Is travelling really expensive? Well, it is. But did you know that it’s possible to travel the world with no money? In fact, there are so many amazing ways to get around the world when you’re broke AF. You just have to be very diligent and extra savvy in your approach. So, whether you want to travel across the globe for free or you’re looking for free travel chances, this article will surely help manage your way into living a life of travelling for free, without transforming your brain into a total money-saving machine.
Here are some ways to travel the world on a budget or without any budget at all:
Get a Credit Card and Earn Points
You can get a free flight by having a credit card. Flying to a certain destination is one of the largest travel costs so you may consider signing up for a rewards credit card and try using it for bonus category purchases.
Almost every major airline has a co-branded credit card with a lavish sign-up bonus. Aside from that, various cards can earn points at various percentage rates in different categories. Commonly, one point is per dollar, but of course, you may better.
As a matter of fact, there are credit cards that can provide you with free hotel accommodations and a few other perks, but if you’re a traveller who’s budget-conscious, you must think about lessening the cost of air travel. So, try signing up now and enjoy the available bonus purchases and categories that you are or were going to do anyway.
Get Into a House or Pet Sitting
If you don’t have any idea what this is, the concept here is very easy. You just need to stay in someone’s house and look after it, and maybe feed their pets, water their plants, or other stuff. Most homeowners prefer this because they get the assurance of knowing their house isn’t going to be a mess, plus, you also get to experience the nice luxury of not having to pay for accommodation. Some of the best sites you can trust in-home or pet sitting are: HouseCarers.com, TrustedHousesitters.com, and MindMyHouse.com.
Go for “Voluntourism”
Did you know that you can teach while you’re away in a swap for free room and board? Voluntourism is volunteer + tourism which is a popular thing that travellers do in the travel community. This means that you travel to places and do some things that help the locals such as teaching English as a second language or even establish houses and schools for communities who need them. In return, your stay will get compensated too. Amazing, right?
There are several great voluntourism sites that you can check to get you started in the right direction: ProjectsAbroad.org, GlobeAware.org, and Voluntourism.org. But you need to be cautious because not all voluntourism will benefit the host community. In several cases, help from the outside unqualified people will only end up setting the community back. Before you do this, make sure that you do your homework and research about the organization and companies before you go.
Go to Somewhere Less Costly
If your dream is to go to London, why not to Kuala Lumpur? Your money will definitely go further in Kuala. When you’re travelling, you must wisely pick a budget destination like India, Southeast Asia, Nepal, or Eastern Europe. This may be the best step you can do first. There’s a hack that you can use; Kiwi’s anywhere or radius tool to “fly to the cheapest place” from your location and check what pops up. After that, you may see which of those place is cheaper to travel to. Then you have a cheap ticket for your next travel.
Aside from that, here’s a secret: Travel to a cheaper destination at a cheaper time. Go for places with fewer tourists around and you’ll find amazing deals. The most ideal time to travel is just before or after a destinations’ peak season, otherwise, you may end up getting caught in a storm or too rainy of weather.
Hitchhiking to Get Around for Free
Now that you know how you can get a free flight and landed for the first time, your next concern is how you can get from one location to the next without the need to spend some money. Hitchhiking is something you can do and it’s known to be one of the best ways to travel the world when you’re broke. If you’re the spontaneous type of person, you’ll get thrilled about standing at the corner of the road, sticking out your thumb and see where the highway takes you.
Although it may sound easy to use your thumb in order to get a free ride while travelling, it would still be better to have at least extra funds to help you in your next journey. This is very important when times get tough. And along the way, you may want to thank the local drivers with some pennies when you feel that you have to.