Hungering to travel but feel you need a lot of money?
You can travel for as little as a few dollars a day.
We did it.
You can, too.
Currently, I’m traveling in France, with Raegan, for a few euros a day or less.
How?
By using the two secret ingredients of low-budget travel …
Before leaving the United States, we set up an itinerary, a schedule, with places to stay at http://www.couchsurfing.org and places offering room-and-board in exchange for a few hours of work-a-day at the French WWOOF site http://www.wwoof.fr
By doing this, we’ve managed to stay at different towns throughout France for the last month and a half. So far, we’ve visited 3 towns in France and have plans to head to Paris at the end of the month.
Traveling in France
On May 16th, we arrived in Brest, France, and stayed with Ludmilla, a friendly 19-year old college student, for about a week. Ludmilla actually gave up her room so we would have a place to sleep. Our cost? Nothing, except for food. We met her through http://www.couchsurfing.org.
What is couchsurfing?
Couchsurfing, basically, is a website that links people with available places (rooms or couches to stay) with those looking for a place to stay. It also allows couchsurfers and hosts (those who have couches) to leave a rating for each other and post pictures, so you can get an idea of what the other person is like. Using couchsurfing.org, you do not need to pay for hotels, only for some food and, perhaps, gas money.
We stayed in Brest, France, at Ludmilla’s, which saved us the expense of hotel and hostel fees.
Since then, we’ve been WWOOFing, (http://www.wwoof.org), which means we’ve been working 3-6 hours a day, in exchange for room (place to sleep) and board (food) at organic farms in 3 different towns in France.
Simple Steps to Budget Travel in Europe
To do what we’re doing–to get to Europe and travel France for about 1 euro a day, follow these steps below:
1. Book a one way cruise to France. Do this using Royal Caribbean Cruise or some other major cruise ship that goes from your destination to France.
2. Go to: http://www.wwoof.org and then http://www.wwoof.fr and sign up for a membership. I think it’s about $25 per person using the American site, and about $15 euros each using the France. You’ll save thousands, so the fee is minimal.
3. Once you’ve signed up the site, send out e-mails to various WWOOF (World Wide Organization of Organic Farms) (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) hosts that look interesting to you.
4. Schedule your itinerary so you go from one farm to another, with the distance from each being a few hours, so you can hitchhike from one place to another, like we’re doing.
5. Go to: http://www.couchsurfing.org. Sign up for a membership and pay the $25 donation fee to verify our address. Fill out a profile description and post a current picture of yourself. Schedule places to couchsurf between the WWOOF places. This will keep things interesting for you.
Traveling Will Change your Life for the Better
If you want to know how to get to Europe, and travel anywhere in Europe for less than 2 euros a day, follow the suggestions that I mention above.
Traveling will broaden your perspective.
When we traveled, our expenses were often less than one euro a day, since we were receiving free room and board (place to stay and food) in exchange for a few hours of work a day. Also, living with the locals gave us a glimpse into what it’s like to really live in another country, which is something one might miss if they stay in an hotel or even a hostel.
Travel like we did.
I’m sharing 374 pictures from my trip to Europe, plus budget travel tips, in my ebook How to Travel Europe Cheap. Click here now to find out more. (A new page will open and this page will remain open as well.)
