What is a Flashpacker?

What is a Flashpacker?

There was no specific definition for the term flashpacker online until I created one a few years ago.  Flashpacker is a neologism that refers to a more affluent breed of backpacker who travels on a similar trail to the backpacker but does it with more cash in their pocket and expects a little luxury on the road.  Here’s my definition:

Flash-pack-er/flaSHˈpakər/

-noun,  -s, One who travels with the intrepid ethos of a backpacker but having added comfort, style and technology whilst still maintaining a sense of exploration and adventure.

Basically what it means to us is this; we want to travel to all the usual backpacker haunts and beyond, have fun and adventure, but at the same time we have the cash that means we would pick a one hour flight for $100 instead of a 12-hour chicken bus.  We can’t afford, and don’t always want, to stay in large 4-star hotels but we’re happy to spend a few extra dollars a night to get an air-conditioned room with a hot shower and TV in a nice hotel or guesthouse with a pool.  We’ll take the occasional splurge at that 4-star hotel but we certainly won’t be paying full price.  If there’s a great deal to be found, that provides a little extra luxury, we’re onto it.

Combining this with the fact that we travel full time as family means we’ll often find an apartment and spend longer in one place than the average tourist on a holiday.  We have the element of time which can actually save you a lot of money – a week in a hotel can cost about the same as a month in an apartment.

Want to know how we travel long term? Want to know how we afford it? What’s our budget? And how do we make money online? Read this post for all the answers.