10 Ways to Travel the World for Free

You can travel the world for free.

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Yes, you read right, it is possible to literally travel for free – and in some cases, get paid for traipsing cross-continents. I’m a strong believer in the idea that traveling is one of the best things you could possibly do, what with going on adventures, meeting new people, and experiencing strange local food (for better or for worse), and to do all that for free is both insane and possible.

Continue reading to find out how you can travel the world for FREE!

WOOFF

If working outside is something you love, then World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms could be perfect for you. In exchange for lending labor on farms and land, you will receive free accommodation and food, and gain a more personal understanding of the culture of the country you would be visiting. I can also vouch for the fact that if you choose the country correctly, you can work on rocking up a pretty epic tan at the same time.

Work at a ski resort

The best part about this one is that you don’t even need to know how to ski! So long as you can offer work, there are plenty of jobs in Switzerland or the French Alps on resorts, working in chalets or the like. As a head’s up: working in a chalet is nothing like the movie Chalet Girl.

Work at a summer camp

One of the many ways to travel and actually make money, working at a summer camp in Australia or the US can be a great way to explore a whole new culture and get paid for it. Often, you would help with the running of activities for high-schoolers, taking care of the camp and bringing in enthusiasm and passion. If you can’t stand the whines of children though, I can’t say this one is for you.

Au Pair

Each au pair contract differs, but the typical idea is that you look after a family home and children, cooking and cleaning, and will in exchange get room and board for free – along with a small pay, free language exchange, and often three meals a day. Worth it to put up with small whiney children? Who knows.

Work at a hostel in exchange for board

I absolutely adore hostels, having recently stayed in one in Amsterdam that quickly became a second home. They offered comfy beds, an endless supply of green tea, and the constant surprise of not knowing what sort of thick accent would greet me upon re-entering the dorm. I was told that, like almost all European hostels, bartering free accommodation in exchange for volunteer work for a few hours a day would score you free room and board. They told me this after I had paid in full, but I guess you win some and you lose some.

Teach English

There are two ways of doing this – you could teach English in exchange for cash (which usually means that you are held to longer contracts and TEFL standards), or you could teach in exchange for room and board. To do the latter, you can either sign up to a work exchange programme where  you teach English to company employees or more dedicated students, or you can just put up some posters in a local university and offer an hours’ worth of speaking exercises. Easy peasy.

Drive someone else’s car

Businesses such as Auto Driveaway offer the chance to go on the road trip of your dreams by driving someone else’s car – and getting paid for it. This perk includes free petrol and the chance to spend days on end traipsing cross-country just to take someone’s car to another location. You do have to return the car at the end, however.

Become an instructor

Happen to be relatively good at trapeze, mountain biking, or anything similar? You name it, there’s always companies offering short-term and long-term positions that give you the opportunity to flaunt your knowledge and teach others the skills you’ve spent years perfecting. Strangely, yoga also comes under the term “skill.”

Chain work

There’s always work available abroad, especially when you visit more tourist-ridden destinations. In places such as Magaluf and Tenerife bar work is often available for short-term young students, but you could also consider working on yachts, in hotels, and shopping malls. Be sure to do your research prior to turning up, however – I recently applied to work in a coffee shop in Holland to find out they serve nothing but pure, unadulterated drugs. That’d be a hard one to explain on the CV.

House sit

House sitters typically spend several days to a few weeks staying in someone else’s house, watering their plants or feeding their dogs (or cats, but then there’s always a downside) in exchange for room and board. It saves you from ever having to pay out for your own accommodation, and you get their Netflix account all to yourself. Maybe.

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This is a guest post by travel blogger Amy Aed. Thank you, Amy, for sharing your travel tips!

Amy Aed is a freelance writer from Swansea who has been running the popular travel site Wandering Everywhere for over five years. She started traveling in 2014, and her stories have since been published in The Mighty, Wanderlust Magazine, and Welsh Country. She will be undertaking her first walking expedition this summer. Follow her on @wandering_everywhere today!

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