Free Accommodation in Europe and Worldwide

A free bed in Poland for The Baldman

Apart from your airfare the largest cost you will incur in your travels will be for accommodation. So, how can we reduce our costs? What can we do to save money and allow us to spend more on other things such as upgrading rail passes or the ability to travel for extended periods of time.

The first thing you can do is join up with free accommodation sites such as http://www.couchsurfing.com/, http://www.globalfreeloaders.com/. Both these sites will enable you to stay for free, either in a bed, on a mattress or as the name suggests, on a couch. However, sometimes there may only be room for you to lay out your sleeping bag on the floor.

*Top Tip: Always take some decorated tea-towels, fridge magnets or little souvenirs showing icons or landmarks from your home city with you when you travel. Give these as gifts to people when they allow you to stay in their homes.


There are other sites you can join which will allow you to swap your house or apartment with other members around the world. http://www.homeexchange.com/, http://www.homeswapholidays.com/. Keep in mind that these sites require a small membership fee of around the $25-$40US dollar mark. This a small price to pay when you consider how much you will save in the long term. But this is not for the faint hearted, you will turn your home over to a complete stranger and them to you. So you need to be 100% comfortable with this before you go ahead. Also, ensure your home insurance covers you for any outcome that may arise.


Another option is to be a caretaker or house-sitter, and in some case you may be paid for your time. http://www.caretaker.org/, http://www.housecarers.com/. There is a long registration required for these sites and sometimes you may even have to participate in an online interview.

An unselfish option is to maybe take the time to volunteer in return for your keep. http://www.wwoof.org/, http://www.organicvolunteers.org/. These places can sometimes be out of the way in the middle of nowhere, but the choice of location is yours and what you take from the experience may be something you'll remember for a lifetime.

All of the sites listed have there own unique way of registration to ensure the safety of their members and the integrity of their sites. Some as previously noted have costs involved with sign-up and memberships, but this also helps with the safety aspects.

Finally, one of my favourite ways to save on sleeping costs is to utilise a rail pass to my advantage. I always try to train it overnight from one city to the next and am prepared to pay that bit extra for a sleeping berth, couchette or bunk. In essence I end up paying the same as a very cheap nights accommodation and don't lose any valuable sight-seeing time by travelling overnight. If I am on an overnight train then during the day I walk lots to tire myself as it makes sleeping on a train so much easier. Try seeing a large museum, shopping complex or park in the last few hours before you depart, it works wonders.

Sleep well.