In 2009 I started backpacking and counted every dollar. Dorm beds, overnight buses, meals chosen by price rather than preference. That was the deal and I loved it. Somewhere along the way the assumption crept in that there’s an age where you’re supposed to stop. I’m turning 40 and I haven’t found it yet.
Here are five reasons you shouldn’t either.
You Actually Have Money Now
The biggest constraint of backpacking in your twenties was financial. Every decision came down to cost first, experience second. In your forties that calculation shifts. You can still travel on a backpacker’s mindset, moving between places, staying flexible, going where the trip takes you, but you can upgrade your room when you feel like it. You can go from a dorm bed or private room in a hostel to a nice hotel for a couple of nights. A decent meal instead of whatever’s cheapest. The freedom of backpacking with the option of comfort when you want it is a better version of the thing you were doing at 22.
You Stop Caring What People Think
There’s a version of this concern that lives rent-free in a lot of people’s heads: that backpacking past a certain age looks strange, that people will judge you for not settling into a resort holiday like an adult is supposed to. In practice, nobody is watching. And if they are, you’re in another country and it doesn’t matter (and it doesn’t mean you can’t do a resort holiday every once in a while, if you like that too!)
You Understand Time Differently
In 2018 I went around the world without taking a single flight. Overland, across continents, watching distance accumulate slowly in a way that flying never lets you feel. That trip changed how I think about time and travel permanently. When you’re older you carry that awareness into every trip. You know how fast the years go. You book the thing. You go to the place. You enjoy the connections with others, even if you can’t speak their language. Every trip feels more deliberate because you’ve stopped assuming there’s unlimited time to do it later.
Your Knees Are Fine
Stop using them as an excuse. Seriously.
Don’t Buy The Car… See The World!
I’d much rather spend my money on another trip, rather than a depreciating asset (no matter how ‘cool’ the car is). You’ll still be talking about your travel at 70, whereas you’ll have traded the car in by then. Turning 40 makes me more reflective about where money actually goes and what it leaves behind. The trips I’ve taken have shaped who I am more than anything else I’ve spent money on.
Are you backpacking in your 40s or thinking about making the jump? Drop it in the comments below. Follow 5 Star Trip for more on travel that doesn’t have an age limit.