Work and Travel: Go Abroad on a Working Holiday

Once you’ve landed in your chosen country, you can start exploring new, beautiful places and interview for a variety of fantastic jobs. Here are some of the top ways to work and travel.

Seasonal Work (Best Way to Work and Travel)

Seasonal work is a popular choice for working holidays, especially in Australia or Canada. In fact, doing six months of seasonal work in Australia allows you to extend your visa, so it’s a great work and travel option. Seasonal work can be anything from winemaking in New Zealand to ski season work in Canada or France. Travelers usually get their accommodation (and sometimes food) included and payment for work.

Sure, you won’t necessarily earn big bucks doing seasonal work, but it’s a great way to eliminate the cost of accommodation. You might even save some money for your next trip. (See all working holiday offers here)

Au Pair

Working as an Au Pair is an enriching experience that allows you to dive headfirst into a new culture. You live with a family that provides you with accommodation and food in return for childcare and a small stipend. This stipend also allows you to explore your new area in your free time. If you choose to work and travel in this way, you’ll become part of the family, learn a new language, and even get to go on holiday with them! Living with a family is also excellent security, especially if it’s your first trip away from home.

If you choose an Au Pair placement with Global Work and Travel, they’ll match you with a host family before you go and provide ongoing support. They’ll also rematch you with another family if you find that the first one isn’t a good fit. You can choose from experiences in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and New Zealand.

Tip: Check out local Facebook Groups to meet other Au Pairs in the area and make lifelong friends.

Teach (Work and Travel Abroad) 

Teaching abroad is the perfect way to work and travel for extended periods. You can undertake qualifications like TEFL, which allow you to teach English online or abroad to students. This can take many forms. For example, you might work in a school in South Korea, an academy in Spain, or a kindergarten in Vietnam.

Global Work and Travel offer the unique opportunity to gain your TEFL accreditation while traveling! Sign up for one of their 3-4 week teaching placements abroad, and on completion, you’ll be awarded your teaching certificate. This means you can go on to teach in other countries around the world!

Teaching Online

You can always consider teaching online if you want more flexibility in your working holiday. There are many platforms where you can work remotely, teaching children and adults from all over the world. Sites like Italki allow you to set your prices, e-content, and build up reviews and ratings. 

Many teachers also tutor privately in the evenings or at weekends to earn extra money. This is another excellent way to save for the rest of your travels!

Summer Camps

Summer camps are a popular option for a working holiday, especially for those who have dreamed about visiting the USA or surfing in Portugal! Camps in America are a way of life, with children going to camp during the school holidays (May-August).

The kids are led by camp counselors (like you!) on fun outdoor activities. If you can picture yourself spending the summer outside, roasting marshmallows, and canoeing on the lake, this is the ideal work and travel experience. Best of all, you’ll work with other young people who you can travel with outside of working hours.

What’s included? Generally, on a summer camp experience, you work in exchange for accommodation and food. You’ll also get a reasonable stipend at the end of the summer. Many camp counselors then use this money to travel around the country. 

Internship

Interning abroad is a great way to kickstart your career and experience a new way of living. Typically internships are voluntary placements with a small stipend or accommodation included. Although you may not save a lot on an internship, you’ll gain invaluable experience at a company. Plus, you’ll also get to live in an exciting city abroad! This could provide you with the stepping stone you need into your career when you return. Additionally, as with any job, you’ll get allocated holidays so that you can travel on your time off.

Volunteer

Volunteering for your working holiday might not be the most profitable way to work and travel. Still, it provides you with an incredible philanthropic experience that will stay with you for life. It gives a deeper purpose to your travels, allowing you to understand new cultures and communities on your trip. You could choose from sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica, elephant rehabilitation in Thailand, or youth development work in Africa.

Generally, you’ll receive accommodation and food as part of your volunteer placement. Because of this, it’s the perfect way to have an unforgettable experience and meet new people, without the typical costs of traveling. 

Sustainable & Ethical Volunteering

There are many volunteer programs, so it can be hard to choose the right one. One thing that’s important to check is that the experience is sustainable and ethical. Sadly, it has been known for some volunteer programs to act fraudulently to make money from local hardship.

For that reason, Global Work and Travel are the best options as they are passionate about responsible travel. Some of the top ways they can ensure this:

• They are the founders of the Global Animal Welfare Fund.
• Global Work and Travel only offer voluntary experiences that rehabilitate animals.
• Orphanages have to prove where funding comes from and how it’s used to enrich the lives of children in their care.
• All voluntary experiences have gone through a careful vetting process so volunteers can rest easy that this experience widely benefits others. 

How do Global Work and Travel Programs Work?

Global Work and Travel is a company from Australia that has supported people (61,000+ travelers so far) to work and travel since 2008. They are an agency that supports travelers to find working holidays by offering guidance, partner networks, and accommodation. Additionally, Global Work and Travel provide other benefits and experiences to get you settled in new destinations. It’s a safe, reputable, and sustainable way to work and travel. 

Benefits of Global Work and Travel

Global Work and Travel are not a recruitment agency as it can’t offer participants a job upfront. However, they use their partnership network to guarantee interviews before arrival. They also provide benefits like:

• 4 nights of accommodation on arrival
• Unlimited accommodation support throughout
• A dedicated team (and an assigned travel coordinator) to guide you through the process
• 24-hour support
• Set up bank accounts, help with visas and other paperwork
• Unlimited interviews
• Extra fun inclusions like surf lessons in Australia or a day trip to Whistler in Canada

Please note: Prices vary from experience to experience. Learn more about Global Work and Travel here.