10 ways to work and travel the world

Travel for long enough and the arithmetic stops working. Hotels, trains and restaurant meals add up faster than most salaries, and the usual answer is to go home early. The other option is to slow down and let a few hours of work pay for your bed.

That is the bargain behind a whole set of platforms that have appeared as more people look for ways to stay away longer, see how other people actually live and still come home with money in the bank. The arrangement is simple: you give your time, and the host gives you a room and meals. A stay can last a fortnight or a season. The work might be teaching English, helping in a hostel, picking on a farm or spending a winter in the Alps. These are the sites I would look at first.

Work for your room

Workaway

Workaway.info is the broadest of the exchange sites, and the one to start with if you want a cultural exchange, a productive gap year or simply a cheaper way to keep moving. Hosts are businesses, farms and families who need an extra pair of hands; volunteers help out in return for a bed and food. In practice the jobs range from managing a hostel or keeping an eye on someone's house while they travel, to helping at a watersports school, teaching at a language camp or assisting an artist. Listings come from every corner of the world and state how many hours are expected and what the host provides, which makes comparing offers much easier.

WWOOF

WWOOF, at wwoof.net, is the farming version. It introduces volunteers to the owners of organic farms and carries listings worldwide. In most countries the deal is four to six hours of work a day in exchange for somewhere to sleep and meals.

Teach your language

Diverbo

Diverbo is for English speakers who would rather spend their days talking than digging. The company, based in Spain, places English speakers in villages where they mix with locals and help them improve their language skills, with food and accommodation included. A week in a small village outside Madrid, Munich or Frankfurt, teaching English in conversation, is a very pleasant way to travel.

Short stays that teach you something

HelpX

HelpX is an online list of farms, lodges, homes, hostels and guest houses that want short-term help. You work for a few hours, they feed you and give you a bed, and the point is the exchange rather than the wage: living with locals and picking up practical experience as you go.

WorkCamp

WorkCamp lists volunteering projects in Switzerland and in other countries. The tasks vary with the season. You might help set up a festival camp, spend your days in a botanical garden high in the Alps, or clear out gardens once winter has passed. Accommodation and food come as part of the arrangement.

Houses, pets and a free bed

MindMyHouse

MindMyHouse, at mindmyhouse.com, exists to match homeowners with house sitters. Owners join for nothing; sitters pay a small membership fee. Listings come from many countries and cover very different lengths of stay, from a fortnight of plant-watering to a much longer commitment.

TrustedHousesitters

TrustedHousesitters works on the same principle, with animals attached. Pet owners want someone responsible to look after their animal while they are away, and in return you get a free base in a new city, with the pet as your responsibility. Before agreeing, you can talk to the owners over Skype, by email or on the phone, whichever suits you both. Owners pay a membership fee; sitters join free at trustedhousesitters.com.

Job boards for working travellers

JetSetter Jobs

JetSetter Jobs, at jetsetterjobs.com, is a more conventional job board with a travel slant. It carries part-time, full-time and temporary work, including volunteering, teaching and jobs in hostels, so you can plan a route around the work rather than the other way round and still get to know local culture without burning through your savings.

Adventure Work

Adventure Work is aimed at people who want their job to involve a wetsuit or a ski pass, the sort of summer diving job Katrina takes in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Exotic locations, seasonal contracts and a fair amount of outdoor work are the appeal. A licensed ski instructor, someone with solid watersports experience or a confident driver is likely to find something on adventurework.co.uk.

Before you book

Rules differ from country to country, and the paperwork matters. If you hold a British passport, this guide to getting a working holiday visa in different countries is a sensible place to begin.

These platforms work best when both sides are clear about hours, food and the room before anyone arrives, and when you remember that the point is the place, not the free bed. If you have tried one of them, I would like to hear how it went.