You want to travel the world, learn a new language, find adventure, meet new people and you don’t have a dime to spend. Of course, any travel experience is going to cost you; however there are unique opportunities to travel for less and find unlimited adventure.
There are many foreign travel opportunities available for even the smallest budgets.GeoVisions
(www.geovisions.com) offers a variety of foreign travel options andLanguage Immersion Opportunities. They offer assistance in applying for a J-1 visa for exchange visitor travel. J-1 visa’s are non-immigrant visa’s that allow U.S. citizens to travel as part of a cultural exchange program in coordination with government entities or the private sector. Most programs are available year around from a minimum of a few weeks and increase to stays of up to one year in duration.
Conversation Corps is a program that allows native English speakers to live with Peruvian families in their home, in exchange for teaching their family English for a minimum of 15 hours per week. Four to eight week stays are available ranging from $1040 to $1405 per trip. Stay with a host family includes meals, cultural experience, and the opportunity to live with the family in their home. Airfare and some transportation costs are not included. Conversation Corps and Conversation Partners are available in a variety of countries.
Paid internships and other work programs are available to travel abroad. GeoVisions offer unique opportunities to travel, work abroad and other programs for foreign travel.
- Paid and unpaid internships in Travel & Work offices with paid travel opportunities throughout the country of destination.
- Paid Au Pair jobs
- Work abroad opportunities: hospitality, office assistants, manual labor.
Freedom Corps
(http://www.volunteersforprosperity.gov/) more commonly known as Peace Corps, but not entirely the same.Peace Corps is a division of the Freedom Corps. The Peace Corps sponsor volunteer programs in 74 different countries, including Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, and the Middle East. Many areas are available for volunteer work, such as education, community resources, youth outreach and community development, environmental issues and the development and sustainment of information technology.
- The Peace Corps provide a variety of volunteer opportunities extending from college students to retirees.
- Volunteers are provided with a living allowance, pay, transition money, vacation time and deferment of student loans. The living allowance allows volunteers to live in a manner that is comparable to the people living the community the serve. This allowance generally covers housing, food and incidentals.
- There is no Fee!!!!!!! The Peace Corps does not require a fee to participate.
- Volunteers are eligible to defer student loans and in some cases Perkins loans can be cancelled at a rate of 15% for every 365 days of service.
United Nations Volunteers, Worldwide
(http://www.unv.org/) offers volunteers the opportunity to participate in numerous initiatives for health care, business development, economic development, response to national disasters and other positions that are dedicated to improving the social and economic resources and developing peace abroad. Volunteers receive support during their stay through a monthly volunteer living allowance, annual leave, or medical insurance. Most contracts are set up on 6 to 12 month renewable contracts.Farm Work Exchange Programs give volunteers to travel anywhere in the world for a limited cost. These programs are generally not free, many times require volunteers to locate and make their own arrangements with farm owners and provide many of your own materials, resources and some supplies. Many of the opportunities are unpaid and are limited in the variety of farming tasks that are available.
WWOOF
(Willing Workers on Organic Farms), Worldwide (http://www.wwoof.org/) claims to offer volunteers the opportunity to receive board and lodging in exchange for their days work on an organic farm. However, volunteers are required to pay for farm exchange programs, traveling expenses and most the time accommodations are limited to tents only.HelpX
(http://www.helpx.net/) is a database that requires a fee for volunteers and host to search a database of worldwide volunteer opportunities to participate in Farm Work Exchange Programs. Volunteers may choose to work at farms that include: gardening, farming, agriculture, permaculture, fruit-picking, building, carpentry, landscaping, working with animals, caring for and riding horses and even working on a sail boat crew. Volunteers are responsible for their own travel and transportation fees. Volunteers receive boarding and accommodations in exchange for working on the farm between 4 to 8 hours a day. Arrangements must be made directly with the host family and participants are encouraged to ask lots of questions to ensure the opportunity is positive and satisfactory.Sudan Volunteer Program, Sudan
(http://www.svp-uk.com/home.html) offers volunteers the opportunity to teach English in schools, universities and community projects. Volunteers are responsible for travel costs only. Once the volunteer arrives all other boarding and accommodations are provided as well as a small monthly stipend.Winrock International
(http://www.winrock.org/) offers volunteers the opportunity to impact social, economic and civil programs with a focus on the implementation, sustainment and maintenance of resources. Project destinations are focused on South America, Asia and Africa. The non-for profit organization covers all travel expenses and provides small living allowances for two to three week stays.There are many more work exchange programs available for travel with minimal associated costs.
