62+ Backpacking Quotes That Will Inspire You

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Are you looking for the best backpacking quotes? Backpacking is one of my favorite travel styles, but fly by the seat of your pants travel isn’t for everyone. Some people prefer their days planned to a T on a group trip or a stay at an all-inclusive resort for a week, for example. 

As for me, I love exploring the world as a backpacker. Wandering the world with a few possessions in your bag, staying in hostels, and making travel plans day by day gives us the opportunity to see and learn about the world from a whole new perspective. Many say it even increases our confidence as we learn to take chances and get out of our comfort zones.

Backpacking is an experience I think everyone should do at least once in their life. To help inspire and inform you, I have put together a list of the best quotes about backpacking! Take a look.

Inspirational Backpacking Quotes

Being spontaneous is one of the greatest parts of backpacking. As you travel the world with only a backpack, you undoubtedly meet incredible and diverse people, see marvelous sights, and have once-in-a-lifetime opportunities most people only dream about! You’ll also learn to to appreciate the things you have more and becomes more courageous and confident.

Listed below are a few of my favorite inspirational backpacker quotes to inspire you during your adventure of a lifetime.

1. “Long-term travel doesn’t require a massive bundle of cash; it requires only that we walk through the world in a more deliberate way.” — Rolf Potts

2. “People told me I was crazy to travel the world with a backpack. I told them they were crazy to spend their lives between 4 walls.” — Unknown

3. “If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it’s lethal.” — Paulo Coelho

4. “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” — Lin Yutang

5. “Only he that has traveled the road knows where deep the holes are.” — Unknown

6. “Leave home, leave the country, leave the familiar. Only then can routine experiences — buying bread, eating vegetables, even saying hello — become new all over again.” — Anthony Doerr

7. “Backpacking is a luxury. Not everyone can afford to leave everything behind and travel the world.” — Unknown

8. “So, I’m more at home with my backpack, sleeping in a hotel room or on a bus or on an airplane. Then I am necessarily on a bed. It’s weird being here. It feels like I’m standing next to my real life.” — Henry Rollins

9. “Travel isn’t always pretty, It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” — Anthony Bourdain

Short Backpacker Quotes

Liz Vassey says, “Notice the small things. The rewards are inversely proportional.” Some of the best things in life turn out to be the most simple, even words. While finding the strength or motivation to start off on your backpacking adventure, a few small words of inspiration can go a long way.

So what short sayings best describe backpacking? Check out these short backpack travel quotes to find out.

10. “Backpacking makes you realize how little you really need to be happy.” — Unknown

11. “Life is an adventure, it’s not a package tour.” — Eckhart Tolle

12. “I would gladly live out of a backpack if it meant I could see the world.” — Unknown

13. “Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.” — Jack Kerouac

14. “I really like to just jump in a truck with your backpack and just drive and go somewhere.” — Piper Perabo

15. “See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream.” — Ray Bradbury

16. “You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” — Eugene Fodor

17. “Backpacking is the art of knowing what not to take.” — Sheridan Anderson

18. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” — Lao Tzu

19. “Say yes, and you’ll figure it out afterwards.” — Mandy Hale

Editor’s Note: Wondering what to wear on your next mid-size cruise? Check out my cruise packing list.

Funny Backpacking Quotes

Backpacking trips aren’t always sunshine and roses. Just like accidents happen at home, they can very easily happen abroad as well. When backpacking, make sure you are prepared for anything to happen: the good, the bad, and the ugly (Psst: Buying travel insurance can help with the ugly!).

If you are ever struggling or having a rough day of traveling, take a look back at these funny backpacking quotes to help brighten your day and make you smile.

20. “I haven’t been everywhere, but I act as I have.” — Susan Sontag

21. “That’s the difference between backpackers and holidaymakers. The former can’t help but invite hassle whilst the latter pay to escape it.” — Harry Whitewolf

22. “My backpack is my best friend. We’ve been through a lot together.” — Unknown

23. “Fancy clothes and diamond rings? No, honey. Passport, tickets, and a backpack.” — Unknown

24. “I just travel the world with my backpack and my cameras and a bunch of Clif bars.” — Henry Rollins

25. “Quit your job, buy a ticket, get a tan, fall in love, never return.” — Unknown

26. “If at some point you don’t ask yourself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ then you’re  not doing it right.” — Roland Gau

27. “Traveling- it leaves you speechless, and then you won’t shut up about it.” — Ibn Battuta

28. “Girls do not wait for their prince anymore. They grab their backpack and go!” — Unknown

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Solo backpacking quotes

Backpacking in itself is a wonderful adventure. That being said, backpacking solo makes the experience even better! To expand, traveling solo pushes you to find the strength within you, forces you out of your comfort zone, and prompts you to experience things you would have never even thought of had you stuck to people familiar to you. It’s a transformational experience. Then, it leaves you with stories and memories for a lifetime.

Until your solo trip, look no further for some amazing quotes for solo backpackers.

29. “Everything you own must be able to fit inside one suitcase; then your mind might be right.” — Charles Bukowski

30. “I don’t know where I’m going, but I promise it won’t be boring.” — David Bowie

31. “The moments you have experienced are the only possession that nobody can take away from you.” — Unknown

32. “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” — Seth Godin

33. “I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything.” — Bill Bryson

34. “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” — Robert Stevenson

35. “When I travel, people say ‘Yet another place in this world.’ But I see ‘Another world inside every place I go.” — Vivek Thangswamy

36. “There is part of me that still wants to go out and grab a backpack and unplug- not take a cellphone or even a camera and just get out there and experience the world and travel. I have yet to do that, but someday I hope.” — Emilio Estevez

37. “I travel light; as the light that is, as a man can travel who will still carry his body around because of its sentimental value.” — Christopher Fry

38. “I travel light. I never want to check a bag. My only standards are a few sets of clothes, my white sneakers, my blue backpack, and my laptop. I don’t have any special things otherwise.” — Gillian Tans

39. “I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I  travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move” — Robert Louis Stevenson

Backpacking quotes about love and friendship

Backpacking with friends or significant others isn’t always an easy venture. On the one hand, you may need to brush up on your communication skills and be willing to compromise to make it work. A dash of patience can help, too! On the upside, traveling with your friends and loved ones can bring your bonds closer than ever and create memories and connections that you’ll cherish forever.

In this section, I share some of the best backpacking quotes about love and friendship. Keep on reading!

40. “When traveling with someone, take large doses of patience and tolerance with your morning coffee.” — Helen Hayes

41. “Traveling is brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends.” — Cesare Pavese

42. “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” — Mark Twain

43. “If all you want is luxury hotels and private pools, I’m not the guy for you.” — Unknown

44. “We travel, some of us forever, to seek other hostels, other backpackers, other brews.” — Unknown

45. “There is a whole world out there. Pack your backpack, your best friend, and go.” — Unknown

46. “Forget Netflix and chill. Let’s travel the world with a backpack and make memories.” — Unknown

47. “You can’t just carry everyone else’s hopes and fears around in your backpack and expect to stand up straight.” — David Kirk

Quotes about Backpacks

When you realize what few items you really need to live in this world, you’ll enjoy a sense of newfound freedom. Carrying only what you need, you’ll find out which possessions “spark joy” as Marie Kando would say (I highly recommend her book!), serve a purpose, or merely take up space. As well, the journey of backpacking will allow you to do that within your own life; you will know what you value most and what can be left behind — physically and emotionally.

Until then, check out these favorite quotes about my favorite travel must-have: my backpack.

48. “Own only what you can always carry with you; known languages, known countries, known people. Let your memory be your travel bag.” — Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

49. “The moments you have experienced are the only possessions that nobody can take from you.” — Unknown

50. “Life is short. Buy the backpack.” — Unknown

51. “If you think about America, it is about getting your backpack on and heading out.” — Nick Frost

52. “You need special shoes for hiking.. a backpack, and a bit of a special soul as well.” — Unknown

53. “I typically have one backpack, my everyday carry.” — Marques Brownlee

Looking for your next backpack adventure? Be sure to check our Women’s Packing List for Backpacking Europe. They’ve got tons of info, reviews, photos, and more. I always check out what they have to say prior to booking!

Backpacking Captions for Instagram

Since social media has become an outlet to document all your adventures in one place, we aren’t going to complete this quotes list without throwing in some witty sayings to use as Instagram captions. 

When sharing your backpacker adventures with the world, here are some of the best words possible to inspire others to take the leap and do the same!

54. “Lost buses, street food, hostels, and lost stuff- the best memories of any traveler.” — Unknown

55. “The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” — G.K. Chesterton

56. “I’m broke and I travel anyway.” — Unknown

57. “Travel like Gandhi, with simple clothes, open eyes, and an uncluttered mind.” — Rick Steves

58. “Carry as little as possible but choose that little with care.” — Earl Shaffer

59. “I always have my backpack.” — Bhavish Aggarwal

60. “Keep calm and backpack the world.” — Unknown

61. “You might be poor on money, but rich on life.” — Kasper Raunholst

62. “Just me and my backpack.” — Helen Hayes

Best Backpacking Quotes: Conclusion

Backpacking allows you to see the world from a distinct vantage point while meeting with unique people, experiencing new cultures, and making memories for a lifetime. Plus, it shows you what little you really need in life — which may be less than you thought.

I hope this list of backpacking quotes has given you an idea about what backpacker travel is all about and inspires you to pack your bag and set out into the world. Happy backpacking!

More Travel Quotes

If you’re looking for more travel inspiration beyond backpacking, check out our lists of other quotes:

• Cruising Quotes That Will Have You Booking Your Next Cruise
• Best Spain Travel Quotes
• Favorite Solo Travel Quotes
• Quotes about the Mediterranean
• Top Quotes on Greece to Inspire You
• Dreamy France Travel Quotes

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