In 2024, budget-friendly travel has never been more accessible, and Worldpackers is your ultimate passport to affordable adventures. Follow along as I reveal one of the best ways to travel the globe without breaking the bank.

From volunteer opportunities to unique cultural exchanges, discover how this innovative platform can turn your wanderlust dreams into reality while saving you the big bucks. Plus, don’t miss out on an exclusive discount code at the end to kickstart your adventures.

I knew I wanted to begin traveling when I was 21 years old. My dream was (and still is) to travel the world. The only problem was I didn’t have a lot of money to my name, and I thought I had to have millions of dollars to travel. Flights, rental cars, gas, hotels, all the expenses that came along with traveling seemed so daunting. I felt like I would never have enough money for it all.

Then, I stumbled upon a little website called Worldpackers. After hearing so many success stories of people just like me who used the site, I had a feeling this would be my ticket to budget travel.

About Worldpackers

I worked hard at the restaurant job I had while I was still living at home and saved enough money for my first Worldpackers trip. After that, I was hooked. I continued on to have 5 wonderful experiences on Worldpackers (so far).

Worldpackers is the only reason I was able to begin solo traveling in the first place. If you aren’t familiar with the site or have never heard of it before, let me tell you a bit about it. 

Worldpackers is a platform that you can obtain a membership to which will connect you to people from all around the world who are looking for volunteers to help them on their property in exchange for accommodation.

This is called a work exchange. When you work somewhere for free in exchange for a living space including a bed, kitchen, and bathroom.

Types of Work Exchange

There are many different types of work exchange programs you can apply for. You can work at farms, hostels, eco villages, or animal shelters just to name a few. But there really are endless opportunities out there. Anyone is sure to find a work exchange program that interests them. 

This is the entire premise of Worldpackers. You pay for a membership to their website and you gain access to thousands of different work exchange programs that you can apply for.

The types of work you do and type of accommodation you’ll receive varies based on what kind of volunteer experience you decide to take part in.

For example, when I worked in a hostel I worked at the reception desk and helped with cleaning guest rooms in exchange to live there. I got a bed in their dorm, a kitchen, and bathroom that I had to share with the other guests and volunteers.

Above are a few photos from a the hostel dorm I lived in while volunteering in North Carolina.

When I worked on a farm, I received my own private tent, an outdoor shower and kitchen that I shared with my fellow volunteers. For work, I took part in planting and harvesting fruits and vegetables, caring for animals, and weeding the garden.

These photos show the tent I lived in and an outdoor shower I used in Hawaii.

Applying for Work Exchanges

Once you find an opportunity that you’re interested in, you can then apply to work there. Your application will be sent to the host in a direct message on the app. The host is the person who you work for and who is in charge of the property.

Each work exchange listing will have photos of the property and living spaces, information about the host and the work you’ll be doing, and a list of all the people who have volunteered there before.

The people who have volunteered in the past also have the option to write a review of their experience. You will most likely see a few reviews about the program under each one.

When you go to apply to a work exchange, you will have to enter which dates you would like to travel there and work. Most opportunities have restrictions on the maximum and minimum amount of weeks they want volunteers for.

Some programs that are more popular can get all booked up months in advance. Others may have openings next week. It really depends on the place that you apply to.

After you send in your application, it can vary based on the host and how active they are on the site, but you should hear something back within a week.

The host has the option to either accept you for the dates you selected, tell you to select different dates, or decline your application all together.

I’ve gotten rejected a few times before because I didn’t have enough experience yet. If your application gets declined, it’s important to not let this discourage you. You WILL find a work exchange that wants you to work there.

The hardest part is getting your foot in the door. Once you have one trip under your belt through Worldpackers, the easier it is to get accepted into more.

Safety and Traveling

Contacting Other Volunteers

When you are thinking about applying to a work exchange, there will be an option to send a direct message to other volunteers before you apply to a place. I utilized this feature a lot.

This is helpful in getting the “inside scoop” on what it was REALLY like to volunteer there. I would message other volunteers each time before I would apply to work somewhere to see what other people thought of the living conditions, the host, the work, etc. Having this information was very important to me when choosing which work exchange to apply to.

I would find work exchange programs that seemed amazing, and of course I’d be interested in applying. I would then message a few of the other volunteers just asking about what they thought of living/ working there, and sometimes they would respond back with a very negative experience.

I would then know to stay away from that host and program. It also saved me from choosing the wrong work exchange and potentially having a horrible travel experience.

The whole point of traveling is to have fun, so it was so essential for me to get insight from other volunteers before I made a decision on where I would live and work.

Worldpackers Safeguard

Something else I want to note is that Worldpackers actually provides you with a safety net for your travels. If you apply for a work exchange and you absolutely hate it or feel uncomfortable staying there, Worldpackers Safeguard has you covered.

Worldpackers Safeguard is basically like insurance that is completely free of charge. The site will provide you with 3 nights of accommodation away from your work exchange. Such as a nearby hotel.

I have never had to use the WP Safeguard to get out of a work exchange before but it’s nice knowing that it’s there just in case. This is another huge pro to Worldpackers. It definitely gave me a sense of safety when I left for my first trip.

Support Team

Worldpackers also provides you with a support team which can assist you with any questions you have about volunteering throughout your entire work exchange experience. Their support team is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese 7 days a week.

How Much is Worldpackers?

Unfortunately, it is not completely free to use this site. In order to message other volunteers and apply to work exchanges, you must buy a membership to Worldpackers.

You have the option to buy a membership for yourself for $49 per year, or to buy a joint membership with a friend, partner, or anyone else you want to travel with for $59 per year.

Buying this membership gives you access to work exchange programs all around the world! You can volunteer as many times as you want, anywhere around the world within the year of your valid membership. It’s a pretty sweet deal!

Discount Code

To make it even better, I have a discount code you can use to get $10 off your membership! You can use the code “ANNATRAVELS10” to get your solo membership for $39 or joint membership for $49. 

You can click here to sign up with $10 off now!

Buying my membership to Worldpackers was the greatest thing I’ve ever done for myself. I met some of my best friends while volunteering and made memories I will treasure forever.

Doing work exchange programs around the world is still my favorite way to travel because you gain so many different life skills and learn so much more about the world around you. 

If you want to work a job that feels rewarding while traveling the world, I encourage you to try out Worldpackers! 

That concludes my complete guide to my personal favorite work exchange site: Worldpackers. I hope you were able to get some helpful information from this article or at least found a new way to make all your travel dreams come true. Thank you so much for reading!