10 Ways to Travel For Cheap or Free

Just be imaginative, and you can travel cheaply or for free.

Travelling the world with money seems possible. It’s possible. It’s achievable but unglamorous.

There are some things you shouldn’t cut, including travel insurance, but there are many ways to tour the world on a budget, including for free.

This post shows two things:

1. Get a Job Overseas

Do you need to get paid more at your job? Or, what’s even worse, do you hate your job? Why not find work abroad? As long as you aren’t picky, there are plenty of chances in the world. After all, you’re not starting a career; you’re just making money to travel.

Travelling jobs are easy to find and popular:

Au pair: An au pair lives with a host family and helps with childcare and housework. You get free housing and a tiny pay. This is an excellent way to learn a new language or culture.

Bartender— This is an easy international job if you have the abilities. If you go beneath the table, it’s simple. If you can’t bartend, try bussing or dishwashing.

Hostel worker – Hostel workers rarely stay long; thus new help is always needed. It’s a terrific chance to meet other travellers while settling in.

To avoid visa issues, volunteer for a free room. Worldpackers, Workaway, and HelpX can assist you find volunteer hostels.

Waitress/waiter – Many seasonal restaurants in the US and abroad need extra help during peak tourist season. Experienced people can obtain this work abroad.

Farm worker — If you don’t mind the hard work, farming in the middle of nowhere is a terrific way to make a lot of money quickly.

Dive instructor—If you’re certified, this job is easy to travel with. These jobs are in tropical paradises!

Tour guide—If you like history and public speaking, this is the job for you. It’s usually cash, so you get tips immediately.

Cruise ship worker — A more formal job than the ones above, but a terrific opportunity to travel. Living at sea is worth the hard hours!

Ski resort seasonal worker As long as you don’t mind the snow, ski resorts need instructors, restaurant employees, hotel staff, and lifeguards, making them a goldmine for foreign travellers.

Yoga instructor — If you have the abilities and certification, teaching yoga abroad is a simple way to generate some spending money. Most cities have yoga studios, but you may need to speak the language.

Working abroad is typically dismissed as difficult. No. Be open. These jobs require no higher degrees or work experience.

Will you acquire a high-paying office job? No.

Will a low-paying job cover your travel expenses? Yep!

This is how Western and non-Western travellers pay for their trips. It’s a fun, easy way to extend your trip, improve your experience, and generate some money to keep travelling.

2. Teach English Overseas

Teaching English overseas is one of the best ways to make money for travel. You can make a lot of money teaching.

Depending on where you work, all you need is to speak English well and have a TEFL degree. Teachers are in high demand worldwide, and many companies in Asia will even pay for your flight there.

Even though it’s not required in many countries, a college or university degree will help you make more money and get better jobs.

There are also a lot of websites and services out there that let you teach online. You can help people learn English from anywhere worldwide as long as you have a good Wi-Fi connection.

You can teach online at places like:

italki
VIP Kid
Cambly

3.Use The Sharing Economy

Use the sharing economy to find cheaper places to stay, unique tour guides, rideshare options, and local chefs who cook you a meal at your home. With sharing economy websites, you can avoid the traditional travel industry and connect with locals who use their assets and skills to start small tourism businesses that charge less.

Locals also know where to find good deals. They know which supermarket is the cheapest, which stores have the best sales, and where to find the cheapest food at hole-in-the-wall restaurants and bars. You can get this information from them if you talk to them directly.

These sites have changed how people travel and make it easier for everyone to do so.

Here are some of my favorite websites:

BlaBlaCar – This app that allows you to connect with drivers who are willing to transport you for free since they have spare seats in their vehicle (primarily for medium and long distances).
EatWith – Platform that connects you with local cooks serving private meals.
RVShare – Lets you rent RVs and camper vans directly from locals.
Turo – A website where people who live in the area can rent out their cars.
Campspace – This platform enables camping on private land. Properties range from primitive tent sites to opulent glamping and RV accommodations.
Trusted Housesitter – Offers free housing in exchange for pet sitting.

4. Cook Your Own Meals

Cooking all your meals is the best way to save money while travelling.

If you are staying in a hostel, make sure you book a room with a kitchen so you can cook. If you use Couchsurfing or Airbnb, your host will likely have a kitchen.

No kitchen? Make sandwiches and salads to take with you by packing your container and cutlery. Right? Not every meal needs a stove.

You don’t have to eat out for every meal while travelling. If you don’t eat out one day, it won’t ruin your trip to İzmir. There’s no reason to spend much money on your trip on food.

5. Get Rail Passes

When it comes to train travel, rail passes, like the Eurail Pass in Europe or the JR Pass in Japan, are a great way to save money. If you’re going to be traveling around the area for a while, a rail pass will probably save you a lot of money over booking separate trips.

When you book a train ticket ahead of time for a single trip, you can usually save about 50% of the cost. But that means you have to stick to a set schedule. Rail passes can save you a lot of money and give you the freedom you need if you don’t want to stick to a set schedule. This is how you can save hundreds of dollars in Europe.

6. Sleep in Large Dorms

Large hostel dorm rooms are the least expensive paid places to stay. This is the next best way to save money on a place to sleep if you don’t like Couchsurfing. The more space a dorm has, the less it will cost. While a dorm with 4–6 beds might give you more privacy, a dorm with 12–18 beds will be cheaper. This will add up in the long run. If you have earplugs and a sleeping mask, choose the bigger door to save money.

If you don’t sleep well, read the reviews before you book to avoid a party hostel. Most of the time, you can find a hostel in a bigger city that is quieter than the others. You might meet fewer people or be as close to everything, but at least you’ll be able to sleep well.

In a big dorm, there are almost always people who snore. If earplugs aren’t enough, you can download an app like Rain Rain, which plays the sounds of rain over and over again. You can set a timer, so they stop playing after an hour or two. This will help you tune out the noises of the dorm while you are trying to fall asleep. There are also lots of rain and white noise playlists on Spotify.

7. Use Student and Other Discount Cards

Student, teacher, or under 26? Welcome to 50%-off attractions and many savings! Save big abroad with a student/teacher/youth card. If your ID card doesn’t expire, you can probably use it after graduating. Ask about student or youth discounts to save heaps of money while traveling!

Most museums, galleries, and other tourist sites provide discounts (especially in Europe). Ask! (Ask about senior and veteran discounts!)

8. Get City Tourist Cards

Get a city tourism card if you plan to explore several landmarks. These include free public transportation and discounts to popular sites and museums. The London pass, Paris Museum card, Helsinki card, İzmirim Card, and other city tourism passes saved me hundreds of dollars.

They’re great for saving on underused attractions. Check with the local tourism bureau for available cards. They’ll help you save money and answer all your inquiries. If you want to see the big sights, most major cities have them.

9. Travel Hack and Get Free Flights!

Travel hacking has helped me finance so many flights and accommodations. I earned free flights and hotel stays by using a travel credit card for regular spending on groceries, restaurants, and shopping.

Many ways exist to get free flights today. Sign up for many travel credit cards, get miles, and fly free.

Most cards give sign-up incentives of 50,000 points or more, enough for round-trip travel. If you have a Bonus Card in Turkey, you can combine the points to get a cheap flight faster.

You can earn many miles before your trip through credit card bonuses, savvy shopping, online surveys, bonuses, and other techniques. Without flights and some lodging, you may travel much further.

10. Stay for Free

Many services help travellers find locals willing to let them stay with them for free. You will never have to pay for a place to stay if you use these sites. I read about a guy who only used Couchsurfing to travel for years.

I’ve used this service a lot over the years, and every time I do, I meet great people. It’s always free, but sometimes you get a room, a couch, and an air mattress.

The best way to thank your host for their kindness is to cook them a meal, bring them a gift from home, or take them out for a drink. But that will still be a lot cheaper than staying somewhere else.

There are also Couchsurfing group meetups in your new city that can help you make friends. You can use the app to meet people even if you don’t plan to stay with them. It’s a great way to meet people who know the area well, whether you want to stay for free or not.

Also, because the sharing economy has grown in the last few years, there are now websites that let you not only stay with locals but also share rides, meals, train tickets, gear, and much more! These websites save you a TON of money and get you off the tourist path and into the local life. Win-win! Here is a list of sites where you can find free places to stay:

10 Ways to Travel For Cheap or Free