Traveling is perhaps one of the greatest ways to enhance our lives. Traveling exposes us to new ways of life, allows us to meet new people, and helps us appreciate our homes more. Although it is extremely beneficial, it does not always seem attainable to travel as often as some of us would like due to fact that it can get a little costly at times. However, there are a few ways you can travel for very cheap or even for free.
This is a HUGE community of over 10 million travelers from all over the globe that are willing to share a little part of their life (as well as their couch) with travelers just like you and me. These are often fellow travelers looking to exchange cultures and travel experiences with others so they let what we call “Friends we haven’t met yet.” stay on their couches absolutely free. Yes, free. It is solely based on friendship and the love for travel. Now before you get excited it is important to know what Couchsurfing is and what it is not. These people that open up their homes to others are not simply just a place for you to crash at for free. Every host is looking to get just as much out of the experience as the traveler. They want to get to know you, learn something from you, and make new memories together. *Similar alternatives would be: Be Welcome and Trust Roots.
House Sitting
You can literally travel the world for free simply by offering your time and care for others homes and pets while they are away. Although the memberships aren’t free, the money you will save by house sitting and staying for free are exponential. There are a few sites that are great at connecting potential sitters with people who may need their services, but most of the time aren’t available in every country. Each site is more populated in certain parts of the world than others so be sure and look around on all sites to see what will work best with your travel plans.
A few sites to check out are:
- Trusted Housesitters- ($99/year) The largest house sitting site there is. Which means there will be more opportunities, but also more competition. Popular countries are the UK, USA, Canada, France, Australia, and New Zealand.
- House Carers- ($55/year) Mostly in Australia, but there are many other listings in North America and parts of England.
- Mind My House- ($20/year) Lowest fee of all. Less competition for assignments, but also less opportunities. Current possible assignments include parts of South America, New Zealand, Europe and North America.
Volunteer Work
Volunteer your services in exchange for free accommodations and food.
- WWOOF- Stands for World Wide Opportunity on Organic Farms. WWOOF will connect you with organic farmers and growers to volunteer your help on their farms and in return you will receive free food and a place to stay in 1 of 99 countries all over the world. You will have to pay to get there, but everything else is taken care of when you get there
- Grassroots Volunteering- This site can connect you with volunteering opportunities or social enterprises. You can use their search engine to find local community-based organizations that might need your help. *Similar alternatives would be: Help Stay,
- HelpX- One of the best places to find volunteer work is Help Exchange. They have a huge listing of host farms, B&Bs, ranches, hostels, and even sail boats that invite people to stay with them for a short period of time for free. *Similar alternative would be Help Stay.
Teach English as a Foreign Language
You can make money teaching people in other countries the English language. Get your TEFL certification and start looking for jobs all over the globe. Start by visiting the largest database of English teaching jobs at TEFL.
There you have it. Traveling doesn’t necessarily cost as much as you have always been led to believe. Not only can you see more of the world for less money, but you can also learn valuable skills as well as form new friendships from all over. It just takes some effort and willingness to try new things.
