A lot has been written about free travel.
So much, that one gets tired just thinking about it. But hey, that doesn’t mean everything has been said and so here you have it: We have compiled a long list of the resources that will make you travel for free right below these lines.
Use it wisely!
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
GET LUCKY
- Win a contest (google “travel contest”)
- Do some research. There are endless opportunities out there!
- Get a sponsor. Here’re some of our partners.
- Become an influencer like, for instance, these cool Instagramers.
- Get yourself a sugar daddy or mommy (just kidding!)
SAVE SOME MONEY
- Work your ass off before going anywhere
- Sell everything you have (or just some stuff you don’t need)
- Raise money for your project or cause (crowdfunding, donations, charity..)
- Cut your daily expenses, like your phone. Use a calling app to talk to other users for free and make cheap calls to everyone else.
- Follow our saving tips
WORK ABROAD / ON THE MOVE

- Get a skilled migrant visa to any country looking for people with your education and experience background
- Trip leader (Contiki, Trafalgar, HF Holidays, Intrepid, EF, Backroads, Dragoman, G Adventures, etc. )
- Group tour organizer (Adventures abroad, Adventures incorporated, ..)
- Trekking or mountain guide.
- Take a challenge (Global Adventure, Across the divide, Charity treks, Mongol Rally, Rickshaw Run, etc.)
- Flight attendant
- Travel seller (at G adventures for instance)
- Rockstar on a world tour
- Video blog for Tripfilms
- Create a start-up and head to Chile (with Startup Chile, and get 40000 dollars to develop it)
- Travel writer
- Importer/exporter of goods. Make sure it complies with the law first.
- Work for a non-profit organization. Start looking for it on Idealist
- Travel photographer. And you could be doing cool photography things soon!
- Freelancer (designer, SEO analyst, online teacher, translator .. )
- Journalist
- Bartender all over the world
- Expat if your company gives you the chance
- Caregiver
- Au-pair (in Aupair.com or GreatAuPair.com)
- Language teacher (get your TEFL certificate and teach in a faraway country)
- Cruise (CruiseShipJob.com) or yacht crew (crew seekers.net)
- Temporary fruit picker
- Farmworker
- Sailor or worker at a ferry crossings company
- Ship Unloader
- Conference speaker (you should, at least, pretend you are good at what you do..)
- Diplomat, politician
- Chef (there is always a high demand for these!)
- Busker
- Musician
- Artwork specialist
- Product reviewer or secret shopper
- Seasonal worker at ski resorts in winter
- A worker at hotels during high season. For instance, at Club Med
- Start your tourism-related micro-business (city guide, photo tour, .. )
- (Your favorite sport) instructor
- Work camper (in National Parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite or campsites)
- Bar hostess in Japan (just for women, we don’t like it either but it pays well!)
- Test medication (we wouldn’t recommend it..)
- Join the Navy (we hate this one)
- Spread the word.. of God (another non-keeper)
VOLUNTEER ABROAD

- Super short-term: Join a work camp. SCI, worldwide. Small fees may apply.
- Short term: Geekcorps, Winrock, ACDI VOCA, FSVC, IESC
- Long-term: Peace Corps and United nations, worldwide. Americorps, USA. VSO, UK.
- As an English teacher.
- Artists programs. Find more on Artcorp.org
- Sudan volunteer program
- Kibbutz volunteer, Israel
- Volunteer in an NGO abroad. Go Abroad has lots of programs.
- EVS if you are European (like I did, in Iceland!)
- Turtle teams worldwide
- Helpx
- Workaway
- WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)
- Conservation Volunteers (Australia and New Zealand)
- Sister city exchanges
- Workampers (if you are an RVer)
- National Park Rangers (USA)
- Disaster relief
- Hiking Trail Volunteers (CDTrail, PNT, Appalachian Trail, .. )
- Organic Volunteers (almost every kind of volunteer work)
STUDY ABROAD
- Get a scholarship.
- Go to a country where education is free (Sweden, ..)
- Take part in an exchange funded by your local organization, university, or government
GETTING THERE
- Hitchhike
- Register to get every airline in the world’s newsletter and wait till they offer free seats (like Air Asia)
- Work your passage as a sailor
- Ride a bike
- Walk everywhere
- Use frequent airline’s miles (small fees may still apply)
- Free travel schemes for seniors (Ireland), children,…
- Relocate vehicles (Britz, Maui, Autodriveaway …)
SLEEPING
- Couchsurfing (is Couchsurfing safe?)
- Global Freeloaders (register at least 6 months before your departure)
- Hospitality club
- Servas
Hostels and monasteries of Saint James’ Way, Spain.They are no longer free but affordable for pilgrims and hikers (8-10€)- Beach or free camping
- House Swapping
- House Sitting
- Hostel worker (in exchange for food and accommodation) South America, New Zealand, worldwide.
- Warm showers (bicyclists)
- Clubs (Lions, Rotary, Motorcyclists, Gays and lesbians, Educators, Women, Optimist, Mensa if you are really intelligent and after paying the intelligence test cost, Tandem bicyclists, Evergreen for 50+,…) For many of them, a small fee applies.
Related read: The 4 Types Of Intelligence Developed By Traveling
EATING

- Plant your food
- Go fishing and hunting (where permitted)
- Take the food supermarkets to get rid of at closing times
- If homeless, daily meals are offered in shelters
- Dumpster dive in cities
- Trade restaurant food for dishwashing
- Donate blood (and, luckily, you will get something to eat afterward)
VISITING
- There are plenty of “free city walking tours” worldwide. Do some research
- Museums: during off-peak hours might be free / some of them are based on donations / Plenty of them cost nothing!
- Art galleries are usually free (and, if you happen to arrive during an opening, you might get a glass of wine too)
- Parks and nature spots are usually free of charge
- Most of the online travel guides cost virtually nothing (like our Andalucia Road Trip Guide. Go check it out!)
What else would you add?
Wow. Bookmarked!
I do take into consideration all of the basics you’ve provided in your posting, bookmarked!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment 🙂 Come back soon!
Outstanding post! Extremely useful and full of great resources, thank you so much for writing this!
Thanks! 🙂
I will second on advantages of getting a teaching degree in English. It’s not the best paying job in most parts of the world, but it sure allows a lot of possibilities in life including world travel.
Very interesting topic, thanks for putting up.
Thanks Tomiko! 🙂
I seriously love your blog.. Great colors & theme. Did you make this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m hoping to create my own personal blog and would like to learn where you got this from or what the theme is called. Kudos!
Thanks! Oxygen theme, WordPress
I simply want to say I’m very new to blogging and honestly savored this page. Probably I’m likely to bookmark your website . You actually come with great articles and reviews. Thanks a bunch for sharing with us your blog.
Thanks Armando!
Wonderfully compiled list . Hope to try some of these .
Thanks! Most of them are in our wish-list too! 😉
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Very well written!
Thanks for commenting then 😉 Mathilde!
I found this site whilst searching on Bing. You’ve obviously put a lot of time into it, and I agree with most of what you say. You certainly have a love about what you are doing and it is obvious to all. So keep up the good writing. I will be returning for further reading, and I have added your website to my list of bookmarks. Cheers guys.
Nice long list of options, anyone should be able to easily find somehow to travel free with all the ideas mentioned above!
That’s the idea! Thanks for your thoughts!
Hello. superb job. I did not anticipate this. This is a splendid articles. Thanks!
Glad you like it! If you have any other tip not listed, let us know!
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thanks for stopping by! Any more tips? 🙂
Great list!!! Here are a few other things that I have done, and plan to do, to travel for (kind of) free. Enjoy!
– Get a teaching degree/teaching English certificate (it will hopefully allow you to travel anywhere and everywhere!)
– Work at English camps overseas (some companies will pay for your flight overseas and back to work for them)
– Crash at a friends place, or a friend of a friends place (social networking at its best!)
– Apply for free tickets to music festivals (check out this site for contests during the spring and summer http://consequenceofsound.net/ )
Thanks for sharing and good luck in your future teaching adventures!!