Travel Tip 111
How to get free lodging when traveling
Estancia Lago Fagnano in Chilean Patagonia looks for a pet sitter every June - August.
Home swaps and pet sitting make travel more affordable
A quick look at hotel prices is enough to convince lots of people that a camping trip is the most affordable vacation. What if that’s wrong?
Every day, thousands of people around the world are staying in houses for free, usually in exchange for pet sitting or house swapping. Every year, there are more platforms to help people do this, though you can also find independent opportunities. There are also volunteer opportunities that usually come with free housing, which I’ll address in another newsletter. I’m not here to sell you any of these platforms and none are sponsoring this newsletter.
Check out Hillary’s blog about pet sitting to find out if it’s right for you.
The cost & benefit of platforms
Joining a platform usually has an upfront cost, but when it comes to letting somebody stay in your home, or staying in a strangers’ home, I think it’s worth the money to have somebody else do the background checks and verify identities.
This is usually $100-300 USD, which is a lot if you’re not sure you’ll do it. Only sign up for platforms that you’re sure you’ll actually use. Still, if you’re looking at two weeks in Europe, and are willing to go anywhere that has cute pups you can walk in exchange for a free place to stay, $300 is a steal.
One of my favorite Instagram travel stars, Hillary @queenoftheexitrow, used Trusted Housesitters in 12 cities last year and had a great time doing it. There are companies that have location-specific programs like Home Exchange’s India platform, used by Shivya, another of my favorite travel content creators.
Hillary wrote a fantastic blog about her pet sitting experiences with tips for how to get started.
The pet sitter at Estancia Lago Fagnano just needs to feed some sheep in exchange for staying in a house on a lake in Patagonia.
The risks & perks of going independent
There’s no cost for using a platform, but also none of the security. This route is great for people who have time to search for opportunities and are confident they can do their own safety assessment.
One I highly recommend is Estancia Lago Fagnano, which usually looks for a caretaker in austral winter, every June – August. You’d get a beautiful house on a giant lake on the island of Tierra del Fuego, and you’d have to feed some sheep.
Hannah’s friendly dogs and her lovely house are looking for a sitter Christmas 2025 to February 2026.
If you want to spend Christmas in Cusco, and then stay most of January and February, you can stay with my friend Hannah’s pups Tika and Wayki. Just let me know you’re interested, and I’ll connect you with her.
Arakur was my favorite place in Ushuaia - that little blue dot on the rock is me!
Blogs
Where to stay on Tierra del Fuego
Where to stay and what to do in Ushuaia
If you feel like you’ve barely survived the northern hemisphere’s heat waves the past few weeks and you just want to see snow, now is the time to start planning to spend next June – August in Patagonia.
Aranwa Boutique Hotel is one of my favorite places to stay in Cusco.
Hotel Reviews
The Best Hotels in South America
If you don’t mind paying for hotels, but chafe at the idea of $300 for a budget hotel in the US that doesn’t even have breakfast, take a look at what you can get in South America for the same price. I’m constantly adding new places to this list, so check back often.
