Why did we start WorldWide Backpackers?
That is an easy question to answer. We started WorldWideBackpackers.com because of our personal experience in trying to plan a backpacking through Europe trip a few years ago. We were trying to plan for a four-month adventure traipsing across Europe doing all the things everybody does – purchasing guide books, doing research on the Internet, trying to find the perfect backpack, deciding which rail pass is the best option, deciding what clothes to pack and trying to determine what else we should take. Talk about overwhelming!
Information was everywhere, but finding information that was concise and addressed the topics or places we were interested in was next to impossible. Websites about backpacking across Europe either had way too much content or were very limited in scope and in many cases looked like something a child would design. Disseminating what was important and what wasn’t would cause the healthiest of people a migraine. We hope that as we build this site we will be able to make this a lot easier for you. Not only through the information that we publish, but by also pointing you to those websites we respect. Two websites we find to be very helpful are BootsnAll Traveler and Guide for Europe.
Then there are the guidebooks. Don’t get me wrong. Guidebooks are an indispensable resource for anybody wanting to backpack Europe or travel anywhere in the world. However, should you get more than one? If so, how many do you need? They all have their pros and cons. Whose is better? Lonely Planet or Let’s Go? Rick Steves’ or Frommer’s? Rough Guides or Fodor’s? If you can narrow that down, do you buy a book that covers all of Europe or a book focused on one country only? We haven’t even thought about the books that focus on a specific region or specialty like food in Tuscany or gourmet shops in Paris. Personally, I believe you could fill and entire backpack with just the useful travel books. We will review these guidebooks for you and let you know which ones we believe will be the most helpful for your needs.
Finally, you ask what should I take to Europe? Well, there are the obvious things such as the backpack. But, what type of backpack? How big should it be? What is the best brand? Everybody has a different opinion. Once you have the backpack you need to decide what type of clothes to take and how many. Don’t forget you will also need toiletries, a towel, locks and on and on….. We will help you filter through what you need and what you don’t.
We know that none of the above is earth shattering, cutting edge backpack Europe information, but you have to have the foundation in place to build the custom options, bells and whistles. So this is where we are going to start.
We are scheduled to launch the 2nd week of January. So be sure to check out WorldWide Backpackers then. Until then, remember it’s all an adventure!
