How to plan a backpacking trip south america
Planning my next backpacking trip to South America 💃🏻Research, Budget, Packing + more
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hello friends I hope that you're well as
many of you may know I have picked my
next big backpacking destination and
that is South America more specifically
Colombia and Ecuador to start off with
in this video I'm going to be taking you
through my entire planning process
things that I've already done the things
I'm currently doing and the things that
I still need to do I'm going to be
looking at destinations budget
accommodation traveler gistic activities
visas packing all that fun stuff so
firstly let's start off with the things
that I've obviously already done so the
very first thing was picking the
destination how did I pick Colombia and
Ecuador as my next destinations I'm at
the point in my life where I really need
to prioritize the destinations that I
want to travel to as a solo backpacker
who likes to stay in hostel he likes to
go and have wild adventures from the day
into the night loads of new people and
be young wild and free because that's
the category of life that I'm in right
now and I don't think I'm going to be in
this category forever I want to settle
down and have kids one day and I'm sure
at that point I'll probably want to
travel slightly differently and I think
that there are some destinations which
are definitely more suited to that type
of travel and there are destinations
where being a backpacker I think is
definitely the most fun way to get
around so looking at all of the
destinations over the world that I have
not been to that are fantastic for
backpackers and fairly affordable as
well South America is right at the top
of my bucket list it's somewhere that I
wanted to go for a very long time it has
never been right at the top of my
priority list until now and since I'm
trying to escape the British winter this
year as with every year it only makes
sense for me to go also somewhere that's
either on or below the equator which is
exactly where this is so when am I going
and how long am I going for initially I
said I wanted to start this trip like
right at the beginning of January 2020
however I have been informed that there
is a very very fun massive salsa
festival happening in Cali Colombia over
Christmas for like four days and I
really want to go to it so now I think
I'm going to be leaving in mid-december
I am in the process of starting a new
business back here in the UK which you
will find out so very very soon I've
hinted it quite
in the past because of this it means I
don't really want to spend loads and
loads and loads of time away from the UK
so for that reason and also after for
backpacking too long I start to lose my
sanity a bit I don't think I want to be
gone for longer than three months so
that in mind I will probably be in South
America from mid-december to mid March
and I really don't want to rush my
travels I've done that in the past and I
always just end up leaving destinations
countries feeling a little bit
disappointing and wishing that I had
travelled slower and had done more so
with that in mind I only expect to be
able to cover about two countries in
South America in three months and before
you say anything that does not mean that
I don't want to travel more of South
America of course I do but it may just
have to wait for another time but we'll
see I'm booking a one-way flight in
order to be as flexible as possible and
I guess just see where the journey takes
me and Colombia in particular is a
massive country so a big reason why I
think it's gonna take me a really long
time is even just in my first
destination Cali I feel like I want to
spend at least a few weeks they're just
like intensely learning to salsa dance
because that's just massive on my bucket
list and there's a big city called
meadow Jean which is really popular with
digital nomads and people working online
and expats and I can really see myself
probably plunking myself there for at
least a couple of weeks catching up on
editing because of course I want to keep
you guys updated with my adventure as I
go along as I learnt from the
Philippines I'm really not very good at
editing whilst backpacking because I'm
backpacking I'm having a good time but
if I can stop in certain places just for
a week or two weeks and smash out the
work that I've done so far it means that
I'm able to keep you guys updated along
the way which is something that I really
want to do and meadow Jean is also
supposed to just be a really cool city
to hang out in is also multi-day hikes
in Colombia which I'm really keen to do
so I really think I could easily spend
at least two months there next door to
Colombia we have Ecuador is quite
considerably smaller so I don't think
it's going to take me half as long to
backpack but you've also got the
Galapagos Islands which I'm really keen
to go to if I can afford it so with all
of that in mind I don't think I'm going
to have time to visit
more than that in three months who knows
Never Say Never a fun thing about
one-way flights is that I can just see
where the wind takes me now despite the
fact that I want to be flexible I
personally think that research is so
important to do before going on a big
backpacking trip so you have an idea of
the things that you can do you've got
some good recommendations of places to
stay places to eat activities hostels
budget and how much things should
realistically be costing you so how do I
go about doing my research first and
foremost I am constantly taking
recommendations from people and making a
note of it whenever I get a
recommendation for a country that I
think I might want to go to one day
whether it's from a friend from a blog
from an Instagram from the TV I make a
note I make a star of it on my Google
Maps so I already have quite a few stars
in Colombia of recommendations some
hotels and restaurants and tour activity
companies some national parks or just
some waterfalls and things like this the
reason I do this is because when I one
day find myself in these destinations I
can just whip out my Google Maps have a
look at any of the stars that I might
have starred there and I can go there
knowing that someone's given me a good
recommendation and then as far as active
research goes I literally just watched
so many YouTube videos I watched vlogs
of backpackers in these destination and
I read travel blogs which have loads of
information at this point I would love
to give a big shout out to my friends
Andrew and Emily who run the blog along
dusty roads comm and they are hands down
the best blog website on the internet
for South America content information
from recommendations packing lists
beautiful photographs these guys have
done it all and they're my friends so I
trust them I will link their website
down in the description which you guys
can check out especially if you're
planning a trip to Central America so
once I have a nice load of stars on my
map I can perhaps start to think of a
rough itinerary most importantly where I
want to start my adventure in order to
give myself the best opportunity to
reach as many destinations on my list as
possible so of course this is where I'm
going to have to book my flight into the
capital of Colombia is Bogota which I
imagine is where most backpackers
start off their destination because it's
where most international flights will
flight into however I think I'm wanting
to start my journey in Cali because of
this Christmas festival so what I'm
looking into at the moment is the
logistics of flying into there but again
nothing is set in stone at the moment I
don't like booking things until maybe
like a month in advance because I know
what I'm like I changed my mind a lot so
I guess we'll just see it with that one
question I get asked a lot is how far in
advance should I booked my accommodation
when I'm backpacking and the truth is
there really is no right or wrong answer
to this but what I do in order to be
secure and flexible once I have booked
my flight and that's in place I will
book my very first accommodation in that
city that I land in because why not I
know I'm going to be there for a
particular date so I might as well
secure as soon as possible a nice place
for me to stay I'm also booked in
advance accommodation if I know I'm
going to be anywhere else for a
particular day maybe if you're going to
be somewhere for a particular event if
you know you're going to be there book
your accommodation as soon as possible
because why not you're going to be there
anyway but as for the rest of the trip
the majority of the trip where I don't
know where I'm going to be on what dates
I will book this accommodation online
about a day or two before because
normally when I'm backpacking on the
road I will know where I'm going the
next day or maybe in two days time so
that's when I put my accommodation I'll
go on hostel world I'll make sure I have
a local SIM card so that I can always
access being online and I will book my
next hostel just a day or two in advance
this makes me feel really secure that I
have a specific destination of where I'm
going to when I arrive in that new
destination there are some that faculty
don't do this they will literally just
rock up at a new destination on the day
with nowhere to stay and then go around
hostel hopping like searching for
somewhere to stay have done that in the
past and it's always been fine but I
don't really like to do that because I
find I just can't be bothered to be
honest like when you arrive in a new
destination normally you've been on a
bus for a few hours the last thing you
want to do is just walk with your
backpack on your back trying to find
somewhere to stay for the night with no
go
and teas so that is an option but
personally I just don't do it like that
anymore I've got my reservation in place
I know that I can head straight to that
hostel I could put my bags down I can
lock my valuables away in a locker and I
just feel more Zen I feel more them and
I feel more at home in that destination
from the get-go now the big question
budget how much is this going to cost me
three months in Colombia and Ecuador and
how do you even calculate a budget when
you've never been to that destination
before the first place that I always
look for information is nomadic mats
blog I will link it down below I always
use maps blog as a rough ballpark to
start off with so what does nomadic mat
have to say about Colombia okay so he's
got a range of options I'm definitely in
the backpacker region up here he has
said $48 a day and down here he has said
38 per day so let's go with around $40
which in GBP is 32 pounds so going by
this figure it should cost me just under
1000 pounds per month in Colombia so two
months they're costing me just under
2,000 pounds and Ecuador he says is
thirty to thirty five US dollars per day
so around 25 pounds per day which is
just 750 pounds per month so as a very
rough ballpark not including my
international flights two thousand seven
hundred and fifty pounds for three
months and I actually think that this
may cost me a little bit less because
like I told you I'm going to be
traveling quite a bit slower like for
example if I stay in Medellin for two
weeks I'm not going to be spending much
there at all other than just on my
accommodation and food I won't be doing
any activities or travel that so I
should save a little bit of money there
but this is just a bullpup also nomadic
mats website is generally just very good
for general backpacking information
budgeting advice and things like this so
thank you very much Matt for your blog
assistant and then there is of course
the international flights so a little
look at sky scanning you can get one-way
flights for 320 pounds but they are very
long and after my 50 hour flight where
my luggage was lost and never to be seen
again I'm not such a big fan of doing
these really long flights anymore so I'd
much rather invest a little bit more
money in a flight that I feel more
secure with the time of year that I want
to go it's looking like
a one-way flight is around 500 pounds
and then of course I will need to book a
return flight eventually so let's say
another 500 pounds for that I'm gonna
budget around 1,000 pounds for
international flight and now what about
visas I like to look on the Gulf website
in the UK to find this out so Columbia I
can travel freely without a visa for 90
days happy days and as for Ecuador
oh there seems to be a lot of bad things
happening in Ecuador very recently which
is advising us against traveling there
okay you know that is a big shame or
keep an eye on this to see if things
settled down these events were only very
recent if it still looks like this at
the time that I'm wanting to go to
Ecuador I may have to reconsider and
perhaps get a flight to Peru or Bolivia
but this is why it's good to have a
flexible itinerary guys but no visa is
required so with that in mind 1,000
pounds for international flights two
thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds
for three months of travel that's three
thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds
I don't want to have as the absolute
minimum in my bank account to pay for
this trip I actually hope to spend less
than this but it is important that I
actually have more than this just in
case also I was having a look at some of
the trips to Galapagos I think if I went
there I'd definitely want to do it as a
group tour and looking at websites like
Contiki intrepid G Adventures it seems
like round trips to the Galapagos from
Quito cost from about two thousand
pounds which obviously brings up my
price a lot that's not to say I don't
want to do it though because it's
literally one of the most incredible
places on this whole earth so it's an
option for me to consider depending on
logistics and finances at the time I'm
not going to completely beat myself up
if I can't do it this time okay so what
now
what do I still need to plan before I go
I need to check if I need vaccinations I
have checked and I am fully up-to-date
but I highly recommend checking yourself
with your travel health clinic if you
are planning a trip out there yourself
I'm gonna keep reading blogs and
watching YouTube videos just to keep
adding to my list of recommendation and
get me excited I find watching people's
YouTube loss even if they
really poorly produced I still just find
it really exciting to watch other
backpackers in the country that I'm
going to because I'm like yeah that's
gonna be me so soon I'm going to put my
flight and my first accommodation in the
country probably not for at least
another month but it is something that I
will need to do at some point I must
pack and I haven't told you guys this
yet but I plan to do this trip hand
luggage only I'm gonna have a few new
items of clothes which should make this
minimalist packing a lot easier we all
know from my previous packing videos
that I am NOT a minimalist backpacker
and it's really because I have not found
items of clothing that are versatile
enough but still look nice to see me
through so watch this space
what I would like to buy is a new pair
of shoes if I'm going hand luggage only
realistically I think I'm only going to
be able to bring one pair of closed toed
shoes which will be the shoes that I
wear on the plane and some people have
said to me if you're going to South
America you need hiking boots but then
there are some people who have said nah
you don't need hiking boots like
trainers will see if they're so hearing
this conflicting information what I
think I want to get is like a hybrid
shoe either a trail runner or some
trainers that have great hiking
capabilities are basically ones that are
waterproof and you can walk in for a
really long time I think this will be a
nice compromise because although I do
want to do a nice amount of hiking on my
trip I don't think it's necessarily
going to dominate my trip if you know
what I mean it also needs to be a pair
of shoes that I'm going to be doing like
adventure activities in I don't know if
I do any climbing or any activities
which just require closed toed shoes you
know what everyone hike in particular
that I am keen to do in Colombia is a
multi-day trek to the lost city and you
know I'm also debating and I'd love you
guys's opinion on this especially if
you've already been to Colombia and/or
Ecuador I think I only want to bring one
pair of sandals and the debate is
between my Birkenstocks or like a nice
pair of more walking sandals hair like
these for instance bear in mind I'll
probably want to wear these shoes are
nights out as well or backpacker nights
and you know I also want for my trip the
new GoPro Hero 8
yes please are very much like that I
have ongoing travel insurance but if you
do not have travel insurance that is
something that you definitely need to
look into getting to before going on a
big backpacking trip I've still got
these fitness goals which I'm working
toward 63 days to go actually it's
probably more like 60 days to go now I
can now do 13 press up I can still not
do a single pull-up and finally I am
trying not succeeding too much to brush
up on my Spanish I've used various
online language learning services in the
past which have all been found at all of
my subscriptions have expired and I have
not practiced in a long time so I'm
going to spend a bit of time on duolingo
the app seems to have improved a lot
since the last time I went on it which
was about like five years ago and you
know I'm also low-key planning on doing
going to Spanish school in Colombia for
the very first week of my trip because
I've heard that many people there just
don't speak English at all and that is
great I want to learn Spanish throw me
in the deep end but I will have to try
and prepare myself for that as best as
possible if I do anything more to plan
for myself America trip I will
definitely update you guys are you guys
planning for any trips at the moment
how's it going where are you off to let
me know really hope you guys enjoyed
this video and I will see you in the
next one bye
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