Workaway Program: An Insider’s guide To totally free accommodation worldwide

have you ever considered work exchange programs? While you won’t make money this way, you also won’t be spending much either. Nick and I first heard about Workaway when we were backpacking in Turkey in 2011, and although it has always interested us, we never really knew much about it until interviewing Erin here in this article. 

Not only do these jobs abroad come with accommodation, but three meals a day are included as well! and in numerous cases, a car for your use (depending on your relationship with the host, or the previous agreement).

Workaway is a great way to immerse yourself in the countries you visit and meet interesting people — while not dipping into your savings. 

In this interview, we’re chatting with Erin who has done a few work exchange gigs around the world. read on to learn about Workaway, how to sign up, how to pitch yourself to hosts, the pros and cons of work exchange programs, and Erin’s recent experience with Workaway Europe at a vacation home in Montenegro.

The village of Virpazar in Montenegro where we did our Workaway

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Introducing Erin from Curiously Erin travel Blog

What is Workaway?

What is the compensation with Workaway?

Why choose Workaway Europe in Montenegro?

What are the expected daily tasks?

How numerous hours per day are you expected to work?

What are the Workaway hosts like?

What is the accommodation on a work exchange?

What was the Montenegro experience like? 

Do you need to have qualifications to join Workaway?

Pros of Workaway

Cons of Workaway

Who can join the Workaway exchange program?

How far in advancement do you need to plan a Workaway?

How to join Workaway and the fee for signing up

Top suggestions for contacting hosts

Final thoughts about Workaway 

First of all, tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m Erin from the Curiously Erin travel blog. because finishing school over 10 years ago I have been travelling and working my way around the world. I’m not a digital nomad nor have I ever had a job that allows me to work remotely. Instead, I have found jobs and volunteer positions in the locations I travel to.

A few highlights of my time working abroad include teaching children to ski in California and Australia, living on a superyacht throughout the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and working in paradise at Australia’s Lizard Resort.

Hiking Mt. Rumjia during my Montenegro workaway
Having previously been a predominantly solo traveller, I am now on a long-term trip through Europe with my boyfriend. We had some savings before leaving home but keep our costs low by doing volunteer programs like Workaway. many recently we spent 7 weeks volunteering at an activity centre and vacation home in Montenegro.

What is Workaway and how did you get started with it?

Workaway is this great online platform that connects volunteers to hosts all around the world. The volunteers are a community of travellers who are searching for a much more enriching travel experience than the typical traveler stops.

Workawayers (volunteers) are on the site for a few reasons: to help aid in community projects, develop language skills, experience living life as a local or just because it’s a great way to keep costs low as a budget traveller. anybody can sign up to be a host, so you can find volunteer opportunities doing all kinds of work, in all corners of the globe.

I got started with Workaway when I first quit my full-time job to go travelling in 2015. I wanted to travel as long as possible and didn’t have the savings to be paying for accommodation all over I went.

What is the compensation? Are you paid, or is it a work exchange?

There is typically no payment involved when doing a Workaway.

In many cases, you do 5 hours of work, 5 days a week. and in exchange, you receive totally free accommodation and 3 meals a day.

Each program does vary slightly. Some programs will ask you to do fewer hours per day, but work every day. Others will ask for 3 hours of work, 5 days a week but not offer any food (this is common in hostels or they just offer breakfast).

The last program we were on, we weren’t given any meals but were given a weekly food allowance of 75 Euros between the two of us and we cooked our own meals.

Each host will list what they expect from you and what they give in return on their Workaway profile. If it isn’t specified you ought to ask before your arrival to know what you’re going into.

What made you choose the Workaway Europe program in Montenegro, instead of another country?

There were a few things that drew us to the Workaway Europe program in Montenegro. Firstly, we had spent 90 dagar i den europeiska Schengen -zonen, och som australier, var vi skyldiga att lämna Schengen i ännu mer 90 dagar.

Så våra första sökkriterier var länder som inte ingick i Schengen. Vi hade inte en plan för vilka länder vi ville besöka, så vi var öppna var som helst om programmet lät bra.

För det andra sökte vi efter ett program som hade intressanta jobb eller saker att göra när vi inte arbetade. Värdarna som vi hittade i Montenegro kör veckolånga mulit-aktivitetsresor som inkluderar vandring och kajakpaddling. Vi är väldigt utomhusmänniskor och tänkte att det lät bäst i vår gränd.

Det tredje som drog oss till Montenegro var att värdarna gav en bil för oss att använda när vi inte arbetade. Det var ett massivt drag för oss eftersom det tillät oss att utforska så mycket mycket mer av landet än vad vi kunde ha sett bara med buss.

Kajakpaddling under en resa med fritidshuset

Relaterat inlägg: Magical Montenegro – Upplever Kotorbukten

Vilka var dina dagliga uppgifter i Montenegro?

De dagliga uppgifterna på fritidshuset var mycket enkla och enkla att slutföra. Våra värdar hade använt Workaway -frivilliga i några år nu, så allt var mycket välorganiserat och kommunikationen var stor.

Gästerna som var en del av aktivitetsresorna stannade i ett fritidshus som var på fastigheten där vi bodde. Varje morgon skulle vi vakna upp och börja arbeta runt 8:00. Ett av våra viktigaste jobb var att vattna växterna (men på grund av hälften av vår tid i Montenegro var kraftiga regnstormar behövde vi inte göra detta).

Därefter delade vi upp och jag skulle arbeta i fritidshuset och göra en grundläggande rengöring som inkluderade ett svep av de gemensamma områdena, laddade eller lossade diskmaskinen, torkade bänkarna och tog ut skräp och återvinning.

Min partner Ben skulle göra utomhusområdena. Detta inkluderade underhåll av pooler och rengöring, allmän trädgårdsunderhåll, svepande vägarna och satte ut Sun Lounge -kuddar.

En gång i veckan krävdes en rensning i mitten av veckan. Det här var en snygg av badrummen och rummen så att det såg bra ut när gästerna återvände på eftermiddagen.

Varje söndag var gästbytesdag. Detta var vår mest betydelsefulla arbetsdag, eftersom de fyra rummen i fritidshuset krävde en djupare rengöring och allt sängkläder som skulle bytas över. Vi förväntades också hålla torven klippt, ogräs och göra udda jobb som kom upp runt fastigheten.

Utsikt från fritidshuset i Montenegro som vi arbetade på

Förutom fritidshuset var vi i vissa fall krävda för att driva gästerna till startplatsen för deras dagliga aktivitet. Vanligtvis när detta var fallet skulle vi också gå med i gästerna på turnén. Vi skulle också ta återvinningen till depot, göra enstaka packad lunch till gästerna och göra lite barnpassning för värdarna.

Hur många timmar per dag arbetade du?

Vid detta speciella arbetsprogram var varje dag och vecka lite annorlunda. Vi var skyldiga att göra vårt morgonansvar 7 dagar i veckan; Det tog högst en timme.

På dagen för midveckans rengöring skulle vi arbeta upp till 4 timmar. På söndagar arbetade vi i cirka 6 timmar.

Vi hade två officiella helt gratis dagar i veckan efter våra morgonuppgifter.

Vissa dagar kunde vi bli ombedda att hjälpa till med vissa jobb, även om det fanns många dagar då det inte fanns några extra uppgifter. Vanligtvis, om vi behövde göra några udda jobb skulle vi inte arbeta mycket mer än 2 till 3 timmar den dagen.

Hur var värdarna?

Våra värdar var fantastiska. Som ett resultat av att de har varit värd för olika arbetskrafter tidigare hade de verkligen räknat ut allt. Paret var ursprungligen från Storbritannien och hade bott i Montenegro i 11 år, så vi hade ingen språkbarriär att hantera.

Till skillnad från andra platser där du förväntas lägga in 5 timmars arbete per dag var de nöjda för oss att vara färdiga när vi hade slutfört våra dagliga uppgifter – även om det bara tog oss en timme.

En annan bra sak med dem var deras flexibilitet. Vi ville ta ett par lediga dagar och utforska Durmitor National Park under vår tid i Montenegro. De var glada över att arbeta runt denna begäran och tillät oss att ta lite ledig tid.

Utforska Durmitor National Park under arbetet
När vi kom nära slutet av vår vistelse hade vi inte haft möjlighet att gå kajakpaddling med gästerna, så de tog in sin städare på en midveckan ren dag och tog oss med dem. Eftersom vi inte bodde i deras hus blev vi ofta inbjudna till deras hem för att ha drinkar med dem och de tog oss till och med ut för en FArewell dinner on our last evening.

The hosts had 3 children, aged 8 and 5-year-old twins. They had two cats and a canine that we loved dearly and would often come and visit us.

What was your accommodation like?

The accommodation in Montenegro was an eco-hut on the property. It was really good that we had our own space as we had been living with others because we started travelling 6 months prior.

The eco hut was a converted animal shed and had been fitted with a double bed and a gas stove cooker. There was also a sink with running water, a cold shower and a composting toilet. At the time of year we were there it was still cold in Montenegro. We weren’t expected to have cold showers and were able to go in and out of the host’s house whenever we wanted.

Another great thing about this Workaway was that the hosts went away for a week. during this week our responsibilities changed and we became house sitters.

We were able to spend a week living in the guest vacation home (which was easily the nicest place we have stayed on our ‘budget’ trip). Our hosts were so lovely; they even let us spend an additional week after they had returned, as there was a spare room.

What was your experience like in Montenegro? Were you able to travel around on this Workaway? 

Montenegro rapidly became a highlight for us. because we had a car to use during our Workaway we were able to explore so much much more than without one. As we finished a lot of our workdays early morning, we had not only 2 days off a week but also many afternoons totally free to discover Montenegro.

Montenegro is a beautiful country with a lot of natural unspoiled areas. For anybody who loves nature and the outdoors Montenegro is the ideal place for you. We had a list of all over we wanted to explore in the country, which we didn’t think we would manage to do all of. Yet after 7 weeks, we managed to see everything on our list.

Montenegro has a spectacular coastline, although, it’s overdeveloped. The seawater is crystal clear and typically completely calm. We travelled and explored the whole coastline, from the northern Herceg Novi, and Bay of Kotor, down through some of the smaller beachside towns best to Ulcinj on the southern border with Albania. We spent days hiking throughout the country and went to 3 of the 5 national parks.

Visiting Lake Skadar national Park
The highlight of the Workaway in Montenegro was certainly how much of the country we were able to explore.

Do you need to have any qualifications to join Workaway? 

You don’t need to have any qualifications to join Workaway just a willingness to spend your travel time helping in someone’s home or business. It’s a great opportunity to receive totally free accommodation and food, so it’s essential not to abuse this opportunity and work hard.

Workaway is much more so about community and cultural immersion than totally free accommodation.

Certain hosts will require you to have a particular skill or experience level before accepting you. For example, a host may want to build a new deck for their house and want someone with carpentry knowledge. another example would be if you were to be working reception, language fluency could be a requirement.

If a host were searching for previous knowledge or experience they would list this on their profile. other placements may not require any particular skill sets so take a look through the site and you will find something that suits your needs.

What are the pros and cons of the Workaway program?

Proffs för utdrag

I love Workaway as it has allowed me to travel for longer periods of time and also to live within a community I wouldn’t get to otherwise. financially I wouldn’t have been able to afford to travel as long as I have without it. The main perks of doing Workaway programs are:

Great for budget travellers – As you get totally free a