There is absolutely no doubt about it – the Internet has made a whole lot of changes to the travel industry over the past few years. While all these changes are not always good (you just need to see how many people are checking social media in a hostel to agree with this statement), they mostly are. The Internet allows people to communicate and collaborate with one another in many different ways – ways that haven’t been possible just a few years ago. When it comes to culture enthusiasts and budget travelers, this is an awesome time to be alive! The main reason for this is because the rise of the sharing economy on the Internet has proven to be a great tool for travelers as it allows them to save more money and connect with the locals easier than ever before.
In other words, the sharing economy makes the idea of travel much more interesting, as well as much more fun. With hundreds (if not thousands) of start-ups coming and going in this new travel sharing economy, we have decided to put together a list of some of the best websites and services that you can use to travel cheap and connect with locals. We really hope that you will find all of these websites and services to be not just useful, but fun as well!
Hospitality Networks
It is no secret that hospitality networks have been around for quite a long time now. To be more exact, hospitality networks have been around for a few decades. However, what made them truly popular was the creation of one of the best travel-related websites in the world called Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing is a website that can be used to connect travelers with locals who are willing to give them a free place to stay. This popular website is used by travelers of all ages.
Apartment Rentals
Do you think that hotels are too expensive? Or maybe hotels are simply not your thing? Whatever the case may be, your best solution is to rent someone’s apartment. Renting an apartment is usually much cheaper than renting a hotel room. And on top of that, you will have a local host to show you around.
Eating With Locals
EatWith is a website that allows you to eat with locals. This website does a great job at connecting people from all over the world. Also, EatWith lets everyone set their own price, and there is a whole lot of different meals that you can choose from.
Click here to see the sponsors of this post.
There is absolutely no doubt that long term travel is one of the most exciting experiences that a person can have in their lifetime. But besides being very exciting, long term travel is also considered to be one of the most learning experiences that anyone could ever possibly have in their life. Long term travel is the kind of thing that makes you a far more open minded, independent, and confident person. Simply put, long term travel has the ability to make you a far more adjusted person in general. But just like anything else in this world, spending extended time on the road comes with its very own set of both advantages and disadvantages. You see, it’s not going to be all rainbows and unicorns once you get out there, so be sure to keep that in the back of your mind at all times.