With 44 million backpacking trips conducted each year, Cotswold Outdoor reveals the top 2023 backpacking destinations, taking into account average anticipated expenses, crime ratings, mobile internet speeds, and the number of couch surf hosts and free activities accessible.
Yerevan, Baku, and Bangkok have been named the top three backpacker destinations in 2023, with Hanoi and Seoul rounding out the top five.
Bangkok has the most hostels (992), with travelers paying an average of $17 per night.
Thailand’s capital also has a plethora of free attractions (460+).
Bangkok scores in the middle for public transportation, basic food store prices, and couch-surfing hosts.
The best backpacking cities
Bangkok’s top honors include the city’s choice of hostels, average hostel pricing, and selection of free attractions – one night in one of Bangkok’s 992 hostels costs an average of $17 per night, while travelers can visit 463 free activities. A basic food buy (including staples such as fruit, rice, eggs, bread, and milk) will cost approximately $16.50.
A trip across Bangkok by public transportation will cost you an average of $0.82, yet the city appears to be lacking in couch-surfing hosts, with only 14 registered. Bangkok ranks last in both of crime rates and mobile internet speeds, with the city ranking 42nd in terms of safety and mobile internet speeds averaging roughly 57Mbps. In comparison, Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, comes top due to lower hostel prices ($14 per night) and public transportation costs ($0.25 per trip).
The city is also the fifth safest capital city in the world, with 278 hostels to pick from. Basic consumables are reasonably priced at $13, and the city comes in the middle of the pack in terms of free attractions, with 105 in total. Finally, Yerevan scores lowest in terms of mobile internet speeds, which average around 35mbps, and couch-surfing hosts, with only two available in the city.
Baku (Azerbaijan), Hanoi (Vietnam), Seoul (South Korea), Madrid (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Beijing (China), Zagreb (Croatia), and Vienna round out the top ten destinations (Austria).
Couch surfing or staying at a hostel
Hostels are the perfect alternative to hotels if you want to stay somewhere more economical while also meeting other travelers. Bangkok, Thailand has the most hostels (992), followed by Seoul (578) and Budapest (397). The most affordable hostels are in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Islamabad, Pakistan, where a one-night stay costs $7 on average. If you want to stay in a more expensive hostel, Reykjavik, Bern, and Dublin are the most expensive, with an average hostel stay cost of $54 a night.
If you prefer couch surfing, you’ll have the advantage of having locals as tour guides and a more homely stay, and Berlin is the greatest place to visit because it has 335 couch surf hosts. Paris and Brussels are the second and third best cities for couch surfers, with 292 and 121 couch surf hosts available, respectively.
Traveling and seeing the sights
When visiting a new city, taking public transportation is the best and most cost-effective way to get around. Colombo, Sri Lanka ($0.12) and Tashkent, Uzbekistan ($0.14) have the cheapest average public transportation trips. The survey goes on to show that Rome, Paris, and Tokyo have the most free visitor attractions, with each destination having over 500 free attractions.
To stay secure, whether in a new city or your home, remember that no place is perfect, so have your wits about you at all times. The cities with the lowest crime rates include Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Bern, which may appeal to cautious first-time travellers who want to start their journey somewhere slightly higher on the’safety scale’.
Keeping in touch
The fastest mobile internet speeds are accessible in Seoul, Oslo, and Doha. With mobile networks in all three cities offering an average Mbps above 170, tourists may check in with loved ones or capture and share their incredible travels without buffering. Accra, Dhaka, and Kathmandu are the cities with the slowest mobile internet speeds, making it difficult to keep your Instagram and TikTok profiles up to date (below 15mbps on average).
Saving money by dining at home
Dining at a new restaurant every day would be ideal, but if you want to stretch your traveling budget further, the cheapest option is to buy your essential goods from local markets and supermarkets. According to the report, Islamabad has the most reasonable costs based on a basics list, with the typical basic grocery buy costing $5.75. Cairo is the second cheapest ($6.66) after the Pakistani capital, and New Delhi is third ($8.56).
