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Volunteer travel
Sample organization: Global Volunteers.Where: 19 countries on five continents.
How it works: Volunteers generally spend one to three weeks in one of about 20 countries. They participate in projects such as teaching English, providing health care or maintaining community buildings.
Benefits: You don't have to fend for yourself. Meals, lodging, ground transportation, emergency medical evacuation insurance and other expenses are covered. Participants go because they hope to give back and experience a cultural immersion. They often return with a sense of accomplishment and new friends.
Drawbacks: The work may be rewarding, but the schedule isn't easy. Because of strict regulations required for tax benefits under federal law, you'll be busy.
"Volunteers work 40 hours per week," says Judith Strobel, the director of media relations at Global Volunteers. "The weekend and most evenings (are) free."
Costs: Costs vary greatly depending on the country you visit and the length of your stay, but they are often tax-deductible.
Other notes: If you plan on taking a tax deduction, be sure you check with the organization you plan to use to make sure it meets Internal Revenue Service requirements. Among other things, the organization must be a registered nonprofit. You'll also be required to work an average of eight hours a day, five days a week.
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Also check: Cross-Cultural Solutions offers volunteers abroad activities in social services, education and health. Some options include caring for the elderly, working for women's empowerment and working with people affected by HIV/AIDS.
Habitat for Humanity volunteers help build simple homes for people in many countries. Some knowledge of construction is helpful but not required.
Home swaps
Sample organization: Home Exchange.Where: More than 100 countries worldwide.
How it works: After paying a fee, you can list your home along with thousands of others in more than 100 countries. The Web site helps facilitate one-to-one home exchanges anywhere in the world.
While you're in someone else's home, they're in yours. Plenty of contact with your exchange hosts helps eliminate fears of having strangers in your home.
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Benefits: With no hotel costs to drain your budget, you can stretch your vacation dollars. Need a late-night snack? You can head to the kitchen, not the (expensive) minibar or (more expensive) hotel restaurant.
"(Home exchangers) will often introduce you to the neighbors, so you'll get to meet people in a way that you don't get to if you're in a hotel," says Home Exchange President Ed Kushins. "The neighbors will come over, or they'll invite you over for dinner. And they'll tell you the places to eat that aren't in every tour book."
Drawbacks: If you don't have much flexibility on your travel dates, you might have trouble finding an exchange. Because successful Home Exchange users have homes in reasonably desirable locations, you may have a tough time swapping your home in Podunksville for a flat in Paris.
And if you're a private person, you may not enjoy the idea of people in your home when you're not there.
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House swapping for cheap vacationsOne of the most expensive parts of travel is a hotel. But what if you could stay in a full-size home for no money at all? Thousands of people do it every year.
Costs: $100 for an annual membership; no other fees apply.
Other notes: If you've got an oceanfront mansion or Tuscan villa and you'd like exchange with others who have homes as grand as your own, HomeExchangeGold caters to wealthier homeowners.
Also check: Homelink offers about 12,000 homes in 72 countries; annual memberships start at $110. InterVac has more than 50 countries represented in its database.
Continued: Hospitality networks
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