How to Get FREE ACCOMMODATION Around the World: 3 Top Budget Travel Hacks

Hands up who loves a freebie. Me too ;)

A lot of the time when I get messages and comments asking about how I can afford to travel as much as I do the answers are usually:

a. Travel is a priority to me. I’m committed to this life and where there’s a will there’s a way

and more than that:

b. I figure out multiple ways to exchange skills, time and more to get stuff for free.

We’re going to focus on point b here ;)

Read on for my top 3 free accommodation hacks for travel both long and short term.

FREE accommodation travel hacks.png
FREE accommodation 2.png

Pin these for later ^^

 Couchsurfing

 

Using Couchsurfing was one of my first budget travel loves and a real life-saver on my first big trip abroad alone – 4 weeks in Southern Europe on a budget-budget.

I got on this website and arranged to stay at strangers’ homes for free. It was amazing.

How it works:

Although the website itself is no longer free to join as of 2020, the benefits remain the same – on your profile you can set the dates you’re traveling to a particular place and have potential hosts message you (or more likely you message them) to arrange a stay at their home.

I also have used it to arrange meet-ups with other travellers and locals of that place, join forums with questions/advice for other people and find out about events like dinners or walking tours with whoever’s there at the same time.

Sleeping a 10-minute walk from the Colloseum FOR FREE plus a lasting friendship with the host? Sign me tf up

Sleeping a 10-minute walk from the Colloseum FOR FREE plus a lasting friendship with the host? Sign me tf up

 

Check out my guide to having a fun and safe Couchsurfing experience here.

 

Workstays

 

How on earth did I spend 9 months in Cape Town, South Africa, 2 weeks at Mfangano Island, Kenya and 7 months in Jinja, Uganda and not pay a cent for the places I slept?

This right here has been the saving grace of my more flexible long-term trips.

How it works:

A traveller (can be solo, a couple, even a family with kids or a group of friends) exchanges their time and/or skills in a particular area, usually on a part-time basis of a few hours a day, in exchange for free board.

People get hosted by families, hostels/guesthouses and other tourism businesses like diving centres, community development projects or just individuals who’d like to practice a language or have someone from a different culture in their home for a bit.

I personally have bartended at a hostel, taken photos and videos for a community permaculture project and have a LOT more saved in my ‘to do’ list.

My top recommendations to arrange this are the websites Workaway.info and Worldpackers.com, however I’ve also contacted hostels and non-profit organizations directly in the past.

Read more about my work stay experiences in this newsletter


Housesitting

 

This one I’m yet to actually land and experience for myself but let me tell you I’m sold already.

In short someone goes away on holiday or has a house they don’t live in full-time and asks you to just stay there while they’re away. If they have plants to be watered or a dog to be walked, that too. Often there is a pet if it’s a short stay, but that’s not always the case. And some people even get paid.

If you’re looking for the option with arguably the least responsibility and the most likely that you’ll have your space and time to yourself, housesitting is probably the move for you.

You can sign up onto Trustedhousesitters.com or look up Facebook groups and website specific to the region you’re traveling in e.g. housesit Southeast Asia or housesit Zanzibar.

House-sitting gets you double the local experience - live somewhere for weeks/months at a time and probably in a non-touristy area. Winning.

House-sitting gets you double the local experience - live somewhere for weeks/months at a time and probably in a non-touristy area. Winning.

 

Check out Stephanie Perry of Vaycarious who makes videos on her experiences house-sitting in several countries around the world and how you can too.


And just like that your life is blessed with 3 ways to never pay for a place to stay abroad (or at home) again, if you don’t want to.

Have you tried any of the above? Do you plan to now? Let me know in the comments below ;)

And keep in touch: