Going backpacking is the best decision you can make but without a doubt one of the most terrifying. Don’t let that fear of the unknown stop you from exploring it. Dare to be lost. 

Here are 27 reasons to overcome your fear of backpacking and be confident before travelling the world: 

1. Your Home will still be there when you get back.

2. Nows the right time – With age comes responsibility, and ties often stop you from travelling later in life.

3. Comfort prevents self-growth.

4. Homesickness is just a reminder of the love that is waiting for you to return.

5. You are as prepared as you can be. 

6. One of the biggest regrets of dying patients is not seeing more of the world. 

7. You haven’t met half the people who will love you in your life.

8. Ask yourself how much your hometown has changed in your entire lifetime. Do you think anything will actually change while you’re gone? 

9. You won’t lose any friends by travelling but you will definitely make some out there. 

10. The stories you’ll make are so much more valuable than the money you’ll lose 

11. There will never be a perfect time to leave home 

12. Money comes and goes but your time doesn’t 

13. What if it turns out better than you thought it would

14. Your family and friends will only be a phone call away and in less than 24 hours you could be back with them if you need to. 

15. Do you wanna live a life of ‘what ifs’?

16. Travelling in the 21st century is easier than ever before. 

17. Your brain’s survival instinct is to seek comfort but challenging it forces you into a fresh mindset. 

18. The world is so much larger than your home town.

19. There are more than 3800 cultures do you really only want to experience just one or two?

20. In a life of schedules and deadlines embrace going with the flow on your travels.

21. Your perspective on life will change. Most become incredibly grateful and aware of their privilege.

22. When you look back on your life, you will be grateful for this decision.

23. Not everyone has the means to travel, you are in a privileged position to be able to fly thousands of miles and experience this.

24. You will only become more anxious with age.

25. I’ve never met a traveller that regretted an entire trip. They can’t all be wrong.

26. Finding your own way is what your loved ones want for you! 

27. It is guaranteed that you will be thanking yourself when you get home 

We hope this settled those preflight jitters and quietened down those doubts. All the best things in life start with facing your fears: jumping out of a plane is the scariest before the jump, surfing is most terrifying at the crest of each wave, an actor’s curtain call is when the nerves strike and the list goes on and on. 

The night before travelling, you’ll be awake at 3 am with doubts filling your head and butterflies in your stomach. This is the start of one of the greatest adventures of your life, embrace every feeling, sight and sound that exists outside your comfort zone. In no time at all the adventure will end, and you’ll be back in your cosy bed and craving the day these pre-travel nerves return to your body. 

Solo travelling, and backpacking around the world is meant to be scary, but that fear will lead you to the most beautiful and life-changing corners of our world.