How to Travel Around the World on Freighters
Some ocean-going cargo ships have cabins for a few passengers alongside the crew's. You eat with the officers, sail when the cargo is ready, and spend whole days at sea with nothing to do but read and watch the water.
Cargo ships charge less than cruise ships, but they aren't cheap. In 2010 this page said around US$100 a day, all included. The agencies now quote about €150 a day. The ships still take very few guests. Twelve is the ceiling, because a ship carrying more than twelve passengers has to have a doctor on board, so cabins are often booked many months in advance.
If you're thinking of getting a job as part of the crew, forget it! Unskilled crewmembers are not hired on working ocean-going ships.
Can you still go all the way round?
Not on one ship, and in 2026 not on freighters alone. The long container routes that used to take passengers from Europe to Asia and Australia mostly stopped during the pandemic. The British agency Cargo Ship Voyages wrote in September 2026 that "with a few exceptions, deep sea intercontinental voyages have not been possible since the pandemic", and it is only taking bookings for this year while it waits to see what comes back.
So you build the trip around the sea legs that still run and fly the gaps. These are the ones taking passengers now:
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Across the Atlantic under sail. TOWT, a French company, runs two sailing cargo ships, Anemos and Artemis, between Le Havre and New York, with other sailings to Colombia, Brazil and Guadeloupe. Each carries up to 12 passengers and about 1,100 tonnes of cargo, mostly cognac, champagne, wine and coffee. The crossing takes 15 to 20 days. When TOWT opened the cabins it priced them at €2,000 to €3,000 a person.
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Europe to Cape Town on a container ship, around 27 nights. Cargo Ship Voyages lists it at €3,583 a person. The 2026 sailings are full and 2027 is filling.
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French Polynesia on Aranui 5, half freighter and half passenger ship. It sails from Tahiti through the Tuamotus to the Marquesas in 12 days, unloading supplies at each island and loading copra, lemons and fish for the trip back. There are 20 departures a year and room for 230 passengers, and Cargo Ship Voyages lists the trip at €5,257 a person.
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Short trips in northern Europe and the Mediterranean, 7 to 14 nights for roughly €1,050 to €1,550, including the mv Nordstjernen round the North Sea and Baltic.
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Canada, where the Bella Desgagnés supplies 900 km of the Quebec coast between Rimouski and Blanc-Sablon.
A route that works
Sail from Le Havre to New York with TOWT. Fly New York to Tahiti and take Aranui 5 out to the Marquesas and back. Then fly on through Sydney and Singapore to Paris, about two hours by train from where you started. Allow two months, close to four weeks of them at sea.
AirTreks puts the flying half (New York, Tahiti, Sydney, Singapore, Paris) at about $1,887 to $2,879 per person in economy. That is a planning estimate from AirTreks fare history, checked 1 October 2026, and an AirTreks specialist will price your exact route and dates.
Before you book
Most lines have an upper age limit of about 78 or 79 and ask anyone over 65 for a doctor's certificate saying you're fit to travel. There is no doctor on board, and in mid-ocean the nearest hospital can be a week away.
Cargo sets the timetable. Ships sail late and skip ports, so leave slack at both ends and never book a flight for the day you're due to dock.
Two of the agencies this page recommended in 2010, the Cruise & Freighter Travel Association and freighter-travel.com, are gone. For bookings now, start with Maris Freighter & Specialty Cruises, in business since 1993, which sells the TOWT crossings, Aranui 5 and the Bella Desgagnés. Cargo Ship Voyages in the UK handles the European, South African and Polynesian voyages.
If a slow ship appeals but a freighter doesn't, see world cruises or travelling around the world by train.
Tags: travel by boat, round the world on cargo, travel by cargo, travel cargo, Travel on Freighter
Planning a round-the-world trip? AirTreks has built multi-stop itineraries since 1987. See sample routes or ask a specialist.