Maybe you’ve thought about quitting your 9-to-5 job, packing your bags, and setting off on a journey around the world. But after much consideration, you still feel like you don’t have enough money to sustain your long-term travel dreams.
Traveling is something almost everyone loves, but the expenses can add up quickly. From the moment you step out the door, whether it’s for transportation, flights, food, accommodation, or entry tickets, everything costs money. Without enough funds, it can be challenging to embark on such an adventure.
However, what you might not have considered is that it’s possible to travel and make money at the same time. In fact, many people are doing just that—they’re traveling the world while earning income by creating travel videos, writing travel blogs, and more. Some even make more money than a full-time job, allowing them to not only travel for free but also build substantial wealth.
I have a friend who has been traveling the world for over seven years. Not only has he been able to travel for free, but he’s also earned over a million dollars in the process. In this article, we’ll discuss how you can make money while traveling.
8 Best Ways to Make Money Traveling
There are many ways to make money while traveling. For example, countless brands are willing to pay you to promote their products and services. There are also many people who, like you, dream of traveling the world but don’t know where to start planning their trips. They need your travel services or consulting.
Once you master these money-making methods, you’ll find that not only does traveling not require money, but you can also earn a significant income from it.
1.Travel Blogger
Creating a travel blog where you update your travel diaries can generate substantial traffic from Google search engines. When visitors read your travel stories, they may seek your advice on travel experiences or ask you to plan their trips, all of which can earn you a lot of money. You can also write an e-book or create a course based on your travel experiences and sell it on your blog.
To make money from traveling, you must establish a travel blog and share your global adventures and extensive travel knowledge. When your blog becomes a personal brand with influence, individuals and companies will be willing to pay you because no one wants to invest in a novice traveler. Starting a blog is a low-cost investment, and you can read articles like “How Much Does It Cost to Start a Blog” to learn more about the expenses involved.
2.Travel Photography
One essential activity while traveling is taking plenty of photos to document the beautiful scenery, memorable moments, and entire journey. What you may not know is that there are numerous websites where you can sell your photos.
Once someone purchases your photos, you can earn money. Some popular stock photo platforms include Shutterstock, Getty Images, Adobe Stock, iStock, and Alamy. Simply create a free account, upload your photos, and wait for sales.
The price of your photos depends on their uniqueness, scarcity, and commercial value, as well as the platform you choose. Typically, a photo can sell for anywhere between $1 to $200, with photos of high commercial value fetching even higher prices.
3.Travel Writing
Writing daily travel diaries and sharing your experiences on your blog can attract significant traffic. Additionally, brands might be willing to pay you generously to write promotional content for them.
You can also submit your global travel experiences and itineraries to travel magazines, newspapers, or websites, which will pay you for your contributions. Generally, a travel article can earn you anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred dollars.
If you have extensive writing experience, you could even apply to become an editor for travel magazines or websites, earning a monthly salary. Senior editors can make between $8,000 and $12,000 per month.
4.Social Media Influencer
Creating a travel blog and monetizing it requires patience, as it takes time to generate traffic from search engines. If you want to make money quickly from traveling, you should also create accounts on various social media platforms and share your travel experiences.
For example, start a YouTube channel and post videos regularly. As your following grows, you can become a social media influencer and earn money through brand collaborations, affiliate marketing, and offering travel consulting services.
5.Travel Planner
Before setting out on a trip, it’s essential to have a well-thought-out travel plan. However, many people lack travel experience, and the internet can be overwhelming with information, making it difficult to find what they need. This is where a travel planner comes in.
A good travel planner can create a well-organized itinerary and help resolve issues during the trip, making the experience more enjoyable.
As a result, more people are willing to pay for a travel planner’s services. Although they pay a fee, the planner often helps them save more money during the trip than they spent on the service. This creates a win-win situation for both the traveler and the planner.
6.Selling Digital Products
After traveling for a year or two, you’ll likely have gained extensive travel experience. You can then create digital products and sell them online. Consider writing travel e-books or creating courses related to travel, teaching beginners how to plan their trips, save money, or take beautiful photos. These insights are invaluable to new travelers.
You can also offer more in-depth courses targeted at travel bloggers, content creators, and influencers, helping them learn how to monetize their travel blogs, write e-books, create courses, build personal brands, and attract loyal audiences.
7.Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a significant source of income for travel bloggers. You can earn commissions by promoting various products, such as hotels, airline tickets, merchandise, and attraction tickets, through affiliate marketing programs. For example, my friend’s blog generates over $10,000 per month through affiliate marketing.
How much can you earn from affiliate marketing? Take the popular hotel brand Booking.com as an example.
When someone books a hotel through your affiliate link, Booking.com pays you a 4% commission on the sale. For a $200 hotel booking, you would earn an $8 commission. According to CJ Affiliate’s 7-day EPC of £257, for every 1,000 people who read an article promoting Booking.com on your blog, you could earn £257 in commissions—a high rate in the affiliate marketing industry.
8.Paid Travel Assignments
Paid travel assignments might be unfamiliar to many, but if you’re a professional travel blogger, you likely know that many companies, such as tourism operators, are willing to cover all your travel expenses, including flights, accommodation, and meals. In addition, they’ll pay you an extra fee.
Your job is to follow their travel plan, complete the specified trip, and then document your experience in a travel diary or video, which you’ll publish on your blog or YouTube channel. The goal is to use your influence to attract more visitors to their destinations.
Countless companies around the world are willing to pay substantial fees to influential travel bloggers because they can bring in a large number of customers and revenue.
How to Become a Travel Blogger and Make Money Online
1. Start a Travel Blog
First, you need to create a travel blog. This is a straightforward process, even if you don’t know anything about setting up a blog.
The easiest way is to hire someone on Fiverr to create the blog for you, and it typically costs under $100.
If you don’t want to spend any money, you can read the articles on my blog that teach beginners how to quickly set up their own personal blog. When I started my first blog ten years ago, I knew nothing about blogging either.
2. Define Your Travel Niche and Content Style
Many travel creators make a critical mistake: they post content on their blogs and social media but struggle to gain traction and stand out in a crowded field. To avoid this, you need to develop a clear strategy for your travel content.
Start by quickly browsing through the posts and videos of travel creators you admire. Identify the elements that attract you, then consider what sets you apart from them. By finding your unique travel niche and content style, your work will stand out in the vast sea of travel content.
3. Social Media Marketing
To maximize your earnings from travel, don’t limit yourself to just a blog or a YouTube channel. You should build a comprehensive social media marketing plan, sharing your travel experiences across multiple platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and others.
These platforms have large audiences, and by managing multiple social media accounts, you can attract more followers, increase your influence, and ultimately earn more money from your travels.
FAQ About Making Money While Traveling
Can You Really Make Money While Traveling?
Absolutely! I have a good friend who is traveling the world while running a travel blog and YouTube channel. They now earn $20,000 or more each month from their travels.
How to Get Paid to Travel?
Traveling the world is a dream for many, and there are numerous ways to earn money while doing it, including brand partnerships, product promotion, affiliate marketing, e-books, speaking engagements, consulting, and freelance writing. Once your YouTube channel has some influence or your blog gets decent traffic, you’ll find that many brands are willing to pay you to promote their products and services.
How to Travel for Free?
If you want to travel for free and don’t have much money, it’s definitely possible. Many brands are willing to cover all your travel expenses (flights, accommodation, meals) in exchange for promoting their products or services. Of course, the key is to first become an influencer.
You can start by creating a travel blog, regularly updating it, and driving traffic to it. Once you build an audience, numerous brands will be eager to cover your travel costs, allowing you to travel for free.
