• HOME
  • ABOUT
  • PRESS
  • CONTACT
    • CONTACT
    • WORK WITH GABBY
  • SHOP
    • PACKS LIGHT PRODUCTS
    • GABBY RECOMMENDS…
FREE PTO TRAINING
Packs Light
  • Start Here
    • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Packs Light Shop
    • My Bucket List 🪂
    • “Where I’ve Been” Map
  • Blog
    • Destinations
      • 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
    • Solo Female Travel
      • Solo Travel Articles
      • Solo Female Travel – Start here!
      • Black Travel
      • Study Abroad
      • Young Travel
        • Gen Z Travel Articles
        • Join the YTN Facebook Group!
        • Young Travelers Network – Interview Series
      • Budget Travel
    • Digital Nomad
      • Digital Nomad Articles
      • How to Get a Remote Job + Travel
      • Digital Nomad Visas
  • The PTO Dashboard 💰
  • Shop
    • Packs Light Shop
    • Tools & Recs
    • My Amazon Shop
    • My ShopLTK
  • About

PTO 💸🌍

No, not paid time off... paid travel opportunities! The term I invented to encompass all of the funded programs, scholarships, remote jobs, 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.

PTO Dashboard_ipad mockup
GO TO THE DASHBOARD

POPULAR PTO RESOURCES

Baja California Sur_Square1

1

What does PTO mean?

  • 4 mins
Me-Scholarship-Fair-Study-Abroad-Packs-Light

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
PTO For Africans

4

PTO for African Nationals

  • 4 mins
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

Video Application Tips

  • 3 mins
AYFN South Korea Cultural Exchange Scholarship

7

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

  • 6 mins
Las Grutas Square

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
Young Travelers Network_Shermee_-__Barcelona__Spain Black Travel

10

Is Angloville legit? 4 Alumn Give Their Honest Reviews!

  • 2 mins

Feeling lost? 👩🏽‍🏫

Get started 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 🙁 )

PTO COURSES

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

get PTO in your inbox EVERY SUNDAY 📭

PTO BLOG POSTS

You might be interested in...

Solo Female Travel

Destination Inspiration

Remote Work + Digital Nomad Dreams

Gen Z Travel

FOLLOW ME

MAY 2025 NYC EVENTS 🗽✨ Almost exactly 1 year MAY 2025 NYC EVENTS 🗽✨

Almost exactly 1 year ago I moved to the city. It feels hard to believe! In some ways NYC feels like just another big city of the world, and thus as a traveler feels like many homes I’ve had

But spring in NYC might truly be UNMATCHED!

🌸 Tonight: Met Gala & Exhibitions (and afterparties!)
🌸 May 6-11: New York Art Week, multiple exhibitions and events
🌸 May 8: YouTube Creator Collective Event
🌸 May 10: @teachable x @creatoreconomynyc CONNECT Conference in BK - *I’ll be speaking ◡̈ *
🌸 Dragon Fest, Chinese food festival
🌸 May 12-14: ADWEEK’s Social Media Week, in Flat Iron
🌸 May 15: The Frick Collection’s Young Fellow’s Ball, on 5th Ave 
🌸 May 23: Lectures on Tap 🍺 (my first one!)
🌸 May 16-17: Women In Travel Summit, in Downtown Manhattan (comment WITS and I’ll DM you a ticket link!)
🌸 May 17: COMPLEX’s Family Style Food Fest, in BK
🌸 May 22: New York City Ballet’s Deco Danse Gala 🩰
🌸 May 29: @forthefirsts a first-gen social event, in Lower Manhattan

Here are a few places I MIGHT be outside this month at 🤭

I’m sending out this list information and links this week in my Packs Light newsletter, so make sure you’re on it!

Comment “newsletter” and I’ll send you the link - are you going to any?
hot girl down 😔😔😔 we said “if it’s n hot girl down 😔😔😔

we said “if it’s not like this I don’t want it”… but does Ciara’s Prayer have to activate right before summer??

Which one of us do you relate to 😂
👀🤭 how expensive would these braids be in yo 👀🤭 how expensive would these braids be in your city?! 

I’ve gotten my hair done in Dubai, Cyprus, Kenya, South Africa, Mexico… follow me @packslight for more! ➰

#curlynaturalhair #braidideas #braidinspo #braidstyles
I mean it’s worth a try?? ✈️ The advice is I mean it’s worth a try?? ✈️

The advice is never gonna be “lay around and mope” around here bby pack that lil bag and make the most of your one life!
…again 😅🤭 Follow me @packslight for more …again 😅🤭

Follow me @packslight for more solo travel life! #greece #travel
Follow on Instagram
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Shop
  • Work With Gabby
    • …Brands
    • …Visitors
  • Contact Us
    • FAQ
  • Destinations (Start here)
  • Solo Travel (Start here)
  • Digital Nomad (Start here)
  • PTO (Start here)
  • ✨ The PTO Dashboard
  • Young Travelers Network FB Group
  • My Bucketlist
Packs Light Logo - 30º
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Youtube
  • Email
  • Tiktok

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Packs Light LLC

Packs Light
  • Start Here
    • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Packs Light Shop
    • My Bucket List 🪂
    • “Where I’ve Been” Map
  • Blog
    • Destinations
      • 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
    • Solo Female Travel
      • Solo Travel Articles
      • Solo Female Travel – Start here!
      • Black Travel
      • Study Abroad
      • Young Travel
        • Gen Z Travel Articles
        • Join the YTN Facebook Group!
        • Young Travelers Network – Interview Series
      • Budget Travel
    • Digital Nomad
      • Digital Nomad Articles
      • How to Get a Remote Job + Travel
      • Digital Nomad Visas
  • The PTO Dashboard 💰
  • Shop
    • Packs Light Shop
    • Tools & Recs
    • My Amazon Shop
    • My ShopLTK
  • About