You want to pick fruit? Did someone suggest that for you? Sounds fun and romantic, but it’s actually not easy. A lot of farmers do this themselves, but if they decide to hire help, they’ll hire illegal immigrants, and pay them almost nothing. It’s probably not what you’re looking for, or what you’re imagining it to be. As romantic as it sounds to be picking grapes in Tuscany.

If you’re still up for this, and want to do something now in the middle of winter, then head for Southern Europe. Nothing grows this time of year in Northern Europe or Eastern Europe. In the South, winter is harvest time for citrus fruits (oranges, lemons). Olives are late fall / early winter (November-January), February is probably too late for most places. But there’s also a lot of vegetables that are winter crops, such as broccoli.

I’m planning to trek all of Europe with my two good friends after we finish our studies. For us high school finishes in two years and we will all be at least 18, thus be viable to work legally anywhere. There isn’t much money between the three of us and so we are looking to get as much work as possible abroad. If we co-ordinate our trip by when certain produce seasons, is it possible to get our income solely of fruit/vegetalbe picking? What areas of the country should we survey for such establishments, open to the prospect of hiring tourists for seasonal picking?

Since “high school” implies you’re an American…

Ever heard of illegal aliens and undocumented workers? Being of legal age doesn’t mean you can legally work anywhere. If you’re in Europe on a tourist visa and try to work it’s exactly the same as someone sneaking over the border from Mexico to pick fruit in the US.

We’re all dual citizenship holders, the other being a European passport. So, yeh we’re viable to work.

There are also high school’s outside of America you simpleton.

That was rude, arrogant and unwarranted. Think before randomly asserting your (lack of) superiority.

Vito,

We know there are high schools outside America (duh), but your use of the term “high school” signified to oldlady that you’re probably an American, for some reason. She’s not a simpleton. For us veteran Eurotrippers, we can sometimes pick up extra information from your posts. We’re not always right, we’re not psychics; but from experience (of years of taveling and giving travel advice), we can sometimes pick up clues from the words you use, how you say it, from your expectactions and perceptions, etc.

That being said, you have explcitly stated that you’re 16 years old…so you’re very young a bit naive. If you’re seriously interested in picking fruit, you’re gonna have to wander around looking for work, from one rural town to the next. Do some research on all the crops that grow in Europe, when they grow, and which ones require human hands (as opposed to machines). Also, harvest season isn’t the only time that a particular crop may need tending. For grapes, harvest season is August-October, but farmhands may be employed in the winter, which is when the vineyards need pruning. It’s super hard work, you may get stuck in crappy accomodation (like a barn, cramped with lots of others), you’ll earn very little, and it defeats the purpose of traveling for recreational reasons.

Since you all have the legal ability to work in Europe, a far better option, and one that I highy recommend, is to look for work in the tourism and hospitality industries: work in hostels, restaurants, bars, seasonal facilities (ski or beach), etc, and spend an entire summer (or winter, or spring, or fall) in a particular place, and travel on your days off.

First of all I would like to apologize for my statement. You are not a ‘simpleton’, I’m just too young and arrogant to know better. Thank you for the information, dearly appreciated.

Wow. With attitude like that, fruit-picking is probably the best you can ever hope for — assuming you can find a boss with no backbone. Good luck with that.

That should be high schools — without an apostrophe — you brilliant speller.

I didn’t comprehend oldlady’s statement well and took it as if she was having a go at me, so its poor judgment and reaction on my part. If you want to dish out anymore unsupportive comments, then “Don” now is the time.