Do you have an unquenchable desire to travel to as many places as possible, but know you can’t really afford to travel the world? Relax—it’s possible to travel to most of the destinations you want to, even if you don’t have a dime in your bank. If you are daring enough to follow some of the following tips, you can visit any place you want for free, and even possibly be paid for it.
Everyone loves traveling. Adventure seeking is part of our DNA. Unfortunately, traveling is one of the most expensive things you can undertake, but this fact does not often obstruct the desire to travel the world. In fact, a lack of money can sometimes make the urge to travel even stronger.
Below are some tips that will help you to visit your dream destinations despite being broke.
Offer House/Pet Sitting Services
Today, the world is more interconnected than ever. It’s easire to find employment on the other side of the globe than it has ever been. If there is a place you really want to visit but can’t afford the accommodation costs, a way forward is to find people living in that area who need someone to take care of their home and/or pets when they are away. This is possible especially during summer when the majority of families go on vacation. The concept is very simple: you can enjoy staying in a nice place in your dream location, while the homeowner will benefit from your house/pet sitting services. You can even get paid for your services! If you do this every summer, your dream to travel the world without all the expense will soon become real.
Volunteer
The easiest and the most straightforward way to travel the world without paying for it is to volunteer. There are many industries and locations in which you can volunteer. Just find what interests you and select an organization that offers services in that niche. Next, find the countries in which the organization operates and offer your services for free. You may also get a stipend for your work. Many organizations are searching for volunteers to work for them, so it’s often not as hard as you might think to get a placement somewhere you would like to visit.
Give Free Talks
Knowledge is power. What you know and take for granted can help thousands of others. You can share this knowledge by giving a free talk. If you are an expert in a certain field, you can advertise your services online and offer free talks. It goes without saying that your hosts will cover your transport and accommodation costs. This will be very rewarding because you will be treated as a professional, get free accommodation and transport, and most importantly visit places you otherwise might not have been able to. The most crucial point to note here is that you should find an organization in need of your talk in the place or near the place you desire to visit. You must also have time to prepare for the professional talk you will give.
Find a Travel-Related Job
The best way to travel the world for free—and definitely get paid for it—is by getting a travel-related job. If you want to see the world, consider getting employed in the transport or insurance industry.
Office jobs can be boring, and they don’t pay as well as field-based jobs. If traveling is a fundamental part of your career, you will be able to visit a lot of places you desire to go, as long as the company sends you there. A pilot, for example, can sure visit a lot of places!
Get Help From Friends
If all of the above tips fail to work for you, consider getting help from your friends and family members if you still want to travel the world. You can start with your immediate family and see if they can contribute to get you going. However, you may have to convince them exactly why you must visit those places because some of them may also be dreaming of traveling while broke just like you.
There are many online organizations like the FundAnything, GoFundMe and Travolta, which can pay for your travel expenses and accommodation. However, you must have a very compelling reason why you need to visit the places you want. You must also be very persuasive otherwise no one will take you seriously. Many people will fund you if you want to go and volunteer in some activity that helps others. If you want to do something which is of interest to the group of people who would possibly want to fund you, the chances of being sponsored are higher. The key here is to be as persuasive as possible.
Offer to be a Driver
If you cannot afford to visit a certain place, look for people searching for drivers. Many people do not like driving long distances, and so they look online for driving services. You will be paid for your services, so you will have some cash to explore the place you want to visit. There are many sites looking for drivers on the internet, but for the majority of them you have to be over 23 years of age.
Exchange your Trade for a Free Stay
To travel the world without the expensive accommodation, you have to capitalize on your strengths. You can use your trade, for example, and barter it for a free stay. For instance, if you are a photographer, you can try and see if the hotel you want to stay in can agree to offer you accommodation in exchange for taking photos of their hotel and assisting them with the online listing. If you’re a writer, you can offer to improve the hotel’s website in exchange for staying in the hotel for free.
Conclusion
Everyone yearns to visit as many places as possible. However, time and resources make this impossible to many. If you have time, you can travel the world without spending too much. You can even be paid for your services. Traveling while broke is not impossible—the key thing to do here is to be as unrelenting and determined as possible when using the above tips. Eventually you’ll get a break and be able to visit all the places you’ve been yearning to see.