The world has never been so expensive… and so accessible at the same time. In this post we gathered up a few tips on how to travel on a budget and/or for free. From backpacking, hitchhiking and exchanging your own skills for food and accommodation, here are some essential tips that can help you travel the world with no money strings attached.
#Trick your transport ticket price
Flight tickets take a huge chunk of a travel budget. You end up spending almost half of your travel budget in one expensive ticket. Fortunately, you can buy cheap flights online and use alternative transportation options.
- Compare flight rates on different sites instead of sticking to the first site you encounter.
- Search for tickets in private mode
- Book flight on weekdays instead of weekends because prices mostly skyrocket on weekends.
- Book your flight at least one and a half months earlier. You get fairly low prices on dates far from departure date.
- Consider alternative traveling options such as train transportation or car sharing.
- Choose slow travel over short week-end getaways. In other words, save up and go on a long lasting trip, dotted with meaningful experiences, meeting people and allowing time to build up relationships.
- Hitchhike in countries where it is considered safe (such as Iceland for example)
#Eat cheap, but quality food
- Take food advice from locals. It would be so wrong if you came back from a trip without tantalizing our taste buds with new cuisines. Do eat and try different foods, but in cheap local restaurants that offer quality food. You can find them by talking to the locals and finding out their preferences.
#Earn some money on the go
The easiest way to cut back on costs is to nullify them. Taking a job while traveling will not only help with finances, but with overall life experience as well. Consider getting familiar with various money transfer systems, such as Paypal, Payoneer or Western Union in order receive or quickly send money online.
#Cut Your Luggage
When traveling abroad, chances are you will not need all that fancy clothing. Just prepare a bag with essential toiletries and a few clothes (rock the mix and match technique). Most airlines don’t mind cabin-sized bags, but cost a huge sum for checking in a bag. Do you know how much can you save by not checking in a bag? Depending on the airline, one bag can cost you as much as $200.
#Consider volunteering for free food and accommodation
Platforms such as Helpx and Workaway are great for traveling on a budget. The deal is you work for a maximum of six hours a day in exchange for food or accommodation. Some hosts use the two platforms as a way to find potential employees, so keep an eye out for opportunities!
#Find cheap/free accommodation
- except for volunteering, you can also try platforms such as Couchsurfing in order to get free accommodation
- work in a hostel a few hours a day and negociate a free room
- House sit, with platforms such as MindMyHouse and TrustedHousesitters
- Work and stay on a boat with sites such as Find A Crew
- start a travel blog and offer to do hostel and hotel reviews
- try a student exchange in a different country
