Making Money While Traveling: 10 Proven Ways

Whether you want to work online or off, these ten proven ways to make money while traveling will help you save for the future and travel longer!

If you’re about to travel long-term, then the idea of making money while traveling has probably crossed your mind. I mean, what’s better than working from your laptop while sipping a margarita on the beach, or earning passive income on days when you’re in transit and don’t have WiFi?

There are a million and one ways to make money from the road. Many of these ways, not to mention the most lucrative of ways, are easily doable granted you have a certain skill set.

No matter whether you want to work online or off, there is a travel-related job for you. Just keep in mind that even with all of the tips below, making money while traveling the world can be a fickle game. For this reason, it’s best to build up a safety net before you head out on the road.

Here are 10 great ways to make money while traveling!

Table of Contents

Making Money While Traveling: 10 Proven Ways

Build an Online Business

In my opinion, building an online business is one of the best ways to make money on the road. With this path, you’ll be in charge of your day-to-day business affairs — meaning you can set your own hours, choose exactly who you work with, and have full creative control.

That said, figuring out your online business before you begin traveling is a lot of work. There’s just so much to know — affiliate marketing, creating a passive income, picking a domain, traditional marketing techniques, and so much more. Which is why many people turn to the experts who have been in this industry for decades. We’ve built dozens of websites over the years and know how to build both a structurally sound and aesthetically-pleasing website — which is why we started a digital marketing agency to help others with this process.

Create a Travel Blog

If you’ve been following along on Ordinary Traveler’s journey for a while, then you’ve probably read some articles about how we grew our business as travel bloggers. Creating a travel blog is just one of many online businesses you can build, but is one that will double as a trusted resource for helping people plan their trips around the world.

While there are endless potential monetary streams from starting a travel blog, some of the main ones are through partnering with brands, working with tourism boards, creating and selling products, teaching e-courses, and affiliate marketing.

Which brings me to…

Learn Affiliate Marketing

While Affiliate Marketing is often used by bloggers, no matter what area of work you’re in, there is probably an affiliate marketing angle for you. Affiliate marketing is when you sign up for a company’s affiliate program, suggest their products to your audience, and then make a commission with every item sold through your website.

Virtual Freelance Work

Once you have your online business set up and you start making money through affiliates, boost your income by accepting some freelance work. Having a website already made will show prospective employers that you’re motivated and skilled in your field.

Virtual freelance work can come in the form of photography, writing, or even by being a virtual assistant. To get these kinds of positions, I recommend signing up for courses with opportunity boards, networking at industry events, and keeping track of freelance work via Facebook groups.

Work Remotely

Depending on the company you currently work for and the line of work you’re in, consider doing your job remotely. Primarily for jobs that require you to be online, working remotely can have you doing the exact same job you’d be doing in the office… anywhere else.

Teach English

A more popular way to make money abroad is to get certified to teach English. This is one of the easiest overseas jobs to get and, if you pick the right location to work, you can even make quite a lot of money.

In most places, you’ll have to get a TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) certificate in order to work, but once you can prove you have that skill, you’re off to the races.

Work Exchange

If you’re interested in diving deep into the local culture of your preferred country, then applying to a work exchange program is a great way to do it. The general premise of a work exchange is to trade work hours for a place to sleep and food to eat. In some cases, there is even a small wage attached to the job.

There are many work exchange websites out there for so many different job types. In a work exchange, you could end up party planning at a hostel, being a tour guide, working on a farm, organizing weddings on a vineyard, or bartending.

Work a Seasonal Job

If you choose to travel to a destination with distinct seasons, then chances are there will be some seasonal positions. For example, Canada has a bustling ski resort work program that will let you live and work in one of the prettiest areas of the country while working a job such as a ski lift operator.

In fact, these seasonal jobs are so common that there are many reputable companies that will help you get a visa for this type of work.

Try Out Hospitality

If you’re looking for an offline gig, then getting a job in hospitality is one of your best bets. To do this, it’s best to hit the ground running as soon as you arrive at your destination, as employers like to see you in person and meet you before they decide to hire and depend on you.

Common hospitality jobs that travelers pick up are bartending, dishwashing, and restaurant or café work.

Work on a Cruise Ship

An easy way to travel the world while making a steady income is to apply to work on a cruise ship or yacht. Jobs of this sort come in all shapes and sizes, such as being a server, housekeeper, entertainer, or customer service rep.

Just keep in mind that not all cruise ships are created equally, and make sure to research reputable ones to work for. While so many of them have the customers in mind, you’ll also want to make sure you’ll be treated fairly as an employee.

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10 Proven Ways to Make Money While Traveling