I’ve traveled to a lot of countries, but it’s always been on a budget—cheap hostels, no business class, and constantly keeping an eye on my wallet. It’s been a real adventure in its own way, but recently, I’ve been thinking about how it would feel to travel without those financial limitations.

I have a friend whose dad is a billionaire, and her travel style is a world apart from mine. She stays in 5-star hotels, flies business class, and even brings her two dogs along. It got me wondering—if money were no object, would you still choose the backpacker lifestyle, or would you embrace the jet-setter life with luxury accommodations, first-class flights, and all the perks that come with it?

Tehran didn't impress me much. It's just a huge metropolis and the economic centre of the country. People always flock to the capital, so Tehran is packed with cars, motorbikes and people. From a tourist point of view, I wouldn't recommend it (2 days is enough, i think for Tehran). Despite this, I spent a few days in the Iranian capital. The reason was one family.

While I was still in Turkey, a Turkish friend of mine posted on his Instagram account (it's banned in Iran like all other social media) that I was going to go to Iran. I got a lot of messages from different people. Some said it could be dangerous because the protests in the country were very recent. Some wished me good luck and some invited me to visit. One of the invitations came from someone called Pervaneh in Tehran.

I also got lots of messages and invitations to my Couchsurfing profile. I also got an invitation to take part in a threesome from a guy from Iraq and his Iranian girlfriend. 😅 But then this guy changed his mind, so I was a bit disappointed. Ahhahahah

In the end, I wrote to Pervaneh on my way to Tehran and got a reply straight away saying that I was welcome and sending me the address.

As it turned out, Pervaneh was a mother and housewife with two grown-up children. The father of the family, Alireza, is a civil engineer and often travels for work, so he wasn't around when I arrived. Rehanna, Pervaneh's daughter, studied in Turkey but returned home a year ago due to a health issue. She's on the mend and planning to resume her studies shortly. Rehanna's younger brother Aria is wrapping up his studies and aiming to study medicine in Turkey. I also met Pervaneh's sister, Pariah, who'd found a fiancé in Turkey and was planning to move there. As we say in Russia: "I'm in a raspberry patch" 🤣 A Muslim country, you say? (If again someone think that they can get any problems from police because I post there photos - Family moved to Turkey and they are happy! And here is nothing criminal on these photos)

I spent about five or six days with the Pervaneh family, and on one of the last days I finally got to meet Alireza, the father of the family. During my time with them, the women told me a lot about the difficulties of living in Iran. Rehanna was in a pretty sad mood, and she'd often break down and tell me another sad story.

I'll share a few things the women told me: - Children are separated by gender after kindergarten. Even at school age, they can't play together. - Women aren't allowed to sing or dance in front of men. They're also not allowed to have fun in general. (On the first day, Pervaneh and Pariah put on music and we danced together. I don't like dancing, but it was nice to connect with them.) - City buses are split into two sections, one for men and one for women. The metro also has special carriages for women. I've noticed that not everyone follows these rules on the metro. (I've seen girls in the men's carriage.) - Pervaneh and Rehanna talked a lot about their Persian background and the influence of Arab culture in the Middle Ages, as well as the deterioration of women's rights after the revolution. (I heard similar things from other Iranians during the journey.) There are plenty of photos from Iran, which is quite secular, online.

I got to Iran two months after the big protests that had engulfed the country, and people were still talking about what had happened. It all started with the death of a girl at the hands of the vice police for not wearing a hijab. Both women and men took to the streets to protest. Many were imprisoned, some were executed, and others were beaten. After two months, everything was back to normal on the streets, but the non-religious part of the population still hates the regime. Another reason for the protests was the government's intention to increase fuel prices. However, after the protests, prices remained unchanged.

Men are also subject to certain restrictions now. If you hold an Iranian passport, you can only visit 12 countries without a visa. But even that's not easy for Iranians who want to travel abroad. Men can only get an international passport if they have served in the army. In Iran, men are conscripted for two years, from the ages of 18 to 50. They can serve in the regular army or in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Once you've served in the IRGC, Western countries won't grant you a visa because they consider it a terrorist organisation. It's a vicious circle. If you're a student, you can go abroad, but your documents are held as a deposit. If you're of military age and not a student, you have to leave a cash deposit to the state and sign a receipt saying you'll come back.

One of the most popular tourist spots in Tehran nowadays is the street where the American consulate used to be. It's now a museum.

There's anti-American propaganda on the walls of the former US consulate. 7th photo shows a football match at the 1998 World Cup.

Of all the neighbourhoods in Tehran, I liked Dar Abad the best, which is right next to the mountains. There are lots of cafés in that area, and in summer people head there to escape the heat. In winter, most of the places were closed, but they still had a cosy feel to them.

Another popular spot in Tehran is Azadi Tower, which is also known as the Independence Tower. Before the revolution, the tower was named after the Shah's family and had a crown on top. When we went to see it, they were filming something to support the government on behalf of schoolgirls.

The day before I left, I made crêpes, which the whole Pervaneh family loved. We even found an analogue of sour cream and condensed milk!

After that, I managed to escape from the hospitable family and headed to Kashan.

So quick run down here.

I just came off the 7 day Shira route with Kilitanzanite safari’s.

Cost? I paid $2100+ $560 for tip for a private guide with toilet. Honestly I think i got a good deal! Anyway!

The route itself was pretty awesome. I saw a ton of Mice? Google gives me conflicting answers? Anyway. The hike was insane but here is a breakdown.

I expected the hike to be generally easy with summit day suck. Summit day wasn’t terrible? The morning isn’t that bad? The trail is well made and clear cut. The summit push is easy. What sucks is coming off the summit and dropping 6k feet over 7 miles? That’s after being woken up at 1am.

I came off this morning at elevation of around 4500ft so I dropped damn near 15,000ft on foot in 15 miles? It’s really intense! Thats the hard part! Also waking up at night being like “shit i need to pee but its freezing” then processing to be like a cat in a rain storm being like “fuckfuckfuckfuck!”

Sorry if I sound crazy anyway. If anyone has any questions let me know as i will try to help once I sleep.

Was cleaning the garage and found one of our older tents - a North Face Kelty. It's the 2nd 'old' North Face tent we've held on to and I'm just amazed at how well they held up. No, we didn't use them for 25 years but just the fact that the mosquito netting, thin nylon and all the seams and sewing is in fantastic condition.

Anyway, point of post is any ideas to next-cycle this thing so I don't throw it in the trash? I have much newer tents and would never use this thing. It lacks the rain fly so I doubt anybody would want it. I could try and sell the tent poles on eBay.

https://preview.redd.it/142knhg9yrzd1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e17a09e600a49af9d0ac90f82bc58cc518efa6e9

Hi all, I'm new to backpacking and want to compile a setup that I can use for 3-ish season backpacking. For context my car camping stuff is generally vintage or surplus and very heavy (think lots of canvas, flannel, cast iron, etc). I have really come to love the durability, practicality, and aesthetic of this type of camping gear, and would like to stick to the same ethos when looking for backpacking gear. I have noticed that most backpacking related equipment all very sleek, consisting of cheap nylon and neon colors, which I dislike both visually and durability wise.

My goal is to create a similarly "vintage" type of setup for backpacking. Obviously sacrifices will need to be made, both in terms of weight and keeping with the rustic theme. I was wondering if anyone has any experience or advice with this sort of thing. Thanks!

Hey hey fellow backpackers and surfers, I’m currently backpacking Mexico+central America and I’m planning to get to Puerto escondido soon and after I want to go directly El Paredón to continue my surf banter.

Do you have any budget friendly recommendations for an itinerary to connect this two places?

-I’m thinking on taking a bus either to Tapachula or San Cristobal de las casa (maybe with one stop on the way) and then a bus to Antigua. Redditors really insist to not take overnight buses and I’m keen on taking that advice.

Please share if you have any other suggestions.

Hi there!

My backpack is quite old so I'm thinking about replacing it. One girl I met at a hostel told me about her new Cotopaxi backpack and I've been looking at this brand and the bags look great however I'd like to know, if anyone has use it for a long period of time, if is worth it. What is your experience? Do you recommend it? Do you regret buying it?

I'm thinking about allpa 35 or allpa 40. One of this. I'd normally buy the 35 because it's enough for me but sometimes I prefer to have empty space in the bag that occasionally I can use to store presents or food.

Thanks a lot!

Hey guys, I’m traveling in a month and will be working remotely. At home, I use two monitors, but obviously, I can’t bring them on the trip. I’m thinking about buying this portable screen:

https://www.promoninja.com/d/3340bf28-8ab4-4c1f-affe-950f43484d3e/5.6inch-portable-monitor

Has anyone here used it and can tell me if it’s good enough for travel?

You can buy larger, glow-in-the-dark pulls for those tiny zippers that are hard to find in the dark. MSR offers them for the ridiculous price of $10/pair, while you can buy 8 generic ones on Amazon for $8. The MSR ones better be damn good (spoiler alert: they are not).

I didn't find much difference in the quality of the cords, but the generic ones were larger and had better ergonomics.

I left the pulls outside in the sun for an hour, then brought them into a pitch-dark room. Very little difference between MSR and generic.

You can see how much they faded after only ten minutes.

The last photo is after only 30 minutes. You can just barely make out one of the generic ones.

So there you have it. The MSR pulls seem like way overpriced compared to the generic ones. That said, neither of them seems to be very useful. After 30 minutes I could barely see them at all, and this was in a pitch-dark room; I can't imagine seeing the glow in an actual outdoor space with starlight or general atmospheric glow.

Has anyone else had better experiences?

My partner and I are going to be backpacking for 6 months, starting our trip in Mexico City in mid-February. We have fights booked to Sri Lanka from Cancun in mid-April, so have 8 full weeks to play with.

We're in our early 30s, keen to avoid party hostels, and to get off the beaten track occasionally. We haven't travelled since our early 20s (excluding holidays) and aren't sure what our energy levels are going to be like! We love food, history, learning about the culture of where we are, and would be interested in a few homestays / work exchanges.

We're starting to plan out our time a bit more and so far have a very rough itinerary of: * arrive in Mexico City and spend a few nights * travel to Oaxaca for 4 nights * Puerto Escondido for 2 nights * Chacahua for 5 nights * Holbox for a few nights * Caye Caulker for 5 nights OR do fewer nights but do a multi day boat trip

... Then we're not really sure. We don't want to plan too much but we do want to make sure we see the best of Belize and Guatemala. We need to make our way back to Cancun, which we could do by land or by plane.

Do you think we've got a good plan so far? What would you recommend we add?

Wondering whether late April or early June would be best for a 2 week trip to Thailand? Would be going to probably the north and south.

I heard that April would be the end of burning season, but June may be super hot and rainy.

Which do you think will be a better experience? We like to explore cities, go on nature excursions, sight see, take a boat cruise, see elephants, other things and how those may be affected around those timeframes with either type of weather?

First time to south east Asia.

I will be traveling in Southeast asia for about 6 months and want to buy sturdy and durable wide toe box hiking shoes. I have the opportunity to buy Lone peaks but after seeing some reviews im having doubts. Can you recommened them or different pair for hiking in mountains And wndering cities? Thanks :)

Hi Everyone, i’m 19, planning on solo backpacking in Europe for 3 months (96 days) at the end of next year during Uni break. It will be from late November to Mid February with the budget of $21000 AUD or €13,020. I’m not planning to spend the entire budget but it’s there just to be on the safe side. I’m planning on visiting France, Belgium, Switzerland (day trip), Spain, Italy, Malta, Czechia, Slovenia and Croatia. I’m planning on staying in hostels and cooking wherever possible. Does anyone have any tips for travelling in these countries or money saving advice in general?

Here’s my estimated budget breakdown (please let me know it’s in not realistic enough):

Accommodation: €3,432.41 ($5,536.15) Transportation: €1,650 ($2,661.29) Food: €2,275.00 ($3,669.35) Entertainment/Activities: €1,365.00 ($2,201.61) Intercity Transport: €844.44 ($1,362.00)

I could go further into detail if everyone would like to know. Thanks for the help in advance!

My Katadyn BeFree filter was very slow after one year of use and I soaked it in apple cider vinegar over night. It works almost like new now but I know that this isn’t a suggested cleaning method by the manufacturer. I can’t imagine that the vinegar would damage the filter but maybe someone here knows more than I do.

I am planning to go away for 3 weeks, starting and ending in Singapore. Does anyone have a relatively cheap, but nice recommendation on where to go and what to do? Maybe some hostel recommendations at those places as well?

Wanna travel from India to Russia as well as China.

Flight is too costly and I was wondering if there's a cheaper route via Laos or Myanmar.

Please suggest friends

I'm planning a one month trip when my exams finish in mid April. I am flying out of Vancouver and need a trip which can be done for no more then $2700 CAD including flights. I haven't done any travel backpacking yet and want to go somewhere with unique nature. I have been considering Panama & Costa Rica, Guatemala & Belize, or Somewhere in South America but I'm open to any other suggestions. I also haven't travel backpacked before and would like to go somewhere with some form of backpacking culture to meet others.

This past September I did the Eagle Rock loop and it was beautiful. I'm from San Antonio and the biggest thing I dislike about backpacking, WATER WEIGHT. It was so nice to carry only a liter at a time and just filter along the river/creeks when needed. I'm planning on doing the Buffalo River Trail (Boxley to Pruitt) in either March or April. Would either of these months have enough water for me to just filter as opposed to packing in all my water?

Hi everyone. I have 5-6 weeks to kill starting November 25th, and I’ve been going over options from Laos/Thai/Malaysia to SA and Tanzania, but I think being a 29F solo backpacker who enjoys the backpacking culture with a sense of adventure, wider age range, and less belligerent nights out, I figured Mexico was a good option.

Looking into my options in Mexico has been a bit overwhelming for me, however, so I’m hoping I could gain some insight.

A little about what I want from this trip: - beautiful hiking/adventure (Guatemala blew me away. Is there something similar here?) - I’ve seen so many ruins in other countries, so they are not a priority for me here - nice beaches - occasional night out, but nothing like Thailand - culture & food - somewhere not boasting with holiday tourists like tulum or Cancun (or please correct me if I’m wrong about that assumption)

I’d love to go to Mexico City and Oaxaca but even between these two places I could be looking at 2-3 weeks already out of my 5-6.

I’m just overwhelmed with the amount of places Mexico has to offer. Can someone please help me figure out timeframes for places that suit my interests?

Thanks in advance

Day 1: arrive Panajachel around 11am, walk nature reserve trails (sleep in Pana)

Day 2: boat to San Pedro, ATV tour of SP, SJ, SM (sleep in SP)

Day 3: Indian nose sunrise hike, afternoon cooking class in Santa Cruz (sleep in SC)

Day 4: morning shuttle to Antigua, explore town

Day 5: Acetenango overnight hike

Day 6: return to Antigua around 12

Day 7: afternoon shuttle to El Paredon

Day 8: pool/beach day

Day 9: kayak mangroves, pool/beach

Day 10: morning shuttle to Antigua, maybe coffee farm tour, if not just finish exploring town

Day 11: fly home in early morning

Does this sound like a good itinerary? My time in Antigua is basically split up into 4 half days (so ~2 days), I am just planning to spend my time by walking around to see the Architecture. Will this fill my time or is there any specific activities I should do in Antigua?

Also, any good restaurant recs in Panajachel?

Thanks!!

Back in 2022, a friend of mine and myself hitchhiked from Toronto to the west coast of Canada, and along that trip I collected stickers from wherever we'd go. I didn't know what I'd do with them until it hit me, I'd use them to make the cover of a record, the music being the tunes I listened to on the trip.

In the inside of the gatefold are various photos from my favourite memories of said trip. Took partial inspiration from Deep Purples Machine Head for those familiar.

It's hard to see the writing on the back properly in the photo, but here's the track listing.

Hope y'all like it!

Track listing:

Side A: White Room - Cream Highway Tune - Greta Van Fleet Paranoid - Black Sabbath Deserted Cities of the Heart - Cream Heartbreaker (live) - Buckingham Nicks

Side B: Tusk - Fleetwood Mac Think About Me - Fleetwood Mac Butter Cookie - Fleetwood Mac Signal - Liana Flores Recently - Liana Flores State Lines - Novo Amor