Traveling for free. It’s the ultimate dream, right?
It might sound impossible — but it’s not.
Combine travel hacking with a dose of seasonal jobs, a sprinkle of creativity and voila: You really could travel for free.
I know, because I did it for many years.
For the better part of a decade, I trotted the globe by using frequent flyer miles, teaching English abroad, volunteering in several countries and working a variety of seasonal adventure jobs.
All these strategies allowed me to travel for much less money than you can imagine — and often, for free.
Since I want all of you to experience the magic of exploring somewhere you’ve never been, here are 10 ways you can start traveling for free.
1. Get Free Plane Tickets
Transportation is one of the most expensive parts of travel. Without a doubt, the quickest and easiest way to get free flights is to rack up points with a rewards credit card.
My personal favorite is the Chase Sapphire Preferred®, which is offering a 50,000 point sign-up bonus right now. That’s enough points for one or two free flights with dozens of different airlines.
To get the bonus, you need to spend $4,000 on the card within the first three months.
If that’s more than you regularly spend, don’t fret; you can always pick up the tab for your friends’ big purchases and have them pay you back in cash.
Two other perks? You’ll earn two points for every dollar you spend on travel and dining, and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year.
2. Play With Polar Bears
Due to retreating sea ice, polar bears have become classified as a threatened species.
Though we’ll hopefully figure out ways to reduce climate change and bring their numbers back up, now is still the time to see these beautiful animals in their natural habitat.
And if you spend the summer working at Deadhorse Camp in Alaska’s arctic, you’ll get to do it for free.
In addition to an hourly wage, you’ll get free lodging, three meals a day and a $1,000 end-of-season bonus to cover the costs of your plane ticket.
3. Squirrel Away Money into a Travel Fund
Everyone wants to save money for travel, but few people manage to do it — which is why you should make it automatic.
One of the best ways to do so is with an app like Acorns.
Once you connect your credit or debit card, Acorns rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and puts the “change” into a savings account. You don’t even notice the money leaving, which makes for truly painless saving.
Using this innovative platform, one of our writers will save over $400 this year. That could buy her a flight to the Caribbean or Central America — how nice would that be?
4. Join the Cartel
Traveling for free takes a lot of work — otherwise everyone would do it. So sometimes it’s smart to get help from the experts.
Chris Guillebeau, one of my personal heroes, has visited every country in the world. Lucky for us mortals, he shares his secrets through the Travel Hacking Cartel.
As a Cartel member, you’ll receive several emails each week with promotions and tips to help you earn more travel rewards.
Membership only costs $1 for the first 14 days, and $15 to $39 per month after that. It also comes with a unique guarantee: Earn 100,000 miles — enough for four plane tickets — in your first year of membership, or get your money back.
I’d say that’s a bet worth taking!
5. Sleep With Strangers
No, not in the same bed — get your mind out of the gutter!
In case you haven’t heard of it, CouchSurfing is a sweet service connecting you to like-minded people across the globe. These fellow travel lovers let you sleep on their couch for FREE.
All they ask is a bit of reciprocity: that you offer up your couch to another CouchSurfer once back in your hometown.
6. Move to Antarctica
Want to live in one of the most remote corners of the planet?
Get a job in Antarctica.
You’ll get free housing and food — plus a decent income — for spending months on the bottom of the world.
Since you won’t have anywhere to spend the money during your stint, you’ll also leave with a significant chunk of change…
Not only that, but Antarctic employers also pay for your transportation down there.
Since you can attach your own frequent flyer account, these round-trip flights will earn you enough miles for a free ticket to a different destination during the off-season.
7. Eat Out at Restaurants
Cooking at home is an excellent way to save money, but sometimes you just can’t be bothered.
If you do decide to eat out, make sure you sign up for travel rewards programs first.
For example, United Airlines is offering 1,000 bonus miles when you sign up for its United MileagePlus Dining program — plus more miles when you eat at one of its thousands of participating restaurants.
8. Cuddle With Baby Goats
This is a real thing that exists. Trust me, I’ve done it.
Through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), you can get free room and board in exchange for four to six hours of work per day. Gigs range from crushing grapes in New Zealand to cuddling goats in North Carolina.
And WWOOF is far from your only option; here are several more types of work exchanges that’ll help you travel for free.
9. Shop Online
If you do any online shopping, please tell me you’re using a shopping portal.
If not, you’re pretty much throwing money away.
Before you buy anything online, check a site like Cashback Monitor to see which travel partner offers the most bang for your buck.
For example, if you shop at Sierra Trading Post — one of my favorite stops for travel gear — you can earn two American Airlines miles per dollar spent.
That’s on top of the miles you’ll earn by using your rewards card. Woohoo!
10. Set Sail
Is there any better way to see the world than by boat?
Probably not.
But #yachtlife is never gonna happen for me, unless I happen to marry a millionaire.
Since that’s looking fairly unlikely, I’ve often considered joining the crew for a sailboat or cruise ship. These travel jobs cover room and board, and allow you to see many different locations within a single season.
Don’t be like the countless people who wish they could go places — but don’t want to put in the effort travel hacking requires.
From experience, I can tell you: It’s a lot of work, but it’s so worth it.
Instead of sitting around wishing you could travel, follow these tips and explore the world for free.
Your Turn: What’s your favorite way to travel for free?
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Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.
The post Yes, You CAN Travel the World for Free. Here’s How I Did It appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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