Robert Ombija
@robertombija1
To be honest with you, given a choice, most people would rather have adventures and travel the world. Back in 2018, Contiki, a company that specializes in creating bespoke tour packages for Millennials carried out a survey on 1,500 of their customers. This is what the survey showed:
- 57% of the respondents would rather give up carbs, alcohol and even sex in order to travel.
- Over 40% of the respondents would rather give up their phones to travel even though Millennials are very much imprisoned by their phones.
- Those who sacrifice anything in order to travel don’t actually view that as a “loss” but rather a “gain”.
The point is people, even Millennials who are often glued to their computer and phone screens would rather travel the world if given the chance. Not only that but they are willing to give up a lot (even sex!!) to travel.
So the question remains, why don’t more people travel the world and have adventures?
Money! The number one reason for pretty much everything nowadays is money. How much is it going to cost and where is that money going to come from?
Why Adventures don’t have to cost a lot of money
Granted, there are some adventures that will cost you money. A lifetime worth of it. A ticket on Virgin Galactic will cost you a whopping $250,000 but you get to go to space and back!
Yes, adventures and travel can cost a pretty penny but it doesn’t always have to be that way! With the right tips, the right travel partner with unbelievable flight prices and a few tricks up your sleeve, you can have an amazing time in your own city or country without breaking the bank. Here are some of those tips and tricks to help you have your own adventure without spending any money today!
How to have an adventure with no money
1. Give volunteering a try
While you may not think of volunteering as a good way to go out and have an adventure, you will be surprised at the number of companies (especially non-profits) that are looking for people to send to different places. These places don’t always have to be disaster zones (Note: basic human decency dictates that you volunteer to help your fellow man as often as you can).
There are many non-profit organizations as well as other world bodies such as the Red Cross or wildlife conservation organizations that sometimes need people for activations. You could try finding a good match for your skills on websites such as Volunteer Match and see what pops out.
2. Get sponsored for an adventure
Companies, especially those that compete for Millennial attention are always looking for ways to make their brand names stand out. This means that they would love to be associated with anything unique or “hip”. If you have the right idea for an adventure that could attract a lot of media attention or generate a buzz on social media, such as:
- Bicycling around Kenya in one month or less.
- Planting a branded flag on every island in Kenya.
(Take the time to be creative with these ideas…lol).
Once you have the right idea, you can approach different companies to see which one will bite. If you find one willing to sponsor your adventure in exchange for the media attention the brand will get, excellent! You can go wild with the adventure ideas and you won’t even have to spend a shilling. In fact, you might end up getting paid for your adventures.
3. Make adventuring your bread and butter
If adventuring is in your blood, why not join a tour and travel company as a guide? With the right information, spirit and expertise (and qualification in many cases) you can get paid to visit all the cool places you’ve always wanted to visit. All you have to do is create a tour package for that specific location, find fellow adventurers willing to pay for that package and voila, you are on your way to Machu Picchu free of charge.
4. Go on a Treasure Hunt with Geocaching
Have you heard of Geocaching? No? Well, it’s a highly engaging game where millions of people around the world create a scavenger hunt of sorts by hiding a host of things in random places and leaving clues that draw a map to the hidden “treasure”. To find out if there are people playing in your city or country, simply download the Geocaching app for free and start playing.
Here is a video telling you all about it:
One of the best things about playing such a game is that you will essentially have a host of people giving you excellent ideas on new, previously hidden places that you have yet to visit. In your quest to find the hidden treasures within the game, you will get to go to very many different locations within and outside of your own comfort zone. If that is not an adventure, then we don’t know what the word means!
5. Find or form a meetup group
Finally, you can go over to the Meetup and try to see if there are any people in your city who have the same interests as you and whether or not you can join them on an adventure. Better yet, why not form your own meetup group and ensure that it’s all about people who want to have adventures without spending money in your city?
This way, you will not only be crowdsourcing for unique ideas on what kind of adventures you can have without spending money but you will also be doing so while meeting new people and making friends with like-minded adventure seekers.
6. Take Part in Airbnb Experiences
Airbnb has this thing called “Airbnb Experiences”. This is where hosts create personalized, for lack of a better word, tour packages that showcase the best their location has to offer. The best thing about these experiences is that they are customized to each host which means that you will get to see the kind of hobbies, attractions and activities that make those hosts find exciting.
You don’t have to stay at any listing to take part in these Airbnb Experiences. You can just take note of all the experiences taking place in your locale and attend those that you feel inspired to attend.
The idea is to get out of your own way and think of new methods through which you can get your adrenaline pumping. You will be surprised at how creative you get once you have your first idea written down or once you find a group of people who want the same thing as you. In the meantime, here is a list of bucket list ideas that you can get done in a day…just to get those wanderlust juices flowing.
Do you have any adventure ideas that you can do without spending any money? Share those ideas with us in the comment section below.
