Home in the World

Last Updated on June 5, 2025 by Home in the World

If you’re an aspiring travel content creator looking to level up and learn some more tricks of the trade, you may be considering investing in online courses. But, with so many out there all promising to deliver results, it can be difficult and overwhelming to work out which one to choose and whether it will be worth the money.

I recently completed the How to Get Paid to Travel masterclass by Flying the Nest. Read on to learn more about who Flying the Nest are, what the course is about and whether it’s the right option for you.

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Who are Flying the Nest?

Flying the Nest is the brainchild of Stephen and Jess Parry-Valentine, an Australian travel-creator couple whose YouTube channel now has more than a million subscribers. Though they started the channel as early as around 2015, I first came across them in 2019 and have been following them ever since. I enjoyed watching their candid travel videos all over the world, and was even more thrilled when I discovered they actually hailed from Perth, like me.

Back then, it was just Stephen and Jess travelling as a duo. In recent years, however, they have grown their family, first with daughter Hunter in 2020 and, in 2023, with their baby son Koa. As such, their travel content is now more family-oriented, and even though my focus is not family travel, I am invested enough that I continue to watch – especially as having children has not stopped them from doing some amazingly intrepid family trips to countries such as Mongolia, Bhutan and India!

What is the How to Get Paid to Travel masterclass?

In addition to running their highly successful YouTube channel, Instagram account, blog, online shop and expeditions, Stephen and Jess have also set up a Flying the Nest Academy where they sell a number of courses that draw on their long-time experience and skills to help newbie travel creators establish themselves and further develop their craft. The courses include video editing (something Stephen is an expert at), Instagram growth, TikTok growth, travel hacking and more.

The one that most appealed to me, however, was their new How to Get Paid to Travel masterclass. It is increasingly becoming many people’s dream to travel the world and make money while doing so – hence the rise of content creators and influencers. I was interested to learn more about the ins and outs of a job that is actually a lot more complex than it seems on the outside. If you think travel content creation and influencing is about simply posting a photo on Instagram and getting paid for it, think again. It is a fiercely competitive industry requiring intense creativity, high-quality deliverables, excellent time management and strong negotiation skills.

Stephen has pooled all the knowledge he and Jess have gained throughout their nearly 10 years of experience in the ever-evolving landscape of travel content creation, and packaged it together in a comprehensive course delivered in bite-sized modules for you to consume at your own pace. Before I describe it in more detail, here is the official course trailer itself:

What’s included in the course and how much does it cost?

When you sign up for Flying the Nest’s How to Get Paid to Travel masterclass, you will get lifetime access to the course, a free photo preset, the opportunity to join their affiliate programme, as well as the ability to join their private Facebook group.

In terms of what’s included in the masterclass itself, the course is broken down into 13 chapters, each of which has a varying number of sub-chapters. The vast majority of these sub-chapters take the form of videos that are, on average, about 10 minutes long (though some are as short as 1 minute and others as long as 14 minutes). A small handful of others take the form of text files and downloadable resources.

Stephen walks you through the many different ways it is possible to earn money through travel, from creating content (including user-generated or UGC content) for brands (content creation), being paid by brands to create content for your own audience (influencing), writing for travel publications, and collaborating with local businesses, other creators or tourism boards, just to name a few.

He explains what makes a good pitch (including providing downloadable templates) and how to go about approaching clients, as well as clarifying when and whether to potentially do work entirely for free to gain initial experience, and when to aim for contra deals or fully paid contracts. He even films himself doing an entire video pitch to a client in the USA!

Other aspects covered include the formalities of contract negotiations, how to remain authentic when being paid by brands, how to get repeat work and how to become an effective storyteller. All of the modules are interwoven with examples from Stephen and Jess’ own experiences – their successes, their failures, their mishaps and everything in between.

I really appreciated this honesty and transparency, and it was refreshing to know that, even at their level, they still sometimes get rejected for deals to this day! It certainly provides great insights into the industry, the work involved and what to expect from client dealings. I also really loved the fact that he mentioned, on numerous occasions, the importance of simply being a good, kind person. In the fast-paced hustle of the content-creation and influencing world, being friendly and polite in your dealings is often an underrated aspect, and yet it can make all the difference. Such a great reminder!

The course can be taken in desktop format (you’ll receive a link in your welcome email) or via the Thinkific app. I used a mixture of the two, and found both platforms to work really well. The app option was great for when I wanted to listen and exercise at the same time.

So, what does all of this cost, you ask? Currently, AU$ 257 (~US$ 168), though the Flying the Nest Academy does run the odd sale throughout the year, e.g. on Cyber Monday.

Is the How to Get Paid to Travel masterclass by Flying the Nest worth it?

There are so many courses out there teaching you how to work with brands, travel the world, be an influencer etc. Ultimately, you have to do your research and weigh up whether you think their offering will be worth your investment of time and money. Given that many such courses are over $1000, the Flying the Nest masterclass is definitely at the more affordable end of the scale, yet it still provides so many insights, customisable templates, tool/equipment tips and practical skills you can apply virtually instantly to kick-start your creator journey.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the things I most liked about this course was Stephen’s realness and openness throughout. While I was already familiar with him and his style from having followed the Flying the Nest channel for years, you will find him an extremely personable and easy-to-understand teacher even if this is the first time you have ever encountered him. He doesn’t sugarcoat things, nor does he shy away from mentioning the struggles he and Jess have had along the way. I found all his tips and advice throughout the course to be sensible, realistic and actionable.

If this masterclass sounds like something you might be interested in taking to further your creator journey (after all, investing in new skills and knowledge is never a bad thing), you can buy it here. And if you want to explore Flying the Nest’s other offerings, which include other courses, presets and merchandise, you might want to check out their shop.

Whether or not you choose to take the How to Get Paid to Travel masterclass, I hope your creator journey is a successful and fulfilling one!

For additional creator and travel resources, visit my new Resources page. There will be more added there soon!

** This post, like everything else on this website, has been written entirely by me. No ChatGPT or any other AI tool has been used. It takes longer to create, but I value 100% human-generated content and I hope you do too! **