I don’t know one travel-enthusiast who doesn’t actively search for ways to get paid to travel. And just you being here means you’re also trying to figure out how to travel for free or make money while traveling. And you have every right to think that way!
We all dream of traveling the world, and I know Instagram makes it look like you need to be drowning in millions just to afford that Bali-life, summers by azure beaches, trips to exotic destinations, and weekend trips to Europe.
So naturally, your first bucket list item would be “Win the Lottery” instead of “Travel More.” Understandable.
Buuuuut…..luckily for you, there are plenty of ways to make travel cheaper, easier, and downright profitable! So not only can you travel for free, but you can also get paid to travel. This is different than being a digital nomad, where you have a remote job and you can travel around while sustaining that job.
I know that might sound too good to be true. It was for me. Who would have thought that I could be spending my days sipping on some savory wine, bonding with fellow travelers and enjoying exotic foods and getting paid to do just that?
So you want to get paid to travel the world, but you think it’s just way out of reach? Think again!
Just close your eyes and envision your new life with me.
Okay, maybe close your eyes after reading this.
Gone are the days you have to hoard vacation time, plan, unplan, plan some more, unplan, budget, and repeat. It’ll be easy for you to get paid to travel, to satisfy that insatiable wanderlust, traverse through staggering sceneries, and immerse yourself in new cultures.
In this article, we’re going to explore all the ways you can get paid to travel so you can spend days, weeks, months or years earning cash while satisfying your wanderlust.
Become a tour guide
If I would personally recommend one job out of this whole article, it would definitely be this. You will literally not just get paid to travel to exotic locations, but you’ll also be getting paid to do what you love while you travel.
Travel tour guides are in high demand for all types of trips and all sorts of companies. From companies like Bus2Alps and Stoke Travel that are more focused towards youth & millennials to others like GoAbroad, if you’re a presentable, fun, and knowledgable person, you can work your way around the world and get paid to travel.
I met a tour guide in Paris who made up to $200 a day and set his own schedule, traveled all around Europe leading trips and was still able to save up.
You’ll have two options:
- Become a freelance travel guide: Great flexibility, you work your own hours, set your own rates and you can travel around. However, you might not earn as much and the industry could be very unpredictable.
- Working for a travel company: Less flexibility, but more opportunities, more money, and definitely more benefits.
Become a travel photographer
Travel photography is one of the best ways you can start your journey of how you can travel for free.
There are plenty of ways you can do this.
- You can start off by leading your own photography tours and assembling groups of fellow beginner photographers to take them around the top attractions + best photo ops in a city.
- You can also run your own photography workshop, advertise it on social media and offline, get paid for it and travel unto the next destination.
- Another way you can make passive income using travel photography is by selling your photography to stock websites like Shutterstock and Getty Images so you can make money while you travel.
The best way skilled photographers can get paid to travel is through applying to publications and websites that will pay you to travel around and take pictures for their platforms.
Work in the Adventure Space
Working in Adventure Spaces is easily one of the best ways you can get paid to travel (or even travel for free). Websites like Adventure Work basically offer you a free trip.
You can choose from a week or two-week long skiing adventures that you can go on and get paid for (for being a guide, a ski rep, sales…etc).
There are plenty of resorts in France, Italy, Austria, and the U.S. where you can accompany big groups of people and guide them.
Some companies offer bed and breakfast, others offer lift passes, others give you a salary and some just offer a week-long trip.
Become an influencer
Hear me out before you skip this. Being an influencer is not as easy as it looks but the benefits are incredible – specifically if you want to travel the world for free.
So how does it work?
As an influencer: You use your online influence and your social media following to showcase a certain product.
As a travel influencer: You will be using that same online influence to promote destinations, major hotel chains, airlines, cool hostels and more.
How to start:
You will need a few weeks to a few months to successfully build up your social media accounts in terms of followers and content. Once you have:
- a decent number of followers.
- An attractive engagement rates (likes & comments vs. number of followers)
You can then either:
- Approach major hotel/airline/travel chains offering your promotional services with a set fee.
- Or set a fee per post and wait you get contacted.
Some companies will even pay you big bucks to promote their products in different destinations.
It’s one of the best ways you could get paid to travel, specifically because it gives you full control over the work and you could reap the benefits later on as well.
Become an International Aid Work
If you’re straying more towards a trip that will make a difference in your life, make a general impact on the world and help you get paid to travel or travel for free – then becoming an international aid worker would be right up your alley.
Platforms like the Peace Corps offer travel opportunities that last for two years and cover multiple regions like Asia, South America, and Africa.
You’ll go through an extensive application and interview process, but they will also pay for:
- All your travel expenses.
- Living expenses.
- Student-loan benefits.
- A modest stipend.
- Readjustment allowance.
Honestly – if you’re looking for something that’s equal parts rewarding and life-changing, then this should be your go-to option.
Become a social media manager for an international account
If you have superb social media skills, know your way around digital marketing, and know how to run a social media account like a pro – you can easily get paid to do so while traveling. You can constantly be on the road, whether you want to run the account from Paris, Brazil or Kerala – you can do so.
Become a freelance travel writer
I think I’ve spent half of my life writing on the go – at airports, in planes, in cars, buses, on the beach, at the club, in a hospital waiting room….You get the idea. Becoming a freelance travel writer is a great way to get paid to travel but it’s not usually the easiest.
The only reason this is becoming a tough gig is that it won’t guarantee that you’ll be able to sustain traveling while getting paid for your freelance writing. Magazines and newspapers regularly fold, clients come and go and work isn’t usually regular.
Instead of becoming a freelance travel writer, you can apply to write for places like BBC Travel, National Geographic, Afar, Matador Network, GoAbroad and CAA. Of course, the bigger you build your portfolio, the bigger the platforms you can approach.
Teach English
I don’t know why I never knew this was a thing until I actually met full-time travelers who were making a lot of money doing this. I am talking an average range of $20-40 per hour just helping people practice your native language.
When I lived in Barcelona, I knew full-time travelers who made around $1500 teaching English as a second language and they were able to fully travel and sustain themselves for months on end.
This is definitely an excellent way to supplement your travels and travel for free.
There are three different ways you can do this:
- You can teach English as a Second Language at a center.
- You can teach English privately and have multiple students per day.
- You can utilize online platforms like iTalki, Qkids and VIPKID and get paid to travel while teaching kids from all over the world English.
You will have plenty of days off that you’ll be able to use to explore the surrounding cities, travel to nearby countries, or hop around. A lot of jobs don’t require a certain certificate, but possessing any form of qualification will give you a higher chance of getting paid more.
Trading specialty or foreign goods
If you have some capital to start with, you can always start an import-export based business (whether online or offline) that is focused on trading specialty foreign goods that are not found in your home country.
This way you’ll spend a lot of your time traveling, looking for goods (think Egyptian cotton, Italian leather, coffee from Brazil….etc), collecting them and re-selling them for large profit margins.
The trick here is to have exchange rates on your side. Purchase and produce cheap, sell expensive!
Researcher for a Travel Book
You could spend around a month or two getting paid to travel as you research a certain destination, hotel, restaurant or attraction for giants like Lonely Planet and Fodor’s.
A lot of people end up romanticizing this job and it’s not as easy as it sounded: but the benefits you reap are hard to compete with.
You’ll be able to see some of the world’s top sights, travel to far off places, research, crank out reports, maps, guides and write up extensive articles all while getting paid.
Let me tell you one thing from now, though. Travel-guide writing & traveling will not feel like a vacation. You’ll be met with tight deadlines, long work days and a lot more. But it’s definitely an experience that you’ll love having if you want to travel for free.
Work on a Cruise Ship
Cruise Ships around the world are always looking for people to hire. As long as you’re willing to work hard, you’ll be able to get paid to travel all around the world.
The main benefit of working on a cruise ship is not just the fact that you get paid to travel. It’s the fact that you will have almost no expenses making it an incredible opportunity for you to save much more than you normally would and use that money to travel even more!
You’ll get sent to exotic locations – with all your expenses paid and free travel. Yes, please!
Volunteer with WWOOF
You can work for WWOOF for a chance to work at a farm with like-minded travelers in exchange for free accommodation, food, and priceless opportunities to learn new skills and immerse yourself in a new culture.
Become a yoga instructor
The more exotic the location, the more in-demand yoga instructors are going to be. And currently, yoga instructors are in very high demand. Everyone is searching for better health, enlightenment, and alignment, right?
If you’ve got a yoga certificate, you can spend your time traveling around some of the world’s most exotic retreats giving classes and workshops and practically getting paid to travel and practice what you love doing.
Become a flight attendant
Great benefits, travel perks, a different exotic destination every week and a decent salary? Becoming a flight attendant has long been one of the best ways to get paid to travel. This is definitely a great place to start if you want to travel for free and make a decent amount of money while you do so.
Skilled instructor
Are you really good at a certain travel-related skill? Do you know how to ski? Climb? Raft? Kayak? Dive? Surf? If you do, then you’re in luck. You can utilize your special skill and travel around the world teaching different adventurers from all around your valuable skills.
Hospitality and hotel management
- First step: Get a degree in hospitality management or a certificate relating to hotel management.
- Second step: Become a PR Representative for a hotel, restaurant chain or boutique hotel.
- Third step: Travel, network, travel some more, network!
- Fourth step: Success!
Actually getting a degree in hospitality really takes getting paid to travel to the next level. You’ll be traveling around the world and staying at incredible hotels – specifically if you’re working for a big hotel chain.
Work as an au pair
You can work as a temporary au pair (international nanny) and get paid to travel around the world. It’s really easy: You will basically stay with an international family to take care of their kids in exchange for room, pocket money, food, travel, and board.
You’ll not only be getting paid to travel around, but you’ll also be really immersing yourself in the local culture of countries that you’re visiting.
Not being able to afford to travel is not an excuse anymore! If you’re really serious about travel, then I urge you to start researching how you want to get paid to travel this year!
