5 Ways to Fund Full-Time Travel

Last updated on October 13th, 2023 at 07:27 pm

Are you a wanderlust-filled traveler who dreams of exploring the world full-time? If so, you are not alone. The desire to travel long-term is growing, and the prospect of cobbling together a way to fund these adventures has become more achievable than ever before. If you are looking for ways to finance your full-time travel dreams, then you are in the right place! We’ll share several ideas for earning an income while traveling, and give you the information you need to get started.

There are numerous ways to fund full-time travel ranging from more traditional employment to entrepreneurship. The key is identifying your goals, strengths, and weaknesses. Then choose the one that best fits you. In this article and in the following video, I explain how my husband and I fund our full-time travel. I also share the methods several other full-time travelers have used.

Learn how to pay off debt, earn an income, and save money all while traveling full-time.

Keep your Current Job (Or Find a Remote Job)

I realize this sounds counterintuitive. You want to travel, not continue with the same old nine-to-five. Unfortunately, that is not financially feasible for some of us. However, there is good news! You may be able to keep your current job to fund your full-time travel. Many more companies these days are utilizing telecommuting and other alternative work arrangements. FlexJobs, a site for those seeking telecommuting, flexible schedules, part-time, and freelance jobs, released a list of 125 companies that embrace remote work. The company estimates that telecommuting in the United States has grown 103% over the last decade and projects that 50% of people will work remotely by 2020.

Don’t get discouraged if you are not currently in a teleworking position. I was with my company for 6 years before we moved. My original position was not suited to remote work and I had to be in the office every day. After an internal promotion, I started a position that was more flexible. When we had to move due to my husband’s work, my company allowed me to take my job with me and work remotely. Later, we decided to full-time travel, and my husband was also approved to work remotely. Click here to read more about how we work from the road.

The pros of this arrangement are that we maintain our current salaries and benefits. The cons are we still have to work traditional hours and stay in areas where we can get Internet service. Otherwise, we have to take vacation time off.

Consider a Travel Job

Travel jobs are an especially good fit to fund full-time travel. The medical field is especially popular for these types of jobs. Travel nursing is the most popular, but the concept is used in a variety of healthcare positions, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, laboratory, and even doctors and dentists.

Travelers typically work under a short-term contract. In the United States, these contracts typically range from 4 to 13 weeks, although 26-week assignments are also possible, and some travel nurses will accept back-to-back assignments from the same facility. The Gypsy Nurse website is an online community dedicated to traveling medical professionals. The operator of this website is a former traveling nurse and her contributing authors include either former or current travelers as well as some specialty nurses.

Some pros are that assignments are chosen and in addition to the salary, some travel and housing expenses are often reimbursed. Cons include being tied to a regular work schedule (not typically 9-5), reduced benefits from a standard position, and having to constantly deal with an unfamiliar work environment

Try Seasonal Work / Workamping®

Another method to fund full-time travel is seasonal work. There are many seasonal work opportunities that provide a wide range of housing including dorms, bunkhouses, or RV sites with electric/water/sewer hookups. I consider Levi & Natalie Henley to be one of the best sources of information on Workamping as they do it year-round. For more information, check out their book, Seasonal Workamping for a Living.

Work for housing/site – National/state parks and the Corps of Engineers advertise on volunteer.gov for campground hosts, visitor center hosts, and gate attendants in exchange for housing or a free full hook-up site. These types of positions typically only require 24 hours per week. You can find advertisements for them at Volunteer.gov. Be sure to check the drop-down box for the type of housing you require.
Work for combination pay/site – Many commercial RV parks, theme parks, and private concessionaires at national parks like Aramark will provide housing/RV sites as well as pay an hourly wage.
Seasonal – Two of the most popular seasonal opportunities to bank some money are the Sugar Beet Harvest and Amazon CamperForce. Levi and Natalie of Henly’s Happy Trails worked both events last year and provided their experience here:
- Sugar Beet Harvest in Western Minnesota – This opportunity occurs every fall and consists of 12-hour shifts for about 2 weeks. According to Levi, it is a race against Mother Nature to collect and deliver beets in just the right conditions. The receiving stations are a hustle and bustle of activity: trucks rushing in and away from their drops, beets roaring up the conveyor belt into the ever-growing pile, ground crew rushing to check grower tickets and fill beet sample bags, operators whirling around vehicles and workers to complete a task.
- Amazon CamperForce Associates at Amazon Fulfillment Center in Campbellsville, Kentucky – This was the Henley’s second year with Amazon. Natalie said they went back despite the epic shift schedules (at least ten hours a day for four typically consecutive days) and working conditions (standing the entirety of your work shift in often noisy, quick-paced surroundings for compensation. It comes in the form of a full hook-up site, hourly pay starting at $10.75 with opportunities for overtime, and a completion bonus (one dollar for each hour worked in a season). given season).

Workamper® News is a terrific resource for preparing for and finding workamping positions to fund full-time travel. In addition to job listings, they provide Resume Tools, employer reviews, and industry education resources.

Some pros of these positions are that they are temporary and allow you to spend more time enjoying an area without worrying about housing costs. The cons are that they are usually lower pay and don’t typically provide any benefits. In addition, seasonal jobs like the Sugar Beet Harvest and Amazon include long hours and can be physically taxing.

Start a Business

Becoming an entrepreneur is a great way to fund full-time travel. Some of the most successful full-time traveling entrepreneurs have taken their experience in a particular aspect of RVing and created a business.

After working remotely as full-time RVers for many years, Chris and Cherie of Technomadia founded the RV Mobile Internet Resource Center. provide a central resource center about mobile internet options for US-based travelers – RVers, boaters, truckers, and nomads of all sorts.

Bryanna Royale of Crazy Family Adventure founded Virtual Powerhouse which provides a host of virtual assistant services including graphic and web design, SEO, social media, and Pinterest support. Her background is in Information Technology and Marketing. As Bryanna and her family were preparing for full-time travel, she started looking for location-independent business ideas and came across the Virtual Assistant idea. She completed online training to learn how to become a VA as well as how to run a business. Then she got her first client by offering a free month and then at the end of it he could decide if he wanted to continue as a paying client. Bryanna did so well that her first client is still with her business today. With a reference under her belt, she worked very hard to grow the business so her husband could quit his 9 to 5 remote job and join her team. He specializes in website design and SEO work so it was a perfect fit. Now they both strive to work just 20 hours a week each.

Freelance for Flexible Schedules

Freelancing is a flexible way to work from virtually anywhere on a project-to-project basis. This approach offers you the freedom to take on work when and where you like, giving you optimal control over your time and income. Freelancing can be a great solution for people who want to prioritize their passion for travel without compromising their careers.

Freelance Job Ideas for Travelers

Before diving into how to find freelance work, let’s explore some popular freelance gigs you can pursue on the road, making the location-independent lifestyle a reality:

Copywriting and content creation: If you have a knack for writing, this skill can translate into a profitable freelance business providing copy for websites, press releases, advertisements, and more.
Graphic design: With a talent for design and access to software like Adobe Creative Suite, you can create visual content for clients, including logos, banners, social media graphics, and web design elements.
Virtual assistance: Offer support to businesses by managing calendars, emails, and social media, or providing customer service – all without needing to be present in an office.
Consultancy: Leverage your industry expertise to provide guidance or strategy for clients in your niche.
Photography/videography: Document your travels while offering high-quality photos and videos to clients like hotels, restaurants, or other travel-related businesses.

Those are just a few ideas. The type of service you can provide to others is really unlimited. Also consider tutoring, serving as a project manager, or providing technical support. By leveraging your skills, you can create a successful freelancer business, allowing you to see the world and work on what you love.

Getting Started Freelancing

Upwork is a popular freelance marketplace that connects freelancers with clients from around the world, all looking to hire on a project basis. To begin your journey, follow these steps:

Create an account: Sign up on Upwork, fill in your details, and choose a username.
Build a strong profile: Your profile will serve as your digital résumé, showcasing your work experience, skills, and portfolio. Invest time in crafting an impressive profile that highlights your strengths.
Choose your niche: Be clear about the services you offer and focus on a specific niche. This will help you attract the right clients and avoid spreading yourself too thin.
Apply for jobs: Browse available jobs by searching for your niche. Craft personalized and persuasive proposals tailored to each project, demonstrating your understanding of the client’s needs and how you can add value.
Build your reputation: As you work on projects, be reliable and maintain open lines of communication with clients. Earning positive reviews will lead to a higher likelihood of securing follow-up work or referrals.

Bonus: Become a Blogger

A bit of determination and a knack for storytelling can turn your global adventures into a lucrative blogging or vlogging career. By sharing practical travel tips, engaging stories, or even reviews of products and accommodations, you can earn money through sponsorships, affiliate marketing, or ad revenue.

One great way to become a successful blogger is to carve out a niche. Just because you are traveling doesn’t mean you have to blog about travel! Write about what you know and are passionate about. Write about personal finance, babies, homeschooling, restoring old cars, you get the idea!

Plenty of individuals and businesses use blogging to share their experiences, ideas, and expertise with the world. Done right, blogging can provide an excellent opportunity for generating income, allowing you to travel and explore new destinations without worrying about financial constraints. Sounds too good to be true, right? Just remember that if you are using blogging as a means to earn an income rather than a hobby, then you will need to consistently create and publish content. It may take some time to build an audience, but with persistence, this passive income stream can help finance your wanderlust.

If you’d like to learn more, read our article on How to Start a Profitable Blog. We’ll walk you through the steps to quickly set up our own blog, and explain some income-generating strategies for it.