Best long-stay travel insurance for backpackers 2026

In the following table you can see a breakdown detailed of everything they cover the main long-stay insurance for trips of more than 3 months.

If you view the table on mobile you can swipe to the right

The long-stay insurance offered by insurers is intended for those who are going to an international trip of more than 90 days. It is a very common type of travel insurance among backpackers, but it also works for any other style of travel such as digital nomads, gap years abroad, traveling around the world by bike or volunteering. In short, the best long-stay travel insurance allows you to be covered for trips of more than 3 months. 

In most insurers they will let you take out the insurance with a maximum duration of 1 year and then they will give you the option to extend it, except Heymondo, which initially only allows you to contract for 90 days, you can extend it.  

You should not confuse long-stay travel insurance with annual multi-trip insurance, which only covers you for 90 consecutive days of travel and you have to stop by home to start counting again. If multi-trip insurance is what you were looking for, you should take a look at the annual travel insurance. Heymondo, in that it is the best quality – price.

Personally, I recommend you take out long-stay travel insurance. a few weeks before starting the trip to get a worry off your mind as soon as possible. The days before the trip you will have enough things on your mind to worry about travel insurance. 

That said, insurance can be taken out even after starting the trip, although If you take out the insurance once the trip has started, the coverage begins 72 hours later of hiring. For this reason, I recommend that you book it the day before at the latest, so you are covered if you have problems with flights or transportation on the first day.

All long-stay insurance for backpackers or digital nomads They have very similar coverage. The main difference is the maximum amounts covered in each case. Without going into details of the maximum amount (you can see it in the table below) the coverages they offer are the following:

• Expenses for medical emergencies and pharmaceutical expenses, the most important coverage in long-stay insurance.
• Repatriation or health relocation. Covers expenses arising from having to return home due to a medical problem or relocation to a better hospital. 
• Dental emergency expenses.
• Family travel and living expenses. It covers round-trip flights and a hotel stay for a family member in the event of hospitalization for several days.
• Shipping medicines abroad. If the medication you need is not available where you are, your long-stay travel insurance will cover it. cargo of the shipment.
• Search and rescue. 
• Theft and loss or delayed delivery of luggage. Very important coverage to be able to buy the most essential things again. Please note that theft (careless theft) is not covered by any policy. 
• Sending items forgotten during the trip.
• Delay in the means of transportation either on departure or return. The insurer will pay for an alternative means of transportation if the delay is more than 3 hours and will cover the daily expenses incurred if the delay is more than 12 hours. 
• Interpreter service if necessary. Very useful if you don't speak English.
• Legal advice abroad. In case you find yourself involved in any legal problem.
• Early return due to hospitalization or death of a family member. Long stay insurance for backpackers also usually includes the ticket to resume the trip if desired. 
• Liability insurance. Coverage for damages caused to third parties.
• Disability or death due to accident.
• Trip cancellation insurance. This coverage is not always included, it may be optional. You must add it when purchasing your long stay insurance.

The best long-stay travel insurance for backpackers It will depend on the needs of the traveler and the type of trip what to do, but clearly there are insurers with better coverage. We show you everything below.

The policies from the most important insurance companies for this type of trip are Cap Trotamundos by Chapka, Long-stay travel insurance by Heymondo, Grandes Viajeros insurance by Iati and Grand Tour 365 insurance by Intermundial. 

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This insurance company is slowly becoming one of the best-known companies among travelers. It is not for less, Chapka in long-stay insurance offers superior coverage than its rivals, until recently I did it for a much lower price. Currently their prices have skyrocketed and is no longer the best insurer for long-stay backpackers. It is only available for Spanish and French people.

They have an App to request assistance through a internet call. Very useful for quick contact in emergency situations and saving international calls.

About Us We have booked the Cap Trotamundos on 2 different occasions. For example, on our first trip we visited Peru and Ecuador, where we did a lot of hiking in high altitude mountainous areas. On the second trip, through Asia, we knew that We were going to dive a lot so we made sure our travel insurance included this sport. 

Currently, the price of the Cap Trotamundo has risen considerably, making it one of the most popular options. carIf we had to take out insurance again for that style of trip, we would consider other options.

Our personal experience using it is positive. Although it is true that they are not the fastest at answering emails or processing payments They have always managed everything for us with a certain agility and without excessive delays (taking into account that on two occasions it was the Christmas holiday period). For example, we have had PCR tests, a complete medical check-up, we were paid for items stolen from a backpack, a suitcase broken during a flight and an early return due to hospitalisation of a family member. As you can see, we have tried quite a few of the included coverages and always with good results.

It is one of the leading Spanish companies in the world of travel insurance and is Known for managing policyholder issues effectively and quickly. Your long-stay insurance is initially contracted for 90 days and during the course of your trip you can extend the policy. This is a very interesting advantage If you do not know exactly the return date, something quite common in this type of trips. So point plus!

Heymondo It is one of our favorite insurers since most of its insurance policies have a great quality-price ratio but, unfortunately This is not the case for long stay insurance.WithInsurance for trips without a return ticket seems to us to be the worst option for backpackers.

The fact of having a €100 excess For medical expenses in long-stay insurance, we think this is a very important disadvantage. It will mean that you will not have to go to the doctor unless it is something very serious and insurance is there to be used without holding back, especially when you are going to spend so many months outside your country. In addition, does not include any adventure sports (it is optional), something that we believe is essential if it is to be the best long-stay travel insurance for backpackers.

Iati It's another of Spain's major travel insurers. Endorsed by renowned travel blogs, top influencers, and thousands of travelers. with a rating of 4,4 on Trustpilot. In terms of speed in incident management and good service, it is the best travel insurance for long stays.

Your Great Travelers insurance seems to me a very good policy for both backpackers and digital nomads. The coverage is high and quite complete, although there is a lack of more coverage for adventure sports, as most are only included by paying the extra for adventure. Currently, we think it is the best option if you are going on a backpacking trip for several months.

Interworld It has extensive experience in travel insurance and offers some very interesting insurance policies with extensive coverage, but from my point of view this is not the case with Grand Tour 365. Your insurance is the most caror from recognized insurers and their coverage does not correspond to the price you pay. I think that in this specific insurance they have a lot of room for improvement to become the best long-stay travel insurance for backpackers.

For me the winner of this comparison in 2026 is the insurer Iati with its Large Travelers policy that It has very good coverage and a good quality-price ratio.Furthermore, it's a well-known company with a good reputation and many years of experience. Although Heymondo is cheaper, we're not convinced about having a €100 franchise fee every time we need medical assistance.

How have you been able to check in the comparison table that you have seen previously? Many of the coverages offered are similar or superior to their competitorsIt also includes adventure sports, and during such a long trip around the world, it is very likely that you will practice some of them from time to time. 

By hiring any of the insurances that we have compared from our links, you get a discount of 5% to 15% and we get a commission.

We hope we have clarified your doubts about which is the best long-stay travel insurance or at least what the coverage is for all of them so that you can know which one is best suited to you.

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