How much should you plan for a long haul backpacking trip?

To plan or not to plan, that is the question. Personally, when I decide to go on a long backpacking trip, I love to plan and research. I buy guidebooks, look at photos on the Internet and look up potential guesthouses/hostels to stay in. For me, planning is the thing that gets me excited about my trip. I like to print out little maps and draw imaginary routes of where I think I might go, but despite all this, I am not an obsessive planner. I think that when embarking on long backpacking trips you need to sometime let the trip take its course, you can’t possibly know exactly when you will arrive at each destination (public transport in a lot of countries doesn’t allow for this), or know how long you will want to stay in each, so leave some things for when you get there.

Here are the things that you should and shouldn’t plan in advance:

• Book your first few night of accommodation, but don’t book too far ahead as inevitably your plans will change and you can’t guarantee exactly when you will arrive in each place.
• Sort out visas for the initial countries you are going to visit, if you don’t know exactly when you will be entering countries further on into your trip, don’t worry, these can be sorted out on the road. You can always visit embassies to help you sort these out, or most popular backpacking destinations have travel agent offices that can sort these out for you. In some places they only take a few days to process.
• Make sure you get the correct vaccinations at least a month or two before you travel, to ensure that they have enough time to work.
• Make sure you have some type of guidebook with you and maps of the cities you are you going to visit. Safety advice and knowing where you are going can be life saving when backpacking.
• Map out roughly where you think you want to go and countries you want to visit (but be prepared for this to change).
• Don’t bother booking buses or trains in your destination country before you leave, wait until you arrive, as booking transport there will be a lot easier. These can either be booked a few days in advance or on the day of travel.
• Insurance – insurance should always be booked before you travel, so that you are covered from the day you leave home. Backpacking trips are often unpredictable so make sure you have this. 
• Check on the safety and political situation and stability of the country you are going to, by visiting the governments website Know Before You Go -  http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/