Traveling without money is traveling free!
Without a dime, probably -you never know- you will not be able to sleep in five-star hotels, nor eat in Michelin restaurants, but this, like everything in life, It's a matter of balancing the scales : if you are as excited as we are by the mere fact of exploring places and people, if your bilirubin goes up just thinking about packing, probably you do not need money, just fill yourself with the experiences that the path to be happy offers you.
Nevertheless, traveling without a single penny can be very radical for those of us who are used to complain about first world problems (Let's say, because the mobile doesn't get 3G). Thus, it may seem excessive to you to put into practice all the advice that we have compiled , but without any doubt all will help you to know how to move for free, or at least for save as much as possible when you travel with little cash. It's possible!
If you know how to play the guitar, you can teach wherever you go and finance your trip
**TRAVEL WITH ZERO EUROS: A FEW TIPS FROM JAMIE FROM GREAT BIG SCARY WORLD **
this traveler he strictly takes traveling with empty pockets , and with it he has already managed to cross half world. His ideas are very simple: You only need five things to live, and all five can be found for free.
1. AIR: Good news: for now, they don't charge you.
two. WATER: You can find it in sources in most cities. If you don't know where one is, ask for it. You can also have a bottle filled (which you should always carry with you) at the tap of any house, bar, shop, etc. However, if you are not sure if the tap water will do you any good, or if it is not drinkable, you can boil it for a minute or mix it with ** purification tablets ** , which cost very little.
3. FOOD Have you heard of ** friganismo ** ? Basically, it consists of preventing the food that supermarkets throw away simply because it has passed its expiration date from being wasted. In practice, it consists of going to these supermarkets at closing time and getting what they "throw away". If you think about it, it's a pretty rare picture of see you plundering yogurts in the garbage of another country , but, if it helps, think that places like France have already banned this waste and force businesses to donate what they no longer need. The bad thing is that you don't get to choose what you have for dinner, but Jamie claims that he has managed from beer barrels to all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables, including pasta, cans, etc. All this is cooked in a very, very cheap portable stove.
Four. SLEEP: As you can imagine, this blogger doesn't have much of a problem with where to spend the night, to the point that he **tried polyphasic sleep** to minimize the rest time he required, sleeping for half an hour four times a day . He discovered that in this way he was not tired, but in an unrecommended state of continuous euphoria, so he decided to continue with his diet of coachsurfing (which he loves because of the friends he makes), camping (he loves to sleep in nature) and the typical "let's throw the sack and spend the night right here" . The latter has sometimes led him to have problems with the police, Well, the municipal ordinances of certain places prevent this use of public land, so be careful with this. He has also tried take care of people's houses while their owners are away , sometimes taking care of his pets (you can check out House Carers, Mind My House and The Caretaker Gazette), and volunteering, which also provides food and unforgettable experiences.
5. HEALTH : Here, this "ascetic" makes an exception: considers it essential to travel with good travel insurance : in the end, it is cheaper and more useful than having to return home from food poisoning or paying thousands of euros if you break something abroad. After much trying, he proposes the World Nomads as the best option . The only other expense he incurs is the visas that must be paid to enter some countries.
Jamie and his friends are huge hitchhikers.
As "harsh" as these travel conditions may seem, **Jamie seems very happy** since he left his job in 2012 to go see the world, especially since he has freed himself from the shackles of modern life , and now he takes it in a much more relaxed and friendly way. For example, on his travels he is not obsessed with seeing the most touristic places of each zone; he prefers to lose himself and see what he finds ("Keep your eyes open to find the beauty of the world both in places and in people and things," she says). Also, does not make plans and accepts what comes to him ( "Say more than yes!", He exhorts us), she smiles all the time and is not afraid to talk to strangers , quite the opposite: "Knowing that you will most likely never see that person again is a very liberating experience, because you can be whoever you want to be with her," he says.
In fact, her contact with the locals and with other travelers brings her benefits even beyond the spiritual. For example, she has traveled 24 European countries thanks to the kindness of those who welcome her when she hitchhikes, and even gratefully accepts that her benefactors invite him to eat (which happens an extraordinary number of times in her opinion, especially with truck drivers ) . However, Jamie tends to rely on own legs for transportation , and that's how he crossed Iceland in one of the most amazing trips he remembers. The bike It also served him to travel the wonderful lands that separate England from Slovakia, and to go by sea he has tried not only to do hitchhiking on boats (approaching a port and asking the sailors where they are going), but also to build his own boat with some friends.
MORE HELPFUL TIPS FROM JAMIE FOR NOT SPENDING A HARD:
- BATHROOMS : To begin with, it reminds you that you don't need to use them, but if you want to do it you can enter cafes, shopping malls , etc. If they require a ticket to access them, look for one around the tables, but if you can't find it or there is a lock, the best thing to do is ask the staff directly: in their experience, very rarely will they say no.
- HYGIENE : If you are not staying anywhere, use the local rivers or lakes or gas stations, where there are usually showers.
- ELECTRICITY: Simply go into a shopping center, find a socket that is not being used and plug in what you need to charge as if it were the most normal thing in the world; nobody will tell you anything.
- INTERNET: Free Wi-Fi is available almost everywhere, especially in cafes, where you can look for a ticket at the tables or ask one of the customers for the password ("If you ask nicely, they won't mind," says Jamie). You can also go to libraries or tourist information points, which are usually open.
Don't you have how to navigate? Build your own boat!
**TRAVEL WITH SOME MONEY: SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FROM NOMADIC MATT**
"I managed to save enough to travel the world . How? I made it a priority. If traveling is not a priority for you, you will always find other things to spend your money on and you will never have "enough" to travel "In his case, as you can see, Matt started with some small savings, which he found a way to stretch by doing the following:
1. WORK ABROAD: If what you want is to get small income to continue your journey while you explore a place , you can take this option and make au pair, waiter, reinforcement worker in hotels in high season... Also, you can trade your labor for bed and board , which happens in many places in hostels and farms , and even take advantage of your training to teach something you know : yoga, diving, skiing... Of course, the possibility of give spanish classes (a degree isn't always required for this, and many times companies will even be willing to fly you there if you plan ahead), sell your talent (if you sing, you know how to take care of plants or do crafts , for instance; try Worldpackers ), make tourist guide of your destination or even **join a cruise ship** to travel while you work.
two. GET FLIGHTS FOR FREE: To start you will have to get any credit card linked to an airline or travel company. The operation is very simple: you use it a lot (Matt came to pay for everything with them, from the electricity bill to the t-shirts) and then redeem the accumulated points for flights , as explained here . Also, make sure you sign up for their newsletter, Well, sometimes they have special offers such as offering you more points on certain purchases because they have just opened a route. Take advantage of them all!
3. USE THE FREE TOURS : They are in almost all the big cities. You can consider donating something to the guide if you liked it.
Four. COOK YOUR OWN FOOD: He buys at the supermarket instead of hanging around his garbage cans, but he still considers it a very important saving not to always eat in restaurants and cook in the kitchens of the hostels or the house where you stay. A sandwich is also good!
5. GET TRAIN PASSES: If you book in advance you can save you up to half the price of the ticket , but if you don't want to depend on dates and plan to visit several places, buy **global passes like the Interrail one ** and save a lot of dough!
6. SLEEP IN ROOMS WITH MANY BEDS: We are talking about the typical hostel dormitory with ten beds and the bathroom outside. Yes, it's not ideal, but most likely the night will be cheaper than a movie ticket...
7. USE DISCOUNT CARDS: The of student, retired, from the city itself (the typical City Tourist Card) ... If you have thought enter various attractions and museums, it is the most effective. Matt says he saved $100 on the London one and $80 on the Paris one!
8. USE BANK CARDS THAT DO NOT CHARGE YOU COMMISSION : The fairest exchange rates will always be those of your bank , so get a card that do not add commission for withdrawing money from their ATMs and you will see how your accounts improve. Matt recommends **those that belong to the Global ATM Alliance **, as they have branches all over the world.
9. GET CHEAPER ROOMS : You will do it if you book last minute although you can also bid on your room (check Better Bidding ) or even ask for a better room once you are in the hotel itself. If they have it, they will most likely give it to you. for the same price so that you have a good experience and recommend them, assures Matt.
10. SLEEP IN AN APARTMENT : If you are going to be in the same place for several days, consider using services such as AirBnB , Wimdu , Home Away , or 9Flats .
Camel travel: cheap and ecological
**LESS MONEY, MORE LOVE: TRAVEL USING THE SHARING ECONOMY, LIKE THE SHARING BROS **
The Sharing Bros are three friends who have proposed to tour 16 Latin American countries for seven months "with a new way of traveling, less expensive and based on sharing or exchanging goods and services. It also has a plus that makes it more attractive: beyond saving money in difficult times, premium the illusion of becoming a true traveler, the one who escapes mass tourism and becomes knowledgeable about the places and people in each destination", they say on their website.
With this financial concept, these young people refer to "an economy based on networks of connected people and communities vs. centralized institutions , transforming the way we can produce, consume, finance and learn". His intention is to delve into the subject, and therefore they have proposed to make a documentary with their experiences.
SQUEEZE EVERY LAST CENT: MORE IDEAS!
1. WORK FROM THE INTERNET: Make your workstation as portable as your laptop, and so you will make sure that you can receive money while exploring anywhere in the world . If that's not possible with your current job, **consider making a living from your photos or videos, like bohemians Sarah and Josh**, or doing small writing assignments , which you can find, for example, in Vivilia . Also, many other profiles are being searched on Infojobs Freelance **, maybe one of them is yours!
two. MAKE A CROWDFUNDING TO FINANCE YOUR TRIP: At first glance this seems strange, but **it is possible on websites like Trevolta **, which you can use if your odyssey has a beneficial purpose.
3. SHARE A CAR : Man does not live from Blablacar alone; there is Amovens , We Travel Together , Tripda ... There are even people who offer car routes for free in directories like Craigslist, as a certain Joe demonstrated in his documentary.
Four. GO TO THE MARKET: In the markets food is still cheaper than in the supermarket , as well as richer, and you can try local varieties and recipes ! Also, if you're approaching closing time, you'll probably give you more quantity of product because the next day it will not be fresh.
5. LOOK BEYOND COACHSURFING: There's Friendship Force, Trampolinn and Nightswapper, communities that exchange nights to travel to each other's houses ; Hospitality Club and Servas , similar to Coachsurfing (although in the latter you can only stay two days) and Camp in my Garden , which for very little money allows you to camping in private gardens.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- Tips and tricks to find cheap flights - Fly for free all your life? This billionaire has made it - For your trips: Cash or card? - This couple has been traveling the world with their four children for 15 years - 21st century nomads: a perpetual roadtrip in search of beauty - Seven good, beautiful and cheap getaways - Practical tips for traveling and saving in Southeast Asia - Free Berlin: what to do without spending a dime in Europe's cheapest capital - 20 tips to make the most of your Interrail - What you can and can't take from a hotel - 19 things you didn't know about your passport friend - 9 apps to help you on your vacation - All articles by Marta Sader