We’ve already established that you can make money while traveling the world by starting a blog, but what if running a blog isn’t your thing? Are you instead a kickass teacher? What about a born salesperson? Do you have experience working in a resort? Or do you dream of appearing on the big screen?
As luck would have it, there literally thousands of opportunities to consider which will allow you to make money while continuing to travel the world. You don’t have to be a blogger to do it!
We highly recommend Sharon Gourlay’s “How to Make Money From Blogging” – She details strategies for monetization and the exact methods she uses to make an annual $150,000 income.
Teach English
English language skills are in high demand all around the world, and there are hundreds of wonderful jobs available for those looking to teach English abroad. Thousands of travelers are earning cash teaching English abroad everyday, and often you don’t need to be certified. You just need to be a native speaker.
Check out languagecorps.com or eslcafe.com, choose a location, and get a TEFL to teach abroad!
Related: How to Find a Job Teaching in China
Teach Language Skills Overseas
Day-Trading
Day trading might not be for everyone, but it has the potential to earn you some really big bucks, and you get to be your own boss. Marcello from WanderingTrader.com is a great example of someone who is traveling the world, living off the cash earned from day trading.
Does the financial freedom sound appealing? Do your necessary research to learn “how to”, and then turn your Knowledge to Action.
Hotel Reviews
You’re planning on traveling – chances are you’ll be staying in a hotel or hostel at some point along your trip. Why not get paid to review the hotels you’re already staying at?! You could learn how to start a travel blog (click here) and charge hotels for mentions on your site, or you could get paid to essentially be a secret shopper.
Hotel Confidential offers $25 per hotel review for four short clips of the property. And, if you’re on an extended trip, that cash can add up quickly!
Here’s a recent video I made which earned me $25.
Sell Your Services
Maybe you’re a great hairdresser, maybe you’re a great masseuse. Pick a popular hotel/hostel and ask to put up a sign.
Earl from Wandering Earl recalls meeting “a traveler who was doing this in Zagreb, Croatia and she was making $40 USD per day by advertising in 3 hostels. She would cut hair for a month, then travel for a month and repeat. Not bad at all.”
Consider which skills you have and sell yourself based on that. Are you a qualified scuba instructor? Can you drive a boat? Would you be able to lead walking tours of a destination? Find out which local tour operators need help and go from there.
Bartending
There are a decent amount of bars throughout the world who are willing to pay ‘cash in hand’ to those with experience who are willing to stick around for a while. Same goes for small family run restaurants/cafes and hostels.
The best way to hear about these opportunities is by asking around, though you can also check out the local classifieds or community boards at local hostels or radio stations for businesses advertising for help.
If you’re this skilled at bartending you shouldn’t have a problem finding a job! Photo by Prayitno.
Photography & Videography
If you’re great with a camera, consider making money by selling stock photographs/video footage.
To start selling royalty free video footage or photographs, sign up on one of the following sites: Pond5, Shutterstock, iStockPhoto, and Revostock.
Do some research to find out what kind of footage/photos are selling, and what they’re selling for, and start snapping away! All of our photography and video is shot on the Canon PowerShot SX50
Act in Films & Television Overseas
Ever dream of appearing on the big screen? Land yourself an acting job by keeping track of casting calls for extra’s and stand in actors. Malachai of Itchy Feet Comic found himself in Berlin during the filming of George Clooney’s “Monuments Men”.
“I ran around in army getup for 24 hours” he said.
Add websites like Backstage and StarNow to your favorites bar, and sign up for their newsletters to never miss an opportunity.
Acting in “Untamed Kittens” in Canberra, Australia. Your favorite travel blogger is in the center in the black dress!
Resort Jobs
Resorts all over the world hire international staff for everything from front desk positions, waitressing and housekeeping, to jobs in the activity/entertainment department.
Some resorts at smaller and more isolated destinations like Australia’s Hamilton Island even offer 6 – 12 month contracts which include options for housing.
Also consider cruise ship employment.
Also consider cruise ship employment.
These ideas are merely examples of the many ways anyone can earn money while traveling the world.
With some imagination and creativity the opportunities can be truly endless.
Know of any other ways to make money while traveling the world? Let us know!
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41 Comments
Hotel reviews – umh. I did not know about that one. But since i ALWAYS write for tripadvisor, why not doing this for money? Thanks for this great tip!
May as make $25 while you’re at it and double up!
Great advice Meg…You are always finding ways to be creative, inspiring and motivating! So glad you are a part of My Family! :-) Another great article!
Thanks Pam! So glad you enjoyed it :)
Thanks for the tips! Had no idea about hotel confidential!
Hotel Confidential is a great little tool. If you’re traveling a lot, those reviews start to add up!
Thanks Megan! There’s a few on this list that our new to me. Excited to check out Hotel Confidential. Sure, its only $25 but we tend to stay in a new room every couple of days so that could add up real quick. Clicking over now. Thanks!
It really does start to add up! I only wish I’d jumped on it sooner – we were averaging a new hotel every 3 days about 4 months ago!
Great tips as always! Have you experienced any of those? I mean those are great tips on the paper but when it comes to turn this into real money, it could sometime be a bit different :)
We’ve experienced a lot of these options, and then heard about the rest from friends.
The main thing I’ve learned over time is that it’s best to invest in multiple streams of income to keep it coming in. So for instance we combine hotel confidential with waitressing/bartending and running our blog as well as online freelancing.
Isolated each revenue stream may appear to be fairly small, but if you run a few different projects at the same time it can start to add up.
I’m yet to experience teaching English abroad or day trading, though I’ve always managed to find good paying jobs in hospitality and resorts. You just have to be willing to work in customer service!
Having done the work as an extra on a couple films, I didn’t make a ton of money, but I was surprised to meet other expats who did this full-time! They paid the rent as background “performers”. So yes, it can be done, but probably better to do a little of all these things, that way you’re not stuck if one of them falls through.
Working as an extra in a movie would be awesome! I have a friend whose brother does it just for fun and extra $$, he’s been in some big movies and got to meet some famous actors.
I would volunteer to do it just to meet famous actors :D!
Megan, you were in a film? Why didn’t we know about this and how can we get a copy!!!!
Nice ideas here. I was approached about a year ago to see if I’d be interested in doing these hotel video reviews. I declined it at the time as I was unsure if I could fit it in to my timetable. If it is a growing thing and worthy then I might have to reconsider.
I was indeed :D! Back in 2010 – was essentially a mean girls spin off! Will let you know as soon as it completes – I think they’re waiting on final funding for production atm.
Hotel reviews are growing in popularity so quickly – I imagine we’ll have more platforms like hotel confidential popping up pretty soon!
Some really great tips there! Thanks for recommending Hotel Confidential and the photography stock sites, I didn’t even know such thing existed.
Just one clarification though – in many countries, you don’t need to be a native English speaker to teach the language, but you do need to be qualified. Some schools actually prefer hiring non-native speakers, as they tend to have a better understanding of grammar. Great post anyway, I’m bookmarking it!
Glad you enjoyed the post – thanks for the correction on teaching English abroad – I’ll go in and fix that up.
And I can totally understand that – those who speak English as a second language generally have better grammar skills than those of us who were raised in English speaking countries and put through what are now terrible school systems!!
Acting in films… What a great idea! It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while & merging it with travel would be a dream come true :D
Best of luck! Sounds like it would be a great way to combine both of your passions!
Hey Megan, this is a cool list of ideas. Right now I’m in sales…it would be awesome to act or teach. I hear traveling as an Au Pair is a great way too:)
Happy Adventuring
Thanks Christopher! So glad you enjoyed the post :) I’ve actually also heard an Au Pair is a great way to travel. I think my sister is looking into that for a gap year next year.
Hope you’re having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by :)
I’ve never heard of that hotel confidential plan before- thanks for sharing, it’s a great idea! Teaching English is something I have always been interested in trying too
Glad we could help out with some fresh ideas – hotel confidential is great. That $25 adds up!
Any job today can be done online with the right amount of creativity and skills :D
Completely agree! It’s all about how creative and imaginative you can be!
Great ideas Megan. I am going to have a look at the Hotel confidential idea you mentioned. Brill. I start a 6-12 month RTW trip in January 2015. Made the tough decision to quit my employer after 24 years employment to enjoy my life more.
Thanks Darren – glad you found the ideas useful! Congrats on making the huge step to embrace a life of travel! Actually deciding to truly make it happen is the hardest part. You’ll have such a phenomenal time!
Def look up Hotel Confidential – if you’re gone for 6-12 months those hotel reviews will slowly add up!
Excellent list! There’s really a lot of options out there for making money while abroad! Great ideas!
Thanks Mary! Glad you enjoyed the article & the different tips!
Great tips here on making some much-needed cash while on the road! Definitely will be looking into the hotel reviews on Hotel Confidential as that seems to be something really worthwhile for everyone concerned.
$25 adds up over time! And it’s seriously so easy – $25 for 4 minutes of work!
Cool advise, Megan. An Excellant list…
Glad you found it useful :) Hope you’re having a great week!
This is ace, done a fair few of these but plenty of ideas I’m keen to explore. Thanks.
Glad you found it useful! Happy travels and best of luck putting some further ideas into action for making money along the way!
Why these are pretty great tips you have here. Thanks for sharing it to everyone.
Glad it was helpful – thanks Nora! Here’s to a financially successful 2015!
Lots of useful stuff here thanks Megan :-) Shared on my blog with link back to you guys.
Peter
http://www.lovelyplanettv.com
Thanks Peter – we appreciate the share! So glad you enjoyed the post – hope it gave you a lot of great new ideas for making money on the road :) Have a great weekend!
At the moment, I earn as a freelance writer and editor, but I’m really looking to add more income streams. I trained as a masseuse before but I never got to practice my skills. Maybe it’s time to do that, given I’m about to set off on my 2-year backpacking trip in South America :D
You could probably definitely earn a bit of cash on the side putting your masseuse skills to work in hostels and backpackers around the place – multiple income streams is definitely the best way to go about approaching making money on the road, that way when one dries up you’re not left completely stranded.
Best of luck and happy travels throughout South America!