6. Travel Slow It can be difficult to keep costs low if you travel quickly and are always on the move. Traveling slow enables you to minimize costs and hang around for the best deals. By staying in the same place for an extended period [...]]]> Continued From Travel For Free Tips Part 1

6. Travel Slow
It can be difficult to keep costs low if you travel quickly and are always on the move. Traveling slow enables you to minimize costs and hang around for the best deals. By staying in the same place for an extended period of time you also give yourself the chance to create a significant network of relationships and related opportunities.

Is it really that important to try to see everything about a foreign place? There is a big difference between a meaningful encounter with a land and its people and a series of quick glances at numerous sites.

7. Be Prepared and Willing to Give Back
By ‘free travel’ we mean that traveling need not be financially expensive. But what you don’t give in money you can always give in time and contribution of self. There always is an exchange of some kind going on. Sometimes it can be as simple as being good company to others or being a window to another world. You can also offer something more practical like massages, carpentry work, yard work, house cleaning, babysitting, reiki, running errands, etc. Barter has never really gone out of style.

8. Diversify Your Sources of Income
It is ideal if you are able to generate some income while you are traveling. It is even more ideal if you are able to make this money from a variety of means. This way you don’t have to rely so much on working crazy hours before leaving in order to pile up some cash or experience the stress of coming back from your trip with financial concerns. It may also mean you can keep up free traveling much longer if you wish.

There are endless opportunities either locally or by working through the Internet. Be it picking fruits or doing massages. Online work include freelance writing and graphic design.

Read more about generating income and how to travel for free

Trust Yourself To Generate Free Travel Opportunities

9. Start Where You Are
In order to experience free travel it is important to have a healthy attitude and positive mindset. It is not always an easy affair. A good way to get your feet wet is to start small and plan a free or partially free trip in your own country. This is a good idea especially if you have never traveled (it’s not necessary to go to India for 6 months for your first trip like I did! But that’s another story.) You will gain practical knowledge from this and can set a challenge for yourself to connect freely to other people. Then, you will be better prepared to venture out with little money abroad.

10. Trust Yourself
There will always be people who see things differently than you do. If you rely too heavily on other people’s perceptions about what the world is like and what is possible or not, this limits your free travel possibilities and does not teach you to rely on yourself in challenging situations. Listen to yourself. You are the one who is making your way in the world and it often if not always mirrors the way you approach it. Forget about all the people who say that the world is like this and the world is like that. Your experience of the world is what you make of it. Do not, of course, jump into situations in which you don’t feel prepared to handle.

This also does not mean that you should never listen to other people’s advice. If you trust yourself you will be a more trustable person to others and you will be able to discern those you can trust from those you can’t.

WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic [...]]]> The cost of lodging is one of the main expenses of traveling. You can reduce or eliminate this cost through a variety of opportunities and get a step closer to experiencing true free travel. Here is a quick overview of some popular prospects.

WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)
In exchange for a few hours of work a day at an organic farm you can receive food and accommodations at numerous sites all over the globe. There is a guide with farm listings being sold at the WWOOF website. This is one of the most popular alternatives for travelers as it usually is a context to meet interesting people, make a positive contribution to the Earth and the local environment and enjoy good food! Just don’t expect too much comfort and you do have to be physically fit.

Make A House Swap
Although it’s a challenge to find a  home owner in a place you want to go who would like to swap their home with yours at the time you would like to – it’s a true free travel jackpot and feeling of victory when it does work out! If you’re open to going anywhere and somewhere unplanned for, then you can more easily find some really great opportunities. House swap networks exists over the Internet to help you find people willing to temporarily trade places with you.

It is a good idea to engage communications many times with your swap partners before going ahead with the deal. Don’t hesitate to check references.

WWOOF installations can be pretty cool

House sitting : The Free Travel Grand Prize
Similar to the house swap… but while you do get a house to keep for some time you don’t have to provide one in exchange. Many people who need to leave their home for some time prefer to have somebody trustworthy occupy the space rather than having no one there at all. They look for someone to look after their property, their plants and pets – this could be you. Some will even offer money to take care of various extras.

Again, you should work out all details before going ahead – although you are taking less of a risk than the home lender.  Over time you can accumulate good references and turn this into a free travel lifestyle. Resource sites exist on the Internet.

Couchsurfing : When You’re Just Passing Through
Dramatically increasing in popularity over the last couple years, couchsurfing is ideal if you will be passing through some places but not staying long. It can also be a good way to have a place to stay when you arrive somewhere and want to look for something else in the area. This is not for those in need of strong intimacy. The couchsurfing.com website is a good place to start.

It is your job to be as transparent as is necessary and make it easy for others to decide whether they want to have you sleeping on their couch for a few days or not. Would you open your do doors to anyone?

Also, keep your karma positive and offer your own couch to the surfers from time to time when you are at home, this way you offer the chance to others to experience free travel as well.

Take up a room in a Tibetan Monastery

Get A Room In A Religious Or Spiritual Establishment
This free travel lodging opportunity will not be for everyone and not always available but if you are relatively spiritually inclined or otherwise able to appreciate the sacred aspects of existence then getting rooms at monasteries, ashrams or other religious establishments can be a very positive experience. Though they are not all free, they will often be open to making an exchange to accommodate you. Some establishments will be more conservative and strict than others.

I would strongly discourage anyone to take advantage of this kind of opportunity if they are not sincere in their appreciation of religious or spiritual practices. Most of the world already belongs to the secular mindset – why not leave what’s left of our religious heritage as intact as possible? You don’t have to be religious to go, an earnest curiosity and respect will do.