This house- and pet-sitting service helps you find free accommodations around the world

Do you love travel? Do you also love animals? Then you're in luck, because today we're diving into one of my absolute favorite travel services. I'm talking about Trusted Housesitters, a free program that matches people needing house and pet-sitters with people looking for a place to stay while traveling.

Of course, it isn't totally free. The service costs $118/year for those looking simply to housesit or find sitters, or $148/year if you'd like to have both options. In return, you get access to the site and its thousands of listings, which vary from Victorian-style lodges in New Zealand to Italian villas in Tuscany.

I know, it sounds too good to be true. But it makes sense when you think about it. People have pets, and people like to travel. Trusted Housesitters strikes two birds with one stone by allowing those wanting to see the world to do so by exchanging petsitting services for free lodging. It's a win-win.

There are tons of different ways to search the site, with durations from one day all the way to six months. You can even choose what kind of animals you'd like to take care of. And if you don't like animals at all? There's an option for that, too:

And if you're concerned about safety, the site has verification measures for all sitters, and the more steps you take for verification, the more likely you are to be chosen for a housesit.

The site even comes with insurance for homeowners, in case of accidents:

I've used Trusted Housesitters countless times when traveling (as a pet- and home-owner) and had wonderful experiences. In fact, just a week ago I used the service to have a couple watch my dog while I traveled to Kazakhstan. It's great, not only because it's free, but because in-house dog sitting means that your own beloved pets don't have to deal with the unfamiliarity of boarding.

Even my grandparents have traveled around the world using this service, and they are absolute fans. Here's what they have to say about sitting with Trusted Housesitters: "It's a very different experience seeing a new location from the eyes of a local and to have the convenience of a whole home in a real residential neighborhood. There's also nothing quite like the eager greeting you get from the critters in your care when you return from a day of sightseeing!"

It doesn't get much better than that.

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Feature photo courtesy of fixnfly/Flickr