It’s possible to travel the world for less money than you spend filling up your gas tank per month. Travelling the world is easy and cheap. Actually, with a bit of practice and effort, you can travel for free. The thought that travel is expensive and hard is nonsense created by tour companies, hotels and corporate media. The tourism business wants you to pay for cruise package and stay at all-inclusive resorts. They force you to choose a world travel the same way you would choose jeans on the market. They want your credit card number.
The tourism business doesn’t want us to share simple secrets of free travel, but we’re going to teach you anyway. It can be scary to travel the world with only optimism and good-will, but individual freedom starts with a leap of faith.
- Enjoy the travel itself
Travel makes you free from the grind of daily routine. You will see new countries, meet new people, taste new meals and learn things about the world – and yourself – that you never realized were possible. The joy of new experience is the most amazing thing about traveling – and new experiences are free of charge. Walk the city streets. Stop and talk to locals. People watch in a public park. Climb to the top of a hill to watch the sunset. The simple joy of visiting a new place is just a reason for going someplace new. No tour package needed.
- Reduce your needs
The modern world economy teaches us to by new goods and services all the time. It’s bullshit. People require fresh air, healthy food, clean water, self-esteem, exercise, companionship, creative stimulation and a safe place to sleep. You can easily obtain all these things. Most of them are free. Go outside for fresh air, take a walk for exercise, go somewhere you’ve never been before for creative stimulation. Make a friend for companionship. Turn off your TV and see the basic goodness of the world for self-esteem. Stuff like meal and shelter are much cheaper once you get outside your country.
3. Go slow
In case you live in New York and dream about taking a 2-week tour to Africa, it will be very hard (though not impossible) to travel for free. In fact, as long as you believe that time is money, you’ll spend it all the time. Time isn’t money, it’s free. You’ve got all the time in the world. Instead of purchasing a plane ticket, catch a ride out West, hope on your bike and ride away from the city. The slower you travel, the less money you spend.
- No obsessions and possessions
You don’t have to pay rent during your traveling. You don’t need a car. You don’t need an oven, cable TV, electricity, gym membership, washer-dryer, couch or a closet full of clothes. You don’t need a suit or tie to wear while you don’t need a job. You don’t need to think about paying the bills while there are no bills to pay. You’re free.
- Learn to trust people
Trust people and they will give you free shelter and food. Lots of people are ready to open their homes to tourists. Chip in with a few chores, and they will feed you too. WWOOF and CouchSurfing are two famous online networks that help travelers connect with local hosts. CouchSurfing members are ready to provide tourists with a place to sleep for a night or two. WWOOF joins travelers with organic farmers who wish to trade room and board for an extra hand. Lots of member of both networks are looking for an alternative to high-influenced consumer culture.
- Learn a useful skill or craft
If you are good at cooking, massage, music, animal husbandry or basic carpentry, you can barter for free meal and shelter as you travel the world. Worldwide accepted skills like cooking are the best, though niche skills that are in high demand, like website design, are also welcomed. Native English speakers can often travel for free by teaching language in each place they visit. The slower you go, the easier it will be to work out a mutually beneficial arrangement with locals.
- Get out of the city
Despite the fact it’s possible to travel for free in a city, it’s damn hard. Cities are built on cash, and necessities like fresh air, clean water and safe place to sleep are hard to find in cities. Head to the country, where people are more relaxed, food is delicious and there’s ample room for one tourist to lay out her sleeping bag under the stars.
- Look for a job connected with world travel
If you require an income in order to pay off loans or support a kid, find a job that calls for constant travelling. There are millions of jobs available in the global economy which requires world travel. Of course, some jobs are easier some are harder, and much work that involves travel also involves the destruction of local ecosystems and traditional lifestyles. Avoid unethical work – it’s bad for your health and worse for your soul.
9. Embrace serendipity
Travelling for free needs a blend of advance planning and the willingness to seize possibilities and going with the flow. Does your new friend form CouchSurfing want company for a drive across the state? Take your bag and ride along! Does an organic farm in Thailand look for a farm sitter for the rainy season? Go! As Kurt Vonnegut once said, “Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.” So dance!