Backpacking at 40: Carry-On Only Through Southern Europe

Last September I was standing at the gate in Dusseldorf. Ryanair flight to Split, 6:20 AM. Next to me, a guy, maybe 22, wearing a backpack almost as tall as him. And then me. 41 years old. One 40-liter backpack as carry-on. He looked at me like I was out of my mind.

I didn't explain it to him. But I'll explain it to you.

Backpacking at 40 looks different than at 20. Not worse. Not tamer. Just smarter. And honestly? I enjoy it more now than I did back then.

Quick answer: Backpacking at 40 isn't just doable, it's often better than at 20. Less luggage, smarter pacing, and more budget make the trip easier. The key is traveling carry-on only and knowing exactly what you actually need.

At 20: Backpack Chaos and Sleep Deprivation

1. Twenty years old, 75-liter backpack, zero plan.

Four weeks on Interrail, six countries, twelve hostels. The pack weighed 18 kilos. I dragged it through train carriages, squeezed it between my legs on overcrowded buses, and by the end of the trip everything hurt. If you want to see how Interrail works today with a single backpack (Coming Soon), the difference is pretty striking.

What I brought: Too much. Three pairs of jeans. Four pairs of shoes (why?). A paper guidebook. And a sleeping mat I used exactly once.

What I experienced: A lot. But most of it only halfway, because I was always rushing to the next place. Athens? Two nights. Rome? A day and a half. Barcelona? One afternoon, then on to Lisbon.

I was checking off places instead of actually being there.

At 40: Less Luggage, More of Everything Else

Maybe it's patience. Maybe it's that my back sends different signals now than it did at 20. But at some point I realized something. Less gear doesn't mean less experience. It means more freedom.

Last year, backpacking at 40, I spent three weeks traveling through Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania. Carry-on only. A Lumesner Handgepäck-Rucksack, extra groß, 40L, Flugzeug-zugelassen, Reiserucksack für Männer und Frauen, erweiterbar on my back, Shacke Packwürfel 4er Set mit Wäschebeutel - Reiseorganisierer inside, and that was it.

No waiting at baggage claim. No stress about whether my bag would make it to Tirana. No dragging luggage through narrow alleys. I stepped off the plane and I was free. Sounds dramatic. But it's true.

Want to see how that works in practice? This first-hand account of three weeks carry-on only (Coming Soon) gives you an honest look at what it's actually like. And as TravelTelling.net shows in a detailed trip report, the carry-on-only concept works on the Balkans without any problems, even for eight weeks straight.

Lumesner Handgepäck-Rucksack, extra groß, 40L, Flugzeug-zugelassen, Reiserucksack für Männer und Frauen, erweiterbar

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EUR 41.92 Amazon

What Actually Changed About Backpacking at 40

I'm not going to sugarcoat this. Traveling at 40 is genuinely different.

Take sleeping. At 20 I slept in 12-bed dorms. Earplugs in, eyes shut, hoping the guy above me doesn't snore. Now? Private room in a guesthouse, 30 to 45 euros a night. According to Backpackinghacks.de, 30 to 60 euros per day is realistic on the Balkans. Albania is closer to 30, Croatia closer to 55. I stay within that budget and still sleep like a human being.

Then there's pace. Three weeks, three countries. Not six countries in four weeks like before. I stay four, five days in one place now. Go to the same bakery in the morning. Sit in the same bar at night. In Kotor I ended up chatting with an Austrian woman who'd been coming back every summer for eight years. That told me something.

The planning is looser, but not chaotic. I book two, three days ahead. Spontaneous enough for flexibility, concrete enough so I'm not wandering through Split with a backpack searching for a free room.

And then the gear. That's the real shift. At 20, I thought more stuff meant more safety. At 40, I know less stuff means less stress. Two merino shirts, one pair of shorts, one pair of long pants, rain jacket, done. Packing cubes turn the backpack into a closet.

Here's the interesting part: I'm probably not that unusual. The average age of hostel guests has climbed to 32, up from 25 in 2010, according to MightyTravels. And The Broke Backpacker reports the share of backpackers over 30 has doubled since 2002. In Kotor I sat on the rooftop terrace with an architect from Stockholm and a teacher from Salzburg. Not a 20-year-old in sight. We still had a great time.

Adult backpacking is no longer the niche it used to be.

Why Southern Europe Backpacking at 40 Works So Well

The Balkans wasn't a romantic decision. It was a practical one. Three hours from Dusseldorf, no time difference, reliably warm in summer. Thailand would have been cheaper, but the jet lag costs you the first two travel days, and the logistics eat up exactly the spontaneity I was looking for.

For this southern Europe backpacking trip I picked the Balkans over Southeast Asia on purpose. Croatia as a starting point feels comfortable. Good infrastructure, good food, reliable buses. Montenegro next is the middle ground. Cheaper rooms, fewer tourists, the Bay of Kotor as the highlight.

And Albania at the end? That was the part I remember most. Saranda at eight in the morning, the market, two old men playing backgammon who glance up at me for a second and then go back to their game. As if a 41-year-old German with a backpack was nothing special. I wasn't. That felt right.

Travel writer Cameron Hewitt from the Rick Steves team writes: "I felt at least as safe as I would in other parts of Europe." He's right. I felt safer in Saranda than in some neighborhoods back home.

One thing I underestimated: airline carry-on rules. If you're not sure whether Ryanair Priority is worth it (Coming Soon), there's a solid cost breakdown worth reading. Ryanair lets you bring a small bag for free (40x20x25 cm). For the full-size backpack, you need Priority or a Plus ticket. If you're switching between Ryanair and Wizz Air, check the carry-on rules for each airline (Coming Soon) beforehand.

What I Do Better at 40

I don't want to frame this as "everything was terrible at 20." Backpacking at 40 doesn't mean the 20-year-old version was wrong. Traveling at 20 was great. But certain things I'm genuinely better at now.

I negotiate calmly. When the taxi driver in Tirana wants 20 euros and the real price is 8, I don't argue. I smile, say the actual price, and walk. Works almost every time.

I pack better. TravelWise Gepäck-Organisationswürfel 5er Set (1 Small, 2 Medium, 2 Large) instead of loose chaos. Everything has its place. I'm travel-ready in ten minutes. Anyone who wants a concrete packing list for multi-country trips (Coming Soon) will find a practical template there with a packing cube strategy.

I enjoy boredom. At 20, every day had to be an adventure. Now I'll sit a whole afternoon in a cafe in Kotor and read. No guilt.

And I have money. Not a lot, but enough for a proper dinner instead of instant noodles every night. Ferngeweht.de puts it well: you're experienced enough to take a nicer room sometimes. I'd put it slightly differently. You know by now that a terrible night's sleep ruins the whole next leg of the trip. That's not luxury. That's just math.

TravelWise Gepäck-Organisationswürfel 5er Set (1 Small, 2 Medium, 2 Large)

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My Carry-On Backpack Travel Setup for Southern Europe

In case you're wondering what I actually bring:

• 40L carry-on backpack (I use the Lumesner Handgepäck-Rucksack, extra groß, 40L, Flugzeug-zugelassen, Reiserucksack für Männer und Frauen, erweiterbar)

• Packing cubes for clothes, tech, laundry

• 2 merino shirts, 1 cotton shirt, 1 long pants, 2 shorts

• Rain jacket, flip-flops, one pair of running shoes

• Toiletry bag (carry-on compliant)

• Kindle, charging cable, headphones

That's it. Everything together weighs under 8 kilos. And I didn't miss a single thing during three weeks of travel. Honestly, I didn't even need the second pair of shorts.

Anyone looking for a tested carry-on travel backpack (Coming Soon) should pay close attention to dimensions. Most 40L backpacks only qualify as carry-on with a Priority ticket on Ryanair.

Maybe this all sounds too organized for backpacking at 40. Maybe it does. But that's the whole point. At 40, you know what you need and what you don't.

I was sitting on the return flight from Split, backpack under the seat in front of me, thinking: That was it. Three weeks, one bag, zero stress at baggage claim. The guy from the gate with the enormous backpack? I never saw him again. He was probably still waiting for his checked luggage. I was already gone.

That's the whole trick.

Lumesner Handgepäck-Rucksack, extra groß, 40L, Flugzeug-zugelassen, Reiserucksack für Männer und Frauen, erweiterbar

4.6 (10,154)

EUR 41.92 Amazon