Irish rugby player who’s being PAID to travel the world shares snaps

A rugby player who is being paid to travel the world has shared envy-inducing snaps on social media. 

Harry McNulty, 26, from Dublin, beat thousands of applicants to secure the post as a ‘shore explorer’ for cruise company Royal Caribbean International and has spent the last two-and-a-half weeks criss-crossing the globe.

The sports fan kicked off his three-week trip in Miami, Florida, on July 24 before visiting The Bahamas, Alaska and Japan. 

Harry is now in Dubai and will visit Norway and Portugal before returning next Monday. 

Nassau, the Bahamas: Harry spent three days sailing around the Caribbean. Pictured, spending the day snorkelling in the ‘crystal clear blue waters’ off Paradise Island 

Juneau, Alaska: Well-travelled Harry said Juneau, the capital of Alaska, was the surprise highlight of the trip. He said the city gave him the feeling of being lost in the wilderness

Japan: Beaming Harry dons a traditional Jinbei as he examines a shuriken, or Japanese hidden hand blade, on one of his stops in Japan earlier this month

As if that wasn’t enough, the rugby player will also be paid £6,000 once he has completed the trip. 

Photos shared on his Instagram account @saltynuts_ shows Harry getting to know Miami’s Little Havana neighbourhood and dining out at Osaka restaurants. 

Speaking to FEMAIL, Harry told how Juneau, Alaska, has been one of the highlights of his trip so far. 

‘I picked up so many small facts about the city that really interested me,’ he said. ‘It is the capital city and there are no roads leading in or out.

Vibrant: Sharing this photo on Instagram Harry wrote, ‘Hello Beautiful Miami. . Day and night this city is full of colour and life!’ This photo is thought to have been taken in Wynwood

Little Havana, Miami: Harry wrote: ‘Little Havana was everything I could have ever asked for! ⁣ ⁣It was like being transported out of America, full of Latin art and beautifully designed buildings’

‘It is only accessible by air or sea, which I thought was amazing. Despite it being the capital, there was an incredible sense of being in the wilderness, it felt very different.’

Harry, who plays for Ireland’s international sevens rugby team, also described Royal Caribbean’s new private island in the Caribbean, Perfect Day at CocoCay, as a ‘playground for adults’. 

The rugby player was chosen for the Shore Explorer Apprenticeship by judges including The Vamps band member James McVey and travel writer Nadia El Ferdaoussi. 

Caribbean escape: Harry sailed on a cruise ship to Royal Caribbean’s new private island in the Caribbean, Perfect Day at CocoCay, which he described as a ‘playground for adults’

Letting loose: Harry snapped a picture on his GoPro as he zoomed down a slide at Perfect Day at CocoCay. It is one of a gallery of photos shared from his stop-off in the Caribbean

Deluxe sailing: Harry spent the day snorkelling and sipping cocktails on a boat off Nassau

Harry has a lifelong love of travel, having been born in the Middle East and moving between the UK, America and Bahrain as a child. 

His father worked in finance and played rugby for Bahrain Rugby Club, while his mother worked on the royal flight as an air hostess for the King of Bahrain, Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The 26-year-old was sent to an Irish boarding school as a teenager, and undertook a food science degree at university.

Rugged beauty: The Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska. Harry wrote: ‘Very special day to get to see these incredible blue hues roaring out from the depths of the glacier’

He caught the travel bug after moving to Brisbane, Australia for part of his degree, and now plays as a forward for the national Irish Sevens team. 

Last year he travelled to Uruguay, Chile, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Jordan, France and Fiji. And this year, he has already been to New York, South Africa and Hong Kong, where he played in the rugby Sevens tournament. 

He applied for the job role in February after the application called for someone who used Instagram every day, and a person who would be able to take part in the three-week trip. 

Kyoto, Japan: Harry in a traditional Jinbei on a visit to the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan

Osaka, Japan: Harry visited Japan at the start of the month and explored Osaka’s restaurants

Kyoto, Japan: Harry wrote: ‘Captivated by the never ending path of the Fushimi Inari shrine. Don’t let these photos fool you – the paths were packed with tourists’