During your backpacking adventures, you’ll stay in hostels, hear people sing songs on their ukulele and you’ll likely connect your phone to a speaker so that you can all listen to the best backpacking songs.

Backpacking music is an excellent way to connect with fellow travelers. The following songs are popular songs that we all know and that can make you the perfect hostel DJ.

In this post, you’ll find the best hostels and backpacking songs. You’ll also find music playlists at the end of the post.

backpacking songs

Top Backpacking Songs

Take a look at our suggestions and add these backpacking songs to your playlist. Alternatively, you can go to the next section to find premade playlists that are perfect for travelers and backpackers.

  1. Jubel – Klingande
  2. My Brightside – The Killers
  3. Sonnentanz – Klangarussel, Will Heard
  4. Wake Me Up – Avicii
  5. Are You With Me – Lost Frequencies
  6. Summer – Calvin Harris
  7. Easy Love – Sigala
  8. Walking On A Dream – Empire of the Sun
  9. Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
  10. Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke, T.I, Pharrel Williams
  11. Summer Of ‘69 – Bryan Adams
  12. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
  13. Stacy’s Mom – Foundations of Wayne
  14. Stay High – Tove Lo
  15. All Star – Smash Mouth
  16. Roadtrippin’ – Dan + Shay
  17. I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) – The Proclaimers
  18. Wonderwall – Oasis
  19. Fast Car – Tracey Chapman
  20. Drops Of Jupiter – Train
  21. Home – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
  22. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey
  23. Send Me On My Way – Rusted Root
  24. Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver
  25. Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Deep Blue Something
  26. Little Lion Man – Mumford & Sons
  27. Big Yellow Taxi – Counting Crows, Vanessa Carlton
  28. I Believe In A Thing Called Love – The Darkness
  29. Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
  30. Sex On Fire – Kings Of Leon
  31. Hey Ya! – Outkast
  32. Watermelon Sugar – Harry Styles
  33. The Girl Is Mine – 99 Souls
  34. She Moves In Her Own Way – The Kooks
  35. Dance, Dance – Fall Out Boy
  36. Dakota – Stereophonics
  37. Fluorescent Adolescent – Arctic Monkeys
  38. Alright – Supergrass
  39. Hideaway – Kiesza
  40. Budapest – George Ezra
  41. Run The World (Girls) – Beyonce
  42. Holiday – Dizee Rascal
  43. Livin’ On a Prayer – Bon Jovi
  44. Time To Pretend – MGMT
  45. Three Little Birds – Bob Marley
  46. Guaranteed – Eddie Vedder
  47. 22 – Taylor Swift
  48. Bat Out Of Hell – Meatloaf
  49. Riptide – Vance Joy
  50. You’ve Got The Love – Florence & The Machine

backpacking songs for the hostel

Best Spotify Backpacking Playlists

If you’re searching for ready-made travel playlists, you’ll find great ones on Spotify. It’s a great way to discover new music and listen to new music genres.

Here are our top 5 Spotify playlists for the best travel, hostel, road trip, and backpacking adventures.

Traveling Music | Vacation Music | Holiday By Soave

This long traveling playlist will keep you busy for nearly 10 hours. You’ll find the latest hits mixed with chill travel vibes. You’ll wish you’re having a drink on the beach in Thailand – that’s for sure.

Summer Vibes By Spotify

This is one of my current favorites – the Summer Vibes playlist offers a small range of Afro, Caribbeans, and Latin sounds. You’ll want to dance when hearing these songs and you’ll surely discover new favorites.

spotify playlists of backpacking songs

Backpackers & Hostel Vibes By Bugsy1993

This playlist includes the best songs to take you to the backpacker flow. It also includes some newer hits for a chill and diverse atmosphere. It’s a long playlist that should cover your musical needs for nearly 11 hours.

Australian Backpackers By Koen Verheij

Perfect for road trips and hostel life, you’ll find classics from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and newer hits. If you’re after a relaxing atmosphere (especially when driving), this can be a smart choice.

Beach Vibes | Summertime Hits 2020 By Beach Vibes

Finally, this summer beach chill playlist can provide a fun and relaxing atmosphere for nearly 10 hours. Including different genres and hits from different times – you’ll be dreaming of the beach in no time.

Final Thoughts On Backpacking Music

Whether you’re planning your backpacking adventures or a road trip, make sure to bookmark this page to find the best backpacker songs quickly.

That said, there are plenty of great playlists on Spotify if you wish to make your life easy.

Looking for hiking music? Take a look at our list of the best songs for hiking.

About Melissa Giroux

Melissa Giroux founded abrokenbackpack.com in 2015. She is been living abroad since 2014. Originally Canadian, she has been living and working online in many destinations around the world. She is passionate about traveling, technology, entrepreneurship, and CrossFit.

She has traveled extensively in Asia, Oceania, Europe, and North America. She is now living in Thailand.


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☑ Book your accommodation: Want the comfort of being at home or the luxury of a hotel? I love using Vrbo and Booking.com for those very reasons. If you're a solo traveler, Hostelworld offers a wide variety of hostels you should take a look at. Alternatively, if you're a budget traveler, sign up for Worldpackers to get FREE accommodation in exchange for work.

☑ Rent a car or an RV: Make your trip more comfortable by renting a car with DiscoverCars.com. This website allows you to compare car rentals around the world. If you're traveling in the United States, find an RV rental on RVshare.

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☑ Pack the essentials: Universal charger, check; power bank, check; passport, check! What else could you forget? I've put together this ultimate packing list just for you!

☑ Do you need a visa? If you aren't sure if you need a visa, it’s highly recommended for you to double-check. You can use iVisa - it's super useful and easy to use.

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