How to Travel for Free

Yes, you heard right. There are ways to travel for free, there's no catch and there's no scam. However, you should know where to look and choose a legitimate source. I was one of the lucky people who traveled for free, I won a free ticket and free accommodation too. Life is good, right?

Back in 2008, I was working hard and saving money to travel. One day I was browsing the internet and found something that absolutely changed my life. At that time I was very interested in Korea and its unique culture. I was checking a website and it had an international essay contest about Korea. The prize was a paid trip to Korea. That was perfect foe me. I loved doing research and reading about Korea, I loved writing, and who doesn't love traveling for free? That was a win-win deal for me. I worked hard on the essay and submitted with my best hopes. After 2 months, the results came out and I had won! I traveled to Korea for the first time in winter 2008. I stayed in Seoul for a week and everything was paid for me.

That could happen to any one of you and your dreams could come true. Even if you don't win a free ticket, you could win hotel voucher, tickets for landmarks and performances, and much more.

1- First of all you should like the tourism page of your target country on Facebook and Twitter to get updates on their latest offers and promotions. I have to say, the Korea Tourism Organization is one of the best. They always have different contests with awesome prizes, like photo contests, video contests and some writing contests.

2- Do a Google search for international essay/photo contests. Never ever enter a contest with an entry fee unless it's known internationally and has a good reputation. I only enter contests that don't ask money from me.

3- Know your audience, to win an essay contest. You must know your target audience and be smart. Usually when tourism organizations have international contests, they set a theme and ask foreigners to write about it. You can write about that theme with a different angle, or focus on one point you know is important to the tourism organization. For example, last year I won the second prize in Thai essay contest. The theme was “A Place In Thailand That Inspired You.” It was a cash prize which I saved to travel later. Anyway, I wrote about my favorite place in Thailand, The Elephant Nature Park in Chang Mai. I focused on the positive image of Thailand.

4- Enter sweepstakes on social media websites.

Don't give up, I've entered many contests and I've won a few of them. I've won cash prizes, a digital camera, movie tickets, performance tickets, and traditional souvenirs.

Happy traveling :)