Humans are explorers by nature — nomads, moving from one place to another. We love to visit, to explore, to experience. We’re never satisfied with the visible horizon and yearn to know what lies beyond.
While the initial homo sapiens may have moved out of necessity, today, we prefer traveling to leave behind the monotonous drudgery of everyday routine. We are eager to grow by indulging in experiences; to forge stronger bonds by meeting new people from different cultures because, let’s face it, it’s fascinating how many different norms, rituals, outlooks about life exist outside of the ones we grow up in.
Thanks to globalization, the world has become far more interconnected than it was at any point in history. For travelers whose essence is exploration, this has meant opening unimaginable avenues of traveling and experiencing.
Initially, traveling was prohibitively expensive. One had to pay through their nose for flights and hotels. Gradually, as traveling gained popularity and came to be immortalized as something one does to “find themselves,” the costs plummeted.
Experiential travel has gained enormous popularity, and this is only fuelled by a desire to understand and acquaint oneself with different cultures. Cheap flights and alternatives to hotel stays have sprung up, expanding and completely upturning conventional travel and vacation definitions.
All this means that today, one can travel cheap — and more importantly, stay cheap.
There are numerous cheaper, off-beaten alternatives to hotels that enrich one’s travel experiences even more. Here are some alternatives that one could look at while trying to cut down on travel costs:
1. Couchsurfing
In the most rudimentary terms, Couchsurfing is literally crashing on a host’s couch for a night at your destination city. The price? It’s free.
The Couchsurfing community is vast and is active in 200,000 cities across the world. All you need to do is create a profile on Couchsurfing and scroll through the options of those who’re kind enough to open up their homes to you.
This experience not only ensures that you have a free place to stay, but also that you interact with a local and get to know more about them.
Caveat: A certain degree of precaution, of course, needs to be exercised. Before making or confirming a request, make sure that you go through reviews and references of the host with a fine-tooth comb. Chat up the host before going to get a feel of their personality.
2. Airbnb
Imagine having an entire apartment to yourself in a city as magical as Paris or Vienna. Sounds incredible, right? But this is possible — and affordable when you book via Airbnb. The hosts on this platform may either rent out the entire apartment or a room in their home.
You can live as a local would, making your own food and living in a bigger space than a hotel and cheaper. Of course, this depends on the place you’re visiting.
According to an analysis done by busbud.com, in the US, Airbnb stays are less expensive in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest area, while in the South, hotels are cheaper. In Toronto, Canada, hotels are 50 percent more expensive than Airbnbs. In places like Berlin, Paris and Vienna, hotels cost almost twice as much as Airbnb stays, while in Barcelona, Airbnbs are 81 percent more expensive than hotels.
While Airbnb stays being more expensive is true in some parts, in others, it makes full sense to rent out an entire flat or a room for the duration of your stay. It will be lighter in your pocket, cutting down on otherwise high costs.
Caveat: The same caveat goes here as well: make sure you read reviews carefully before booking a place.
3. Backpacker Hostels
If you’re on a shoestring budget, love meeting other travelers, love exchanging stories, and love socializing with like-minded people, then backpacker hostels are a great option.
There are lots of hostels to choose from and you could explore Hostelword, Booking.com or Expedia to find the right one for you.
Most hostels have four to six beds (bunk beds) to a room, can be gender-specific or co-ed. But if you’re someone who likes their own space, you also can choose a private room. In a nutshell, this is a lively social space with scope for interaction with fellow travelers.
4. Volunteering
The notable part about traveling today is that you can choose what kind of holiday and experiences you want to make. One enriching experience is volunteering at a place in return for food and shelter.
Not only do you stay for free in a preferred city, but you’re also giving something back to the people that are providing the accommodation. Say, for instance, you want to stay in Goa awhile. You could choose to live with a family that requires help with maintaining their B&B and taking care of their kids. While the work might take a small portion of your day, the rest can be spent exploring the place.
Or you could volunteer with an NGO, work on organic farms, or tutor a child in your native language, in return for a roof over your head.
Whichever you choose, this option is sure to be a wonderful experience, broadening your intellectual horizon. Websites such as WWOOG, HelpX and Workaway can help you find volunteering opportunities across the world.
5. House and Pet-Sitting
Love pets? How would you want to stay for free at a house while taking care of someone’s pet as they go on their vacation?
If this sounds appealing, then pet-sitting can be an option for you to travel the world. Or if pets don’t appeal to you, you could offer to just house-sit someone’s home in exchange for maintaining the house.
For instance, you may be required to keep a fire burning during winters, or remember to water and cut the lawns. Not a bad deal for practically staying for free. To know more, you can visit TrustedHousitters to be matched with someone who needs house and/or pet sitters. If you’re into house sitting, you could also go through Luxury House Sitting, housecarers.com and MindMyHouse.
6. Home-Exchange
Do you remember The Holiday? The movie in which the characters of Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz swap houses and have the time of their lives?
If you were excited then, wait until you hear that the website featured in the film actually exists. Home-exchange is precisely as it sounds. Two people with homes can decide to house-sit each other’s homes and take care of it. You can scroll through HomeExchange or Love Home Swap to get a better idea.
7. Farm Stays
Most modern lives are disconnected from nature and, indeed, people’s roots. It is not surprising that some people are today opting for farm stays, ditching the luxuries of hotels or the thrill of adventure vacations.
Farm stays are ideally about staying on a farm, and depending on the stay, can be interactive or non-interactive — you could help out by, say, harvesting vegetables. Or you could kick back, relax and enjoy the serene, pristine farm environment. You could explore Farm Stay UK, Farm Stay USA, Farm Stay Australia, or just Google Farm Stays + the place of your choice to explore your options.
8. Homestays
If you’re keen to feel the local culture, there’s no better way to experience it than at a homestay. Not only do you get to interact with a local host family, eating local dishes and observing their culture close at hand, but in most cases, you’re treated like family. Most homestays can either have breakfast included, with meals being made at a nominal extra cost. Homestays are a great option if you want to cut down on your accommodation expenses. To search for them, you can just Google homestays plus the name of your preferred destination.
9. Religious Housing
This one is unconventional, but several religious institutions offer lodging and boarding for travelers. This is especially great if you’re looking for a spiritual experience. Ashrams, gurudwaras and monasteries across the globe welcome travelers.
Of course, you’ll have to check the specifics of whether it is open to all. There will also be a minimum behavioral decorum expected of travelers, and some may not allow unmarried couples to stay together.
Apart from some restrictions, though, stays in these spaces can be magical. You can search Monastery Stays or Google your preference to see what alternatives are on offer.
Conclusion
It is fairly evident by now that traveling need not be expensive. There are numerous options available to stay cheap and even free.
However, the caveats for all the stays above cannot be overstressed. It goes without saying, but please make sure that you read all reviews thoroughly before booking your stay.
If you’re uncomfortable with any aspect of the stay, do not book the place. The point of a vacation is to destress, so do what only feels comfortable. Do your research, stay safe and make the most out of your travels.
By Apuurva S
