Month: December 2022

How to Earn Money While Traveling – Seven Ideas to Keep You on the Road

Although it’s quite popular in Europe and Down Under, it’s a dream many Americans don’t pursue: Backpacking the world for months or years at a time. Perhaps it’s because we’ve been taught that you go to school and then get a job so you can buy things. What if we take a break for a while from our fast-paced lives and voracious consumer appetites and live with only what we can carry on our backs?

That’s what my sister and I did. We sold everything, bought airfare, traveler’s checks, and wandered around the world for a year and a half. Of course, we blew through our money faster than we had expected. Wanting to stay on the road for as long as possible, we came up with some ideas on how to make money while traveling.

Submit your photographs to stock photography websites. You’re taking photos anyway of everyone and everything you see. Why not upload them to several of the major stock photography websites and earn money? They pay you on consignment for each photo someone purchases for reuse in books, brochures, websites, etc.

Become a seasonal fruit picker. These jobs don’t pay very well, and it’s hard labor but at least you’re outdoors with other travelers getting in shape and earning money. The jobs are usually plentiful, depending on the season.

Become a ranch hand or do odd jobs. Such jobs are usually found just by word of mouth or calling ranches. Sometimes you can find jobs in a local newspaper, but usually you need to ask around about temporary work in whatever locale you happen to be in.

Teach English. Like fruit picking, these jobs are plentiful but do not pay very well. But sometimes they provide living accommodations and it’s a great way to get to know the local culture and make friends.

Become a freelance travel writer. Write articles and submit them to magazines. If accepted, you will usually be paid per word. You can also write articles and submit them for free to article marketing websites. You’re allowed to put a link in the resource box at the end of the article to your personal website (see #6 below.) This helps drive traffic to your website. These articles spread virally through the Internet and are reprinted in blogs, ezines, and other places.

Design a website with affiliate programs. A great way to stay in touch with friends, family, and new friends you make while traveling is to set up a travelogue website where you display photos and stories about your travels. On such a website, you can get a little entrepreneurial. If you know that most of your friends like to shop at a certain online bookstore, for example, then sign up for that bookstore’s affiliate program. It’s fairly easy to do as long as you have a website building program that allows you to cut and paste an html link. After you sign up for an affiliate program, just cut and paste their affiliate link or banner into your website on a “resources” or “links” page. Then ask all your friends and family to click on that link the next time they wish to purchase something from that online store. You will get paid money each time someone clicks on that link and purchases something, and it won’t cost your friends and family anything extra. There are all kinds of products you can sell on your website. Generally, the more expensive the item – such as seminars, CD programs, or services – the more money you will earn.

Become a WWOOFer. It’s an international program that stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. You choose an organic family farm you’d like to visit, make arrangements with the family, work all day, and, in return, you get free meals and lodging for each day you work. It’s a wonderful way to learn about organic farming and the local culture.

The key is to be open and creative. Making the time to step out of your normal life tends to foster creativity and frees the spirit. You are only limited by your work visa and your imagination. Maybe host a brainstorming happy hour at a youth hostel to get some help from your fellow travelers. Other backpackers are a wealth of information. During your travels, remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”…

Travel First Aid Kits – What to Pack

Are you wondering what to pack as far as first aid goes when planning a trip? If you want to know what to put in your travel first aid kits, you will need to determine what type of trip you are embarking upon. Whether you are going on a camping trip, a cruise around the world on your own yacht or on a business trip in Asia, you should think about bringing along a first aid kit, however the contents will vary depending on how long and what type of trip you are taking.

The first thing to do to figure out what you should be bringing is to think about what types of medicines you regularly use. If you are on a certain type of prescription medication, you will need to bring an adequate supply for the length of your trip. Also, ask yourself which other medication you use regularly. Do you prefer Advil to Tylenol? Do you use Tums, constipation or diarrhea medicine? Of course, no matter what you will need the essential bandages and medical supplies in case of an emergency, plus sunscreen.

If you will be away from all medical care, you will need to bring a lot more than if there are plenty of reliable medical aid close by to where you are going. If you are hiking though, keep in mind that you will need to lug all this equipment with you so it better not weigh too much!

Here are some basics that you should consider in your customized first aid kit:

Walking and Hiking Trips: Bring supplies to treat blisters, twisted ankles, poison ivy, scrapes and cuts, sunscreen, sunburn cream, insect repellent, bug bite cream.

Camping Trips: Bring supplies to treat burns such as burn gel, first aid cream, bandages and tape, water purifier tablets, insect bite cream.

Great Outdoor Trips: Tweezers for ticks and splinters, alcohol pads, insect repellent, bug bite cream or spray & bee sting kit, allergy medication, snake bite kit.

Travel To Lesser Developed Countries: Malaria medication, diarrhea medication, sunscreen, altitude sickness medication, pain killers and antibiotic cream, insect repellent, mosquito screen, water purifier, iodine tablets, sunburn cream with aloe.

The following is a basic list that could be suitable for most types of travel. If you are expecting bigger emergencies like broken bones, cardiac problems, gunshot wounds, etc…, you will need to plan more intensively perhaps with the assistance of your doctor. No matter what, enroll yourself in a first aid course in order to learn great first aid skills that will teach you to use your supplies.

* analgesics (Tylenol, Motrin, Nuprin, Advil, ASA, codeine)

* anti-nausea medicine (Gravol)

* anti-diarrhea medicine (Imodium, Kapec, Pepto-Bismol)

* antibiotic such as Cipro, Nebcin, Zithromax)

* rehydration liquid (Gastrolyte, Pedialyte)

* antifungal cream (Canestan, tea tree oil)

* antihistamine (Alegra, Benadryl)

* topical antibiotic (Polysporin, Mupirocin, Bacitracin)

Medical Supplies to Pack (many or these included in standard first aid kits)

* antiseptic

* bandaids

* tensor bandage

* sterile needles, suture supplies (e.g. Steri Aid Kit)

* tweezers

* Swiss Army knife

* thermometer…

5 Things You Have to Know About Scotland Before Traveling It

I recently traveled Scotland with a friend of mine and it was a great trip. We had a great time and I would do it again any time soon.

The thing is though that there are some things you need to know about Scotland. It will help you make your trip much more fun.

Pubs and Restaurants

If you go to a pub or a restaurant you might think it’s strange because waiters won’t come up to you and ask you what you want to order. Usually in Scotland you have to go up to the bar to order things.

I have heard about a lot of people who thought this was strange but that’s the way it is in Scotland. It’s just a cultural thing like in any other country. They are not being rude.

Haggis – National Dish

Once you travel around Scotland you will see that most pubs and restaurants offer Haggis as a dish. Haggis is very popular in Scotland and contains lots of intestines from the sheep. It’s a very salty meal that usually comes with neeps (yellow turnip) and tatties (mashed potatoes).

Renting Cars

If you want to rent cars in Scotland then you have to make sure that you are old enough. Usually car rental places will only rent cars to people who are over 20 (i.e. you can rent a car with 21). If you rent a car when you are 21 you will have to pay a lot of money on top of the actual rental price. That’s because younger drives have to pay higher insurance rates.

Also note that the cheapest price you can possibly get for renting a car is when you book it right with your plane ticket.

Rain Cloths

The weather in Scotland is strange. It will rain continuously for several days without ever stopping. This can be quite frustrating especially if you don’t have the right cloths with you. So before you go to Scotland make sure that you take at least waterproof cloths with you. Some travel boots are also good.

Youth Hostels

When we traveling through Scotland we mostly stayed at youth hostels. The youth hostels in Scotland are great and clean. So we can recommend staying in hostels.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can get youth hostels (not all of them) a lot cheaper once you become a member of SYHA. It’s the Scottish Youth Hostel Association and becoming a member is free. So check it out.…