photo: thomaswanhoff
At the end of a long day exploring Machu Picchu, whitewater rafting the Zambezi River, or trekking the Annapurna circuit, does anything feel better than a massage? For weary travelers, the hands of an experienced masseuse are even more welcome than a cold beer. 
If you’re a massage therapist, your skills can help fund your travels around the world or domestically. As a traveling masseuse or masseur, you can work as much or as little as you like, and you’ll meet tons of interesting people.
In this article, you’ll find case studies and real-life examples, ideas for getting started, and links to resources. If you have ideas or experiences to share, please do so in the comments.
Give Massages to International Travelers
One graduate of the Australian College of Massage is a freelance Mobile Massage Therapist who travels the world with her partner. One of the highlights of her career has been working for the cast and crew of CATS the musical.
Being a freelance mobile massage therapist means that I can travel with my partner around Asia and Australia and I have the freedom to build my clients and career whilst I’m studying. It’s great to have your own time schedule and no hassles from an employer.
photo: whl.travel
Give Massages From a Motorhome
Dale is a Certified Sports Massage Therapist who offers his services from his 40′ 5th Wheel RV while traveling the Western United States. He says:
I average about 3-4 clients a day. I value and respect my clients a great deal. My main massage modality is deep tissue bodywork. Yet, I offer many other modalities to my clients as well.
Dale adds:
I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about my ability to LIVE this FREE RVing lifestyle and WORK while on the open road. A luxury I really really enjoy and yet seems to dumbfound so many? Well, when I hit the open road in my 40′ Toy Hauler RV I had a business that could be taken on the road. My Massage Practice has worked successfully wherever I’ve traveled.
Dianne Hatton will also be giving massages out of her caravan. She says:
At 55 years young I am joining my wonderful husband of 29 years and supporting one of his dreams of trekking around Australia with a caravan. I will continue to study my diploma as we travel and we have had special specs done to ensure that there is adequate storage space under the bed to store the massage table.
Scour the Globe to Learn New Massage Techniques
In 2009 Laurie English of SpaNomad went to India to search out the world’s greatest head massage. She found it. Here are the videos chronicling her journey:
How to Become a Traveling Massage Therapist
Rinch and I both love giving and receiving massages, so we’re considering studying massage therapy together sometime in the future. There are three basic options for nomads who want to become traveling massage therapists:
1. Attend a local massage program wherever you happen to be. I can see myself doing this on a whim if we came across a really great school or teacher in our travels. It would be fun to take a massage course in a foreign language.
2. Travel to the massage school of your choice. If a particular massage school takes your fancy, just turn your camel’s nose in that direction…
3. Learn independently. You could enroll in a distance learning massage program to get your certification, like Angelyn and Dianne did (mentioned at the top of this post).
If you don’t care about certification, there are even more affordable and convenient options, like e-books and videos. Here are a few options I found for learning massage independently, from anywhere in the world:
- Zen and the Art of Traditional Balinese Massage
This 60 minute video will teach you how to do traditional Balinese massage. Here’s a preview: - Wings of Knowledge
A site that provides online massage lessons. There are hundreds of free massage videos and ebooks for download. - Incredible Massage Guide
An ebook written by a Certified Massage Therapist who says he was able to quit his 9 to 5 job six months after getting his certificate. - The Massage Therapists Survival Guide
An ebook by Robert Granter. Rob was a member of the Australian Olympic team for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, as a Massage Therapist. He is currently in private practice in Melbourne and is a teacher in the Myotherapy Department at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University.
The Occasional Masseuse?
Becoming a traveling massage therapist doesn’t have to be a drastic career move. Knowing how to give a good massage is an extremely handy skill(pun intended), whether you choose to do it full-time or occasionally.
For example, Tara of the Organic Sister offers massage from her RV, but doesn’t depend on it for a full-time income.
You might also find the occasional massage job on a cruise. How fun would that be? A lot – but it sounds like it’s seriously hard work. Here’s an article about working in cruise spas: Cruise Industry Employment: The Pros & Cons
Share Your Story
Do you have experience giving massage during your travels? Tell us in the comments.
I want to help you find your calm center and experience travel with courage, curiosity and compassion.
This is a very cool post! If others are already out there doing it, I KNOW I can too!
One word of caution however… If you too are thinking of becoming a traveling MT, please, please, please get a quality education from an accredited school. The books and video’s are a great starting point to see if you actually enjoy this type of work. However, those of us who are professionals in the industry have worked very hard for our credentials and experience. We also fight the negative stigma that can endanger us at any time. As a profession(insured) massage therapist we stick to a code of ethics that clients should be able to count on for their own safety as well. Again, the above references are nice, but a professional massage therapist does not a book or video make…
Amy McLoughlin, CMT
WI # 2703-046
[Reply]
antonia Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 10:29 am
I’ve heard varying opinions about whether or not accreditation is necessary for massage therapists, so it’s good to get your feedback as a professional. You make some strong points in the favor of accreditation. Thanks Amy!
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Geez, if it were that easy to do, wouldn’t more people be doing this? If you get caught giving massages when you haven’t the licenses, you’ll get treated like a whore.
Being accredited is one thing, but adhering to the requirements of each state you’re in – whoa, that gets complicated.
One thing I know, the state I’m in right now has very strict requirements for bodyworkers that I do not particularly want to invest in. It would be handy to have a list of what places require what sort of experience so you would at least know where you stood.
Generally, I have not been interested in using this skill of mine – mostly because when traveling a woman is ‘way too vulnerable not knowing people who are concerned where she is and what she is doing. Whereas when you are in this business in a certain location you have the security of being an established, known, reputable service.
[Reply]
antonia Reply:
September 13th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Franis, you can go here to download a list of requirements for bodyworkers by state:http://www.massagetherapy.com/careers/stateboards.php.
Hope this helps!
I’d have to disagree with the sweeping statement “a woman is way too vulnerable,” based on my experience and that of hundreds of other female travelers (including massage therapists)! But I’m sorry if your personal experience, whatever that may have been, has left you with feelings of vulnerability. Thanks for stopping by.
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After 20+ years of being couped up in an office, I gave up on corporate america and have been in massage school. I graduate next week and am preparing to hit the road. How are you getting clients while traveling? Craigslist?
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antonia Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Congrats on taking the leap, Scott! I imagine successful massage therapists use a number of different methods to get clients – word of mouth, social media, personal blogs, etc. Try everything and see what works for you. Good luck!
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I am an LMT in the state of TN and have been thinking about the full time RV lifestyle with my husband and 3 year old daughter. I am overwhelmed by figuring out how to get my licensed transferred from state to state. For this reason I am thinking about sticking to the 6 states still NOT requiring any type of licensure. I figure I can still flash my TN license and have people realize I am on the up and up! I would think this would not be unlawful, right?
[Reply]
antonia Reply:
July 6th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Most of those six states are fairly close together, so you could definitely get some good travel in just by doing that. (Here’s the map for anyone else who’s interested: http://www.massagetherapy.com/careers/stateboards.php) And then you could look into getting licensed for other areas around the country….definitely a long-term project though! Best of luck – I know you’ll find an approach that works well for you.
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