When people learn about my travels they sometimes say “I could never afford to do that!” That might be true if you visit pricey tourist attractions and stay in 5-star hotels, but that’s not me. Here are ways to make travel affordable, especially if you travel solo and want to focus on community connections.
These ideas are mostly for acquiring free or cheap lodging and meeting local community members simultaneously. Some require a subscription, but each is cheaper than even one night at a hotel. You can search most of these websites without a subscription, so I only pay when I’m actually going to use a service. Click the names below to access each website.
Volunteering for Lodging
If you want to give back to a community you’re traveling through, consider doing volunteer work in exchange for housing. I’ve personally done almost all of these, and/or have friends who have used them.
Services that require a subscription:
- WWOOF: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Despite the name, these environmental opportunities are not always on farms. I did one on small island in New Zealand. I worked 3-4 hours, 5 days/week doing weeding, gardening, counting birds, helping with educational programming, scrubbing the jetty, painting, and doing house chores. One day my job was literally to hang out with the island keeper’s two kids. I had two days off per week, access to a kayak, bike, car, and public transit, and got lodging and food. It was one of my all-time favorite life experiences. Read about it here.
- Workaway: Similar to WWOOF, but usually in peoples’ homes helping with a wide range of tasks. A few hours per day in exchange for lodging and sometimes food.
- HelpX: Short for “Help Exchange.” Same concept as Workaway.
- House-sitting: Sites like Trusted Housesitters are cool if you like pets. You stay in someone’s house in exchange for watching pets and sometimes watering plants. There are many sites to find house-sitting jobs besides just one; here is a list of the “best” sites in 2022.
No subscription:
- English immersion: If you are a native English speaker, you can acquire free room and board for talking! Programs like VaughanTown (in Spain), Diverbo/Pueblo Ingles (Spain & Germany), EnglischHausen (Germany), Speak Anglos (Italy), ENGLISHstay (Czech Republic), JustSpeak (Poland), and Angloville (across Europe) offer chances to live in fancy places (hotels, sometimes castles) in exchange for speaking English to program participants. You’ll have a few hours off each day and might go on group outings.
- All Hands and Hearts: Disaster response work. Volunteers live communally in an area affected by a natural disaster (hurricane, tornado, wildfire, flood, etc.). This is a very involved commitment; volunteers work five or six days a week on projects with one or two days off per week. Typical projects could be mucking/gutting houses, mold removal, rebuilding houses or schools, painting, etc. I did a hurricane relief project in the Bahamas; read about it here. In addition to lodging, AHAH has on-site meals for volunteers on work days, and sometimes they cover flight costs to and from a project area.
- NECHAMA: Similar to AHAH. Their motto is “Jewish response to disaster” because their mission is “rooted in the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world,” providing “comfort and hope to communities by engaging volunteers in disaster recovery work.” You don’t need to be Jewish to volunteer. “NECHAMA welcomes anyone with a passion to help others regardless of religious faith or background. No previous disaster response experience is necessary- our skilled team leaders will teach you everything you need to know to make a difference.” I am not Jewish and enjoyed my time with this organization as a day volunteer. I’d love to work with them again as a residential volunteer.
- Ship work: Some ships require prior sailing knowledge/experience, but there are many that teach you en route. With no sailing experience, I spent a week on the Sloop Clearwater in NY, sailing up and down the Hudson River teaching kids about the environment. I have a friend who traveled by ship volunteering for two years nonstop. She started with no sailing knowledge and volunteered as a cook, then acquired crew positions as she learned more.
- Other environmental projects: Check out the Department of Conservation or similar for whatever country you’re going to. I found projects in New Zealand and the US this way. Some require ongoing commitment, like trail maintenance crews in the US, but others require just short-term commitment.
Lodging without volunteering:
There are many Facebook groups for female-identifying travelers to find places to stay. You can host, search for travel buddies, find a house swap, etc. Here are a few:
- Host A Sister
- Overnight (Girls LOVE Travel)
- Free Travel Accommodation – The Solo Female Traveler Network
- Solo Female Travelers Connection
Off of Facebook, there are ways to find lodging for people of all genders. Most of these platforms are about cultural exchange, not just free housing. - Warmshowers: An amazing resource connecting cyclists. On my Pacific Coast Highway trip I stayed with WS hosts 16 times. They usually provide camping space, a couch, or a bed, plus sometimes meals and of course a warm shower. Almost every host is a cyclist, so you get tons of cycling advice. You do have to pay a one-time fee to join this, and a subscription fee to use the app (you can use the website for free).
- Couchsurfing: I’ve been a Couchsurfing traveler and host since 2012. You make a profile, then find hosts, travel buddies, etc. Some women have had bad experiences with Couchsurfing, but there are ways to avoid sketchy situations. Stay away from anyone with “neutral” or “negative” reviews, males who only have reviews from females, hosts without reviews, guys who have photos with their shirts off, anyone who wants you to contact them off Couchsurfing, or if they mention that you need to share a room and/or bed. If they have good reviews from all genders, photos of themselves traveling, interests related to traveling, a description of their house, etc., they are usually great; I’ve made good friends through CS. For popular destinations send many requests and personalize each one. As a host in NYC I delete requests that are copy/pasted; I get too many to spend time looking at those when others send personalized messages. Note: Couchsurfing now charges a subscription fee. I’ve found BeWelcome to be a good free alternative, though it doesn’t have the same amount of users yet.
- House swap: If you have a cool house or apartment, and/or live in an appealing area, you can swap houses with someone else. The Host A Sister FB group mentioned above has an active house swap community. Here is a list of home swap websites.
- BeWelcome: An alternative to Couchsurfing, currently only in Europe. I used this for the first time in March 2023 in Europe and it was great! I had an amazing host and connected with a few people who couldn’t host me but had lots of travel tips. It’s not quite at the level of Couchsurfing yet in terms of finding hosts, but it’s getting there. It’s a decent option without a paywall.
- WorldPackers: Another Couchsurfing alternative. I have not used this yet, but one of my students recommended it.
- Trustroots: Another Couchsurfing alternative I haven’t yet used. Totally free, no subscription cost!
Camping:
- Welcome To My Garden: A not-for-profit initiative born during the 2020 lockdown in Belgium. Hosts offer hikers and cyclists a chance to camp in their backyards. It’s most active in Europe, but the map is expanding.
- 1Nite Tent: Similar to Welcome To My Garden but German (with spots throughout Europe). From their website: “In Germany it is forbidden to raise your tent outside of campsites. You might be fined by up to 500€. Sleeping outside without a tent is a legal uncertainty. In Scandinavia the „Everyman’s right“ is applied: For one night you are allowed to raise your tent everywhere. We would like to establish this kind of travelling in Germany as well.”
- Hiker/biker campsites: If you like camping, the US is chock-full of places to camp for $0-$10 if you enter by foot or bike. You can read about the free bike hostel campsites I stayed at on Long Island here. There are TONS of hike/bike sites along the Pacific Coast Highway, and probably more places I haven’t explored elsewhere. 🙂
- Wild camping: There are many places where you can camp legally. Make sure to check what’s legal in whatever area you visit, or just choose a stealthy spot. 😉
Monasteries:
Many monasteries – primarily in historically Catholic countries like Italy – offer free or cheap housing for guests. Some examples:
- Good Night and God Bless: From their website: “Step off the beaten tourist path and step into clean, cheap, safe and well-located accommodation in the world’s convents, monasteries, religious guesthouses and hotels. Good Night and God Bless is an essential online booking tool for today’s tourists and pilgrims, singles and groups, ramblers and explorers and for all travelers searching for a unique experience.“
- Monasteries.com: Essentially a search engine for finding monasteries by destination.
- Monasterystays.com: Another search engine
- The Global Gadabout has a good blog entry about staying in monasteries in general.
More Alternative Housing:
Here are some options that you pay for, but often are cheaper than hotels:
- Castles
- Convents
- Schalf im Stroh: “Sleep in straw” barn hostels (Switzerland)
- Mountain huts
- Of course, there are also hostels! Hostels are not just for young people; anyone can stay. Hostelworld.com is a good place to search for hostels.
A blog reader told me that a few of her friends stayed in US national parks for free by searching for opportunities on CoolWorks.com. I haven’t used this myself and it’s unclear if her friends volunteered in exchange for housing. If anyone gives it a try, let me know how it goes!
Most if not all of these opportunities are about way more than acquiring free housing. These opportunities are designed for travelers to connect to local communities, not just take selfies and move along. I’ve enjoyed these programs and have met amazing people, some of whom I now consider friends.
What if I’m an introvert?
Never fear! As a self-identified introvert myself, I can say with confidence that you’ll be okay! There is an unwritten script amongst travelers: Hosts ask about your adventures, you ask about theirs, they show you the bathroom, the wifi, house rules, go over the food arrangement, offer travel advice, etc. It’s a different kind of small talk than you have to prepare yourself for at parties; you already have something in common to connect with. Much easier 🙂
But is it safe?
I typically feel *safer* using these services than I do staying alone in a hotel if no one knows where I am. Hosts have profiles on almost all of these platforms and can’t erase reviews from guests; if a host has even one negative or neutral review, I don’t stay at their place. It’s a relief to know someone is waiting for me to arrive, and sometimes they meet me somewhere or pick me up if I’m lost or it’s getting dark. It’s cool to meet community members and explore places from local perspectives, and for me, that’s a large part of what travel is about.
So…that’s my list. If you know of other opportunities I should add or if you’d like to share your own experiences using these services, leave a comment. Thanks for reading, and happy travels!
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