Dream

Can I spend nights in railway stations without railway ticket? Or any place that I can spend nights safely and free of charge?
Is it practical to bring my tent and sleeping bag with me while travelling in Western Europe? If I cannot find cheap accommodation, can I find a place easily to sleep in my tent?

palette

have you checked out the hostels in the various places you intend to be?

Lesli

If you are traveling on a super-tight budget, you are more likely to find helpful info on some of the "backpacker" sites.

thorntree.lonelyplanet.com

www.eurotrip.com (has discussion boards)

www.sleepinginairports.net (includes info on sleeping for free in train stations, too!)

elaine

HI look into hostels or whatever you need to, but no country will welcome someone who plans to be homeless during their visit. No, you can't sleep in train stations over night, at least not in the public areas. When you enter the country you are likely to be asked where you will be staying.

Cities don't have camp grounds, but some have camping areas outside of the city. I urge you to look into this before you go, or else to save up a bit more and postpone your trip for a while.

Dream

Yes, I will be travelling on a super-tight buget. Moreover, I would like a challenging and a little adventurous trip.
Many thanks for the recommendation.
Of course I do not intend to be a homeless vagabond. But I hear that someone stayed overnight in railway stations, so I suppose it is anyway possible.

Underhill

Tent-camping is allowed in one section of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, but there's a fee.

WillTravel

I've read that if you actually have a ticket, you can sleep in the railway station. However, I wouldn't count on not being hassled (because after all they will need to check you have a ticket while you are snoring away at 3 AM). I don't know for sure, but I think you would be an attractive target for a thief as well. I see nothing appealing about that whole scenario, to say the least.

Tenting is possible, but probably won't save much. Definitely check the forums at these sites:

http://www.bugeurope.com
http://www.guideforeurope.com
http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com
http://www.eurotrip.com/forum

Count on 15-25 Euros per night for a hostel or for camping fees, and adjust your trip budget for that. The Paris camping site is not any cheaper than hostels, if you are by yourself.

elina

Railway stations (the actual buildings with the roof on top) in big towns are usually emptied and closed by midnight. So, not possible.

crazymina

Save yourself the hassle of carrying the tent. I reckon it may become a thorn in your side. My friend carried it for months and never used it once. He would have thrown it away, but it was borrowed from a friend.

A sleeping bag may not be a bad thing to carry around. But you won't need it in hostels...they require you use their bedding to prevent bedbugs. They're useful on ferries, but that was the only place we used my friend's sleeping bag.

You can find cheap accommodation if you plan ahead a bit. Check out the boards the others mentioned...great tips there.

suze

As mentioned there are lots of websites more specifically aimed at cheap travel in Europe, including camping options, sleeping in airports, etc. No you can't sleep in a public park in Paris, for example, but I imagine there is SOMEwhere in Western Europe that you can pitch it.

Also spending a night free of charge and spending a night "safely" may well be different things.

SalB

Actually, many towns and cities in France have camp sites. There is a particularly nice one in Beaune within walking distance of the walled old town.

Sleeping in a railway station is not a good idea for many reasons, but camping in France is great fun and a way to meet other people from all over Europe.

Get the book, "Camping and Caravanning in France" that lists most camp sites in the country, including municipal campgrounds. You might want to call or fax ahead for a reservation if you are there in late July or August. On the other hand, there is nearly always a place to put a small tent.

Many, if not most, campgrounds will have a restaurant attached and there is usually some sort of little store too. Stick your tent and sleeping bag in a duffle and check it through. You can buy a hammer for the tent stakes at any French hardware store.

Check out the Lonely Planet web site mentioned above. People there are a bit more enthusiastic about camping. Europeans camp and there's no reason you can't join them.

Have fun!

suze

Isn't there be a fee at campgrounds? The post directly above is great and makes me want to pitch a tent (!) but the original poster asked about places to sleep "free of charge".

nytraveler

I frankly can;t think of anywhere in the world where you can sleep for free (except cadging from a relative) that is either legal or safe. This is a very bad set of asumptions to start out with. If you truly can;t afford to pay for even a hostel or camp site you have no business going - its a recipe for disaster.

Europe does not generally have the same sort of "homeless" problem you see in the US and vagrancy (people without a place to stay or means of support) is taken quite seriously. You are likely to be picked up by the police and - if you can;t come up with reasonable funds - summarily shipped home.

Please consut some of the backpacker sites to find out how to do this safely - and if you can;t afford it DON'T GO!

nytraveler

Sorry - hit post too soon.

If you are young, alone, dressed very casually and look as if you might be staying a while (camping equipment etc.) you are likely be questioned very closely bfore you are allowed to enter most of the european countries. You will be asked about your plans in detial, required to produce a return plane ticket, need to provide details on where you will be staying (specifiic names and addresses) and asked to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to support yourself.

(This happened to a young cousin of mine - I won;t go into the reasons, it was her own fault - and she was stuck in the airport for about 6 hours until she could demonstrate the amount of funds available to her to the satisfaction of Immigration. Otherwise they were going to put her on the first plane back to New York - at her own expense. It was a couple of years ago so I don;t remember the details - but she had to show she could access a substantial sum - in the thousands of dollars.)

WillTravel

Sweden and Norway allow some free camping under specific conditions. Consult the boards I listed for some info. However, those are not good places to go if you want to travel cheaply.

In short, it's not worth traveling without sufficient money and insurance. Having to pay with your health, safety, or your life is much more expensive in the long run.

Cobos

Actually in Norway the rules say you can pitch your tent anywhere you like in the forest or other wild areas as long as you are 150m away from private property. I beleive if you stay for more than one night and you are very close to someone (i.e just 150m) you need their permission to stay there more than one night. There are strict no campfire rules between april and september but except for that it's all free... And Oslo f. inst. has proper forests not more than 15 minutes on the tram away from the city centre.
Proper camping sites around Oslo is in the $20 a night range...

Hope this helps a bit, but as I've mentioned other places, you need to learn some tricks to survive cheaply in Norway and especially Oslo.

Cobos