How to Travel the World For Free

Traveling around the world is everybody’s dream, but most people seem to push that dream away because they believe they can’t afford it. The truth is that there are many opportunities to help you travel around for free if you know where to look and who to talk to

Tips For You

1. Find a job as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. Language schools all around the world hire native speakers on a regular basis to teach both school children and adults. You will be required to stay at your chosen destination for at least six months, although this has the added benefit of allowing you to explore surrounding areas.
2. Join press trips. You don’t need to have a degree in journalism in order to write stories for local papers and magazines. Many freelance writers habitually join press trips and receive free tickets and accommodations in exchange for attending presentations and writing a particular story.
3. Become a courier. Most courier companies hire people on a freelance basis, so you don’t need to give up your day job or attach yourself to this type of job permanently in order to benefit from it. As a courier, your responsibilities including flying to a specific destination to deliver something (often paperwork or valuable items), in exchange for which you get a free airline ticket.
4. Join a Hospitality Club. These organizations, run by private citizens around the world, focus on offering travelers a way to save money by helping each other without the expectancy of a monetary reward. Most hospitality clubs are set up online, where members (membership is free) can create a profile saying what they’re willing to offer to visitors: a free room, a tour of the area, or a free home-cooked meal.
5. Use a credit card that offers mileage rewards. Make sure the credit card has a low percentage and try to pay it in full every month. Since each dollar you spend will result in miles, use the credit card to pay for everyday purchases rather than taking out cash from the ATM.

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Can One Travel Around the World in a Single Day?

In Jules Verne's classic story, Phileas Fogg sets out from Victorian London to travel around the world in 80 days. Travel has certainly modernized since a hot air balloon was the vehicle of choice, but 24 hours is still too tight for a trip around the world, unless you're an astronaut or on the passenger list for Virgin Galactic's suborbital spaceflight, set to launch in 2014. With an equator measuring approximately 25,000 miles around, a nonstop traveler would need to top 1,000 miles per hour to circle the globe in one day.

Starting in Sydney

• When Singapore airlines withdrew Singapore-to-New York service in November 2013, the world's longest distance flight came to an end. At 19 hours in the sky, it was nearly a full day in flight to cover 9,529 miles. Sydney to Los Angeles is another long-distance option, undertaken in 15 hours and 20 minutes. And things might get faster: Boeing is on track to begin delivery of the long-range 787-9, which has a top speed of 593 miles per hour, in mid-2014. Although the supersonic Concorde flew more than twice that fast, at Mach II, the newest planes prioritize environmental and economical benefits over speed.

Challenged by Time Zones

• Australia and New Zealand are on the other side of the international date line, and the 12:20 p.m. Monday departure from Sydney must cross that virtual line placed at 180 degrees longitude in the Pacific Ocean. Technically, you'll arrive in Los Angeles at 7 a.m. the same day you departed. Although that flight is a good start for a round-the-world journey, you're already running short on time, and the date line will catch up with you at the end of the journey.

Eastbound Leg

• Continue on from Los Angeles to London, Paris or Frankfurt on the very next flight leaving LAX for a major European airport. This next leg takes approximately 11 hours, but the local time is 8 hours ahead in London and 9 hours ahead on much of the continent -- which means the local time on arrival will be about 4 a.m. on Tuesday. To keep the trip within 24 hours, you have another 8 hours to get back to Sydney. The fastest possible flight time for that 10,000-mile-plus journey, however, is more than 23 hours.

Back to the Starting Gate

• Europe is 10 hours behind Australia, so when that European flight arrives in Sydney, it will be Wednesday afternoon. With good weather, a bit of planning, no checked bags, no delays and a fat wallet, the quickest commercial trip around the world can be done in about two days.

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How to Travel Around the World for Cheap

Have you always wanted to travel around the world? It is a goal that many people have, but too many are dissuaded by the costs of such a trip. While it will definitely require some money, a trip around the world is within the financial reach of most people if they save and plan carefully.

Tips For You

1. Find a travel buddy. While traveling alone can be fun, sharing some costs with another person can be a significant way to save.
2. Look for a ticket bargain. You will probably want to get an around the world or RTW airplane package. For a single price you get a ticket with a set itinerary of several stops in different countries. These packages are almost always cheaper than buying your tickets one at a time. For the best prices, shop around with several different companies, and look at their bargain packages - while you can set any itinerary with RTW tickets, usually popular itineraries selected by the company are significantly cheaper. Finally, consider a ticket that drops you off in one city and picks you up in another if you can travel cheaply from one to the other overland.
3. Plan your itinerary. While you may not want to stick entirely to cheaper locations, making shorter stops in expensive countries and significantly longer ones where the cost of living is cheap is an excellent way to save.
4. Stay in hostels, in the dorm if possible, for the cheapest rates. Searching for hostels on the internet can help you compare prices and make reservations ahead of time, which ensures that you won't have to settle for an expensive hotel room at the last minute. If you don't want to stay in the dorm, sharing a room with even one person can still help you save. (Hostels are also great places to meet other budget travelers and pick up tips.)
5. Buy groceries and prepare your own meals. Most hostels have kitchens, and even if you don't want to cook you can eat much more cheaply by buying convenience foods from markets than by eating in restaurants all the time. Also, many 'round the world travelers spend a surprising amount of their budget on drinking in bars, so if you limit your drinking or even buy alcohol from a store, you can definitely save some money.
6. Walk or take public transportation if at all possible. If you have plenty of time and limited funds you will probably find that almost any city in the world is walkable, and you will save lots of money by doing it.

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How Long Does it Take a Cruise Ship to Travel Around the World?

To some the thought of a world cruise is frightening---months on the sea, "holed up" in one vessel, away from the security of land, family and the familiar. To others the thought is exhilarating---days and nights of luxury, fine dining, exotic ports-of-call, new friends and adventures. Most world cruises take around 100 days, depending on the itinerary.

Almost World Cruises

• Many voyages classed as "world cruises" actually don't circumnavigate the globe. They leave out the last ocean segment, whether the Pacific or the Atlantic. Thus, you might sail from England to North and South America, then to Asia and India. After visiting 19 countries, the ship ends its voyage at Sydney, Australia. In 2010 on P&O's "Oriana" that voyage took 84 days. Crystal's "Serenity" offers a 110-day world cruise, leaving Los Angeles in January and sailing to 41 ports in 19 countries ending in London.

The Granddaddy of World Cruises

• In 1923, Cunard's "RMS Laconia" completed a historic world cruise, the first by any passenger ship. She started at New York City and sailed east. The voyage took 130 days and called at 22 ports. January 2011 can be looked upon as another historic accomplishment in Cunard's history. Guests will sail on three Queens for a world cruise of 103 nights. "Queen Victoria" leaves Southampton for New York. Then passengers transfer to the new "Queen Elizabeth" to sail to Sydney. From there, on "Queen Mary 2," they sail back to Southampton.

The Shortest and Longest

• Possibly the shortest world cruise is Fred Olsen's "Black Watch." She leaves Southampton, England, in early January for a 77-day, 27-port sail to the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, down and around South America, and back to Southampton. Among the longest cruises is the Seven Seas' "Voyagers," leaving San Francisco, California, in mid-January and docking at Southampton, England, 145 days and 67 ports later. She sails west to Hawaii, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia, China, the Middle East and Europe.

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