The ultimate guide to Workaway: house and board in exchange for a few hours of work

Ten years ago, at 23, I wanted to travel fast, cover lots of ground and tick boxes. Go and never stop until I got there. The older I become, the slower I want to travel. As a travelling couple, we like to linger in one place for a bit longer, soak up the local atmosphere, get to know the environment, the people. Embark on some hikes, get some writing done. But travelling is expensive, at least that’s the common idea. That’s where Workaway comes into the picture. Workaway is the perfect way for cheapskates to travel long-term.

What is Workaway?

Workaway is a website on which you can find volunteering opportunities. Thousands of hosts all around the world offer a bed and (usually) meals in exchange for a few hours of work a day. That makes it perfect for budget travellers who want to extend their trip. For us, Workaway was all about finding places in Central America where we could stay for a while in one spot.

What are the benefits of Workaway?

1. Workaway made long-term travel more affordable.

When we stepped out of our daily working life in Estonia, we weren’t going to be content with a holiday of a few weeks or even a month. We wanted more, we wanted to go without looking back. But travelling costs money, even if, like us, you do it in a very budget way. We had cancelled all our professional obligations, intending to concentrate on our fiction writing. Workaway felt like a gift from heaven. We could stay in one place for extended periods of time, spending minimal money while writing and experiencing the culture. Because:

2. It allowed us to soak up the local culture.

Workaway, however, is more than an economic transaction. As a guest, ideally, you get to experience the country fully. When you’re travelling as a tourist, you often only talk to taxi drivers, receptionists and waiters. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, and it can be satisfying, it does not typically present a sample card of a place.

With Workaway, you can experience the country more fully. Ask your questions to the locals, eat their food and step into their everyday life. In Mexico, José took us to local cantinas that we wouldn’t have found without him. We weeded fields with Lily on an organic farm in Belize, chatted with the kitchen ladies and the handymen in an ecohotel in Guatemala and helped out Gustavo, the moustachioed caretaker of a hotel in Honduras. Not only do experiences like that give you a proper sense of perspective, they also make you humble.

3. Workaway provided us with a base for our own writing.

Back in Estonia, both of us had writing jobs. Anete worked for a local newspaper, Pärnu Postimees, whilst I somehow juggled journalism and copywriting. These jobs paid the bills but allowed little time for our passion projects, fiction writing. There are only so many words one can wring from one’s pen in 24 hours. After a day of work, the mental exhaustion stopped us from pursuing our dreams of writing novels and short stories.

Workaway proved to be the antidote. The physical, often menial, tasks were brainless enough to fan the flames of inspiration. In the afternoons or evenings, we wrote like maniacs. We edited our first novel, Hitchhike to Kilometre 0, in Belize, kick-started a new one in Guatemala and wrote blog posts in Honduras.

How much does Workaway cost?

When we signed up, at the end of 2017, a yearly subscription to Workaway cost 29 USD for a single person or 38 USD for a couple or two friends. Those prices have since been raised to 36 USD for a single person and 48 USD for a couple. Needless to say that we saved multiples of that amount during our nine-month trip in Central America.

Still in doubt? You can browse the hosts for free, without signing up. That’s how we found the guesthouse on a volcanic lake – and when that turned into a fata morgana, the organic farm in Belize – that urged us to sign up.

Free accommodation and meals obviously do not mean that you can just set off without any money. You’ll still need to budget for snacks, drinks, and little trips. Also, you need extra money in case things fall through.

How to find the right Workaway for you?

Manage your expectations.

A free place to stay sounds appealing, but don’t jump blindly at the first opportunity that presents itself. Every host is different and some might not be right for you. Here are some things you need to consider before committing to a Workaway:

1/ What work will you be doing? How much work is expected? What will you get in return? Just a bed, or also meals? Some hosts provide three meals, others two, one or none. Some cook for you, others provide ingredients. You have to decide for yourself: is the arrangement a fair exchange?

Hotel Madrugada in Copán Ruinas did not offer us any food. But we only had to mop floors for a few hours every other day, so that was completely fine for us.

2/ Where’s the exact location? Is it remote or well-connected? What are your options on days off?

In Honduras, we considered two very different Workaway options. One was in Copán Ruinas, a small colonial city near a famous Mayan site, the other on Utilá, a small island. Although the latter certainly appealed, it was also off-grid and three kilometres from civilisation. We had stayed in these type of places before, so we opted for Copán Ruinas this time, where we could walk to a bar for a drink in the evening.

3/ What are the sleeping conditions? In a private room, a dorm or a tent? It might be fun to sleep in a tent for a few nights, but do you want to wake up in such a sauna for three weeks in a row? You might be fine with sleeping in a dorm if you’re travelling solo, but do you want to do the same as a couple for more than a few nights in a row?

We only looked for places that offered private rooms. When surrounded by people all day, it’s nice when you can retreat to a room of your own in the evening.

4/ How much time off do you get?

For us, the most important thing is the fair exchange. We didn’t sign up for Workaway to land a job – we already had those, before we left.

Is Workaway safe?

As always, common sense gets you very far. Message extensively with your hosts to get an idea of what kind of people they are. As for the safety of the region, local hosts probably know the issues better than any guide book.

Other things to consider

Communication is crucial

Good hosts include all the information you need in their profile. Even then, you can’t ask too many questions. It’s funny how hazy and vague the conversations with hosts beforehand sometimes get. Often, it’s hard to fathom how your days of volunteering will look, but it’s your task to get the best idea you can. You don’t want to waste your own time.

Michelle and Andrew, the workawayers we met in Belize, told us about their experience in a hostel in Mexico, where they had to work in different shifts. The manager forced Andrew, a Californian tough guy who liked to catch snakes with his bare hands, to work as a nightguard. None of this was mentioned in the communication Michelle and Andrew had had with the hostel. They left after two days.

Hearing that story, we got more careful with our own applications. We started asking more questions and made sure things were as clear as possible before we made the trip to the place. After lengthy correspondence with the manager of a hostel in Livingston, Guatemala, we pulled out. Not only did she demand us to work in separate shifts, but she also couldn’t guarantee that we would have days off together.

We were really set on a longer stay in Livingston, but that was something we couldn’t agree on. When we told the manager, she replied that she didn’t think we were going to be a match because “it seems like you will be more interested in hanging out together than with the guests.” So, as it turned out, the host wasn’t satisfied if we simply did a five-hour shift each, she also wanted us to entertain the guests outside of our hours. Not a good match, indeed. Which brings me to the next point:

Beware of the slave factory

Some hosts seem more interested in free labour than in a fair exchange. In our experience, hostels were often the worst offenders. When we noticed this vibe, we stayed clear.

Also because of the ethical aspect: we didn’t want to steal jobs from locals. We only chose jobs which didn’t bereave the local population of an extra income. It’s a thin line, but after a while, you recognise the difference easily.

We renovated chairs in Poptún. This was not an urgent job, but something that needed to be done as some point. If we hadn’t done it, it would’ve been added to the to-do list of the Guatemalan staff. No extra worker would’ve been hired.

Have a back-up plan

Things fall through sometimes. We had a Workaway lined up in San Marcos, a town on Lake Atitlán, where we’d write content for the website of a lakeside hotel. When unexpected renovation works in the hotel interfered with our stay, we had to change our plans. It prompted us to travel to Nebaj and Xela instead, which turned out great.

When we didn’t encounter any good options, we travelled in a more traditional way for a while. We found that balance important. After a few weeks in one place, we always longed to breathe in some new dirt, revelling in the freedom ensuing our departure. In a funny way, those Workaway experiences intensified our normal travel routine.

Beware of cultural differences

You’re working for people from other countries, with sometimes other ethics and different views of hierarchy, work efficiency, etcetera.

In Mérida, our host ordered us to clean the glass windows of the language school he was establishing. His mother and sister visited at that moment, and they were in the way of the work. Four people wiping glasses in a small area didn’t seem very efficient to me. I can’t find the name of the law of productivity right now, that says that adding workers can reduce the efficiency, but I’m sure it exists (readers who remember the name, let me know in the comments). I can’t pretend to work when there’s nothing to do, one of the reasons why I became a freelancer. So I stepped away and went to do something else. Bad idea. It’s easy to make people ‘lose face’ with your European attitudes.

On a similar note, hosts sometimes don’t seem to understand that you might simply do the work because you want to get it done, so you can go and do other, more enjoyable things afterwards. Usually, we worked for the combination of free accommodation and cultural exchange, seldom because we loved the work itself. And that should be fine.

Our experience with Workaway

Over nine months, we used Workaway four times (plus once when we found a Workaway placement on Facebook). We worked on an organic farm in Belize, boat sat and became carpenters in Guatemala, mopped floors in Honduras and renovated a language school in Mexico. Our longest stay was five weeks, the shortest one and a half. As you can see, every experience is different, so any generalisation will fall short. But it’s safe to say that we enjoyed the ride and would recommend it to anyone.

Feel like giving it a try? If you use this link to sign up, you will get an extra month of membership for free and help us to extend our membership at no extra cost to you.

Read more about our experiences with Workaway: