Travelling the world opens your eyes to so many new cultures, experiences, cuisines and lifestyles, and over the last thirty-odd years it’s become almost a rite of passage for young people leaving school or university to go away for a year or more. The familiar backpacker routes through Asia, South America, Australia, New Zealand and the USA are now well-traveled.
But as the concept of travel as a end in itself has grown, it has also become more expensive. It’s still possible to travel on a shoestring budget and make your savings last, but often the only way to do that now is by staying in the most rundown accommodation in dodgy areas, surviving on pasta and toast made in the hostel kitchen.
There are also plenty of ways to supplement your savings though, by working as you go. Here’s a brief rundown of the most popular, as well as few less-known tricks.
1. Teaching
If you have a qualification to teach a foreign language, especially English, you’ll find that in many countries such as China, Japan and the Middle East there is no shortage of opportunities for work. Once you’ve found employment, you can expect to have your weekends free to explore the country, and you may be lucky enough to get a job that pays fairly well. But you don’t just need to teach a language. You might have plenty of other useful qualifications, such as surfing, nursing or scuba diving, even piloting a plane or helicopter, that can help you find a cool job.
2. Crewing A Boat
Working on cruise ships is a popular choice for many, but we recommend instead finding a job on a smaller yacht. Every year there are thousand of boats crossing the seas, often headed to some of the world’s most desirable destinations, and in many instances they need temporary crew. So in return for a contribution towards fuel and food, you could find yourself working as a deckhand on a sleek yacht bound for the West Indies, the Greek islands, or the Caribbean, making useful contacts and picking up skills that could one day see you sailing your own vessel.
3. Volunteering
There are thousands of projects across the world that urgently need help from young people willing to travel out and give up their time. You might be helping to build a hospital or school in an African village, taking part in a research programme in Brazil, working with orphans in Romania – in some cases a contribution to the organisation’s funds is required, but in others all you need to do is pay your way out there, and in exchange for your hard work you’ll be given accommodation and food. It’s a great way to give something back, and see the world at the same time, as you can move from project to project, building experience along the way.
4. Blogging
There are thousands of travel bloggers out there who fund their trips, at least in part, by selling advertising space on their sites or writing paid features. Now it’s not easy to make a living at this – you need to have skill as a writer, a photographer, or both. You need to have an interesting angle, and be extremely adept at boosting your visitor traffic such as through social media platforms. But if you put time and effort into it, you could find that blogging about your adventures with informative advice can eventually pay you a small income.
5. Tour Guiding
This is a fantastic way to earn money and get to know a destination inside-out. Either join an established tourism operation, or start up your own. You’ll need a good speaking-voice, an ability to organise well and look after the needs of several people simultaneously, and of course you’ll have to do stacks of research, but bringing a place to life for strangers is incredibly rewarding.
6. House-Sitting
When people go away on holiday they often prefer not to leave their homes empty. Perhaps they want plants watering, pets looking after, or just want someone there for security. Either way, there are always heaps of house-sitting positions available all over the world, and various websites set up to help match them with potential applicants. You’ll need to take the time to build up a reliable profile, but once you’ve had a bit of success, you could find yourself with ample free accommodation, sometimes even payment, in amazing cities.
7. WWOOFING
No, nothing to do with a dog-walking service. WWOOFING stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of small-scale organic farms in the world, and they often need seasonal workers to help sow or harvest crops, look after animals, or work in other ways, such as serving in on-site restaurants. Usually you get your accommodation and meals, in return for 4-6 hours of work, leaving you with a lot of free time to explore the local area.
Experience travels in another way. Experience gifts by Tinggly:
