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

Nicaragua

Costa Rica

Panama

Honduras

El Salvador

Southeast Asia Thailand

Indonesia

Cambodia

Laos

Vietnam

Myanmar

Malaysia

Philippines

Eastern Europe Romania

Turkey

Hungary

Western Europe Spain

Portugal

Italy

France

England

Scandinavia Iceland

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Finland East Asia Japan

China

South Korea

Taiwan

Mongolia

North Korea



South America Colombia

Peru

Equador

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



World Travel Experts 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 Methodology 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. Quantifying Indexes 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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