We all enjoy getting free stuff. It allows us to stretch our budget to the fullest and get the most of the opportunities we do have. Here are a few ways to travel for FREE (or pretty darn close to it.)

Airfare:

Become a frequent flyer mile junkie! If you have good credit, start building up those miles. Many credit cards offer bonuses when signing up which could already be enough to pay for a domestic ticket, without even using the card. If you travel a lot for work already, see if your company will allow you to book it yourself and be reimbursed. For a review of some of the best cards out there, the bonuses, and the associated fees check out  www.creditcards.org/airline. To talk to other “junkies” check out a few forums online such as www.pointsguy.com

Accommodation:

Friends and Family 

I’ve  been blessed to keep meeting people and making connections all over the world and the more I travel the easier it becomes. I’ve stayed in touch, and ended up staying  with people from back home now living overseas, as well as people I’ve met on the road. Do you have  distant relatives somewhere in the world who might be excited to finally meet you? I found relatives in Poland, who although were poor as church mice, opened their home and their fridge to me and my dad (I’m not kidding, despite our protests they wouldn’t stop trying to feed us!) Make sure to have something to give in return (even something that you may have picked up traveling) to thank them for their generosity. Remember to always be grateful, and never have any expectations. Be open to the experience!

 Couchsurfing

 How can a perfectly good stranger let you into their house and not ask for anything in return? Well check out the website and see for yourself. It’s a growing community based on trust and donations, and I’ve met some great people from it. When I was in Holland I had my wallet stolen on the way to a couchsurfing event. I ended up staying for a week in Belgium (just over the border) with some fellow couchsurfers I met at the party while I was getting my banking details and life sorted out again. If you aren’t comfortable with a perfect stranger, the events are a great way to meet people first so you aren’t going into the situation blind, and you also get a much more cultural experience hanging out with some of the locals. Also a great way to find a free interpreter if you are in a country where you don’t speak the local language (you might learn a few words in the process.)

Work for a Bed

Hostels, farms, and even some language immersion programs will allow you to work for a few days in exchange for free accommodation. Some cleaning or labor might be involved (or even just conversing with locals to help them become fluent in the language) but it is a great way to cut down on costs.

Home Exchange

Maybe another scary concept for those thinking about trust issues, but if you own a home, this gives you the luxury of traveling to another location and have a home away from home. Make sure you have a good insurance policy that would cover damage or theft while you are away if someone else is occupying your home, and be sensible about leaving valuables and making yourself an easy target. Just with couchsurfing, there are online profiles where you can get to know the person in advance, and decide if they would be a compatible exchange for you. It gives you the luxury of being in a comfortable location (maybe on the beach, on a lake or in a ski chalet) without having to worry about timeshare ownership or exchange fees. If you own multiple properties and would be renting them out anyways, why not set aside a week or so of vacant time for someone to use, where you could exchange for another place for free? There are quite a few websites out there if you want to try it out for free or with very little investment, check out www.geenee.com or www.exchangeaway.com for starters.

 Tours

Of course there are many wonderful tours that you can book in advance, and to be able to afford doing even more, why not consider doing a free walking tour? It will help you get familiar with the lay out of the city, introduce you to other travelers, and if you haven’t planned anything in an advance, give you an idea of what you really want to spend more time exploring. The largest and most well know is Sandemans offering tip based tours in 14 countries around Europe, but there are smaller less developed companies out there if you look. You pay in tips, based on the value of what you feel they gave you on the tour.  Also, through the couchsurfing website, you can connect with people who just want to be a resource in their home town, offering to meet for coffee and show you around to all their favorite places. Some tour companies such as Kontiki have a “layaway” program, allowing you to book a tour, and then earn credit towards free tours by referring your friends.

Museums and Attractions

Lucky for me, the weekend I was in Rome happened to be “free museum weekend” allowing me to not only go to the Coliseum for free, but also through the Vatican museum (which happens to be the last Sunday of every month.) Check in your guidebooks for locations that offer free or half price admission on certain days of the week.  Most churches and synagoges are free (with paid guided tours around the circumfrince. ) A great website for traveling in the  U.S. is http://free-attractions.com/ For international travel, you may want to look in the community section on craigslist under events, or even on angloinfo.com 

Free Rides

The days of sitting on the road with your thumb outstretched are long over. Try cyber-riding instead. Several websites (along the same premise as the others before) allow you to set up a profile and find people who are driving to the locations you plan to go. Think of it like proactive hitch-hiking, only hopefully you are smart enough to at least have all the persons details (such as phone, email, etc) and to choose the right people to ride with. Some are ridesharing where you would contribute to the cost of fuel with a few people, and some will offer the ride for free. Use your best judgement and give yourself enough time that you can be comfortable with the person you are riding with (although you never really know for sure.)  Here are a few websites to check out depending on where you are going:

www.carpoolworld.com (24 countries in U.S/Europe)

www.hitchhikers.org (Europe)

www.digihitch.com (worldwide forum)

www.catchalift.com (Australila, Canada, New Zealand, U.K.

www.needaride.com.au (Australia/New Zealand)

www.craigslist.com (Rideshares for U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, U.K, Aus.

Random Stuff

Do you have some items you need for the trip, but don’t have (or want to spend the money to buy?) Consider signing up for www.listia.com, a free community where you list things you don’t want, earn credit, and then use that credit to exchange and bid for things that other people are giving away. You get immediate credit when you sign up to start shopping, and the more stuff you list, the more you can get in return. From electronics (such as cameras) to gift cards, even FOOD can be traded on this site. Craigslist also has a free section listed where you might be able to pick up a few useful things.