The best thing about traveling on a budget is that wherever you go you will find things to see and do for free. Of course, sometimes you have to reach for your wallet and drop the dough… there’s no other way :-p But I’m sure it’ll be worth it.
– In these cases, you are interested in pointing to a website such as Cuponation, Cupon.es or Lastminute. In them you can find great discounts and discounts of each type, there are them to rent a car, to buy discount flights, to stay in hotels at bargain prices and much more. We recently found a 30% discount on car rental, come on, that’s great!
– Many young ladies today are seeking to be sugar babies because they believe that being a sugar baby is the key to touring the world for free. Traveling with a sugar daddy is also a great choice to have fun. You don’t have to worry about anything else, just focus on enjoying yourself. He will pay all the bills during the vacation. Try the sugar daddy website to find the perfect sugar daddy traveling with. Also read how to find sugar daddy.
– In almost every city, there are free tours (although you always have to leave a generous tip, that the guides work hard). They are a very good way to explore the city since the guides are usually locals who know the destination perfectly and they will have you visit your bucket list ideas with comfort.
– If you don’t want to spend a penny… no problem: on all sites, there are plenty of free things to do (often even paid sites have hours or days of free access). Find out about the city you are going to see and you will be amazed at the number of free activities there are.
Cheap (or free) hosting
Much of the travel budget is spent on accommodation, it is true, but there are a handful of options to stay for free and tricks to travel cheap around the world.
Couchsurfing
– The best known is surely Couchsurfing, a website that offers hosts who want to discover new cultures, to host travelers from all over the world for free. The cost is nil but the reasons for doing Couchsurfing go beyond saving a few euros: getting in touch with the local and authentic culture is something that you are not always lucky enough to experience. We did it in India, New Zealand, and Japan. In all cases, the experiences were great although, as always, you have to have common sense: always check the references of the hosts!
Home exchange: a good trick to travel cheap
And then there’s HomeExchange, halfway between Couchsurfing and Airbnb. Thanks to this website, which works like a home exchange, you can travel the world accumulating unforgettable experiences. The idea is to collect points every time you leave your house, and use them when you want to stay at someone else’s house. If you don’t have enough points, you can pay the missing amount. There are travelers who have traveled around the world in this way ? We have used it twice: we stayed in a 100-year-old house in San Francisco (soooo beautiful *-*) and a week in a flat in Barceloneta.
House Sitting: our favorite way to travel cheap
But what if you don’t own a house? It’s okay: there are other ways to travel while staying for free. In New Zealand, Australia, Portugal and Spain, for example, we were able to experience housesitting firsthand. In this case, it is about taking care of houses and pets while the owners go on vacation. The experience was not only good, but it was also one of the best we have ever had and we are already looking at new opportunities… on a Greek island or in the south of France we wouldn’t mind at all, doesn’t sound bad right? The most famous house sitting website is undoubtedly trustedhousesitters that works for everyone. And if you register through this link, you have a 25% discount!
Don’t you think it’s one of the best tricks to travel cheap? To us definitely YES.
Workaway: work in exchange for accommodation
But the options do not end here… We stayed for 30 days in Tokyo (one of the cities with the most expensive accommodation in the world), without spending a penny. The reason? Our pretty faces. The walkway is a brilliant invention: you work a few hours a day in exchange for accommodation. In our case, we worked in a hostel from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In order to apply for these positions, you need to register on a specialized website.
Other ways to stay cheap or free while traveling
– It has also happened to us that locals (and curiously in all cases they were women) invited us to eat and sleep at their house. In the vast majority of cases, people are good, although you always have to have common sense and above all… follow your instinct!
– Finally, another way to save on accommodation and travel cheaply around the world is to take advantage of night transport, probably the one you will spend on that dilapidated bus will not be the most comfortable night of your life, but it will be an unforgettable experience. ?
Eat cheap (and even free)
Although it is true that in almost every part of the world (I would say everywhere!) there are ways to eat cheaply (street food, discounts, 2×1 promotions…) it may be that, in some extreme cases, we need to eat for free. We, the truth, never had to pull these tricks, but we know travelers who have done them and they have done well…
Diving Dumpster
– This is the case of the Diving Dumpster , which consists of ‘diving’ in the garbage looking for food. Don’t take it literally, don’t imagine fighting with pieces of bitten sandwiches or rotten apples: there is even a Wikipedia of the diving dumpster that tells you which are the best areas to look for food in good condition. Generally, the best spots are around department stores and supermarkets and what can be found are true treasures (which in the vast majority of cases are in perfect condition and close to the expiration date, not even expired).
Save food: the best trick to eat and travel cheap
– Another movement similar to the previous one is the one that promotes the fight against the waste of ready-made food in cafeterias, restaurants, and fast foods… There are two websites/apps where you can find real bargains on all kinds of dishes that, instead of going to the garbage being in perfect condition, go to your belly for a very low price.
– If you have some budget to spend on food, there are several tricks to extend it as long as possible: you can play the picnic card and buy food in supermarkets (if they are with discounts because they are close to the expiration date, better than better); sign up for the typical websites where they offer discounts at restaurants in many cities; share dishes among several and ask for tap water to drink… When you need to save money, you can become very creative.
Transport: tricks to travel cheaply by moving
Another key point to traveling cheap is to get transportation at good prices. Here are a few tips:
Hitch-hiking
The great resource of travelers without money is hitchhiking , which, once you try it, seems to be addictive. The best or almost best, as in the case of couchsurfing, is not saving money but the incredible experience of coming into contact with a local who opens up completely to you .
In many parts of the world it is a practice totally integrated into society, in Queenstown , where we lived for 3 months, there were people who hitchhiked to go to work… but be careful because in other countries it is not so common (in Italy , for example, on motorways is totally prohibited). Also in this case the network comes to give us a cable: on Hitchwiki we will find advice on the best starting points, the best routes and how to act before and during a hitchhike trip. Do not miss the websites of Acrobata Del Camino and Marcandoelpolo , the cracks of this type of trip.
blablacar
A resource that is becoming more and more fashionable and that everyone already knows is Blablacar , paying a fee to an individual and sharing a ride in their car . Although there is one fact that is striking: sometimes it is cheaper to go by bus or train with an offer!
More ways to travel cheap: transport
– Less common is the barcostop : there are different websites where you can look for a ticket in exchange for lending a hand to the crew. Findacrew is the best.
– There are other travelers who move without motorized means of transport. How? Using the bike! Now, it seems crazy but there are more travelers on two wheels than you can imagine and there are true traveling legends like Alvaro Neil who has been going around the world by bike for a long time XD. Impressive, right?
– Well, wait until you hear/read what we are going to tell you now: there are travelers who simply use their feet to move from one place to another! They are not very numerous but there are, an example is Nacho Dean who has walked around the globe in 2 years, 5 months (and 9 pairs of shoes). And I complain when I have to climb stairs.