80+ Best Backpacking Quotes to Fuel Your Wanderlust

Looking for the best backpacking quotes? You’re in the right place!

Backpacking is a unique and fun way to see the world: just a backpack with all your belongings, an open plan, and a curiosity to experience whatever you can! We often associate backpacking with young travellers but in my opinion, backpacking doesn’t have an age! I myself was a late bloomer when it came to backpacking… but it certainly didn’t stop me!

If you’ve been dreaming of backpacking or are feeling nervous about actually doing it, you’re not alone! Backpacking can seem daunting but once you’re on the road, you’ll discover what an enriching experience it is. I believe that it’s something everyone should try. 

To help inspire and empower you on your own backpacking travels, I’ve put together a collection of the best backpacking quotes and captions to fuel your wanderlust. 

Inspiring Backpacking Quotes 

For many of us, backpacking is a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Discovering new places, learning new cultures, trying new foods… so many new experiences are waiting for you out there in the world! 

Here are some inspirational backpacking quotes that’ll encourage you to take the leap and reap the benefits of travelling with a backpack. 

1. “Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
2. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain
3. “The best view comes after the hardest climb.” – Unknown
4. “The only trip you will regret is the one you didn’t take.” – Unknown
5. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
6. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert
7. “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends.” – Cesare Pavese
8. “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” – Oprah Winfrey
9. “Traveling is not something you’re good at. It’s something you do. Like breathing.” – Gayle Foreman
10. “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Unknown
11. “Travel far enough, you meet yourself.” – David Mitchell
12. “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
13. “Travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer.” – Unknown
14. “Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go.'” – Lisa St. Aubin de Teran
15. “Wanderlust: a strong desire to travel and explore the world.” – Unknown
16. “Travel is my therapy.” – Unknown
17. “The best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.” – Unknown
18. “If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.” – Rachel Wolchin
19. “Traveling is not something you’re good at. It’s something you do. Like breathing.” – Gayle Foreman
20. “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 Backpacking Quotes

Sometimes something short and sweet does the trick! Here are some awesome short backpacking quotes that pack a punch in just a few simple words. 

21. “You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” – Eugene Fodor
22. “Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop
23. “Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
24. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine
25. “Backpacking is the art of knowing what not to take.” – Sheridan Anderson
26. “Travel far, travel wide, travel light.” – Unknown
27. “Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.” – Barry Finlay
28. “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag
29. “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley
30. “Life is short, and the world is wide.” – Unknown
31. “Collect moments, not things.” – Unknown
32. “Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jaime Lyn Beatty
33. “Life is an adventure, dare it.” – Mother Teresa
34. “The world is yours to explore.” – Unknown
35. “Don’t listen to what they say, go see.” – Unknown
36. “Adventure awaits.” – Unknown
37. “Live your life by a compass, not a clock.” – Stephen Covey
38. “Adventure is calling, and I must go.” – Unknown
39. “Travel is the antidote to ignorance.” – Unknown
40. “Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle
41. “Travel is not a reward for working, it’s education for living.” – Unknown
42. “Traveling is about finding those things you never knew you were looking for.” – Unknown
43. “The journey itself is my home.” – Matsuo Basho
44. “Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
45. “Travel far, travel wide, travel light.” – Unknown
46. “The journey itself is my home.” – Matsuo Basho

Backpacking Captions & Quotes for Instagram

One of the best parts of travel is being able to share your experiences with loved ones. And with social media like Facebook and Instagram, doing that is easier than ever. 

Instead of wasting previous time trying to think of a witty caption for your photos, use these backpacking captions and quotes for Instagram to add some pizzazz to your posts!

47. “To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Andersen
48. “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Unknown
49. “The road is there, it will always be there. You just have to decide when to take it.” – Chris Humphrey
50. “Life is short, and the world is wide.” – Unknown
51. “Adventure is worthwhile.” – Amelia Earhart
52. “Traveling is the great true love of my life.” – Unknown
53. “It’s a big world out there, go explore.” – Unknown
54. “The only trip you will regret is the one you didn’t take.” – Unknown
55. “Collect moments, not things.” – Unknown
56. “Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jaime Lyn Beatty
57. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert
58. “The best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.” – Unknown
59. “If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.” – Rachel Wolchin
60. “Traveling is about finding those things you never knew you were looking for.” – Unknown
61. “It feels good to be lost in the right direction.” – Unknown
62. “Travel, because money returns, time doesn’t.” – Unknown
63. “To travel is to awaken.” – Lily Tsay
64. “Adventure is out there.” – Unknown
65. “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats
66. “Traveling is not a luxury, but a necessity for the soul.” – Unknown
67. “Travel far, travel wide, travel deep.” – Unknown
68. “Travel is rebellion in its purest form.” – Unknown
69. “It’s better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.” – Unknown
70. “Travel is an investment in yourself.” – Unknown

Funny Backpacking Quotes & Captions

Want something that’ll put a smile on your face and brighten your day? Check out these fun backpacking captions and funny backpacking quotes that you can use on Instagram or wherever you’re posting photos! 

71. “Life is an adventure, it’s not a package tour.” – Eckhart Tolle
72. “I don’t need therapy, I just need to go backpacking.” – Unknown
73. “I tried to be normal once. Worst two minutes of my life.” – Unknown
74. “I have a therapist. Her name is Nature.” – Unknown
75. “I’m not lost, I’m geographically challenged.” – Unknown
76. “I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met.” – Unknown
77. “My goal is to run out of pages in my passport before I run out of money.” – Unknown
78. “Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you.” – Unknown
79. “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way.” – Carl Sagan
80. “Backpacking is just like life, only with better views.” – Unknown
81. “If at some point you don’t ask yourself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ then you’re not doing it right.” – Roland Gau
82. “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list. Right after snacks.” – Unknown
83. “I have a passport full of stamps and a heart full of wanderlust.” – Unknown
84. “I travel because my bucket list won’t fit on a resume.” – Unknown
85. “My favorite thing to do is to go where I’ve never been.” – Diane Arbus
86. “I need vitamin SEA.” – Unknown
87. “I travel not to find myself, but to annoy others with my selfie stick.” – Unknown
88. “I travel light. I bring a toothbrush and a sense of adventure.” – Unknown

I hope this collection of backpacking quotes & captions has inspired you to pack your backpack and see the world!

For more inspirational travel quotes

• Best Barcelona Quotes, Captions & Puns
• Beautiful Spain Travel Quotes to Inspire Your Wanderlust
• Best Travel Quotes in Spanish (with English Translation)
• 100+ Inspiring Quotes for Travelling Alone
• Camino de Santiago Quotes to Inspire You
• Catchy & Fun Spain Instagram Captions