Lodgings

VRBO stands for "Vacation Rentals By Owner," a worldwide virtual classifieds section devoted to villas, apartments, cottages, houses, and other places to lay your head fromas little as $400 per week in England. There are a stunning 33,761 properties available in England, 4,896 in Scotland, and 5,123 in Wales.

Though designed to allow villa and vacation home owners to rent to the public directly—ostensibly cutting out the extra costs involved in working through a middle-man rental agency—in my experience plenty of small-fry local rental agencies use it as well (not that there's anything wrong with renting through those folks; just wanted to let you know that not every property listed is truly direct from the owner).

VRBO stands for "Vacation Rentals By Owner," a worldwide virtual classifieds section devoted to villas, apartments, cottages, houses, and other places to lay your head fromas little as $400 per week in England. Thre are a stunning 33,761 properties available in England, 4,896 in Scotland, and 5,123 in Wales.

Though designed to allow villa and vacation home owners to rent to the public directly—ostensibly cutting out the extra costs involved in working through a middle-man rental agency—in my experience plenty of small-fry local rental agencies use it as well (not that there's anything wrong with renting through those folks; just wanted to let you know that not every property listed is truly direct from the owner).

2,400 members—though U.K. coverage can be spotty, with just 68 members in England.

Membership: $65 for a downloaded directory; $80 for a print version. Plus $15–$30 gratuity for your hosts.

Requirements: Must be over 40; must agree to host.

An acutal UN-accrecited NGO devoted to fostering world peace through travel.

Membership: Free, buy you must submit two letters of recommendation snad undergo an interview.

2,100+ members in 86 countries, including 400+ in the U.K.

Membership: Recommended donation of £37, with annual renewal fee of £27. 

Requirements: Must be female and over 18.

500 listings in 30 countries.

Membership: €25. No fee, donation, or gratuity for hosts. 

Requirements: It doesn't say you have to be gay, but I assume that's a bit of a given.

Helpx was founded in New Zealand in 2001 by an Englishman who worked his way across Australia and New Zealand. The idea is to offer to work for an average of four hours per day in exchange for free accommodation (and, sometimes, meals).

You can sign up for free, but if you pay for Premier membership (€20 for two years), you are able to contact all hosts and read all host reviews. Being "Premier" also allows hosts to read your own profile, where you can list special skills, and they might reach out to you to offer a gig.

Some hosts only ask for two hours of work a day, but require you to provide and cook your own food. Other might ask for a full four to six hours, but cook for you and feed you.

WWOOF is a collection of volunteer organizations in 97 countries around the world, from Australia to Korea, Ghana to the U.S., Italy to Nepal (plus "independent" members—countries with only a handful of opportunities).

Each chapter is devoted to supporting and helping teach about organic and environmentally sound farming techniques—though many joke that the funny acronym WWOOF doesn't actually stand for "Worldwide Opportunites on Organic Farms," but rather for "Willing Workers On Organic Farms," since you do end up doing a lot of farmhand chores.

To become a Wwoofer, You join the WOOF chapter in the country where you'd like to work (for roughly $10 to $40)—so you would join WWOOF UK (for £20)—it sends you a list of farms that would appreciate a helping hand in exchange for room and board.

You must be willing to put in six hours of work six days a week to see how the farming half lives in a variety of nations.