How to Work and Travel the World: 6 Realistic Ways

Hey, you greedy little so and so! You want know how to work and travel forever, don’t you?

Well, you can’t.

Ha, I joke. Sure you can. If you’re wondering how to work and travel at the same time, there are actually plenty of ways to make it happen. Some require a bit of planning, others just a bit of hustle, but all of them can help you keep exploring the world while still earning some money along the way.

Here are a few ways to do it.

1. Teach Abroad and Travel the World

Look at you fancy pants. You’re teaching and inspiring (or cursing at under your breath) the leaders of tomorrow.

Being a teacher in pretty much anything gives you a pass to travel the world. This is especially true if you’re from a country with a highly regarded education system such as the USA or UK. Schools around the world are often keen to hire native English speakers or people with recognised qualifications.

You could be a school teacher, a sports teacher or coach, or even a teacher of a musical instrument. If you have a skill that can be taught, chances are someone somewhere will want to learn it.

Even if you’re not technically a teacher but have a degree, you can do a great course called TEFL. This stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. And yep, you guessed it—once you’ve completed this internationally recognised qualification you can go and teach English to little munchkins across the globe.

Countries across Asia, South America and Europe are full of opportunities for TEFL teachers, and some positions even include accommodation or flights.

But seriously, teaching is one of the most reliable answers to the question of how to work and travel long term. It can give you a stable income, a visa, and plenty of time to explore your surroundings when you’re not in the classroom.

2. Blogging

If you have a relatively successful blog that you can make money from, this can fund your travelling.

Many bloggers travel around the world writing about their experiences and get paid for it. It doesn’t just have to be about travel either. It can be about food, health, trains, fitness, hiking, photography, or ruddy marshmallows for all I care.

Some of the best travel stories come from meeting people while travelling, whether that’s in hostels, on tours or over a few beers in a random bar somewhere.

I personally use WordPress. The great thing about blogging is that you can take your work with you anywhere in the world where you have internet and a little inspiration.

You won’t be able to do this as soon as you set up your blog, unfortunately. If it were that easy we’d all be sipping mojitos on a beach somewhere while typing away on a laptop.

But if you find your passion, find what gets your juices flowing (that sounded weird, I know), and put in a couple of hours a day, over time it will build. Blogging income often comes from advertising, affiliate links, sponsored content, or selling your own products.

It takes patience, but once it gets going it can be a brilliant way to work and travel anywhere in the world.

You never know what can happen.

3. Cruise Ships

These floating cities hire a myriad of staff ranging from lifeguards to pianists.

What’s great about working on a cruise ship is that you get to go everywhere the holiday makers go, even though you’re technically not on holiday. You still have a job to do, so it won’t all be sunshine and cocktails, but you will usually get time off to explore when the ship docks.

Cruises literally go all over the world: the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Alaska, Asia, even Antarctica with the penguins… or is that the one without the penguins? I digress.

The jobs available are incredibly varied. You could be working in hospitality, entertainment, childcare, retail, fitness, photography, or even technical roles behind the scenes.

One of the biggest perks is that your accommodation and food are typically covered while you’re on board, meaning you can save a decent chunk of money while travelling.

So bag a job on a Caribbean cruise and you might find yourself sunning yourself in the Bahamas on your time off.

4. Working Holidays

These are a great way to travel whilst keeping the bank balance healthy.

The length of these can range from a few weeks to a couple of years. The premise is simple: you’re given a visa that allows you to stay in a country for a period of time, and during that time you are also given the right to work there.

Working holiday visas are especially popular in places like Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

What you’re allowed to work as varies by country, but you could find yourself being a door-to-door salesperson one week, a grape picker the next, and then a club rep after that.

You have to be proactive — the work won’t magically appear in your lap — but if you put in a bit of effort you can happily travel around a country hopping from one job to the next.

And if you save enough along the way, you can take a couple of weeks off just to enjoy yourself.

It also means you don’t have to worry about that dreaded “I need some money” phone call to mum and dad.

No one wants to be that person.

5. Remote Work (The Digital Nomad Life)

This is one that has become much more common in recent years.

If you can do your job on a laptop, chances are you can do it from anywhere with decent Wi-Fi. Designers, developers, writers, marketers, consultants, and countless other professionals now work remotely.

Many companies are far more open to remote work than they were in the past, and there are also plenty of freelance opportunities online.

People who do this often call themselves digital nomads, which sounds quite dramatic but basically just means someone working online while travelling.

You might spend a few months working from a beach town in Portugal, then move to Thailand for a while, then perhaps settle in a European city for a bit.

As long as the internet holds up and your clients keep paying you, you’re good to go.

For many people today, remote work is one of the most realistic answers to how to work and travel long term.

6. Take Seasonal Jobs Around the World

Another good way to work and travel is by taking seasonal jobs around the world.

Think ski resorts in winter and beach resorts in summer.

Ski resorts in places like Canada, Switzerland, France and Japan hire huge numbers of seasonal staff every year. Jobs range from ski instructors and lift operators to bar staff and hotel workers.

In the summer, resorts in places like Greece, Spain and Croatia need staff for hotels, restaurants, bars and tour companies.

These jobs often include accommodation, and the working hours leave plenty of time to enjoy where you are.

You might work a ski season in the Alps, then head somewhere sunny for the summer.

Not a bad way to live, really.

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See, it’s more than possible for you to keep up the wanderlust whilst also earning money and not becoming a skint hobo.

These are just some of the main paths that show how to work and travel around the world. There are going to be countless others too. You could become a tour guide, a photographer, a dive instructor, a yoga teacher, or run an online business.

The important thing is to remember that travelling long term isn’t just for lottery winners or influencers with millions of followers.

If you’re willing to be flexible, try different things and put in a bit of effort, there are plenty of ways to make it happen.

So stop moaning that you can’t travel.

There are endless possibilities.