Working holidays are a trend that is becoming more and more popular, allowing travel enthusiasts to earn money, or at least save them from having any expenses. If you have any teaching qualifications or previous childminding experience, you can travel with families as an au pair, which will normally cover all expenses like accommodation and meals, and even some attractions. If you have a performance talent, like singing or dancing, you can also use these to your advantage, by busking as you travel, or joining the swelling ranks of street performers.
Get paid for holiday snaps:
If you are handy with a camera and take plenty of snaps while you are on holiday, you can become a contributor to a stock image website, such as Shutterstock. The prices for photographs for these sites vary, from a few cents to hundreds of pounds, so if you have a keen eye you can make plenty of cash on your holiday photos alone.
Rent out to other travel lovers:
Seeing as you won’t be in your home when you are on vacation, you could always rent out your room to other travel lovers. Platforms like Airbnb are great for this, but make sure that you do your research beforehand, as rental prices vary on where you are in the city and the standard of accommodation. Additionally, if you don’t want to rent out your home, you can always rent out your car space. In cities like London, car spaces are hard to find and renting them can bring in a few pounds!
Build a community:
With the growing power of social media, it is possible to earn money as you travel through your Instagram, especially if you are good at taking photos and building a follower community. Various brands are willing to pay significant amounts of money for a sponsored post which is aimed at their target audience, so if you have a solid Instagram following and good photos on your feed, utilise them!
Make money as you walk:
If you are going on an active holiday or a city break, then it is almost guaranteed that you will be doing lots of walking. Fortunately, downloading apps like Charity Miles and Pact can help you make money as you explore. Charity Miles will donate money to charities across the world for every mile that you walk. While Pact is an app that not only helps you stay active, but motivates you to reach your daily step count (and even vegetable intake!) by giving you cash every time you hit your target.
Sail away as you earn:
A perfect way to earn money for anyone who loves the sea and would like to learn how to sail is to join a yacht crew. While the work may be tiring and demanding at times, you will get to travel widely, enjoy the blue waves, tan yourself on the decks and swim to your heart’s content, while also earning money and travelling for free.
Earn while saving the world!
By either joining a VSO program (Voluntary Service Overseas) or travelling to Canada to help plant trees, you can not only do great things for the world, but also see it for free. VSO is a charity program which sends volunteers to some of the poorest areas in the world, in order to improve a local community, which can range from digging wells to teaching students in the local schools. VSO will cover your accommodation, flights and even pay you an allowance.
If you’d rather plant trees and have a stopover in Canada, then head to Prince George, where the forestry companies are always looking for volunteers and will pay you per planted tree – whilst also providing you with the incredible experience of living in a camp in the Canadian wilderness.
By: Niamh Walsh
Niamh Walsh is the Senior Editor at leading travel search company HolidayPirates (www.holidaypirates.com), one of Europe’s fastest growing, free-to-use, travel search platforms and apps, providing users with the best value for money international travel deals.