5 Best Ways to Make Money While Traveling (+ 5 key tips)
In 2017, I decided to move to Japan to work as an English teacher. And I never looked back. It was my springboard to the digital nomad life.
These days, I work online and hop around to different cities and countries based on my mood. So how did I get to this coveted point? Let me show you.
And don’t worry — it’s not as hard as it sounds! This is my playbook on how to make money while traveling.
So let’s wrap up this small talk.
Let’s do this!
Table of Contents Show
Pros + Cons of Working While Traveling
Making money while you travel is a pretty sweet deal. It lets you travel full time, meet amazing people and have truly unique experiences.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not without its ups and downs.
So here are some pros and cons you should be aware of.
Pros of Working + Traveling
More autonomy and flexibility (no boss, no office, etc.)
See and experience the world
It can be more cost effective (for example, staying in cheaper places)
Better life-work balance
Study cultures and learn new languages
Grow by challenging yourself
Inspire others to take a leap
Live a seriously interesting life full of adventure and fun
Cons of Working + Traveling
Remote work motivation and willpower issues
You’re far away from home (difficult if you have an emergency)
Travel isn’t always comfortable or easy
It can be hard to not have a home base
Isolation and homesickness
Less stability
Logistical hurdles (like time zone differences, filing taxes, etc.)
It’s exhausting packing up and moving all the time
How to Make Money While Traveling (5 best ways)
Ready to start making money while exploring this epic place we call Earth? Awesome.
Here are the best ways I know of.
1. Find Remote Work
Remote work is probably one of the most popular ways to make money while traveling.
It’s perfect for the digital nomad lifestyle. It’s how I’m able to make money while staying overseas.
Some common remote jobs for traveler include:
Writing online
Becoming an SEO specialist
Social media management
Digital marketing
Data entry
Working in AI
Becoming a virtual assistant (VA)
Photography or video creation and editing
Graphic design
Tech gigs (like coding or software engineering)
While it can be difficult to build your remote work life, just stay patient and leverage the skills and connections you already have.
You can use places like Upwork or Fiverr to start looking for gigs (if you’re going the freelancer route).
Otherwise, a quick Google search of “remote” and “flexible” jobs will point you in the right direction.
Recommended: Best Remote Jobs for Travelers (what I do)
2. Work Overseas
A great ways to make money while traveling is to simply live and work overseas.
You may remember from the intro, this is how I started my own journey (teaching English overseas).
Working overseas gives you a unique opportunity to live abroad, explore nearby countries and meet lots of amazing like-minded travelers.
If you work abroad, you will travel more.
So if you’re struggling to find an online income option, this is another solid choice.
Here are some popular paid travel opportunities worth exploring:
Work on a cruise ship
Look for jobs in the hospitality industry
Become an au pair
Do an overseas internship
Reach out to local hostels
Do seasonal work (like working as a ski instructor or at a summer camp)
3. Subsidize Your Costs
Cutting your travel costs is a smart way to travel more.
You can still make money while traveling — but you’ll just need less to do make it happen.
House sitting or volunteering are two popular ways to cut travel costs and stay in different (often beautiful) places for free.
Companies like TrustedHousesitters connect homeowners with travelers (like you) to watch over their house or pets.
While you generally don’t get paid, it’s a solid way to travel the globe and offset your travel and life expenses.
Because with accommodations covered, you obviously don’t need nearly as much money to travel.
I’ve never dabbled in this type of travel personally, but Nomadic Matt and The Blonde Abroad have great articles on the topic if you’re keen to know more.
4. Work A Travel Gig
If you want to make money while traveling, then consider getting a job that requires you to travel.
This is slightly different from just working overseas, since those jobs mean you’re typically staying in one place for an extended amount of time.
But travel gigs will have you on the move more often, exploring many different countries and cities.
Travel-related gigs are an awesome way to see the world and make money doing it. While some gigs obviously require more time and expertise, just remember to not sell yourself short. Any skill can be learned.
For example, you can:
Work on a cruise ship
Become a flight attendant
Get started in international business
Become a travel photographer
Work as a travel nanny
Become a travel nurse or doctor
5. Start A Personal Brand
This is one of my favorite ways to make money while traveling.
Although, it does take the longest to monetize. Still, becoming a digital content creator is one of the best ways to create a sustainable personal brand and make money while traveling.
I started this blog in 2022 and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
(you can read my full review and journey of blogging with Squarespace here)
But there are plenty of other platforms to leverage. For example, you can:
Make short-form videos (TikTok, Reels and Shorts)
Make long-form videos (for YouTube)
Start a blog (like I did)
Start a travel podcast
It’s best to choose a platform and content style where you can 1.) be your most authentic self, and 2.) where your target audience spends their time.
But whatever you do, this is an awesome way to elevate the purpose of your travels by turning your experiences into value for other people.
Plus, you don’t need millions of followers or monthly visitors to start making money. More and more brands are starting to see the value of working with micro influencers.
Just stay patient because growing a brand online requires a collection of skills and takes time.
Recommended: Start A Personal Brand Blog (free series)
5 Tips to Successfully Make Money While Traveling
Making money while you travel takes some work and dedication. But it’s more than possible.
So here are some quick tips to help you get started.
1. Research + Plan
If you want to make money while traveling, you’ll need to do some planning.
For example, you’ll need to constantly research things like:
Budgeting
Having your international travel essentials
Visa and entry requirements info
Filing taxes
Safety and health infrastructure
Internet reliability
Trip planning (buying flights, accommodations, etc.)
Beyond these obvious planning logistics, it also helps to have a backup plan — especially when it comes to money.
An unused credit card, emergency fund and having good credit (in case you need a small loan) are all smart moves.
But at the very least, I always like to have enough money for at least a plane ticket home.
That’s why I like Alternative Airlines (coupled with PayPal credit). It’s a great backup plan and peace of mind knowing I can buy a ticket (and just pay later) at a moment’s notice. Check out my full review of Alternative Airlines for more on this!
Recommended: What to Do If Stuck Abroad With No Money
2. Start Making Money Before You Leave
Ideally, you’ll want to figure out your money situation before you start traveling.
So my best advice is to plan ahead.
This means researching your intended destinations and budgeting how much money you’ll realistically need.
Then, try and start making money online before you start traveling.
This will save you from a lot of stress and precarious situations abroad.
3. Develop A Nomadic Mindset
Like I mentioned earlier in the post, traveling full time isn’t always easy. There will be ups and downs.
And one thing that helps the most is having a solid, nomadic mindset.
This is similar to a growth mindset. But a nomadic mindset means you:
Can reframe setbacks as adventures or learning opportunities
Maintain patience
Have a curious, explorer’s perspective
Are open minded
Embrace discomfort and looking foolish
Can “roll with the punches”
Recommended: How to Have An Adventure Mindset
4. Start Slow
Leading a life of travel is amazing. But it doesn’t need to happen all at once.
It may be better to ease into this lifestyle slowly. So you can dabble by just taking more (or longer) trips. Slowly, you can tip the balance to the point where you’re traveling more than you’re not.
It takes some more patience and planning, but it’s a more sustainable way to do things (if you’re not the spontaneous type).
It can also be a great way to build an income online over time while keeping your current work.
A lot of full-time travelers started off this way.
Recommended: How to Travel More
5. Have Some Normalcy
Traveling full time isn’t always easy or fun. Burnout happens and things like homesickness can set in quickly.
Because, traveling full time isn’t always pretty or Insta-worthy.
So even though I may be traveling a lot, I like to add at least some normalcy into my daily life.
To stay grounded, here’s what I do:
Practice self care (good food, good sleep and meditation)
Find a community of other working travelers
Have a routine
Stay in each place long enough to settle in a bit
Have creative travel projects to work on
Eventually, find a home base or two (mine is Tokyo)
Traveling + Making Money FAQs
Before wrapping up, here are a few FAQs to round everything out.
I don’t have any skills. Can I still make money while traveling?
Absolutely. It’s all about staying patient, being self aware and starting with whatever you can do right now.
For example, your first job may be more clerical (like a VA) or teaching English overseas. But eventually, as you build out new skills or a personal brand online, you can pivot into better money-making opportunities.
Check out my post on the best creative skills to know here!
Is it legal to work online while staying in another country?
Technically, no.
You can’t work in another country if you enter on a tourist visa. So many countries offer a digital nomad visa, which lets you legally live and work there.
But to be honest, most people who travel from country to country on tourist visas continue to work remotely without running into issues.
But this is not legal advice. Still, it feels like a gray area
Of course, do your own diligence and research the place(s) you’re visiting beforehand. You can read more about this topic here.
How do you pay taxes if you work remotely and travel?
I’m not sure how other countries operate.
But If you’re a U.S. citizen, you’re still required to report your income and file federal taxes every year, even if you spent the whole year traveling or living abroad.
Again, this is not tax advice. So do your own research and speak with a professional.
You can read more about U.S. tax law for digital nomads here.
How do most people make money while traveling?
This varies widely. But I know a lot of people do freelancing and teaching English online.
To learn more (and get some inspiration), check out Travel With Rafa’s channel. She has a lot of videos talking about this very topic.
But that’s all I’ve got for you today.
But if you’re keen to learn more, check out my post on how to travel full time to learn my top tips for becoming a pro traveler!
Later ✌️
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