For the adventurous cyclist, the idea of putting your bike on a cargo ship appeals in a number of ways.

You get to avoid airport stress. There are no bike boxes or worries about your trusty steed getting lost. You can continue a long journey while still being in touch with the earth’s contours and experiencing life on the high seas.

Travelling by cargo ship or freighter is still possible, despite its old-fashioned nature, but it’s not the easiest type of travel to get information on. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Forget about working. Paying your way across the ocean on a cargo ship by working is not an option anymore because of insurance and union regulations. If you want to work, try crewing on a private yacht.
2. Plan far ahead. Cargo ships typically have only a few berths and the most popular routes or ones with few ships travelling them may be booked up months ahead. We asked in September about a sailing in May, only to find it was full - eight months before departure!
3. Examine routes before you leave. If you arrive in Southeast Asia hoping to find a ship to Australia you’ll be disappointed. Ships no longer carry passengers on this voyage because of tightening regulations following the September 11th attacks.
4. Ask about visas. You may not need a visa to fly into the U.S.A. but you will need one to arrive by ship, unless you are Canadian.
5. Save up some cash. Freighter trips aren’t cheap. A sailing from Australia to New Zealand will run about €500 and transocean voyages between continents easily reach €1,500-2,000. If you have a lot of luggage, cargo ships can work out cheaper than flying and they do come in at less than the cost of a typical cruise.
6. Provide your own entertainment. This isn’t a cruise ship so don’t expect evening cabaret shows and room service. There may be a swimming pool or ping pong table but mostly you should entertain yourself. Bring that unfinished manuscript.
7. Be flexible. Dates can change and so can ports. If you absolutely have to be somewhere on a certain day, you’d better fly. “Our trip from the USA to Europe changed 3 times after initial booking,” say Scott and Becky of GoingEast. “It started as a trip from Charleston SC to Brussels Belgium, then changed to Savannah Georgia to Gioa Tauro Italy, and finally has changed to Port Everglades, Florida to Gioa Tauro Italy. Had we not been flexible with our departure times and locations, things would not have worked out.”
8. Do it before you’re too old. Cargo ship passengers have to be in good health, both to climb long sets of stairs and because there are no doctors on board. A medical certificate of general good health is often required from your GP and many ships are reluctant to carry passengers into retirement age.