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Diaries of a Travelling Author - Woofing around Europe

  • Writer: Robyn Weightman
    Robyn Weightman
  • May 15, 2019
  • 5 min read

Updated: Jul 22, 2020


After teaching in China, I and my partner caught the travel bug. We decided that our next challenge would be Western Europe. At the time we had just graduated from university. So, like all students, we were very poor. And after just doing a volunteer stint and travel in China, our funds were running low.

So we worked for the winter in cleaning and retail jobs with a little Guitar and Ukulele teaching to help buffer us up. Finally, by the summer, we were ready.

But we still needed cheap. We wanted to see and experience as much as possible without breaking our bank accounts. In comes the fantastic invention of Wwoofa.

Wwoofa is the WorldWide Organic Farming Association and they have a wonderful international scheme.

This is the Wwoofa map. All the countries in Green are monitored and linked to the Wwoofa organisation. The countries in yellow are independents.

Now, the first thing you do is choose a country. This will take you to those countries Wwoofa website. For each country, you pay a fee for one years' use. (For how much you can use it and how much you will save on hotels and food, the money is nothing!)

Then you follow the quick and easy steps on their website.

To sum it up. You can get free food and accommodation for your entire stay on the farm for roughly five hours' work maximum a day. All the farms must be not for profit and you are basically there to help. We did this for almost our entire trip around Europe and we regret nothing. We met so many amazing people, had awesome experiences and learned so much.

If you're like us and have low funds but want to travel, check these guys out.

The Wwoofa websites are almost like blog shopping pages. You can click on a farm you like the look of and read about what they're looking for and how they live. If you think you'd be a good match for them you message them through the Wwoofa website with your CV, any information you want to give them about yourself and your preferred visit dates. The farm will then e-mail you back a yes or no. It's that simple!

Now that the logistics were done, we applied for farms in France, Spain, Italy and Sardinia. We then booked buses, flights and ferries, (whichever option was cheapest,) and set off on our summer journey.

France

Paris:

You can't do a 24-hour journey to France and not stop off in Paris. We stayed in a cheap 2* hotel on the outskirts of Paris and did one of the hardest walks I've ever done. We didn't want to use the money for a taxi. So we hiked from one side of the city to the other carrying out guitars, (in hard cases,) our 20kg rucksacks and our day rucksacks. We took the entire day, and we caved and got a taxi for the last bit because I couldn't go on. But we made it. And we saw some of the beautiful city that is Paris. :)

My first tip for Paris is to be very careful of pickpockets and scams as there are a lot.

Second is to get the boat taxi. You see a lot of Paris from the river and it is exquisite.

Third, take a smaller instrument than a guitar.

We travelled around Western Europe in order of distance from each other. And so our second leg of the journey took us away from France and to our first Wwoofa in Spain.

Spain

Puerto Serrano / Villamartin:

For our first Wwoofa we worked on a horse ranch for two weeks in the Spanish countryside. Our duties included poo picking the field, rounding up the goats that escaped and laying the tables for dinner. It was a lovely farm. We made friends with two French travellers who were also Wwoofas, and we played music almost every night for the (mostly,) German guests.

Seville:

Next, we visited the historic town of Seville. If you're planning a trip to Spain I highly recommend this town. It was so beautiful. The fort in the middle of the city really felt like going back in time.

Our final stop for Spain was Tenerife.

Tenerife:

Another travel tip: have awesome friends whose family own a holiday let somewhere fun. Then you get to stay for the price of cleaning and your wonderful friend will fly out to see you.

We went up the volcano and did a Dolphin boat trip. But be prepared. The boats are rather bouncy. Do not drink wine the night before your trip. It ends badly.

Barcelona:

Our final stop in Spain was Barcelona. Compared to Seville, for me, it wasn't as good. However, if you're into partying and drinking, it is a must hit city.

Back to France

Bezier and Autheze:

We visited Bezier on our way too and from Autheze. It is a beautiful place with great buildings and a small town vibe. In Autheze we completed another Wwoofa on a small goat farm which had many goats, two horses and two dogs. We not only became goat herders but also nannies as the goats surprised us with babies during our stay!

After another long bus journey, this one involving a drug sniffer dog at the border, we made it into Italy.

Italy

Padua, Venice, Verona and Lake Garda:

We had a mixup with a planned Wwoofa, and so ended up spending two weeks of being tourists based in Padua (Padova.) Top tip; if you want to see Venice and Verona, both being expensive tourist cities, then stay in Padua. It is only an hours train ride from both cities and has a wonderful history of its own with lots to see. Also, because it's not a huge town, you can get to know the locals a lot easier and become part of the neighbourhood.

Marzonella:

Our next Wwoofa was on a research composer's family land. Our duties included tending the olive trees and attempting to make the dog like Matt. (A task we never accomplished.) This was ultimately where I started properly writing. I took an old unused diary from our host and spent my evenings writing on the terrace.

Rome:

You cannot visit Italy and not see Rome. Before this trip, we had already visited Sorrento and taken in the sites of Pompei and Herculaneum. So seeing the uncovered city of Rome really sent our imaginations wild.

Civitavecchia:

This is a port town holding ferries heading towards Sardinia. It's a town where no-one stops and you can feel it. But it's not a bad place.

And finally Sardinia

Alghero:

This was our final Wwoofa and last stop on our trip. We stayed with a retired diplomat who kept Sardo donkeys on his extensive land. Though our work mostly comprised gardening and looking after a baby hedgehog and chickens rather than anything to do with donkeys.

And that is the end of our Wwoofa trip around Western Europe. The Wwoofa website is below if you're thinking of doing a similar, cheaper trip around. I highly recommend this way of travel as our experience at all our Wwoofa's was amazing.

See you again Europe!

Wwoofa website

https://wwoof.net/

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