13 ways to travel for free in the U.S.

Turn miles into money and a free road trip by transporting automobiles of all makes, models, and sizes across the U.S. Driving for a vehicle relocation company like Auto Driveaway or Transfercar is an easy way to help companies move their vehicles cross country. For Auto Driveaway, applicants must be 23 to 75 years old and have a driver's license and a clean driving record. For Transfercar, drivers help rental car companies relocate their cars and RVs and must be 18 years old (21 years old in some states) and have a valid driver's license in the U.S. and Canada.

Depending on your heritage, you may be able to take a free or heavily subsidized government or nonprofit-run "birthright" trip. Subsidized programs where participants pay a modest fee include Birthright Armenia, a homestay and volunteerism program from nine weeks to one year that includes accommodation and some travel reimbursement, the 14-day Domovina Birthright Program to Croatia for adults of Croatian descent 18 to 30 years old, Birthright Macedonia, which offers a three-week homestay and internship program, ReConnect Hungary, which offers several birthright and volunteer programs, and Taiwan Study Tour, also known as the "Love Boat" for the many romances that come from it, which is a three-week summer study tour for overseas Chinese.

Birthright programs that offer free trips include Birthright AFRICA, which offers a 10-day trip to Africa to U.S. citizens 13 to 30 years old of Black/African descent, and Birthright Israel, which offers a 10-day trip to Israel to eligible Jewish adults 18 to 26 years old.

Help the next generation of travelers by serving as a trip leader, resident advisor (RA), or support staff on travel study programs, pre-college programs, or summer camps. From planning activities to conflict resolution to mentoring students and campers, explore new places while working with and inspiring young people. Go Abroad and English First are web pages with extensive databases to search for educational programs and American Camp Association has a searchable database of more than 3,900 day and sleepaway camps in the U.S.

From travel nurse to flight attendant to travel blogging, there are many careers that can provide a long-term work-life balance that includes continuous travel. Travelnursing.org provides skilled nursing placements in all 50 states. The website connects wannabe travel nurses with up to four recruitment agencies that fill short-term work assignments that last between eight and 26 weeks.

Don't have a nursing degree? Au Pair World and InterExchange are platforms that connect host families and au pairs from around the world.

Travelers can sail the seven seas while working in hospitality, entertainment, retail, spa, photography and more aboard a cruise ship. Job board All Cruise Jobs and individual cruise line career websites list paid jobs in all areas of the cruise industry while CrewSeekers, Yacrew, and Find a Crew list opportunities for amateur and professional yacht and superyacht crews.

Business travel + leisure = bleisure. If you have a job that requires you to hit the road from time to time, incorporate your next vacation into your work trip. When booking trips for work, try to fly out a day before or after to squeeze in some vacay time. On a tight schedule? Resist the temptation to stay in after a long day of work. Go out to eat, take a stroll, and visit attractions like museums that are open into the evening. Also, book an early morning flight to your destination so you can squeeze in a half day of sightseeing and book an afternoon or evening flight on your last day for last-minute shopping or touring. If you don't already have a job that includes business travel, consider switching to a career in sales, hospitality, and event planning, which often require some travel.

Take your job on the road by working remotely with no fixed address. Some 15.5 million American workers currently describe themselves as digital nomads, according to The MBO Partners® 2021 State of Independence research study. If you don't want to go it alone, there are short-term programs like Hacker Paradise, Remote Year, and WiFi Tribe that will help jumpstart your travel-work lifestyle for a fee. 

Prefer to stay in one place and travel on the weekends? Ask your current employer if you can be transferred to a branch in another city or overseas for a short-term assignment or look for a company that has branches in multiple cities and offers the opportunity to work in multiple locations.

Have commitment issues? Whether you want to work for a few days, a week, or longer, working holidays offer the chance to work short-term or seasonally in exchange for free room and board and, oftentimes, airfare too. Season Workers lists temporary and seasonal work at ski resorts and summer camps while Yoga Trade facilitates yoga-based exchanges globally by connecting yoga instructors to jobs, and Adventure Work posts adventure and ski resort jobs.

Looking to work with an NGO, contribute to a sustainable project, or experience a cultural exchange? Workaway is a platform for arranging homestays and cultural exchanges. Workawayers work for about five hours per day in exchange for accommodation and food.

Some of the most popular working holidays are teaching English abroad in programs like the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. Founded in 1987, the government-run JET Program has placed more than 70,000 participants in schools and government offices throughout Japan. Participants' salary begins at $25,500 annually and airfare, visa, insurance, and orientation are provided (housing help is given but participants pay full costs). TEFL and Dave's ESL Cafe are job listing websites specifically for English teaching jobs abroad.

Several countries, such as Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Singapore, offer working holiday visas to Americans. These visas allow young adults to work legally while also allowing them to travel and explore the country.

Lending your time and talent to teach, work on a farm, or do other work in exchange for room and board and, sometimes, airfare is an easy way to see the world. There are several volunteer programs.

For more than 60 years, the Peace Corps has partnered with 60 host countries on hands-on, grassroots-driven projects like education and health campaigns. Founded in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, the government-run AmeriCorps arranges a variety of service projects, ranging from three months to one year across the U.S. AmeriCorps members receive transportation to their assigned campus and projects, accommodations, and a living allowance of $180 to $500 every two weeks.

Looking for shorter volunteer travel? The Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) pairs WWOOFers with organic farm hosts in 130 countries. Active vacationers work on the farm for about 25 hours per week and, in exchange, get room and board in a rural setting, learn about farming and gardening, and engage in a cultural exchange. HelpX is similar to farm stays and ranches plus hostels and sailing boats that seek helpers in exchange for accommodation and food.

HelpStay lists 1,500 volunteer stays in 100-plus countries while Worldpackers and Go Overseas lists thousands of volunteer opportunities worldwide. Pueblo Inglés offers transportation from Barcelona, Madrid, or Munich, accommodations in a shared room, and meals in exchange for participants to speak English for up to 12 hours per day for six to eight days with locals in Germany and Spain.

While you will have to pay for your travel to and from these destinations, house sitting and pet sitting let you live like a local for free while watering the plants, picking up the mail, and cuddling with furry friends. Online communities, including HouseCarers and MindMyHouse, connect homeowners with housesitters while Animal Aunts and TrustedHousesitters match house sitters and pet sitters who want to care for cats, dogs, horses, birds, fish, and reptiles.

Looking for something more low-key? Live like a local for free with Couchsurfing, an online community of 14 million people in 200,000 cities who have been sharing their couches and love for their locales since 2004, and the newer, nonprofit Couchers. Want a place all to yourself? Consider a house swap, where you trade your place for someone else's. HomeExchange has members in more than 145 countries and HomeLink has been running its worldwide home-swapping network since 1953.

There are many ways to convert everyday spending into free travel. Get credit cards like the Delta SkyMiles American Express card, which comes with annual benefits like a free companion ticket, Delta Sky Club access, and fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and the Chase Sapphire card, which provides an annual travel credit card, points on Lyft, and generous points for travel and dining purchases. The points earned on these credit cards can be converted to plane tickets and hotel stays. Joining hotel loyalty programs is another way to rack up free nights.

If the crew on your next flight asks for volunteers willing to get "bumped" and give up their seats, you might want to take them up on the offer. When there are more passengers for a flight than there are seats, some passengers need to get "bumped" or denied boarding. Before getting involuntarily bumped, the airline must ask if there are any passengers willing to give up their seats in exchange for compensation like money or vouchers, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Getting bumped from a flight is often an easy way to immediately rack up extra cash for your vacation in exchange for taking a later flight. Be sure to ask when the next flight is, if your ticket for that flight is on standby or confirmed, and if the airline will provide other compensation like meals and hotel. If the airline is also offering you a voucher for future travel, learn what restrictions there might be before you agree to get bumped.

Ask your family and friends if you can tag along on their previously planned trips. Oftentimes, it doesn't cost extra to add a plus-one to hotel rooms, cruise cabins, or RVs. Older family members may appreciate the companionship and share their award miles or airline companion ticket with you. At the same time, cruisers can save money by sharing the cabin instead of paying a higher price for traveling solo. If your friends have already planned a road trip, there's no extra cost in hosting another passenger in the car. In the process, they get an extra driver or a navigator who can read the map and manage the playlist—a win-win all around.