Get Paid To Travel: 12 Jobs That Pay You to Explore

 Want to get paid to travel the world, but don’t think it’s possible? Feel like it’s just a pipe dream? Think again! We’re proof that if you put your mind to it, you too will be able to get paid to travel.

Every week, our inbox is flooded with emails from readers who want to travel, but don’t have the means to do so. Or, they want to travel and have some savings, but need to learn how to make money online, get paid to write online or find travel jobs while they’re on the road.

People always ask us how we get paid to travel. Let me tell you, there are many many jobs you can do that involve travelling and making money. In fact, we just took a 1 month digital detox while visiting Canada and our income was higher than the month before!

In this post, I’m going to list 12 great jobs that pay you to travel.

But first, I think it’s important to have a bit of a nest egg before you take off actually figure out how to get paid to travel. It doesn’t need to be a huge amount of money, but something to fall back on while you’re searching for jobs.

(Want to get straight into the good stuff? Click here to jump to the ways you can get paid to travel)

being invited on press trips as a blogger is one of the best ways to get paid to travel

Getting paid to plot new trekking routes in Kyrgyzstan – ya, that was pretty amazing!

How We Saved Money For Travel

In the beginning, we didn’t even consider getting paid to travel. In fact, we didn’t really know it was possible. All we wanted to do was quit our jobs, leave Canada behind and fly to Southeast Asia and the Subcontinent to experience a year of complete freedom.

We saved up as much money as we could and sold our possessions – including our condominium, vehicle and electronics. After saving and selling, we were able to come up with $40,000.

That year abroad was life changing and eye-opening.

Meeting people from all walks of life, and learning about their culture, religion and lifestyle was something that we were completely enthralled with. We wanted more. The travel bug had a grip on us and we needed to figure out a way to get paid to travel — it was our new-found passion and calling in life.

Going back to working in an office and a plant simply wasn’t an option.

how to get paid to travel as a travel blogger. visit india

Travelling through India was one of our most memorable experiences

Sadly, at the time we didn’t realize we could get paid to travel. In fact, we thought the only way to make money was to go back to Canada and work again. So, we sucked it up and returned home to our same jobs for one final year.

We were completely different people, with one goal in mind: SAVE MONEY TO TRAVEL. Before you head off on a trip and figure out ways to get paid to travel, I recommend having some savings in the bank.

Here are the top 5 ways we’ve been able to save money for travel, plus, you can use these money saving tips:

We rented out our spare bedroom to a friend. Having a “third wheel” in the house wasn’t great, but hey, it was an additional $800 / month.

We worked overtime shifts and took on second jobs. Nick picked up as many extra hours at work as he could, and I took on a second job. I was able to earn money from home in the evenings and weekends.

We put ourselves on a budget. We each had $50 / month to spend on entertainment. This included dinners out, date nights, buying coffee, anything that wasn’t a “necessity” was considered entertainment. It’s amazing how far $50 went when we would stop and think about whether or not we actually needed the item we were considering buying.

Downsizing and consolidating. We cut our internet, cable and cell phone bills back to the very basic amount. Nick sold his expensive car and purchased a cheaper one. I walked to work instead of purchasing a transit pass. We sold things that we didn’t need anymore, including furniture, extra set of tires, extra TV, etc. I didn’t get my hair done at the salon, or purchase any new clothing.

Selling our possessions and payouts from work. If we didn’t take our vacation pay at work, or our sick days, those would be paid out at the end of the year in cash. So, we didn’t take any holidays while saving, and since we rarely get sick, we had lots of those days too. We also sold Nick’s vehicle and my condominium before taking off to travel the world.

We aren’t trust fund babies, and we didn’t receive any money from our families. We just set a goal for ourselves and made saving money for travel a top priority. If you don’t think you’re able to save enough money to travel, there are also plenty of ways to travel when you have no money.

selling your possessions for travel before you learn how to get paid to travel

The condominium that I sold to have money for travel

Get Paid To Travel With These 12 Jobs

1. Public Speaking

As bloggers, we’ve been to many conferences around the world, and were even invited to speak at one. Whether in the travel space or not, if you are knowledgable on a particular topic (business, finance, tech, fitness, etc.), then there will be a conference or event for you.

Friends of ours make a great income by being invited as keynote speakers to various events around the world.

Many times, once the conference is over (keeping in mind, you’ve been flown there to speak, put up in a swanky hotel, provided all food and earned a salary), there will be a tour or a trip to nearby cities in the country.

This is a great way to get paid to travel.

Think about subjects that you’re an expert in, research conferences around the world, and apply to be a speaker. The best way is to use Google for this. If you want to speak in New York about your expertise in travel blogging, search “travel blogging conference in New York”, or “travel conference in New York”.

get paid to travel by being a public speaker

Nick speaking on the subject of travel bloggers working with brands at the World Tourism Forum in Istanbul

2. Travel Blogging (or fashion, food, mommy, tech, etc.)

One day, when our trip was coming to an end and our funds were running low, I read an article from a fellow travel blogger that stated he earned around $3,000 a month from travel blogging.