Geurilla Camping in Europe?

Hi everyone,

I need real advise from people who have tried camping through Europe at every possible opportunity, and either succeeded or failed. I am from Montreal and I will be backpacking through Europe for 4 months begining in January. We have no problem surviving camping in the winter, but our problem is the legal aspect of camping in random locations. Is it possible to ask random people if we can sleep on their property, and will we get arrested for camping in fields?

We are avid adventurers, and would prefer avoiding hostels as much as possible.

Thanks,
Olivier

It would be too cool if someone actually managed to geurilla camp in europe. Post please!! What about sleeping on the street? Has anyone been stranded without a hostel and been forced to spend the night somewhere in the city? Stories...?

Hey,

I've had lots of close calls but somehow always managed to find a place to stay...I did some camping at a couple campgrounds, and at a massive music festival in the south of Holland, but that's about it.

I met many others though who weren't as fortunate : )

I met a guy and his sister once from Vancouver who got stuck sleeping on a bench in Barcelona. A guy walked by and took one of their bags..So the guy from Vancouver got up and pushed him around and took the theif's bag, demanding he get his bag back in return. It worked.

I met another group of Italian guys who camped out in the middle of some park in Paris. They got held up by two guys, one with a knife and one with a can of mace. They let him go through their tent because they literally didn't have anything other than camping equipment and dirty clothes. They didn't take anything and took off.

Now I've also met a bunch of people who have slept on park benches or in between buildings etc and didn't have any trouble.

But seriously, I don't recommend it. Unless you're absolutely stuck - And if that happens, make sure you're careful and safe about what you're doing.

On nights where I was stuck without accommodation I'd take advantage of my unlimited Eurail pass and hop on a night train

Thanks for the post,

Yeah I'm getting the 3 month Eurail pass, and my friend wants to try to sleep as much as possible on trains. But don't you have to pay a reservation fee that may or may not cost as much as space in a hostel?

What can I expect to pay in hostels? I've been hearing $17-$25 Euro a night. I'm planning to go to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Athens, Rome, Berlin, Dublin (in hostels that is).

Thanks for the help,
Olivier.

Those prices sound about right.

Don't get a sleeper cars in the night trains - They're super expensive! Definitely more than a hostel in most cases.

Get on the night train and then just find an empty or uncrowded compartment - You won't sleep well, but you'll save some money if that's an issue.

If you're going during the summer trains will for the most part be full..Half the time on the popular routs the night trains are packed with backpackers and its almost like a big party. So don't always count on getting some sleep