Afternoon all,

I'm planning a big trip through Africa - hopefully overlanding it all the way from Ethiopia to Cape Town. Then I'd like to do the same up the East coast of South America.

So I've been thinking about how to get across the Atlantic - I could do it the quick way and take a flight from Cape Town to Argentina, or I could do it the long way and take a boat. If it's realtively easy to organise, I'd rather get the boat, but I'm having trouble finding information on boats...

I've found a couple of cruises that do the trip, but they are pricey so I was wondering if anyone knew how I'd go about finding a merchant / cargo ship (if that's what they're called) to take me over instead. I'm guessing it's going to be a whole lot cheaper and could be pretty interesting in it's own right.

The other way I thought of doing this would be to crew on a yacht, so if anyone has any information about that or any other ways I haven't thought of I'd love to know.

Thanks!!

ben

Ben,

Whether or not a marine freight carrier takes on passengers depends on the company. Surprisingly, they are not necessarily the cheaper option. I've heard of some freighters/container ships charging upwards of US$100/day. However, I have heard that the accomodations are quite nice and the food usually quite good.

That being said, spending a few weeks on a freighter will be dreadfully boring, methinks. Better bring some good books!

A passenger cruise might be a better bet, even if pricey. If it were me, I would fly and spend the extra time in South America.

Again, this is all my opinion — based on secondhand knowledge. I've never done it myself.

Maybe check these guys out? http://www.freighterworld.com

For finding a yacht or something similar to temporarily work as a crew on, you may want to surf by http://www.crewfile.com/ every now and then and see what options turn up. I figure they'll be slim, but sooner or later there will be an opportunity.

Traveling by freighter is definitely not cheap. I met a girl who traveled Genoa (Italy) - Buenos Aires. It took three weeks and cost US$1300, seven years ago. She was too scared of flying to go by plane, so it was her only option to get to Patagonia.

Good luck! (Although I would have gone by plane...)

Bjørn
http://bjornfree.com/