7 Ways to Work and Travel in Europe: Best Jobs + Exchange Opps!

Many people want to learn how to work and travel Europe (or anywhere for that matter), but lack the motivation or drive to ACTUALLY make it happen. But I’m here to make sure you are not one of those people – working and traveling is VERY possible, but it’s not always easy.

I have been traveling for over 7 years now, and I have made working while traveling work in every situation… I mean, I am still on the road and now living comfortably off of my blog. But it has;t always been this way.

While on the road I have worked dozens of jobs in even more industries in order to maintain my travel lifestyle. I have gotten visas in different countries, worked for travel companies, worked online, and MUCH more. Below I will share with you some of the best ways to work and travel Europe that I have tried myself or at least know are trustworthy.

Ideas for Working While Traveling Europe + Making Money from Travel Jobs

The longer you want to travel, the more likely you will need a job to keep you going on the road even if you travel very cheaply. Europe can get expensive after a while, but luckily there are a lot of ways to make money while traveling Europe and even organizations that help set you up with work and even help with visas.

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Here are some of the best PAID ways to work and travel in Europe. Keep scrolling for some ways to get unpaid work exchanges for food and board. Either way, you may find these creative ways to save money/reduce expenses for travel that I use too!

Teaching English in Europe

Pretty much any native English speaker with a pulse can get qualified to teach English in Europe (or anywhere in the world). You just need to complete the training, get the certificate, and apply for jobs.

Some places require you have a college degree or certification like TEFL or TOEFL, but that is not always the case. It’s a good idea to get your TEFL so you can get jobs all over the world and continue working and traveling in Europe.

You can work locally in an academy, school, or university, do private tutoring lessons, or take your English skills online and teach English to adults. There are MANY places in Europe that have a high demand for English teachers (especially Spain, Italy, Czhech, and more) and some may even pay you and ALSO feed and house you.

Resources for teaching English to work and Travel Europe:

Global Work and Travel English Teaching Program: Global Work + Travel takes a fee to set you up ENTIRELY top to bottom with your English teaching certificate, job, house, group of friends, social events, and more.
How to Teach English in Barcelona: Tips to get English teaching cerfiried + employed in Barcelona.
Best Places to Teach English Overseas: The top English teaching destinations worldwide

Become a Digital Nomad: Work Online

Once again, we can thank the internet for giving us so many options for work. Many different places of employment are now moving their job force online, meaning you can hop on that too. If you become a digital nomad, you can work and travel Europe and everywhere else with a wifi connection.

Writing, editing, data entry, IT, engineering, teaching, virtual assistant, customer support, marketing, social media, and community management are just some of the many jobs you can find online that offer remote work.

You might have to change around your hours and invest in a better travel laptop, but it’s a fantastic way to earn money from anywhere in the world as there are truly limitless possibilities.

Resources for Working Online:

Best Digital Nomad Jobs: Ideas for jobs you can take on the road
Check Jooble for current remote job postings

Start Your Own Business or Blog

Being your own boss means that you can take your work anywhere you want with you. If you want to travel this could be your best option.

This option requires a bit more work when it comes to getting everything set up. Start with a unique domain, a mobile-friendly website, and get a little help from Google for ads and SEO guidance.

It usually takes a few years for an online business to even turn a profit and you might have things going slower, especially if you’re traveling at the same time. I also have an article about how to start a travel blog if you are interested in travel blogging and making money!

But fear not, there are plenty of people who have turned their online business or website into their full-time job and are able to see the world while doing so. Start with it as a side-hustle and eventually focus on making it your full-time gig.

Join a Global Work + Travel Gig: Teaching, Internships, Working Holidays, and More

If you aren’t sure where to start, the company Global Work + Travel is entirely based on helping you work while traveling. They have TONS of opportunities for work and travel in Europe, such as becoming an au pair, teaching English, Internships, Working Holidays, Tour Guiding, Volunteering, and MORE!

Global Work and Travel costs a bit of money at the outset, but you can be CONFIDENT that your work and travel arrangement will be fruitful. Once you pay the fees, they help you EVERY step of the way in your work endeavor.

First, they help you with your visa and any certificates you may need to do the job you choose. Then, they help you with your move, supporting you with interviews, resume assistance, job placements and even housing. Next, they place you in a work + travel social group when you arrive in your destination, with orientations, organized trips and events, orientations, and mentors.

Some of the Global Work + Travel Job Opportunities:

Internships: For example, a law internship in France, Finance Internship in UK, Graphic Design Internship in Italy
Au Pair Jobs: In UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, and more
Working Holidays in countries that have working holiday visas like UK, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand (if you want to venture out of Europe)

Au Pair Jobs in Europe

One of the best ways to work and travel in Europe is by becoming an au pair – a live-in nanny for little kids and often helping them with their English skills, too. Au Pair jobs in Europe generally include housing and food with a local family (an AMAZING way to get to know the culture) and a weekly stipend.

You are generally expected to help with house duties such as cooking, cleaning, and helping with the children, often teaching them English. You can sometimes even go on holiday with your host family and become like a member of the family!

Resources for Becoming an Au Pair in Europe

Global Work + Travel Au Pair Program: Get an Au Pair Job, a support system, a social circle, a mentor, help with visas and transport, and more.
Tips for Getting an Au Pair Job in Spain: My top tips and links for Spain au pair jobs
Brose Au Pair Jobs on aupair.com

Ideas for Working While Traveling Europe: Working in Exchange for Accommodation, Food, and More

Here are some of the best ways to find work exchanges in Europe. Work exchanges involve doing work in exchange for housing, food, and oftentimes much more! This is a great way to save TONS of money and also get local experiences for free.

Sign Up for Worldpackers

Worldpackers is one of the best platforms to find AMAZING work exchanges all over the world. Some of the jobs you can get on Worldpackers include helping gardening in a Scottish castle, maintenance in an Italian Villa, picking flowers on a farm in Wales, helping in an animal sanctuary in Spain, working on a vineyard in Italy, party planning in hostels, helping on permaculture farms all over the world, and MORE.

Generally, Worldpackers work exchanges require 20-30 hours a week for anywhere from 1 week to 3 months. In exchange, you’ll get a bed and food, and oftentimes also drinks, local tours, hikes, events and parties, transport, and more. You will definitely also get an incredible local experience, new skills, and new friends!

If you are traveling long-term or in search of true collaborative local experiences where you can learn something totally new, give Worldpackers a try. You can find SO many interesting and exciting experiences on Worldpackers – I use them myself when I get the chance. For a discount on membership, use my code KIMMCONN.

Work in a Hostel

If you are looking to find work and still live the backpacker lifestyle and probably get in a good amount of partying too, try working in a hostel. Many backpacker hostels in Europe (and all over the world) have plenty of positions open for people to work at the front desk, cooking, cleaning, and organizing tours and parties.

Sometimes these hostels exchange work for accommodation, and others can pay a bit too. But if you start doing this you will be able to do it EVERYWHERE and stay a few months in one place before moving on again. And you’ll meet tons of people too! There are lots of hostel jobs on Worldpackers.

Rules for Traveling Europe: Travel Insurance + 3 Months in the Schengen

Before you hop on a plane to the next hot European destination, we need to go over the bureaucracy of all this. First of all, you will need travel insurance to cover you – we have used Heymondo for many years and recommend them fully. Here is our Heymondo travel insurance review and 5% off booking link.

One of the more important things to know before going to Europe long-term (after understanding what to pack for the time of year) is knowing what the Schengen Area is. Established in 1995, the area is borderless travel for 26 countries which are all in Europe. What that means is if you’re going from Spain to Germany, you won’t have to pass through passport control.

Europe as a name gets tossed around all the time as a term that covers all countries on the continent. For travel purposes, this is fine. If you’re going to Europe for the summer, you can travel to Italy, Slovenia, Norway and the UK without any problems.

Let’s break it down further, however. Some countries are all part of the European Union but the not part of the Schengen Area. Norway and Switzerland are part of the Schengen Area but not part of the EU. Ireland uses the Euro and is part of the EU but is not part of the Schengen Area.

Confusing, right?

Rules of the Schengen Region of Europe

If you’re planning on staying in any country in Europe for longer than 90 days (except Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Andorra and a few others), you will need a visa. The majority of countries will make you apply for a visa before coming over, like Spain and Italy. Some countries, like France, will let you apply for a visa once you’re inside the country.

Check with your destination country’s visa and passport policy before traveling, if you plan to stay more than 90 days. Failing to meet the requirements could result in denial of entry.

Also, never overstay your visa or that 90 day period. Some countries don’t mind as much, but others like the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland are notorious for cracking down on people that overstay by even a day.

Travel Within Europe

European travel is incredibly easy. They have plenty of planes, buses, trains and car-sharing opportunities for you to get around the country in. As a non-EU citizen, however, you may be subjected to different requirements and regulations traveling within the continent.

One of the best ways to travel around Europe is with a Eurail pass, which allows you to travel between 30+ countries with one train pass. Epic!