Backpacking is a term used to denote a form of low-cost international travel. The name comes from the backpacks that budget travelers generally carry in the interests of mobility and flexibility.

Backpackers are sometimes identified as a subculture of generally youthful travellers dedicated to budget travel. They may go hiking and camping, backpacking in the other sense, but they more often explore more urban settings, usually because of the availability of public transport.

Low-cost options are popular: such as sharing lifts, standby flights (or if the backpacking trip is circumglobal, a relatively cheap round-the-world air ticket which permits numerous stops), youth hostels, free hospitality services and buying food at supermarkets abroad instead of going to restaurants.

Hostels and other budget accommodations tend to be communal to some degree, and thus backpacker culture is often highly social and emphasizes the camaraderie of communal life, such as the shared kitchens common in many hostels. When backpackers stay in one place for a while, they often seek a house-share with numerous other backpackers and are likely to share a room to keep the costs down.

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