Table of contents
Unless you’re lucky enough to already own a second home, local vacation accommodation is a major expense. But what if I told you that I had the solution to this problem? Did you know that it’s possible to stay in one’s own home for free, while enjoying a formative and highly enriching experience?
In exchange for a mission or a few hours of volunteer work a day, several platforms offer globetrotters the opportunity to travel without having to pay a cent for their accommodation. To find out more about this concept, let’s take a look at 4 websites that offer this possibility.
HelpX or the art of working for room and board!
Help Exchange is one of the most popular platforms for finding free accommodation in exchange for a few hours’ work. If you’re unfamiliar with the principle, you should know that hosts offer a room, and sometimes even meals, in exchange for a little help with various projects. These can include home renovation, gardening, pet-sitting and many other tasks. As you probably don’t know, HelpX’s main advantage lies in the diversity of its offerings.
Whether you’re interested in manual labor or your heart beats for farm chores, I guarantee that there will almost always be a host to welcome you. The platform is also renowned for its flexibility! If you use it, you’ll have no difficulty in discussing your future schedule and tasks with the host. In fact, I recommend that you lock in your terms and conditions before you leave, to avoid any unpleasant surprises on arrival.
Read also New York: he lives in a hotel for free and “legally” for 5 years!
WWOOF for travellers with a passion for farming!
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms is a platform specializing in organic farming. It offers the opportunity to stay on farms for free, in exchange for a few hours a day. WWOOF is committed to promoting sustainable and organic farming, while giving volunteers the chance to discover this way of life. If you’ve got a green thumb, or if you’d like to learn more about organic farming, look no further. This is the platform for you! Not only will this be a unique opportunity for you to get a place to stay without breaking the bank, it will also give you the chance to learn new skills.
Supporting environmentally-friendly farming practices will also be particularly rewarding. And best of all, the participating farms are located all over the world. So you’ll have no trouble finding the right farm for you. As you’d expect, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms has a few drawbacks too. The main one has to do with the nature of the work involved. If, therefore, you’re not up to the sometimes very physical tasks of weeding, picking fruit or even managing animals, you’ll have to pass.
Like HelpX, the WWOOF platform requires paid membership. What’s more, registration is carried out on a country-by-country basis. This can be discouraging for many.
Workaway: diversity at your fingertips!
Like its counterparts, this platform is designed to put volunteer workers in touch with hosts from all over the world. Just like HelpX, Workaway offers hosts who, for a few hours’ work, will provide you with bed and board, and in some cases, meals too.
What’s great about this platform is the diversity of the projects on offer. They range from working on a farm, to babysitting, to serving in an inn. You’ll see for yourself that Workaway’s strength really lies in the richness of its offerings. It’s impossible not to find one that suits you. What’s more, the platform’s community is very active. This means you’ll be able to find an assignment in almost any country, more than quickly. I sincerely invite you to test and discover for yourself the quality and richness of exchanges with hosts from a human and cultural point of view. A dream come true, don’t you think?
Unfortunately, Workaway is no exception to the rule! Like all our competitors, you’ll have to pay a membership fee. I also want you to be aware that some hosts are likely to have very high expectations in terms of working hours. Please bear this in mind so that you can strike a satisfactory balance between relaxation, sightseeing and work.
HelpStay: for volunteers looking for a turnkey organization!
HelpStay works on the same principle as the other platforms. However, it focuses on organized stays. The site connects volunteers and hosts in fields as varied as ecotourism, NGOs, construction projects and even education. What’s both attractive and reassuring about this platform is its professional approach. It’s important to know that some hosts not only offer accommodation, but also structured stays. Volunteers will know exactly what to expect when they arrive, as they are offered clearly structured projects from the outset.
The site also offers excellent support to volunteer workers in the event of a problem with their host. Quite reassuring when you’re thousands of miles from home! Like its counterparts, HelpStay requires a paid membership. Remember, too, that the format of stays is generally well-defined. This can leave volunteers less flexibility to personalize their experience.
One aspect not to be overlooked: your visa!
If you’re planning to travel outside the European Union to take part in one of these programs, it’s crucial to check visa requirements. As you know, in some countries such as the USA and Canada, it is strictly forbidden to work, even on a voluntary basis, without an appropriate work visa. This includes stays on exchange programs such as those offered by HelpX, WWOOF, Workaway or HelpStay.
As these destinations and many others have zero tolerance, failure to comply with these rules will result in heavy fines and certainly a ban on entering the country in the future.
