How to Live Rent Free in Canada

Canada is a beautiful country for travel. From Niagara Falls to Quebec City, there are so many things to do in Canada but accommodation is expensive! 

It could take years to see everything that this gorgeous country has to offer. Outside of the major cities, there are also provincial parks and national parks to visit as well!

So how can you save money on accommodation? Keep reading to learn our top tips!

Visit In The Off Season

If you avoid peak travel season, you will find more affordable hotels. This is because there is less demand for hotel rooms! However, Canada can have extreme winter weather. Keep this in mind when planning your vacation.

You may want to visit in the spring or fall to avoid the winter weather and the tourists!

Try House Sitting

House sitting is a popular way to decrease your spending when travelling. You take care of someone’s house and pets while they travel. . If you plan, you may be able to plan a long trip throughout Canada and sit for several houses.

Trusted House Sitters and House Sitters Canada are all popular Canadian house-sitting sites. Sign up and create a profile to begin your house-sitting journey.

This also allows you to meet some neighbors and get recommendations. They may send you to the entertainment district, but they could also tell you about hidden gems.

Stay Outside The City

Canadian cities may have cheap hotels, but they’re cheap for a reason. If you can stay outside the city, you will save money on hotels. In more rural areas with fewer tourists, the average price of a hotel room will decrease.

Since so many people visit and live by Niagara Falls and Quebec City, those places will be pricier. The average price of food will increase along with the price of the hotels. Expensive cities are fun to visit, but they’re still expensive cities.

Even the average prices of hostels and campgrounds may be a bit more expensive. Staying outside the city will save you a lot of money across the board! This is a good reason to explore more rural areas and smaller cities.

Go Camping

Canada has a lot of national parks and provincial parks with campgrounds. Even in the more urban areas, you can find plenty of options. Primitive campsites are more affordable than sites with electric and running water. However, if you have an RV, you can still stay at campgrounds without breaking the budget.

Many campgrounds will even have swimming pools. This is great if you want to enjoy sitting by the outdoor pool during the heat of the day. Camping requires more effort and supplies than staying in other places. However, nature enthusiasts will enjoy the outdoors and a cheaper nightly price.

Sleep In Hostels

Hostels are an affordable way to stay somewhere. Starting at $25 a night, you can sleep in a hostel. It is cheap because you’re sharing a room with several other people, usually strangers. This can be off-putting for many, but it’s a great way to lower the cost of travel.

The YMCA and YWCA are other places you can stay. They offer hotel accommodations in Canada. This is another more affordable option than regular hotels.

Try An Exchange Program

Several exchange programs allow people to travel for free and cheap.

You can try a home exchange site. This allows you to let other people stay in your home so that you can stay in another home while traveling.

It’s like renting a house but the rental price is your own house for the week!

Home Exchange and IHEN are two home exchange websites in Canada.

You could do a farm stay. This is an experience where you would work on a farm as payment for staying on the farm.

Alberta Country Vacation Association and Ontario Farm & Country Accommodations are popular farm stay organizations.

WWOOF and other organizations allow people to stay somewhere in exchange for volunteering. Workaway and HelpX are similar volunteer programs.

Use Points Systems

Check to see if your credit card has travel rewards. This is a great way to save money on accommodation! If you use your credit card to book travel experiences, you may be able to save a few dollars here and there.

If you use a booking site like Expedia or hotels.com, then you can use rewards through that platform, as well. If you exclusively use the same booking site, they will occasionally give you a free night or other perks. This is also true for many hotel companies if you skip the third-party app.

Get Connected With Different Places

If you know where you want to go, get connected with the businesses in that city. Follow them on social media or sign up for their email lists. This way you will be informed of any deals!

You can learn insider tips on how to save money. You can also make purchases whenever they have sales.

Be Flexible With Your Travels

If you can change your travel dates or switch your locations, then you can save money. Cheap hotels may be more available in a city other than the one you plan to visit.

The average price of travel could decrease depending on the week you travel. If you’re flexible about travel dates, then you can save some money by choosing the best dates.

Delete Cookies From Your Internet History

Booking sites will often keep track of your cookies. They’ll know if you are serious about taking a trip. If you seem to be serious, they know they can increase the prices.

If you delete your cookies, they won’t know how serious are. This means their prices will potentially be lower. Some people say this is a myth. But it doesn’t hurt to try!

Travel With A Friend

When you travel with a friend, you can share the cost of accommodation, you also get to share the memories and form a stronger bond. This also opens up the possiblies of renting a car rather than paying for public transport.