Ever get that itch to just break free from your daily routine and travel the world without a worry?
But then reality hits, and you realize you need a good amount of cash to cover all those travel expenses and pesky bills.
The good news?
Besides saving up ahead of time, there are plenty of ways to make money while traveling the world and exploring new places.
You can freelance, teach online, or even work seasonal jobs to fund your adventures.
In this article, I’ll share realistic remote work and side hustle ideas that can help you sustain your travels!
Learn How to Build a Profitable Affiliate Website
(Free Step-by-Step Video Tutorials to Making Money with a Blog!)
How to Make Money While Traveling Without a Job
Let’s dive into side hustle ideas for how to make money traveling without a job!
1. Become a Travel Blogger
A great way to earn money while traveling is by becoming a travel blogger and monetizing your adventures.
This is how many digital nomads began their journeys and likely how your entrepreneur friend gets paid to travel and review hotels!
A travel blogger stands out among other niche bloggers because they share real-life adventures, tips, and amazing photos that bring destinations to life.
Your personal stories make the content unique and engaging, unlike traditional, boring guidebooks.
For this reason, travel bloggers often receive sponsorships, free stays, and meals from hotels and restaurants looking for authentic reviews and exposure.
Some sponsorships also pay for your services in addition to providing freebies, depending on the size of your readership.
Additionally, you can earn money through affiliate links on your site and earn commissions by promoting travel gear or booking sites.
You can see affiliate links in action with my Lollapalooza festival essentials guide, which I monetized using Amazon affiliate links.
While I’m not considered a travel blogger, I do make money with this affiliate blog about side hustle ideas and personal finance.
If you’re interested in an affiliate creator program for travel content creators, then check out Plannin.
I also recommend using Pinterest for driving free traffic to your blog and growing your readership. I wrote an entire article that you can read on how to use Pinterest for blogging.
2. Freelance Travel Writing
Freelance travel writing is a bit different from being a travel blogger.
As a freelancer, you write for various publications and websites, and tailor your content to fit their style and audience.
You get paid for each article you write.
On the other hand, as a travel blogger, you’re in charge of your own show, and have more monetization avenues open to you.
If you decide to go the freelance travel writer route, you need to be great with words.
Plus, you’ll also need to master networking, pitching to editors, and other business skills to get a steady stream of work and get paid to travel.
While you might not score as many freebies as a travel blogger, you can build consistent income by writing for multiple outlets.
So the next time your friends ask, ‘how do you make money traveling?,’ you can proudly tell them you’re a bona fide freelance travel writer!
Suggested Resource: The Essential Guide to Freelance Writing
3. Start an Amazon FBA Business
One of the ways I made money while traveling when I first started my online journey was by launching an Amazon FBA business.
At the height of my business, I was selling private label products sourced from China and drop-shipped directly to Amazon’s warehouse.
Amazon handled shipping the products to my customers for a fee, which made it possible to run my business from anywhere in the world.
My online business allowed me to work remotely from amazing places like Bali, Bengaluru, Thailand, Mexico, France, London and even the Maldives!
(I didn’t really work much on the beautiful island of Maldives. There was no sense in opening my laptop when there was so much beauty surrounding me!)
I was even featured on prestigious sites like Niche Pursuits and Global Sources for my travel adventures and ecommerce expertise.
Starting an Amazon FBA business was no walk in the park.
There are start-up costs for manufacturing products, warehousing and shipping fees, Amazon seller fees and a lot of logistics to handle.
I’m by no means complaining. I made a lot of money selling on Amazon, but I wouldn’t do it over again today.
The competition on the platform has become intense and downright ruthless over the years. Nowadays, I’ve switched from e-commerce to a lower-cost affiliate blog online business model.
Start an ecommerce business that not only utilizes Amazon FBA but also sells through your own Shopify store. Go here to learn more.
4. Vlog Your Adventures
If you’re not camera shy, vlogging your adventures is a fantastic way to earn money while traveling.
Think of it as a daily video diary where people eagerly await the next episode. Each new adventure attracts more viewers who virtually tag along for the ride.
Before you know it, you’ve got an audience of raving fans watching and supporting your journey.
This kind of audience retention, known as watch-time, is valuable in the online world because attention equals currency!
Multiple ads can be placed on your videos, earning you a cut of the ad revenue.
Plus, companies may contract you for sponsored content to reach your audience. All these opportunities can make you money as a travel vlogger.
YouTube, for instance, will pay you based on the number of views and watch-time your videos generate as a monetized creator.
I typically earn anywhere between $500 – $1,200 per month from the ads that run on my YouTube channel.
It’s definitely a source of income to consider.
You can also double dip and earn money with YouTube affiliate marketing by recommending travel products, such as I did in this video .
If you want to create short videos about your travels, then use AI tools such as Submagic to enhance your TikTok or YouTube video shorts!
Feel free to also check out my Vlogger / Content Creator Tools in my Amazon Storefront.
5. Travel Photography
Other ways to make money while traveling include licensing your travel photography for commercial use.
Places such as national geographic, outdoor ecommerce brands and national tourism boards are often on the lookout for stunning images to feature in their publications and marketing materials.
If you have a good eye for photography and a quality camera, you could be the one supplying them.
This can turn your passion for photography into a lucrative side hustle while you travel the world!
But this will require you to have great networking skills or have a large enough audience to where companies reach out to you.
If you’re not there yet, consider licensing your photos on these websites:
- Foap
- Shutterstock
This will help you earn some money while traveling, but it might not be as lucrative as some of the other options on this list.
Want to learn photography or spruce up on your current skills?
Skillshare offers thousands of online classes for one monthly price. You’ll get 30 days of unrestricted free classes when you join Skillshare with my link here!
6. Become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant
You can also decide to start a side hustle as a Pinterest Virtual Assistant (PVA for short) and work remotely from any location.
As a PVA, you work with small businesses to manage their Pinterest accounts, design pins, optimize profiles, and drive traffic to their websites.
As someone who uses free Pinterest traffic to drive readers to this blog, I can tell you that pinning on Pinterest is simple.
Yet, maintaining an optimized Pinterest account takes time and effort.
It’s one of the reasons that many of us Pinterest bloggers outsource this work to virtual assistants, freeing up time to focus on other aspects of the business (and to continue traveling the world!).
Kristin Larsen is widely known in this space as the go-to expert for learning how to become a Pinterest VA.
She has a free PVA guide book you can nab that shows you how to get started with this online side hustle.
Generally speaking, you can expect to earn between $1,000 – $5,000 per month, depending on the packages you offer.
You can even offer your services to fellow travel bloggers you meet along the way and land your first few clients!
Suggested Read: 7 AI Side Hustle Ideas to Replace Your Job
7. Lead a Destination Retreat
Some travel creators run their own group tours in places they’ve stayed long enough to discover the best hidden local spots.
You can also organize fun location-based retreats for your followers to meet you in person and connect with like-minded people.
For instance, there’s a couple I follow on TikTok who share their travels and offer a couples retreat every few months.
Each retreat is in a new destination with a pre-planned itinerary of activities.
These retreats typically cost between $2,500 and $5,000 per couple for five days, including resort stays and planned events.
As a retreat leader, you can negotiate with resorts, excursion groups, and restaurants to get special discounts for driving customers to them.
Then pocket the difference between what you charged and what you actually paid. It’s one legitimate way to make money while traveling!
8. Sell Digital Products
If you want to make passive income while traveling, you can create and sell digital products that sell on auto-pilot from your website or blog.
This can be setup using simple automated sales funnels.
Some travel creators focus on budget travel digital products, such as your personal experience using credit card reward points and other travel hacks to save money.
I’ve seen other travel bloggers package and sell their knowledge on how to start a profitable retreat business.
If you can help people make or save thousands of thousands, then they won’t hesitate to buy your digital products!
Suggested Read: OFA Challenge: How to Create Your First Sales Funnel!
Saving Money to Travel
If you don’t have sufficient savings, you might need to initially adopt budget travel strategies to get started.
But don’t let that discourage you from living your dream and exploring the world on your own terms.
A simple way to start saving money to travel is to pick up side hustles or one-day-a-week jobs to earn extra cash.
You can do things such as become a mystery shopper or even find things to sell to make money fast.
Tips for Budget Traveling
- Plan Ahead: Book flights, accommodations, and activities in advance to take advantage of early bird discounts.
- Travel Off-Peak: Avoid peak tourist seasons to get lower prices on flights, hotels, and attractions.
- Use Public Transportation: Save money by using buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation instead of taxis or rental cars.
- Stay in Budget Accommodations: Consider hostels, guesthouses, or vacation rentals instead of expensive hotels.
- Eat Like a Local: Save on food costs by eating at local markets, street vendors, or cooking your own meals.
- Use Travel Rewards: Leverage credit card reward points and frequent flyer miles to reduce travel expenses.
- Be Flexible: Stay open to changing your plans based on cheaper travel deals or last-minute discounts.
Making Money While Traveling Conclusion
Making money while traveling is absolutely possible.
You can earn as a travel blogger through affiliate marketing or display ads, do travel photography, or even lead destination retreats.
It’s wise to start with some cash on hand.
If you’re short on funds, then pick up side hustles to earn extra money.
Once you’re on the road, use budget travel hacks to keep your expenses low and make the most of your adventures!
Next, you may be interested in reading about ways to make $100 a day and 15 Jobs that Pay You to Travel!
