You can do some cool things around the world without having to pay much. Where do you find these cool things? Great question! I’ve done some cool things and I’ve met a lot of people who have done some cool things, so hopefully this helps you do some cool things too.

Phew, enough with the cool things, let’s get right into it!

CREATIVE RESEARCH – get creative. Here are some ways you can start training your brain to get creatively researching for cool things to do!

Volunteer

You can find hundreds of volunteer opportunities around the world. Some of them will have fees attached to it and some will be completely free. Do some research to see what kind of volunteer experience you would like to do!

Cool Volunteer Opportunities with Fees:

Why would volunteering have a fee? Some organizations require fees to secure housing, for materials used during your stay, for food, for utilities, etc. You will often find that you pay X amount, but will receive some back each week on a per diem basis. Fees are not necessarily bad things, don’t be scared of them, just mindful!

Global Volunteers International (GVI): I did this and taught English to Buddhist Monks in Luang Prabang, Laos for 3 months. This was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. I went to the temples and taught Monks at night, and then went to local places during the day to hangout with the Monks and learn Lao. There are dozens of awesome volunteer opportunities with GVI and it is a great organization for volunteering!

International Volunteer HQ – I have a friend who used them to go to Guatemala and loved it!

Cool Volunteer Opportunities Without Fees:

Why would volunteering not have fees? Often you can work for your stay. There are many websites out there where you can build your online resume, choose a location, and find people looking for an extra set of hands. Sometimes these are a lot of work, so make sure you find the right program that works for you!

HelpX: My fiancé did HelpX in the mountains of Portugal and loved it. He worked at a GLAMPING (Glamorous Camping) as a Chef and did all lunch and dinner shifts. He paid nothing to do this, had unlimited food and alcohol while he was there, stayed in a tent (which he loved), and explored the mountains a lot. If you are an outdoors-y person, this kind of thing would be great for you! HelpX has all sorts of opportunities, including working front desk at hostels, farm work, and more. Check it out!

WWOOF: Wwoofing is a great way to work in cool agricultural ways around the world. You can work in vineyards in France, lemon farms in Italy, milking cows in Ireland. It is an awesome way to learn the countryside life of your destination!

Volunteer with Non-Profits: I spent 2 months in a couple of years ago and volunteered for a Non-Profit for their fundraising events. It was a low commitment and I met some incredible people. In fact, I met these awesome Slovenian girls and visited them in Slovenia shortly after. I got the locals experience in Slovenia, met some incredible people, and didn’t spend much! Meeting people will also cut down your travel costs!

Work

You can pick up odd jobs anywhere you go! Some will be very minimal pay and some may actually be pretty decent. You probably know people who Teach English or are an Au Pair for families internationally. Of course this is the easiest way to live abroad for a good chunk of time and the pay is decent – definitely worth looking into. However, there are some other cool things you can do abroad that may make your experience a little different.

Travel Au Pair – Look for opportunities to be an Au Pair for families who travel consistently for business. This could be a couple that work for Nat Geo, or travel bloggers, Travel Channel stars, academics, etc. These folks are always looking for au pairs to go with them and look after their kid(s) while they film, shoot, write.

Work on Yachts – Yachting is becoming really popular for young folks! You can earn a decent income, work on someone’s yacht, travel the world with them, meet some really awesome people. I have a friend doing this and she is always doing incredible things!

Work on a Cruise – Another easy way to travel, meet cool people, and see the world. This is a little more limiting since you work crazy hours on a cruise, but I definitely know people who have had a blast aboard a ship for 6 months at a time!

SAT/ACT/GRE/LSAT/MCAT abroad – I had some friends who worked in Shanghai at a company that provided test courses for Chinese interested in studying in the US.

Stoke Travel – this company hires travelers to work events and festivals around the world. I went to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany with Stoke Travel and they are bad ass. They do festivals around the world and you would work to make sure the camp site is all good, cook, hangout, check people in, and more. I have had a couple of friends work with them for 3 month periods and have had the absolute best time. It isn’t the highest paying job, but it is awesome!

These are just a few ways to think outside of the box to do cool things without breaking the bank. Do you have anything to add, or anything you would like more information about? Let’s keep talking, the list could go on and I’m happy to share my experiences, and the experiences of people I know!

You can find many articles on budget traveling and how to do this best. You can also find many articles about the cheapest places in the world to travel.

This article is slightly different – here is an article all about how to be smart with your money when preparing to travel. You don’t have to have a lot of money to travel, but there are really smart techniques to prepare for your travels to cut costs in advance. There are ways to prepare for your travel to make sure it actually is thrifty traveling.

Flights, banks and points:

• Sign up for airlines Frequent Flyer miles. Any time you pay for a flight, you will receive reward points and can apply these to free flights in the future. So this is smart even if you are in the middle of your travels. These frequent flyer miles may help you purchase a flight to your next destination.
• Sign up for a Credit Card with points. You can find so many credit cards these days that allow you to receive points toward travel for each purchase. Do some research, see which ones you will qualify for, and start spending away on these cards. Put everything on this card and then pay it off right away. Often there will be bonus points for signing up if you spend a certain amount of money on the card within an allotted timeframe. I currently have the Capital One Venture One card, which means I get 1.5 points for every dollar I spend on travel (hotels, flights, train, transit, etc.). My startup bonus was 20,000 bonus points if I spent $1,000 in the first 3 months. 20,000 points got me a round trip ticket!
• Be flexible, look for flights during the week on budget airlines. Flights will be cheaper during the week.
• Set e-mail alerts for flights. On pretty much any airline, or third party like Expedia or travelocity, you can sign up for email alerts when flights are cheap for your destination. Book them, right when you get them!
• Use hostelworld.com, airbnb.com, or hotels.com and gain points for free nights. You can earn rewards for every night you book on the hotels.com website. I have gotten at least 8 free nights with the rewards I have accrued from hotels.com
• Find a card that does not have foreign transaction fees abroad. Many cards will have approx. 3% foreign transaction fees for all purchases made abroad. If you have one of these cards, make sure to take out large sums of cash when you are abroad from ATMs to avoid these fees for each payment.
  • Some banks will have travel debit cards. These are actually really great cards to have. You can transfer money between your account and the debit card. If for some reason your card is stolen or you lose it, there is only a certain amount on it not linked to your main account, so you will not be completely at loss. Talk to your bank in advance for this option!

Budgeting accordingly:

• Set $5 – $20 aside a week (depending on how early you plan). It hurts, but it will be worth it. Put this into a free savings account with your bank, or in a cupboard with cash to put into your bank right before you leave.
• Save all your Tax Return. It is always nice to receive a tax return, but always easy to spend. Instead of spending right away, save this money in a special savings account so you don’t use it! Delayed gratification will be very worth it.
• Look for work abroad and plan in advance. You can do things like HelpX or WWOOF to save some money while you are abroad. If you work for 2 weeks doing something awesome with the locals, it usually does not cost any money and is a great way to see the country in a traditional way!
• For those who have Student Loans. My next big adventure is the Holiday Visa in New Zealand. This being said, I have lots of Student Loans that I need to consider. Right now, I have calculated the total amount I will need to pay while I am away in New Zealand, plus a couple of months in case I want to do additional travel. All my savings is going directly into an account solely for paying my student loans while I’m abroad. When I am in New Zealand, I won’t need to worry about my student loans and can simply work for play and living.
• Give yourself a Per Diem. How much do you want to spend a day for food, for play, for drinks, etc? You can get a lot of things for inexpensive (free walking tours, street food, museums).
• Leave somewhat prepared. I’m a huge advocate for not over planning when you travel. However, an easy way to save money is to look for the free days at Museums and Monuments and try to plan your trip around these days.