Hello to our community, friends, family, and everyone who has been lucky enough to⊠Sam Dow needs your support for Help Sam and Crow Keep th
Hi, guys. I try to keep my personal life off of here for the most part, but my partner and I have experienced a pretty bad blow, and I don't know what else to do. On Friday a private yacht backed into our sailboat, the Nautilus, with enough force to move the concrete dock we were tied to. The main mast was snapped in half, and we're still waiting to learn how bad the damage to the hull is.
We've worked on the Nautilus for years now as her crew, and this spring we put every cent we've been able to save over the last decade into buying her. All of our time has gone into sailing and maintaining her, and running our charter business - and now she's out of commission for the foreseeable future. Insurance will hopefully help, but we don't know anything concrete yet. The best case scenario is that with 8-9 months of work, we can have Nautilus sailing again by next summer - but in the meantime we still have the vessel's loan payments, and our own living expenses, and no source of income, let alone the repairs we'll need to begin sooner rather than later if we can hope to get her seaworthy by next summer.
I know things are hard for everyone right now, and I know we are incredibly lucky no one was hurt. One way or another Crow and I will get through this, and be okay, so please don't feel guilty for passing this by. But if you are inclined to help us get through the next few months, by donating or by sharing our fundraiser, I would be more grateful than I can express. I will be posting updates, photos, etc. on our Instagram page at nautilusmaine as we learn more, if anyone would like to follow along with what is hopefully the journey to rebuild her.
I started (and abandoned??) this side blog years ago, around the time of my very first season of sailing. It's strange looking back across the years at the person who wrote those posts about running off to sea. In the same way that successfully working on tall ships would have seemed wonderful and impossible to who I was in college, the position I am in today - a little ketch of our own, crewed by myself and my partner - would have seemed just as magical and just as unlikely to who I was when I made this blog. To have that become a reality, and then taken away in about thirty seconds of someone else's poor judgement, has been heartbreaking.
Hello! I love your blog and Iâm thinking about trying to find work windjamming this coming year. I was wondering if there is any sexism/reason to be concerned as a woman in these types of jobs? Especially as someone who is younger and would be living probably pretty far from friends/family.
Hi! I can only answer from my own experience, so bear in mind this is subjective, but I personally have found the tall-ship industry to be largely fine on that front, as AFAB myself. Most of the crews I've worked on have had more women than men, or at the very least an even split, and generally I've found it to be a supportive, safe community (although I have heard that the broader sailing industry, yachts and so on, has some more endemic issues).
That said, I've experienced a bit of low-grade sexism. I'd say it's generally individuals rather than the industry as a whole, but it happens. Like one guy who would, when women were hauling lines, try to take the line out of their hands and do it himself, even when I was teaching him how to sail, which was infuriating. Or the captain who thought it was funny that one of the male deckhands was uncomfortable that a bachelorette groped him. There's a few captains I've been warned away from on the grounds of bad vibes, and one of my friends had a ship's cook who was a creep. But at no point have I been in a position where I felt the rest of the crew wouldn't have my back, and I have never felt unsafe on a boat I was living on. There are occasional shitty people for sure, but they have been few and far between.
Hope this is helpful. I fully understand the concern, especially if you'd be far from home. You're welcome to shoot me a private message over on my main @charminglyantiquated if you want to ask about specific boats - If I'm aware of any red flags I'll give you a heads up. There's also other questions about tall ships under the tag schooner bum life, talking about some other aspects of life on board, if that's useful.
Hey, I was wondering if you have recommendations for rig knives? I'm in the market for a new one but I'm not sure where to look. Thank you!!
Mine was a gift and Iâm not sure where itâs from, so unfortunately I donât have anything specific to suggest, but hopefully some of my sailor followers might!
Hi, I love your blog, it's amazing! Do you have any experience with tall ships in europe, or even in germany? And are there any that do scientific surveys? I just figured it might be really interesting and maybe easier for me to find a place on one of those (I'm studying marine ecology) thanks! x
Iâm afraid not - all of my sailing experience is within the US, due to work visas and the like, and focused primarily on tourism and deliveries rather than education/scientific endeavors.
However, in the past I have recommended to others looking for European tall ships to take a look at Sail Training Internationalâs list of vessels. Although I canât personally tell you anything about the vessels listed, itâs as good a starting point as any for locating European ships to reach out to! The US boats I am aware of that do educational work as well as sail training are generally very very eager for deckhand/educators who have previously studied marine sciences, so thatâs hopefully a point in your favor!
Okay so question. The nearest port that has open deckhand positions is about an hour and a half away. Do you think its realistic to make that commute from home to there every day?
Itâs different for everyone, of course, but personally speaking I couldnât do it, not at the end of a typical day - Iâm just too tired, physically and mentally, and I tend to fall asleep by 11 or so these days anyway lmao.
However! Thereâs a possible compromise, depending on the details of the position. My current ship has a pool of rotating deckhands, so everyone works roughly 4 days/week. I have crewmates who live fairly far away (~1hr) and many of them will keep sleeping bags on board so they can crash on the boat the nights theyâre not up to driving, or just arrive on their first morning planning to stay 3 nights or so before returning home. If that seems like it might be acceptable, itâs worth discussing with the captain.
running off to sea to seek your fortune: a how-to guide
About seven months ago now I walked down a dock in April and tried to guess which of the three shrinkwrapped schooners docked there was going to be my home for the foreseeable future. Coming out the other side of the season, Iâve got hands like leather, killer biceps, a general familiarity with sailing, two near-death experiences, and in general Iâm pretty comfortable wearing a knife around now. This is going to be a quick breakdown of the ups and downs of windjammer life, because I sure as hell had no idea what I was getting into, and if it sounds like an interesting job maybe you can go into it a bit more prepared than I was.
Windjamming - the part of the traditional-rigged sailing industry that deals with tourists, and the focus of the guide. Generally to do anything else with tall ships, like deliveries (moving a ship from point A to Point B, like the Florida Keys to Boston in time for the summer season), you need to have some sailing experience already. Â Windjamming can be split into day sailors and longer cruises.
Day sailors make 2 to 4 short trips a day, generally in the area of three hours each. The tips are better because you see so many people in such a short time. Youâre in port every night, so youâll always have access to cell service, grocery stores, the bars, etc. You tend to have rainy days off. On the flip side, itâs not always a live-aboard position, so if youâre hoping to be staying on the ship, make sure you ask. Youâll also be feeding yourself out of pocket. The repetitive nature of the trips can be monotonous, and you donât really have a chance to get to know the guests. Generally smaller boats and smaller crew.
Longer Cruises make overnight trips, generally 3-6 days, which means they go further and thereâs more variety in where they sail. You get to know the passengers much better, and you really get to see the breadth of weather on the ocean - itâs a much fuller experience in terms of sailing. These are almost always live-aboard positions, so you have a home with no rent to pay. Youâll be fed as well as the passengers are, and even on the days youâre in port, there will be leftovers to eat if you donât want to spend money - you can save a lot more because virtually nothing has to be spent on the cost of living. On the other hand, youâll be out of contact for days at a time, and the unending nature of the job - with guests aboard, youâre responsible for their wellbeing even when not actively on duty, which can mean up to six unbroken days of Customer Service Face - means that it can be emotionally a bit overwhelming at times.
Pay varies pretty greatly from one boat to another; for the entry-level position of messmate, Iâve seen anywhere from a pretty generous $400/week to volunteer. Those seem to be the extreme ranges of the spectrum, so anywhere in that ballpark could be expected.
Positions open to you as a total beginner are:
Deckhand - a standard sailor. Usually you need a bit of sailing or sailing-adjacent experience, but not always, if youâre strong and quick to learn. Duties tend to include tacking, furling, and reefing sails, cleaning the ship (deck, the toilets, the sides of the hull, etc.), helping passengers up and down the ladders, and similar tasks.
Cook or assistant cook - day sailors donât have this, so if you want to work in the galley youâre going to have to commit to a longer cruise. Planning and preparing all meals, three times a day, for about 30 people. Often includes things like baking your own bread. might be on a wood stove or a propane stove; sometimes the stove swings to stay level and sometimes it has fiddles to keep pots from sliding off, but not always. Youâve got to be an early riser, and good at time management.
Messmate: another galley position, but this one is half-way between the galley and the deck - ideally a 3/1 ratio. Cleaning dishes, setting tables, assisting the cook on occasion with meal prep, maybe snacks and things like that, as well as small things on deck like tacking sails. A lot of that is on you, however - go bug deck crew to teach you if thatâs where you want to be.
Life on a windjammer/General things to know
Pack practically. I really canât emphasize this enough. Youâll have a few days off but youâre not going to have the energy to get into nice clothes and honestly youâre going to be covered in paint dust/anchor grease/pine tar/whatever the fuck anyway. You really wonât have any use for anything besides working clothes and mayyyyyybe one nice outfit to remind you that there were better days, once. Bring clothes that you can burn at the end of the season, because theyâre not going to be wearable in public.
Get a pair of work pants - Carharts, Dickies, doesnât matter - as long as theyâre tough as hell and have a lot of pockets. Youâre also gonna want to have a leatherman, or ideally a rig knife/marlinspike set (cutting lines, tightening and undoing knots, etc. are things youâll find yourself doing frequently).
Learn how to tie a bowline, a cleat, and a rolling hitch. You can learn everything fancier, but these are the three youâll be using the most.
JustâŠgive up on ever feeling clean. Life is easier that way. You can get a shower and wash laundry on land, but while on board itâs lucky to have hot water, and youâll still be washing your hair in a swimsuit, on deck, with dish soap. Embrace it, bring deodorant, go swimming in the ocean.
Some really weird jobs are going to be given to you. Sailing, cleaning, whatever, all in a dayâs work. Rubbing down all seventy feet of the main mast with Vaseline while being belayed down on a swing also covered in VaselineâŠa bit out of left field. Windjamming is basically an endless string of crises, so donât be too thrown when something goes wrong.
Ideally youâre reasonably good with heights (if not, avoid ships with topsails) and donât get motion sickness. Â
Thereâs a lot of turnover - people leave all the time for all kinds of reasons, like going back to school in the fall, getting hurt, getting fired, getting overwhelmed and quitting.
Itâs a gift culture - your crew is what keeps you going, and you share what you have - people with real apartments will offer you a place to sleep and shower. People whoâve done this before will give you things youâre missing. Things like hats and books and jackets get traded and gifted a lot. Over the course of the season I gave away hand cream, a coffee mug, rides to places in my car, drawings - not much, but I didnât come with much that could be useful. I was given a rig knife, a ceramic bowl, a few books, tea, a ukulele. Share what you have and give away things someone needs and you donât.Â
Youâre going to meet a lot of weird people. Well-balanced people with 9-5 jobs who are content with their lives and like doing things like âleisurely sipping coffee in caffes while it rains outsideâ and âbathingâ donât often apply. If this is the kind of job that appeals to you, then itâs likely theyâre going to be your kind of people.
Thereâs definitely a drinking culture, but thereâs no pressure to join in, in my experience. Everyone is really chill about whether or not youâre drinking; often the local dive bar is simply the closest warm place to find people and touch base with the other schooner bums. Once in a while someone will buy everyone a pitcher to share, but this is more related to âshare what you haveâ than to âeveryone must drinkâ.
Thatâs it off the top of my head, but please feel free to message me if you have any questions! I canât promise Iâll have a good answer, but then again I might. Hope this helps!
Tall Ships America billet bank has some listings, which change pretty frequently as the seasons go on, so keep checking if you donât find something that appeals to you the first time round.
Honestly, though? The industry is largely word of mouth, and so many captains/owners donât actually advertise. Your best best is to look up windjammers in an area you want to work out of (Camden ME, Newport RI, and Mystic CT, off the top of my head, are some windjamming hubs where you could start to look; Baltimore is one, so is Boston, and thereâs definitely some West Coast ships, although Iâm less familiar with that. Winter season is in Florida and the Caribbean).
Just send a fuckton of emails. Carpetbomb the industry. Once youâve got the emails of a dozen or so captains, go ahead and email all of them to see if they have a position open. If you time it right (the summer sailing season starts hiring Jan/Feb; winter in Aug/Sept) then youâre going to find something.Â
Something else - your hands are going to be hamburger for the first few weeks of working line. Theyâre gong to get dry and cracked and callused and itâs gonna suck. Then theyâll toughen up and youâll have grown your gloves and itâs all fine again, but be ready. OâKeefeâs Working Hands hand cream helps a bit.
running off to sea to seek your fortune: a how-to guide
About seven months ago now I walked down a dock in April and tried to guess which of the three shrinkwrapped schooners docked there was going to be my home for the foreseeable future. Coming out the other side of the season, Iâve got hands like leather, killer biceps, a general familiarity with sailing, two near-death experiences, and in general Iâm pretty comfortable wearing a knife around now. This is going to be a quick breakdown of the ups and downs of windjammer life, because I sure as hell had no idea what I was getting into, and if it sounds like an interesting job maybe you can go into it a bit more prepared than I was.
Windjamming - the part of the traditional-rigged sailing industry that deals with tourists, and the focus of the guide. Generally to do anything else with tall ships, like deliveries (moving a ship from point A to Point B, like the Florida Keys to Boston in time for the summer season), you need to have some sailing experience already. Â Windjamming can be split into day sailors and longer cruises.
Day sailors make 2 to 4 short trips a day, generally in the area of three hours each. The tips are better because you see so many people in such a short time. Youâre in port every night, so youâll always have access to cell service, grocery stores, the bars, etc. You tend to have rainy days off. On the flip side, itâs not always a live-aboard position, so if youâre hoping to be staying on the ship, make sure you ask. Youâll also be feeding yourself out of pocket. The repetitive nature of the trips can be monotonous, and you donât really have a chance to get to know the guests. Generally smaller boats and smaller crew.
Longer Cruises make overnight trips, generally 3-6 days, which means they go further and thereâs more variety in where they sail. You get to know the passengers much better, and you really get to see the breadth of weather on the ocean - itâs a much fuller experience in terms of sailing. These are almost always live-aboard positions, so you have a home with no rent to pay. Youâll be fed as well as the passengers are, and even on the days youâre in port, there will be leftovers to eat if you donât want to spend money - you can save a lot more because virtually nothing has to be spent on the cost of living. On the other hand, youâll be out of contact for days at a time, and the unending nature of the job - with guests aboard, youâre responsible for their wellbeing even when not actively on duty, which can mean up to six unbroken days of Customer Service Face - means that it can be emotionally a bit overwhelming at times.
Pay varies pretty greatly from one boat to another; for the entry-level position of messmate, Iâve seen anywhere from a pretty generous $400/week to volunteer. Those seem to be the extreme ranges of the spectrum, so anywhere in that ballpark could be expected.
Positions open to you as a total beginner are:
Deckhand - a standard sailor. Usually you need a bit of sailing or sailing-adjacent experience, but not always, if youâre strong and quick to learn. Duties tend to include tacking, furling, and reefing sails, cleaning the ship (deck, the toilets, the sides of the hull, etc.), helping passengers up and down the ladders, and similar tasks.
Cook or assistant cook - day sailors donât have this, so if you want to work in the galley youâre going to have to commit to a longer cruise. Planning and preparing all meals, three times a day, for about 30 people. Often includes things like baking your own bread. might be on a wood stove or a propane stove; sometimes the stove swings to stay level and sometimes it has fiddles to keep pots from sliding off, but not always. Youâve got to be an early riser, and good at time management.
Messmate: another galley position, but this one is half-way between the galley and the deck - ideally a 3/1 ratio. Cleaning dishes, setting tables, assisting the cook on occasion with meal prep, maybe snacks and things like that, as well as small things on deck like tacking sails. A lot of that is on you, however - go bug deck crew to teach you if thatâs where you want to be.
Life on a windjammer/General things to know
Pack practically. I really canât emphasize this enough. Youâll have a few days off but youâre not going to have the energy to get into nice clothes and honestly youâre going to be covered in paint dust/anchor grease/pine tar/whatever the fuck anyway. You really wonât have any use for anything besides working clothes and mayyyyyybe one nice outfit to remind you that there were better days, once. Bring clothes that you can burn at the end of the season, because theyâre not going to be wearable in public.
Get a pair of work pants - Carharts, Dickies, doesnât matter - as long as theyâre tough as hell and have a lot of pockets. Youâre also gonna want to have a leatherman, or ideally a rig knife/marlinspike set (cutting lines, tightening and undoing knots, etc. are things youâll find yourself doing frequently).
Learn how to tie a bowline, a cleat, and a rolling hitch. You can learn everything fancier, but these are the three youâll be using the most.
Just...give up on ever feeling clean. Life is easier that way. You can get a shower and wash laundry on land, but while on board itâs lucky to have hot water, and youâll still be washing your hair in a swimsuit, on deck, with dish soap. Embrace it, bring deodorant, go swimming in the ocean.
Some really weird jobs are going to be given to you. Sailing, cleaning, whatever, all in a dayâs work. Rubbing down all seventy feet of the main mast with Vaseline while being belayed down on a swing also covered in Vaseline...a bit out of left field. Windjamming is basically an endless string of crises, so donât be too thrown when something goes wrong.
Ideally youâre reasonably good with heights (if not, avoid ships with topsails) and donât get motion sickness. Â
Thereâs a lot of turnover - people leave all the time for all kinds of reasons, like going back to school in the fall, getting hurt, getting fired, getting overwhelmed and quitting.
Itâs a gift culture - your crew is what keeps you going, and you share what you have - people with real apartments will offer you a place to sleep and shower. People whoâve done this before will give you things youâre missing. Things like hats and books and jackets get traded and gifted a lot. Over the course of the season I gave away hand cream, a coffee mug, rides to places in my car, drawings - not much, but I didnât come with much that could be useful. I was given a rig knife, a ceramic bowl, a few books, tea, a ukulele. Share what you have and give away things someone needs and you donât.Â
Youâre going to meet a lot of weird people. Well-balanced people with 9-5 jobs who are content with their lives and like doing things like âleisurely sipping coffee in caffes while it rains outsideâ and âbathingâ donât often apply. If this is the kind of job that appeals to you, then itâs likely theyâre going to be your kind of people.
Thereâs definitely a drinking culture, but thereâs no pressure to join in, in my experience. Everyone is really chill about whether or not youâre drinking; often the local dive bar is simply the closest warm place to find people and touch base with the other schooner bums. Once in a while someone will buy everyone a pitcher to share, but this is more related to 'share what you haveâ than to âeveryone must drinkâ.
Thatâs it off the top of my head, but please feel free to message me if you have any questions! I canât promise Iâll have a good answer, but then again I might. Hope this helps!
Youâre probably definitely going to over-pack the first time you leave for a semester. A good rule of thumb for cutting down your luggage is to pack for just two weeks. Youâll usually end up with enough clothes for three, and at that point youâll hopefully be doing laundry.
Leave behind anything youâll only wear a few times. Just because you like it doesnât mean youâll wear it more overseas than you do in your everyday life stateside.
Your goal is to leave room in your one suitcase to bring back the miscellaneous bullshit youâll accumulate.
Bring two pairs of shoes: dress shoes for special occasions and nights out, and everyday shoes, which are going to get beat to hell. Iâd recommend leather boots, which generally look stylish enough to wear in a city, but can easily be waterproofed and are fairly comfortable to walk in. If they arenât, buy inserts. This is so important. Other shoes are at your discretion, but these two are not negotiable.
Shorter Trips
When it comes down to it, all you need to pack for a short trip are underwear and socks, your passport and wallet, your toothbrush, and your phone. Maybe a rain coat. Anything else, you can live without for a weekend or so. But if youâre missing any of these itâs not going to be a fun time. Trust me on this one.
Donât bring your laptop anywhere, unless youâre settling in for daily life at the destination. For short trips, theyâre useless: heavy, easily breakable, large, and easy targets for thieves. If you have a smartphone, use that instead. Even if youâre on airplane mode the entire time youâre in Europe, free Wi-Fi is easy to find.Â
In General
Buy a little padlock. You can get sets of two in Walmart for about five dollars, each lock a bit larger than a thumbnail. Keep them with you in your purse or coat. You can use them to lock your backpack in a crowd, or your checked bag on a flight, or your purse, or your hostel locker.
If you use purses or messenger bags, bring a bag with a strap long enough to wear across your chest rather than over one shoulder. Make sure the strap is too thick to be easily cut or snapped by someone sprinting past you. Your bag should be sealed with a zipper, not a flap: nothing a thief could slip their hand into while you were distracted. If there are vulnerable external pockets, only keep things in them that no one will want to steal, like pennies, pens, and tampons.
Unless youâre going to Northern Europe in winter you donât need to bring a very heavy coat. It will become dead weight as soon as the weather changes. In most of Europe, a pea coat and scarf over a few layers will keep you warm and remain useful for longer. Check average monthly temperatures for the region if youâre unsure. You should also bring a raincoat, ideally one that folds up very small.
If youâre planning a trip through Europe, Iâd really recommend you look at rail passes! Especially if youâre planning a longer trip through connected countries, this can be a great way to get around. It removes all the hassle of catching flights, allows for a lot of spontaneity, and depending on where youâre going, it can also be the cheapest option.
About two years ago I spent a month going from Istanbul to Lisbon with an Interrail Global Pass, and while the trip was by no means without flaws (some notable moments include stranding myself on the continent of Asia and that night I spent homeless in France) the pass itself was fantastic. Hereâs a rough overview, and if it sounds like itâs in your wheelhouse you should poke around their site!
Interrail is the less expensive option, and itâs only available if youâve been in Europe for more than six months. In other words, if youâre spending a year abroad you can get a cheap rail pass just in time for your spring break. The only caveat is that it wonât work in the country youâve been living in.
Eurail is for everyone else. Itâs a bit more expensive, but depending on how far youâre going and in which countries, still worth it.
Interrail/Eurail passes are really flexible: if youâre taking a commuter train, you show up at the train station, log on the pass which train youâre boarding, and then board it. Thatâs it. Thatâs the whole thing. Itâs about five hundred times less time-consuming and stressful than planes. For more exclusive trains (overnight, express, etc.) you might need reservations, but these are cheap, and easy to get either at the station or online.
A lot of ferries and buses are also free or discounted with the pass.
Thereâs three parts to the process of choosing a pass: first you decide a region. Your options are one country, two to four connected countries, or all thirty-plus in the European Union.
Secondly, you decide on a time period: one week through three months.
Thirdly, decide if you want an unlimited pass, which means you can take trains any day within the time period of the pass, or a pass with a specific number of travel days. For example, four travel days in two weeks.
Order the ticket at least a month beforehand; it can take a little while to arrive in the mail.
On the pass, there are slots to fill in the train number, time, destination, and origin. Fill it out before boarding a train.
There is a free app that works offline, and itâs amazing. If you plug in your starting point and your destination, it will show you every train or combination of trains that can get you there, along with duration, times, and whether or not it needs a reservation fee.
The map they mail with your ticket shows every train route in Europe, as well as the buses and ferries included or discounted with the pass. Everything is color-coded to show commuter trains, scenic routes, express routes, and overnight routes. On the flip side it details all the discounts for non-train transportation.
Some trains require a reservation fee, even if you donât have to buy an actual ticket. Itâs common for more exclusive trains, such as overnight trains and high speed trains. Spain is the only country I know for a fact requires a reservation for commuter trains (if I remember correctly, the fee is âŹ10). If youâre unsure, look it up.
Airbnb lets you filter results by public room (e.g. living room), private room, and private apartment.
Because theyâre peopleâs homes, AirBnB rentals are all over the map rather than being specifically centrally located.
Renting a whole apartment can be the cheapest, best option if youâre with a group of people! You can split the cost and have a whole apartment to yourselves. On your own, itâs not nearly as affordable.
Read the reviews, if there are any.
AirBnB can be cheap, but it tends to be on the pricier side, especially if youâre traveling alone. On the flip side, the accommodation youâll find on here is much homier than most hostels, often more private, and feels more secure.
Like couchsurfing, this usually offers more privacy and solitude, but less of a chance to meet other backpackers.
Because itâs a financial transaction, thereâs no obligation for you and the host to socialize, although obviously still be polite, and always leave a review after your stay.
Itâs exactly the same as couchsurfing, except you pay money for it and youâre less likely to hang out with the host.
The most common concern I hear about couchsurfing is a legitimate one. Youâre staying with a total stranger; how can you trust them? And at the end of the day it is a leap of faith. But if you read the reviews and the personal profile of the host, you can get a much better idea of what youâre going into. Remember that theyâre giving a total stranger the keys to their house. At its core, couchsurfing is about faith in other people: that theyâre basically good, and interesting, and worth knowing and helping.
Not going to lie; itâs much harder to find a host as a guy, and youâre going to find a lot of hosts who only accept female guests (with male hosts, this occasionally goes hand in hand with things like âby the way Iâm a nudist, and in order for me to feel comfortable in my own home you also need to be nude, and by the way I like to snuggleâ. JustâŠclose the tab). In general, the people who accept all genders are less sketchy, and I think theyâve got a better sense of the spirit of the thing.
On the website, ignore whether someone is verified or not; it just means theyâre paying a fee every month to the website. What you need to look at are the references â the more and the more positive, the better. Again, look for reviews from people like you (especially if youâre a college girl traveling alone).
Couchsurfing, like AirBnB, has filters for public rooms and private rooms, as well as smoking/nonsmoking, male or female hosts, and several others.
Itâs polite to bring a small gift to your host. Even a key chain or a post card shows youâre thinking of them. Iâve brought soaps, drawings, and origami in the past. I met a woman whose guest brought her a yellow spoon, which she genuinely cherished several years later. As long as it has a fun story behind it, you can bring just about anything.
Read both the profile of the potential host and the description of the accommodation, to make sure the location, rules, etc. suit your needs, and that you would get along with the host themselves.
Personalize your message to potential hosts. The hosts are doing this entirely out of the joy of meeting new travelers and a sense of hospitality. Because itâs not financial, finding a host is based more on whether you, personally, seem like someone theyâd enjoy meeting and would trust to visit their home.
Get in touch with a lot of people. As a general rule, only one in ten will respond, and of those, itâs entirely up to luck whether any of them are free to host you.
Couchsurfing is a really amazing way to meet locals! Iâve never had a bad experience. Hosts tend to enjoy showing you their city, or if theyâre busy, supplying you with the tools to make the most of it on your own.
Itâs expected that youâll spend at least a little time with your host. Most wonât be able to take much time out of their daily lives to show you around, but itâs polite to spend at least one meal with them. Itâs considered rude to treat their house like a hotel, without spending any time with them at all. The whole point of the site is connecting with people.
Since youâre staying for free, be prepared to help out in some other way. Cook your shared dinner, clean the dishes, buy them a round of drinks, teach them some weird skill you know. Give back.
A lot of major cities have emergency threads where you can only post within 72 hours of your visit to the city. In case something goes wrong (your hostel burns down, the AirBnB is full of cockroaches, the strange uncle youâre staying with is stubbornly nudist) and youâre facing a night homeless in a foreign city, this is one place to look.
Fill your own profile out as thoroughly as you can. When it comes does to it, itâs the host who decides if you can stay with them or not, so they need to feel comfortable with you, and vice versa. A profile that gives them a good idea of who you are helps a lot.
Because of the low rate of replies and accepted guests, message hosts three or four weeks before your trip and have a backup plan.
In Europe the cathedrals, mosques, basilicas, etc. are often the most beautiful buildings in the city. I am less familiar the attitudes of non-Christian places of worship towards visitors, but you should definitely go into every cathedral you see. Theyâre like little jewelry boxes.
Be respectful, first and foremost. Itâs someone elseâs place of worship first, and a tourist attraction second.
Make sure your shoulders and knees are covered. If youâre wearing a tank top or clothing above the knee, you will be denied entrance to many churches.
If youâre a woman and youâre going to be visiting any mosques (i.e. in Istanbul), pack a scarf to wear over your hair for the visit.
Churches are beautiful, tranquil places to sit down and have a breather away from the noise of the city, out of the sun or rain or wind. Just be quiet and respectful.
Attending a service in another language can be really interesting, although you should check beforehand to make sure youâd be welcome.
Christmas Markets
In late November through Christmas, thereâs a Christmas market in just about every European city.
The one in Strasbourg is the most famous, but theyâre all amazing.
Drink hot mulled wine, which I think is most accurately described by the amazing mollyhall as something that âsounds terrible but it tastes like being kissed RIGHT on the mouth by dionysus. right on the mouth, i swear to godâ. Thereâs nothing I can say that explains it any better than that.
Eat whatever the local holiday food is. Without fail it will be sweet and hot and probably a bit greasy.
Ride the winter Ferris wheel if they have one! Carpe the hell out of that Diem.
 Student Discounts
An enormous number of attractions, museums, and even bars have student discounts.
Even if youâre not technically an EU student, or even a student at all, a relatively recent-looking and not obviously expired student ID card will help you shave money off admission fares and the like. For example, the Acropolis in Athens is free for students.
Itâs always worth a shot.
Walking Tours
Pretty much every city has free walking tours. The quality varies, but itâs a good way to get oriented in a new city, learn a bit of history, hear some local jokes and folklore, and get some context for major tourist attractions.
To find them, ask at your hostel or Google it. They usually begin in public squares or hostel lobbies, and take an hour or two.
Itâs polite to tip the guide, but if you canât swing the âŹ5 or so at least tell them you appreciated it. They usually understand if you canât afford a tip; youâre taking a free tour, after all. Youâre clearly not rolling in cash.
Street Performers
Almost always worth stopping for. Follow the music. Youâre on vacation and if you want to stand in one place and watch an old man play an accordion for thirty minutes, the rest of the world can be damned.
If you give them money, make sure youâre not tossing out âŹ1-2 coins accidentally. As someone who hurled about âŹ7 of pocket change at a startled and joyous musician my first weekend in France, this is an easy and unfortunate mistake for Americans to make.
On the subject of spare change, keep all the euro pennies separate, because theyâre virtually worthless but thereâs always a fountain to throw coins into for luck.
Viewpoints
Even if you donât have a head for heights, I think one of the best things to do in a city is to find high ground. It could be a bell tower or a ferris wheel or just a normal hill, but seeing a city from above is always beautiful, and a great way to mentally orient yourself in a new place.
Europe is so serious about trains, you guys: commuter, high speed, scenic, overnight, express⊠Theyâre one of the most common ways to get city to city. Honestly, itâs my favorite way to travel.
They go everywhere. There are towns you canât reach by car, but a train blows through them every twenty minutes.
You often have amazing views of the countryside.
Theyâre comfortable: compared to planes, buses, or cars, trains have a lot of legroom, and if you need to move you can get up and walk around.
Some of the better trains have cafes and dining cars and things. Itâs all very romantic. Sometimes theyâre double-decked! This delights me beyond words.
Boarding is virtually effortless. You show up, buy your ticket, validate the ticket, and step onto the train. Sometimes a conductor comes along to punch the ticket, while you lean back and watch the countryside go by.
Overnight trains are great; you wake up well rested in a new city.
Rail passes pretty much always give you your moneyâs worth and more.
On the flip side, trains can be expensive. Spainâs commuter trains average âŹ100 between big cities. On the other hand, Italy and Portugal have dirt cheap commuter trains. Prices varies pretty wildly by county, and by train type, and by company.
The speed also varies: commuter trains are pretty slow, although usually still faster than buses. High speed and express trains are typically quite a lot faster than driving would be, but more expensive.
Some countries, like France and Italy, require that you validate your ticket at machines by the train quays before boarding. If you donât do this, the fines can be steep. If you arenât sure itâs required, look it up beforehand.
Hostels are basically cheap hotels where you rent a bed rather than a whole room. Theyâre also the nerve centers of the backpacking community, and if you do any traveling in Europe youâre eventually going to be spending a few nights in one. Two useful sites are Hostelworld and Hostelbookers.
When youâre searching for a hostel, read the reviews. In particular, look for two things. The first thing is reviews written by travelers like you: âsolo female backpackerâ, âmixed group of college studentsâ, etc.
The second thing to look for in reviews is the word âbedbugsâ. If you see that, fuck right off.
The ideal hostel has a kitchen, and is located within walking distance of the city center. A location near a bus/metro stop or other transportation center is fine too, but make sure you know when transportation shuts down for the night and starts up in the morning.
Hostels are usually pretty cheap. Theyâre always cheaper than a hotel, and usually cheaper than Airbnb. The typical price range for a bed in a dorm is âŹ10-20 a night (although this changes depending on whether itâs high or low season, a weekend or weekday, a big room or a small one, etc.)
The guests tends to be largely college-aged and friendly. Itâs not uncommon for groups of strangers to spontaneously go see attractions together, or go out drinking. This is a great way to see nightlife if you donât want to go alone! Just make sure youâre reasonably comfortable with the people youâre with, and that you know your way back, or at least have the hostel address written down.
Hostels are good if youâre traveling alone and want to socialize; stay in the kitchen or common room. But theyâre also good if youâre traveling solo and just want to be left alone, goddammit. If youâre on your bunk in the dorm, most of the time no one will bother you.
Iâve never personally had a bad experience in a hostel, barring the one time I ended up accidentally watching The Ring in Budapest with forty Russian girls (and this was bad less because of the situation and more because I cannot handle horror - I was diagnosed with insomnia when I was a teenager because I was too embarrassed to tell the doctor that the PG13 Scary Movie 3 was the reason I pretty much hadnât slept for three months). Just keep your expectations low. Itâs not a hotel, itâs a roof over your head and a clean bed and a safe place to store your bags. Sometimes they can be genuinely luxurious, but donât expect anything special.
Rooms are sorted by number of beds (usually 4 to 16), mixed or female-only, public or en suite bathroom, and public or private room. Donât book private rooms; itâs not worth the money. I usually stay in the largest mixed dorms, and although I realize this isnât for everyone, as a single female traveler I have never had a bad experience. Regardless, many hostels have female-only dorms, which I know makes some people feel much more comfortable.
The workers at a hostel are often travelers themselves! Theyâre great resources if you want advice on what to do in the city, where to get a really good meal, and things to see off the beaten track.
Who youâre sharing a room with is a grab bag. They might snore, or leave/arrive early in the morning, or have their stuff spread around half the room, or start fucking on the bunk above you. On the other hand they could be silent, sweet, and polite.
If youâre a light sleeper, bring earplugs. Even if your roommates are quite, hostels in the city center can have a lot of ambient city noise.
Because youâre sharing a room with strangers, security is a concern. Iâve never had anything stolen, but itâs always worth being paranoid. Many hotels provide lockers; if you have a small padlock you can lock up anything worth stealing overnight. If thereâs no locker, put your valuables in your purse and use it like a pillow.
Some cities have a guest tax (Rome charges âŹ3 a night) that wonât be included on the booking service, and has to be paid on arrival.
What you do about your phone depends on how long youâre there.
For short trips, just keep your phone on airplane mode. Youâll have Wi-Fi often enough to check in, and you donât want to pay roaming fees.
If youâre in Europe for longer than a week or two, you have two options. The first is to get a new European SIM card. I donât know much about this, or about how it works country to country, but I do have some friends who really wanted to be able to use their iPhone like a phone rather than a glorified iPod, and that seemed to work for them.
The second option is to keep your smartphone on airplane mode and use it when you have Wi-Fi, and to buy a second phone for emergency calls and texting European friends. A cheap flip phone wonât put you back much; you can load it up with a few euros and use it for whatever your airplane-mode smartphone canât do.
A third option is to download an app like Whatsapp or Viber, which lets you call or text other users of the app for free, as long as you both have Wi-Fi (Thanks, aknowledgeseeker!)
Wi-fi
Itâs pretty easy to find free Wi-Fi in most European cities. Some places to find it on the go:
Wherever youâre staying: hostels, Airbnbs, couchsurfing hosts. Itâs extremely rare these days to find accommodation that doesnât offer it.
City centers: some cities, such as Florence, are beginning to offer a free wifi connection throughout the historical center. All you need to access it is an email.
Banks/Money
Accessing money abroad can be irritating. I donât have to tell you this, probably.
If youâre on a short trip, just withdraw cash from ATMS and stick to that. Some banks, like Bangor Savings, will refund international ATM fees if the machine puts them through separately.
Some places wonât accept US cards without chips; cash is the most likely to be accepted, and in some countries preferred. Â
If youâre in Europe for a longer period of time, look into bank accounts. Many countries wonât allow you to open a bank account until youâve lived there for a certain number of months, but if youâre studying abroad, your host university might have an agreement worked out with a local bank.
If you can open an account, keep in mind when moving money into it that many banks charge a fee for sending and receiving wire transfers. Depending on the cost, you might be better off withdrawing cash from an ATM and depositing that.
Tell your home bank where youâre going so they donât shut off your card.
If you get a local bank card, tell that bank where youâre going if you plan to leave the country. A debit card it preferable to cash, but only if it works.
Maps
Your options are physical and electronic maps. Use them both.
You can get physical maps for free in airports, hostels, and tourist information centers. Theyâll be pretty shitty, to be honest. Theyâll probably have blocky illustrations of tourist hot spots which may or may not be facing in the right direction. A lot of small streets will be left nameless or not included at all. Nevertheless, these are good for orienting yourself, keeping as souvenirs, and jabbing a finger at when you need directions and canât speak a language.
My favorite thing about physical maps is that other people can write all over them. I have a map of Rome where the Vatican is covered up by a drunk Texanâs directions to a gellateria you canât find on google maps. That shitâs worth more than gold.
My favorite phone map is an offline app called Free City Maps/City maps 2 Go, which allows you to download a complete map of a city or region. It comes with information about most of the shops and attractions, shows you where in the city you are at all times whether or not you have service/WiFi, and gives you distances between your current location and wherever you want to go. Uses significantly less battery life than Google Maps, doesnât disappear when you close the app, and also lets you drop stars everywhere in the city you want to go or remember. My favorite part of the app is that it lets you add notes to your stars, so you can remind yourself that this is where you got the killer gelato, for example.
If the above isnât an option, but you have a smartphone and Google Maps, load a map of the city while you have Wi-Fi. Load the entire city, zooming in until all the streets have names, and leave the app open (battery permitting). Once you leave Wi-Fi, you canât load any more of the map, but the blue dot that is you will move around the map to show where you are. I believe this is because of satellites and GPS, but my grasp of technology is admittedly shaky. Regardless, youâll be able to see exactly where you are and often which direction youâre facing.
If you load Google Maps, drop pins or add stars to locations you want to visit, to tell more easily if youâre in the right area and going the right direction. It makes finding specific small businesses easier.
Currency and Cash
Youâre going to have more types of currency than is convenient or useful.
Youâre always going to lose out in the conversion. Even if the rates favor you, the commission that moneychangers charge will not. Because of this, try not to convert the same money multiple times. Fortunately, in the Eurozone, you donât nee to worry so much about this.
You can always find currency exchanges in airports, and generally in city centers. If you have rarer currency, like Icelandic Krona, airports are more likely to accept it.
Keep the smallest, virtually worthless coins in a separate pocket to throw into fountains for good luck.
Crime
Donât ever keep valuables in your back pockets. Because your front pockets probably arenât sealed Iâd say avoid that too. Same goes for open coat pockets, especially because theyâre not up against your skin. Try to keep valuables in a safe purse, or in the inside pocket of a coat.
Be extremely wary in crowds, where youâre being jostled around and might not feel someone getting at your belongings.
Be cautious at street performances and other situations that may be intended to distract you.
Probably goes without saying, but never leave your bag unattended.
If you travel alone, have a fuck-off walk. Look like you know where youâre going and have people waiting for you. Youâre much more likely to be targeted if you seem uncertain, lost, or just uncomfortable.
If you know a language thatâs rarely spoken in the area youâre visiting, you can use that to dodge out of conversations with particularly insistent hawkers. It doesnât take much Swedish for them to realize they canât communicate with you.
This is terrible advice, but especially for short trips, remember: you donât have to be healthy, you just shouldnât be hungry.
Cook for yourself. Make sure your accommodation has a kitchen you can use. Youâll save so much money.
Pasta and rice are very cheap, very filling, and travel well. Both can be fancied up with whatever sauces or vegetables you can afford. Canned beans are cheap, good protein.
For food during the day, or if youâre staying somewhere you canât cook, bread is easy to find in corner stores, very inexpensive, often vegan, and goes well with just about everything (cheese or sausage and a bottle of wine is a proper picnic). Try to buy small baguettes; large ones go stale before you can finish them. Cereal bars are also filling and easy to travel with.
Apples and bananas travel well, last a while, and can be taken anywhere. Youâll see a lot of small fruit stores open in the early morning. In the spring, at least in Athens and Lisbon, you can find strawberry vendors selling the bruised strawberries for âŹ1/kilo.
Tap water is almost always safe to drink in Europe. In several cities, there are public drinking fountains in the streets that draw on the fresh springs below the city. Rome in particular has a lot of these. Put your finger over the mouth of the spigot to make it come out the small hole on the top like a drinking fountain.
Many couchsurfing hosts will feed you at least one meal, although theyâre not in any way obligated to.
Many hostels have a free food bin full of things previous residents have left behind. You can find a lot of pasta and rice, usually some condiments and spices, and often treats like cookies. Some hostels also offer free breakfasts or evening snacks. If you can, hoard that shit. It literally kept me alive the week I went to Ireland and forgot to bring any money with me.
If youâre vegetarian or vegan, cooking for yourself is going to be the easiest way to make sure everything youâre eating is safe. Most food packaging in Europe bolds the ingredients that could be allergens, such as milk and eggs, making it easy to scan for things you canât eat even with the language barriers.
Eating Out
Even if you canât afford it often, try the local food wherever you go. Itâs such a huge part of every culture. For the widest spread of traditional foods, Iâd recommend that at the very least you try a street food, a pastry, and a drink. Sweet or savory, snack or meal, coffee or tea or alcohol: doesnât matter. Do some research and figure out what seems worth the money.
It can be difficult to find restaurants that are specifically vegan or vegetarian, but in many countries there are vegan or vegetarian options available. In Italy, for example, you can order pizza marinara, which is pizza without cheese: just flatbread and tomato sauce and whatever other toppings you want. With a bit of research you should be able to figure out some options to look for in most cities.
Some people are able to hurl themselves blindly into the unknown. I am not one of them, so here are some websites Iâve found invaluable.
Discount airlines (Ryanair, Wizzair, Wow Air, Easyjet): most of them have flexible date options showing the cheapest days for flights. Wow Air can get you across the Atlantic (Boston-Rekjavik-Destination) for as low as $160, and the others have flights around Europe from about âŹ15.
Skyscanner: the only flight search engine I know that includes discount flights. Also lets you scan an entire month for flight prices.
Student Universe: a flight search engine that finds student fares for flights. It doesnât include discount flights, but it does have a useful date grid showing the cheapest dates for round trip or one-way flights within a week.
Eurail: the Eurail Pass site, with all the maps and pass types and rules.
Drungli: the flight search to use if youâre feeling spontaneous. You tell it when youâre going or where youâre going, but not both. It will find you the cheapest tickets for that destination or date. This is the âI guess Iâm going to Estonia this Fridayâ website.
Hostelbookers and Hostelworld: the best websites for finding and booking hostels. Both have extensive databases of hostels, a lot of useful filters, and good review systems. Hostelbookers, in my experience, finds better deals. Hostelworld is a bit easier to use.
Couchsurfing: The couchsurfing website. You donât need a profile to browse peopleâs profiles and reviews, but you do need one to see the descriptions of their homes. Signing up is free. If you do make a profile, fill it out as thoroughly as you can.
AirBnB: You donât need an account to browse, but I believe you need one to make a booking. Signing up is free. It has a really useful map with a price slider you can adjust; only rooms within your chosen price range are visible on the map of the city.
Rome 2 Rio: An amazing A to B website. When you plug in where you are and where you want to end up, it shows you all the possible ways to get from one to the other. In the sidebar it lists options using every available combination of train, plane, bus, taxi, and ferry, as well as estimated times, distances, and prices. Invaluable for planning a trip. Not a booking website, but it can help you get some idea of your options, and the time you should expect to spend traveling.
Wikitravel: the most comprehensive travel guide youâll ever find. Although it can be dry, it has articles for pretty much anywhere you could hope to go. It has the usual travel guide items like descriptions of culturally significant attractions and dishes, but it also has everything else youâll ever need. For each city, it will tell you how to get to and from the airport, how to use the public transportation system, what scams to look out for, what behaviors locals find rude, local attitudes towards LGBTQ people, activities and cultural events off the beaten path, advice for attending school or finding work, and a brief history of the city and its regions. It has everything.
Who To Tip: an index of when and how much tipping is expected, broken down by country. If, like me, youâre terrified of insulting your nice waiter by tipping them (or not tipping them), this is a good website to have before you eat out in any new country.
Google Translate: wherever youâre going, try to memorize hello, please, thank you, help, and excuse me in the local language. It will let you mumble through a shocking amount of crowds, admissions, and restaurants. In most countries, the locals will appreciate it.
Workaway: A great option if you want to stay in a city or country for longer than just a few days, Workaway connects you with businesses looking for volunteers. In exchange for what is usually about 20 hours/week, you get free accommodation and often meals (what you work and what you receive vary by host). The jobs vary from hostels to farms to private yachts. I prefer this to WWOOF, because the review system and profile give a better idea of what to expect. Just two things: there is a $30 fee for a 2-year account, and for legal purposes technically it is âadventure tourismâ rather than a job.
