I have recently retired and would like to do some more travelling. I am considering backpacking as an alternative to expensive hotels and wonder if anyone has any experience of this for the "older" person.

Kathleen

Hello Kathleen
I am wanting to 'get away' and am thinking of going to the east coast of Australia first in April and maybe backpacking for a few weeks/months. Did you go any where, how did you find it and how did you travel?
Lynda "nearly a granny"

hello, It will be our first trip to UK via Singapore.
Hubby will be 65 then.

Did my Back Packing up and down the East Coast of Auzzie.. joined the YHA, travelled by train with the train pass I bought here, and had a great time. Safe, friendly and great weather, scenery and people.. Do it

Hi Kathleen and all, I went on my second big OE a couple of years ago, caught the train in Melbourne, to Adelaide, The Ghan up to Alice Springs and a bus tour to Uluru, I had a backpack and did some couch surfing, stayed in a backpackers in Adelaide, and flew to Queensland, caught the train from Brisbane to Gladstone and returned, flew to London and caught the tube to my cousins, where I stayed on her couch for two months. I am still working, so saving up for another overseas jaunt, maybe to Luxor. I have a friend who has trained to Samarkand, any ideas? Barbara

Why just Australia? Buy a Eurail Pass and travel Europe by train and ferry. More importantly - join Couch surfing and meet fellow travelers by staying in their homes or meeting them for meals.
At 67 and 66 we have just returned from 10 weeks - Malaysia, Europe and Australia. We stayed with ten couch surfers we had previously hosted in our own home, stayed with three other couch surfers, and used hostels and hotels in between or when apartments are too small for hosting but the CSer wanted to show us around. We had a great time and are planning South Korea, southern China and then back to KL.
Third travel hint - look up Air Asia for cheap flights to and from Kuala Lumpur.