How To Make Money When Traveling (13 Proven Ways)
Traveling is an amazing experience. It’s also expensive, and many of us don’t have the funds to spend on a trip.
You may be wondering how to make money when traveling.
You can absolutely do it. You’ll just have to get creative.
In this article, I’ll show you 13 ways to make money when traveling so that your travels are truly affordable.
Page Contents:
- 1. Start a travel blog (Check out our post on how to start a blog.)
- 2. Teach English
- 3. Sell your photographs (Sell on sites such as istockphoto, Shutterstock, or local media and news agencies.)
- 4. Create an online course
- 5. House or pet sitting
- 6. Become a freelance writer
- 7. Tour guide
- 8. Teach piano lessons
- 9. Do affiliate marketing (Sign up with travel payouts.)
- 10. Test websites and apps for money
- 11. Become an Instagram influencer
- 12. Try mystery shopping
- 13. Be a tour leader or trip planner
13 proven ways to make money when traveling
Here’s a breakdown of the 13 ways you can make money when traveling:
1. Start a Travel Blog
If you like writing and sharing your adventures with others, starting a travel blog is one of the easiest ways to make money when traveling.
There are lots of free resources available online that will help you get started on this journey.
You can also check out our post on how to start a WordPress blog here:
How to Start a WordPress Blog in 10 Minutes (Step-by-Step Instructions
How to make money traveling as a travel blogger
You can make money from your blog in a variety of ways.
The first thing you need to do is check out how much money other people are making from blogging, and then decide what your goal should be.
Do you want enough income to supplement your travels, or do you want to turn it into a full-time career?
- You can make some extra cash by writing sponsored content for companies that have products or services related to what you write about.
If they like your content and think it will help their brand, they may offer an ad payment as compensation.
You can also sell ads on your own website and earn a commission on every sale made through the ad links. - Sign up for an affiliate program like TravelPayouts where you use their services for your travels and recommend them to your audience.
If they use it, you then get a commission when they also use the services.
2. Teach English
Teaching English as a foreign language is a great way to make money when traveling.
However, it’s important that you do your research before signing up for any English teaching program or school.
Each country has different requirements and qualifications for English teachers, so it’s best to do some research beforehand.
Teaching English can also be extremely rewarding.
You’ll earn some extra cash and have the chance to meet new and interesting people from all over the world.
You’re sure to learn something from every student you encounter, whether it’s about their culture or just how much tea they drink each day.
3. Sell Your Photographs
There are many ways to sell your photos online.
You can sell them directly on a website such as Shutterstock or iStockphoto.
You can also contact local newspapers, magazines, and travel agencies and offer to sell your photos to them.
Here are some other Ways you can sell your photos to make money when traveling:
- Contact news agencies such as Reuters, AP, and AFP. They may want to use your images for their stories about travel destinations around the world.
- If you enjoy shooting landscapes and nature scenes, approach tourism boards in the countries that you’ve visited; they may want to purchase promotional material from you (like postcards).
4. Create an Online Course
If you’re looking for a way to make money when traveling, creating an online course is one of the best options.
It can be challenging to figure out what kind, of course, would be most profitable and how to create it, but here are some tips that should help you get started:
Create A Course Focused On A Particular Topic if you want to make money traveling
You want your course to be as focused on one topic as possible so that people who are interested in learning about this specific topic will only have access to information related to it.
This will help ensure that they’re getting all of the information they need from your course and none of the unnecessary material they don’t care about.
If you do multiple courses on different topics, people will have difficulty finding each individual one and may not buy any at all.
Make Sure You Have A Good Marketing Strategy
If people aren’t buying your courses, then there’s something wrong with your marketing strategy or sales page—or both.
You’ll need a good landing page where potential customers can sign up for updates about new products (if available).
Then make sure those emails also include calls-to-action directing users back into their email inboxes when there’s something new available down the road.
5. House or pet sitting
House-sitting is an easy way to make money, but it can be time-consuming.
House-sitting jobs tend to pay between $100 and $200 per week.
In order to find house-sitting jobs, you’ll need to create a profile on sites like Caretaker Concierge or Mind My House.
Once your profile has been approved by these sites (which can take up to two weeks), start searching for listings in your area of interest.
Some websites will allow you to write about yourself and include photos of yourself as well as any relevant experience that makes you qualified for the position (such as the previous pet-sitting).
6. Become a Freelance Writer
- Write for a blog, a magazine, a newspaper, a website, or a company.
- Write for a non-profit organization or charity that funds education, health care, or other public services in your community (e.g., Habitat for Humanity).
- How To Become A Freelance Writer To Make Money While Traveling:
Don’t let yourself be held back by what you think “writers” do.
You just need some basic skills with Microsoft Word (or some other word processor) plus good research skills—and maybe even some basic graphic design abilities.
If you’ve got all those things under your belt, then there’s no reason why you can’t use them to make money when traveling.
7. Tour guide
“Tour guide” is not a term that people often associate with making money while traveling, but if you are a native English speaker and have good knowledge of your home country or an area of the world where you have lived for an extended period of time, then it can be a lucrative option.
You will need to be able to communicate in your native language well enough for tourists who may not know much about the area or culture where they are visiting.
You will also need interpersonal skills and memory skills so that you can relate stories about the place being visited without sounding boring or monotonous.
8. Teach Piano Lessons
Piano lessons are a great option for musicians who want to make money while traveling.
If you have the right qualifications, it’s even possible to teach online via video chat programs like Skype.
One of the best ways to find students is by asking around at local community centers, bars, and restaurants.
Ask if they would be willing to let you put up flyers advertising your services on their premises.
This will help spread the word about what you do without having to spend any money on marketing or advertising yourself in other ways.
Another option is to offer piano lessons through local libraries.
The library will often have computers available for patrons, as well as meeting rooms that can be rented out for free by non-profit organizations like yours.
9. Do Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting someone else’s product.
It’s usually done through blogs or websites, but can be done in other ways as well.
In order to make money with affiliate marketing, find products that you’re truly interested in, that you think will help people, and then recommend those products to your audience.
If they like what they see and hear, they’ll click on the links in your posts or articles that lead them directly to where they can buy those items for themselves.
To get started with affiliate marketing,
- Find a product of your choice (ideally one that aligns with your audience).
- Create an account on a platform that allows you to promote this product (such as Clickbank)
- Write about it. Be sure to include links back to the original page where people can purchase whatever it is you’re talking about.
10. Test Websites and Apps for money
If you’re a frequent traveler and have some free time on your hands, this is the perfect side hustle for you.
UserTesting pays people to test websites and apps by watching how real people use them.
All you have to do is visit a website or mobile app that’s in beta, record yourself using it, and send in the video.
You can earn up to $10 per test (which takes about 20 minutes).
The site gives you three options for payment: PayPal, Amazon gift cards, or an ACH transfer into your bank account.
You have to be 18 years old and live in the U.S., U.K., Canada, or Germany to participate in this opportunity.
11. Become an Instagram Influencer
Instagram influencers are individuals who have an established audience on Instagram and use that platform to promote brands and services.
Becoming an Instagram influencer can be a good way to make money when traveling since it requires little more than a smartphone with an internet connection and an eye for good photos.
However, there’s also a lot of competition in this space.
So if you want to succeed as an Instagram influencer, you should do your research and put in the work necessary to build up your following.
The exact amount of money that people earn varies from person to person, but, the average monthly paycheck from sponsored posts is $3-$4k per month.
As long as you don’t post anything offensive or controversial (and follow all other guidelines for using hashtags), brands will pay you for every like or comment your post receives.
12. “Try Mystery Shopping”
“Mystery shopping” is a job where you visit various businesses and give your feedback on their products, services, and more.
If you’ve ever been on a mystery shopping team before, you probably know the drill: go into stores or restaurants and evaluate your experience as an actual customer would.
You’ll be given a checklist of things that are important to note (cleanliness of bathrooms, quality of service received); document them using a special app or written form provided by your employer, and turn in your data for compensation.
What’s great about this type of work is that it can be done anywhere.
You don’t have to live near any particular business location in order to apply for the job.
As long as you have internet access on your phone or laptop while traveling (or even while at home), there will likely be some mystery shopping jobs available in whatever city/town/country you find yourself in next.
Mystery shopping can vary widely depending on what company hires you.
Some require that applicants have professional experience as waiters or waitresses; others may only need basic computer skills like typing emails quickly without errors (which is perfect if English isn’t spoken natively).
The pay rate varies too—some companies pay $15–$20 per hour, while others offer upwards of $30 per hour for those who make themselves available consistently throughout each week (Monday through Friday).
13. Be a Tour Leader or Trip Planner
Being a tour leader is a great way to earn money when traveling.
You’ll need to be organized, able to communicate in a number of languages and handle different personalities.
You’ll also need to work well with a team under stress.
Plus, you’ll want to be able to deal with all kinds of people.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for ways to make money while traveling, we hope this list was helpful! The most important thing is to make sure that what you do actually aligns with your interests and goals.
If it doesn’t, then don’t despair: there are plenty more ways out there to find jobs that will let you travel the world while doing something you love.
