Yes, you can actually travel the world for free. What you must understand, however, is that you probably won’t have the same sort of latitude you typically would have when you pay for the trips.
For the most part, you will have to go to pre-determined places that might not have been on your bucket list. That being said, however, there are very many different avenues through which you can travel the world for free and even get paid while doing it.
Here are some common ways to do that:
1. Become a Crew Member on a Cruise Ship or Luxury Yacht
You don’t need to be an expert sailor to crew a cruise ship or yacht. Big luxury cruise ships often need crew members of all types of skill sets. You could be a cook, a communications officer, a member of the security staff or even a waiter. All these positions are open to people who have a willingness to be out at sea for long periods of time.
The best part is that the ship will provide you with room and board. Not only do you get to meet different people – all of whom probably have the same wandering genes, but you also get to share in adventures that typically would cost you a fortune and months of planning to experience. However, you must be prepared to get little sleep and the pay isn’t exactly top tier.
If, however, you are not all about huge cruise ships, then maybe you can crew a small luxury yacht. All you have to do is a run a quick search online on websites such as “Find a Crew” and explore the various job opportunities available.
2. Learn How to be an Organic Farmer through WWOOF
WWOOF stands for “World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms“. It’s a movement that aims to connect organic farmers from across the globe with volunteers who want to increase their cultural understanding by working the fields and learning. While you are staying on these farms, you won’t get paid and neither will you be expected to pay. This is a learning exchange program.
The joining process is simple enough. All you have to do is go online and see if there is a WWOOF organisation in your country. Once you find it you can apply to become a member. The next step is to go through the list of gardens, smallholdings and organic farms that are also members.
After identifying the farm from which you want to learn by volunteering your services, you send in an application indicating what kind of volunteer work you will do and what you want to learn. If the farmer accepts your application, you will be on your way.
The idea behind WWOOFing is that you get to learn various organic farming methods and interact with like-minded people who will teach you a life skill necessary for healthy survival. Typically, the host caters for your food and lodging while you are volunteering. So you might only have to worry about the transport to and from the location of the farm.
3. Make Use of Your Points and Frequent Flyer Miles
Do you travel a lot? If so, there is a good chance that you have racked up a few frequent flyer miles. In fact, you can increase the number of points gained by using your debit or credit card to do airline ticket purchases and even hotel stays. For the most part, you will find that you can cash in these points to get highly discounted tickets or even fly around for free.
Check with your favourite airline to see what kind of offers they have on this front.
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4. Become a Flight Attendant
This is by far one of the best ways to travel the world for free. Especially so if you become a flight attendant at a major airline like Kenya Airways. As a flight attendant, you get to go everywhere the passengers go and get paid for it. In fact, you get allowances to cover your meals as well as other expenses and the airline even caters for your accommodation for the most part.
This is like any other job. You have to meet the required criteria which vary from airline to airline and you have to adhere to the employee rules and regulations. It can be gruelling work considering the fact that you have to deal with jet lag almost constantly. However, in between flights, you may get a couple of days or so to explore the new destinations and get to know the people.
Read: Jet Lag: What is it And How to Deal With The Jet Lag Blues
5. Organise a Volunteer Trip
Now this one is a little tricky. Organising your own volunteer trip requires utmost honesty and transparency. You have to be very clear what you intend to do and highlight why you feel it’s absolutely necessary. There are a million excellent causes in the world, you can simply take up one of them and convince your friends, family and even strangers through platforms such as “GoFundMe” to help pay for it.
Accountability is key here and the cause you choose must make a positive impact on the lives of the recipients. It’s very easy to fall into the “fraud” trap if you use this as an excuse to globetrot and have fun. Yes, you are allowed to have fun while you volunteer your time but the work must come first.
There are a bunch of other creative ways to travel the world for free and even get paid for it:
Swap houses with fellow travellers – this will take care of your accommodation but you will have to pay for your transport.
Offer to drive someone’s car across the country – it’s not international travel but it’s an excellent way to go on a localised road trip with almost zero expenses to you.
Find viable “Work Stay” programs – your accommodation will be catered for and you might even earn a little money.
It takes a bit of creativity and an adventurous spirit but you can actually travel the world for free. Do you have any other ideas on how to do that? Share them with us in the comment section below.