Planning and preparing for a long long trip.

[Doa]

Hello all, been lurking for a while and thought it was about time I posted.

I'm planning a tour of western Europe and hopefully alot further east if all goes to plan, will be starting at Calis, heading to Paris then going to go south to visit the other half of the family in La Linea in southern Spain, heading up the east coast then progressing through Italy, Switzerland and Germany after stopping in andorra to visit some friends.

Once I'm done in Germany I'll hopefully be able to find work on a farm via wwoof or if I'm really lucky find paid work doing what ever is available via some contacts if I make any. If i cannot find work I'll go back down south to La Linea and work with the family.

Once winter is over and wild camping becomes viable again I'll be heading as far east through Europe and onto Thailand and the rest of SE Asia I missed visiting when I was last in Thailand.

This trip has no time frame what so ever and the only restraint I will have is money, I will be wild camping as much as possible to save on expenses but my main concern is winter time and finding a place to work. Has any one ever WWOOF'd in Europe and if so is the language barrier a massive issue?

This will be my first touring experience and after letting my parents know what I'm planning they were stunned for a short while i.e 2-3 weeks ha.

I'm in the process of getting gear together for this trip and have a pretty good idea what I need to buy although I'm unsure of how much cash I will need to save up for the actual trip and was also wondering if anyone on here has under taken a multiple year trip and could pass on some advice.

Just a heads up I'm not completely insane .

Thanks in advance.

[b1ke]

Sounds like a good plan to me. Not sure about setting off in winter though - you've probably noticed it's been pretty chilly

Regarding work, we toured last year and visited a couple of eco-villages, one in Germany and one in Italy. I know both of these of take on volunteers and I think they offer food and accommodation in return for work.

Sieben Linden - Germany
Lovely, inspiring and ambitious project building a sustainable community with straw bale buildings. They're in the old east in Sachsen Anhalt. I think they take on volunteers from February onwards. Website is here>> http://www.siebenlinden.de/english0000.html.

Torri Superiore - Italy
Another really good project, based in Liguria (near Ventimiglia). Run courses and other stuff for the eco-minded individual. Beautiful location and a tad warmer than Germany. Website>> http://www.torri-superiore.org/index.ph ... enuto&l=en

We didn't actually work at any of these projects, only visited, but we met volunteers at both projects.

Hope they prove of some use....

[alicej]

Awesome!

Start WOOFING in the UK and you'll soon meet other WOOFERS who can recommend places further on.

Have a great time!

[Doa]

Cheers for the replies, I'm planning to set off around this coming march/April, don't think I could set off in all of this ice! I will email those projects as they seem pretty decent.

I plan to get out of the UK within 2 days of leaving my house so I won't spend anytime wwoofing within the UK.

[meic]

Dont buy everything up front, for example wait until you are going to South East Asia to buy any hot weather and anti-mosquito stuff.
Remember you can buy equipment anywhere in the world not just in the UK.
Also the more things that you have the more you will have to worry about hanging on to them.

I would leave the tent behind when leaving Europe and on those grounds I would use a cheaper tent in Europe and give it away/sell it when I move on. A cheaper tent is less to worry about. In fact that might go for all the camping gear.

Make sure that you pack lots of space, one of the best ways of saving money is to be able to buy bargains and not to have to buy food etc in small packages. Although this is easier once you are established on a farm.

Try to stick to basic simple equipment as it is more reliable and doesnt make you look like a good target for thieves. Same goes for the bike, one that is or at least looks well used but is in perfect working order with reliable but unimpressive looking components.

The most valuable resource is the other people that you meet on your travels, many will have come from where you are going to. Swop real life information with each other and keep contacts names for when you are passing through their home countries later on.
Youth Hostels are brilliant for this and if you ever get the desire to cook a proper meal in a real kitchen (such bliss) then stay a night at a cheaper YH, get clothes washed (although now a lot are overpricing the machines) and meet people on the travelling circuits. Unfortunately travellers with cycles are a very rare breed.
Everyone I met was good, friendly and helpful, if you start that way towards them. I say that I went round the world and all it cost me was a smile.

[meic]

If you are going to do farming work (as I did) then do try and find paying work.
I would work for 6 weeks until I had enough money to make another leg of my journey.
It is often easy to save money despite the low pay as you have very low outgoings.
If you do volunteer work you are only treading water and not refilling the coffers.

Once you get involved in the picking/casual work game you start to find out about where the next seasonal work is that everyone is moving on to. I would be more inclined to follow the work than a preset route around Europe.

[Graham]

Has any one ever WWOOF'd in Europe and if so is the language barrier a massive issue?

I've WWOOFed in UK . . . . .and plenty of house-sitting and WOOFing-like barter activities in france.

WWOOF hosts often speak english. Some are from the UK, transplanted in other countries.
Winter WWOOF may be difficult.
If you are prepared to extend your "host-base" you should be able to find places all year round.

e.g.
http://www.helpx.net/
http://www.mindmyhouse.com/

etc. . . . etc. . . .

[alicej]

Couchsurfing http://www.couchsurfing.org/

[Doa]

These replies are exactly what I've been looking for!

If any one who done work around Europe still has there contacts it would be a huge help if you could forward there address or if any one has a helpx account where I could get some hosts details off you would make me one happy camper.. Excuse the pun!

Is it not possible to wildcamp in Asia or is not advisable due to the amount of creepy crawlies and risk of being robbed? Pardon my ignorance.

If any one wishes to come along for the journey give me a heads up!

[meic]

I am sure that it is possible to wild camp in South East Asia it just didnt seem to be needed.
We are fantastically rich in those countries and guest houses are (or at least were) very cheap to stay in.

I suppose with a cycle it may be worth hanging on to your tent afterall.

On my first day in Indonesia I went to the bank and changed some money (I think 50 Aussie Dollars) went back to my room and laid out a million in cash on my bed.

If you could stand the pressure of being under scrutiny all the time I am pretty sure that a white cyclist turning up at a village who made friendly gestures would be given food and shelter with great joy. However after a while you would start craving some privacy.
Possibly they would be happy to let you pitch in the village.

[shane]

Thought about http://www.warmshowers.org/ ?

It's free reciprocal hosting for cyclists, like couchsurfing but better

Have fun on your trip, I also have big plans but I'm going down the saving cash like a crazy fool road, in the hope that I don't have to work on the road.

Shane

[meic]

But the working abroad gets you into closer contact with foreigners than just being a tourist.
You actually get to be part of the country you are in.
As the work is generally casual you dont have to stick with it when the novelty wears off.
I must say that the work added a lot to my tour.

Although some of it was dire.

[shane]

But the working abroad gets you into closer contact with foreigners than just being a tourist.
You actually get to be part of the country you are in.

Or you get to socialize with the rest of the parttime or import workers and miss out on mixing with the locals....

And yes, being import can be dire.....(ever thought of where all that sh%t goes in an aeroplane?....did you know they have filters there that need to be changed.....)