelers in tiny dorms. But as the world\u2019s grown more connected, and as people have begun opting to backpack, hostels have transformed into lovely havens that weary travelers can feel good about staying at. Hostels nowadays feature clean beds and reasonably-sized dorms, and often come with common areas, bars, lounges, restaurants, and sometimes even pools. They\u2019re totally designed to foster interaction and camaraderie between travelers, all of whom happen to be within the certain millennial age bracket (some hostels even have an age cap at 40). Not only that, they know that we millennial travelers like convenience, and they therefore often have city information, tour-booking services, and bus-ticket purchasing options at the front desk to make our stays more streamlined and easy. You get all of this for a really reasonable price, ranging anywhere from $5 a night (in places like Southeast Asia & South America) to $30 (in Europe, Japan and North America).<\/p>\n You may also like: Costly Mistakes Most Millennials Make When They Travel<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n One of the most common pieces of unsolicited travel advice I get from other generations is that I should wait until I\u2019m older to go exploring. Now I don\u2019t know about you, but when I travel somewhere, it\u2019s often to see some sort of nature that I can\u2019t see back home…and whether that takes the form of jungle ruins or the top of a volcano, there\u2019s no doubt that getting there can be a challenge. It\u2019s really no surprise that some of the most iconic places in the world are hidden deep in the depths of the jungle or at the very top of a mountain, and as such, many of these sights require plenty of trekking, and even some camping. If that\u2019s the case, why not tackle these challenges now while you\u2019re young and physically able? I did a four-day hike in Colombia at the age of 26 that totally pushed my body to its limits. Was it hard? Absolutely. Could I have done it later in life? Definitely not. Was it worth it? 100%. And in the end, the reward of reaching the end of that hike felt ten times more gratifying knowing how hard I worked for it. Hiking can be difficult, but I recommend you embrace the challenge and recognize it as something that you can only do while your body is able!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Backpacking-town.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHostels Are Designed for Millennials<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nDo It While You’re Young!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBackpacking Trips Make You Want to Unplug<\/strong><\/h2>\n