Backpacker Essentials Items

How to make the most of a working holiday visa

Do's and don'ts for travellers about to embark on a working holiday gap year.

The pros and cons of backpacking with friends

To travel solo or with friends - one of travel's biggest questions. If you're unsure, check out our pros and cons guide to backpacking with a travel buddy.

The Pros and Cons of travel with a backpacker bus

Backpacker buses provide hop-on hop-off transport services to backpackers. To some, they are a brilliant travel service - to others, a total travel nightmare. Find out if they would suit your gap year travel plans with our essential guide.

Getting a job abroad: 5 global golden rules

Five globally universal golden rules, that backpackers travelling with a working holiday visa should remember if they want to get a job abroad.

Top gap year gifts for every kind of backpacker

Trying to find the perfect gift for someone going on a gap year? We match up the best gifts and travel gadgets of 2012, with the travel personalities that they would be best suited to.

New budget travel pass launches in Africa

A new ‘Go Africa’ budget travel pass has launched, to make flights with Kenya Airways cheaper and more flexible.

Relationship survival tips on a gap year

Going on a gap year together can ‘make or break’ many couples. These are our tops tips for making it work, and what to do if it doesn’t.

Top tips on packing for your gap year

OK so you’ve got your gap year planned out, airplane tickets are bought, travel insurance is sorted, accommodation is booked and your volunteer placement has been organised. You’re almost ready to go, but you still need to pack. If you’ve never been away for an extended period of time before, it may be a bit daunting to know exactly what to take and what to leave behind, so here are our top tips on packing for your gap year.