You Can Travel Free (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

If you paid anything at all for your last holiday, you probably paid too much, states You Can Travel Free author Robert Wm Kirk. At this very moment, tens of thousands of people are out there seeing the world at little or no cost. And they're doing it safely, comfortably, and legally. As Kirk demonstrates, just about anybody can roam the globe with little or no money. Hike in the Andes, ski in Switzerland; cruise the blue waters of the Caribbean, once you know the secrets of free travel, your imagination is your only limit. The strategies that Kirk has uncovered through three decades of hands-on research include: exchange programmes; complimentary cruises; vacation jobs; home exchanges; short-term yacht crewing; volunteer organisations; au pair work; language teaching. This single, affordable volume offers all that and much, much more, including hundreds of addresses, phone and fax numbers, and Web sites. Don't let a tight budget stand in the way of your dreams. Find the valuable travel strategy that's just right for you and you can travel free.

Product Details

• Paperback: 492 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565543173
• ISBN-13: 978-1565543171
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #912,144 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book helped me save so much money!, July 6, 2000

By	Carrie Smith - See all my reviews

I read this book thinking that I might gain a few ideas that might work. I later learned I totally underestimated its powers! Being a young person I don't have a lot of money, and the money I do have has to be stretched, and this book had excellent ideas on how to do just that. I went to Europe last summer for three months and only spent $3000 (including airfare). If you enjoy traveling and aren't afraid for a little adventure, you should definately look into this book, it's a traveler's greatest companion!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Most of us like "freebies" when it comes to travel!", April 25, 2004

By	Norman Goldman "Editor of Bookpleasures.com" (Montreal) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Most of us like "freebies" especially when it comes to travel. However, how do you travel for free or for very little money?
Robert Wm Kirk's guidebook, You can Travel Free, is an extremely comprehensive and fact filled guidebook presenting useful strategies and methods that have been employed by those who roam far and frequently-without paying.

The book is divided into seventeen chapters featuring tips, ideas, reference sources, experiences, and guidance. Within these chapters we are introduced to such topics as free accommodations, free ship cruising, hosting group tours, free land transportation, airline freebies, volunteering, working vacations, sightseeing for free, and how to receive scholarships and grants to travel free.
Each chapter begins with a brief quotation that the author appropriately refers to as, "McCheap's" laws.

The author's first law of travel is "the less money you spend at any destination, the more enjoyable the experience." If you think about this rule for a moment you will probably immediately remember that your most enjoyable vacations were those you had incurred the least expense.
The second law introducing the "Free Accommodations" chapter states, "if you paid anything at all for your last vacation you may have paid too much."

Reading these rules, you pretty much get the idea of the book's major theme. A combination of ingenuity, information and the right strategy are all that is required to travel the globe without having to go into debt.
As a concrete example, in the chapter dealing with free accommodations we are informed as to how we can vacation without paying for the cost of a hotel or motel. Immediately the reader is hooked? Is there such a thing as a "free lunch" when it comes to accommodations?

We are not only informed of the possibility of house swapping that many of us are aware of, but we are also provided with a very extensive list of sources where we may be able to find individuals willing to swap their houses with us.
Did you know that there are empty farmhouses, fishermen's dwellings, and deserted boathouses available for public use in Norway? Are you aware of an organization named Seniors Abroad and by joining, travelers who are 50 and over can be guests of seniors in other countries? These are a tiny miniscule of the invaluable tips and secrets found throughout the book.

Apart from free or low cost accommodations, we are also informed of the many free or inexpensive attractions scattered throughout the world. Have you ever heard of free bikes? The author tells us that in Copenhagen bikes can be used without paying. One thousand "city bikes" are available.

Finally, an added feature is the last chapter entitled "A Wealth of Free Information" where we are presented with over twenty five pages of names, addresses, phone numbers, and web addresses of many organizations as well as publications that reinforce McCheap's seventeenth law of travel: "learning as much as you can about your destinations costs nothing, and can make your free travels a success." The book is well worth its money for anyone who is desirous of knowing how to travel on a very low budget. You Can Travel Free

Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the typical traveler, December 10, 2002

By	Charles McCool (RESTON, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

Almost 500 pages of mostly unconventional methods for securing free or nearly free travel. Topics include home exchange, house and boat sitting, tour hosting, auto driveaway, hitchhiking, bicycling, volunteering, working, scholarships and awards, travel careers, and much more. Excellent section on free travel resources. Air strategies are frequent flyer benefits, bumping, contests, and asking (and perhaps find a private pilot that will let you hitch). Highly recommended.

Reviewed October 2001 by Charles McCool on LowerAirfares.com