How to travel for free... or almost

Discover all the good plans and tips to travel for free or with the minimum necessary. You'll see that everything is possible!

Travels form youth, according to popular adage. But what he doesn’t say is that travel is also often very expensive. Fortunately, there are solutions to travel when you don’t, or little money. Experts who juggle with credit card promotions, optimistic travelers, and new sharing and exchange sites, we give you all the tricks for free travel ... or almost.

Use credit or loyalty cards

How to go on holiday for free, especially to go to exotic or remote destinations? A well-trained technique is to prepare your trip months in advance to take advantage of premium credit cards that allow you to accumulate loyalty points. These then turn into “miles” to get a free plane ticket. These cards cost quite expensive, but the first year are often free and are accompanied by a bonus of miles at the opening of the contract. You just have to own several of them to enjoy these benefits at the right time and think about resiliate them before the end of the first year!

Scott Keyes, for example, one of these little malins which take advantage of the system of these bank cards to travel for free. A good technique that still requires a good organization. In the same style, we can also quote Ben Schlappig who made 16 times the world tour for free by “slaughtering airlines at their own game” according to his own words, skillfully playing with his various and varied loyalty cards.

These little geniuses are also grouped in an association called the “Hobby”. So much so that it becomes a personal challenge and even a passion! Ben has become so known in this environment, that he is now doing conferences, holds a blog where he distills his good practices and even advertises to boast the merits of the credit cards of the banks he has bypassed the system to travel for free! A comb.

Last anecdote, but the odds are rather rare for them to reproduce soon, this Canadian proposed a free world tour for the woman who would bear the same name as her ex. As he came from buy tickets to leave with his girlfriend, the couple of Jordan Axani and Elizabeth Gallagher separated. So he wanted a Canadian bearing the same name as his ex-fiancée so as not to have to lose the plane tickets. A homonym finally showed up and was able to enjoy a free trip!

Travel without taking the plane

It is obviously the simplest if you are not in a hurry. Nothing prevents you from anything make a stop for the most adventurous of you. From stage to stage, you can thus cross a large part of Europe with your backpack and you will certainly make enriching encounters by taking a minimum of precautions.

For the most athletic, it’s time to come out your bike and see great. Some even make the trip from Paris to Beijing by bike and it’s an increasingly popular adventure . You still have 4 to 5 months on a rolling basis six hours a day at 15 km/h average. But you can take more time to visit and stop on the way.

If you don’t trust your bike, the easiest thing is still walking! Yes, it’s probably not the fastest, but it’s also an experience to live, depending on your desire and motivation. Think about the thousands of people who practice every year pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela For example. Given its popularity, there is nothing totally infeasible. You just have to be motivated, organized and a minimum prepared!

Another option, the history of Graham Hughes who crossed the 201 countries of the planet without ever taking the plane. The journey of this English will last three years, but with only 12 euros in pocket per day, it will have managed to make a real world tour taking boat, bus, train and taxi. A small performance that also requires a good dose of ass and adventure spirit!

The "opimistic travelers"

The history of Milan and Muammer could inspire many travellers. At the age of 27 and 38, they have indeed completed a tour of the world in 80 days without spending a single cent. Their miracle recipe? Count on the generosity of people, parliament, smile and be patient. These "opimistic travelers" even have written a book and connect conferences to talk about their experience.

In the same category, we can also mention the very media Antoine de Maximy with his show “I’ll go to sleep with you” . Respect, listen, smile, welcome... we find here the quintessence of what makes a successful trip. If he does, why not you?

The good plans to share

Collaborative websites can be a real gold mine for those who want to try the adventure at a cheaper price. In the way Blablacar or Airbnb , we can find good plans everywhere on the internet.

With Campe in my garden or Gamping you can plant your tent in the garden of an individual who welcomes you for one or more nights at a very modest price. Perfect to meet people and live a holiday at broken prices. The CouchSurfing is no longer available on a sofa in France or at the other end of the world. Just sign up on CouchSurfing.org and thanks to the comments of the internet users, we avoid the bad surprises to enjoy the good meetings.

To visit a place, town or region with enthusiasts who live there, and free of charge, the Greeters community is an indispensable step. On Greeters, for example, we will find all the useful information for France. There are greeters all over the world, whose only will is to make you love what they love. Pretty nice, huh?

Finally, another good plan in France this time, the Wwoofing. The concept is simple: you are offered the lodging and the cover in exchange for a half-day (or more) of work within a organic farm. On wwoof.fr you will discover all the values of this interesting concept for travelers who also want to travel useful!

Main photo credit: Wikimedia - KoS