A Germaphobes Backpacking Survival Guide

A list of tips, tricks and recommendations because if I can budget travel, so can you!

When I told my friends and family I had booked my flights to go backpacking, I was met by raised eyebrows, varying levels of concern and ill-masked doubt, but not for the reasons you may think.

I have been a self-described germaphobe for the majority of my life; my neurosis seemingly peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic and, having exhausted itself on the climb, decided to stay there. My germaphobia has been a running joke for years, with the tongue-in-cheek statement ‘no outside clothes on the bed’ brandishing my hinge profile and fruity hand sanitiser firmly situated in my work overalls. All fun and games until you’re trying to explain why you can’t just crash on your friend's sofa after a night out because some man brushed past you four hours ago, so you desperately need to go home and shower to decontaminate. I’ve cried at a situationships house before because I accidentally stepped on his bathmat without shoes on; I feel like I’ve painted a vivid enough image. Under this lens, backpacking seemed like an impossibility, but when you're working a dead-end hospitality job in January, one can impulsively decide that exposure therapy is the way to go.

If you’d have told me two days into my first trip backpacking that I’d want to travel indefinitely, I’d have laughed at you, but here we are!  Dealing with germaphobia while budget travelling is not easy, and I found the first couple of weeks extremely difficult, specifically relating to unbridled anxiety around sleeping and showering within hostels. For a first-time backpacker, the hostel environment can be quite overwhelming, but I promise you, if you pack the right equipment, you can really ease your overthinking.

Tips for the sleeping situation

Look at hygiene ratings before booking hostels 

(Super obvious but I’m easing you in)

Hostels are not one size fits all, and in contrast to my prior assumptions, most of the budget hostels I stayed in were cleaner than their hotel alternatives. Hostelworld has a great function where you can quickly check the cleanliness rating of any hostel before you book. The top-rated hostels will usually be slightly more expensive and tend to get booked out faster, especially during high season; keep this in mind when considering your budget and planning.

​P.S. ALWAYS check for bed bugs and never put any of your personal belongings on a bed without inspecting it first. I have never stayed in a hostel with bed bugs, if that’s any consolation, and I don’t believe bed bug run-ins are commonplace. That being said, it’s always worth checking. See if there are any small pin-prick red stains on the bed sheets and pillow case, before lifting up each corner and inspecting the mattress primarily along the binding for bugs and/or clusters of brown spotting.

Antibacterial wipes

Giving your space a quick wipe down is a perfect way to put yourself more at ease. I started doing this on my first trip, and it was a brilliant way to instantly feel more comfortable. Did people probably think I was slightly neurotic… maybe, but they would have gathered that after meeting me anyway, so why not speed up the introduction.

 (Plus everyone is too tired or preoccupied to take much notice of what you are doing anyway)  

Spare pillow case

Rogue hair on your pillow? No thank you; I won’t be able to sleep. For this reason, I would always recommend bringing a spare pillow case (or two), you’ll feel cleaner, it takes up so little space and for a good night's sleep, it's so worth it.

Sleeping bag liner

Similar premise, and you can get cheap(ish) sleeping bag liners online, or you can make your own out of an old bed sheet. Admittedly, they are more cumbersome, but I used mine more than I thought I would, and I personally wouldn’t want to travel without one.

(Just in case those sheets look too lived in!)

Carabiners  

I’m a huge fan of hanging my belongings, as when you are in a communal area, the air remains one of the few reliably clean spaces. Need to dry your towel, but don’t want to leave it hanging flush against your curtain rail or bunkbed ladder; a carabiner quickly comes to the rescue. With a pack of carabiners, the world truly is your oyster!

Tips for the shower situation

Shower shoes

Self explanatory. I travelled with some people who didn’t bring these; they are the reason you need them.

Hangable wash bag

I’m not going to sugar-coat, the sinks in hostel bathrooms are absolutely gross. Picture an amalgamation of stale toothpaste, the odd hair and spilt bodywash all highlighted under flickering strip lights. For obvious reasons, plonking your washbag into that germy carnage is rather undesirable. Thankfully, most bathrooms will have some form of ledge or hook, making a hangable washbag the perfect solution! Not only does it keep all your toiletries unscathed, but the majority of hangable washbags fold out into multiple compartments, meaning you can keep all of your hygiene products together, saving you from digging through your bag every time you need to brush your hair.

Shower bag

The phrase ‘this was obviously designed by a man’ floated into my mind too many times while standing in hostel showers. You will quickly realise that the luxury of having a rail or shelf in the shower for your toiletries is few and far between. Unless you want to place your face wash on the shower floor or soak your whole wash bag, a separate hangable shower bag is the way to go. You can easily loop it over the tap or even crack out a cheeky carabiner if you’re feeling frisky.

Travel toothbrush

Whoever invented toothbrushes that fold into themselves is a genius! You can buy packs of these online and never worry about losing those plastic toothbrush protectors again.

General recommendations

(This is very niche but bear with me...)

Bring lots and lots of hand sanitiser

Only a handful of bathrooms and public toilets will have soap. This is relatively commonplace everywhere in the world, but if you're reading this article, I already know you’ve packed loads of hand sanitiser! I’d recommend bringing more than you anticipate needing (within reason), because hand sanitiser is not easy to access everywhere, so err on the side of caution.

​P.S. Many hostels also don’t have soap in their bathrooms, anticipating this, I bought an extra antibacterial soap to keep in my day pack. You can buy leak-proof travel bags for soap (I could not recommend these more as the soap dries inside them even when sealed) and attach them to internal bag loops with a carabiner, making them easily accessible. After all, having a bar of soap to hand saves you from having to brave that dreaded large rucksack unpack every time you need a piss in the middle of the night!

Stick sun cream  

Let me paint the scene, your hands sticky with a mixture of dried salt water, sand and sanitiser; the sun is beating down and your cheeks, prickling from the sun, are desperate for a new layer of sun cream. I know what you’re thinking… What a dilemma. This might be too niche, but my germaphobia is exaggerated when it comes to my face, and as a result, the act of applying sun cream with ‘unclean’ hands becomes an illogical mental block. You can buy stick sun creams from Boots or Superdrug (I know Bondi Sands does a good one), and it becomes an easy reprieve for these situations.

Don’t be too harsh on yourself

Having germaphobia while budget travelling can result in an ever-present nagging feeling of uncleanliness which can be very emotionally draining, so give yourself some slack. I found the occasional silent bathroom crash out when the shower curtain accidentally touches your back oddly cathartic, but most importantly, you shouldn’t bin off backpacking as a result of your germaphobia; if you want to travel, you can travel.

You’ve got this! I believe in you! Good Luck!