If your travel budget is somewhat stretched right now, get creative and consider ways to explore the world for FREE – yes it is possible with these top five tips;
Try couch surfing your way across the globe
Couchsurfing has become HUGE and is the perfect way to travel the world for free. Stick a pin in a map and there’ll be accommodation waiting for you, guaranteed. The principle is pretty simple, decide where you want to go and run a search on the website for available hosts. Basically like-minded people across the world offer up their couch or spare room (if you get lucky). It’s a great way to meet new people, see the world and immerse yourself in new cultures and all for free! Try it, you could save serious money on your upsoming travel adventures. And it’s considered good manners to reciprocate and offer up your couch for other travellers too.
Consider becoming a house sitter
Sign up to a housesitting website which matches your details to property owners that are going away. You’ll get the chance to live in their property for the duration of their travels. Sure you’ll probably have to walk their dogs, feed their goldfish and pick up the mail, but what a great opportunity! So long as your record is squeaky clean (they’ll probably run a check on you) this is a great chance to discover new places.
Take a working holiday and travel for free
If you fancy the romance of grape picking in France, crewing a yacht across the Mediterranean or teaching English in far flung places, then a working holiday is definitely for you! You can travel to just about any country in the world (visa permitting of course!) pick up some casual work and earn your keep as you go. Do you have a skill such as hairdressing or teaching? Apply your skills or raw enthusiasm – farm jobs are always in demand in across the world. You’ll meet likeminded people and have a brilliant time.
Use credit card reward points to travel overseas
One of the best ways to travel for free or for minimal charges is by building up reward points on your credit cards. Many credit card providers offer special programs in which you can earn miles by spending money on things you would buy daily anyway. There are various other rewards you can obtain by using your credit card, such as double miles. Double miles will allow you to gain points twice as fast, increasing the distance you can travel for free. Using credit card miles to travel has always been the preferred method of choice among anyone who spends money on regular items such as gas, groceries and even at various restaurants you visit.
Try hitchhiking to cut your travel budget
Hitchhiking is among the oldest methods of free transportation. Although hitchhiking comes with a note of caution attached, it can be a great way to travel for free so long as you follow some safety precautions and practice common sense. Another benefit to this method of travel is that you also get the chance to learn about someone and create friendship with your travels. When hitchhiking, it is always wise to carry a cellphone with you for safety precautions. A cellphone should be able to get you out of any danger, especially if you set various numbers on speed-dial for your convenience. Also try travelling in a pair.
Can your job help you travel for free?
With work, you aren’t expected to have much fun. However, there are various jobs which allow you to travel around the world in order to do them. One of the most popular jobs which allow you to travel is archaeology. There are ancient pieces of history located all throughout the world; however they simply have not been discovered yet. As an archaeologist, you may set out on an expedition in order to find things. There are other jobs that allow you to travel, however those within the fashion and science field seem the most prominent. Fashion allows you to travel to major tourist destinations, as well as the most popular cities such as Paris, France.
Consider getting a job at an airline – you can travel!
As mentioned before, using your place of work as a means of travel is a great way to travel for free. Airline stewardesses and employees will often board a plane in order to give services to the passengers on board. While you do your job, you will also be able to travel to wherever the plane is going. While you may not spend a long time in the destination you arrived at, you will at least have time to see some of the most popular tourist sports in the area. Flight attendants have the best opportunities to travel around the world. While a flight attendants main job is to tend to the passengers on board a plane, they also have an opportunity to take glances and occasionally visit their destination.
Enter travel competitions – somebody has to win!
There are plenty of competitions out there with the opportunity to win trips, luggage or even just guidebooks. For example the current PureTravel travel writing competition offers the chance to win £1,000 or $1,500 USD as a first prize! All you have to do is submit an interesting travel story based on “The place you didn’t want to be.” Winning a contest is not only a great story to tell, but you’ll also get to experience culture as you travel to your destination described in the contest. Like the saying goes – you’ve got to be in it to win it! And somebody has to win it – hurry though as the PureTravel competition closes on 31 October 2012!
