Everything You Need To Know To Plan an International Thru-Hike

Last year as I got ready for my first international thru-hike — the Pyrenean Haute Route, which goes through Spain and France, I was shocked by how much extra planning I had to do compared to my domestic thru-hikes of the Appalachian and Colorado trails (I’m American).

From phone plans to visa limitations, the amount of extra planning I put into this trail was impressive. But the fact that planning this hike was so tough was part of its magic. Thru-hiking abroad put me outside my comfort zone enough to make the whole act of thru-hiking feel shiny and new again, like when I took my first giddy steps on the AT all those years ago.

The internet and your trail’s guidebook will go a long way toward clarifying trail-specific logistics and gear. However, these resources probably won’t address more general travel considerations international thru-hikers face.

I guess I learned a few things last year. Now that it’s time to plan my second (albeit dramatically shorter) thru-hike abroad, things are going much more smoothly. These are the things I think about when planning an international thru-hike. I hope it helps, sweet reader. Smooch.  

Quick Navigation

Visas
Passports
Language
Cell Phone Plan
Travel Medical Insurance
Trail Markings
Units
Currency
Making Your Pack Flight Ready
Power Adapters
Resupply
Cultural Considerations

Visas and Other Entry Requirements

Don’t even start planning an international thru-hike until you’ve first established if you can enter the country in question. I’m an American and thus blessed with a strong passport that allows me visa-free entry into many countries. I can stay visa-free for up to 90 days in Europe’s Schengen Zone countries, for instance.

In Albania where I’m currently planning to hike, I can stay for a full year visa-free, but that’s unusually generous. Ninety days is a more typical allowance, and this is already quite generous. Tajikistan’s 30-day limit on US visa-free travel, for instance, would be nowhere near enough time for me to trek the Pamir Trail, for instance.

And while 90 days is plenty of time for shorter thru-hikes, it’s not enough for really long treks. If I wanted to take six months and thru-hike New Zealand’s Te Araroa, I would need to apply for a tourist visa to complete the whole thing in one season.

Make sure you understand the visa requirements for the country or countries you plan to hike through. If your route crosses international borders, you may need to apply for additional permits to cross on foot. If that’s the case, this information should be covered in your trail’s guidebook.

Passport Index is a handy website for citizens of all countries to see their visa allowances in all other countries. US citizens can also check country-specific travel information pages from the US State Department for a quick summary of visa requirements.

You need specific vaccines to go to some countries. The State Department travel page is again your best resource to get preliminary information on this sort of thing.

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Passport

Just putting this out there, but make sure your passport is still going to be valid for at least a few months beyond the end of your planned thru-hike and renew it well ahead of time if it’s going to expire.

If you don’t have a passport, start the process of getting one as soon as possible. I don’t know how long this process takes in other countries, but in the US, getting a passport can take months. Best to start this process as soon as possible.

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Language

Language barriers are a source of anxiety for many international travelers. While English is widely spoken in some parts of the world, you should never take that for granted, especially on a hiking trail that’s only taking you through remote mountain villages.

I was freaking out about this before the Pyrenees last year and spent hours practicing Spanish. I don’t regret that time; my basic language skills did come in handy.

However, language limitations shouldn’t be your primary concern when planning an international thru-hike. Even in countries where no one speaks English and you also don’t speak the language, you’ll be amazed by how you manage to squeak by just by pointing, miming, and widening your eyes at people meaningfully. Your dignity might not survive fully intact, but you will get through.

I’m not saying don’t try to learn a foreign language ahead of a hike. You absolutely should dedicate some time to learning the basics. Having at least basic greetings is polite and will help you build rapport with locals, and anything beyond that will surely be useful. But most of the time all you’ll be doing is simple stuff like buying food and booking bunks in guesthouses.

Also, Google Translate is your friend. Make sure you download the language or languages you need for offline use in case you don’t have signal.

I once read about a hiker who printed and laminated a sheet with a map of his trail, a cartoon hiker, and a brief explanation of his hike in the local language. Whenever curious people approached him, he showed them this graphic as an explanation.

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Cell Phone Plan

I try to work in this picture of a window-shopping Spanish sheep as often as possible. Here you go

Your carrier probably offers international plans, but these are expensive and don’t offer much data. They make sense for short trips, but if you’re going on a long hike you’re better off getting an international SIM card.

I don’t want to hijack this whole post to explain all the ins and outs of international SIM shopping, so I’ll just use this space to explain my approach to the issue.

I maintain my US line while I’m abroad and pay for a European data-only eSIM so I can use cellular data. I’ve found that I rarely need a traditional calling/texting plan abroad, so the data-only setup works well for me.

Messaging people is easy, as I can text with cellular data using iMessage, WhatsApp, and similar platforms. My US carrier also allows me to make free calls back to the US on Wifi, or I can go over data by using WhatsApp, Facetime, etc.

In the rare scenario that I need to call an international phone number that isn’t on WhatsApp or similar, I can buy cheap global minutes from Skype. That allows me to place calls over data or wifi to any phone in the world.

This sweet data-only setup only works for modern phones that are eSIM-compatible. For iPhone users like me, that means iPhones 11 and up. I got my eSIM from a company called Airalo, which offers numerous plans for countries and regions around the world. The app is user-friendly, making it easy to shop for, install, and top up eSIMs as needed.

Side Note: Zoleo

I also have a Zoleo Satellite Communicator that comes in handy for keeping in touch with people back home. This is yet another subscription to pay for monthly, but I want the SOS button anyway for some peace of mind when I’m solo hiking. Any satellite device with two-way communication will help you bypass international charges. However, I find Zoleo’s messaging interface especially intuitive.

While I’m on the subject of satellite communication, iPhones now offer emergency satellite communication when they lack signal, but this is only available in the US and a few other countries. Don’t assume you can rely on your iPhone if you need to contact emergency services on an international thru-hike.

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Travel Medical Insurance

We published a whole-ass article on travel insurance for thru-hikers recently, so I won’t rehash the whole thing here. The short version is that a good travel insurance policy will cover lost or damaged gear, rescue, and emergency medical expenses when abroad.

Travel insurance is optional, but thru-hiking means you’ll be abroad for longer and at a higher-than-average risk of illness and injury. I recommend you purchase a policy.

I had World Nomads last year when I hiked the Pyrenees, partly because this brand is known for extreme sports coverage. Backpacking is not that extreme, but I went with them just to be safe. Also because I know other thru-hikers who use them.

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Understanding Trail Markings in Different Countries

It’s a good idea to check how the trail you’ll be hiking is marked. Different regions can have unique trail-marking conventions. The first time I hiked in Europe, I noticed several differences that surprised me.

We Americans favor single rectangular blazes of varying colors in the US, with the addition of more rectangles indicating that the trail is starting, stopping, turning left or right, etc.

In Europe, the blazes are usually a white background with a colorful strip in the center. Turning blazes are right angles with the horizontal part of the angle indicating the direction in which the trail is turning. In areas of potential confusion, a painted X indicates that you’re not on trail anymore and you’ve missed your turn.

Although there are hundreds of GR (grande randonnée) trails in Europe, ALL of them are marked with red-and-white blazes. So if you’re hiking the GR10, you have to make sure you don’t accidentally get on the GR398 (I just made that number up) when the two intersect.  

Europeans are also much more likely to indicate estimated walking time on trail signs and are almost more likely to give you a time estimate than the distance to the next destination, which is interesting.

You’re going to have bigger fish to fry in planning an international thru-hike than googling what the blazes will look like. Still, if you have time it’s a nice detail to familiarize yourself with.

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Understanding Units

Learning to think in Celcius and metric is an ongoing struggle for me. My advice: don’t try to translate things back into units you’re familiar with. I can’t give you an exact conversion into Fahrenheit, but I know that 40 degrees Celcius is really gosh darn hot, 30 is also still too hot, 20 is perfect, 10 is sweater weather, and anything under 10 is cold. 

Get a unit conversion app on your phone for times when you need more specificity. This would have been handy last winter, for instance, when I told the very confused man at the ski rental shop that I weighed “about 250 kilograms.”

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Currency

The easiest way to obtain cash in local currency is by withdrawing it from an ATM using your debit card. Revolut, Wise, and Charles Schwab debit cards offer favorable exchange rates, low or no conversion fees, and no ATM fees. Schwab will even reimburse you for ATM fees charged by the provider.

If you have time to open an account with any of these institutions before your hike, it will save you some money (might not be worth the trouble for shorter hikes). Don’t worry if not. Just let your regular bank know you’ll be traveling internationally so they don’t freak out about fraud while you’re gone.  

Your trail’s guidebook should indicate whether and where there will be ATMs near the trail. Do look into this before you start hiking. Depending on where you are, cards may not be accepted and ATMs may not be widely available. For my upcoming hike, I know everything will be cash only and I won’t have ATM access, so I got cash out ahead of time.

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Making Your Pack Flight-Ready

International thru-hike problems: managing to fit two thru-hikers’ gear in one suitcase because checked bags are expensive

International thru-hiking often means you’ll need to board a plane to reach your trailhead. If possible, put your backpack inside a larger duffel or suitcase when you check it for added protection.

I got complacent and stopped doing this after a while, and I ended up first with a snapped frame stay (fortunately replaceable), and then with a nasty gash in one of my side water bottle pockets. Get a cheap suitcase from a thrift store and re-donate it on the other side. Your gear will thank you.

Don’t forget you can’t carry fuel on a plane, and you’ll need to bring any electronic stuff with a lithium battery in your carry-on. Stabby stuff like trekking poles and tent stakes must be checked.

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Power Adapters

Just a small note here, but different countries = different wall plugs. Pretty straightforward here, just don’t forget. Shop online for the smallest, most minimal adapter you can find to save on base weight.

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Resupply

If you’re coming from the US, just know that stores abroad are generally not like stores here. Especially in smaller mountain villages, selection will be much more limited. You may end up packing out more fresh/heavy food than usual.

If you have dietary restrictions or are a picky eater, familiarize yourself with the food landscape ahead of time to get a sense of whether you’ll find foods out there that will work for you. (Trail-specific online groups are a great source of information on this subject.)

It may even behoove you to figure out how your destination country’s mail system works. Can you general-delivery yourself some resupply boxes from a major city that has better food options?

Since I don’t have any dietary restrictions, I’ve never bothered figuring out international post. I got majorly sick of baguettes and couscous by the end of that hike and was packing out whole-ass cans of tuna and bottles of olive oil just to spice things up, but it worked out OK.

You’ll get familiar with the food landscape as you go. Just know that many of the foods you take for granted at home won’t be available. Peanut butter was rare in the Pyrenees, and while Nutella was ubiquitous, it always came in glass jars.

Budget extra time at the market for translating labels. It’s surprisingly time-consuming.

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Cultural Considerations

I learned that if you order fish in France and it doesn’t say “filet” that means it is NOT going to be a filet

Is hitchhiking legal? What’s the tipping culture? What kind of attire is appropriate? Whatever you’re used to back home, when you’re in another country you should respect local customs.

In Spain, I often would forget that showing up to town between 2 p.m. and 4-5 p.m. was a non-starter, as most businesses would be closed for siesta during those hours.

In Bulgaria, nodding means no and shaking your head means yes. Everyone probably thinks I’m really negative there because even to this day I struggle to remember this.

The first time I went to a French laundromat, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that I didn’t need to add soap to the machine as it dispensed soap automatically.

Don’t google it to death — you’ll learn as you go — but at least be aware of major cultural differences.

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What Have We Learned?

You can’t prepare for every microscopic cultural difference you’ll encounter when traveling abroad and you shouldn’t try. Discovering these things as you go is part of the mind-expanding joy of travel.

Remember that honeymoon period when you started your first thru-hike and everything was so fresh and exciting? Thru-hiking abroad for the first time is kind of like that. Every day you’ll be learning and having new experiences. I think everyone should try it at least once.

All the usual thru-hike prep stuff will still apply regardless of where you’re hiking. But hopefully this guide will help you get started on international specifics that you wouldn’t have to think about on a domestic thru-hike.

This is a huge subject and I’m sure I missed some things. What are your tips for planning an international thru-hike?

Featured image: Graphic design by Zack Goldmann.