101 ways to travel the world for free or at least very cheaply

Table of Contents Page No

Plan sensibly ............................................................................................................................. 3
Travel size items .......................................................................................................................... 3
Free toiletries from accommodation ................................................................................... 3
Phone plan .................................................................................................................................. 3
Credit card with no foreign exchange fees ...................................................................... 4
Credit card with free travel insurance ................................................................................. 4
Travel guides ............................................................................................................................... 4
Accommodation ..................................................................................................................... 4
House swap ................................................................................................................................. 4
House sitting................................................................................................................................. 4
Rent your home .......................................................................................................................... 4
Couch surfing .............................................................................................................................. 5
Hostels ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Sleep on trains and planes...................................................................................................... 5
Travel ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Join the Peace Corp ................................................................................................................ 5
Teach English overseas ............................................................................................................ 5
Apply for a fellowship ............................................................................................................... 5
Organise a tour group .............................................................................................................. 5
Cruise ship crew ......................................................................................................................... 5
Yacht crew .................................................................................................................................. 6
Budget airlines ............................................................................................................................ 6
Student travel scholarship ....................................................................................................... 6
Transport vehicles for others ................................................................................................... 6
Carpool......................................................................................................................................... 7
Hitchhike ....................................................................................................................................... 7
Take advantage of off season rates .................................................................................... 7
Weekdays often cheaper ....................................................................................................... 7
Casual work .............................................................................................................................. 7
 Trade labour for accommodation ....................................................................................... 7
Bar and hotel work .................................................................................................................... 7
Travelling Nanny ......................................................................................................................... 7
Nanny ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Fruit and vegetable picking ................................................................................................... 8
Volunteer .................................................................................................................................. 8
Charity work overseas .............................................................................................................. 8
Global treks for charity ............................................................................................................. 8
WWOOF ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Work away ................................................................................................................................... 9
Other volunteer organisations................................................................................................ 9
Food .......................................................................................................................................... 9
Free breakfast offers ................................................................................................................. 9
Self contained accommodation ........................................................................................ 10
Use free coffee, tea and sugar supplied .......................................................................... 10
Free food in Italy....................................................................................................................... 10
Don’t be afraid to ask for help ............................................................................................ 10
Enter contests ......................................................................................................................... 10
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 11
 Introduction

The best things in life are free and so can travelling the globe.

Travelling the world is a great adventure that will stay with you your whole life.
Sounds like an expensive adventure you might be thinking. Not necessarily. There are
many ways to travel the world very cheaply and some are even free. Look at the
network of friends you have around the world, relatives in other countries, try couch
surfing and grabbing every opportunity that comes your way. You can have
international adventure without needing thousands of dollars to spend. All you need
is some original thinking, lots of enthusiasm, the guts to carry on and some ideas to
get you started.

Plan sensibly
Travel size items
You don’t want to be lugging a huge suitcase around the world with you and risk
paying for excess baggage. Use travel size hair dryers and other toiletries that take
up less room and weigh a lot less.

Free toiletries from accommodation

Take advantage of the toiletries offered by hotels, they are small and will last you the
few days you are there.

Phone plan
Make sure you organise a phone plan that won’t cost you money you don’t have
while you are travelling. You want to able to contact family or make further travel
arrangements at a reasonable call rate.
Credit card with no foreign exchange fees
If you plan on using a credit card, make sure you won’t be charged for currency
transfers. This can soon add up when travelling in places like Europe where countries
have different currencies.

Credit card with free travel insurance

Some credit cards offer you free travel insurance while overseas. The yearly fee may
be higher than your current card but it may not be as high as insurance costs.

Travel guides
Grab yourself a travel guide that fits the style of travelling you want to do. You can
get those that list youth hostels and other cheap accommodation and free
attractions.

Accommodation
House swap
House swapping is a great way to have free accommodation and the use of a car
while you travel around another country. There are web sites for house swaps and
this can be a very cheap way to travel in another country or city. The advantage in
staying in a house is that it is like being at home. It is fully equipped with kitchen and
laundry and you can come and go as you please.

House sitting
A lot of people don’t want to leave their house empty when they are away on
holiday. Check out the websites and apply for a house sitting job. Many people
need someone to walk their dog or look after pets and to water the garden. Free
accommodation for a few hours work and some people will even pay you as well.

Rent your home

If you plan on travelling for a few months or years and you own your own home,
consider a short term rental. The rental money will pay for your travel expenses.
Couch surfing
A lot of people around the world are quite happy to have a person stay on their
couch for a few days as they travel around.

Hostels
Take advantage of very cheap accommodation that is provided in youth hostels
and backpackers accommodation around the world.

Sleep on trains and planes

If you are travelling a long distance and there is a plane to train trip overnight, use
this as your night’s accommodation.

Travel
Join the Peace Corp
This can be a great way to see parts of the globe that no one else does as you
travel to countries to help revitalise communities, villages and towns. The 27 month
commitment may seem like a long time but you are young and want to travel so
why not explore the advantages. Transport is free to and from countries, you are
covered for medical and dental services, food and lodging is provided, you will
have an intensive language course and any student loans may be deferred or even
cancelled. You also have 48 days of free time to explore the country or area on your
own.

Teach English overseas

When you apply and are accepted to teach English in a foreign country your travel
and accommodation is provided for you. You can earn between $20,000 and
$45000 US a year. You will need to stay for a set period of time and by earning
money you can travel at the end of your tenure.

Apply for a fellowship

Students can travel to overseas places by applying ofr a scholarship to travel and
study overseas. College graduates are able to apply in the US and other countries
for a Rhodes scholarship or a Marshall Scholarship. Other skilled people such as
artists, journalists, students and scholars can apply for a Fulbright Scholarship. These
cover accommodation, food and travel and some other services along the way.

Organise a tour group

Form a tour group and organise a holiday for 20 of your friends. All you do is organise
the holiday through a travel agency. Arrange the flights, transfers and
accommodation and your trip is paid for. You don’t act as a tour guide you are just
the tour group organiser.

Cruise ship crew

Apply to work on a cruise ship that is travelling the Pacific, the Caribbean or
Mediterranean seas. You will need to have some sort of educational or
entertainment skills to offer. Check with the cruise lines as some don’t give you much
free time in ports to see the sights. This can be a good idea for short term travelling.
You will usually sign on for the cruising season.

Yacht crew

Many large yachts that are cruising the world are looking for crew members with
skills other than sailing. If you can offer culinary, mechanical, engineering or
navigational skills apply to be crew member. Owners often move yachts around the
world to rake advantage of weather or fishing conditions and the boat needs to be
relocated. An extra pair of hands never goes astray.

Budget airlines
The budget airlines in Europe and North America offer cheap flights, so if you need
to pay for travel take advantage of them.

Student travel scholarship

Apply to study for a year overseas to complete your degree. Travel and
accommodation is provided and sometimes a daily allowance.

Transport vehicles for others

When people move to another country they don’t want to transport the car on a
train or a truck. They will pay you to drive the car to their new destination. Some car
rental companies need someone to drive the cars back from one way rentals.
Carpool
If you plan on hiring a car for your travel look into others who can join you and share
the travel costs. Alternatively you can join a car going in the same direction you are
and pay towards the travel costs. Often this needs to be arranged before you go.
Check out web sites, bulletin boards and hotels while you are away.

Hitchhike
This mode of transport is still quite safe in some countries so don’t discount it.

Take advantage of off season rates

Try to use off season times to travel. Rates are cheaper and even though it may not
be the time of year you want by travelling a few weeks earlier or later the fares are
always cheaper.

Weekdays often cheaper

Travelling in a country is often cheaper by train, bus or plane on weekdays as they
try to fill all of the seats. Even overseas travel can be cheaper as most people
organise travel around a Monday to Friday working week.

Casual work
Trade labour for accommodation

Some hostels will let you trade work for accommodation. You need to make sure
that the swap is at the correct rate as you don’t want to be working 12 hours a day
for a night’s accommodation.

Bar and hotel work

Many young people travel the world by working as a casual in a bar or hotel. If you
have some hospitality skills and like talking to people this could be for you.

Travelling Nanny
If you have experience as a babysitter uses it to travel the world. A lot of couples
with young children look for a nanny while they are travelling. They could be going
for business or pleasure and you will have days off when you can explore the city or
country you are in. If you have a second language this can be an advantage to
getting a position.

Nanny
A lot of families would rather host an overseas student or traveller to work as their
nanny for a set period of time. This way you can earn money and travel at the same
time.

Fruit and vegetable picking

Orchards and market gardens are great places for seasonal work and some provide
accommodation. You can follow the seasons around the world, get paid and travel
in the off seasons.

Volunteer
Charity work overseas

Volunteer to work on a development project in a third world country. Some

organisations give you flights and accommodation in return for your time for 1 to 2
years. Some organisations look for people with specialist skills such as building,
horticulture.

Global treks for charity

This organisation runs treks in various parts of the world to raise money to developing
areas. You raise sponsorship for the trek that pays for travel etc. There are various
treks to choose from such as cycling, sledding, rafting and team challenges. Recent
treks have been up Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa and to Everest Base Camp.

WWOOF
This organisation is worldwide opportunities on organic farms. You are provided with
room and board in replace fro working on these farms, there are farms all around
the world.

Work away

This is a volunteer group that lists work overseas. Accommodation and meals are
provided as you teach English or help rebuild a chateau, work on a building or
framing project and much more.

Other volunteer organisations

 Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation-Montana USA, meals and
accommodation provided
 Pacific Crest Trail Association-trail runs from Mexico to Canada through
California, Washington and Oregon, meals and accommodation provided
 Se7en-social and environmental projects around the world. Not all of these
projects are free

Food
Free breakfast offers
If you are paying for hotel accommodation look for places that offer free breakfast.
This will save you around $10 each day.
Self contained accommodation
This style of accommodation comes with a fully equipped kitchen and this enables
you to buy food cheaply from local fresh produce markets and cook your own food.
This is a lot cheaper than buying meals in many countries.

Use free coffee, tea and sugar supplied

Always carry a small thermos with you and you make up a warm drink to carry
throughout the day from the complimentary supplies in your room.

Free food in Italy

Italy is a country where you can go to a cafe or restaurant and have food for no
charge. You won’t get drinks but food is given to travellers under a law that says all
cafes and restaurants when asked give a meal free of charge. You may be asked
not to visit there again but there are many places to choose from.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

If you find yourself stranded somewhere with no money never be afraid to ask for
help or a job to pay for accommodation or food. Offer to work in a cafe a couple of
hours for a meal or to make beds in a hostel for a night’s accommodation. Most
places will try to help you out if they can or point you in the right direction to get
some help.

Enter contests
This may seem like a crazy idea as you may never win but someone has to win these
contests. All it takes is a little of your time, the price of a text message and some
imagination and you could be off on your worldwide adventure. There are hundreds
of contests offering travel and accommodation in all sorts of places around the
world. This may be the beginning of your round the world adventure.
 Conclusion

No matter where you start your world adventure from there are ways to travel and
stay overseas free or at a very small cost. Don’t forget about your adventure just
because you haven’t enough money to go. Look at all of the ways to get free travel
by doing some charity or volunteer work. Save as much money as you can while you
are travelling by being sensible and taking advantage of complimentary offers and
included meals. And remember this is a great opportunity that will stay with you
forever and you might love volunteering so much you continue it for years to come.