Are you a young, adventurous student – keen to travel the world but worried about financial constraints? Well, stress no further. Now you can visit the places you’ve always dreamed of without having to worry about the limited sum of disposable cash in your bank account, with these

#1: Volunteer to Become a Porter 

 

Want to visit Machu Picchu in Peru, but can’t afford to spend money on that 5-day hike? Then why not become a porter and carry people’s belongings up a mountain, and better yet, why not do it – for free?

 

There are literally hundreds of hiking agencies all around the world, whether it be the Himalayas, the Andes, the Alps or even Mount Kilimanjaro in Eastern Africa, who consider people like YOU to be a reliable resource for tourists and would welcome you to work, for free!

 

What you need:

• Top-notch physical strength
• Dedication and commitment to the job

#2: Teach English Abroad 

Better yet, why not make money whilst travelling? One way to do that is to teach English abroad. Tired of listening to your Economics lecturer give endless talks on diminishing marginal returns – then why not switch roles and see what lecturing is all about?

 

You can make a lot of money teaching and you could surely replenish your travel costs in the process – many companies will even pay for your flight! The world is yearning for teachers and this is a job in high demand, especially in South East Asia – so what are you waiting for?

 

What you need:

• The ability to speak English fluently
• Maybe a TEFL degree, dependent on the country

#3: Couch Surf

 

Tired of sketchy hostels – then why not give Couch Surfing a try? This service connects travellers with locals who are willing to let them stay at their humble abode, free of charge!

          Plan your travels carefully in advance using this online service and you will never have to pay for accommodation again.

 

It is not rare to hear stories of travellers utilizing this service for months, even years at a time, sounds crazy right? After checking out their website and seeing how easy it is to access this revolutionary service, you’d be crazy not to do it. This is definitely one of the best cheap ways to travel the world.

          Sometimes you get a room, sometimes you get a couch, sometimes an air mattress, but what you CAN be sure to be getting is a free stay abroad!

 Not convinced? Then check out this info-graphic displaying 5 reasons to consider couch surfing:

    What you need:

• Sign up and fully complete your Couch Surfing profile
• Explore and surf the world in over 100,000 cities around the world!

 

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#4: House Sit or Rent Out Your Apartment

STILL tired of sketchy hostels? Well there is yet another solution: watch someone else’s house while they, themselves, go on their holiday.

          There are a number of websites that serve as a platform where generous people post opportunities for students like you to sit and watch their home for a specified period of time – in exchange for nothing, yes, that’s right – I’m talking about free accommodation!

 

What you need:

• Sign up and fully complete a profile with either one of these sites:

–       House Carers

–       Mind My House

–       The Caretaker Gazette

 

Another way to circumvent your limited finances is to recover your holiday spending by renting out/sub-letting your apartment whilst you’re away. Be sure to check the listings to make sure you are being competitive with your sub-let rental fee.

What you need:

• Check out 28 different platforms offering such services
• A Craigslist account (which you can create for free)
• Create a Craiglist posting
• Some decent photos of your apartment to attach to the posting

 

#5: WWOOFING

Now, I’m sure most of you are asking yourselves, what in the Worldwide-Opportunities-on-Organic-Farms is WWOOFING? Well, just that! 

          This initiative refers to a loose network of national organizations that facilitate placement volunteers (or in this case – broke students, AKA, you!) on organic farms. Did you know that there are WWOOF hosts in over 99 countries around the world!

 

Working on one of these farms will get you free food, accommodation and an opportunity to discover something new, all in exchange for assistance with farming or gardening activities.

          As an added bonus, WWOOFing aims to provide volunteers with first-hand experience in organic and ecologically sound growing methods, to help the organic movement – so you will get the chance to learn something, too – textbook-free!

What you need: 

• Check out this Post about WWOOFing
• Choose your WWOOF destination
• Access the respective WWOOF destination’s web page on the main WWOOF website
• Begin registration!

 

So there is is, 5 Cheap Ways to Travel The World for Broke Students. You can expect many more posts on alternative ways to travel in the next w

If you enjoyed this article, check us out at The Alternative Ways!!

 

5 Cheap Ways to Travel The World for Broke Students

Headline Photo Courtesy of Jhong Dizon. Photo can be found at Flickr Creative Commons.