The rise of the sharing economy has made it so much easier for people (especially travelers) around

The Internet has changed travel. Sometimes hasn’t been for the better bank of america debit card rental car (one just needs to see how many people are checking Facebook in a hostel to agree) but it has allowed people to share, connect, and collaborate in ways that haven’t been possible before.
And for the budget traveler and culture enthusiast this change has been terrific. There are now so many more ways to travel on a budget as well as get the most out of your destination and learn the hidden secrets of the places you are visiting. Here are some top notch sites and services (some old, some new) that you can use to travel cheap and connect with locals.
Hospitality networks have been around for decades but were really popularized bank of america debit card rental car with the creation of Couchsurfing . Founded in 2004, this old standby really bank of america debit card rental car took advantage of the web and brought together travelers and locals. It connects travelers with locals who are willing to give them a free place to stay (couch, room, floor, etc) and get a local perspective on a destination. It popularized hospitality networks and, with 7 million bank of america debit card rental car members, is now the biggest. I don’t use the accommodation service that much anymore since I like my own space, but I still value it as a resource to meet up with locals (you will find a lot of group meet-ups on the website). Some similar sites are Be Welcome , Hospitality Club , and Global Freeloaders .
Hotels are expensive and maybe hostels aren t your thing, so what s the next best choice? Renting someone s apartment (or a room in it)! On apartment sharing/rental websites, you can rent a room, couch, or whole apartment at much cheaper rates than a hotel room. Plus, you ll have a local host to show you around and a kitchen to prepare meals. It s the best middle ground between hostels (and Couchsurfing) and hotels. I think Airbnb offers the most robust inventory for finding a spot in someone’s house and I prefer them the most, though it s important to always check all the rental sites because, unlike hotel sites where properties appear over multiple websites, listings are at the owner s discretion and some owners list their property on only one site. Similar services bank of america debit card rental car include VRBO , HomeAway , Wimdu , and Roomorama .
Camp in My Garden is a UK-based website started in April 2011 that is slowly bank of america debit card rental car expanding around the world. Its simple premise: connect campers to people who will let them camp in their backyards for a small fee. You have to bring your own camping gear but most properties will let you use their facilities (no peeing behind a bush!). Locations are found predominately in the UK and Europe but the site is gaining traction around the world.
This relatively new website allows you to eat home cooked meal with locals. Eatwith lets locals post listings for dinner bank of america debit card rental car parties and specialty meals that people can sign up for. There is a fee (everyone sets their own price) and you can pick from a variety of meals (depending on what the person wants to cook). The dinner parties are small and a chance to do something different, pick a local’s brain, and make a new friend. bank of america debit card rental car   Eat With A Local , Meal Sharing , and Colunching are similar websites worth using.
Need a ride? Check out Lyft or Sidecar and get locals to pick you and drop you off where you need to go. It’s about 30% cheaper than a taxi, though rates are suggested donations and the companies take a commission. I prefer it to Uber since they don’t have surge pricing (i.e. increased rates during busy times), it’s not a car rental service, and it s less formal.
Need a car for a few hours? Rent someone else’s. Getaround allows you to rent people’s unused cars by the hour. Renters and owners are vetted by the company, bank of america debit card rental car who also insures both parties in case an accident happens. It’s a good cheap alternative to more traditional bank of america debit card rental car car rental services. Rates start at $7 per hour. The downside to this website is that it is only available in a handful of U.S. cities. A more established service is ZipCar , though they are based mostly in U.S. cities.
Another alternative bank of america debit card rental car is FlightCar bank of america debit card rental car . FlightCar lets people bank of america debit card rental car parking at airports rent their vehicles to other travelers. All cars are insured up to a million dollars and users are verified and checked out ahead of time. If you are a traveler, this option lets you make some extra money for future travel. Like Getaround, it is only in a few U.S. cities. Liftshare (based in the UK), Mitfahrgelegenheit (German based), and Gumtree (UK/Australia/NZ) are three good websites too.
Need a tent for the day? A bike? A ladder? Skis? A beach chair for a few hours? Rent it from people who aren’t using theirs. Instead of buying new products, temporarily rent people s unused stuff at a lower rate. It’s cheaper than buying something you may only need once or twice on the road and creates less waste. Websites that facilitate this service allow you to travel a lot lighter. Two big sites for this are Zilok and Snapgoods .
Want to take a tour with a local expert? Connect with local guides bank of america debit card rental car and hire them for unique experiences through the website Vayable . A rating system for the guides allows you to know in advance if the guide/tour is worth your time. I enjoy and like this site because it allows you to experience niche, offbeat and interesting tours that bigger tour companies might not run ( like a street art tour in Los Angeles ). Plus, the groups tend to be very small, making for a more intimate experience.
The rise of the sharing economy has made it so much easier for people (especially travelers) around the world to connect bank of america debit card rental car with each other. People can now advertise and promote their local services and knowledge that allow travelers better access to destinations, bank of america debit card rental car people, and services in a way that saves people a lot of money and creates a more unique bank of america debit card rental car and intimate travel experience.
Great post I love Airbnb and Couchsurfing and have found them so useful. Another one I really like the look of is Local Guiding, although I haven t used it yet. Might be a good one to add to the article!
Hospitality networks have been a great development. I would just like to mention Warmshowers, which is a cyclist hospitality network proving useful for thousands of bicycle tourers all around the world.
Great article! I ve been using many of these sites for a while now. Hadn t heard of Camp in My Garden, though, which sounds awesome! Over the past few years, bank of america debit card rental car I ve pieced bank of america debit card rental car together a living as an Airbnb host, TaskRabbit, and DogVacay sitter, while also renting out my car on RelayRides. Lots of opportunities here!
Sites like these are not only a great way to save money, but meet some amazing people along the way. I ve couch surfed across bank of america debit card rental car most of South America, and by far the great people we met exceeded the money we saved on accommodation.
Great article with a ton of resources. While going through it, I noticed you missed out on BlaBlaCar, an excellent resource used in Europe for sharing rides with drivers. It s much more economical than booking a last-minute train.
Had only heard of Couchsurfing and Airbnb before, didn t realise there were so many other great resources out there! Thank you very much for sharing, going to get these added to my favourites right away EatWith in particular sounds like such a great idea!
I have heard of these before but it s nice to see them in one post I can bookmark Sadly, bank of america debit card rental car so many of these I can t use in India. For example, bank of america debit card rental car I LOVE couchsurfing, but have kind of quit it lately here. I ve also wanted to try InterNations.
This is a great round up of websites. I have used airBnB for years but I have never heard of EatWith. I am definitely going to have to check that one out. It seems right up my alley since I like to eat and talk with locals!
I actually booked my first Eat With dinner the other day, it s for next week so I haven t tried it out yet. But I will be in a city on my own, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to try something new!
Thanks for this post Matt. As I m from Britain, although I live in Germany LOL, I have heard of some of these websites however, Eat With Locals and Get a Personal Tour Guide sounds bank of america debit card rental car great and something that I could look into in the next few months.
Great advice! Couch Surfing is pretty amazing. Wherever you go, even my small village in England, there seems to be somebody willing to host you. Workaway.info is pretty amazing too, if you are willing to work for your accommodation and food.
This goes well beyond the usual Couchsurfing, Craigslist , etc recommendations in posts like this Eatwith sounds AWESOME, and while I ve known about AirBnB for a while now, I ll be using it when I get back to Canada for sure!
Wow, I definitely hadn t heard of a LOT of these websites thank you! Camping your way around Western Europe seems like a really fresh way to do the well-worn circuit. I also had a friend who cycled bank of america debit card rental car Europe and used CouchSurfing the entire time she only paid for a hostel 2x in 3 months!
I love this post. I have tried the carpool services and also air bnb and i love them. I am a bit cautious with couch surfing by havent tried it so i am not really a reliable person to talk about it, I prefer to meet someone first then build a friendship them crash in their couches if needed ^^.
Good stuff! The collaborative eating (dining with locals) is something I was keen to try but never really did (definitely more for those with a bit more of a budget, I found, rather than budget travelers).