Description
Workaway is a website that connects travellers with hosts in more than 170 countries: the traveller helps a few hours a day and gets board and lodging in exchange. Hosts are families, farms, hostels, schools and associations. It is an alternative to package holidays and paid accommodation for people travelling for a long time.
The site has existed since 2002 and belongs to a private company, VEN Ltd. Hosts register for free; travellers pay a yearly membership of €59 alone or €69 for two, or €79 and €89 for the Plus versions (checked November 2026). The site lists more than 50,000 opportunities and more than 730,000 reviews, and says every new profile and listing is checked by a person before it goes online. Members can verify their identity with an official ID, report a listing, and get emergency help, up to the value of their membership, if a host doesn’t keep their promise of accommodation.
Workaway calls itself a cultural exchange and says it is only a tool for making contact, not an agent; it doesn’t routinely check hosts’ backgrounds and recommends travel insurance. The hours and the work depend on each host. Travellers must respect each country’s visa rules: in many cases a stay counts as work and needs a permit, and some participants on tourist visas have been detained by immigration authorities. Since Brexit, stays in the United Kingdom have become harder.
Strengths
- After the membership, board and lodging cost nothing.
- A wide choice of more than 50,000 listings, from organic farms to house-sitting, with hundreds of thousands of reviews.
- Profiles checked by a person, ID verification and emergency help if a host lets the traveller down.
Weaknesses
- Several hours of unpaid work a day, under conditions set by each host.
- Workaway doesn’t visit hosts or routinely check their background, and isn’t responsible as an agent.
- In many countries a stay needs a work permit, and travellers on tourist visas have been detained.
Who it is for
Young people and anyone free for several weeks who want to travel on a very small budget, learn a language or a skill, and can check the local visa rules first.
Sources
- Workaway: home, sign-up and prices, FAQ, safety, checked November 2026
- Wikipedia: Workaway