1) View the world based on the best countries for budget travelers.
2) Hover over countries to view stats in safety, cheapness, 
friendliness, & our World Travel Expert Rank (WTE Rank).
3) Click for travel guides and articles about that country.
*For the most accurate indication of which countries are best for budget travel refer primarily to the WTE Rank.
Travel Guides By Region, Country & City
Central America
Guatemala
Mexico
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Honduras
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Eastern Europe
Romania
Turkey
Hungary
Western Europe
Spain
Portugal
Italy
France
England
Scandinavia
Iceland
Sweden
Denmark
Norway
Finland
East Asia
Japan
China
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Taiwan
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South America
Colombia
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Chile
Argentina
Brazil
Middle East
Jordan
Israel
Central Asia
Kazakstan
Tajikistan
North Africa
Egypt
Morocco
Tunisia
East Africa
Ethiopia
Sudan
West Africa
Ghana
Senegal
Sub Saharan Africa
South Africa
Rwanda
Uganda
Tanzania
Oceania
Australia
New Zealand
Caribbean
Jamaica
Puerto Rico
North America
United States
Canada
25 travel experts rank countries based on good times, cheapness, and overall backpacker friendliness. Together they have backpacking experience spanning over 7 decades and in nearly every country in the world. Click here to view the top 100 world travel experts.
The Best Countries For Backpacking Map’s country ranking is derived from the experience of 25 world travel experts. Expert ranks are averaged to form the final score, 1 being the worst and 5 the best. This is the primary index of the map. The individual country rankings of 1) Safety 2) Cheapness 3) friendliness are derived from data collected from quantitative studies undertaken by the Institute for Economics & Peace, The World Economic Forum, and Numbeo.com.
Safety: is derived from an extensive study undertaken by the Institute For Economics and Peace. In this 2013 study, 10 separate indexes, such s crime, homicides, and internal stability, are used to inform the GPI or global peace index. Click here for a map of the world by how prevalent peace and safety is by country, Global Peace Index 2013. Cheapness: The consumer price index was chosen as the primary indicator. It is a measurement of the average cost of consumer goods, including transport, groceries and restaurants among other things. It best reflects what you can expect to spend while backpacking through that country. Best Countries For Backpacker’s Map’s cheapness ranking is informed from a quantitative study undertaken by Numbeo.com. Click here to see a map of the worlds cheapest countries, CPI Map. Friendliness: refers to the attitude of locals towards foreign tourists. Data for this category is derived from a 2013 study undertaken by the World Economic Forum.
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Leif! As a true Norwegian, how come Svalbard is not included here? ;)
You should definitely check it out.
PS: Using your website to find some travel inspiration, so far I love it! Good job.
Takk Tina! I would love to check out Svalbard one day! Also, if you ever want to join me on a tour in Guatemala, let me know! :) Next tour starts Oct 25-Nov 3.
I ran away a few years back, and made my way from Oregon, to North Carolina, and now i have a system on the east coast. I make my way up to New york for summers, Boston for sping/fall, and Florida for winter, I might go to another country eventually, but right now my system works pretty good
Hey Colby, that sounds like a good system, a proper snow bird of sorts. Good on ya.