You are here: Home / Backpacking

Travelling with a car

February 10, 2012 By Isaac Faulkner

Going off with a backpack doesn’t have                quite the same ring to it if you then sling your pack into the boot of a car and drive off on your gap year travels, but don’t dismiss it straightaway. It could be a great way to see Europe and do it cheaply at that.

With so many of the new eco cars that are available today, cars can do an amazing amount of miles per gallon, and when you compare the cost of a trip behind the wheel of a reliable motor that gets you door to door as you travel around to going on a train, it’s far cheaper and safer to go by car.

There’s also the possibility of taking other people in the car with you. You may decide to go with a friend, and immediately your costs are halved. But you can also pick up fellow travellers along the way, when you’re staying at hostels and get talking to people, it may be that your plans coincide with some other travellers who’d rather give you petrol money than go by train or bus.

Another great thing about taking a car on your travels is that you can sometimes really get off the beaten track and use the car as a place to sleep. There are some really remote sights to see and it can be disappointing to have to leave them almost as soon as you’ve arrived to go back to the nearest town and its accommodation. This might be more suitable if you hire rather than take your own – unless you have a decent size back seat and boot. If you chose to hire an estate car like a Honda Accord Tourer, you can easily fold all the seats flat and bed down in there for the night.

Before you decide on how you’re going to travel, it’s worth doing some costs research on using a car rather than catching trains, planes and buses everywhere.

Filed Under: Backpacking Tagged With: , , , ,

Go camping off season

January 23, 2012 By Isaac Faulkner

Most people think that the best time to go camping is mid-summer. And, of course, you do tend to get better weather overall during the summer, but you also get crowds of other people going to the same places and irritants such as flies and mosquitoes, too.

Winter camping can be great fun – as long as you have the right equipment.  It’s a good idea to check the long range weather forecast before you head off – and have a back-up alternative plan in case the weather changes at the last minute.

It’s also probably best to go without the kids during winter – they probably won’t get as much out of brisk winter walking and hiking as you will. So drop them off at the grandparents on the way to your destination.

Before you go, you need to make sure you have all the right gear. First, you need a decent tent – suitable for winter camping. And a high-quality sleeping bag is essential. You can get different bags for different seasons, so make sure you have a three or four season bag if you’re camping during the winter months.

Thermal socks and gloves are essential – you might end up wearing these all night as well as during the day, so bring enough changes of socks!

On your body and legs you’ll need base layer garments to keep hold of your core body warmth, these are close-fitting garments which still allow you to move easily, and also let moisture move away from your skin. Add a couple of insulating layers on top of the base layer, and finish with a waterproof or shell layer. For this last layer, you’re best sticking with a well-known outdoors brand. There are always plenty of bargains to be found at the North Face sale, and if you’re happy to go with last year’s colours you can get great jackets and trousers at really reduced prices.

Once you’ve got the kit, all you need to do is pick your destination and head off for some wild winter camping and walking in perfect solitude.

Filed Under: Backpacking, Travelling around the World Tagged With: , , ,

Take a car backpacking

December 14, 2011 By Isaac Faulkner

Well, it may not fit the stereotypical image of a lone traveller heading off to see the world if you’ve got a roof over your head and four wheels beneath you, but travelling with a car is a pretty good option – especially if you’re going during the winter months.

Second hand cars have become so cheap it seems silly not to take your own transport, when it can also double up as a place to sleep for the night.

Where it becomes expensive is if you want to cross too many stretches of ocean, but if you’re mainly sticking to one land mass, you should be fine.

If you’re starting your trip around Europe from the UK, it makes sense to buy a car there and hop over to France via Calais – the cheapest ferry route. Second hand cars are far cheaper in the UK than France and it’ll be less of a headache arranging insurance cover, etc.

When looking for the kind of car to buy, your main criteria should be value for money and reliability. Honda is probably one of the car marques with the most solid reputation for reliability – in fact it won What Car? and Warranty Direct’s reliability study for the sixth year in a row in 2011. This is based on failure rate during the first 12 months, and Honda’s failure rate was a very low 9 per cent.

The other main thing to think about is fuel economy – diesels will get you a long way, but they are more expensive to buy. Hybrids have great fuel economy because they are powered by a small internal combustion engine and an electric motor, whose battery recharges as you go along.  These are also more expensive to buy than a conventional petrol car, but the earliest hybrids were on the roads in the 1990s, so it is more common to find them second hand now.

It depends on how you view the purchase – is this a car to get you through your trip, or do you envisage keeping it for years to come?

Filed Under: Backpacking Tagged With: , , , ,
« Older Posts