I have read many articles about how people travel, the recent one was a post on YouTube that said, grow your followers to say 10k plus and then you may be able to use it as a currency to get free accommodation.
Well, while there is some truth to this, I want to share with you a few ways that you can achieve same results without having a 10k social media following. Traveling they say opens up your options, it sure does as it makes you more knowledgeable about different places in the globe.
So here are my thoughts on how to travel to some of your best destinations for free. You can do this through platforms that foster exchanges. For instance, there are platforms that would do trade offs or barters or what others call work trade. You have a skill they need, you love the destination but way out of your budget, you offer them what they need and you get to have your dream holiday. In some cases, they offer you a three square meal and access to every recreation on the facility which is what you would have paid for anyway. Usually, what you need to do is to find the transportation to the destination. In a next article, I would also share with you information on how you can find that inexpensive air transportation. One thing to note that when you have this opportunity to make it count, do your best, enjoy the experience and make sure you get a recommendation for later as that can help your next adventure.
So by far, what I have suggested above is the best way according to what I have experienced. However, there are other opportunities for those that may not be able to go via this route. This comes with little or no cost. Some people are not very farcy about where they sleep when they travel because the most important thing on this trip is about the adventure and as long as the place for sleep is comfy enough, that is all that mattered. So for this group of people, they can join the many coach surfing platforms around the world that offers a coach in a location that you may find yourself. I highly recommend that this is done in advance prior to your trip. The down side to this is that there are a lot more people seeking same, so you may have to try a few times to get a match, but it works.
There is another group of individuals that are very particular about the spaces they find themselves especially when it comes to their accommodation. So for this group of people, perhaps, the last option may be farfetched but a more comfortable, private space and more like a home away from home can be what they are looking for. These days, there are a few platforms that allows holiday makers to use the homes of others at a fairly good price.
The last way that can be on donation basis is a host family stay where you get to experience people and culture first hand. With my experience, I was offered boarding, food and even a vehicle and in return, made sure I was useful around the house helping with gardening work and helping to run errands here and there and giving a money donation to supplement what my host family put in. Now depending on how resourceful you are, you can always come back to your host family as they would always be happy to host you when you ever decide to return.
