How People Travel For Cheap And Even for Free!

It's probably one of the most asked questions. Is how people afford to travel so often worldwide? 

There's definitely a common misconception that you have to be very rich to be able to travel. When in reality you can travel without having a lot of money and there's a lot of different unique ways you can do it. You don't need rich parents who fund your trips. 

So we are going to jump into some ways that how people travel for cheap and even for free.

Transportation 

Flights- If you want to travel you need to get from point A to point B there's a lot of different ways of doing it. Our current day and age, flights are the cheapest they've ever been. Always use websites like  Skyscanner. First and foremost, it does of course help if you have flexibility on your time and your dates but its not absolutely necessary but it does help because there's gonna keep your tickets depending on when you're looking. 

In Skyscanner, there's an 'everywhere' feature where you basically select the location you're leaving from when you type it everywhere and it shows you the cheapest tickets from your airport. There's also an option where you can click cheapest months, use that option whenever needed and then Skyscanner shows you the cheapest months and the cheapest dates to travel to whatever your dream destination is. Looking at flights with an incognito window so your cookies can't be tracked and I also recommend - Jet radar that often has very long layovers but cheap flights so check that out as well. 

Buses- If you are travelling in Europe, in order to save money traveling around is buses, bolt bus, Greyhound buses etc. It's nice if you're booking just a day or two in advance train prices usually go up if you wait to the last minute to book but you can often book a semi last-minute bus for still super cheap and it's a great efficient way to get around.

Trains, so when it comes to trains getting a Rail Pass is your best way to save money on the go it's a lot cheaper and if you were to buy individual tickets instead you can buy a pass for a certain amount of time to certain countries specifically within Europe. That way you buy that Rail Pass and step out of time and then wasn't that time when you have a big gap between two trips, you can just go crazy so instead take that train with your Rail Pass and save that coin and get to see a lot of places. 

Frequent Flyer System

Another thing that has to mention it comes to traveling cheap is making use of a frequent flyer system.  Every time you buy a ticket make sure you're getting those frequent flyer miles because they do add up over time also there's travel credit card points. It's basically different credit cards offer, different point systems as well as like an initial reward for signing up for them. If you spent a certain amount of money within a lot of time you could end up using those points and  taking a trip to somewhere and didn't have to pay for flight. Be careful, don't get yourself into debt but be aware of those mile points out there that can really add up over time and save you money when it comes to fly cheap.

 

Exchange For Work

This is one of the biggest ways you could travel for cheaper even for free. It have worldwide opportunities on organic farms so essentially what you do is you work a few hours on a farm in exchange for room and board, so you're not getting paid and you're not paying the farm but instead you're doing some type of manual labor or work around their property and exchange trading to stay there and Many people when travel to Hawaii and Italy and New Zealand and many other places worldwide.

You definitely need to do your research, don't just sign up for any farm. There are lot of these while there are a lot of great opportunities so just like know what you're getting yourself into. You should make sure that you're looking into it, but it's a good place that you're comfortable with what they're providing you, it's an incredibly hands-on way to get to know a new country and culture through agriculture.

Home Stay

This is pretty similar to working on farm but instead of being on a farm it's a little bit more broad on the different type of things you'll do in exchange for accommodation. It could be anything from helping around the house to cat sitting to helping someone with their business etc, in exchange for helping them out you get a free place to stay.

They're basically great platforms if you're travelling on a budget. If you have a flexible schedule and you want a very authentic local experience there's tons of listings for tons of different options and it's a great way to see things from ground.

Work at Hostels

Another one is to work at hostels. A lot of hostels offer work exchange which basically means you do a few hours of work for them in exchange for getting to stay for free at the hostel. You can save you a lot of money when it comes to accommodation, it could be anything from doing cleaning to bar tending to managing the front desk. It's nice that it's often flexible, if you're coming for just a few days or a few weeks  or a few month, you can figure that out, a lot of times when traveling the biggest expense is the accommodation so it's a great way to have that covered.

Using hostels, it's a great way to save money, it's a great way to meet people if you're traveling solo or with a friend and you want to meet others. Hostels also provide breakfast and you know take a little extra apple and bread stick in your pocket to go and save money on food. They often have free walking tours and discounted pup tours that you can join to meet other people and get to experience the city for cheap.

Be A Teacher 

It's a great way to be able to live abroad for extended period of time like six months, a year, two years etc. If you're a native English speaker you usually need like a bachelor's degree in something, it doesn't have to be English. You need to pass TOEFL for Europe and IELTS for US. It will allows you to teach English abroad, you can do in so many different countries certain countries are higher paying countries like Asia and the Middle East and then Europe, you're not getting as much but you're still getting to live.

There are few other things worth looking into the more of a career path. Like becoming a tour guide, working as a flight attendant, joining the Peace Corps, volunteering abroad many options where you don't have to pay. A lot of programs like to pay thousands of dollars to come volunteer. Broadcom is a good website that connects students with different opportunities for volunteering teaching interning etc check them out.

Get a Job

Another thing is getting a working holiday visa, which initially can be a little bit of expensive but is great if you want to live in a country for extended period of time and be able to get a job there. In Australia, you can get like one-year holiday visa and then there are other you can do, like work as a bartender at a coffee shop etc and be able to stay in the country for a while.

Airbnb

It is super helpful as they often have weekly and monthly discounts. If you're booking a month at a time you often get a thirty five to fifty percent discount.Its nearly fifty percent off if you book for a long period of time so if you're going somewhere for awhile book it out in advance and book it long and you'll save a lot of money.

Couch-Surfing

A great way to save money is couch surfing. Its basically work for free, often on someone's couch. Sometimes they're extra bedroom, a lot of time the people you're staying with will give you incredible local tips or even show you around and it's a great way to get to see a city and it's a great way to get to know a spot better. It's easier for females to get like approved by the hosts but obviously be careful. Take it with a grain of salt, make sure you're checking the references and the reviews of the person you're staying with but a lot of people are on there because they want to meet people that are traveling and get to know others so it's a great way to not have to pay anything for accommodations.

You can fund your drone trips and start working with different tour groups, they will send you on a trip for free.

All you need is to be passionate about traveling and you will always kind of find a way to do it. There's so many different ways of doing it, you just have to be willing to put yourself out there and try something different.  Good Luck.