You don’t travel because you don’t have money? That is not an excuse! Traveling without or with little money is possible. Here I leave you with a practical guide on how to travel “without money.” However, you still have to bring the money and if you do not have enough money and intend to borrow online, bad credit loans can be a good consideration.
- How to travel without money. The practical guide to get free accommodation
Platforms to get free accommodation
There are several platforms on the Internet that allow you to get free accommodation. Let’s see them!
Couchsurfing: It is the pioneer platform in free hosting. It is a cultural exchange. People offer a sofa, room or houses for free for travelers. The idea is to share.
Other similar platforms: BeWelcome, Trustroots and Hospitality Club.
This platform is the same style, but only for people who travel by bicycle: Warmshowers.
Nightswapping: The motto is “do not spend money, just exchange nights”. You only have to register and register your apartment, room or the place where you want to host people. The more nights you host other people, the more nights you will have free to spend in another part of the world.
Airbnb: I’ve left it for the last one because it’s really a paid accommodation website. But it has a gift coupon system with which you can stay in incredible places totally free or very cheap. When you have registered, go to your photo on the top right and click on “credit to travel” in the drop-down menu. There you will see a code that you can share.
Platforms to get free accommodation in exchange for work
There are other types of websites where you can get free accommodation in exchange for doing some work or service.
Workaway, WWOOFING, HelpX: They are platforms in which you register, you make a profile with your skills and interests and look for job offers of about 4 daily hours in exchange for accommodation and food. There are plenty of different offers for all tastes and colors, from humanitarian projects to helping in personal businesses. The one I normally use is Workaway has a lot of variety. WWOOFING, for example, is focused on organic farms.
Aupair: It’s about staying with a host family, where you’ll have to take care of the children and do some housework. They usually provide lodging, food and some “pocket money”. I leave you three platforms to find families: aupair, aupairworld, and kangarooaupair.
Housesitting: Take care of houses or animals while the owners are traveling. To look for offers of this type, we have these platforms: trustedhousesitter, mindmyhouse, housecarers, and luxuryhousesitting.
Worldpackers: It is a social network that connects travelers with hostels. The hostels provide accommodation and food in exchange for working for them performing any of your skills. From receptionist, waiter, to party organizer or language teacher.
Other ways to stay for free
Travel volunteering with NGOs: Find interesting NGO projects and join them. Or create your own solidary project. If you like doing things in solidarity, it is a very nice option. Of course, look well to do with an NGO that you trust and have the same philosophy.
Sleep in religious places
In churches and temples, they often let you sleep for free. And in many Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist temples, you can even spend a season living with them if you help in the basics. This can be very interesting if you are attracted to religion and want to know it in a deeper way.
