70 Days of Hitchhiking without Paying for Accommodation

Since I left England, I have slept in a huge variety of places. From truck cabs to orchards, and bridges to the Eiffel Tower, they are all listed on my hitchhiking beds page.

Today I am sharing something a little more visual. A video.

This is a small collection of some of the places that I have slept on my journey. The other people in the video are people that I found along my path and invited along.

If you prefer pictures, you can also view my free-camping photo album.

By | 2014-03-10T19:13:02+00:00 August 16th, 2012|Euro Hitch 2012, Video|16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. Michael 29/05/2015 at 00:56 - Reply

    Hi Jamie,
    Which tent did you use or recommend? Looks like a smaller tent is better and easier to hide.
    Thanks

    • Michael 29/05/2015 at 01:19 - Reply

      Aha, just noticed Julian asked the exact same question! Nvm. I’ll revise my question to: were you worried about the size of your tent when you were free-camping? For example, in Canada, we have cheap but large-ish tents like this (2.13meters x 1.83meters) : http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/ventura-7ft-x-6ft-cabin-dome-tent/6000191625713

      • Jamie 29/05/2015 at 01:37 - Reply

        At 3.5kg, that tent is very heavy. I went for a cheap tent that was as lightweight and small as possible. It makes it easier to carry and easier to hide.

    • Jamie 29/05/2015 at 01:32 - Reply

      I went for the cheapest tent in my local camping store. Recently I got a slightly more expensive Vango Blade and that was a pretty awesome tent. If you have a warm sleeping bag, hammocks are my new favourite way to sleep.

  2. Julian 09/04/2015 at 17:35 - Reply

    Hi there,

    I liked this post a lot! I hitchhiked across the USA and all around California this same way, I had a good sleeping bag and a tarp to lay on, but I am interested in the tent contraption…what is the brand model? Or what should I look for? I really like the way you recorded the breakdown each morning, it says a lot and really shows how mobile you can be if you are willing to sacrifice some comforts. Sleeping outside is really the best, fresh air, stars, then morning sunshine every day – I think thats the way it should be always!

    Have you been in touch with any digital nomads? Its such a wonderful culture of people who also identify with the simplicity and beauty that comes from being location-independent – just a different flavor of vagabond really! tropicalmba.com is the best resource I have found on that.

    Cheers man!

    • Jamie 12/04/2015 at 14:58 - Reply

      A fellow hitchhiker – I love it. And your trip sounds like a lot of fun.

      My tent was the cheapest double skin tent I could find in the local outdoor store – about £30 I think. My equipment is usually dictated by cost. It was almost big enough for one person, but I slept in it with two people on multiple occasions. Recently I have come to love hammocks and see myself using hammocks more than tents in future. They are colder, but if you have a decent sleeping bag, they are so comfy, easy to set up, and cheap to buy. If you get one, do get one with a bug net built on. I find tents a bit of a pain, but when walking across Iceland with my brother, we had to use a tent as there are no trees. We got hold of a Vango Blade and it was one of the best tents I have ever had, while still being reasonably priced.

      I’ve interacted briefly with a few people online, but never looked for these digital nomad communities. I bet there are billions of wonderful stories to hear. I’ll have a look at that site.

      I’m with you – sleeping outside is a great way to live life. It makes you feel alive.

  3. Robin 02/02/2015 at 06:26 - Reply

    So amazing! After finishing a trip of my own much like this I can fully appreciate the videos I have been watching that had first inspired me to do my own hitch hiking trip. You are so inspiring! Keep being awesome! Thank you !

    • Jamie 05/02/2015 at 08:51 - Reply

      Thank you Robin, that’s fantastic – I’m glad to hear that you had your own great trip. Happy adventuring.

  4. Robin 09/11/2013 at 18:58 - Reply

    I have been following your stories for a couple months now and it never ceases to inspire me how you so independently travel the world. I am planning my first trip to Europe myself in May and planning on going about it much the same way as you have.
    I have to ask you two questions:

    How much money did you start off when you first backpacked like this?

    And where did you get your tent?

    Thank you and stay awesome.

    -Robin

    • Jamie 11/11/2013 at 08:57 - Reply

      Thanks for you support Robin. Question one: I’m not sure at all, but as I had been working in Korea, probably a couple of thousand pounds. However, I wanted to make that last as long as possible and if I was to do it again, I could stretch that even further (hitchhiking Europe was my first unorthodox solo trip so it was a whole new world to me – hence my recent 9 day hitchhike costing a total of €42 for 2 people). Question two: it was the cheapest one man tent in the sale at a local shop. I didn’t shop around.

  5. Rob 27/04/2013 at 21:32 - Reply

    What an amazing adventure and a great blog! Any scary moments? or got kicked out of any places you shouldn’t have been?

    • Jamie 28/04/2013 at 18:40 - Reply

      Thanks Rob. A couple that concerned me (mainly bad drivers), but I actually never encountered any serious problems and the one place that tried to kick me out was a train station in Milano that I was sleeping in. I got up, waited 5 minutes, then lay back down again.

  6. Ian 04/04/2013 at 21:02 - Reply

    That’s a cool adventure. Looks like you slept on some slopes, but hey beats a park bench. A tent is a good way to travel cheaply. I remember sleeping on some benches, train station floors and beaches for free. I think a few of those were times when I wished I had a tent. Even though you have to carry it a tent ads a bit of protection and usually a better slumber.

    • Jamie 05/04/2013 at 13:35 - Reply

      It was a lot of fun and one of the best feelings of freedom that I’ve ever had. After a few months of living in an apartment, I want that free lifestyle back. If you still have it, I hope you’re enjoying it.

  7. Enigma 17/08/2012 at 09:10 - Reply

    At the end of your video is Poland. So nice 🙂

    • jamie 20/08/2012 at 06:03 - Reply

      Poland is a nice country. I have been here for about ten days already and I will be staying for a few more before I move on.

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