Should I let my young teen go backpacking alone?

Last updated on March 25th, 2025 at 07:05 am

Did I let my young teen go backpacking alone?

Yes – all my girls did. The youngest at 15, and the others at 16 and 17.

So, I am basing this on my own experience with my kids. You may not agree, and may dub me the world’s worst parent but I am sharing as I have been asked many times what, how, and why I let my teen go backpacking alone at a relatively young age.

As I say, this was my kids. They were used to traveling, flying and training alone, and moving countries. But it is still a big step from going with a parent to going it alone.

How did it go? They all absolutely thrived on their experiences. Everyone is different, but I suspect most teens have it in them to make a success out of a backpacking trip.

To take a very broad perspective – there are plenty of kids in the developing world who are responsible for their entire family at this age, and plenty of others who have left home for one reason or another. It’s up to you but if you think it could be a good idea for you to let your teen go backpacking alone, then these tips should help make it work.

1. Consider what your child is like

Are they gullible or overly trusting? Are they street smart? Have they ever traveled? Are they sneaking off getting wasted? Do they lose things all the time? Do they listen to you?

All these things impact how you approach the idea of a trip. I would be wary if my teenager was sneaking off getting wasted at any opportunity and didn’t listen or talk to me – in fact it would most likely be a hard ‘no.’

2. How long?

The first trip doesn’t have to be a long trip – one to two weeks is great. It gives everyone confidence for the next time!

3. Planning – ask them lots of questions

Test your teen by asking them to work out what they need to do before they go – are they prepared? Then work through the list with them.

• Do they know where they want to go?
• Do they need and have a passport?
• If they need a passport, have they checked the expiry date (make sure they have at least six months from the end of the trip and plenty of blank pages)?
• Do they need vaccinations? (Probably not if they are sticking to western nations, but just in case.)
• Do they know how they want to travel – bus, train, plane etc. Have they checked costs?
• Are they sticking to cities, or hiking, beaches etc?
• Do they know where they want to stay? Hostels, camping, other?
• Do they have a realistic expectation of costs? Have they saved enough money?

4. Where do they want to go?

Keep it easy for starters. If your teen grew up in the USA or Germany or the UK, you don’t need to say yes to backpacking in Asia or Africa straight up. I would have been worried if my teens had wanted to go, for example, to Indonesia alone simply because of the possibility of them being spotted as a good pick to plant drugs on – and the consequences there being so dire.

Go with what you and your child are comfortable with. For me this came easy for my eldest – we were living in the UK at the time and her first backpacking trip was around the Continent. For the next one, we were living in Australia and she made a few trips there and in NZ – easy and no stress. If you’re in North America there are a million and one backpacking trips to do in the USA and Canada.

Pick your country / place and I recommend to keep it relatively local at first.

5. Discuss the issues that might arise

Gullible or overly trusting? I have one of those. It didn’t stop her but we had a lot of discussion about it and what to watch out for.

Unpleasant people – although by far the minority, do exist. Discuss, for example, petty theft in backpacker hostels, petty street crime, scams, keeping money and documents safe from others.

Also get your teen to read up on local customs to be aware of. It might make a difference.

Keep records of all their documents and bankcards at home in case of emergency.

Remind them of what to watch out for and be aware of.

6. Check they have enough money

Do they really have enough money? Have they checked up to date prices for accommodation, food, transport, any ‘activities?’ If they have worked that all out, make sure they sum it up, and add 20% at least for day to day costs. Add another bulk sum for emergencies. Then agree that is how much they need in the bank before they can go.

Note: take your child’s normal spending habits into account here. How good are they with money – do they have?

7. Access to money

How are they going to carry their money? How much cash and how much on a bankcard or travelcard? A travelcard or bankcard is probably the easiest way to go – there are generally ATMs all over the western countries.

8. Drugs and Alcohol

You also have to consider if your teen can be trusted around drugs and alcohol. They will likely come across these at hostels but it doesn’t mean all hostels are a den of iniquity, or that your teen will imbibe.

This is the most likely thing to create danger for your teen, so lay down your expectations very clearly and make sure you are comfortable that they will stick to the rules here.

Many of the ‘party hostels’ won’t take under 18’s. Take note of 9 below.

9. Accommodation

Look to see what is going to be available for your teen. A lot of hostels and other accommodation will not take under 18’s. Your teen may have to book ahead and be more structured because of this.
However, there is always somewhere and it’s just a case of finding them.

My daughter found Amsterdam a particularly hard place to get a bed but managed to find a Christian hostel that took under 18’s. And yes they do check the passport! It was too funny that this place was right in the middle of the red light district!

10. What is the emergency plan?

If you got to this step it’s looking good for a yes to your teen! Now think about emergencies. I’m talking about medical emergencies, being victim to a crime etc, not “mom I need more money!”

What is the emergency plan? What constitutes an emergency? When do they call you? Make sure you know your rules of the game and they do too! 

Agree that they will leave your phone number with reception at each stop in case of emergency. Keep records of all their documents and bankcards at home in case of emergency.

Be prepared, and chances are you won’t ever need to use the plan.

11. Checking in

With mobile phones and wifi everywhere, its easy to check in. Agree on a check in schedule. It doesn’t have to be a phone call – just a message saying “I’m alive, and I’m ok” will do it. How often do you want them to do this? Agree before they leave!

12. Travel Insurance

Have they thought about travel insurance? And what it covers in case of, most importantly, medical emergencies. Does it allow to fly a parent to them if hospitalized?

Don’t let them go without it!

13. Have faith

Your teen is probably more resourceful than you think. Here’s a short story about one of mine that shows they can.

My 15 year old end up stranded at the airport in Paris with my 7 year old. They were flying to Rome where the young one was going to stay with friends, while the older one was going backpacking. Trouble was, the French authorities wouldn’t let a 15 year old take a 7 year old on the plane even though I had checked with the airline beforehand and they were ok with it.

My daughter called me. “Mum we couldn’t get on the plane, but it’s ok, I have booked a train to Rome but it’s going to take a couple of days because we have to go via Nice, so can you let them (the friends) know not to meet us at the airport. And it’s ok I got some food and drink and coloring books for ‘the younger one’.”

She didn’t speak French but she managed to sort that out. I’m sure most teens would have managed something similar in the same situation.

Not comfortable? Try these other options.

1. Go with a friend

Of course that depends on the friend but it can work well. An extra set of eyes, two to figure it out when things aren’t going to plan, a buddy in an emergency etc…

2. Do a Workaway

If you are not familiar with this, it is a way to stay with a local family and work for your food and board – almost anywhere around the world. You usually do 15-25 hours work a week and the rest of the time explore or spend with the family.

This worked well for my horse-mad daughter who traveled to NZ and, after a bit of sightseeing, worked for a company doing riding tours. She did the same again later in Australia. Make sure they check the references carefully before organising this.

(If you click this link and join Workaway you will get an extra month membership (and so will I).)

3. Consider an Exchange or Homestay

If you are not comfortable with your younger teen backpacking alone, consider an exchange or host family. I used Lingoo to arrange families for my youngest to live with (for 9-12 months) in Europe as she wanted to be immersed in the languages.
She first went when she was 12-13 to France and it was incredibly successful. Although these are language exchanges and not for everyone, they can be a super great option for your teen.

Summary

So the answer to “should I let my teen go backpacking alone?”

Yes

As I said, you may think me the world’s worst parent, but this is my experience. My teens are now older, have all traveled to varying extents, and are currently living around the world (UK, USA and NZ). Travelling alone helped them become the productive resourceful people they are now!

Leave a comment below if you have experience letting your kids go alone – or ask me a question. I’d love to hear from you.

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