Many people agree that traveling is a never-ending passion, but perhaps money is. In this sense, the initial suggestion is to recognize that a trip involves three moments, which are: planning it, living it, and remembering it.

For those who are wondering how to travel for free or on a low budget, you should know that this is possible, as long as there is a considerable amount of effort, interest, and willingness to get involved with new cultures.

We have now updated the list which we have done two years ago in order to give you some more options while traveling on a law budget. If you are about to start a low-budget kind of trip, then this is the right article for you!

Tips for starting a low-budget trip

• Travel in low season: many people can only take holidays during the high season, but if you have more flexibility, the ideal is to choose less busy months and avoid holidays. You have more chances to find promotions for air tickets, more affordable accommodation prices and even negotiate tour prices.

• Take out travel insurance: This may sound strange because it costs money, but you can believe what I’m saying: traveling abroad without travel insurance is risking bankruptcy, especially in countries with a very expensive medical system, like the United States.

• Travel with little luggage: you always carry a lot of clothes that you don’t even take out of your suitcase, right? Traveling with little luggage can be a challenge, but over time it gets easier. In practice, for most trips you only need enough clothes to spend a week – if you’re going to stay longer than that, it’s just washing.

• Choose cheap destinations: last but perhaps the one that will influence your budget the most, you can travel with little money in countries like Switzerland and Denmark, but it’s much harder than in Bosnia, Bolivia, Vietnam or India, for example. If you don’t want to have to make too many concessions, I recommend focusing your roll on a place with the most affordable cost of living, and/or where the Real is more valued than the local currency.

• Be smart with meals: Another expense that usually weighs is food. I am against spending the whole trip eating McDonald’s, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot or starve. One tip is to avoid places on the main streets in more touristy regions. Throw yourself into street stalls, public markets and fairs (where there is often so much tasting that you don’t even have to buy anything).

• Stay at a friend’s house. It’s not an app, it’s a suggestion that although it sounds a bit old-fashioned compared to the previous alternatives, it’s never too much to consider.

• Traveling at night. You can sleep on the train or bus for long journeys.

Platforms for traveling cheap or for free

Free or almost free accommodation. There are platforms that can be of great help in this regard:

• AirBnb. It is an application that provides gift vouchers for those who have just registered. A quick investigation will help you to take advantage of this.

• Couchsurfing. It is a platform with which to establish a cultural trick, so in principle it is free. In any case, it will be necessary to be careful about the expectations of those who offer their space.

• Aupair. The aim of this modality is for a person to offer to take care of the children in another part of the world and to carry out all the household tasks so that in return they can have everything they need to live in that place. In most cases, a salary will be paid.

• WWOOFING. It is a platform that makes it easy to find options for volunteering a few hours a day in exchange for room and board. It is an excellent alternative for a trip around the world.

• Housesitting. The concept of this platform is new because what is achieved with it is that those people who go on a trip and do not want to leave their home alone, find a person who is willing to pay attention to it. Useful for both parties, of course.

• HelpX. It is one of the most popular applications for exchanging food and lodging for work. In case you want to explore more alternatives similar to this platform, there are options like Staydu, Workaway or EVS.

• Camp in my garden. The name is very suggestive. The idea is for people to be able to camp in other people’s backyards, but paying for it.

• HomeExchange. As simple as exchanging homes with others.

• Worldpackers. People’s skills will be exchanged for accommodation. It is a Brazilian company that has found a very good acceptance with its idea.

There is plenty of info you can take an idea on, for example, around youtube: