I haven’t gone backpacking (I should, you know – life’s too short), but I can relate to some of your points. I’m a ‘just in case’ person, a ‘what if’ person, so when I travel, I plan too much. For me, that always converts to packing too much (i.e., I’ll take that piece of clothing just in case it’s too hot, too cold, too wet, too windy, etc). I didn’t need half of the stuff I took with me to Glastonbury Festival last year, neither did I need the extra gazillion shirts I packed for New York. A friend of mine says it’s best to pack light, then just buy the stuff you need over there.

Going local is definitely the way to go, though. When I solo’d to Greece (Crete – Rethymnon) about 5 years ago, the travel agency I took the flight with offered tours. I went on one of them but didn’t realise I could have gotten it a whole heap cheaper from the local tour operators. My 2nd tour was thru the locals and not only was it cheaper, it was so much more enjoyable ‘cos they (obviously) knew their stuff and showed us places my travel agent hadn’t even heard of.

Great tips. Thanks for sharing them.