The world’s best travel jobs allow you to make money while not tied down to any one location. With a solid job that travels, the world is yours to explore.
Something like that sounds incredibly appealing to anyone tied down to their 9-to-5 office job. The few weeks you get off every year are nice but can leave you wishing for more.
That’s why you’re here, after all: you want to escape all that. You want to find employment that allows you to explore as you wish.
That’s why I’ve put together this guide. With the massive explosion in remote working, there are more opportunities for travel freedom than ever before.
Let’s dig in.
What Are the Best Travel Jobs?
The best jobs for traveling will be ones giving you the most free time and mobility. It’s not enough for a position to be remote; it has to give you enough time to soak it all in.
Working and living abroad is no joke unless you’ve been doing it your whole life. Certain gigs might sound like dream jobs but will make you miserable once you’re actually doing it.
On the other hand, there are tons of great job opportunities you’ve never even heard of.
In this article, I’ll give you an honest assessment of the best travel jobs the world offers. Let’s get started.
1. Start a Blog Business
I’m sure you’ve heard countless stories of people traveling the world on their blog income. It may sound like a pipe-dream from your perspective, but I can assure you it’s very achievable with the right approach.
If your blog is a success, you can make tens of thousands of dollars each month with all the free time you need. It can sound like a daunting task starting out, but the reward is worth the necessary work. It’s one of the best jobs EVER for anyone who wants to travel the world.
Make no mistake; there are millions of blogs out there. The thought of even trying to stand out can sound intimidating, I know. But that’s why you have to work smart, not just hard.
First, it all starts with topic research — you’ve got to decide what you want your blog to be about. Keep in mind that if you want to make money, it’s not just about what you like to write about — it’s what’s profitable.
Once you’ve decided on your niche, pick a good web host and set up on WordPress. From there, it’s quality content creation combined with smart link-building that will lead you to success.
Once you have respectable traffic coming in, you can begin to monetize your blog with affiliate links, banner ads, and more. Then you’re making money without evening thinking about it — definitely a fun job, right?
If you building a blogging business strikes your fancy, I highly recommend you check out my comprehensive blogging guide.
Income
A blogging business can net you huge amounts of money and let you travel the world any time you like.
You can make anything from a few hundred dollars to a few hundred thousand every month. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it.
2. Teach English Abroad
English teacher is the classic expat job, and for a good reason—English is the most sought-after language in the world.
Being an English teacher is great because you can do it from anywhere, like in a foreign country. You also get the chance to build close relationships with new people and change lives.
Before you do anything else, you’ve got to decide whether you’re going to teach online or in person. A TEFL certification (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) will often be required for both options. If you have a formal college degree, that will work in your favor too.
Online
Countless platforms allow you to be a remote-working English teacher. You can start with a freelancing service like Fiverr or a dedicated teaching platform such as VIPKid.
These platforms will enable you to earn up to $22 an hour in addition to various bonuses and incentives.
In-Person
Moving to a foreign country to work a new job has various challenges associated with it — both exciting and intimidating. You are looking to travel after all, so this is fun by itself.
The exact mechanics are going to vary by country. For some, moving will be extremely easy (such as if you’re an EU citizen). For others, impossible (China banned foreign teachers in 2021). It’s going to be up to you to research your preferred destination.
Any country’s embassy should have the relevant information on its website. Also, check the tax requirements for your country and if you’ll need to file taxes while abroad (you will if you’re a US citizen).
Income
$10-$25 per hour or $1,000 – $3,000 a month
3. Freelance Writing
Freelancing is a great way to earn money abroad if you’re a skilled writer. And when you start freelancing, you might realize it’s more than a side job and want to make it a full-time gig.
The gist of freelance writing is simple: you find a client who needs something written, and you write it for them. This could be books, blog content, speeches, scripts, or anything else.
Most people don’t realize how much money freelance writing makes. One of the top freelancer writers—Elise Dopson—charges $1 per word.
To be clear, unless you’re coming from a content job, you won’t make that much starting out. But if you target the right industries and develop your skills, you can get there faster than you think.
Income
Freelancer writers typically charge per word.
If you’re just starting, charge $0.10 to $0.20 per word. As you become more experienced, you can charge more.
As you become a better writer, you can charge upwards of $1 per word ($1,000 per 1,000-word article).
Getting Started
Before you do anything else, decide what kind of freelance writer you want to be. You could be a ghostwriter, SEO blog content writer, novelist, or anything else.
I recommend blog content writing or ghostwriting. Both of these make lots of money, but I prefer blog content writing because it’s easier to build a personal brand.
Next, get serious about improving your skills. You might be a great writer, but that doesn’t mean you know how to write professionally.
I highly recommend Peak Freelance. It’s a full crash course for everything you need to know about becoming a freelance writer.
4. Yacht Sailing Work
I bet you didn’t know you can get paid to sail and work on yachts. Well, it’s true: you can! It’s a terrific way to make life-long memories while getting paid to do it.
The yacht owner will cover even room and board. Just make sure you aren’t the type to get seasick!
If you’ve never worked on a yacht before, it’s no problem. There are plenty of entry-level positions available, such as attendant, cook, or deckhand.
All you need to do is complete some brief coursework beforehand. These courses will cost you about $1,000 — give for take $500. Start off with an STCW’2010, and you can move into more advanced courses if that suits you.
Income:
$2,000 to $6,000 a month
5. Start a Dropshipping Business
A dropshipping business is when you set up a store as a front for other people’s products. When someone places an order for your store, someone else ships their product directly to the customer. Your cut is the difference between what you paid the third party for the product (plus shipping) and what the customer paid you.
Credit: Oberlo
I’m sure you’ve heard about dropshipping before. I’m sure you’ve heard about all the people making all this money without even making a single product and how amazing it must be.
I’m sure you’ve also heard how dropshipping’s oversaturated. I’ll tell you the truth, though: it’s not. Dropshipping’s only oversaturated with people who don’t know what they’re doing.
If you’re smart about creating your dropshipping business, you can create an incredible income stream that you can maintain from anywhere in the world.
Dropshipping is cheap and easy to get started with. The biggest expense involved will be time — you’ve got to do a lot of research. Starting off right is where 99% of people mess up and quit a few weeks later.
I highly recommend you start out using Google trends to find a product that has a good interest associated with it. Once you’re confident you’ve found something people want to buy, I recommend you start a single-item store selling only that product and a few variants.
That’s exactly what my friend did — he started a leather wristwatch store selling only those plus a few variants. Within two months, he was making over $5,000 a month.
From there, you need a good platform to set up your store on. Without a doubt, the best platform for eCommerce is Shopify.
Income:
$30,000 – $100,000 per year, but can go much higher over time
6. Become a Translator
Like English teaching, being a translator is a great way to monetize your proficiency in two different languages. There are countless books, manuals, guides, and more that require the manual translation of a professional.
You can start out freelancing, contracting for another company, or even starting your own business. Of course, you can also do this in combination with another language job, like teaching.
Start with getting a certification or two to cement your competence with potential clients. After that, set up a profile on a big freelance website such as Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer. I recommend you have a freelancing presence no matter how you go about it.
If you want to set up your own business, use a website builder to create a website you can vend your services from. You can then run PPC or PPI ads to get relevant traffic to your business.
If you want to work directly for a translation company, a quick Google search will find you relevant offers on Indeed, LinkedIn, and other job finders.
Income
$20-$30 per hour
7. Rent Out with AirBnB
If you own a property you don’t use all the time, you can turn that into easy passive income (especially in a touristy area). AirBnB’s program makes it easier (and safer) to rent out a property than ever.
You’ll have to do some work to keep it clean and hospitable for your guests, but besides that, it should be smooth sailing.
It’s not complicated to get started! Simply head over to AirBnB’s website and set up your hosting account.
Income:
$200 to $6,000 a month
8. Freelance Programming
If you’re a proficient programmer, you might be surprised to find that moving to freelance is pretty easy. You can make a significant sum of money working contracts for whoever needs them — from anywhere in the world.
You may miss the office programming environment at first thought. After all, it’s a lot more stressful to have you — by yourself — directly responsible for everything that goes wrong or right.
What you’re getting in return is true travel freedom. A successful freelance programmer can practice their trade from anywhere across the globe.
As directed with many of the other jobs on here, get started setting up a profile on the big freelancer websites. Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, and Toptal are all good starting options.
I also highly recommend you put together a professional resume detailing all of your experience. Do everything you can to really solidify your professionalism.
Income
$3,000 to $20,000 per month
9. Freelance Graphic Design
At some point, everyone needs something designed. Graphic design is everywhere you go, and it will always be a highly in-demand skill that people can’t automate.
All you’ll need to get started is a subscription to Adobe Creative Suite. That will give you access to InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator — the most popular graphic design tools. Then, you can purchase an online course or just watch some YouTube videos to learn to use them.
You can then sell your services from a freelancing website (Fiverr, Upwork, et cetera) or directly from your own website.
Income:
$1,000-$3,500 per month. The more you grow your portfolio and clientele, the more you’ll be able to charge.
10. Social Media Manager
Nowadays, every business creates a carefully-crafted image on social media. Completing this task is labor-intensive and requires talented social engineers — and that’s where you step in.
Your job will be to design and coordinate posts across a given company’s different profiles and interact with their community. Salaries might leave a little to be desired starting out, but experienced social media managers can command respectable salaries.
Oh, and you’ll never be short of work — social media only continues to grow. It’s a skill set you can take anywhere, making it a great travel job.
Income
$600-$4,200 per month
11. Freelance Travel Photographer
While you’re traveling abroad, you’re going to see beautiful locales that most people can only dream about. If you’ve got skills behind the camera, you capture these scenes and reap some easy cash for it.
In addition to selling your shots to Shutterstock and Adobe, you can upload them to free stock photo sites like Pixabay in hopes of receiving donations. Don’t forget to upload your photos to social media and work to build a loyal following.
It doesn’t just stop with beautiful landscapes, though — you can photograph people, too. High-quality professional headshots are always in demand and fetch respectable prices. Heck, as a freelance photographer, you can capture anything if the price is right.
Income
$500-$2,000 per month. This is usually one of those jobs to bolster your income rather than define it.
12. Flight Attendant
In many parts of the world, being a flight attendant is considered a dream job. It’s not easy work, but it’s super rewarding with some incredible benefits.
A seasoned flight attendant has been everywhere and is constantly seeing new things. Full-time flight attendants get phenomenal flight and hotel discounts, as well as health insurance. The places you go will vary by your airline, but you can expect one of the best travel jobs in the world.
Income:
$3,000-$4,000 a month, plus benefits since it’s a full-time job.
13. International Aid Worker
It’s one thing to travel the world; it’s another to make a difference while doing it. If you become an international aid worker, have the opportunity to do both at once!
Organizations like the Peace Corps are always looking for extra hands, especially if you have a college degree. Proficiency in a foreign language will help your chance of being selected, too.
Income
While you don’t receive a salary in the traditional sense, you do receive an allowance for your monthly expenses. While you’re away, a Peace Corps volunteer will accrue an unspecified “monthly readjustment allowance” that you’ll receive once you’re done.
14. Travel Agent
When you want to travel the world, figuring out the finer details can be a huge pain. Hotels, airline tickets, and more are all causes of a headache among eager travelers. Enter travel agents — the people who figure this all out and bring the entire travel industry together.
If you can handle lots of paperwork and organization, being a travel agent might be a great travel job for you. While you can work remotely, you’ll need to be well-versed in the areas you’re sending people to.
Income
$3,200-$6,100 per month
15. Foreign Service Officer
Want to serve your country while traveling around the world? If so, foreign service travel jobs should appeal to you greatly.
Running an embassy is no joke. If you know anything about embassies, each one is officially its own little country. That little country needs its soldiers, engineers, HR managers, medical personnel, and more.
Just be aware; these positions are ultra-competitive. A minimum bachelor’s degree from a good school is a necessity, and you’ll be taking lots of tests to prove your aptitude. Most countries will require you to be a citizen to represent them, so keep that in mind too.
Before you rush into what seems like a dream job, know that the government has a few words for you. This work won’t necessarily be glamorous — it may even be dangerous. Despite that warning, it’s still fulfilling work and a travel job anyone can be proud of.
Income
$70,000-$100,000 a year, plus benefits
16. Cruise Ship Worker
We talked about sailing yachts, but have you considered sailing a cruise ship? There’s something for everyone aboard these behemoth people-movers.
You can cook, clean, entertain, work with guests, or just keep things running. When you’re not busy with your duties, you’ll get to enjoy free room and board, as well as have travel costs covered. Just make sure you can handle drunk and loud tourists!
Income
$2,200-$5,600 per month
17. Travel Nurse
Do you have a registered nurse degree? You can take those skills anywhere in the world as a travel nurse. You’ll be helping people, exploring the world, and earning a respectable income. What’s not to love? It’s one of the best travel jobs out there.
As mentioned above, you could work aboard a cruise ship or take your medical expertise to the disadvantaged clinics that need you most. These jobs also often come with respectable benefits, such as free accommodation.
Income
$25-$50 per hour, plus possible benefits
18. Tour Guide
Tour guides are an essential part of the travel industry. Tour guides provide guidance and insight every step of someone’s journey to a foreign country. Without them, we’d be clueless!
It isn’t too difficult to become a tour guide, but you will need to have some knowledge of the area. You focus on a particular area, or you can join an international tour company and guide people all around the world.
Income
$10-$25 per hour
Categories of Travel Jobs
While all of the above jobs will allow you to travel, each one has a different set of “rules.” For example, a Peace Corps volunteer has a lot of restrictions on what they can do, while a dropshipper will have total travel freedom.
You can divide travel jobs into four main categories, which I’ll do below for your further consideration.
1. Digital Nomad Jobs
Digital nomad jobs are the best overall. They offer total travel freedom, with no restrictions or obligations. Digital nomads are their own boss and only need a computer and an internet connection to make money traveling. Most online jobs fall under this category.
The only drawback of these jobs is that they require total self-reliance. If you stop producing income, there’s nobody to save you outside of family and friends. That said, any solid business will provide the same or more financial security as standard job opportunities.
Examples:
- Blogging
- Dropshipping
- Ecommerce
- Freelance writing
- Consulting
2. Travel Industry Jobs
Travel industry careers allow you to travel for work rather than work for travel. These kinds of positions are like regular jobs on wheels — you serve a dedicated company, but that company will take you around the world.
As great as that sounds, it comes with one main drawback: way less freedom. While being a flight attendant might take you to your dream destination, don’t expect to chill out there stress-free. Still, benefits like health insurance can be hard to argue with.
If you’re looking for a permanent job that can take you around the world, this is what you’re looking for.
Examples:
- Flight attendant
- Cruise ship worker
- Travel nurse
- Concierge
- Travel agent
- Tour guide
3. Expat Jobs
Expats are people who work in foreign countries for indefinite periods of time. They kind of exist on a spectrum in between digital nomad jobs and travel industry jobs, in that they have some freedom but not total freedom.
Sure they can do what they want in theory, but they’re going to be tied down by their work obligations. Still, they’re not totally under someone’s thumb — they can always take their skillset somewhere else.
Examples:
- English teacher
- Bartender
- Traveling yoga instructor
- Personal trainer
4. Foreign Service Travel Jobs
Travel jobs in a foreign service may be right for you if being part of a global effort is a top priority. These kinds of jobs give you the opportunity to serve the global community while you make incredible memories.
Some foreign service travel jobs are volunteer-based, while others can command six-figure salaries. Just be ready to endure some tough stuff — these jobs aren’t for the faint of heart. An applicant dreaming of a tropical paradise assignment might find themselves working in dangerous places.
Nevertheless, people consider this kind of work their dream travel job, so you’re up against some stiff competition. A college degree from a good school is definitely necessary to be competitive.
Examples:
- Foreign affairs officer
- Human relations specialist
- Red Cross or Peace Corps volunteer
- Diplomatic translator
Final Words
Working abroad sounds like a dream come true — because it is. Being able to have full travel mobility while earning a respectable income would be amazing for just about anyone.
Fortunately for you and me, it’s very attainable. All it takes is some well-thought-out hard work in a field that you love. It may take a little work, but with patience and perseverance, you can do it.
Do you really want to work abroad? Then don’t question it anymore; get on it. I’ve listed some of the best travel jobs for you to look into, so don’t waste any more time!
