How to Have Free Travel Adventures

It seems as though the world is shrinking more and more each day as we gain the ability to go more places faster and cheaper. Still, travel can be expensive for those of us on a budget. Here's how to have some travel adventures for free!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• good people skills
• willingness to work

1. 
   Free Travel Adventure--Farming!

   To have a healthy free travel adventure, try WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. This organization matches people with farms. Basically, you volunteer your time working on the farm for room and board. You get to learn about organic farming and live just about anywhere in the world that you want, since WWOOF has connections worldwide.

2. 
   Couchsurfing is a great free travel adventure!

   Couchsurfing is another way to have a number of free travel adventures. The only cost incurred is getting to your destination. Prior to leaving, you will have made arrangements through couchsurfing.com. The way this works is that you register with the site and fill out a profile. You can look through other profiles to see who has a couch available, what their rating is (hosts and surfers are rated by each other) and what their interests are. Some hosts will be happy to show you around! 231 countries currently have active hosts--you can travel the world!

3. 
   Drive a car crosscountry for free!

   If you'd like to get somewhere for free, place an ad on Craigslist offering to drive someone's car for free to the place they're moving to. Since many people prefer to fly, there are a lot of opportunities out there. In the typical arrangement, the person who owns the car pays for the gas.

4. 
   Fly for Free!

   Get a free flight. Look into being a courier for a reputable company. This one will take a bit of research, but people do it. You'll have to be prepared to fly whenever and wherever the job takes you. Adventurous spirits only!

5. 
   Trade your Space!

   Also, if you own your own house, you can look into trading your place for a week or two with another person. This only works if you live in a desirable area to visit. Phoenix, Arizona in August just doesn't cut it. On the other hand, if you have an apartment in New York City, you'll have the world at your feet. When you're researching this option, be aware that it is pretty standard for most matching agencies to charge a fee.

Tips & Warnings

• There are other ways to travel for free, but not everyone is a hot model who has just met a rich Saudi prince.
• Be sure to always have money with you, even if your expenses are low.

Resources

• WWOOF
• Couchsurfing

[Kathymcbain]

on 12/28/2008 Wow - really great tips for being able to travel for free! I bet when you drive someone's card someplace they fly you back...then you get to fly and drive all at once! :)

[AlishaV]

on 12/28/2008 WWOOF sounds interesting, I've never heard about it. I have thought about offering the couch surfing thing. It would be cool to meet random people and it would be great karma too.