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PTO 💸🌍

No, not your work vacation time—I'm talking about paid travel opportunities! The term I invented to encompass all of the funded programs, scholarships, remote PTO, student grants, contests, and more that pay you to travel.

We bring awareness to paid travel opportunities that help you travel for school, for work, for fun—for free.

GO TO THE PTO DASHBOARD!

PTO PRODUCTS

Helping you apply and win, ASAP. (scroll right ➝)

Intro to PTO Course

Opportunity Tracking Spreadsheet

Application Tool-Kit

How to Take $10K Trips (For FREE)

Delusional Confidence Workbook

"Should I Apply to This" Calculator

Sponsored PTO Dashboard Listing

POPULAR PTO RESOURCES

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1

What is a PTO?

  • 4 mins
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2

How I Won $40K in Study Abroad Scholarships

  • 5 mins
How to Travel With Student Loans

3

Study Abroad Scholarships for High School Students

  • 3 mins

4

PTO for African Nationals

  • coming soon
Winners Wall_Taylor Inglut

5

See Past PTO Winners!

  • 1 mins
Winners Wall_Taylor Inglut

5

See Past Packs Light PTO Winners!

  • 1 mins

6

How to WIN with your Video Submission

  • 3 mins

6

How to WIN with your Video Submission

  • 3 mins
Opportunities South Korea

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How I Studied Abroad for Free in Korea... AFTER Graduation!

  • coming soon
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8

5 Common Application Questions to Practice Answering

  • 2 mins

9

How to Travel the U.S. for Free with the Conservation Corps

  • 4 mins
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Get PAID to Teach English Abroad in Europe!

  • 2 mins
WHAT IS A PTO INTRO + STORY_Graphic

watch the "What are PTO?" EXPLAINER VIDEO!

Feeling totally lost? 😅

Start with these PTO FAQ! 👇🏽

Getting started...

PTO 101

Paid travel opportunities (PTO) make travel accessible by taking away financial, logistical, and mental barriers that restrict many people! Start learning more about them:

What is a PTO?

PTO (noun): any program or opportunity that has an element of travel and is partially or completely funded, paid, or free to do. (Read more and see examples here)

What is the PTO Dashboard?

The PTO Dashboard is Packs Light's database of PTO. Through the dashboard (and our Weekly PTO Newsletter) we curate information, application tips, and links for all of these incredible travel opportunities.

Can I apply to PTO if I'm not American?

Do you have to be a certain citizenship to apply to job? In some cases. Packs Light's audience is 90% U.S. citizens, so the opportunities we share cater to them.

But remember: everyone may not be eligible for every opportunity, but there are opportunities for everyone.

Do you have to be a student to apply to PTO?

No! There are many PTO that don't even mention age or student status as a requirement. You can be a 14-year-old high school student or 40-year-old mom and find a PTO that works for you.

...What's the catch?

Very few of these opportunities are scams, actually. You're usually trading your time and your story, or the company is getting aa tax break from offering the opportunity.

Learn more in our Finding Opportunities online course!

Can I travel full-time using these PTO?

No. These are usually short-term, one-off opportunities that have an element of travel.

If you want to travel full-time, check out our resources on becoming a paid travel influencer, or finding a remote job and living as a digital nomad! (coming soon)

Where can I learn more?

Take our free PTO Crash Course—it takes 6 minutes and will be exactly what you need to get startred!

Seeking PTO

How to find PTO that fit your dreams, wants, and needs.

Not every PTO fits every person. And even our PTO Dashboard doesn't have every single one out there! So we're teaching you how to fish for your own opportunities!

Which PTO would fit me best?

Check out our PTO Phase of Life graphic to see which PTO you should keep an out for most.

Take our Which PTO Am I? Quiz and see! (coming soon)

How do you avoid scams?

Rest easy: 99% of these PTO are not scams. But watch this short video with tips and things to look out for, just in case.

Learn more in our Finding PTO online course! (coming soon)

I'm ______ and I need help finding PTO for me! Can I talk to you?

Because of the immense requests we get daily, I can only do 1-on-1 consultations via booking ($180 for 30 mins). We have so many free and paid resources to get you started right on this page! Take advantage.

I only want to apply to PTO I have a good chance of winning! How can I tell?

Our Should I Apply? Calculator will tell you your exact chances of success. Stop wasting your time and energy, and only apply to the things you'll win!

Found in our Application Tool-Kit.

I found a PTO that I'm interested in but it's past the deadline... now what?

Probably. Read this caption for more reasons why you should #ApplyAnyway.

Get more information in the Finding Opportunities course (coming soon).

What's the best way to keep track of all the things I want to apply to?

What gets measured, get's managed. Use an interactive spreadsheet to keep tabs on all the opportunities you're keeping aan eye on.

Grab our pre-done Opportunity Tracking Spreadsheet today!

I found a PTO and I want to submit it to be in the PTO Dashboard!

Thank you! We love you. 💗

Submit PTO to be shown on the Dashboard, here.

Winning PTO

Finding them is the easy part. Actually winning? That takes strategy.

Learning, finding and making big lists of PTO means nothing if you don't actually 1) Press submit and apply, and 2) Win! We can help you with that.

Do people actually win these things?

Yes! Check out the Packs Light PTO Winners Wall to see past PTO Winners.

I need to submit a video application! Help!

Lesson 4 of our Winning PTO online course dives head-first into how to submit a “YES!”-worthy video application, with a bonus module hosted by viral video creator Dear Alyne, who has 15M+ followers!

Letters of Recommendation... Who do I ask? What maakes a good ones?

Our Application Tool-Kit has in-depth Letter of Recommendation (LOR) examples and tips on who to ask and how to get them to write you the PERFECT reference letter!

Do you have example application essays/videos?

I walk you through an example application on this post, teach you 5 common question to practice answering here, and my YouTube channel has a playlist with every video application I've ever submitted.

Need more tips on making your own? You need the Winning PTO course (coming soon), or a 1-on-1 session with me!

I need tips on focusing and productivity to actually apply for the things I want!

Here are some productivity tips to help you get to “submit”!

I have a specific PTO I want to win and I really want 1-on-1 help. Please!

Book a 1-on-1 appointment with me!

(Unfortunately because of the many emails I get daily, we will likely miss it if you send a message through the contact form 🙁 )

WANT MORE? FOLLOW ME ON

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RECENT PTO BLOG POSTS

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Reading Time: 6 minutes Here's how I won a free trip to Fiji, and you can too! Learn how to travel for free and even get paid to travel when you apply to PTOs.

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Reading Time: 4 minutes Find out 3 simple ways you can study abroad in Spain as an American student (maybe even for free, with study abroad scholarships!)

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#ad 6 Lesser-Known Benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy #ad 6 Lesser-Known Benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

because if you're going to choose a travel credit card, you might as well make sure it has awesome benefits!

💳 Extended Warranty Protection
Eligible items purchased with your card may qualify for extended warranty protection. Manufacturers’ warranties of 3 years or less will be extended for 1 additional year!

💳 Purchase Protection
 New, eligible purchases made with your card are covered for damage and theft for 120 days from the date of purchase. Each claim is covered for up to $500, with a maximum limit of $50,000 per account.

💳 Earning extra points through Marriott Bonvoy partners!
Having the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card means earning up to 17x Marriott Bonvoy points with your purchases—and even more poinits if you shop with one of their many partners! 

💳 Delayed Baggage Insurance
If your baggage is delayed more than 6 hours, you could receive up to $100 per day for 5 days for essential items. Common carrier fare must be purchased with your Marriott Boundless card and coverage is secondary to any reimbursement received from the common carrier.

💳 Lost Luggage Reimbursement
If you or an immediate family member have lost or damaged luggage, you could receive up to $3,000 per trip. Transportation must have charged on your eligible card and is secondary to the coverage provided by the common carrier.

💳 Trip Delay Reimbursment
If your trip on a common carrier is delayed 12 or more hours or overnight, you could receive up to $500 per ticket for unreimbursed eligible expenses.

Which card perk is calling to you most?! Comment below!

#GoBoundless #ChasePartner #MarriottBonvoy @chase @marriottbonvoy
SHARE + APPLY! 👇🏽 to apply you have to subm SHARE + APPLY! 👇🏽

to apply you have to submit your best mock weather report, so cute 🥹🇦🇼☀️

shout out to @arubatourism for hosting this contest, and giving people the chance to visit the Caribbean and Aruba, all expenses paid!

🔗 packslight.com/ArubaWEJ
🙋🏽‍♀️ 18+, must be a resident of US or Canada
⏰ 1 WEEK - March 30, 2023 

🤳🏽 follow @packslight for more PTO (aka paid travel opportunities!)

#visitaruba #traveladdicts #bucketlisttravel #adventuretravel #budgettravel #opportunityexpert #packslightpto
solo travelers: what would you add? 📝 [SHARE + solo travelers: what would you add? 📝

[SHARE + COMMENT TIPS!]

It can sound ~woowoo~ but truly, the energy we project can keep us safe. Being able to flip from unapproachable to super-approachable, is a skill—a super power even! 

I’ll share my story in the comments 👀 I’d love to se your tips, or stories!

🤳🏽 follow @packslight for more solo travel content

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#solotravel #solofemaletravel #travelsafety #traveltips #travelhacks #travelgram
The worst part is knowing I’ll never experience The worst part is knowing I’ll never experience everything in the world... but the joy is the pursuit 🥹

[SHARE + COMMENT IF YOU RELATE ✈️]

#traveladdict #digitalnomad #travelgram #solofemaletravel #bucketlisttravel
To the women of my Jordan trip: 🇯🇴 💌 [SH To the women of my Jordan trip: 🇯🇴 💌

[SHARE + SAVE THIS FOR YOUR TRIP!]

I spent 3 weeks in Jordan and loved every minute of it. So today for #WomensHistoryMonth I’m spotlighting impactful Jordanian women, and organizations in Jordan that support its women 🫶🏽 (many of them were shy so my video of them is limited for their privacy!)

🧕🏽 To the women at @beit_khairat_souf: who despite the language barrier shared beautiful moments with me and begged me to take tons of photos in traditional Jordanian clothes– it warmed my heart and was a beautiful introduction to Jordanian hospitality!

🧕🏽 To the female owner of @beitsitti who taught me to flip my maghlouba, to make Jordanian dishes, and the importance of food as communion in Jordanian culture.

🧕🏽 The female volunteers working at Madaba’s Archaeological Site preserving Jordan’s art and history.

🧕🏽 To the women artists at Madaba’s Handicraft Center Mosaic Workshop who talked to me about learning to do mosaic art to support themselves and their families. 

🧕🏽 And to the many women in passing who welcomed me to Jordan, wanted to learn about me, shared their own stories, helped me shop, and who made me feel safe in a new country:

Thank you so much! You added a level of comfort and beauty to Jordan I didn’t imagine.

Jordanian women are caretakers, leaders, and strong women, and I learned a lot from them during my trip! ❤️🇯🇴

If you’re a woman who travels solo, share a story of how connecting with with when traveling has changed or improved your trip! 🫶🏽

#VisitJordan #solotravel #shetravels #solofemaletraveler #solotraveltips
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Packs Light
  • Start Here
    • About
    • My Travel Bucket List
    • “Where I’ve Been” Map
    • FAQ
  • Destinations
    • Bucket Lists
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Mexico
      • Puerto Rico
      • United States
      • U.S. Virgin Islands
    • Middle East
      • Oman
      • United Arab Emirates
    • Europe
      • England
      • Germany
      • Italy
      • The Netherlands
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Spain
        • Canary Islands
      • Sweden
    • Asia
      • Japan
      • Republic of Georgia
      • Sri Lanka
      • Thailand
    • South America
      • Colombia
    • Africa
    • Antarctica
  • PTO
    • PTO – Start here!
    • PTO Dashboard
    • What is a “PTO”?
    • PTO Winners Wall 👑
    • Send in to the dashboard!
  • Gen Z
    • Join the YTN Facebook Group!
    • Young Travelers Network Interview Series
    • Young Travel Tips
    • Study Abroad
    • Budget Travel
  • Solo Female Travel
    • Solo Female Travel – Start here!
    • Black Travel
  • Digital Nomad
  • FREE PTO 101 COURSE