My Experience with Workaway: Solo Travel on a Budget

This Blog posts focuses on my experience with Workaway, what I did during my stay, and if I would recommend to other solo travellers.

What is Workaway?

A couple of months ago I was really pining to do something by myself, for myself. This led me to scouring the internet for hours searching for different ways to do this as cheaply as possible.

Then I stumbled upon a website called Workaway, a platform that connects you with a range of hosts looking for volunteers to help them with some daily tasks in exchange for accommodation and food.

You can go anywhere in the world with Workaway, and it would be a great way to extend your long distance travels, or even if you just want to try something for yourself, like I did. There are so many different tasks you can do at Workaway; such as gardening, housekeeping, renovations, and even art projects. In some cases, hosts will pay you for working for them, but most of the time the payment is in food and accommodation.

Workaway is a slower type of travel to your typical backpacking, which sees you move around every couple of days. It allows you to create a 'hub' for as long as you want or need.

Workaway offers two types of membership, the 'Individual' or 'Couple' membership. This membership has to be purchased in order to access the hosts and apply to their work posts. Individual membership costs £42 and the couple price is £49 for a year subscription. The Workaway website states for every membership bought, they plant a tree, which is nice touch! Personally, I would have your eye on a couple of hosts to work for, before purchasing the membership so that you don't end up wasting your money. You can do as many or as little workaway's as you'd like in the year, so far I have only done the one.

My Experience

• The work

• The Sleeping Situation

• What I did with my time off

The Work

My Workaway trip was with a Dutch couple, living and renovating a place in Germany. The experience was good, my hosts were lovely people and they were so kind towards me. That does not mean the work was not without challenges. My job was renovating an apartment, and I learnt so much about different forms of craftsmanship... I even put on a door! I did work with a stern Dutch man, who often taught me different words for the appliances, like 'potlood' which means pencil. Although we warmed up to each other, our communication struggled due to the language barrier, which was frustrating at times but neither of our faults. However, we made it work as best we could!

The work was 5 hours a day. We had a coffee break (my favourite) and Lunch during the day, which slightly dulled the stress of renovations. I fell in love with stroopwafels while I was with my Dutch Hosts. I would place them on top of my coffee so the caramel inside would go all soft. Yum!

The Sleeping Situation

Everyone had their own rooms, but we did live in the basement. That sounds scary at first, but I got accustomed to the spiders and the darkness. I think it is important to not judge too much when you enter different cultures and countries, as it can take away from your experience. When I first saw the room I'd be sleeping in, I admit it made me nervous, but my hosts gave me what I needed in terms of a lamp, and even a heated blanket which helped me sleep well. To be honest, I would have struggled to adjust if there was not another Workawayer there to ease me in and show me where everything was. She took me around the town and all of the sites during my time there, so I'm very grateful that I wasn't entirely alone!

My Time off

Despite my hosts being super busy with their own work, they took the time to look after myself and the other volunteer, and even took us to this incredible 'blue lake' on the outskirts of town. It was an incredible sight, and It was so nice of them to take the time to drive us around to experience the prettiest parts of their area. Additionally, they would give recommendations of places to do on our time off, and always made sure we were well fed and happy. They definitely made my experience.

The Blue Lake I visited in Germany

During the weekends, I would go a little bit further afield. I visited the town of Wernigerode, which had a beautiful castle on top of a hill. The place just screamed Disney, with the beautiful coloured houses, the cobbled streets, and then the castle standing tall above it all.

Wernigerode Castle

Additionally, I visited the "middle mountains" and the Grand Canyon of the Hartz in Thale. A relatively small town with a long history of witches. This place seemed like it was Halloween every day of the year, I loved it!

Although there wasn't loads to do for an adult, Thale was the perfect place for children. There was a small theme park in the valley, which extended to the top of the Thale mountains. I really did not expect to find a gift shop, restaurants, a pony-ride, rollercoasters, or even a Zoo on top of a mountain, but it was there! Without a doubt, this place gets busy during October. I mostly enjoyed the quick cable car ride up the top of the mountain, and the long hike down where I marvelled at the impressive rock structures and woodlands.

Safety Issues

I have read a few horror stories of certain hosts on social media. Thus, if you want to stay with a host but are still not 100% sure, I would privately message somebody or even a couple of people who has stayed with them previously. This allows for an honest 1-1 conversation, as sometimes people will generally be nice in their review of the place simply because they also want a good review. Furthermore, I have noticed if Hosts get a bad review, Workaway hides it, which I'm not sure is the right move for people who are wanting to find good, reliable hosts.

Hosts are usually very descriptivie on their pages of what they expect, or how the experience will usually go. Make sure to do your research on them, the place you'll be staying, and even what you can get up to on your time off. As someone who loves hiking and exploring nature, I found that I ran out of things to do around the local area quite quickly. Obviously this was my own mistake for not doing enough research.

Conclusion

To give a well-rounded conclusion of Workaway, I think I would have to do a couple more trips, as I am not sure If i got lucky with lovely hosts, or they might all be like that! Luckily, I am definitely intrigued and will be looking at booking another trip through their website soon.

As somebody who did this solo, I think it's a great way to meet other volunteers and create connections with people across the globe. It's definitely not your typical backpacking, as you do stay in one place, however It is a great way to re-charge if you do need some time to slow down on your travels.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Workaway, whether you're planning on a trip or if you've already done some volunteer work.