Shipping companies travel nearly everywhere. Photo by Josh Sullivan.
Ever wonder if it were possible to travel by cargo ship? Here’s how.
I have always wanted a collection of brown leather trunks with brightly colored stickers from all the world’s corners. They remind me of travelers in the early 1900s who spent days on the ocean in order to reach their destinations. Back then, arriving at the destination was as much a part of the trip as the destination itself.
So when I needed to get from Guadeloupe in the Caribbean to France I asked myself, “is it still possible to travel by boat?” A few months later I was on a CMA-CGM cargo ship headed from Pointe-à-Pitre to Dunkerque.
My nine days on the Atlantic included gourmet French food, duty-free Porto and hours spent mesmerized by the blinking lights of the GPS. Yes, you can definitely still travel to many locations in the world by boat.
Here are some pointers for researching and planning your own adventure on the high seas:
1. What exactly is traveling by Cargo Ship?
Most of the major global shipping lines CMA-CGM, Canada Maritime, and Bank Line offer paying passengers to hop on one of their lines. As a paying passenger you are accommodated in guest cabins and have access to most areas of the ship.
Captains and crew spend a lot of time on the water, and they are usually happy to have a fresh face walking around their workplace, meaning that they may even invite you to eat with them, give you tours of the ship and maybe even have you over for an Officer’s happy hour.
2. Where can I go?
You can travel almost anywhere by cargo ship.
The global shipping industry is huge, and many ports like New York, Shanghai, Los Angeles, and Sydney welcome several ships everyday.
Just think: anywhere global commodities are shipped are places that you can disembark and spend time soaking up the local culture before re-boarding.
Shipping companies have certain lines covering specific routes, and many of them will allow you to buy a ticket for one of these lines and disembark and board as you please as long as there is a ship leaving on your chosen day.
This is often how round the world routes work: book your freighter ticket and then plan in a few weeks in every major port. With freighters, the possibilities for your adventure are almost endless. Just think: anywhere global commodities are shipped are places that you can disembark and spend time soaking up the local culture before re-boarding.
3. What will it cost?
A common misconception is that if you are willing to spend an extended amount of time on open water you can score an inexpensive mode of transportation to your next travel destination.
Although there are possibilities to work on boats, traveling as a passenger is in fact more expensive than your average airfare. But before you scoff at the price – plan on an average price of $80-140/day – consider this: your ticket pays for room, meals, and a plethora of experiences that cannot be had anywhere else.
4. Life on a ship
As a passenger you are surrounded by the everyday life of the vessel and her crew. Schedules revolve around mealtimes, which can be extravagant events depending on the chef.
If you are a gourmet traveler, consider traveling with one of the French companies which are known for their high quality cuisine and table wine.
Besides meals, the rest of the day is spent as you please. Make your way up to the bridge and chat with the captain about sea navigation or schedule a tour with the head mechanic to see the vessel’s impressive technical insides.
You will quickly find that the freighter environment is a rough but enjoyable one; think lots of steel and salt water. Before the evening meal, meet for a pre-dinner drink with your co-passengers in the guest lounge area and discuss the events of the day.
You may think that a week on open water can give you a case of cabin fever, but a slower pace of life can be much welcomed and enjoyable.
5. Planning
So you’ve decided that freighter travel is for you, what now? Do your internet research, there are several websites maintained by individuals seduced by traveling on the high seas with great tips and long lists of different routes around the world.
Go to the websites of the freighter companies and send them an email asking about passenger fares. Another option is travel agencies that specialize in freighter travel like A la Carte Freighter Travel based in Montreal.
Some helpful websites to get you started:
www.hamburgsued-frachtschiffreisen.de
>www.cma-cgm.com
www.geocities.com/freighterman.geo
About the Author
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50 Comments... join the discussion!
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I wondered about this a couple of years when trying to get from London to Australia without air travel. In the end I made it to Hong Kong and flew the rest of the way.
Wish I’d known how easy this could have been!↵ -
Wow…I love it!
I’ve always wondered about if this is possible and how to pull it off. Definitely on my list now
Ross
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My boyfriend and I did serious research into traveling by freighter from Mombasa (Kenya) to Mumbai (India). Unfortunately, we were often turned away at the door; most of the shipping lines we talked to said that because of the USA’s increased “anti-terrorist regulations,” there was all sorts of red tape about allowing regular passengers on cargo ships. Is this actually true, or was it just a ruse to get us to bugger off?? (There were a few lines who did say they could take passengers, but yes–it was $100 per day per person, on average–sadly above our budget…)
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Great, the author has given a few tips that are good. This is the first time I am gonna adventure in the sea.
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Great to see there are still freighters taking on passengers.
Have been dreaming about such a trip.
We would like to go to Japan from Seattle (Washington state) in the near future.
Do you or anyone on the list know any freighters which make that trip? Names and/or contact details would be very welcome.
Thanks and cheers,
Babs & Yoshi↵ -
I’ve always wanted to do this and I want to one day. This is such great advice
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Babs & Yoshi,
Contact Freighter World http://www.freighterworld.com/. They show on their website a trip from Seattle to Japan round trip is 35 days.↵ -
is it possible to work on the cargo ship in order to make the traveling expense less?
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Joe-
I am not sure about working on cargo ships as normally they require specially trained crews. I do however know of several people who crossed the Atlantic working on cruise ships and/or large sailboats. These boats were traveling to the Caribbean and traveled with crews who worked to do basic maintenance and get the boats clean again before they had another set of paying passengers on board.
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Are there any options for rougher accomodations, I mean I saw the pictures of some cabins and its way to fancy for someone like me. All I need is a little corner and a hammock. Is it possible to find something like that or is it just not in demand enough to exist.
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We are a family into our 3rd year of an open ended world tour and freighter ships are one of our favorite modes of travel. We travel mostly overland ,but using a ship like this can really save us some time and money.
We have used every means of transportation on 4 continents & 29 countries so far, but travel mostly by RV, so this is a great way for us to move our vehicle to a new place.
Our favorite one was a new ship from UK to Sweden and there were only 3 other passengers besides us. Just watching the ships load up the freight is an awesome thing to watch and any little boy’s dream. My daughter ( who was 5 when we began and 8 now) looooves this mode of travel and the little pull down bunk beds in our room, food with the crew and watching the sea as we go!
There are also many huge ferry ships that are similar & we have taken them from Barcelona to Rome overnight, Venice to Athens, Bari to Croatia, France to Ireland , Rhodes to Turkey, Spain to Morocco, around the Greek Islands etc. On those, Erik you can pay much less by not buying a cabin.
We have known people who have driven cars or RV’s around the world, so they often use this method to take short cuts over seas. It is a wonderful way to travel and much easier than most people realize!
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Amazing your story. really inspired since i love boat travelling, and this opens my mind and my options while travelling. thnk you for sharing your story again!!
atte,
gratefull traveller
mariana calleja ross
san jos, costa ricamacazzus@gmail.com
mcallejaross@gmail.com↵ -
We enjoyed reading your comments. We’re in California at the moment and next year will be heading “home” to the UK, after a trip (by RV) around the last few places we haven’t quite managed to get to yet in the ten years we’ve been here. We plan to end up in eastern Canada and thought we’d ship the RV and Toad from there, then take a freighter back to Europe. Your posting had us thinking about how great it would be to travel on the same ship at the RV/car, so we’d have transport to and from the docks at each end.
So these questions are about how you travelled with your RV. Do you have any recommendations for shipping lines which are likely to be more RV-friendly than others? How did you manage to find which lines would take both the RV and passengers? I’ve had enough trouble finding just a passenger freighter from Canada to the UK, let alone asking them to find space for the RV. Any other suggestions which might help us?
Thanks
Jon and Lynda
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Well, that can be one hack of an adventure. But very dangerous, I wouldn’t risk it.
Expenses lower, but risk much higher, longer time, no refunds, no entertainment, not to mention seasickness…↵ -
I definitely recommend it as a great way to travel. I took a container ship from Singapore to Brisbane, taking 10 days to sail through the Indonesian islands, past an erupting volcano, racing dolphins and flying fish and finally navigating the Great Barrier Reef. I got to meet a fantastic crew and saw a side of life that we would otherwise have missed, watching hundreds of containers carrying all the clothes, white goods and TVs that we take for granted transported between continents.
I wrote about it in my travelblog here if you want to read more: http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/blog-141636.html
Happy travels!↵ -
I would never have thought to travel by cargo ship. It would be a different travel experience. I could understand why some people would be apprehensive about traveling via cargo ship. Sea-sickness, different environment, not knowing what to expect, etc…It would be an adventure of a lifetime. Thanks for sharing.
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Did this when I was a young(ish) 28 year old. I managed to defray the cost of the trip by providing English lessons (yes, I’m qualified to do that, EFL, etc) for most of the crews with whom I travelled. Other people I’ve known have also offered ’soft’ skills such as massage, IT training, etc as ways of getting passage. Might be worth looking into… ps always know where your towel is.
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Someone wants entertainment? Maybe the deck hands can break into a song and dance. LOL
But on a more serious note – do they have WiFi?
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Hi,please let me know if i will go from delhi x place, how can i check the fare ?
if any website is there, then please let mw know?
+919971577630↵ -
I was so happy to find this article after thinking about freight travel for over a year. Thank you for the information, but I’m sad to say my hopes fell when I read that prices are not dirt cheap, which is what I was imagining. Exactly, imagining. Maybe I can wash dishes my way around the world on these ships.
From Sunny Florida
Jim↵ -
Yeah, too bad it’s so pricey, huh.
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Thats exactly what me and my buddy wanted to do. Some chores around the ship so they give us a good deal.
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Very tempted to try this
Now have to go consult my wife to find out if we can scrap enough finance↵ -
Im costarican and i want to travel back from amsterdam by freight (sounds cool)
how can i know which one is the best
or how?
or how cheep?
im on a tight budget
thanx for the help guys!!
incredible article!!↵ -
In 1978 after i finished college and was immigrating to Israel w/a lot of luggage, I took a Yugoslavian freight ship (Yugolinia) from PA to Rijeka, Yugolslavia, via Fernandina Beach, FL, Marseille, France, Savona, Italy, Thessaloniki, Greece & Split, Yugoslavia! It was cheap, the “10-day voyage” hauling paper pulp took 3 months (in large measure because every time it rained we had to drop anchor), and I had a BLAST! Booze & cigs were CHEAP, my shared berth was darling, food was fine, crew was fun, & I got a crash course in East European politics, to see the Phillip of Macedonia Gold Exhibition in Thessaloniki, & enjoy a truly memorable pasta w/walnut sauce in Savona!! There were only about 17 passengers, as I recall, mostly retired folks w/plenty of time (inc. a former showgirl named Vaudis Vestal), plus a family moving to Spain, a PhD candidate on her way to Italy (who was my berth-mate and became a good friend), and I! I still recall several hillarious evenings spent making costumes out of our bed sheets & singing “King Tut”… I heartily recommend it for the flexible!
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hi, I was wondering what the cabins are like, my family live in mexico, and I live in england with my gran, and she would love to visit them, but she is a bit claustrophobic, which means she can’t travel by air, so could someone please tell me if the cabins are really enclosed?
thanksxxxx
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Hi Ana,
The cabin I was in had 2 bunk beds with a desk, sofa and ensuite shower room/toilet. It had one forward-facing window, so it didn’t feel enclosed at all, although potentially the view could be blocked by containers. When I booked my passage I was offered a number of rooms, some of them with normal (non-bunk) beds – I went for the budget option
The only slightly claustrophobic thing was moving between floors – there can be a lot of climbing and descending steep stairways.
Hope this helps. Feel free to message me on my blog (listed a few comments above) if you have any other questions.
Andy
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thank you so much!!! i am thinking of travelling by cargo ship so I search the internet!!! thank you so much for your advice because I don’t know wher to begin! I want to travel from UK to Vietnam, do u think it will be difficult? a long distance!
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i thing it can be very wonderful journey by cargo ship. when i read your this blog i thing to to travel by cargo ship in near future once for experience of cargo ship travel
thanks for very informative blog↵ -
Wow, I never thought to take a trip on a cargo ship. What a great idea. i am going to have to look into this a little more. Thanks for the resources at the bottom of the post of the websites to look into.
Lord Out!
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i thing travelling by cargo ship is one of the best way to travel. it offer not only intertentment but also offer experience. i hope i will start my journey next year on october by cargo ship
thanks for making this nice blog↵ -
Amazing! Ever since meeting a couple who’d traveled to Ghana from northern Europe on a cargo ship, I’ve been wondering about this. Thanks, great article, I’m bookmarking it in my travel folder.
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Thanks so much! I always wanted to do that one day but had no idea where to start looking or if the crew’s ship would start laughing in my face…
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My aunt did this from Shanghai to LA. She had tiny quarters and limited food – but said it was a serene experience. Her advice: bring a lot of books and extra food (if they let you).
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I am a single dad of a seven year old, unemployed since march because i had to take on full time care of my child. Being of limited funds i am still keen to show my child that a great deal can be acheived if imagination is used. Taking an affordable sea journey aboard a working ship would suit her curiousity and outgoing personality perfectly. I have no doubt that she will be firm friends with all crew within hours and suspect that the engine room personnel will become particularly targeted. I would appreciate any advice on how to give “our kid” this opportunity, on a budget and out of the UK. My thanks. James.
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like a lot of people I wonder if it is possible to do this cheaply..I’ve been thinking bout going to oz in this way for some time…just need a place to put my sleeping bag..whats the chance? Or is it possible to get the train to India and then get to australia from there somehow—any comments welcomed…joy
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Hi i am Sean and i am widowed and i have always been interested in travelling by cargo ship.I am a toolmaker,fitter and turner ,welder and i do most engineering duties and i am only 44 years old and i have this incredible urge to just pack up and leave Cape Town south africa for a few years and i am wondering if there is someone out there to give me some advice on how i could achieve this dream of mine.
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how nice it would be if it is cheaper than $100USD per day
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If you REALLY want to see the world.. do it in your own sailboat. We just finished a 33,000 mile, 5.5 year trip. You really get off the beaten track, visit remote villages that have rarely seen tourists, like alone ships.
The best part.. every night you get to go home to your own bed. While we were in BoraBora we anchored for free.. blocking the views of $1000 a night rooms.
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I cant think of a worse way to travel and what a complete waste of money. The only way to travel on the water is in a fancy cruise liner.
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looking for way to travel from greece to canada by cargo ship and with my pets, dogs and cats, can you help me,
vicky↵ -
i want to travel to australia on a cargo ship but its too expensive… a few decades ago you could join and work und travel for free… but these times are gone!
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what an amazing idea. haven’t people been doing since the invention of cargo boats?
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I would like to see more information about working on a freighter to get where you would like to go. I understand that many of the positions would be for skilled people but don’t they need extra deck hands? There has to be someone out there who has done this. If I have to be the first, I will look into it.
Cheers
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Thanks for the great article. I travelled by cargo ship between Australia and NZ and it was a wonderful experience. I wrote some tips of my own here: http://travellingtwo.com/resources/cargoship
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Hi Can anyone help me with regard to info, need to go to Florida or nearest port from Southampton or Tilbury need to stay in florida for about ten days then travel back to UK via same route, don’t necessary want cruise ship, but no flying.
Thanks
Lin↵ -
Hi Lin,
You might like to try these 2 freighter companies to see if they can help – it would be worth asking. I’ve found them useful in the past:
http://www.freightertravel.co.nz/
http://www.globoship.ch/
Cheers,
Andy↵ -
Hi Thanks Andy will give it a shot
Cheers
Lin↵ -
Hi Josh,
Taking a cargo ship to South America has always appealed to me, as I do not wish to take a long haul flight and have the time available to use slow travel.
I am now wondering what my carbon footprint would be. Would a long haul flight consume less fossil fuel?
It appears that the carbon footprint of sea travel is measured per tonne.
Its now just a matter of the ship is going anyway so its just me and my baggage its carrying. What about the weight of the cabin? It would not be required if the ship wasn’t carrying passengers.
John↵
