When people think of traveling, they think of luxury experiences that cost an arm and a leg. If price is what’s holding you back from traveling, then book a ticket already because there are so many ways to travel for cheap.
- Work for accommodation
- Stay in hostels
- Buy groceries and cook
- Travel slowly
Work for Accommodation
Many hostel, hotel, au pair, and farm jobs offer work for accommodation opportunities. This means that instead of receiving money in exchange for your services, you receive accommodation and sometimes other perks (ie food, tours, transportation, etc). Two websites I recommend for finding these kinds of jobs are WorldPackers and WorkAway.
| WorldPackers | WorkAway | |
| Pros | A more secure admin and background and legitimacy checks on job hosts | Free to join |
| Cons | Requires a membership ($100 annually) | Less secure admin and fewer legitimacy checks so some can seem pretty sketchy |
For both sites I recommend looking through all the reviews a job has. This will be your best insight into the legitimacy of the opportunity and whether or not it is the right one for you.
If you are looking to work in Hostels, many will simply hire guests when there is an opening. So, if you make it clear you would like to work for accom and are able to stick around until there’s an opening (which tends to be pretty frequent) you will be all set!
Depending on the country and the visa you enter with, be careful to ensure you are not breaking your visa. Since you are not working for pay, it normally is not an issue, but it is always good to know beforehand. Additionally, if you ARE able to get a paying job under your visa, working for money is, of course, another good way to maintain savings while traveling.
Stay in Hostels
Hostels are soooo much cheaper than hotels! And more social too!
If you don’t mind sleeping in a shared dorm and using a communal bathroom, then do not hesitate to start living the hostel life. Dorms can vary from 4 to 18 people and most hostels have an option for women to stay in a female only room.
I love staying in hostels simply because it is such a social environment. Some will have a bar or host different events, while others always have people chatting or playing games in the kitchen. No matter what, hostels are filled with people looking to make friends!
Pack these things for hostel life:
- Lock: most hostels will have a space for you to keep your belongings but they rarely provide a lock
- Shower Sandals: in case communal showers gross you out
- Earplugs: Sometimes you have snorers in your room
HostelWorld and Booking.com are good resources for finding hostels.
Buy Groceries and Cook
Although you’ll get done with your first shopping trip and think “fuck I’ve spent half my week’s budget,” if you did it right, you will no longer need to spend any money on eating out. In some countries it is quite cheap to eat out but it will almost always be cheaper to buy simple ingredients that will last you multiple meals.
That is not to say you shouldn’t eat out at all. You should absolutely try local dishes and find some nice restaurants – it just doesn’t need to be every single meal of the day!
Travel Slowly
This one is a little bit harder for those who have a job to get back to or some other trip deadline. However, if it is possible for you, definitely try to travel slower.
What does this mean?
It means spending more time in different locations rather than just trying to hit all the big things in a small amount of time. It will mean you can spread out spending, buy groceries like I talked about above, make more friends, and really immerse yourself in the culture of where you’re at.
If your dream is to start traveling but the issue is money, then do not worry. There are so many ways you can budget travel and these are only a few basic ones. This page will continue to be updated as I travel and learn more about cheap travel!
Sylvia's Gap Year 