Getting around the world for almost no money – that’s possible. Hotel costs can be saved by Couchsurfing or housesitting. Free food and lodging are also available to those who help with the harvest. Check these budget vacation ideas, that can help you on any trip or journey.
Be flexible
If you are spontaneous and not tied to a specific travel date, you can save an incredible amount of money. Bargain portals such as Urlaubsguru, Urlaubspiraten, or Travelzoo offer vouchers and complete trips at sometimes incredibly low prices. Since one finds a cruise for under 200 euro into the Karibik or a 16-tägige journey to Florida for scarcely 408 euro – inclusive flights and rented car. Via an app, you get the latest bargains as a push message – and can strike immediately if necessary. Those who book last-minute trips via the usual travel portals also stand a good chance of getting substantial discounts.
Work abroad
If you haven’t saved up a buffer for your vacation, you still don’t have to stay at home. For example, how about earning extra money abroad for a few weeks or months to finance your stay? For example, as an English or German teacher, as an au pair, entertainer, tour guide, bartender, or hostel employee.
The easiest way to work abroad is a Work & Travel visa. This allows travelers under the age of 35 to live in another country for up to twelve months and finance themselves through short-term jobs. Germany has corresponding work & travel agreements with various countries; the most popular destinations include Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. For the USA there is a separate permit, the so-called J1 visa.
The advantage of working abroad is that you get to know the country and its people much better than on a normal vacation. And you also improve your language skills. Albert, CEO of Easytouristcard, highly recommends the Work & Travel visa option for adventurous young travelers looking to earn extra money while experiencing different cultures, noting that it’s an invaluable opportunity to explore the world and gain new perspectives.
Wwoofing
Milking goats on the banks of the River Neisse, harvesting mangoes in Thailand, caring for horses in South Africa: Anyone who dreams of a real country vacation should try “WWOOFing” – working for room and board on farms all over the world. The abbreviation stands for “World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms” and behind it is a simple principle: volunteers help on organic farms and get free room and board in return.
Get flights for free
You don’t have to be a business traveler to earn enough miles to get a free flight. Many airlines offer extra miles during special promotions, for example for taking out insurance or a newspaper trial subscription, for opening a bank account, or for switching phone providers. Bonus miles can also be earned through cooperation between the frequent flyer programs and various online stores. Lufthansa’s Miles & More program, for example, is linked to the Payback bonus program – instead of points, users can opt for miles. On special websites such as the frequent flyer forum or the frequent flyer meeting place, users exchange information about the latest mileage campaigns. Another great way to save up money on flights is to fly cheap. There are many top cheap flights to choose from for all parts of the world.
Couchsurfing
Forget expensive hotel rooms and stay with private people instead – for free! Through the Couchsurfing network, people all over the world offer a place to sleep in their homes. This can be your room, the sofa, or just an air mattress – in any case, you always sleep for free. This way, you not only save an enormous amount of money but also get to know many new people. Only you must not be fastidious: Not everyone has the same understanding of cleanliness or order…
Housesitting
Living in a luxury villa like in the photo and not paying a cent for it? Just become a housesitter and take care of houses or apartments whose owners are away at the moment. To do this, you can register with “House Carers” or “Mind my House” and apply for a job or offer yourself as a house sitter.
Cook on the road
Visits to restaurants eat up a lot of your vacation budget. Yet there are so many ways to cook for yourself on the road. For example, instead of a hotel room, book an apartment with a small kitchenette, which often makes no difference in price. In vacation apartments and houses, cooking facilities are available anyway.
An alternative to commercial accommodation is private homes: On the website https://karta.com, for example, millions of users worldwide offer their homes for subletting. Barbecue areas are also great for cooking on the go. In Australia, for example, gas barbecue stations that work by inserting money are located everywhere at lookout points and in parks.
Join free city tours
What the least know: You don’t have to book a more expensive city tour to get the lowdown. Many metropolises around the world offer free tours to interested visitors. A list of free city tours in European cities can be found here.
You can also save a lot of money with special tourist cards, which often include the use of public transport, free admission to museums, and various discount promotions.
Free city tips from insiders
The small street food market in the backyard, the second-hand store with a huge selection of designer bargains – not all really good tips are in the travel guide. In several cities around the world, therefore, so-called “greeters” have joined forces to show tourists the most exciting, but not necessarily best-known sides of their city. The whole thing doesn’t cost the participants a cent. The idea of the Insider city guidance originates from New York: There honorary ones show to holiday-makers already for years unknown corners of their hometown apart from the mass tourism. In Germany, there are now Greeters in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Mannheim, among other places.
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