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53 Best Travel Blogs and Bloggers To Follow (in 2024)

Ankit Singla Master Blogging

Written by Ankit Singla

3K Followers

Last Updated on:

by Ankit Singla

If you’re searching for the best travel blogs today, look no further.

As always, I created this list to help aspiring travel bloggers learn a thing or two from these established sites.

However, people who are only looking for travel ideas and tips will also enjoy this post.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top travel blogs to follow in 2024.

Best Travel Blogs

  • Nomadic Matt
  • Backpacking Matt
  • Adventurous Kate
  • The Blonde Abroad
  • California Through My Lens
  • Dan Flying Solo
  • Travel With Lakshmi
  • Fluent in 3 Months
  • Cheapest Destinations Blog
  • Alex in Wanderland
  • I Am Aileen
  • Wandering Earl
  • Be My Travel Muse
  • Followtheboat
  • Matthew Woodward
  • The Opposite Travellers
  • We Seek Travel
  • Bucket List Journey
  • Migrationology
  • The Cranky Flier
  • Never Ending Footsteps
  • A Dangerous Business
  • Against The Compass
  • Everything Everywhere
  • The Longest Way Home
  • Global Grasshopper
  • Girl Gone Travel
  • Oneika The Traveller
  • The Adventurists
  • Time Travel Turtle
  • Hand Luggage Only
  • Travel4Wildlife
  • The Insatiable Traveler
  • View From The Wing
  • Uncornered Market
  • Jessie On a Journey
  • Legal Nomads
  • TravelFreak
  • The Everywhereist
  • Keep Calm and Travel
  • Practical Wanderlust
  • Expert Vagabond
  • The Voyageur
  • Amateur Traveler
  • Girl Eat World
  • The Adventure Junkies
  • A Broken Backpack
  • The World Travel Guy
  • Life Part 2

1. Nomadic Matt

Nomadic Matt

By:  Matthew Kepnes

I have to be honest with you — I love everything about  Nomadic Matt .  

Everything from his website’s design to his personal writing voice makes for an engaging reading experience. Not to mention that the name “Nomadic Matt” really sticks with me. 

Matthew Kepnes, AKA Nomadic Matt, was once a cubicle worker who admittedly wasn’t always a big traveler. On his first trip back in 2004, he went to Costa Rica where his perspective in life transformed forever. 

A single trip — that’s how easy it is to fall in love with travel. 

Today, Matthew continues living the life he was born for. He primarily blogs about travel tips, encompassing topics like how to save for a trip and things to do in Singapore. 

Blog Topics 

  • Travel Insurance
  • Travel planning
  • Saving money on travel
  • Travel gear
  • Destinations

Monetization Strategies

  • Display advertisements
  • Superstar Blogging online course
  • Affiliate marketing ( Check: Best Travel Affiliate Programs )

2. Backpacking Matt

Backpacking Matt

By:  Matt Kyhnn

I think there’s something about the name “Matt” that raises a person’s affinity for traveling. 

Backpacking Matt , owned and run by Matt Kyhnn, is a travel blog that has similar vibes with Nomadic Matt. It has a simplistic design, a memorable content tone, and striking travel photos that bring the blog’s stories to life. 

Matt Kyhnn also leverages videos — providing his audience a more immersive way to enjoy his content. 

Fresh out of college, Matt simply decided that he won’t settle for a 9-5 job. Instead, he spent months working and traveling across Ireland, Scotland, and other regions in mainland Europe. 

He then booked a one-way ticket to New Zealand where he now resides. In addition to his blog, Matt also runs his own travel planning and booking website — Planit NZ. 

Blog Topics

  • Affiliate marketing
  • Planit NZ travel planning and booking services
  • Brand collaborations

3. Adventurous Kate

Adventurous Kate

By:  Kate McCulley

Kate McCulley, AKA  Adventurous Kate , is a travel blogger with lots of adventures to tell.

She’s been to 83 countries, seven continents, and plenty of experiences to help women appreciate the traveling life. 

Kate’s blog was built during her time in Southeast Asia along with her freelance portfolio, which helped fund her travels. Her target audience is women who want to travel, but required guidance on how to do it safely and easily. 

The “Solo Female Travel” category on her blog consists of posts about travel safety, travel planning, destination guides, and more. She also compiled a list of travel resources that help turn her audience’s travel ideas into action plans. 

  • Travel safety for women
  • Sponsored posts

4. The Blonde Abroad

The Blonde Abroad

By:  Kiersten “Kiki” Rich

I covered Kiersten “Kiki” Rich of  The Blonde Abroad   in my list of the top lifestyle bloggers to follow in 2024. 

As her blog’s name suggests, she’s mainly a travel blogger who also discusses two other lifestyle-related topics — blogging and photography. 

Kiersten spent three, eye-opening months in multiple countries to re-envision the idea of “ success .” She succeeded in her goal and is now one of the most accomplished travel bloggers on the web. 

The Blonde Abroad covers a range of topics from travel photography to foreign cuisine. All of which draws wisdom from Kiersten’s personal travel experiences.

  • Photography
  • Travel destinations
  • The Travel Shop
  • Social media and influencer marketing consulting

5. California Through My Lens

California Through My Lens

By:  Josh McNair

Josh McNair, owner of  California Through My Lens , has a distinct writing style that vividly describes details of travel destinations. 

Unlike bloggers who discovered the love for travel in their adulthood, Josh has always been a passionate traveler at heart. He created California Through My Lens to document his adventures with the online audience. 

California Through My Lens is run by both Josh and his wife, Amy. The pair also has an active YouTube channel called Through My Lens where they share their experiences in video form. 

As you may have guessed, Josh’s content focuses on the beaches, caves, hiking trails, waterfalls, and various landmarks in California. Intricate details of each location, from hike distances to specific travel tips, are often included in his posts. 

  • National parks in California
  • Driving around California
  • California destinations
  • Selling eBooks
  • Advertisements through YouTube 

6. Dan Flying Solo

Dan Flying Solo

By:  Daniel “Dan” Clarke

Dan Flying Solo   is by Daniel Clarke — a travel blogger, photographer, and creative director at his own Portugal-based media company. 

Dan’s blogging life was ignited by his passion for photography. He was originally a frustrated restaurant manager who wanted more out of life.

Like me, Dan is a self-taught blogger. He worked day in and day out by doing free online courses, YouTube tutorials, and heaps of informative guides. 

What makes Dan Flying Solo an extra noteworthy blog is its library of video content. Daniel also makes it clear that the site has no particular theme — not unlike everything else in life.  

“ There’s not one particular theme to this blog because I don’t think that’s how life really is. We change and what we enjoy changes.”

7. Travel with Lakshmi

Travel with Lakshmi

By:  Lakshmi Sharath

Lakshmi Sharath worked on a desk job for multiple media organizations for 15 years. She then started her personal travel blog in 2005 — traveling to over 25 countries and across every corner of India. 

Travel with Lakshmi has only grown steadily ever since. It won multiple awards, including “India’s best travel blog of the year” award from Indiebloggie.  

As an Indian herself, Lakshmi made sure to highlight the country’s top travel destinations on the blog. She also documented her travels to foreign countries — from Abu Dhabi to the United Kingdom. 

As a way to support aspiring travelers around the world, Lakshmi also covers important tips on starting a travel blog. This includes essential tips on photography, travel planning, and travel writing.

  • Social media marketing campaigns
  • Content marketing and writing services
  • Digital media consulting services

8. foXnoMad

foXnoMad

By:  Anil Polat

foXnoMad   is a unique travel blog run by digital nomad Anil Polat.

Anil was exposed to travel at a young age because his parents were journalists. Other than routine trips between Turkey and the United States, they also visited multiple destinations around the world. 

Even in his professional life as a computer security consultant, travel was a big part of Anil’s life. He eventually decided to quit his job and fixate on one goal: to visit every country in the world.

What makes foXnoMad unique is that Anil utilizes his knowledge in tech to provide insightful tips on traveling smartly. He also develops apps that can help travelers in situations like determining water drinkability and calculating tips.

You can check out his podcast where he talks about current events, new product tech releases, and all things travel-related. 

Blog Topics                                           

  • foXnoMad Shop
  • Paid mobile apps

9. Fluent in 3 Months

Fluent in 3 Months

By:  Brendan “Benny” Lewis

Fluent in 3 Months   by Brendan Lewis is created for travelers with a purpose. 

Apart from regular posts about travel planning and destinations, Brendan also writes a lot of guides on foreign languages. 

Remember, language is a crucial part of every culture. Brendan makes sure you learn dozens of useful words and phrases that will enrich your visit to any country. 

Some of the most prominent content formats in his blog are “ways to say” posts and phrase listicles. There are also fun, bite-sized stories like “How I Learned French on the Toilet in 6 Months.”

For more serious language learners, Fluent in 3 Months offers “The Challenge.” It’s a full-fledged online course that will enable you to hold a 15-minute conversation in a new language.

  • How to speak foreign languages
  • Language hacking 
  • Traveling jobs
  • The Challenge online course
  • Speaking engagements

10. Cheapest Destinations Blog

Cheapest Destinations Blog

By:  Tim Leffel

Cheapest Destinations Blog   is one of the oldest travel blogs on this list. 

It is created and run by Tim Leffel — an award-winning travel writer and author.  

Tim has made it his life’s goal to help people make the most out of travel while spending less. His blog contains posts that teach how to spend your travel money wisely and how to make every cent count. 

Other than Cheapest Destinations Blog, Tim also runs a handful of other blogs on different, travel-related topics. This includes Perceptive Travel, Travel Writing 2.0 Blog, and Cheap Living Abroad.  

  • Travel budgeting
  • Influencer marketing through 360 Degree Travel Network

11. Alex in Wanderland 

Alex in Wanderland

By:  Alexandra Baackes

Alexandra Baackes created  Alex in Wanderland   for two reasons. 

First, she’s been dealing with a case of wanderlust all her life. And second, she’s a fan of a beloved, fictional character — Alice in Wonderland. 

Alexandra is originally from Brooklyn, New York where she purchased her one-way ticket into the traveling life. She now blogs about the best travel destinations, outdoor activities, and her personal, travel-related gear.

One of the things I like about Alex in Wanderland is the presentation and categorization of content. 

On the “Categories” page, Alex makes sure articles are well-organized based on topics like travel inspiration, activities, and planning. This makes it easy for her audience to find the information they need at any given time. 

  • Outdoor activities

12. Hey Nadine

Hey Nadine

By:  Nadine Sykora

Nadine Sykora of  Hey Nadine   is a popular travel blogger, YouTuber, and social media influencer.

Over the past 10 years, she has traveled across 55 countries, spoken on expert panels, and became a keynote speaker. 

Nadine’s goal is simple: share her travel experiences with the world and help others do the same. 

Hey Nadine contains a host of content on travel advice, hacks, destinations, and inspiration. As a seasoned YouTuber, you can expect her blog content to contain a lot of embedded videos from her channel. 

  • Video production
  • Advertisements through YouTube
  • Sponsored content

13. I Am Aileen

I Am Aileen

Just like Kiersten Rich, Aileen Adalid is another travel blogger whom I also featured in my top lifestyle blogs listicle.

Aileen runs  I Am Aileen   — an award-winning blog that discusses just about everything there is to discuss in travel. She writes about destinations, the best travel activities, foreign cuisine, and more. 

What interested me the most about Aileen is her blogging background. At age 21, she quit her corporate job, which only paid $300 a month, to become a professional traveler. 

Since then, she’s been on a streak of smashing goals and breaking barriers. Thanks to her commitment to quality content, she’s recognized as one of the top bloggers in Asia. 

  • Online shop

14. Wandering Earl

Wandering Earl

By:  Derek Earl Baron

Here’s a fun trivia about  Wandering Earl . 

Unlike most bloggers who use their first names, the “Earl” in “Wandering Earl” is actually a middle name. Blog owner Derek Earl Baron only thought that “Wandering Derek” didn’t sound as catchy.

Derek is a one-of-a-kind, adventurous soul who discovered his purpose as a modern nomad relatively early into adulthood. After graduating in 1999, he planned a three-month vacation across Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. 

That three-month vacation continues to this very day. 

And that’s how Wandering Earl was created — documenting Derek’s adventures in over 100 countries. He also shares valuable pieces of wisdom on travel planning, food, budgeting, gear, and so on. 

Wandering Earl has that “old-school” look and feel to it. On the plus side, the site’s design only highlights 

  • Working while traveling
  • Selling “eGuides”

15. Be My Travel Muse

Be My Travel Muse

By:  Kristin Addis

Be My Travel Muse  is a solo female travel blog created by Kristin Addis. 

She studied in Taiwan and kept an investment banking job for four years. The only problem was, her daily routine rendered her creative, dreamer side claustrophobic. 

Her first step was a one-way ticket to Bangkok — envisioning a life of writing and travel. That’s exactly what she accomplished with her blog, which now caters to millions of readers all over the world. 

Kristin believes that solo traveling is the best way for women to feel empowered and more confident. She prioritizes solo female travel tips on her blog, including guides on safety, packing, and maintaining relationships. 

Be My Travel Muse also has heaps of content on popular travel destinations and self-care for women. 

  • Self-help for women
  • Relationships
  • The Photo Muse Masterclass online course

16. Followtheboat

Followtheboat

By:  Liz Cleere and Jamie Furlong

Followtheboat   is a unique travel blog that focuses on a specific mode of transport: sailing. 

It is created with love by a travel writer Liz Cleere and photographer Jamie Furlong. There’s also Millie the rescue cat, which functions as a source of inspiration and encouragement for the blog’s human founders. 

Despite the focus on sailboats, Followtheboat’s content isn’t just made for sailors. The posts are tailor-made for travelers who also happen to be interested in the art and joys of sailing. 

Don’t be surprised at the humor and dynamic range of topics on the blog. You’ll find posts like “tools you need on a sailboat” and “is this the weirdest loo in the world?”

Followtheboat also has a library of podcasts, which record Liz and Jamie’s experiences on their travels. 

  • Boat maintenance
  • Patreon donations

17. Matthew Woodward

Matthew Woodward

By:  Matthew Woodward

If Followtheboat is about boats, you can probably guess what  Matthew Woodward   is a blog about trains. 

Not to be mistaken for  Matthew Woodward  the internet marketer, Matthew Woodward the rail adventurer loved trains as a child. He owned model railway sets, traveled alone by train, and watched shows about trains on TV. 

In his time as a geography student, he explored Europe with his trusty Interrail pass. He set his passion aside to focus on his career, which he eventually gave up to become a travel writer. 

Today, he blogs about railway systems over different continents. He’s also an accomplished author of three books: “The Railway to Heaven,” “A Bridge Even Further,” and “Trans-Siberian Adventures.”

  • Railway systems
  • Traveling by train
  • Selling books

18. The Opposite Travellers

The Opposite Travellers

By:  Ryan and Rachel Riel

The Opposite Travellers   were created by married couple Ryan and Rachel Riel. 

While both loved to travel, Ryan and Rachel had contrasting preferences when it comes to traveling. 

Rachel prefers to travel in style and luxury — through the accommodations and services offered by establishments and travel agencies. Ryan, on the other hand, leans toward daring adventures like biking and trekking — on $5 per night accommodations. 

The couple, however, utilized their differences as a selling point in The Opposite Travellers. 

As such, the website’s “Travel” section has two main categories: “Luxury Travel” and “Adventure Travel.” In other words, the blog has a diverse content library for travelers of all tastes and budgets.

The Opposite Travellers also boasts high-quality visuals taken and produced by Ryan Riel. All of the site’s videos are published on Ryan Riel Media — Ryan’s official YouTube channel.  

  • Content production
  • Social media marketing 
  • Influencer marketing

19. We Seek Travel 

No Particular Place to Go

By:  Olly Gaspar

We Seek Travel is an adventure travel blog by traveler and adventure photographer Olly Gaspar.

Olly has been living out of his bags full-time since 2018, turning his passion for global adventure into a treasure trove of useful travel guides accompanied by his inspiring photography.

His travel blog serves as a window to extraordinary experiences around the world– from backpacking in India to climbing Himalayan peaks, crossing deserts on camelback, cycling over the Arctic Circle, hiking with gorillas in Uganda, and even fighting Muay Thai in Thailand.

But We Seek Travel is more than just a diary of adventures. It’s a resource-rich hub where Olly shares his firsthand experiences to help modern explorers discover unique outdoor adventures, off-beat hiking trails, travel photography gear, and helpful accommodation and digital nomad resources.

  • Travel Planning & Accommodation
  • Outdoor Adventure
  • Hiking & Trekking
  • Travel photography
  • Travel Gear
  • Photography licensing
  • Adventure Photography shoots
  • Tourism development

20. Bucket List Journey

Bucket List Journey

By:  Annette White

Travel is all about adventures, and so is life. 

That’s the essence of the  Bucket List Journey   by Annette White. 

The blog’s tagline is “tools and inspiration to live your list.” It refers to a person’s “bucket list,” which is basically a list of goals and experiences they want in life. 

Annette didn’t always have such a positive outlook in life. She used to be diagnosed with anxiety, which caused her to miss out on life-enriching experiences and opportunities. 

Eventually, she decided that she’ll no longer become a prisoner of fear and uncertainty. She had courage and took charge of her life’s direction — something every aspiring blogger needs to do at one point. 

Bucket List Journey talks about bucket list-worthy destinations, motivation, money, and travel tips. Annette also imparts knowledge on people who also struggle with facing fear and making braver life decisions. 

  • Overcoming fear and anxiety

21. Migrationology

Migrationology

By:  Mark Wiens

When I first visited  Migrationology , I wasn’t sure whether to classify it as a food or travel blog. 

Then I checked out Mark Wiens’s “About” page. There, I learned that he viewed food as a way to connect with people in various cultures. 

And to be exposed to these cultures, Mark dedicates his time, money, and efforts to travel. 

Mark makes sure the blog only focuses on content based on his personal travels. It’s made for people who want to experience the flavors of the world — in person or through Mark’s posts. 

Apart from general food travel blog posts and city guides, Migrationology also offers readers a “Food Tour” service. It is the result of a year of research done by Mark himself — in partnership with  Bangkok Vanguards . 

  • Bangkok Food Tour

22. The Cranky Flier

The Cranky Flier

By:  Brett Snyder

We already mentioned a blog about boats and another about trains. It’s time to talk about a blog on airplanes and air travel.

Cranky Flier   is a unique blog created by Brett Snyder — President and “Chief Airline Dork” of Cranky Flier LLC. 

Brett has been fascinated with airlines all his life. When he was young, he collected airline timetables and even spent a birthday with his grandmother watching planes land. 

As an adult, he spent several years in the airline industry fulfilling multiple roles. He became a sales intern at USAir, senior analyst at America West, marketing planning product at United, and so on.

Today, Brett publishes his opinions about the airline industry on Cranky Flier. He also updates several series, like “Worst Airline Ever,” “Airlines We Lost,” and “Across the Aisle Interviews.” 

I’ll let you determine what these series are all about based on what they’re called. 

  • Airline industry
  • Cranky Concierge service

23. Never Ending Footsteps

Never Ending Footsteps

By:  Lauren Juliff

Lauren Juliff is one of those bloggers who already knew what they wanted to be from an early age. 

She dreamt of traveling to new places, meeting new people, and exploring new cultures.  Never Ending Footsteps   is proof that she accomplished all three. 

The blog consists of posts about Lauren’s fulfilling travels to different countries. But unlike a lot of famous travel bloggers, she also talks about the downsides of being a digital nomad.

Never Ending Footsteps has a “The Incidents” blog section where Lauren discusses the not-so-sexy aspects of traveling. She has been scammed, attacked by monkeys, locked out of her room, lost her passport, and more. 

Despite these incidents, Lauren’s love for travel only grew. Such experiences increased her wisdom and travel acumen — resulting in some of the most insightful travel articles ever published.

Lauren also helps her audience get into the world of travel blogging. Check out “How to Start a Travel Blog” for information on web hosting, working with WordPress, and so on.

  • Travel safety

24. A Dangerous Business Travel Blog

A Dangerous Business Travel Blog

By:  Amanda Williams

A Dangerous Business Travel Blog   is a straightforward blog made to help people travel. 

It is created by Amanda Williams, who is a former journalist with degrees in journalism, hospitality, and tourism management.

Amanda first got into journalism by editing obituaries — eventually becoming a copy and layout editor at a newspaper company. She started A Dangerous Business Travel Blog in 2010 out of boredom and her need for a creative outlet. 

Fast forward to 2024, the blog now averages over 340,000 page views per month. Amanda also maintains a strong social media presence with thousands of followers across networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

A Dangerous Business Travel Blog contains posts about travel planning, packing, destinations, and inspiration. Everything is sprinkled with high-quality photos to keep readers engaged and enthused.  

The centerpiece of A Dangerous Business Travel Blog is “The 10-Day Adventure Project.” Put simply, it’s a collection of ready-to-use, self-guided itineraries that will shave hours off your travel planning process.

  • Packing 
  • DangerousBiz online course
  • Freelance writing

25. Against the Compass

Against The Compass

By:  Joan Torres

How do you make a travel blog stand out?

Joan Torres has a surefire answer: covering the most unusual and “off the beaten track” destinations.

Against The Compass   is a unique blog that talks about the travel routes and destinations you probably haven’t heard of. It covers destinations that people don’t normally include in their bucket list, like Pakistan, Tunisia, Syria, and other high-risk countries. 

Of course, Joan makes sure to highlight the importance of safety when traveling in relatively low-popularity destinations. He has comprehensive guides for solo female travel, travel insurance, and general travel safety.

  • Travel insurance

26. Everything Everywhere 

Everything Everywhere

By:  Gary Arndt

In travel blogging, a picture is undeniably worth a thousand words. There’s simply no excuse for any travel blogger to forego the inclusion of visual content in their posts.

Gary Arndt’s absolutely nailed it with his photography work for  Everything Everywhere .

Gary actually won multiple, major travel photography awards — more than any travel photographer. His photography is so good that I suggest you check the “Travel Photos” page on Everything Everywhere.

Go ahead, take a break and thank me later. 

Other than taking breathtaking photos, Gary also publishes detailed blog posts about the places he’s been. He’s been on the go for roughly 9 years non-stop, which means readers will never run out of material.

27. The Longest Way Home

The Longest Way Home

By:  David Ways

The Longest Way Home   started as the personal travel journal of David Ways — a solo traveler in search of home. 

The blog originally started as David’s private, digital diary. As he journeyed across Europe and gained experience, it turned into a full-on blog with travel guides to specific locations. 

David finally found home in Nepal before traveling to other parts of Southeast Asia. 

He’s not the most nitpicky blogger in terms of grammar and spelling, but he’s definitely a brilliant storyteller. He’s also skilled in capturing and immortalizing moments into photos, which you can view on his blog’s gallery. 

The Longest Way Home has a library of content about various destinations, trekking, and travel planning. It also features in-depth travel guides to Nepal, Thailand, and overland travel — plus a mini-guide to Portugal.  

  • Travel planning 
  • Overland travel

28. Global Grasshopper

Global Grasshopper

By:  Becky Moore

Global Grasshopper   is a travel blog run by Becky Moore and her team of professional travel photographers and writers. 

Becky’s first adventure was a six-month voyage in Southeast Asia. She considers herself a “semi-nomad,” traveling from country to country while nestling in Ireland, Australia, or parts of Southeast Asia. 

Global Grasshopper contains posts about popular travel destinations, hotels, and other places that deserve more attention. Readers will also enjoy the blog’s posts about dog-friendly travel — covering topics like dog booster seats and pet-friendly hotels. 

Since the blog is run by a team of experts, expect the content quality to be top-notch across the board. The team also organizes boutique tours, which readers can participate in for a memorable travel experience. 

  • Traveling with a pet
  • Boutique tours bookings

29. Girl Gone Travel

Girl Gone Travel

By:  Carol Cain

Carol Cain is an accomplished professional in the field of communications. She is a social media marketing expert, public speaker, branding agency owner, and award-winning travel blogger.

Girl Gone Travel   is the result of Carol’s innate passion for travel and knack for digital marketing. It is a well-designed, engaging, and filled with quality content that shines with Carol’s personality. 

Other than her travel-related posts, Girl Gone Travel also publishes a lot of posts about blogging and online branding. This makes it an excellent place to start for hopeful travelers who plan to have their own blog one day. 

  • Destinations 
  • Online branding
  • Brave World Media company

30. HoneyTrek

HoneyTrek

By:  Mike and Anne Howard

Believe it or not,  HoneyTrek   is a travel blog about a honeymoon.

Yes — it’s probably the longest honeymoon ever.

Founders Mike and Anne Howard are a power couple with skills that can make any blog great. Anne is a former magazine editor whereas Mike’s a veteran digital media strategist and photographer. 

Together, they’ve honeymooned to over seven continents and 60 countries while creating the most romantic travel blog in the process. 

HoneyTrek contains a collection of posts about their travel destinations, experiences, and travel tips for all budgets. They also wrote two successful books: “Comfortably Wild” and “Ultimate Journeys for Two.” 

  • Travel budgeting 
  • Travel skills

31. Oneika The Traveller

Oneika The Traveller

By:  Oneika Raymond

Oneika The Traveller   is an award-winning travel blog by journalist, keynote speaker, and media personality Oneika Raymond. 

For those who don’t know Oneika, she’s the on-air travel and lifestyle correspondent for CTV Canada and NBC New York. Even more impressively, her blog won her a gold medal in the 2018 SATW Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism competition.

Oneika talks about travel destinations and her go-to tips for life on the road. With her experience in the field of journalism, she’s definitely one of the most engaging storytellers on this list.

  • Fashion and style while traveling
  • Traveling as a minority
  • Personal opinions
  • Social media marketing

32. The Adventurists

The Adventurists

By:  Tom Morgan

The Adventurists   is hands down one of the most well-designed travel blogs in this post. 

The blog proves that integrating tons of video content into one page doesn’t have to affect its loading speed. In fact, the site loads surprisingly fast despite having several video panels on the homepage.

I’m not going to delve too deeply into this technical feat. What I’m going to focus on, however, is the brilliant team behind The Adventurists. 

The site is founded by “Chief Idiot” — Tom Morgan. Apparently, most of the crazy ideas featured on the blog were his. 

Every page on the site reflects Morgan and his team’s wackiness and passion for great adventures. They do, host, and document daring outdoor activities on air, land, and sea — plus, a whole lot of charity.

Their audience can also participate in these activities, which can be held in various parts of the globe. The “Monkey Run,” for example, is an event where participants race through dirt trails on tiny bikes.

The bottom line is, it’s hard to come up with unique ideas that set you apart in the blogging landscape. The Adventurists, on the other hand, managed to do so multiple times. 

  • “The Adventures” events
  • The “Shop of Stuff”

33. Time Travel Turtle

Time Travel Turtle

By:  Michael Turtle

Time Travel Turtle   is created by Australian Journalist Michael Turtle. 

Michael was born to be a storyteller and he knew it from an early age. 

In school, he ran the student newsletter and contributed a weekly column. He also filled the role of deputy editor of a university newspaper. 

Time Travel Turtle’s contains mainly posts on the locations that Michael has visited over the years. 

Like most renowned travel bloggers, Michael captures amazing photos that travel enthusiasts can fall in love with. He puts some of these photos up for sale to companies who’d like to feature those locations or properties. 

Michael continues to explore the world as a digital nomad. He also shares practical travel tips so readers can experience these adventures themselves. 

  • Selling photography

34. Hand Luggage Only

Hand Luggage Only

By:  Yaya and Lloyd

Hand Luggage Only   is a hugely successful travel blog by couple Yaya and Lloyd. 

The site doles out travel advice, inspiration, photography tips, food reviews, and posts about must-see destinations. It also has a library of high-quality videos where Yaya and Lloyd describe their experiences in detail.  

Yaya and Lloyd started the blog in 2014 with a plan to share their travel stories with the world. Within a few hours, they published their first posts using photos they already took and edited. 

The moral of the story is, consider starting a blog if you already have a library of unused travel photos. 

35. Travel4Wildlife

Travel4Wildlife

By:  Christina Garcia and Hal Brindley 

It should only take anyone a second to figure out what  Travel4Wildlife   is all about. 

The blog is created by couple Christina Garcia and Hal Brindley out of their passion for wildlife. 

Hal is an experienced wildlife photographer for organizations like the Nature Conservancy Magazine, SEE Turtles, and RARE Conservation. Christina, on the other hand, is an experienced zoologist who worked on studies on wolves, cheetahs, and leopards. 

Travel4Wildlife’s goal is to increase awareness and increase the appreciation for wildlife. More importantly, it was Christina and Hal’s life goal to promote wildlife conservation through responsible tourism. 

Behind the scenes, the couple teams up to create compelling articles that focus on wildlife in specific destinations. The blog covers a range of species on different continents — from owls in South Africa to polar bears in Canada. 

  • Wildlife tour reviews
  • Responsible travel

36. The Insatiable Traveler

The Insatiable Traveler

By:  Susan Portnoy

Susan Portnoy, also called  The Insatiable Traveler   on her blog, is a seasoned travel writer and photographer. 

Susan’s last full-time job was VP of corporate communications at Condé Nast. When that door closed, she took on a freelancing career as she learned the art of photography. 

Fast forward a few years, and she has enough accolades to make photography degree holders envious. 

Her photographic works were featured by organizations like National Geographic and companies like Bing. She also won awards like the SATW Lowell Thomas Award and the 2018 Gold in the Muster Photo Competition. 

The main focal points of The Insatiable Traveler include destinations, cruises, photography, and travel gear. Susan also covers the safaris in various regions, like Tanzania, Namibia, and Kenya. 

37. View from the Wing

View From The Wing

By:  Gary Leff 

Just like Brett Snyder, Gary Leff of  View From The Wing   is an expert in all things air travel. 

Gary was named one of the “World’s Top Travel Experts” by Condé Nast Traveler since 2010. He also co-founded InsideFlyer.com — a community made by and for frequent flyers.

View From The Wing is a goldmine of timeless tips on airline miles, credit cards, hotels, and business travel. No matter your sub-niche in travel, I recommend checking it out for ways to maximize your frequent flyer miles. 

Gary also publishes posts called “Trip Reports” about establishments, food, and various attractions. 

  • Hotel reviews
  • Credit cards

38. Uncornered Market

Uncornered Market

By:  Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott

Dan Noll and Audrey Scott are a pair of adventurers, storytellers, and tourism advisors who advocate for responsible traveling. 

They created  Uncornered Market   — a responsible tourism blog — after leaving their secure and stable lifestyle in Prague. Prior to that, they lived in San Francisco and took a leap of faith for the sake of avoiding regrets.  

It’s clear that both Dan and Audrey believed that fulfillment can’t be found within the confines of your comfort zone. They explored, made connections, and shared their experiences through their travel blog. 

Some of the topics you’ll find in Uncornered Market are about destinations, sustainable tourism, food, and trekking. Dan and Audrey also write about personal growth and experiential travel. 

Uncornered Market is also a tourism development and marketing consultancy company. They help travel companies, destinations, and tourism organizations build their brands and deliver their message to a wider audience. 

  • Responsible tourism
  • Tourism development and marketing consultancy services

39. Jessie on a Journey

Jessie on a Journey

By:  Jessica “Jessie” Festa

Like plenty of bloggers, Jessica Festa needed a taste of life before discovering her true calling. 

In her youth, Jessie traveled to mostly cruises in the Caribbean and road trips in North America. She also experienced being a sightseeing guide in New York. 

Jessie on a Journey   is the result of her pursuing her dreams of getting paid to do something she loves. She now blogs about being a solo female traveler, blogging it, and profiting off of it. 

I’m sure a lot of big-name bloggers are all too familiar with how Jessie made the blogging vision a reality.

For a long time, she felt that the workaday lifestyle isn’t for her. It made her feel like she’s living everyone else’s life — not the kind of life she wanted to keep. 

Despite the disapproval of loved ones, Jessie decided to quit her secure job in favor of being a travel blogger. 

She was just as unprepared as most people before starting their own blog. The key difference is, she went out there and took her first step. 

  • Travel blog consulting
  • Tour company consulting

40. Legal Nomads

Legal Nomads

By:  Jodi Ettenberg

Back when Jodi Ettenberg was in law school, she never would’ve guessed she’d run a successful travel and food business. 

That happens to a lot of people, especially those who never thought of giving priority to their passions. 

It’s just a hunch, but I think the name  Legal Nomads   had something to do with Jodi’s background in law. 

Legal Nomads highlights destinations and local cultures just as insightfully as other travel blogs. What makes it different is that Jodi focuses on local cuisines to experience and tell the stories of each destination. 

A huge part of Jodi’s blog is about wellness and gluten-free eating. She then utilized her knowledge and experience to create detailed restaurant cards, which travelers can use when visiting certain countries. 

  • Gluten-free restaurant cards
  • The Legal Nomads Shop

41. Indiana Jo

Indiana Jo

By:  Jo Fitzsimons

Like Jodi Ettenberg, Jo Fitzsimons also used to practice law before becoming a successful travel and lifestyle writer. 

Indiana Jo   started way back in 2010 where Jo can comfortably type away her thoughts and musings. Fed up with her full-time job, she went out to see the world as a digital nomad.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Indiana Jo, however. According to her, she thought about quitting the blog several times before finally realizing that it’s a lifetime thing. 

Jo writes about her travel experiences, destinations, wine, and food. She also shares travel planning tips along with a long list of content about topics that personally interest her. 

  • Travel health and safety

42. TravelFreak

TravelFreak

By:  Jeremy Scott Foster

TravelFreak   is the brainchild of Jeremy Scott Foster who left America in the middle of a recession and to Australia. 

For a while, he racked up some savings as a traveling bartender. It took some time before he finally made the switch to be a digital nomad and online entrepreneur. 

Jeremy created the blog to help people create opportunities to achieve the fulfilling life they deserve. 

He writes about travel advice, destinations, gear, and ways to get your finances in order as you travel. This includes guides on how to land and keep a job abroad along with resources on reliable booking websites. 

I personally like the way Jeremy designed TravelFreak to provide the best possible user experience. Unlike a traditional layout, the site features a search bar so readers can jump right into the content they need.

TravelFreak has been featured in Forbes, National Geographic, The New York Times, and a few other big-name publications.   

43. The Everywhereist

The Everywhereist

By:  Geraldine DeRuiter

Before anything else, yes — that’s Rand Fishkin in the photo above. 

And yes, the next travel blogger on this list is Rand’s longtime sweetheart and wife. 

Geraldine DeRuiter was a former copywriter and went with Rand in his travels, which are often business-related. She then turned to the habit of documenting their travel experiences, which she described as “love letters” to her husband. 

Today, Geraldine works full-time on  The Everywhereist   — named by Time magazine as one of the best blogs in 2011. 

The Everywhereist contains posts about food and Geraldine’s travel experiences along with a comprehensive Philadelphia travel guide. The guide contains information on where to go, eat, shop, and stay. 

Geraldine also wrote a book called “All Over The Place.” It chronicles how she embraced her love for blogging after being laid off, which aspiring bloggers can draw inspiration from. 

  • All Over The Place book sales

44. Keep Calm and Travel

Keep Calm and Travel

By:  Clelia Mattana

Keep Calm and Travel   is a travel blog created by serial traveler Clelia Mattana. 

Ever since she was 19, Clelia is a certified sea lover and globetrotter. But like many travel bloggers, she was given a choice between a secure job and the traveling lifestyle. 

Clelia’s finalized her choice when she bought a one-way ticket to Asia. She then created Keep Calm and Travel to send a simple message:

“No matter what your age is, or your budget, or status, you can travel and live your life on your own terms.”

The blog’s topics include destinations across continents, photography, and travel gear. She also has a dedicated page for Sardinia, which is one of her absolute favorite travel destinations.

45. Practical Wanderlust

Practical Wanderlust

By:  Lia and Jeremy Garcia

Lia and Jeremy Garcia, who aptly labeled themselves a “travel couple” on Instagram, are the minds behind  Practical Wanderlust .  

Jeremy is a film degree holder whose passions include writing and directing. He also became a high school teacher who taught filmmaking and digital media art.

Lia, on the other hand, has a fashion design and apparel merchandising degree. She took on roles in corporate merchandising before becoming a business systems analyst. 

Why did I tell you all this? Simple: I want you to know what the pair had to give up pursuing their dreams of traveling. 

Practical Wanderlust’s goal is to help other people enjoy travel in the most realistic and sensible approach possible. The blog is filled with detailed content on planning memorable trips on a budget, where to go, and staying safe.   

Lia and Jeremy also host their own podcast, which is available on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 

  • Coaching and mentoring services
  • Sponsored podcast episodes

46. Expert Vagabond

Expert Vagabond

By:  Matthew “Matt” Karsten

Matthew Karsten, AKA the  Expert Vagabond , has been a travel blogger, photographer, and digital nomad for nine years.

He talks about budget travel tips, destinations, travel photography, and strategies to make the digital nomadic life work. 

Matt is a business degree holder who spent time freelancing as a nightlife and event photographer. While he admits it was fun, he knew that he wants and deserves something more. 

After a year of downsizing his life, eating homemade food, selling eBooks, and saving every penny, he was ready. He set out to obtain a different kind of wealth — that which is made with adventures and experiences.

  • Nomadic living

47. The Voyageur

The Voyageur

By:  Pauline Chardin

Pauline Chardin is a France-based fashion designer, photographer, and art director. 

She always had a soft spot for travel — driven by her appreciation for picturesque architecture, landscapes, and good food. She started  The Voyageur   to help people view the world through her voice and eyes. 

The Voyageur is a simple, yet aesthetic website achieved through Pauline’s incredible photography skills. Apart from itineraries and posts about hotels, food, art, and architecture, the site also has a sizeable photo gallery.

Images are accompanied by a brief article that describes the destination’s history and Pauline’s thoughts and emotions during her visit. I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something about this content format that’s truly engaging and relaxing. 

  • Art and architecture

48. Amateur Traveler

Amateur Traveler

By:  Chris Christensen

Don’t be fooled by the name —  Amateur Traveler   is by no means run by an amateur.

Chris Christensen is a skilled photographer, travel writer, and podcast host. The site also utilizes a long list of monetization strategies that I believe every blogger should learn. 

True, he wasn’t the most experienced traveler when he started the blog. Before he created Amateur Traveler, he was a full-time EVP of engineering and operations for a company based in Silicon Valley. 

In his defense, he grew up in a family that traveled a lot to national parks in a trailer. He also learned a lot of foreign languages, which he believes is a window into understanding and embracing different cultures. 

Amateur Traveler discusses destinations, travel budgeting, planning, gear, and booking. The site also features a weekly podcast on the top destinations around the world. 

  • Amateur Traveler Shop powered by Etsy
  • Podcast advertisements
  • Social media and content marketing consulting services
  • Content writing services
  • Paid guest posts

49. Girl Eat World

Girl Eat World

By:  Melissa Hie

Melissa Hie is the “Girl” in  Girl Eat World  — a name that encapsulates what the whole blog is all about. 

You see, Melissa’s three passions are food, travel, and storytelling. She started the blog in 2015 as a digital diary for herself and friends who need travel tips. 

Prior to her blog’s success, she amassed quite a following on Instagram. This springboarded her blogging career, which she put in the back burner after focusing on her full-time career.

Girl Eat World is essentially a compendium of Melissa’s travel stories and travel planning guides. She also has an iconic style of capturing Instagram posts, which must be seen to be appreciated. 

50. The Adventure Junkies

The Adventure Junkies

By:  Antonio Cala and Amanda Zeisset

The Adventure Junkies   is definitely not your average travel blog. 

It’s not just about the travel stories of founders Antonio Cala and Amanda Zeisset. Upon visiting the blog for the first time, you’ll realize that it’s all about the community the blog has built. 

New visitors are encouraged to join “ Summit ” — a free community for people who seek adventures through travel and outdoor activities. There, members can connect, plan events, share posts, ask questions, form groups, and discuss anything related to travel. 

The Adventure Junkies also compile guides and resources about outdoor activities like diving, kayaking, mountain biking, and snowboarding. There’s also a section for visitors who’d like to learn about outdoor and underwater photography.

Antonio and Amanda started The Adventure Junkies as a personal blog about their three years of cycling. Over time, their readers began asking questions on how they can plan their own adventures. 

The couple then realized that they need to create something more than a personal blog. As such, they transformed The Adventure Junkies as a one-stop shop for adventurists.  

  • The Adventure Junkies Store
  • Paid digital guides

51. A Broken Backpack Travel Blog

A Broken Backpack

By:  Melissa Giroux

Melissa Giroux used to be a social worker who only traveled once a year. 

Melissa created  A Broken Backpack   a year after her journey in the Canadian Rockies — hitch-hiking from point A to B. She continued working on her blog as a creative outlet while working on a farm in Australia. 

It didn’t take long before A Broken Backpack’s popularity gained momentum and gave Melissa a new frontier. 

The website contains crucial tips on travel gear, budgeting, destinations, and the life of a digital nomad. Melissa also put together in-depth guides on travel blogging, moving to another country as an expat, and backpacking.

  • SEO eBook on Nomad Life 101

52. The World Travel Guy

simple travel blog

By : David Leiter

David Leiter is an American travel blogger currently based in Bali, Indonesia, with his wife Intan (who’s a Bali local).

They travel around the world and try to document the most scenic destinations by creating articles, photos, videos, and guides for other travelers.

David runs  The World Travel Guy , an adventure travel blog that he started when he was a solo traveler, but now covers their travels around the globe as a couple.

In total, they’ve visited dozens of countries, while also checking off some bucket list adventures like a Komodo dragon safari in Indonesia, the Mount Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal, and a bunch of world monuments like the Angkor Wat and Taj Mahal.

  • Adventure Travel
  • Destination Guides
  • Budget Tips
  • Travel Photography
  • Drone Videos
  • Affiliate Partnerships
  • Display Advertisements
  • Sponsored Trips
  • YouTube Videos

53. Life Part 2

Life Part 2

By:  Jonathan Look Jr. and Sarah Wilson

The last blog on this list that your best life can start at any time you choose. 

Let me tell you the story behind  Life Part 2   and the people behind it.

Jonathan Look Jr. and Sarah Wilson are both happy retirees with a simple mantra: “don’t waste your retirement.”

To them, retirement isn’t about being comfortable and secure. Rather, it’s all about the freedom to listen to your heart and follow where it takes you. 

Jonathan and Sarah met in Chiang Mai, Thailand where they both agreed to see the world as a couple. 

Life Part 2 is a mix of all things travel. At times, there’ll be a post about remote destinations and backpacking, and at other times, the theme is luxury travel. 

You will, however, notice that the content topics on the blog often revolve around retirement, minimalism, and travel. 

Planning to go on your own travel adventures? Perhaps you’re thinking of starting your very own travel blog?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a case of wanderlust or the desire to be a travel blogger yourself. 

The list above has some of the best travel blogs ever created. They can provide you with ideas and inspiration for your next trip or first-ever travel blog post. 

If you think I missed a great travel blog that everyone should read, let me know in the comments below. Good luck!

Ankit Singla Master Blogging

Ankit Singla

Ankit Singla is a full-time blogger, YouTuber, author, and public speaker. He founded and leads Master Blogging . With over 13 years of blogging expertise, he has assisted numerous aspiring bloggers in achieving their dreams of creating successful blogs.

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✈️ 15 Inspiring Travel Blog Examples in 2024

Photo of author

Looking for travel blog examples to inspire your own blog strategy and design?

We’ve collected 15 of the most interesting, beautiful, and successful travel blogs to showcase how each is finding success — and how you can emulate their best strategies on your own website.

15 Travel Blog Examples

Let’s take a look at some of the most intriguing and accomplished travel blogs out there.

  • Indie Traveller : DIY travel
  • The Hawaii Vacation Guide : Hawaii travel blog
  • Travel Hacking Mom : Traveling using points
  • Anywhere We Roam : Travel adventures
  • Bucketlistly : Travel guides and backpacking itineraries
  • The Blonde Abroad : Solo female travel
  • Salt In Our Hair : Travel photography
  • The Planet D : General travel
  • Expert Vagabond: Nomadic travel and photography
  • The Poor Traveler : Cheap travel tips
  • The Broke Backpacker : Budget backpacking
  • View From the Wing : Travel industry analysis
  • Charlotte Plans a Trip : Personal travel blog
  • The Barefoot Nomad : Family travel
  • Nomadic Matt : Digital nomading

We list certain metrics for each travel blog example. Here are the tools we used to find these:

  • Estimated monthly visits and Domain Rating (DR) :   Ahrefs
  • Content Management System (CMS): Wappalyzer
  • WordPress theme: WhatWPThemeIsThat.com

1 Indie Traveller

indie traveller homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎75k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎52

⚙️ CMS: ‏‏‎ ‎WordPress

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎ ‎Custom

Indie Traveller , launched by Marek Bron in 2012 after leaving his video game development job, is a user-friendly travel blog.

It provides practical destination guides, travel advice, and gear reviews, all inspired by Marek’s own two-year adventure, which started with a life-changing trip to Thailand.

What Indie Traveller Does Well

Marek reviews travel bags exceptionally well (it’s not an easy task 😥).

Here are two things you can take away from his approach to implement on your site:

He buys the backpacks.  Readers and Google know when you don’t have experience with a product. They won’t trust your reviews, and you’ll get lower rankings and earnings.

buying products to test

He uses product feature boxes. A product feature box shares pros and cons. It also has a button with an affiliate link users can click to buy the product.

Here’s an example of a product feature box on Indie Traveller:

product feature box example

You can create similar boxes with the free GenerateBlocks plugin .

Published book: Travel The World Without Worries

Mediavine display ads

Amazon affiliate program

Travel booking affiliate programs: Kiwi , Agoda , 12Go , HostelWorld

Travel insurance affiliate programs: Heymondo , SafetyWing

Travel gear affiliate programs: Camelbak , Patagonia , GoPro

Blogging affiliate programs: Bluehost , Hover

Beyond the Blog

Marek sends out a monthly newsletter  where he shares updates on his adventures, inspirational messages, and travel advice.

👉 See also: How To Write A Product Review (Templates & Examples)

2 The Hawaii Vacation Guide

the hawaii vacation guide homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎160k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎38

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎ Kadence

The Hawaii Vacation Guide  is a travel blog about visiting Hawaii.

Created by Jordan and Erica Fromholz in 2019 after moving to Maui from London, this blog is a unique and authentic guide to exploring Hawaii’s beauty and culture.

What The Hawaii Vacation Guide Does Well

The Hawaii Vacation Guide is a terrific example of a travel blog focusing on a specific destination.

Here are a couple of ways they’ve used this to their advantage:

Created Hawaii-focused itineraries. Travel itineraries are a hot commodity, and they convert best when your entire audience is going to the same location.

hawaii itinerary

Became the  go-to authority on Hawaii. When someone wants to learn about traveling to Hawaii, they visit The Hawaii Vacation Guide. For example, there are over 1.5k monthly searches for their website.

the hawaii vacation guide brand searches

Jordan and Erica have a YouTube channel  with over 100,000 subscribers. They post frequent videos on all things Hawaii travel, including trip planning, itineraries, reviews, and much more.

the hawaii vacation guide youtube channel

Sponsored content

Raptive display ads

Activity affiliate programs: FareHarbor , GetYourGuide , Viator

Accommodation affiliate programs: Marriot , VRBO

Car rental affiliate programs: Discount Hawaii Car Rental  

3 Travel Hacking Mom

travel hacking mom homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎8k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎50

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎ Showit

Travel Hacking Mom  is a small travel blog by Alex, Pam, and Jess — a trio of moms who travel the world cheaply using credit card points and miles.

What Travel Hacking Mom Does Well

Despite only receiving 8,000 monthly visits, Travel Hacking Mom uses smart monetization strategies to maximize their earnings per visitor.

Narrow focus on high-value market. The site only covers using credit card points for travel, allowing them to capitalize on high-paying credit card affiliate products.

affiliate links to credit card

Travel hacking courses. They offer a pair of expensive courses that teach you how to travel hack.

travel hacking mom courses

Consultations. They offer two types of consultations – a free one where they will try to sell you on a credit card, and a paid $99 strategy session for more general questions.

travel hacking mom paid consultation

Between credit card affiliate commissions, course sales, and consultations, a single visitor could earn more than $1,000.

Alex, Pam, and Jess host The Travel Hacking Mom Show  – a podcast that covers the group’s latest adventures and travel hacking tips. This helps them connect with their audience and boosts sales potential.

travel hacking mom podcast

👉 See also: Best Credit Card Affiliate Programs of 2024

4 Anywhere We Roam

anywhere we roam homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎125k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎57

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏Uncode

Anywhere We Roam  is a travel blog that follows the journey of Paul Healy and Mark Barnes, who started this site in 2018 to escape their day jobs, find an outlet for their photography passions, and fund their love of travel.

What Anywhere We Roam Does Well

The minimalist design on Anywhere We Roam is award-winning, snagging the best Web Design / User Experience award at the 2021 Traverse Creator Awards  and other coveted awards.

anywhere we roam blog awards

The color scheme and layout are minimal, with black, white, and blue accents coupling nicely with the spaced-out elements and palette-matching imagery.

anywehere we roam blog post design

The minimalist approach spotlights Paul and Mark’s incredible photography and keep readers scrolling. Images are spaced just enough so the next comes into view as the previous one fades away.

anywehere we roam blog post design

The full-screen image headers at the top of each page are also a nice touch, ensuring readers are met with a captivating photo every time they open a new page.

anywehere we roam blog featured image

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs: Booking.com , Hotels.com , VRBO , Expedia , Flight Centre

Transport affiliate programs: Rentalcars.com , Trainline.com

Activity affiliate programs: GetYourGuide , TripAdvisor

Paul and Mark share gorgeous reels and photographs on Instagram – many of which are related to recent blog posts.

anywhere we roam instagram

👉 See also: Best Travel Affiliate Programs

5 BucketListly

busketlistly homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎60k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎62

⚙️ CMS: ‏‏‎ ‎ LocomotiveCMS

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‎N/A

BucketListly  is a travel blog specializing in travel guides, backpacking itineraries, and photography resources. It was created in 2012 by Pete Rojwongsuriya, a web developer in Thailand who got fed up with his demanding corporate job. Pete has been traveling for 10+ years and has visited over 85 countries.  

What Bucketlistly Does Well

Bucketlistly displays affiliate links in a sophisticated, conversion-boosting manner.

These links are interpolated into the destination guides – extremely detailed itineraries based on Pete’s travels. Each guide features extensive original photos and detailed commentary on each location.

bucketlistly destination guides

Each destination’s category page has an array of affiliate links to relevant travel services for the destination, including flights, hotels, buses, trains, car rentals, and travel insurance.

bucketlistly affiliate links

Many of the travel guides also have embedded hotel recommendations from Booking.com, who Pete is partnered with.

bucketlistly affiliate links

Selling Lightroom Presets

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs: Skyscanner , Booking.com

Transport affiliate programs: DiscoverCars.com , Omio , Busbud

Activity affiliate programs: GetYourGuide , Viator

Travel insurance affiliate programs: Heymondo

Pete also shares incredible cinematic videos  on YouTube and travel and photography pins  on Pinterest.

bucketlistly pinterest profile

👉 See also: How To Start Affiliate Marketing

6 The Blonde Abroad

the blond abroad homepage

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎73

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ Genesis

The Blonde Abroad  is a solo female travel blog. Launched in 2012 by Kiki Rich, a former corporate finance professional who quit her job to see the world, the site helps female travelers prepare for their own travel adventures.

What The Blonde Abroad Does Well

Kiki has mastered the art of creating highly engaging and scannable content on her blog.

Check out her Mykonos Beach and Party Guide , which includes many readability-boosting elements:

  • A “party craziness scale” graphic
  • 1 image per list item
  • Bolded sentences to highlight key points
  • Aesthetic subheadings

the blond abroad blog post design

And when Kiki includes normal text, she uses short paragraphs that are easy to read.

The bottom line? Make your content scannable and easy to read.

Images, graphics, headings, and other elements can make your posts easier to read, increasing time on page and improving your rankings.

Tour company: TBAEscapes

Selling Lightroom presets

Brand collaborations

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs: Going , Booking.com , HostelWorld , HotelsCombined

Transport affiliate programs: Rentalcars.com

Travel insurance affiliate programs: World Nomads

Credit card affiliate programs: Card Ratings

Travel internet affiliate programs: Skyroam , ExpressVPN

Kiki has a successful Instagram account with over 500,000 followers, which helps her earn additional revenue through paid partnerships and promoting her tour company.

the blond abroad instagram paid partnership

👉 See also: Best Luxury Travel Affiliate Programs in 2024

7 Salt In Our Hair

salt in our hair homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎350k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎63

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎ ‎‎Custom

Salt In Our Hair , run by Nick and Hannah, is a general travel blog that started as an Instagram account. The duo left their corporate careers to pursue their passion for travel blogging.

What Salt In Our Hair Does Well

Nick and Hannah use custom graphics in their content to present data more effectively.

For instance, instead of an unwieldy bulleted list or table, they crafted an easily understandable, appealing graphic to display weather information.

salt in our hair custom graphics

Another example is this graphic in their Java guide, which highlights essential spots for an 8-day visit.

salt in our hair route guide image

You can use Canva  to add engaging, helpful graphics to your blog, even without graphic design experience.

It’s a great tool for creating custom graphics, as it offers a wide array of templates you can fine-tune to match your site’s branding.

Selling Lightroom presets , mobile video filters , and customized Google Maps files

Trip consults

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs: Booking.com , HostelWorld , VRBO , Trusted House Sitters , Skyscanner

Transport affiliate programs: SunnyCars , 12Go

Activity affiliate programs: Viator

Travel insurance affiliate programs: Heymondo ,  SafetyWing

Visa affiliate programs: iVisa

Salt In Our Hair started on Instagram, and the account  continues to thrive. Nick and Hannah have over 330,000 followers and get high engagement by posting video reels of their travel adventures.

salt in our hair instagram video reels

👉 See also: Amazon Affiliate Program Review 2024

8 The Planet D

the planet d homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎800k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎77

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‎Custom

Founded by ex-movie industry professionals Dave Bouskill and Deb Corbeil, The Planet D  is a comprehensive travel blog offering tips and covering over 110 countries. Recognized as top travel influencers by Forbes, the duo has journeyed to more than 120 countries across all seven continents.

What The Planet D Does Well

Dave and Deb demonstrate authority in the travel blog space with a few replicable strategies:

Prominently displaying the publications and TV channels they’ve been featured on, which includes National Geographic, Forbes, and BBC.

the planet d publications

Here are a few other ways they showcase authority:

They build social proof by sharing the impressive size of their audience.

They highlight their expertise by listing the travel awards they’ve won.

the planet social proof

They also share the many minor brands they’ve collaborated with on their Work With Us page.

the planet d previous clients

These authority-boosting strategies help legitimize them in the eyes of readers and search engines.

While it might be tough for a newer travel blogger to get featured on TV or huge websites like Dave and Deb, you can establish authority in other ways:

  • If you get a backlink from a prominent website, ask if you can use their logo in the “Featured On” section of your homepage.
  • Apply for travel blog awards. If your content is good and your blog is well-designed, you might win something!

Dave and Deb have a YouTube channel where they post their travel vlogs and share trip guides.

the planet d youtube channel

👉 See also: Best VPN Affiliate Programs in 2024

9 Expert Vagabond

expert vagabond homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎110k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎71

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‎ Mediavine Trellis

The Expert Vagabond  was started by Matt Karsten, a seasoned digital nomad who traded normal life for a one-way ticket to Guatemala in 2010.

This blog teaches you how to travel cheap, make money on the road, and take pictures while you’re at it.

What Expert Vagabond Does Well

Matt and his team include many relevant internal links in their blog posts. For example, their Best Travel Tips  post includes 47 relevant internal links.

expert vagabond post with internal links

These internal links use appropriate anchor text that explains what the other page is about, which helps Google understand your site better and improve your rankings.

Adding internal links to relevant pages in your blog posts helps boost your SEO and improves the user experience.

Here’s how:

They improve your site architecture . Google uses internal links to crawl your website. Adding relevant internal links makes it easier for the crawler to operate, which helps your SEO.

They help Google better understand your pages. Google uses the anchor text – AKA the text that a link is embedded in – to help it understand the topic of the page the link is pointing to. You can get higher search rankings by using descriptive anchor text in your internal links.

They increase the time visitors spend on your site. If a visitor finds one of your posts on Google, reads it, and clicks an internal link to another post, this sends a positive signal to Google.

It helps the reader. If there’s a topic that you think readers on a certain post should know about, linking to a post on that topic will improve their understanding.

Matt’s Instagram account  – which has over 135,000 followers – showcases his family’s latest travel adventures.

expert vagabond instagram profile

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs: Skyscanner , Going , Booking.com , Trusted House Sitters

Transport affiliate programs: DiscoverCars.com

Travel insurance affiliate programs: SafetyWing , World Nomads

Travel internet affiliate programs: Private Internet Access

10 The Poor Traveler

the poor traveler homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎550k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎61

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎ Bailey

The Poor Traveler  was started in 2009 by Yosh Dimens and Vins Carlos after a series of mishaps on their early travels. It’s a budget travel blog offering in-depth guides to help novices avoid similar mistakes and travel more efficiently.

What The Poor Traveler Does Well

Vins and Yosh use content templates to structure their blog posts, providing consistency and a time-saving blueprint across similar posts. These templates eliminate the need to create a new outline for each post, streamlining the blogging process.

For example, if you compare their Tokyo Travel Guide  and Seoul Travel Guide , you’ll see that the outline structure is very similar.

the poor traveler content template

The same goes for their visa application guides.

the poor traveler content template

To speed up your blog growth, create content templates whenever you’re writing a series of similar posts.

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs: Skyscanner , Agoda

Activity affiliate programs: Klook

Tip requests

Vins and Josh run a popular YouTube channel  with over 150,000 subscribers, where they share weekly videos about their latest travels.

the poor traveler youtube channel

11 The Broke Backpacker

the broke backpacker homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎500k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎69

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎‏‏‎ Custom

The Broke Backpacker , created by adventurer Will Hatton, started as a collection of handwritten budget travel tips circulated among a small group of travelers. It eventually evolved into a major travel blog, offering detailed guides on how to travel the world for a mere $10 per day.

What The Broke Backpacker Does Well

The Broke Backpacker has extensive profiles for their team members.

For example, the  Meet the Team page  provides details about the founder, writers, and other contributors behind The Broke Backpacker, including:

  • Their name and title
  • Links to their author pages, Instagram profiles, and personal websites
  • Their background and what they do at the company

the broke backpacker meet the team

But it doesn’t stop there. Each team member also has a personal about page, which provides a more in-depth bio, links to other social media profiles, and a list of all the posts they’ve contributed to.

the broke backpacker author bio

These pages are important for two reasons:

They let you showcase your team’s expertise and build trust with readers and Google.

They humanize your website and help build an emotional connection with readers.

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs: Booking.com , HostelWorld , Skyscanner

Travel insurance affiliate programs: World Nomads , SafetyWing , Heymondo , Faye , RentalCover , Columbus Direct , Gadget Cover

Travel gear affiliate programs: REI , Nomatic , Kodiak Leather , TropicFeel , Mahi Leather , WANDRD

The Broke Backpacker has a Pinterest account that sends traffic to individual blog posts.  

the broke backpacker pinterest images

👉 See also:   19 Killer About Me Page Examples

12 View From the Wing

view from the wing homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎72k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎70

View From the Wing  is a travel blog created in 2002 by Gary Leff, known as “the godfather of the frequent flyer hobby.” He offers expert travel advice, credit card tips, analysis of the current state of the travel industry, and deep-dive trip reports.

What View From The Wing Does Well

Gary drives traffic to his blog by sharing new posts with his email list and social media followers.

He posts 4-5 news stories or opinion pieces daily. The mixture includes travel thought pieces, news about the industry, or interesting travel experiences submitted to Gary.

view from the wing news related posts

This focus on time-sensitive news content means Gary needs to pump out more content than the typical blogger to drive significant traffic.

However, there’s an upside: driving traffic through email and social media means Gary’s revenue is less affected by volatile Google algorithm updates.

👉 See also:   How To Build An Email List For Affiliate Marketing

Google AdSense display ads

Credit card affiliate programs

Gary is very active on X (formerly Twitter) , where he shares new blog posts with his 39,000+ followers.

view from the wing X (twitter) posts to blog

13 Charlotte Plans a Trip

charlotte plans a trip homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎16k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎33

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎Tempest

Charlotte Plans a Trip  is a small travel blog run by a Dutch travel blogger named Charlotte, who was inspired to start blogging when her fiancee Ries convinced her to travel journey beyond Amsterdam. Their first big trip was to Canada, and she and Ries have been travel blogging ever since.

What Charlotte Plans A Trip Does Well

Charlotte’s blog is multi-lingual – she offers Dutch and English versions. You can toggle between them on the home page.

She’s essentially created two versions of her website. Her Dutch pages have different URLs than their English counterparts, and Google indexes them as separate pages.

charlotte plans a trip multilingual posts

The main benefit of this is a substantial traffic increase. Ahrefs shows that 40% of her traffic comes from Netherlands-based visitors.

charlotte plans a trip site traffic from different countries

This isn’t an easy trick to multiplying your traffic. Multi-lingual blogs have some downsides you should be aware of.

Native speakers can spot weak translations. Computer translations are getting pretty good, but native speakers will often be able to tell when a translation has been computer-generated. Don’t do this unless you are fluent in the language you’re translating to.

Non-English websites don’t make as much money. The highest-earning market for most blogs is the United States, where most people speak English.

It’s harder to build and maintain an audience. If you have audiences in 2-3 languages, you’ll have a harder time creating content for all of them.

Keywords don’t often translate between languages. Just because English speakers search for something on Google doesn’t mean Spanish speakers are also searching for it.

There’s definitely potential here – just know the limitations you’ll be up against.

If you want to create a multi-lingual blog, I recommend the WordPress Multilingual plugin .

👉 See also:   Best Blogging Platforms To Make Money in 2024

Charlotte has a  small following on Instagram , where she shares her life, travels, and latest blog posts.

charlotte plans a trip instagram account

Brand collaboration

Travel consults

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs:   Skyscanner , Booking.com

14 The Barefoot Nomad

the barefoot nomad homepage

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎24k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎51

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎ ‎ Valenti

Launched in 2009 by Charles and Micki Kosman, The Barefoot Nomad  is a comprehensive family travel blog. Initially documenting the couple’s travels in Southeast Asia, the blog evolved to cover global destinations and kid-friendly travel upon their children’s arrival.

What The Barefoot Nomad Does Well

The Barefoot Nomad allows comments on their posts, which has spawned many rich discussions and added beyond the original post content.

the barefoot nomad post with comments

The responses from Micki and Charles aren’t brief “Thanks for reading!” messages either. Their replies are detailed and thoughtful, ensuring the commenter and anyone else who visits the comments gets a helpful answer.

Allowing comments on your blog posts has a few benefits:

Improves search rankings. Google favors user-generated content (UGC) in blog posts, like comments, as it offers diverse viewpoints. This is why UGC-heavy sites like Reddit and Quora perform well in search results.

Fills gaps in your content. If you forget to address an important point in your post, readers may comment about it. You can fill the gap with a thoughtful reply and an update to your post.

Lets you appear involved in your community. Responding to comments shows you’re engaged and willing to take the time to speak directly to audience members.

However, there are some downsides. Most of the comments you get will be spam, and you’ll have to moderate every comment. You’ll also have to spend time replying to comments.

If you want to add comments to your travel blog, consider the wpDiscuz  plugin. You should also use the Akismet Anti-spam plugin .

Micki and Charles have an Instagram account, which they use to review and promote travel, tech, and food products.

the barefoot nomad instgram

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs:   Skyscanner , Booking.com , Expedia

Travel insurance affiliate programs:   SafetyWing

15 Nomadic Matt

simple travel blog

📈 Traffic: ‏‏‎ ‎590k monthly visits

💪 DR: ‏‏‎ ‎78

🎨 Theme: ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎Custom

Nomadic Matt  is a travel blog that helps people travel on a budget. It was founded in 2008 by Matt Kepnes after a trip to Thailand inspired him to leave his dull cubicle job and explore the world.

He and his team share money-saving travel tips, low-cost destinations, and other practical advice that enables everyone to travel to amazing places.

What Nomadic Matt Does Well

Nomadic Matt has extensive schema markup , which is structured data you can add to a site’s HTML to help search engines better understand the content on the page.

Here’s what the schema on NomadicMatt looks like:

simple travel blog

Adding schema to your blog is helpful because it ensures web crawlers – programs that Google and other search engines use to analyze websites – don’t misinterpret your content.

Most blogs contain some basic schema due to their themes or SEO plugins. However, the schema in Matt’s posts goes far beyond what a typical blog includes. 

For example, some of the schema types in his blog posts include:

  • Author: Shares information about the author of the post
  • Organization: Explains who owns the website
  • Logo: Shares the website’s logo image
  • mainEntityOfPage: Indicates the primary topic of a page

He also ensures that all of the sub-schema markup included in these major schema types are filled out. Some sub-schema types include:

  • sameAs: Provides URLs of related or identical entities across the web
  • Description: Offers a summary or explanation of the content or entity
  • inLanguage: Specifies the language in which the content is written
  • primaryImageOfPage: Indicates the main image featured on the page
  • wordCount: Specifies the total number of words present in the content of the page

You can use an SEO plugin like RankMath  to fill out as many schemas as possible. The easier you make it for Google to understand your page, the better your content will rank.

👉 See also: 10 Types of Blogs That Make Money in 2024  

Matt converts readers to email list subscribers with a newsletter signup box and engages them with frequent emails containing beginner-friendly travel tips.

His welcome email sequence sends out 12 emails in less than a month!

simple travel blog

Published book: Ten Years A Nomad

Travel guidebooks

Blogging course

Travel writing course

Flights & accommodation affiliate programs:   Skyscanner , Booking.com , Going , HostelWorld , Agoda , Trusted House Sitters , Hostel Pass

Travel insurance affiliate programs:   SafetyWing , Medjet , InsureMyTrip

Credit card affiliate programs:   Card Ratings , Bilt

Activity affiliate programs:   Walks , Devour Tours , GetYourGuide , Eatwith

Travel gear affiliate programs: REI , LifeStraw , Patagonia

Transport affiliate programs:   RVshare , DiscoverCars.com , Japan Rail Pass

Travel job affiliate programs:   Worldpackers , myTEFL

Blogging affiliate programs:   HostGator , ConvertKit

What Does A Successful Travel Blog Include?

While there are many ways to build a successful travel blog, our analysis has revealed a few key components that nearly every great blog has.

Leverage personal experience.  You need to have personal experience with the destination or topic being covered. It’s obvious when the person writing about a location has never been there, and both readers and search engines will take notice.

Run display ads. Nearly every blog discussed was running display ads, and most were running Mediavine or Raptive . It’s a simple way to add revenue that will have little effect on your other blog monetization methods .

Have a coherent theme. Successful travel blogs typically focus on the travels of 1-2 people or a specific destination. More general sites without a connection to a person or a destination will struggle with branding and SEO.

Make social media accounts. Building an Instagram, YouTube, or Pinterest account in the visual-heavy travel niche adds authenticity and provides a new traffic channel.

Take great pictures.  The more impressive your images, the better the impression visitors will have on your site. If they’re really good, you can even sell photography gear and lightroom presets!

Recommend booking services. Every blog on this list recommends at least one booking service. Anyone interested in traveling will need these, and you’re missing out on revenue if you’re not pushing them to your preferred provider. To view the best options, read our list of hotel affiliate programs and airline affiliate programs .

If you do these 5 things, you’re well on your way to building a booming travel blog!

Making a successful travel blog is incredibly lucrative. In fact, our affiliate marketing statistics  show that travel is one of the three most profitable niches, with the average person earning $13,847 per month.

However, with great reward comes high competition – especially in the world of blogging.

Here at Authority Hacker, we’ve spent 10+ years helping more than 14,000 students – build their own successful blogs – including many travel blogs.

To help you get an edge on the competition, we’ve distilled our most essential blog-building knowledge into a free training.

In this training, you’ll learn the seven insider secrets that make new blogs 83% more successful.

Join the free training now.

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The 50 Best Travel Blogs & What You Can Learn From Them

Travel blogs have become a very popular and lucrative niche over the last several years. Even with the challenges of COVID-19 and a dramatic drop in overall travel, the opportunities for the next several years are incredible. Statistics show that over 80% of travel planning is done online these days, and more than half of travel bloggers operate more than a single site. This highlights not only the demand but also the need to diversify your offerings as a blogger.

Given the current travel restrictions around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, now’s the time for travel bloggers to focus on marketing their blogs and growing their audience. There are lots of ways to promote your travel blog, too, from effective content marketing strategies to social media marketing , paid social media ads , and more.

It’s not just about growing traffic to your travel blog, but monetizing it, too. After all, you need a way to fund all those globe-trotting adventures. Renting out your pad while you’re on a travel journey? Install an Airbnb follow button on your travel blog so visitors can save your Airbnb experience, listing, or other pages. Travel bloggers who offer guided tours of their cities or other experiences for travelers can install the TripAdvisor follow button , which enables blog visitors to save your TripAdvisor listing or experience.

In this post, we’ve compiled a list of the 50 best travel blogs that can inspire your own work. Creating a content and business strategy for a blog can be tough, and it is always helpful to learn from other leaders and influencers in the space. You’ll find a diverse mix of sub-niches in the list, including sites that focus on travel photography, retirement travel, and solo female travel. The travel blogs featured below aren’t ranked or rated in any particular way but are listed alphabetically.

1. Adventurous Kate  

@adventurouskate

Kate McCulley has traveled to 83 countries so far and her blog, Adventurous Kate, is a great resource for anyone looking to travel and turn their passion into a full-time business. Her target audience is independent women and she covers topics like travel resources, destinations, and travel safety. To help connect with her audience, Kate also publishes a monthly recap where she talks about highlights and key learnings from each period of travel.

What you can learn from Adventurous Kate:

  • Why you need to target your blog for a very specific audience
  • How to balance informative posts and personal posts to keep your content interesting
  • Ideas for taking great pictures while traveling that are interesting and authentic

2. Against the Compass

@AgainstCompass

Against the Compass, from Joan Torres, focuses on off-the-beaten-path destinations that may be overlooked by other sources. Joan is from Spain, and he has a great “start here” page that explains his motivations and goals for his travel blog. He strives to provide unique content that can’t be found anywhere else, including detailed guides for many destinations in the Middle East.

What you can learn from Against the Compass:

  • How focusing on specific countries can help differentiate you from other travelers
  • Why travel insurance is a very popular topic today
  • Setting up a travel blog to support multiple languages

3. Along Dusty Roads

@alongdustyroads

Along Dusty Roads was created by Andrew and Emily, a British couple who have been traveling extensively for the last six years after leaving their local jobs. As with many of the travel blogs in this post, the blog owners have many first-hand stories to share. This website is a reminder of how important it is to develop some of your own unique experiences that will be relevant for the audience you are looking to grow.

What you can learn from Along Dusty Roads:

  • How to incorporate dramatic landscape photos into your landing pages and posts
  • The importance of selecting a particular color palette for your branding
  • A great way to integrate your Instagram feed into your website

4. Anywhere We Roam

@anywhereweroam

Mark and Paul operate the Anywhere We Roam blog and have been sharing a lot of great content over the last several years. This blog features a lot of stunning landscape photos and does a nice job of highlighting excellent nature and wildlife destinations. One particularly helpful resource on their site is a ‘Book’ tab where you can view tips and instructions for how to set up everything you need for a trip, including insurance and activities.

What you can learn from Anywhere We Roam:

  • How a defined mission statement can strengthen your blog
  • The importance of highlighting any travel awards or mentions from authoritative sites
  • Useful ways to diversify your social media presence on multiple platforms

5. Atlas & Boots

@atlasandboots

Atlas and Boots was founded by novelist Kia Abdullah and photographer Peter Watson. This outdoor travel blog is the perfect resource for real adventures to immersive natural locations. They not only cater to outdoor adventure seekers but also have resources for finding remote work and balancing life and work while traveling.

What you can learn from Atlas & Boots:

  • Why a simple website theme can really make your photos noticeable
  • How to develop guides for hikes and treks that cater to outdoor travelers
  • Excellent ways to incorporate travel books and movies

6. Backpacker Banter

@stokedfortravel

Chris Stevens runs Backpacker Banter as a resource for budget travel tips and guides. He has been traveling since 2009 as a surfer, photographer, and blogger and has a lot of fascinating guides covering destinations like South Africa and Thailand. The ocean is obviously a primary theme of his blog, and you can really see how his branding and photography highlight the best part of life near the water.

What you can learn from Backpacker Banter:

  • How to balance multiple brands and websites as a blogger
  • Ways to offer exclusive discounts to your readers
  • How to develop a travel niche around your desired lifestyle

7. Barbaralicious

@bbarbaralicious

The site Barbaralicious has accumulated over 100,000 followers, and Barbara Riedel regularly adds new content to her travel blog. A native of Germany, Barbara has optimized her site for both German and English language audiences, and the blog features self-published books and additional services. This travel website is a nice example of how to combine professional offerings with a travel blog.

What you can learn from Barbaralicious:

  • How to format and release self-published books
  • Ideas for diversifying income sources through services, products, and publications
  • Using your personal story to make your brand authentic

8. Be My Travel Muse

@bemytravelmuse

Kristin launched Be My Travel Muse as a blog dedicated to helping others plan their dream trips. She actively promotes her brand on social media channels, including Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. On her travel blog you will find a lot of excellent resources for solo female travel, such as destination guides and shopping tips.

What you can learn from Be My Travel Muse:

  • How to create an immersive travel map on your blog
  • Ideas for how to build a compelling landing page
  • Excellent examples of YouTube video content

9. Bound For Nowhere

Husband and wife team Owen and Mak have been traveling non-stop for over 1,600 days and fully embrace the van life. They have a well-organized travel blog that includes details of their journey, van build, and recommended gear. This site is a useful resource for travelers who seek to live and work in a fully remote environment while visiting destinations around the world.

What you can learn from Bound For Nowhere:

  • How to create simple and cohesive branding for your blog
  • Effective ways to offer products and accept donations
  • Where to find affiliate opportunities in addition to Amazon

10. Bucket L istly

@peachananr

Pete Rojwongsuriya is a full-time travel blogger who has visited over 65 countries and written over 200 articles. His goal for the BucketListly blog is to help other travelers plan their trips in a way that is simplified and less stressful. The main way he achieves this is by sharing personal stories, including his candid experiences and failures that can help others learn from his mistakes.

What you can learn from Bucketlistly:

  • How to offer Lightroom presets as a way to increase newsletter signups
  • Why you should focus on the travel locations you are most familiar with
  • New ideas for creating a modern and immersive travel blog theme

11. Cheapest Destinations

Tim Leffel is a travel writer and author who is best known for his book, The World’s Cheapest Destinations , which shares the name with his travel blog. His work has been featured in multiple publications, and he has been interviewed by many other popular travel bloggers. The blog contains some informative posts that explain the cost of living in various countries and how to find great deals when planning your itineraries.

What you can learn from Cheapest Destinations:

  • Ways to promote travel books through your blog
  • How a simple blog design can be used to capture a large audience
  • The importance of linking to your other websites and offerings

12. Expert Vagabond  

@expertvagabond

Expert Vagabond features photography tips, travel advice, and guides for how to maximize your travel budget. Matt Karsten started the blog over 10 years ago and has been featured on some impressive websites including National Geographic. He is also active on social media and does a great job of focusing his travel blog around his core topics of photography, backpacking, and nomadic life.

What you can learn from Expert Vagabond:

  • What a professional theme and branding looks like
  • How to feature your most popular articles and posts
  • Great ideas for integrating social media feeds into your landing page

13. Follow The Boat

@followtheboat

Follow the Boat is the blog of British citizens Jamie and Liz who have been traveling in their boat since 2006. They strive to make their content very personal and realistic without sensationalizing the experience of traveling full-time. You’ll also see that they’ve integrated a web store into their travel blog to offer visitors various products.

What you can learn from Follow The Boat:

  • How to blend photography and travel writing in your posts
  • The importance of being authentic and candid with your audience
  • Ways to promote and sell products through your travel blog

14. Girl Eat World

Melissa Hie, from Singapore, is the blogger who runs Girl Eat World, and she documents her travels through the various foods she eats along the way. She focuses her social media efforts on Instagram and Facebook, where she does a nice job of cross promoting her work. Her travel blog is not her full-time job, and you can follow along with her personal and professional journey through the annual reviews that she shares.

What you can learn from Girl Eat World:

  • How an FAQ can help orient new site visitors
  • Where to place a travel map to share destinations
  • Why a simple website theme can help improve your content

15. Girl Gone Travel

@ImCarolCain

Carol Cain is the CEO of a communications and branding agency, and her blog, Girl Gone Travel, documents her experiences traveling with a large family. This is a great example of a travel blog that allows someone to highlight their passions and their professional work. The website has a simple design and allows Carol to focus on her content and promote her offerings.

What you can learn from Girl Gone Travel:

  • Where to place testimonials on your site for maximum effect
  • How to structure a page that offers collaboration opportunities
  • Why you should integrate Instagram into your landing page

16. Global Help Swap

@globalhelpswap

The travel blog at Global Help Swap includes travel snapshots and information about important environmental events throughout the world. Bloggers Karen and Paul embrace the idea of responsible travel and share tips with their followers to help them create their own memorable journeys. As the name implies, the site also has a listing for global volunteer opportunities for travelers.

What you can learn from Global Help Swap:

  • How to create a service-oriented travel blog that has a defined purpose
  • Formatting ideas for travel guides
  • Which social media platforms are effective for promoting a travel blog

17. Goats on the Road

@goatsontheroad

The 30-something couple Nick and Dariece have been working and living on the road for over 10 years so far. Their blog, Goats on the Road, has been featured in dozens of major websites such as Forbes and Travel Pulse. They started this website in 2012 and since then have expanded their staff to include an active group of content contributors.

What you can learn from Goats on the Road:

  • How to find additional contributors to create value-added content
  • Where to find remote jobs and careers to promote on your travel blog
  • Ways to define and leverage a unique website name

18. Gotta Keep Movin

Emma Higgins created Gotta Keep Movin in 2010 and has been traveling full-time since 2011. One of the unique aspects of her website is the inclusion of annual printed guides that document a year living in a particular destination. This strategy allows Emma to use her skills as a freelance travel writer to develop additional revenue streams through her platform.

What you can learn from Gotta Keep Movin:

  • How to market and sell printed materials on your site
  • Why podcasting is a great medium for the travel blogger
  • Where to find other travelers and writers who can contribute content

19. Hand Luggage Only  

Two college roommates, Yaya and Lloyd, came up with the idea for Hand Luggage Only while studying together at the University of Cambridge in England. Since 2014, their travel blog has been a resource for travel insights, photography guides, and food reviews. They’ve amassed a large following and do a nice job of developing engaging content.

What you can learn from Hand Luggage Only:

  • How to take vivid and interesting travel photos
  • The importance of including relevant category links on your main page
  • How to organize a searchable archive for older content

20. I Am Aileen

Aileen Adilid promotes the idea of solo female travel through her blog, I Am Aileen. Her site features destination guides that span all seven continents, and there are also detailed posts showing visitors how to create a successful blog and become a digital nomad. This a a well-designed and professional looking site that covers a large number of different travel topics.

What you can learn from I Am Aileen:

  • How to combine lifestyle and travel themes into a single blog
  • Designing an online shop for physical and informational products
  • How an online newsletter can help build your following

21. Legal Nomads  

@legalnomads

Legal Nomads started as a personal blog and has since grown into a complete travel website that covers topic such as writing and gluten free travel. Jodi Ettenberg maintains the blog and offers readers some amazing stories about resilience and how to balance work and life priorities. Jodi shares details and really strives to give readers a complete picture of the challenges that one can face.

What you can learn from Legal Nomads:

  • Where to find resources when traveling gluten-free
  • Useful ways to integrate an online shop
  • How to pivot your website to meet your personal and professional needs

22. Life Part 2

@LifePartII

Life Part 2 is among a growing number of travel blogs that cater to the needs of baby boomers. Jonathan and Sarah are retired and travel full-time to destinations throughout the world. They share tips that help visitors make the most of their retirement and inspire them to try new things and keep growing. In addition to travel topics, there’s also some informative content that discusses lifestyle concepts such as minimalism and budgeting.

What you can learn from Life Part 2:

  • How to define a specific niche for your travel blog
  • Why listing your experiences can be a great motivation for readers
  • Ways to develop your true purpose as a blogger

23. Lost With Purpose

@lostwpurpose

Alex Reynolds launched Lost With Purpose as a female solo travel blog where she explains exactly how to work and travel independently. The site is an inspiration for new travelers and also has a lot of useful tips and resources that anyone can use. She also offers exclusive tours in Pakistan, which allows her to spend time with fellow travelers and offer a truly unique experience for those who attend.

What you can learn from Lost With Purpose:

  • How to launch and market customized travel tours
  • Writing and formatting immersive travel guides
  • Where to place links for Patreon support from readers

24. Maptia  

Maptia is a travel blog that focuses on the art of storytelling. Each article on the website mixes vivid photographs with well-written accounts to really explain what the experience is like to visit different places. Visitors can sign up for a newsletter to stay informed about the latest stories, and there are additional resources available to explore the community.

What you can learn from Maptia:

  • How to develop a narrative style for your blog content
  • Where to find active contributors and develop a true community
  • Great ideas for creating a visual web store and selling photography products

25. Marriott Traveler

@mbonvoytraveler

Marriott does an excellent job of fostering an active community for their blog, the Marriott Bonvoy Traveler. The site is created as its own entity, and it has the look and functionality of a standard travel blog. The articles are well written and include photography that helps capture the essence of each topic.

What you can learn from Marriott Traveler:

  • An inside look at how a major company publishes their travel blog content
  • How to use diverse categories that cover many aspects of the travel world
  • Great examples of how to embed video content directly into posts

26. Matador Network

@MatadorNetwork

Matador has become a massive network of travel enthusiasts that includes millions of readers who regularly visit the blog. With a dedicated international team of contributors, this site is an inspirational example of using a travel blog to promote a true business venture. The team has also created an exclusive travel app, travelstoke, and you can view a selection of their premium shows and mini-documentaries called Matador Originals.

What you can learn from Matador Network:

  • The benefit of having an app that is associated with a blog
  • How to develop an international community of active followers
  • What can happen when you place high editorial standards on content

27. Matthew Woodward

@OnTheRails

With so many travel blogs out there, it can be a challenge to differentiate your website and make it unique. Matthew Woodward has carved out an interesting niche for himself and travels nearly exclusively by train. He has mapped his largest trips on the website as distinct itineraries that capture multiple stops along a journey between two cities.

What you can learn from Matthew Woodward:

  • The benefit of developing a unique point of view
  • How to promote books on a travel blog
  • Where to find new ideas for YouTube and Instagram content

28. My Life’s a Travel Movie

@AlyssaRamos

Alyssa Ramos is a travel blogger and social media influencer who documents her journeys on her blog, My Life’s A Travel Movie. She prefers to travel solo and shares a lot of helpful tips for other aspiring travelers who want to learn how to get started. There’s a ton of content on the website, and she also organizes group trips to interesting destinations.

What you can learn from My Life’s a Travel Movie:

  • How to use Instagram to increase traffic to your blog
  • Where to promote the products in your web store
  • Why giveaways can help you grow your email subscriber list

29. Never Ending Footsteps

@NEFootsteps

Lauren Juliff is a writer who has been traveling extensively over the last 10 years while running the Never Ending Footsteps blog. Along with destination guides, you will also find some excellent articles about working and living in many different countries. She also has an interesting travel anxiety course available to help individuals overcome their fears and reduce anxiety through traveling.

What you can learn from Never Ending Footsteps:

  • How to promote courses on your travel blog
  • The importance of using social media along with your website
  • How to be candid and authentic with your audience

30. NOMADasaurus

@NOMADasaurus

The NOMADasaurus website has been around since 2013 and has become the biggest travel blog in Australia. Alesha Bradford and Jarryd Salem use this platform to share travel tips and show their readers how to promote sustainability. The site is easy to browse, and they do a really nice job of combining interesting writing with impressive photography.

What you can learn from Nomadasaurus:

  • How to offer adventure tours to your audience
  • Why you might want to promote sustainable tourism on your blog
  • Ways to maximize your engagement on Twitter and YouTube

31. Nomadic Boys

@nomadicboys

Stefan and Sebastian are a couple who have been traveling for the last 10 years and together created a leading gay travel blog called Nomadic Boys. They offer tips and inspiration for members of the LBGTQ community and their international audience. This website is an excellent example of combining lifestyle topics with resources for long-term travel.

What you can learn from Nomadic Boys:

  • How to establish an email newsletter
  • The importance of networking for blog success
  • Tips for curating travel content for the LBGTQ community

32. Nomadic Matt  

@nomadicmatt

Nomadic Matt is a well-known blog in the travel space that has been around for over 11 years. Matt has been to over 100 countries, and his travels have been covered by major publications like the BBC and The New York Times. He has a nice mix of informative and inspirational content that helps visitors learn more about traveling to any place at any time.

What you can learn from Nomadic Matt:

  • How to launch and maintain a webshop on your site
  • The true value of community and how to maximize your networking
  • Ways to successfully sell guidebooks and courses

33. Notes From the Road

@erikgauger

Notes From the Road is an experimental travel blog by Erik Gauger. His content focuses on experiences in nature, and you’ll find a lot of stunning wildlife photography within many of the posts. He also includes several of his own illustrations. Erik’s goal for his blog is to capture true experiences that are told in a sincere way as they happen.

What you can learn from Notes From the Road:

  • The value of demonstrating authenticity through your blog
  • How to show a vivid picture of nature during travel
  • Ways to organize your travel writings by destination

34. Oneika The Traveller

@oneikatravel l er

Oneika Raymond is a media personality and journalist who has appeared on the Travel Channel and NBC New York. Her blog, Oneika the Traveller, allows her to share experiences from her travels to over 115 different countries over the years. She aims to inspire people of color and provide some important commentary and opinions along the way.

What you can learn from Oneika The Traveler:

  • How to balance blog content with a social media presence
  • Ways to present professional travel experience
  • Why you should embody the essence of the lifestyle you promote

35. Practical Wanderlust

@practicalwander

Practical Wanderlust is a blog by a couple, Lia and Jeremy, who strive to provide their audience with realistic tips and advice for traveling. They’ve created detailed guides for many destinations and also offer gift guides for topics like hiking and eco-friendly travel. You’ll find some great articles on the blog along with some amazing photos from many unique places.

What you can learn from Practical Wanderlust:

  • Using printable checklists to attract newsletter followers
  • Why hosting a podcast can help develop your audience
  • How to promote products through affiliate sites

36. Retire Early and Travel

@RetireTravel

Keith and Tina Paul created Retire Early and Travel to help people prioritize travel and find ways to retire early and make it happen. They work alongside major travel agencies and businesses to find experiences they can review for their audience. This is an excellent example of using a travel blog not only to engage with an audience but also develop a true business around the concept.

What you can learn from Retire Early and Travel:

  • The importance of developing a core audience
  • How to use your blog to promote travel companies and offerings
  • The benefit of focusing on a specific travel concept for your blog

37. Sidetracked

@SidetrackedMag

Sidetracked seeks to capture the emotion of travel within each and every blog post. They run their travel blog as a web magazine with a complete editorial team and regular group of contributors. The field journal gives you quick access to specific entries covering different locations, and visitors can also purchase printed Sidetracked books from the online shop.

What you can learn from Sidetracked:

  • How to run and operate an online travel magazine
  • Great ways to match your highlighted content with each season
  • Where to find great brand partnerships

38. Spin The Globe

@spin_theglobe

Sylvia Longmire has gained international recognition as a traveler who doesn’t let her disability hold her back. Previously diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Sylvia travels in her wheelchair and provides an intimate look into the challenges and potential for wheelchair accessible travel. She has also released several books and provides an impressive number of consulting and trip planning offerings on her blog.

What you can learn from Spin The Globe:

  • The true value of capturing candid and authentic stories
  • Ways you can promote books through a travel blog
  • How to embrace life and focus on your potential

39. Stuck in Customs

@treyratcliff

Stuck in Customs is the travel blog of photographer Trey Ratcliff, and he really captures his personality on the site. He has amassed an impressive following and shares a ton of informative tutorials and guides for taking better photos and videos. This website is a great example of being fully committed to your niche and developing multiple streams of income.

What you can learn from Stuck in Customs:

  • How to promote yourself and your work in an authentic way
  • Why you should use multiple social media platforms
  • How to develop informative tutorials and guides

40. The Barefoot Nomad  

@BarefootNomads

The Barefoot Nomad is the blog of Micki and Charles Kosman, who have been actively traveling since 2003 and sharing a multitude of tips with their audience. With an active community of followers built over the last 10 years, their blog highlights the importance of consistency and regularly posting fresh content. Highlights of their blog include travel tech reviews and tips for how to manage travel as a family with young children.

What you can learn from The Barefoot Nomad:

  • The importance of writing a detailed About Us page
  • How to develop your content for long-term growth
  • How technology is impacting the travel niche

41. The Blonde Abroad

@theblondeabroad

The Blonde Abroad is run by Kiki, who has compiled a diverse set of travel tips on her website. She promotes the concept of solo travel and the many ways you can define your own unique approach to visiting any destination you choose. You’ll find a nice mix of inspirational posts, guides, and planning resources on her blog.

What you can learn from The Blonde Abroad:

  • The importance of integrating lifestyle tips and guides for deep audience engagement
  • How to incorporate a web store into your travel blog
  • The value of an easily accessible “start here” page to help direct new visitors

42. The Points Guy

@thepointsguy

As the name implies, The Points Guy is a travel blog dedicated to maximizing the value of travel points and miles. Brian Kelly started this blog in 2010 and has since built a huge audience with over 10 million unique visitors to the site each month. On The Points Guy blog, Brian shares guides for how to accumulate and use travel rewards and also covers airline and travel news and other important topics related to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What you can learn from The Points Guy:

  • How to integrate two big topics, travel and personal finance, into a unique niche website
  • Why including relevant news topics can help keep your content fresh
  • How to set up a category for dedicated reviews for travel services and products

43. The Travel Episodes

@travelepisodes

The Travel Episodes is the blog of Johannes Klaus, who focuses on the idea of travel as as a medium for storytelling. His travel stories include vivid photography and well-formatted posts to really build a sense for what it feels like to visit these destinations. Each post is written in a long-form journalistic style and often includes stories that span multiple days of a particular trip.

What you can learn from The Travel Episodes:

  • How to create narrative-style travel posts that include relevant images
  • What topics and themes can be developed into deeply engaging content
  • How to maximize the value of guest bloggers and contributed stories

44. Time Travel Turtle

@michaelturtle

Time Travel Turtle is Michael Turtle’s blog, and his content reflects his background as a television and radio reporter. His goal as a blogger is to share stories from his travels in a way that inspires others and helps them plan their own adventures. One major focus of his site is the importance of Unesco World Heritage Sites and why they make such incredible destinations to visit.

What you can learn from Time Travel Turtle:

  • Where to place your most popular posts as a dedicated feed
  • Why integrating a clear mission, such as visiting World Heritage Sites, can give your website structure
  • The importance of including lesser-known destinations and stories in your posts

45. Travel Break

Travel Break is run by Stephanie Be, who took a gap year after college and has traveled to 42 countries since then. Her website has a very streamlined layout with content that focuses on planning, packing, and travel tips. She has also created an online shop and promotes a dedicated travel companion app.

What you can learn from Travel Break:

  • The importance of being featured on other authoritative websites and blogs
  • How to structure and promote an engaging online store
  • Ideas for how to promote exclusive travel services and professional offerings

46. Travel For Wildlife

@Travel4Wildlife

Travel for Wildlife is a nature travel blog created by a couple, Cristina Garcia and Hal Brindley. They not only share travel tips but also dedicate time to promoting conservation initiatives and the importance of responsible wildlife tourism. This website is an excellent example of how to combine a passion for travel with larger themes and trends in the industry.

What you can learn from Travel For Wildlife:

  • Ways to organize and share destination guides
  • A simple format for featuring your trending content
  • How winning tourism awards can help build credibility for your blog

47. Uncornered Market  

Bloggers and consultants Dan and Audrey started Uncornered Market to share stories from travelers and organizations that embrace the planet and promote responsible forms of travel. Hailing from the United States, they share stories that paint a more genuine picture of American life than can be seen on television. This approach helps them engage with an international audience and provides a strong base for promoting their consulting services.

What you can learn from Uncornered Market:

  • How to combine a travel blog with a commercial site featuring professional services
  • Why creating case studies for your blog can help you gain credibility with a professional audience
  • Where to place alert banners to provide visitors with urgent and important news and content

48. View From the Wing  

Gary Leff is a CFO and travel expert, and his blog, View From the Wing, is an inspiring example of a site that has a clearly defined, specific purpose. His main focus is sharing travel deals and advice for how to manage air travel, hotel, and credit card rewards. Having been featured in a number of television, radio, and print publications, Gary continues to expand his reach and share the latest trends in the industry.

What you can learn from View from the Wing:

  • How to promote an email newsletter to your audience
  • The best way to organize trip reports by region and year
  • Where to place your best deals when promoting third-party offers

49. Wandering Earl

@wanderingearl

Derek has been traveling full-time since 1999 and has spent the last 20 years traveling to over 100 countries. His blog, Wandering Earl, contains blog posts and travel resources that chronicle his experiences. By building his website around his lifestyle, he has been able to create an authentic identity and share content that truly resonates with his audience.

What you can learn from Wandering Earl:

  • The value of making a resources section a highlight of your landing page
  • How to get the maximum value out of a simple website theme
  • Where to plan travel tours as an offering for dedicated travelers

50. We’re The Russos

@WeretheRussos

The We’re the Russos travel blog was created by full-time RVers Joe and Kait Russo in 2015. They’ve developed an effective and simple brand for their website that includes a nice professional logo and basic theme. They also do a great job of embedding their relevant YouTube content directly into posts and mixing different topics to keep the feed from becoming repetitive.

What you can learn from We’re The Russos:

  • How to develop and promote travel books for your website
  • Why YouTube can be an excellent extension of a travel blog
  • Tips for starting your own blog and earning money while traveling

Studying these amazing travel blogs and what they do right can inspire you to create your own travel blog that makes a mark in this popular niche. Once you start growing your audience, there are many ways to monetize your travel blog and finance your travel adventures. If you rent out your apartment or home to travelers while you’re jetsetting around the globe, promote your listings on sites like TripAdvisor and Airbnb with our easy to install Airbnb and TripAdvisor follow buttons, making it easy for your blog visitors to save your listings or experiences for the next time they’re planning a trip to your neck of the woods. Not only can you install them in just minutes, but they’re totally free to use!

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A Broken Backpack

Complete Guide: Travel Blogging For Beginners

by Melissa Giroux | Last updated May 13, 2023 | Blogging

Everybody can start a travel blog. It’s easy to get started! Yes, having a travel blog is a thing. 

I started travel blogging in July 2015 and so far, I still love it! Being a travel blogger is a full-time job… even if you already have a full-time job.

Blogging is also putting yourself out there. It’s writing. It’s socializing. It’s networking. It’s promoting. It’s a lot of work!

Let’s see how you can create a travel blog of your own.

If you’re not sure if blogging is the right option for you, you might want to take a look at these options to make money while traveling.

Without further ado, let’s talk about travel blogging for beginners !

Travel blogger

Travel Blogging For Beginners Step By Step

There you have it – the simple steps to start a travel blog for beginners.

1. Figuring Out If Travel Blogging Is For You

First, you’ll have to think about your potential readers.

  • Who is your travel blog for?
  • What’s your niche?
  • Who would you like to reach?
  • Which kind of blogs would you like to have?
  • Which kind of blogs do you like?
  • What would you like to be known for?
  • What makes you different?

Once you answered these questions, you might want to give up… or keep going.

The thing is – there are so many travel blogs out there, so if you want to stand out, you’ll need to have a solid strategy including a niche.

Watch this video to learn if blogging is for you and what are great reasons to start a blog.

2. Pick A Name For Your Travel Blog

So, what’s the name of your travel blog? Make sure that the domain is available.

But, think further; make sure this name is also available on every single social media you’re thinking of using.

Create social media account everywhere: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest.

Try to choose something easy to remember, easy to write.

You might hate your name, later on, so make sure your idea is great, easy to remember, and suits your target audience.

3. Choose A Hosting Plan For Your Travel Blog

Unless you want to try blogging first, you can sign up with WordPress.com for free.

If you are planning on being serious with travel blogging, I’ll suggest that you self-host your blog and install WordPress.

You can also get your domain with your host!

Personally, I am using BlueHost . The opinions about this host are controversial, but I never had any issues with them.

Their customer service is easy to work with, their platform is fast, and if you use Cloudflare, you’ll be able to have a very fast website.

If BlueHost didn’t exist, I would probably try  Siteground as they have a great reputation too (a lot better than Bluehost, but it’s a bit more expensive though.)

Although Sitegound had significant issues in 2021, and entire websites have been de-indexed from Google, I’m not so sure it’s a great option nowadays.

Learn more about the best blogging platform to make money .

Go To Bluehost

4. Set Up Your Travel Blog

Once you sign up with a hosting plan, you’ll be able to get into your dashboard to download WordPress. Bluehost now provides an automatic WordPress installation, which makes it all easier!

I experienced this new automated thing when I started my second website Nomadlife101 . It was indeed pretty easy to use.

I’d say WordPress is one of the easiest to learn. It can seem complicated initially, but there are many cool resources online to help you set up everything.

bluehost bluerock

5. Design Your Travel Blog

Your website design (we call it a theme or template) is the first impression your potential readers are going to have once they land on your page, so make sure you make it pretty!

I signed up with Elegant Themes (which gives you access to a big bunch of different themes and plugins (a plugin is an option that you can add to your website to make it faster, better and friendlier).

A lot of people sign up with Theme Forest too.

Here are examples of what you can do with Divi (the theme I use with Elegant Themes). It’s a drag and drop kind of template which makes it super easy to understand.

It also comes with pre-made layouts if you’re not very good with design.

Watch this video to learn how to install and set up Divi Theme in WordPress.

6. Create High-Quality Content For Your Travel Blog

It’s time to work! So, what’s a great post? It’s a post that people are going to love.

You want to keep your readers with you, so make sure you have great content, so they will be willing to comment, subscribe, follow you, and share it with their friends/followers. This is how you are going to get traffic.

Do you have a shareable trigger? Can we all relate? Is this better than what you can already find online?

One thing I learned over the years is to learn SEO. Driving traffic through Google is one of the best ways to get sustainable traffic.

You have to create content that will answer questions, and that would be helpful for people. 

If you wish to learn SEO, join SEO from Scratch . This is my online course about SEO for bloggers. (And it’s affordable!)

7. Promote Your Content

So, what’s promoting exactly? Promoting is the way you’ll get your post noticed out there. Once you have your good content, you’ll probably need some readers… right?

You need to think about marketing/promoting strategies. It’s a lot of work. It’s hard. And all new. But if I managed to do it in English (not even my mother tongue), you can do it too!

Promoting your articles on social media is the best way to get traffic.

You can share your articles on Facebook, grow a Pinterest strategy (Pinterest is my #2 referral!), join many Bloggers Facebook Groups where we help each other to grow, and tweet numerous times about it!

Make sure you have a mailing list too.

simple travel blog

Final Thoughts On Travel Blogging For Beginners

Travel blogging for beginners can be a challenge at first. But keep at it because consistency is key when it comes to blogging.

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed with the travel blogging thing? No stress – I got your back!

Want to know how much I made with blogging? Read my blog income reports . You can also get in touch if you’d like some coaching. Alternatively, if you’re starting a travel blog, learn about affiliate marketing for travel bloggers .

MY TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

BOOK HOTEL ON BOOKING.COM

BOOK HOSTEL ON HOSTELWORLD

GET YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE

LEARN HOW TO START A TRAVEL BLOG

LEARN HOW TO VOLUNTEER ABROAD

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NOMADasaurus Logo

How to Start a Travel Blog (The Ultimate 2024 Guide)

Alesha and Jarryd

  • Last Updated: February 5, 2024

Congratulations, you’ve decided you want to know how to start a travel blog! Let us be the first to welcome you to the club. You’re in for a fun ride!

Before we start there are a few things we need to clear up about starting a travel blog.

First of all, it’s not hard. Second of all, it doesn’t take long. Third, it is cheap.

The difficult part comes in trying to grow and make money from your travel blog, but there’s a lot of potential to do this successfully, and the rewards are worth the effort.

These days we make over USD$30’000 a month from this website and our various media clients. In other words, we make a good living from travel blogging.

We’re going to assume you’re in the same position that we were when we first decided to start NOMADasaurus. One day we decided to make a travel blog. So we opened up Google, started researching, and became completely overwhelmed with an entire world that we knew nothing about.

Hosting, domains, analytics, content management systems, HTML, social media marketing, SEO – all these terms went straight over our heads.

The truth is that starting a travel blog is actually quite a simple step-by-step process, and there’s no need to get overwhelmed by it all.

Let us walk you through that process.

We’re going to show you exactly how to start a travel blog in less than an hour!

  • Pick a blog name
  • Define your brand
  • Register your domain
  • Purchase website hosting
  • Set up your host (we’ll show you how)
  • Install WordPress (the easy way)
  • Pick a theme
  • Get some essential plugins
  • Plus have some bonus professional tips to start making money asap!

Table of Contents

Tips For Picking A Travel Blog Name

Tips for defining your brand, domains vs hosts, our favourite host is siteground, managed wordpress hosting, step by step guide with siteground, step 3 – install wordpress, free vs premium themes, w3 total cache, google analytics, get on social media, make an about page, custom design your blog, network with other bloggers, don’t sign up for a travel blog course, start blogging, what you need before our ‘how to start a travel blog’ guide.

You’re going to need a few things before we begin.

  • A computer (not a smart phone).
  • An internet connection.
  • A credit card or debit card.
  • 1 hour of free time.
  • A delicious drink to enjoy.

You also may have seen these companies that give you a free website and only take a few minutes to setup.

Some examples are Wix, Blogspot, WordPress.com and others. These are absolutely fine if you just want to make an online diary about your travels, and maybe have a few friends and family follow along.

But these aren’t any good if you want to make a successful travel blog, or if you ever want to try and make money from it in the future.

Do yourself a favour and start with your own hosted travel blog from the very beginning. Not sure what that means or how to do it? Well, let’s get started…

Step 1 – Pick Your Name and Brand

This is by far the hardest part of starting a travel blog. Picking a name can literally take weeks.

This will be your online identity, and you’ll be telling people all around the world this on a daily basis, so make it something you are happy with.

If you want to start a travel blog about one particular place or thing rather than being the face of your travel blog, then this is easier.

You can be “Food Adventures In New York City”, and everyone will know exactly what your blog is about.

Example: Is your name Jim? Then perhaps something like “Travelling Jim” would work for your blog name. Say it out loud. Do you like it? Awesome. In fact, let’s use “Travelling Jim” as our example blog for the rest of this article.

  • Keep it as short and simple as possible. You don’t want to be telling people, “Hey, make sure you check out my blog, ‘www.jimistravellingtheworldforanindefiniteamountoftimestartingin2020-ihopeyoufollowme.com'” What a mouthful! If you can keep it between one to four words, awesome! Also avoid having a hyphen (-) in there, again for simplicity.
  • Give your blog longevity. Travelling Jim works well, but “Jim’s 2020 Travels” doesn’t. What if you travel in 2017? Same with “Adventures Of A 21-Year-Old”. That’s not going to work when you’re 22
  • Don’t limit yourself. If you want to start a travel blog about one particular place or topic, then go for it. These can be very successful in a niche market. But if you are travelling to Australia for example, don’t call your blog, “Jim Travels Australia”. How are you going to blog about Europe if you ever go there? If you want to have a general travel blog and don’t know what your exact plans are in the future, keep it broad.
  • Think outside the box. While you want to keep things as simple and general as possible, don’t forget that travel changes people. Don’t call your blog “Forever Single Traveller” just because you’re single when you started. What if you get a partner? Then you’re no longer the Forever Single Traveller. Same with something like “$1 A Day Travels”, because you’re broke when you start. Maybe in two years time you won’t be broke (and hopefully you’re actually making money from your travel blog). Reasons like this are why it’s great to keep it simple. This also helps with brand partnerships in the future, but you don’t need to worry about that today.

You’ve thought long and hard about it, and love “Travelling Jim”. Next step is to make sure it is available. This is easy to do.

  • Type in “travellingjim.com” into your internet browser. If nothing comes up, you might be in luck. If it does, it’s time to come up with something new.
  • Go to NameCheap.com and type in “travellingjim” into the little box. Hit search and see what it says. If it’s available, then the name is yours for the taking! You’re ready for the next step.
  • Go ahead and buy that domain on NameCheap. You’ll then own your URL for as many years as you choose to buy it for, and it’ll be quite cheap (around US$10 a year). If you would prefer to buy it with your hosting and have it all in one place, hold off and you can do that in the next step.

Bonus Tip: If “travellingjim.com” is taken, but “travellingjim.net” is available, DO NOT go for it. This gets very confusing if you tell someone your blog is called “Travelling Jim” and they accidentally go to .com instead of .net. Find something that is fully available.

How To Start A Travel Blog Name Cheap

You have a very important question to ask yourself: What is your travel blog about?

You’re probably thinking, “Duh, travel!” And you are right. But in this day and age having a “travel blog” isn’t enough.

If you have zero plans to turn your travel blog into a way to make money while travelling , then you can skip this part.

But if you do want to start earning money from your travel blog one day, you need to come up with a direction and style that will give people a reason to read your posts.

Don’t worry, your brand can change over time. Ours has! But for now, here’s some tips to get you started.

  • Will you be making videos or trying to take amazing photos?
  • Do you have a unique back story?
  • Want to write about the awesome food you find?
  • Interested in documenting environmental issues and sustainable tourism?
  • Are you an adventure traveller? If so, what kind of adventures?
  • Delving into culture?

The list is endless. You will get bonus points if you are doing something truly epic that gives people a reason to follow you. For example even though we had already been travelling for years, we only started this travel blog when we began our “Thailand to South Africa without flying” mission. That gave us purpose and reason to write.

If you can’t think of anything right now that’s ok. Just keep in mind that as your blog grows it will be handy to have a brand and direction.

Brand How To Start A Travel Blog

Step 2 – Get Hosting And The Domain

Now that all the thinking is done, it’s time to get started on the technical things. This is what will take less than 48 minutes.

Don’t worry, it’s not difficult and we’ll walk you through the process of how to start a travel blog from scratch.

If you don’t know what these are, let us try to explain them as easily as possible. Let’s go with a ‘house’ analogy.

A domain (travellingjim.com) is an address. A host is a house. A website is you.

You live in a house, and your address is how people find your house. In internet terms, your website lives on a host and travellingjim.com is the address.

In more details, a host is a company that has a bunch of computers (also called servers) that are permanently connected to the internet.

Your blog and all its content, pictures, videos, etc actually “lives” on your host’s computers.

When someone types in “travellingjim.com”, their browser (e.g. Chrome or Safari) downloads your blog from one of these computers, and opens it up on your reader’s device.

Don’t stress too much about all this. Once you’ve set it all up once, it will be a long time before you have to worry about this again.

We personally use and recommend SiteGround . They are our third hosts now (having previously been with Bluehost and Dreamhost), and we couldn’t be any happier that we changed over.

Besides being great for established websites, they are also perfect for brand new blogs.

They have incredible support, fast servers, an easy control panel to navigate and very high uptime.

They are also very affordable, and getting setup with them is super simple. They really make it very easy when it comes to how to start a travel blog.

We must stress this again – their support is amazing. We have lost count of the number of times we’ve been confused about some technical thing we’ve tried to implement on our site and screwed up, just to jump on SiteGround’s 24/7 instant chat service and have their experts fix the problem for us in a matter of minutes. This alone makes them the best company out there.

By all means, feel free to go and do your own research. You’ll find that most companies have the same prices on their entry-level plans (SiteGround is $3.95 a month) and you won’t likely notice any difference in quality until your blog grows.

But we only ever recommend brands that we have used and are happy with, so that’s why we’re going through the next few stages with SiteGround.

As we’re going to go with WordPress (the best option by far), it’s good to get a dedicated and managed WordPress hosting solution.

What this means is that your host and server is optimised to run WordPress efficiently and with no issues.

Luckily SiteGround has a spectacular Managed WordPress Hosting solution which includes premium plugins (more on plugins at the bottom of this article), one-click installation, great security and a bunch more.

And if you sign up to SiteGround’s Managed WordPress Hosting solutions through our links, you will receive 60% off the regular price. Amazing deals all around!

Note: We are not sponsored by SiteGround in any way, shape or form. We pay for our hosting just the same as everyone else does (and in fact are on their higher-end cloud plan due to us needing to trust the best host out there to manage our website). We just really, really love them.

We’re going to walk you through the process of how to start a travel blog step by step.

  • Go to SiteGround and click on “Sign Up”

Wordpress Hosting How To Start A Travel Blog

  • Choose the “Start Up” plan. This is only $3.95 a month and has all the features you’ll need to get started. If you feel like you really want to focus on growing your travel blog to more than just your friends and family reading it, you can go with the “Grow Big” plan, but if you’re happy to keep costs down let’s go with Start Up.

How To Start A Travel Blog Siteground Step 2

  • Choose the “Register A New Domain” section. Enter whatever your domain is (travellingjim.com), and click proceed.

Choose Domain How To Start A Travel Blog

  • Enter some account details and your payment options. We recommend paying for at least 12 months up front. On the $3.95 plan, that works out to be only $47.40. Even cheaper than $50! You don’t need Domain Privacy or HackAlert Monitoring, so feel free to unselect those and keep your costs down.

***UPDATE – Siteground now charges $14.95 a year for registering a new domain. Website transfers are still free if you already own your own domain name, which you can buy with NameCheap .

How To Start A Travel Blog Siteground Step 4

  • You’ve now come to a verify page. SiteGround will run a fraud check to make sure everything is all good.

How To Start A Travel Blog Siteground Step 5

Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of a new domain and host! At this point you will get all your login details for SiteGround sent to you in an email.

Don’t finish your drink just yet, there’s still a little bit more you need to do to finish starting a travel blog. And the next thing is to install WordPress.

What is WordPress we hear you ask? WordPress is a “Content Management System”, or CMS for short. Basically that is the system that allows you to put words, pictures and style on a website without knowing any coding or programming. WordPress makes building your website easy. In fact WordPress is used on 26% of all website on the entire web.

Now is a good time to mention that there are actually two WordPress’s. There’s WordPress.com and WordPress.org. WordPress.com is for free blogs, WordPress.org is for people who want to own their own blogs. You’re going to go with .org.

Installing WordPress onto your host is very easy to do, and with SiteGround it’s actually all automatically done for you with a very simple process.

  • Login to SiteGround and click on “Get your new site up and running – Set up in 2 min!”

How To Start A Travel Blog Siteground Step 6

  • You’ll get a popup with the SiteGround Account Setup Wizard. Select “Start a new website at (URL)” and hit proceed.

How To Start A Travel Blog Siteground Step 7

  • Now you’ll be asked what type of website you need. Select “Personal/Blog” and then scroll down. The software you are going to use is WordPress, so select that and move onto the next part.

How To Start A Travel Blog Siteground Step 9

  • Now you need to make up your WordPress login details. We recommend choosing something that would be really hard for people to guess, as this is the door to your website. So don’t choose “Admin” as your username for example. You will need these login details to access the “behind the scenes” section of your blog.

How To Start A Travel Blog Siteground Step 10

  • Now you’ll be given an opportunity to choose your web design template. This is otherwise known as a theme, which we will go into more in Step 4. Feel free to click around and see if you can find a design you like. Otherwise you can skip this part for now.

How To Start A Travel Blog Siteground Step Theme

And guess what – you’re done! You’ll get a very satisfying “Congratulations” with a big tick, and all your login credentials. We suggest you write these down somewhere safe.

How To Start A Travel Blog Siteground Step 11

What now? Well now you want to actually go to your website. And as usual, this is very easy to do.

  • Simply go to the address bar in your internet browser and type in “travellingjim.com/wp-login.php”. You’ll be taken to this screen:

How To Start A Travel Blog Wordpress Login

  • Put in your login credentials and you’ll be taken to the WordPress dashboard. This is what it looks like (with a few less options on the left panel):

How To Start A Travel Blog Wordpress Dashboard

Welcome to WordPress! This is where all the magic happens. You will write your blogs under “Posts”, make things like your about page under “Pages”, change the style of your blog under “Appearance”, and so on. You’ll get pretty familiar with all this over the course of a month or so. But for now, let’s move on to the next stage!

Step 4 – Pick A Free Theme

You’ve got your domain, you’ve got your host, you’ve installed WordPress, now you need to choose a theme. What’s a theme? Well that’s what your website looks like when people go to it. Keeping up with the house analogy from before, think of it as all your furnishings and decorations.

Back in the day you needed someone who was good at computer coding to make your website look good. These days you just install a theme with a few clicks.

  • Go into your WordPress dashboard.
  • Look for “appearance” on the left panel and click on themes.
  • Activate the WordPress Twenty Seventeen theme if it isn’t already, and your website is officially up and running!
  • Now just type in travellingjim.com into your internet browser! There it is – how exciting!

There are thousands of themes out there to choose from. Some are free (yay!) and some cost money.

When you’re just starting out you should be pretty happy with just a free theme. But as time goes on and you get more content on your blog, you’ll likely want to upgrade to a paid theme. Why? They offer more customisation, they’re faster, and they look better.

All you have to do is Google “WordPress themes” and be prepared to lose the next few hours of your life as you scroll around. This all comes down to personal taste.

Personally for a few websites we own, we use the Elementor page builder theme . It’s a very powerful and simple to use “drag and drop” designer that is only limited by your imagination, but they also make a number of other awesome premium themes you can choose from.

 And guess what – you are now the proud owner of a fully functional travel blog! You did! If you want you can leave now and go get another drink. Otherwise stick around for some bonus tips to help make your travel blog extra awesome!

How To Start A Travel Blog

Step 5 – Download Essential Plugins

Now that your travel blog is fully setup and ready to go, it’s time to install some plugins. Think of plugins as extra additions to make your house better, like a security system or new light fixtures.

Again there’s thousands of plugins out there, but to begin with you only need a few core ones. To install a plugin go into your WordPress dashboard, look on the lefthand panel, click “Plugins” then click “Add New” on the page that opens up. Search for the ones listed below, click download, and activate. WordPress will do the rest.

This is an anti-spam plugin that filters out crap messages left on your blog. Don’t ask why (you’ll find out as time goes on), but you’re going to end up with hundreds of spam comments on your posts. Just install this plugin and let it do all the filtering.

You’re going to hear the term “SEO” a lot during your journey as a travel blogger. SEO stands for “search engine optimisation”, and that basically means when people go to a search engine like Google and type in something – for example “ things to do in Berlin ” – the posts that have the best SEO go to the top of the results, meaning more people click on them. It’s complicated and you’ll learn a lot more about it later, but for now just install Yoast.

Yoast is a plugin that pops up at the bottom of the section when you are writing a blog post. You put in whatever keywords you think you are writing about (like “best places for breakfast in Sydney”) and it will give you a list of things you can improve on to help make your post rank higher in Google.

Another plugin that is hard to explain for beginners, but essentially W3 Cache will make your website load faster for people who visit it. This is important. Install it and use the automatic settings until you learn more about it. One cool thing to note as well is that if you signed up on the Siteground “Grow Big” account, you also get a cacheing feature on your plan. Check it out.

WordFence is a great plugin that adds a layer of security to your website. This will stop people hacking your travel blog. Don’t ask why, but for whatever reason your blog will come under attack from hackers. Everyone’s does. So just install WordFence and let it do its thing.

Travel Blogging Tips

You’re now well on your way to being a travel blogger! Your site is up and running, you’ve installed WordPress, you have a theme to make it look pretty, and you’re ready to start writing.

Time to hit the world!

However if you’re still interested in becoming a professional travel blogger, or just would like to grow your travel blog, here are a few last bonus tips to help out.

Google Analytics is a program that tells you how many people go to your travel blog, and how they found it. When you first start blogging you’re probably really interested to know if anyone is reading what you write! Google Analytics will tell you.

Learning about how to setup Google Analytics and how to use it is an entire blog post in itself – something that we won’t get into. But you should read this article from Moz about how to set it up properly.

Now that you’ve got an awesome travel blog, you need to sign up for social media so people can learn about you and follow your journey! The most obvious ones are Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and, but you’ll also want to look into Snapchat, YouTube and Pinterest. Go to those websites and make accounts called “Travelling Jim”, and start connecting with the world.

One of the first things you should do on your travel blog is make an “about” page. Go to your WordPress dashboard and click on “Add New Page” on the lefthand panel. Name your page “About”, and write up a little biography on yourself and what your website is. Upload a few pretty pictures and you’re sorted. Then all you have to do is hit publish and you’re all set! Also make a “Contact” page while you’re at it.

Because you’ve set up your theme, you can go into WordPress, click on Appearance > Theme > Customize, then start designing your blog. Pick some colours, change your font, add some menus, etc. Don’t forget to design a cool logo for yourself! If you don’t know how to do this yourself, you can just go to Fiverr and pay someone a small amount to make something basic.

You’ve signed up to Facebook, so now you can start networking with other travel bloggers. There are a number of really good Facebook groups you can join where you’ll find a whole bunch of people wanting to discuss blogging, from absolute beginners right through to the biggest names in the industry. We recommend signing up for “We Travel We Blog” and “Under 1000 Club – Aspiring Travel Bloggers” first. As you come up with questions about travel blogging, we’ll all be there to help you answer them!

This might go against everything other bloggers will tell you to do. But trust us, you don’t need them. The most popular ones are “Travel Blog Success” and Nomadic Matt’s course. Guess what – everything they teach you in those courses you can learn for free on Google or by asking in those Facebook groups we told you about. Save the hundreds of dollars and learn by doing.

How To Start A Travel Blog

That’s it, that’s all! You made it to the end of the article. Together we went from being an absolute beginner to having created your very own travel blog from scratch! You deserve another drink.

There is only one thing left to do now – start blogging! Get out there, take some photos, write some stories and make the best damn travel blog on the internet!

Play around with the WordPress dashboard, go to the section that says “Posts”, add a few new ones and hit publish. We promise you that publishing your first blog post is a very, very exciting moment!

You still have a lot to learn, and that’s ok. We’ve been doing this for 3.5 years now, professionally for 2.5, and we still learn things every single day. This is an ongoing process, but you’ve made the big leap and landed on your own two feet.

If you have any other questions please feel free to email us. Also make sure to check out those Facebook groups.

Our other last tip is to use Google.

We guarantee that no matter what problem you are having, whatever segment it is that you don’t quite understand, someone else has been in the same situation and asked the same questions.

Happy travels and enjoy the journey! We’ll see you out there in the blogosphere.

Alesha and Jarryd

Alesha and Jarryd

Hi, We’re Alesha and Jarryd!

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Thanks for sharing tips, very informative.

Thank you for the wonderful guide on how to start a travel blog its must know for any beginnger thank you for sharing great info

This article is a breath of fresh air for anyone considering starting a travel blog. It’s refreshingly honest and concise, addressing common misconceptions head-on. The clear statement that it’s not a difficult, time-consuming, or expensive endeavor is reassuring for beginners. What sets this piece apart is the author’s personal success story. Making over $30,000 a month from a travel blog is not only impressive but also demonstrates the potential for real income in this field. The article’s brevity and candor make it an engaging and motivating read for those looking to dip their toes into the world of travel blogging. It’s a no-nonsense guide that leaves you feeling inspired and ready to take on the challenge.

Thanks a lot for posting such an informative article.

Glad you found it helpful. All the best

Thank you so much. We are glad you found the article helpful.

I really appreciate your blog it’s very useful, thanks for sharing. Nepal tour!

I can’t even begin to explain how this has helped me. I feel like it’s just so much easier to learn this way, and it’s fun. I love how interactive it is. I was able to find all the information I was looking for very quickly. The layout was appealing to the eye. I would highly recommend this website to anyone looking for this type of information.I just wanted to say thank you for the information. I am really enjoying it, and I appreciate the opportunity

Thanks for the great advice!

Wow, this is an amazing guide! I had no idea there were so many steps involved in starting a travel blog. This guide makes it seem so easy and doable. I’m definitely going to follow your tips and start my own travel blog! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

So glad you found it helpful. Thank you so much. If you have any questions, give us a shout.

This blog is a great resource for anyone looking to learn more about the topic.

Thank you so much. We are glad you found the article helpful. 🙂

I can’t even begin to explain how this has helped me. I feel like it’s just so much easier to learn this way, and it’s fun. I love how interactive it is. I was able to find all the information I was looking for very quickly. The layout was appealing to the eye. I would highly recommend this website to anyone looking for this type of information.I just wanted to say thank you for the information. I am really enjoying it, and I appreciate the opportunity to

So stoked. So happy we could help. All the best with your website journey. 🙂

It’s a really useful piece of information. I appreciate you providing us with this helpful information. Please keep us updated in this manner. I appreciate your sharing.

Nice information

Thank you so much for this very informative article! You are an angel. I’ve come across many blogs and this has been the perfect way to help starters like me to start our blogging journey. I wish to see more guide and help from you after blogging. The how’s and what’s. Thank you and more power!

There is a sort of amazingness about going far away and afterward returning all different.

I completely agree with what you have written. I hope this post could reach more people as this was truly an interesting post.

Thanks a lot for posting such an informative article. I have just started my blog website and your article has helped me gain confidence about how to kickstart my journey. Your article is the most useful and motivating article I have found so far.

Thank you so much.

Glad you found the article helpful. That is amazing you have started a website. CONGRATULATIONS!!! It is overwhelming. We totally understand. We have found YouTube so helpful for even little things we could not figure out. We have used it so much and still do today. Many people are so generous giving information about different things to do with website development. All the best with your journey and a massive congrats again. 🙂

Thank you for this step by step comprehensive instructions to create a travel blog, the best one I’ve seen so far. Thanks for sharing your tips. And wish you the best for the next.

You are welcome. Glad it was helpful. 🙂

Thank you for a very interesting article. I greatly appreciate the time you take to do all the research to put together your posts. I especially enjoyed this one!!

Thank you so much for your comment Shiwani. We really appreciate your kind words. 🙂

Hello from Morocco. i like your blog travel it’s very important to have bloger like this and well informed about travelbloger went above and beyond the expectations to show us how to get something very important and exactly the kinds of things we most interested in, and so much more that gave us a really memorable experience that i saw here in this bloger.

Thank you so much for this amazing things.

Nice info. This is a very impressive post, Very useful information, it clarified things a lot for us. Thanks for sharing valuable tips. – Shirdi

Hey Alesha and Jarryd, thank you for sharing! I just started my travel blog and this post is REALLY helpful!

That is AMAZING. Congratulations. We are stoked for you. So glad our article helped. 🙂

Hi Alesha And Jarryd . Just a couple of quick questions……. Can your photography be copied/ download from your site or do you use low res images for the site to stop the practice? I’m not to keen on the thought images can be taken. And finally- do you film in 4 k or is this a bit of overkill and 1080 p is fine ? Thanks in advance. Jim

Hi Jim, how are you? Sorry it has taken us a bit to get back to you. Unfortunately our photos can be. Definitely not downloaded but people can copy them as low resolution. We have had many sites steal our images. We give them a chance to delete them and if they do not we open a claim with our imagery copyright lawyers. 1080 is absolutely fine for social media platforms. If you intend to film a documentary or event, we recommend shooting in 4k. We do shoot in 4k. Some times it is over kill but we know we have high quality footage incase anyone want to buy it. It is totally up to you and your shortage situation. All the best

Wow! super impressed! Very throw! 5***** Your professionalisms and willingness to share, is like a breath of fresh air. Now that I’ve read through everything, time to start. Look forward to future conversations! Thank you!

Glad you liked the article and we could help. 🙂

Excellent i really want to start this project. Thanks !

Let us know how you go Alex. All the best.

Thanks for some new information and ideas which I’ve not seen in other places before

Glad to help. 🙂

Truly useful piece of information. It’s good to learn the ways to improve a blog from top bloggers.

Thank you. 🙂

Thanks guys

An excellent post , and great advice – learn by doing I have just subscribed and will recommend your site

Thank you so much. Glad we could help. 🙂

How do you guys earn money from the blog?

Hi Danny, through many different ways. Selling our photography, affiliate links, advertising and companies/tourism boards hiring us for different things, 🙂

Great article full of useful info. Love it!

Thank you. Glad you liked it. 🙂

Excellent article, I need to enhance the content i have truly. I have attempted to blog on third part systems, it did just not transpire the true way I needed it to. But your website has providing me a hope to do this. I will be bookmarking your website and checking it out from time to time. Many thanks!

Thank you so much. We are glad to help. 🙂

Thank you for this step by step comprehensive instructions to create a travel blog, the best one I’ve seen so far. Thanks for sharing your tips. And wish you the best for the next. Cheers.

Thank you so much. Glad we could help Lorris. All the best

OK, so I “just stumbled upon” you guys after about 2 weeks of reading, watching. listening to many other “How To Start A Blog” blogs. Without gushing, can I say you two had me mesmerized from the first photo, the content and “voice” which comes across your posts. To say this has been the most helpful of all the blogs and bloggers I have followed in the course of the past two weeks is an understatement. THANK YOU for this amazingly informative blog for newbies, sharing what equipment works for you, how to get started with growth in mind. I will take your advice to heart and yes, I will follow!

Hi Debra, thank you so much. We really appreciate it and are so happy this article helped you. It’s a lot of hard work, with lots of unpaid hours at the beginning but if you are committed you will come out the other end. Pick a unique niche and you will be noticed. And last don’t give up If this is what you want, it’ll come. All the best

Wonderful article. This is very informative one. I like it.

Awesome Blog!!! All the tips which are given in this blog are really helpful to start a travel blog

Awesome. Glad we could help. 🙂

Hi Alesha and Jarryd, Awesome post. Thankyou so much for sharing tips.

Glad we could help. 🙂

Hi Alesha and Jarryd, Thanks for the wonderful post. We have travelled to many countries, and, now motivated to start writing our blogs! Thanks for inspiring.

So glad we would inspire you. Once you have started the blog, keep it up. Put the hard work in and it will eventually pay off.

Hi Alesha and Jarryd! Great to find and follow you. Thanks for the fantastic information! We are a 50ish yr old couple from Colorado, USA. We’ve been all over the world, mostly for some pretty epic diving, and are heading out to Peru in the next few weeks. We DO have quite a backstory and have been thinking a lot about sharing it. Thanks for giving us the info to get started! Cheers! Dawn and Vern

Hi Dawn and Vern, Definitely share you stories and all your tips. There are so many more people travelling now. And all different ways too. We found it was a great project to do while we were on the road and then it expanded to what NOMADasaurus is today. It is a great way for your friends and family to ready your stories and keep track of where you have been. All the best and happy travels.

Wonderful Post!

Thank you so much John

We just signed up with SiteGround — thanks for the recommendation!

That was the most comprehensive instructions I I have ever seen. I have not had the time to do it yet but will give it a try. One question! I already have a URL address on Google. How do I move it to Worldpress?

So sorry we missed your comment. Thank you and we are so glad this article could help you. Our suggestion is to buy a URL through namecheap.com and buy hosting through Siteground (link above). Then you can install WordPress on there. If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask. 🙂

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How to Start a Travel Blog: The Complete Guide

how to start a travel blog

Many people dream about traveling the world for a living; and there are people that are actually able to do so that aren’t pilots, flight attendants, or businessmen. These people are known as travel bloggers and they get paid to visit and write about their major passion in life: travel.

Before you think it’s all a dream, it’s time to debunk a few myths and tell some truths about how to start a travel blog. 🏖

Travel Blogging Truths

Who wouldn’t want to be a travel blogger? Travel can be expensive and the idea of having someone else cover your costs is certainly enticing. But it’s not all about grabbing trips to Paris in first class. Travel blogging is just like a job .

Travel blogging isn’t easy. The fact that you’re traveling and getting paid to do so while staying in top accommodations is what most people see. They don’t realize that there are a lot of struggles that go hand-in-hand with figuring out how to start a travel blog.

Here’s what you need to know before getting started as a travel blogger:

  • It’s a saturated niche. Everyone wants to ride the wave of being a travel blogger, thinking it’s all rainbows and sunshine—that by virtue of having a travel blog (and a few followers), they can request comped stays at 5-star hotels. But it’s not that easy . There are plenty of travel bloggers that spent a long time building their empire before they took off to the point where they received any special perks (or compensation).
  • Many times, you’re behind your computer. Being a blogger is like having your own magazine and being the editor, photographer, writer, and stylist—all in one. Some bloggers have teams now, but in the beginning, it will be just you . Taking and editing photos and/or video, write-ups, SEO , social media scheduling: all these tasks will require a fair amount of time stuck in front of your computer.
  • Writer’s block. Companies pay you for content, and to be a successful travel blogger, you have to follow deadlines like any regular job. Creating great content while at the same time, experiencing what every place has to offer isn’t easy, especially when you just want to relax and you’re on a tight deadline.
  • You won’t earn a fixed income. As with freelancing in general, you’re only as good as your next project. You’ll also have to think of travel blogging as an expense at the beginning. After all, how will you start writing about places you haven’t been to? You have to invest some money to do the traveling that will serve as the subject for your content.
  • If you’re a solo travel blogger, it can be lonely to go from place to place on your own. And since you aren’t in a place for too long, you’ll constantly make and break friendships and connections.
  • Not knowing what’s next. Becoming a travel blogger may seem exciting at first, but you have to be constantly planning for what’s next. There may be a time where travel loses excitement or you run out of funds and you’ll need to plan accordingly.

If you just want to learn how to start a travel blog for the sake of sharing your travels, then these truths may not apply to you. Your expectations and ambitions will be based on self-fulfillment (and perhaps sharing your adventures with friends and family) more so than building a brand to appeal to sponsors.

How to Start A Travel Blog

Not scared away by the harsh truths of travel blogging? Here’s how to start a travel blog, step by step:

Hippie in Heels travel blog

Choosing a Niche

There are two basic ways to get started: travel then figure out how to start a travel blog , or plan to start a travel blog then do the actual traveling . The motivation for the people in the former situation is likely just that they want an outlet to share their travels to family and friends, while the latter is more suited to those that plan to expand and monetize their travel blog in the future.

Like food blogs , travel blogs are a dime a dozen, so it’s best to start by choosing a niche (especially when you eventually want to earn from travel blogging) that will help differentiate you from the pack, since general travel blogs will usually not fare well when it comes to SEO efforts.

Travel Blogging Sub Niches

There are so many travel blog niches you can think of and fill a need for. To some, their niche comes naturally. For others, it could take a while to make a decision. Here are some questions you can ask yourself when determining a niche for your travel blog:

  • Why do I want to blog?
  • What am I passionate about telling or teaching to others?
  • What are my skills, strengths, interests, and expertise?
  • Can I write about this topic for a long time? The niche shouldn’t be too broad or too narrow.

If you’re looking for inspiration, here are some of the more popular travel niches:

  • City blogging: Focused on your city (you don’t have to travel that far, and you perhaps know the topic better than most)
  • Country-focused: Destinations around the country
  • Area/Region: Like South America or Southeast Asia-focused
  • Demographic-focused: Like travel blogs specifically targeted to Americans/American passport holders
  • Budget travel
  • Luxury travel
  • Solo travel
  • Female travel
  • Traveling for work
  • Adventure travel
  • Family travel
  • Empty nesters/traveling for seniors
  • Traveling with disabilities

Or if you’re really ambitious, you can even blog about your worldwide journey, as Gary Arndt has done on Everything Everywhere . He sold his house in 2007 and has been traveling around the world ever since (over 175 countries and counting).

Travel blog around the world

To be sure that someone will want to read your blog, search for your competition (to validate if there’s an existing audience for your idea). You might even want to utilize a tool like Ahrefs  or BuzzSumo to look up some of the most popular content in a niche, such as “Traveling in South America,” to get an idea of what other bloggers are writing about. Then ask yourself, can you do this better?

Traveling in South America

Alternatively, you may want to try and be the first in your niche. If you can, find a gap in the market. If you find yourself asking “Why hasn’t anybody done this?”—do it yourself!

Most bloggers market themselves as brands. Your brand is what you’re known for and known as. It’s what makes people say “That is so XX!” when they see a piece of your content.

Aspects of blog branding include:

  • Your blog name and niche
  • Your blog’s overall look: the theme, fonts, logo, color palette, images you use, and so on
  • The voice of your writing

Coming up with your Blog Name

Your blog name is important because it’s also what your blog is known as (your brand). While you’ll be able to change many things about your blog over time, your name is something you should stick with. Give it a fair amount of thought before deciding on it.

Not sure what to call your shiny new travel blog? You might start with your own name, a play on that name, or a mix of your name and travel-related terms. A few general rules for settling on a blog name (which will also be your domain name):

  • It must easy to recall and easy to spell
  • It should also be not too long
  • It must not contain hyphens or numbers

For more tips, you can take a look at our guide:  How to Choose a Domain Name (8 Tips to Stand Out).

Some brilliant travel blog names to look to for inspiration include Nomadic Matt , which is about a guy who travels the world, Adventurous Kate , a blog about a girl who quit her job to travel the world, and The Blonde Abroad , which is about a solo female traveller who is (you guessed it) blonde. There’s also Tanks that Get Around , a travel blog/travel tank top shop.

Nomadic Matt travel blog

Setting up the Blog

A professional blog has three technical elements you’ll need to setup: domain name , blogging platform, and web host.

Choosing a Blogging Platform

There are many free blogging platforms out there, like Blogger, WordPress.com , and Tumblr. Any of these options is fine for a personal blog, but if you plan on monetizing your site, a self-hosted WordPress blog is your best bet .

The other platforms come with their own restrictions, but with a self-hosted WordPress site, you’re free to customize it completely. Self-hosted WordPress also allows you to grow and not worry about having to change platforms later if your travel blog suddenly becomes super popular. Read more about the differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com .

WordPress powers 42.7% of the internet , is super user-friendly and has flexible customization options. It is used on many different kinds of websites , be they blogs, ecommerce sites, news portals, or business sites. Due to its open-source nature, WordPress is free to use, however creating and maintaining a site might cost you some money .

While the content management system you choose is free (assuming you choose WordPress), you’ll have to pay for your professional domain name and web hosting.

Choosing a Reliable Web Host

The web host is where you store your website’s files. Hosting plans can be as cheap as $4/month and can be upgraded to give you more storage space and bandwidth for visitors as your blog grows.

It’s important to choose a reliable and stable web host that does not have too much downtime. If you’re starting out, you might be better off with shared hosting, which means you’ll be sharing a server with other blogs. The downside is, your blog may load slower because you’re sharing resources with other websites. Also, you might have to spend more time fiddling with your site.

Application hosting , database hosting , and managed WordPress hosting through a company like Kinsta have its advantages for those interested in how to start a travel blog.

Since you’re on the go, the last thing you have time to worry about is downtime or messing around with your server. Additionally, you might not always have access to the best internet connection to fix things. Falling back on a reliable managed host might actually save you money.

You’ll also get access to a variety of tools which can make managing your site a lot easier, such as Kinsta’s custom dashboard .

MyKinsta

A few other things to look out for when deciding on a web host:

  • WordPress optimized
  • Good customer support
  • Automatic backups
  • Ample storage space

Read more about how Kinsta is different than other hosts.

Customizing the Blog’s Look

After you’ve installed and setup the free WordPress CMS with your web host, you can focus on setting up your blog’s look and feel—an important aspect of branding.

Customizing the following will help your travel blog become your own:

  • Theme: You can choose from both paid and free options . There are themes that cater specifically to travel blogs. When you’re just getting started, don’t overthink your blog’s theme. You might want to start with a free one first, because unlike your blog’s name, you can change the design later on .

How to Start a Travel Blog 6

To help with the process of choosing the blog’s overall look easier, you can make a branding board. A branding board includes:

  • Color palette : Have a set of 2 to 3 complementing colors (anything more would be distracting).
  • Fonts : 3 at most. Think one for your logo, one for headings, one for body copy.
  • Images that reflect what you want your blog to evoke when visitors drop by your site.

How to Start a Travel Blog 6

Increase Blog Functionality with Plugins

What attracts many users to WordPress is the customizability it offers thanks to plugins, which are codes you can install to add functionality to your site. Since you’re just getting started, defer to the experts. Blogging Wizard shares some of the must-have plugins that can help with SEO, analytics, backups , safety , and speeding up your blog .

There are also some plugins to consider that were created specifically for travel blogs. These include:

Travel Map

You might also want to add an Instagram plugin to show off your travel photos on your blog.

Instagram feed plugin

You might also consider installing affiliate plugins , but we’ll talk more about that in the latter monetization section.

Content Creation

The most important part of a blog is the content. Content shouldn’t just be confined to articles (or text); it can also take the form of photos (graphics, infographics), videos, and audio ( podcast ).

Of course, you shouldn’t start with all of these different types of content at once—it can be overwhelming. Instead, you can start adding new content types as your blog starts growing and you get the hang of running it.

To get some inspiration we recommend you to take a look at these guide:

How To Be A Solo Content Marketing Ninja

How to Create Evergreen Content That Lasts (17 Tips and Tricks)With WordPress

5 Things More Important for Your Content Than Content Length

There is no right or wrong way to write. Many people adopt a journal way of writing—telling people about their day or experience, while some go for how to guide types of posts.

The best kind of blogs are the ones that deliver a mix of content types. Many people that read travel blogs are after the information you can give them about a place, while your unique voice (which adds to the branding part of the blog) is what will draw readers to you.

If you plan to travel after setting up your travel blog, you can plot out what content to write, what places to feature, what angles to write about. Ideally, you’ll have at least 15 posts ready to go before launching. This will give you time to consistently release content as you work on your next pieces, while giving readers enough content to stick around and read.

Tips to Optimize Content for SEO

There’s no hard and fast rule for content length and ranking on Google but in general, the longer, the better.

Though the in’s and out’s of proper on-page SEO are outside of the scope of this article, here are a few quick hits for setting up content for success:

  • Use headings to organize your article (and to strategically make use of keywords )
  • Write titles that people will pique people’s curiosity so they will share your post, but don’t be clickbaity (meaning, truly back up the article with great content). Also, write titles the way people search.
  • Use keywords in URL slugs

For a more advanced study of SEO (that’s still beginner-friendly), check out our SEO checklist  and some recommended SEO plugins  you should start off.

Asher Fergusson, a successful travel blogger, and Kinsta customer said that the secret for his rapid growth in organic search rankings was to conduct a controversial research study. After having a nightmare Airbnb experience with his wife and 10-month-old son in Paris he decided to review over 1,000 horror stories to see what’s most likely to go wrong. The resulting article titled, “ Is Airbnb Safe? ” led to being featured on the front page of Reddit and was picked up by dozens of mainstream media outlets. This boosted the SEO strength of his entire website.

Photography

People are visual creatures, which is why platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are so successful and growing at a rapid pace .

Taking great photos or videos that make viewers feel like they are there or will want to be there will attract more visitors to your blog. The photos will also be used for your blog promotion; pretty photographs with catchy titles attract people on sites like the aforementioned Pinterest.

While you’re thinking about images, don’t forget to optimize your images , both for performance and for SEO . You can’t just upload full resolution photos to your blog and expect them to load fast. You’ll need a little help from an optimization tool or plugin. Name your files something meaningful (and short), as Google looks at things like these when it chooses what to index for Google image search. Which tools and how to showcase your photos you can read our guide:  8 Best WordPress Photo Gallery Plugins .

Optimize photos for travel blog

There are three main ways to promote your blog:

  • Social media: The easiest way to promote your travel blog is through your own network, but social media, with hundreds of millions of monthly active users, is also known for targeted advertising, meaning that it can help your content reach the people most likely to care about it. Hand Luggage Only’s Instagram is a great example of a beautiful travel photo diary. Another awesome platform where you can promote your content is Pinterest. We wrote a detailed guide on the best Pinterest marketing tips .

Travel photos on Instagram

  • Traditional media: Getting featured on newspapers and magazines is good exposure, even for an online entity. In fact, this is how popular blogger Nomadic Matt quickly grew his following.
  • Search engines: The largest potential source of traffic, but comes with a lot of competition.

Writing guest posts is another way to get backlinks to your site from more prominent travel blogs. On another note, collecting email addresses and sending out email newsletters is an effective way to get more views because it gives you a direct connection with your subscribers (unlike social networks, which may restrict reach to your existing followers).

Nomadic Matt, arguably the most popular travel blog, recognized the potential for these tactics but went in a different direction . He pitched guest blog posts to finance blogs on how to save money traveling. He guest posted on entrepreneurship podcasts to talk about how he was able to build a business from his travel blog.

These tactics set himself apart from others, and also introduced his site to multiple different audiences.

Travel Blog Monetization

There are several ways to monetize your travel blog , but when you’re starting out, it can be tough. What many travelers (or digital nomads) do to sustain their traveling lifestyle while working on the road involves accepting jobs as virtual assistants, doing freelance writing, consulting, or offering some other type of service.

Ways to Make Money from Your Travel Blog

Besides using your personal brand to get clients for services you may be interested in offering, there are many other ways to make money from your travel blog:

How to Start a Travel Blog 2

  • Sponsored trips : Work with private companies or brands and tourism boards. Tourism boards usually want press to encourage more people to visit their country. They will usually pay for food, lodging, activities, and sometimes even airfare. Since they want resulting posts to reach a wide audience, this might only be offered to those with bigger followings. Some companies may also invite you to sponsored trips to launch their products—with everything paid for.

How to Start a Travel Blog

  • Workshops : After growing a following and being recognized as an expert, you may be invited for speaking engagements or workshops that you can charge for.

Blog not making enough yet? Check out these 65+ ways to make money online on the side while you continue to grow your travel blog up to where hopefully one day it can financially support you.

This guide by Firstsiteguide includes a few more ideas if you are looking to start your travel blog.

How to Start a Travel Blog

A travel blog is a good way to document and share your love of travel, but it also brings about the potential for income. First decide whether you’ll be blogging for passion or profit, then follow these guidelines to help you with the specifics of how to start a travel blog.

What are your tips when it comes to the question of how to start a travel blog? Tweet at @Kinsta and we’ll share the best insights! Or drop them below in the comments.

simple travel blog

Maddy Osman creates engaging content with SEO best practices for marketing thought leaders and agencies that have their hands full with clients and projects. Learn more about her process and experience on her website, The Blogsmith and read her latest articles on Twitter: @MaddyOsman .

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This post was seriously the most helpful post I have read!!!! I just need to bust out more content and focus on affiliate marketing now! I’m looking for a course on this. Thanks for the helpful post!

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So glad to hear it, Laura! Best of luck on your blogging journey. :D

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I’m Happy that I came across this post as I am still on my way building my site as a travel blogger. :)

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Glad to hear that! Let us know how it goes :)

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This is the one of the most honest and truthful post’s I had read! Thank you!

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Hey, thanks for all your tips and tricks. :) Greetings from Vienna

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I enter your website regularly almost every day. You have some great articles. I Love Your Suggestions. Thanks.

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I just start my blog but with your tips, I can improve my blog so much. Thanks a lot for providing the information.

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Very helpful article for those who are willing to write a travel blog to provide very practical help

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Much needed blog, I was thinking of starting my own blog but was not sure how to start after reading your i felt quite good of starting new one.

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I haven’t seen a post as helpful as this one!!! Just need to create more content and focus on affiliate marketing now! This is something I’d like to learn more about. You made a great point! Thank you!

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Best travel blogs to find inspiration for your trips

Are you looking for inspiration and advice for your travels? Find out the best travel blogs to get it.

simple travel blog

Jessica Jessy Around The World

Jan 24, 2024

best-travel-blogs

There was a time in which looking for inspiration and advice for travelers was harder. The only possible source was buying travel guides, and they had to spend a lot of money to get them.

Every time they had to plan a trip, they had to buy a guide about the country they were going to visit. But today, thanks to Internet, everything is easier, and of course, even planning a trip .

Today you don’t have to buy a different guide every time you want to travel, you just type on your computer what you are looking for and you get your answers immediately. And this is thanks to travel blogs .

Travel blogs are like traditional travel guides, with some differences. 

The main difference is that they are not written by professional writers but by travelers , just like you, and in this way you can find really useful and easy advice. Everything that you read, has been tested in first person by the person who wrote about it. So, in a sense, it’s like you can “touch” the information you read, and they seem more authentic.

The other difference is that they are easier to access than traditional guides. Just type what you need and you'll find it. And you can be specific about i: if you just care about food, you can find only food information; if you want to know about sightseeing, you'll find it, and so on.

And, best thing, they are free!  You access travel blogs and read them for free!

While you don’t spend money to read travel blog, on the contrary travel bloggers can earn money if you read their blogs. And this is good, because in this way everybody is happy. They can earn just as every other writer. 

They do it thanks to affiliate market or some advertisement, so today being a travel blogger can be considered as a real job. A travel job , to be more specific, because they can work while traveling, they just need Internet connection.

This is a huge revolution for travel world . A revolution which is a benefit for everyone, both travelers and writers.

And now, let’s see together the best travel blogs to find inspiration for your next travel .

simple travel blog

Best 10 travel blogs in 2022

There is always the right travel blog for you , no matter if you are a solo travel , you are looking for adventure travel , you want to travel and work on the road , or whatever. 

In this list I will include the best travel blogs regarding different categories and way of traveling. 

Best travel blogs for budget travels

1. tales of backpacker.

If you travel on a budget, the Tales of Backpacker is the blog you have to read. It is written by Claire, an experienced traveler who can help you to travel on a budget but having the time of your life and living amazing experiences. 

She writes a lot of advice and travel ideas on her blog, about different destinations and different travel topics.

She started traveling with a one way ticket to Barcelona, and she has never stopped ever since.

simple travel blog

2. A Broken Backpack

As the name can suggest, A Broken Backpack is the perfect travel blog for backpackers who want to travel on a budget.

The writer behind the blog is Melissa, a girl that started her adventures around the world at the age of 25. She lived in many different countries and she is a really experienced traveler.

In her blog you will find a lot of travel tips for different destinations but also practical tips about living abroad and about digital nomad lifestyle. 

Best travel girls blogs

3. be my travel muse.

If you are a girl, maybe traveling solo, you could be interested in blogs written by girls just like you, and one of the best is definitely Be My Travel Muse .

This blog is the best source if you want advice about solo female travels. The author is Kristin, a very creative person who couldn't stand a traditional 9 to 5 job and decided to quit and travel the world, write and create.

She wants to inspire you to do the same, making you believe that nothing is impossible.

simple travel blog

4. Janelas Abertas

Janelas Abertas is a travel blog owned by Luisa Ferreira, a Brazilian travel girl who also writes articles in English.

You can find a lot of useful travel articles and tips in her blog, especially about her home country, Brazil, but also about other interesting places and topics. And if you also speak Portuguese, you can read even more advice and tips.

She quit a normal life and started to travel full time, so she is an expert. 

simple travel blog

Best Travel blogs for adventure travel

5. monica roams.

Are you a nature lover and looking for adventure travels ? Monica Roams is the blog for you!

Monica is a travel girl and a nature lover. In her blog you can find a lot of articles about hiking, nature places, and adventure trips all around the world.  The destinations she loves the most are the ones in which you can have adventure experiences and see naturalistic places.

Monica's blog is one of the best ever if you want inspiration for your travels!

Best travel blogs to travel and work abroad

6. where in the world is nina.

Nina is a travel girl who quit a normal life to travel the world, in 2008, and she never stopped. Furthermore, she started working in the countries she visited and working online.

Today she is a digital nomad and she help other travelers with the same dream to make it come true, with her blog Where in the World is Nina .

If you are looking for information about traveling and working abroad, tips about remote jobs and work visas abroad like working holiday visa , you can't read a better blog.

She tried most of the travel jobs she writes about, and she did a lot of remote jobs before becoming a full time blogger.

7. Find a way abroad

As the name may suggest, Find a way abroad is another travel blog really useful if you want to travel and work abroad, live abroad or be an expat for some time.

There are a lot of articles about living abroad, in different destinations, and articles about different travel jobs and remote jobs you can do to travel longer.

The community behind this blog is a female community, the writers are all travel girls from different countries but all linked with the same passion: traveling and living a life abroad.

It is a very useful blog if you want to start a new life in a new country.

Best travel blogs with guides

8. travel lemming.

If you just want to read lists about places to see, advice and travel tips in a very quick and easy format, like in the form of a travel guide, you can have a read to Travel Lemming .

In this blog you can find a lot of travel guides written by experts and locals, so they are a hundred per cent authentic and very useful for your trips.  There are guides for almost every destination and you can look for the one you need using the search box.

Super easy and practical!

9. Skye Travels

Skye travels is another blog created in the form of a mix of travel guides. The difference is that is not written by different experts but there is just an author, an American guy with a strong passion for travel.

You can find simple travel guides, lots of travel advice, but even reviews and travel stories about different destinations.

simple travel blog

10. Worldpackers travel blog: discover the volunteers community

Last but not least, one of the best travel blogs you can read is Worldpackers community travel blog . But let me introduce you Worldpackers first.

It's a platform in which you can find volunteering positions all over the world. You can apply, and in exchange for some hours of work for your host, you get free accommodation and sometimes free board. It is a way of traveling that changed the life of many backpackers, because getting free accommodation they can travel longer.

And not only you get free accommodation, but it is also a way to meet other travelers from all over the world and making new friends , and also a way to help the local communities of the countries you visit.

Of course, on Worldpackers platform, there is the section with all the volunteering opportunities , and there is the section dedicated to the community blog. In this section all the travelers like you share their stories and their tips about different travel topics and different destinations.

You can find all the advice and information you are looking for, regarding every topic, on Worldpackers blog .

I hope this list of the best travel blogs will be useful to you and I hope you will find the insipiration you are looking for.

Don't forget to subscribe to Worldpackers website to start getting used to it, and maybe the next trip you have will be volunteering!

Have a read to other interesting articles from Worldpackers community:

How to create a successful travel blog

How to become a travel influencer with no money: the top tips you need to know

Top 10 travel influencers to get inspired

Join the community.

Create a free Worldpackers account to discover volunteer experiences perfect for you and get access to exclusive travel discounts!

Jessica Lazzarini

Jessy Around The World

an Italian full time traveler. After years planning my full time travel, I finally quit my 9 to 5 job to start exploring the world with a one way ticket. My goal is to visit as many countries as I can and to work as a digital nomad while I am traveling, but also to challenge myself doing travel jobs in the places I visit. I really want to live a lot of different experiences in a way only a real traveler can do.

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simple travel blog

Nov 09, 2022

Thanks for sharing I like it. I like it, I love travel

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Oct 19, 2023

Hey! it's very amazing blog

simple travel blog

Dec 22, 2023

Thanks for sharing this blog. really helpful

simple travel blog

Thank you for sharing great information and very useful travel articles and tips in different blogs. I am also writing a travel blog and the information you shared is very helpful to me.

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Top 33 Stunning Travel Blog Examples to Inspire in 2024

Arto Minasyan

1. Nomadic Matt

2. the blonde abroad, 3. oneika the traveller, 4. salt in our hair, 5. a broken backpack, 6. the barefoot nomad, 7. indie traveller, 8. wandering earl, 9. world of wanderlust, 10. expert vagabond, 11. our escape clause, 12. the broke backpacker, 13. let’s be merry, 14. the planet d, 15. travel hacking mom, 16. anywhere we roam, 17. female travel bloggers, 18. helen in wonderlust, 19. camels and chocolate, 20. adventurous kate, 21. getting stamped, 22. urban travel blog, 23. migrationology, 24. bucketlistly, 25. be my travel muse, 26. goats on the road, 27. two monkeys travel, 28. the world travel guy, 29. the travel book, 30. travelfreak, 31. a couple for the road, 32. places of juma, 33. roads and kingdoms, how to create your own travel blog.

Ready to check out some awesome travel blog examples that’ll totally fuel your wanderlust or maybe even inspire you to start your own blog? We’ve rounded up the coolest travel blogs of 2024, and trust me, they’re all about epic adventures and super handy travel hacks, straight from folks who know their way around the globe.

Travel isn’t just about snapping pics of cool spots. It’s about diving into new cultures, trying out weird and wonderful foods, and seeing the world in a whole new way. These blogs we’ve found? They’re like your best friends in travel, dishing out the real scoop with stories that’ll have you packing your bags in no time.

So, whether you’re dreaming about your next big trip or thinking of sharing your own travel stories, this list is your go-to. Get ready to get inspired and maybe even become the next big travel blogger!

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How do you write a travel blog?

  • Share your travel experiences, tips, and stories in a captivating way.
  • Choose a special focus for your blog to stand out.
  • Write in a relatable and vivid style, sharing your own adventures and insights.
  • Add useful travel advice, such as where to stay and what to do.
  • Use high-quality photos and videos to make your posts more interesting.
  • Keep your blog updated regularly and share it on social media to attract more readers.

How do you start a travel blog for beginners?

  • Choose a unique name: Pick a memorable and descriptive name that reflects the essence of your travel experiences.
  • Set up your blog: Use a blogging platform like WordPress or Blogger. Select a theme that is visually appealing and mobile-friendly.
  • Create quality content: Write engaging posts about your travels, including tips, guides, and personal stories. Incorporate high-quality photos and videos to make your posts more appealing.
  • Optimize for SEO: Use relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and tags to improve your blog’s visibility on search engines.
  • Engage with your audience: Respond to comments, and connect with your readers on social media platforms to build a community around your blog.
  • Monetize your blog: Consider affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and selling digital products to generate income from your blog.
  • Stay consistent: Regularly update your blog with fresh content to keep your audience engaged and attract new readers.

How much money do you make from a travel blog?

  • New bloggers often make little to no money in the first few months or even years. 
  • Once you have a steady stream of traffic, you could earn anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per month.
  • Successful travel bloggers with large, engaged audiences can make significant incomes, ranging from high five to six figures annually.

What is the best travel blog?

Budget travel advice and tips.

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What we liked the most about this site:

  • The website’s design is intuitive and easy to navigate, enhancing user experience.
  • It provides a wide range of travel-related information, from practical tips to personal travel stories.
  • The website features organized destination guides and travel resources, ideal for travel fans.

Nomadic Matt’s site, led by the well-traveled Matt Kepnes, breaks the myth that travel has to be expensive. His decade-long journey across over 100 countries informs the site’s rich content, designed for those seeking to travel affordably.

This is one of the best travel blog examples for budget-conscious travelers, offering a blend of practical tips, money-saving strategies, and thorough destination guides. It’s a hub where Matt shares his travel wisdom, inspired by his own transformation from a first-time traveler to a globetrotting expert.

Nomadic Matt’s website is user-friendly and easy to engage with. It attracts traffic via SEO, social media, and referrals, indicating a broad, loyal audience.

The site earns through affiliate links, selling travel guides, and courses, and offering blogging resources.

Solo female travel experiences.

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  • The site features a chic design with captivating travel photography.
  • Offers specialized advice and unique perspectives for solo female travelers.
  • The blog provides a friendly, personal insight, like chatting with a friend .

The Blonde Abroad is Kiki’s cool twist on solo female travel blogging. Back in 2011, she ditched her corporate gig to roam the globe solo and share her stories. It’s a fab spot for women travelers, loaded with style tips, travel hacks, yummy food spots, and awesome photos. Kiki’s got you covered with awesome tools for booking flights, tips on travel cards, gear suggestions, and even job opportunities for travelers. It’s like your go-to travel buddy in blog form! The

Blonde Abroad site is super easy to get around and really catches your eye, which is a big plus for solo female travelers. It pulls in readers from Google, social media buzz, and loyal fans.

The way it makes money is pretty smart too – there are affiliate links, gear promos, preset sales, and exclusive women-only travel trips, all without feeling too salesy.

If you’re planning to start a travel blog, Kiki shares incredible tips on starting and running a successful blog while working full-time. Using the 10Web AI Website Builder , you can also create a similar website in minutes and customize it with a drag-and-drop editor.

Diverse global travel and culture.

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  • Focuses on empowering travelers, especially with its unique “Travelling While Black” section.
  • Offers diverse travel insights from multiple continents.
  • The website creatively uses images, videos, and podcasts, enhancing the user experience.

Oneika Raymond is the vibrant personality at the heart of Oneika the Traveller. She shares her global adventures and experiences with a real and engaging touch. Her website is one of the best travel blog examples that is packed with travel tips and offers an insightful look into her life, focusing on her experiences as a Black traveler. You’ll find a range of content from blog posts to videos and podcasts, making it a diverse and enlightening destination for those interested in genuine travel stories and advice.

The website offers an easy-to-navigate interface with a well-structured and visually appealing design. The website attracts a diverse audience through various channels, including social media and organic search.

Monetization strategies include partnerships, affiliate marketing, and advertising, integrated seamlessly with the blog’s content.

Sustainable travel and photography.

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  • Features stunning, high-quality images that beautifully showcase travel destinations.
  • The clean layout makes it easy for visitors to find information on various travel destinations and tips.
  • The site offers a wealth of engaging travel content, including detailed guides and personal experiences.

Salt in Our Hair, created by Nick and Hannah from the Netherlands, is all about awesome travel vibes with a cool twist. They’re all about blending photography and storytelling to share their adventures.

Plus, the site is a fantastic example of turning travel love into a career, mixing Nick’s web dev skills and Hannah’s design flair for a visually stunning journey around the world. And if you’re into sustainable travel, they’ve got heaps of eco-friendly tips and guides, making it a must-visit for earth-loving wanderers! That is why their website is surely one of the best personal websites to follow.

The site effectively draws traffic through social media, organic search, and a strong online community, reflecting its popularity.

Monetization is smartly implemented through a shop selling video filters and presets, Google maps, travel ebooks, as well as affiliate marketing, and partnerships.

Adventure travel and digital nomad life.

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  • Offers a unique, personal perspective on travel, making it feel like you’re getting tips from a friend rather than a guidebook.
  • The site is full of detailed guides and tips for various destinations helpful for planning trips.
  • The website focuses on budget-friendly travel, providing tips for affordable exploration.

Melissa, a Canadian traveler since 2014, runs this cool blog showing you don’t need a pile of cash to see the world. She’s all about budget-friendly travel and even shares how to earn money while you’re out exploring.

Thinking of living abroad, backpacking, camping, or hiking? Melissa’s got loads of personal tips and stories. Plus, she dishes on the best travel spots, gear, and how to make some dough while traveling. It’s like a one-stop shop for savvy travelers!

A Broken Backpack is a user-friendly example of a travel blog with a clear, easy-to-navigate design. It draws visitors mainly through social media, organic search, and a community of regular readers.

The site monetizes through various methods, including affiliate marketing, partnerships, and advertising travel-related products and services.

Travel, tech, and family adventures.

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  • The Barefoot Nomad highlights family travel, offering tips for journeys with kids.
  • The site covers a wide range of topics, from travel tips and destination guides to tech and family fun.
  • The content is not only informative but also engaging and easy to read.

Want to know what traveling with kids is really like? Check out the Barefoot Nomad blog by Charles and Micki Kosman, who’ve been doing it for over 10 years. Their site is jam-packed with their travel stories, super useful tips, and advice. You’ll find everything from cool destination ideas to food, travel apps, gear, and even travel insurance tips. It’s a goldmine for family adventurers!

The website has an easy-to-navigate layout that makes browsing a breeze. It gets traffic mainly from organic searches, social media platforms, and its established reader base.

Monetization strategies are subtly incorporated, with affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and travel product recommendations, all aligning well with the site’s family and tech travel focus.

Budget travel guides and backpacking tips.

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What we liked most about this site:

  • The blog offers extensive budget travel guides and tips for cost-effective exploration.
  • It offers comprehensive guides for various global destinations, including Southeast Asia and Europe.
  • The site is packed with practical information and advice, from offbeat travel spots to digital nomad tips.

If you’re into indie-style travel, where you call the shots and embrace adventure your way, you gotta check out Indie Traveller. Marek, the guy behind it, has been globe-trotting for over 10 years. He’s all about sharing tips for DIY travel and making your own path. His blog is full of real-deal advice, from gear reviews to travel tips and guides based on his own experiences. It’s a great spot for honest and inspiring travel guidance.

Indie Traveller offers a straightforward and easy-to-use design, catering well to budget travelers. The website successfully attracts an audience through its organic search rankings and social media engagement.

Monetization is subtly incorporated with affiliate marketing and product reviews, as well as book sales.

Long-term travel and unique experiences.

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  • Wandering Earl offers a real and adventurous take on travel, filled with personal stories and insights.
  • The site provides travel guides, tips, and unique destination insights, making it a comprehensive travel companion.
  • The website’s layout is straightforward, facilitating easy access to its rich content.

Curious about non-stop traveling? Check out Wandering Earl by Derek Earl. This guy’s been traveling for 20+ years and visited over 130 countries! He’s all about sharing his wild travel tales, tips on planning trips, and living the travel life.

Plus, he’s got the scoop on working while wandering. And if you wanna travel with him, Earl’s got a tour agency that takes folks to cool places. It’s like a treasure trove of real-deal travel experiences!

Wandering Earl offers a user-friendly experience with its straightforward and easy-to-navigate design. The website attracts a diverse audience through channels like organic search, social media, and a loyal reader base.

Its monetization approach includes affiliate marketing (as indicated by being an Amazon Associate), advertising travel-related products and services, and promoting personal tours.

Solo female luxury travel.

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  • The blog offers a personal touch to travel storytelling, making it relatable and captivating.
  • It covers a broad spectrum of destinations, providing insights and tips for a variety of places around the world.
  • The website’s design is visually attractive, with beautiful photography.

World of Wanderlust is a fab spot for solo travel buffs. If you’re dreaming about your first solo adventure or you’re a seasoned traveler, this blog’s got you covered with tons of tips and ideas. It’s got everything from planning your first trip to picking the coolest European cities to visit. You’ll get personal stories, what to expect, and tips on getting around.

Plus, there’s even a section for fancy stays like top-notch hotels and island resorts. Perfect for upping your travel game!

The website garners traffic from various sources including social media and organic search, indicating a strong online presence.

Monetization is subtly integrated with affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and recommendations for travel-related products and services.

Adventure travel and photography.

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  • The blog’s emphasis on adventurous travel is exciting and inspiring for those seeking thrill in their journeys.
  • Offers valuable photography tips, perfect for travelers wanting to capture their experiences.
  • The website’s design is intuitive, ensuring easy navigation and a pleasant reading experience.

Expert Vagabond is a super versatile travel blog great for all types of travelers. Matt, the guy behind it, is a pro in travel, adventure, and photography. He’s all about sharing new experiences, tips, and his own travel mishaps to help you out. You’ll find awesome travel guides, cool photos, and personal stories about different places. Plus, there’s a special photography section that’s like a visual trip through his adventures.

Expert Vagabond offers a smooth and engaging experience for users, with its adventure and photography-focused content. It attracts a wide audience through social media and search engines, showcasing its broad appeal.

The blog smartly integrates revenue streams such as affiliate links, partnerships, and adventure tour promotions, which complement its adventurous theme and are useful for its audience.

Couples travel and comprehensive guides.

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  • Jeremy and Kate’s personal journey and stories make the blog engaging and relatable.
  • They offer detailed itineraries and guides, especially for Europe and the USA, useful for travelers.
  • The website is visually appealing and easy to navigate, enhancing the reader’s experience.

Our Escape Clause, run by travel pros Jeremy and Kate, is all about awesome adventures in the USA, Europe, and Italy. They’ve been at it for over six years, sharing stories and tips from their full-time travels. Their site’s packed with cool stories, handy guides, and tips for dream trips – think detailed city guides for Italy and Portugal, and sweet weekend ideas in the USA.

The website is easy to navigate, offering a wealth of travel stories, tips, and resources. It attracts visitors from various sources, including search engines and social media, indicating its strong online presence.

Monetization methods include affiliate links, as the site is an Amazon Associate, other partnerships, and display ads.

Budget travel and backpacking adventures.

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  • The site is a treasure trove for budget travelers, packed with practical tips for traveling affordably.
  • It offers extensive guides and tips on various destinations.
  • The engaging and informative content makes it a great resource for those planning their next adventure.

The Broke Backpacker is a go-to spot for anyone wanting to travel without spending a ton. It’s packed with all sorts of savvy tips for affordable travel. Will Hatton, the guy behind it, is a seasoned traveler who’s all about pushing limits. The blog is split into cool sections like “Where to Go,” with top travel spots, and a budget travel section loaded with advice on snagging cheap stays, transport, and eats.

The Broke Backpacker website is impressively user-friendly, with a clear, engaging design that’s easy to navigate. It primarily attracts visitors through organic search and social media, showing its wide reach and popularity among budget travelers.

The site effectively monetizes through affiliate links, gear reviews, and partnerships, aligning well with its focus on budget and adventure travel.

Travel wellness and personal growth tips.

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  • The blog advocates for wellness and personal growth while traveling, offering a refreshing perspective compared to typical travel blog websites.
  • Merry shares practical tips on staying fit and healthy on the road, including nutritious food choices and affordable exercise equipment.
  • The blog presents its health and fitness tips in an organized, easy-to-navigate manner.

Travel’s not always just fun – it can be pretty tiring too. Let’s Be Merry is this cool blog that gets into wellness and growing personally while you’re on the go. Merry, the blogger, dishes out all sorts of tips on how to keep fit and eat right when you’re traveling. You’ll find nifty advice on healthy eating, easy exercise gear, and whipping up good-for-you meals while you’re out and about.

Let’s Be Merry is easy to use, with a straightforward layout. It gets traffic mostly from social media and search engines, showing it’s pretty popular.

The main way it makes money is through ads, but they’re done in a way that doesn’t get in the way of the cool wellness and travel tips.

Adventure travel inspiration and tips.

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  • It’s packed with experiences and destinations from all over the world, perfect for any adventurer.
  • The website is loaded with useful travel tips, itineraries, and destination guides.
  • The website’s design is visually appealing and easy to navigate.

The Planet D is super cool – it’s even been named one of the top travel blog examples by Forbes! Dave and Deb, the travel-savvy couple behind it, have been exploring the world for over 15 years. Their blog is all about showing you how to live an awesome life by following your passions. It’s packed with stories, tips, and itineraries from their travels, and they even talk about how to start living nomadically.

The Planet D offers a user-friendly experience with its well-organized layout and engaging content. The website attracts a diverse audience through search engines and social media.

The website subtly earns money through various methods like affiliate links, ads, partnerships, email campaigns, selling digital products, and YouTube content.

Tips on travel via point hacking.

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  • The site offers valuable advice on how to travel affordably using points and miles.
  • The authors share their personal experiences and successes in travel hacking.
  • With a clear layout and comprehensive content, the site is full of useful tips for maximizing travel rewards.

Travel Hacking Mom is all about showing you how to travel big on a budget using credit card points. These three moms have racked up millions of points, jetting off to places like Hawaii, Paris, and Thailand. They share loads of tips and guides on destinations they’ve visited and how you can use travel points too. Plus, they’ve got a section with some of the best credit card offers for travel hacking.

Travel Hacking Mom offers a neat, user-friendly interface that makes it easy for readers to find information on travel hacking. The site primarily gains traffic from social media and organic search, suggesting a well-engaged audience.

Monetization is achieved through affiliate marketing, with clear disclosures, showing a transparent approach to earning while providing valuable travel tips.

Adventure and cultural travel insights.

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  • The site offers a comprehensive range of travel guides, covering destinations from European cities to remote hiking trails.
  • It specializes in epic road trips and hiking adventures, appealing to adventure seekers.
  • The clean and visually inviting layout makes it easy to find and read about exciting travel experiences.

Anywhere We Roam by Mark and Paul rocks a cool minimalist design, but don’t be fooled – it’s packed with great travel info. The blog’s a breeze to navigate and loaded with awesome guides on hiking, city travels, road trips, and more. Plus, it’s got a ton of stuff on destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

The website Anywhere We Roam showcases a user-friendly interface, making it accessible and easy for visitors to browse. The site’s traffic is largely driven by search engines and social media, reflecting a notable online reach.

It appears to generate revenue through discreet methods like affiliate links and partnerships.

Community and resources for female travel bloggers.

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  • FTB fosters a collaborative environment where like-minded travel enthusiasts can connect and support each other.
  • The site offers a wealth of resources for starting and managing a travel blog.
  • The website design facilitates easy access to resources and community interaction.

Female Travel Bloggers (FTB) is a fantastic place for those starting in the travel world. It’s a community where people with similar interests in travel come together to support and help each other. They also offer a bunch of resources for anyone looking to start their own travel blog. This community is super helpful, especially if you’re just stepping into travel and blogging.

FTB offers a user-friendly platform, focusing on community building and resource sharing for female travel bloggers. Its traffic comes from diverse channels like social media, emphasizing its community-driven nature.

As for monetization, the site uses methods like affiliate marketing and sponsored content, aligning with its goal to support travel bloggers.

African travel focus and tours.

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  • The site is rich in content about African travel, offering deep insights into the continent.
  • Helen’s own experiences add a genuine and personal touch to the travel stories.
  • The website’s design is aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate, enhancing the overall experience of exploring African adventures.

Helen’s blog is all about her passion for Africa, from its wildlife and landscapes to its people. She’s on a mission to break the myth that Africa isn’t safe to travel. Her site’s a treasure trove of tips on how to explore Africa safely, affordably, and adventurously. You’ll find everything from African travel guides and group tours to an e-book. Plus, she shares her travel experiences from other parts of the world too.

Helen in Wonderlust website has a user-friendly navigation, attracting visitors through search engines and social media.

Its monetization strategy is multi-faceted, incorporating display ads, affiliate marketing, revenue from a tour company, and sales of a specialized book.

Personal travel and lifestyle stories.

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  • The blog offers a mix of travel recommendations, marketing insights, and tips for entrepreneurs.
  • Kristin Luna shares her extensive travel experiences and professional expertise.
  • The site’s layout is visually appealing and user-friendly, enhancing the browsing experience for various topics.

Kristin’s blog, “Camels & Chocolate,” is a feast for the eyes with its colorful vibe and stunning photos. She’s a journalist covering a cool mix of topics like travel, home renovations, and entrepreneurship. Her blog is perfect if you’re into balancing travel, family, and a career.

Kristin shares her own travel adventures and her journey to becoming a successful writer, which is super helpful if you’re thinking about starting your own blog.

Camels & Chocolate is one of those travel blog examples that has clear navigation and a diverse range of content. This travel blog example attracts traffic through social media and organic search, reflecting its effective online engagement.

Monetization is through a variety of channels, including advertising, editorial work, influencer campaigns, and digital marketing services, providing a well-rounded revenue model.

You can also create your own travel website that adopts a similar design using the 10Web AI Website Builder. Simply copy and paste the URL and we will recreate the layout for you.

Solo female travel blog.

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  • Kate’s focus on solo female travel offers valuable insights and tips, making it a go-to resource for women travelers.
  • Her personal travel experiences add depth and authenticity to the blog.
  • The site’s layout is user-friendly, neatly categorizing travel guides, destinations, and safety tips.

Kate’s blog is perfect for anyone who’s into solo travel. She’s been all over – 83 countries and counting – and she’s got heaps of tips on doing it solo. H er website is one of the go-to travel blog examples if you need advice on what to do (and what not to do), where it’s safe to stay, and cool things to check out. Plus, she’s got a whole section just for solo female travel tips.

The website draws a wide audience from search engines and social platforms, highlighting its appeal and reach.

The website cleverly earns revenue through methods like affiliate links and sponsored posts, well-integrated with its engaging content.

Couple travel and photography adventures.

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  • Provides useful travel guides and tips for global destinations.
  • Shares captivating travel experiences of Hannah and Adam.
  • Features an attractive, easy-to-navigate website layout with impressive photography.

Getting Stamped is one of the best travel blog examples for couples or families seeking travel ideas. Hannah and Adam, this couple from Wisconsin, kicked off their blog about ten years ago after ditching their office jobs for a life full of adventures and travel tips sharing.

The blog’s packed with useful stuff like guides on awesome places they’ve loved, some neat photography tips, and general travel advice. It’s a great spot to dig up some solid recommendations and insights on various destinations.

The website is user-friendly with an easy-to-navigate layout and clear sections like blog, destinations, and photography. Traffic is generated through organic search, social media channels, and YouTube videos.

The site makes money mainly through affiliate links, like those to Amazon.

Urban travel guides and stories.

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  • Offers over 75 detailed guides for short city breaks, providing a mix of popular and unique destinations.
  • Features various adventures, nightlife, and festivals, giving a fresh perspective on urban exploration.
  • Features a clean, modern layout that enhances readability and user experience.

If you’re into city explorations, the Urban Travel Blog is a must-visit. It’s run by Duncan Rhodes, a travel journo who’s crafted over 75 city guides. This blog is all about the unique buzz of city life – think rich history, cool landscapes, diverse food, and awesome nightlife. It provides tips on what to see and do in different cities, covering everything from local festivals to the latest trends. Definitely a go-to for the inside scoop on urban adventures.

This website offers a pleasant user experience with its well-organized and appealing website design. It effectively draws traffic through a mix of social media engagement, using platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

In terms of making money, this example of a travel blog uses affiliate links and might have sponsored posts.

Food-centered travel experiences.

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  • Excellently captures the essence of world cuisines, appealing to food lovers.
  • Offers comprehensive guides that focus specifically on the culinary aspects of cities around the world.
  • The site has a clean, appealing layout that enhances its food-focused content.

Travel is not just about sights and thrills; it’s a journey through the flavors and cultures of the world. Mark Wien’s blog is one of the top travel blog examples for those who love both food and travel. He dishes out guides on hotspots like Mexico and Bangkok, sharing the best food joints and must-try dishes. Beyond tasty eats, Mark hooks you up with practical stuff like visa tips, transport options, and places to crash.

The Migrationology website is user-friendly with a clear and engaging layout that’s easy to navigate. It generates traffic through various channels, including a strong presence on social media and YouTube, indicating a wide-reaching audience.

The site monetizes through a combination of affiliate links, advertisements, and possibly sponsored content.

Solo travel and photography.

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  • The site offers over 600 travel guides and itineraries, providing thorough information for global travel planning.
  • It specializes in solo travel experiences and photography.
  • The website features a clean, visually appealing layout.

Pete, a Thai designer and blogger, shares his decade-long solo travel adventures on BucketListly. His passion for photography, adventure, and storytelling shines through his site, which also showcases his design prowess.

The blog is a treasure trove of travel tips, offering advice on finding affordable flights, hotels, and transportation. For aspiring bloggers, Pete’s site is a great source of inspiration for the readers, packed with videos, photos, and motivating content to kickstart their own travel blog websites.

Bu cketListly is also one of the well-designed travel blog examples with straightforward and accessible navigation, ensuring ease of use for its visitors. The blog’s audience mainly comes from social media and organic search results.

In terms of revenue, the site boosts its income by selling guides, itineraries, and website design resources.

Solo female adventure travel.

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  • The website’s design is visually appealing, enhancing the browsing experience.
  • Offers comprehensive guides for various destinations, tailored for solo female travelers.
  • Provides relatable travel tips and personal stories, making it a valuable resource.

Jumping into solo travel, especially for women, can seem daunting, but Kristina’s blog is all about breaking those barriers. With over nine years of solo travel under her belt, she’s all about empowering women to explore the world on their own terms.

Her blog, recognized by big names like the Washington Post, is a treasure trove for solo female travelers. It’s packed with destination guides, travel resources, and heaps of solo travel tips. Plus, her videos are a great source of inspiration and practical advice.

Be My Travel Muse offers a smooth and straightforward user experience with its well-organized website design. The blog gains its audience mainly through social media platforms and organic search.

In terms of income, it appears to primarily use affiliate links and advertisements, alongside group tours.

Tips for sustainable and remote work travel.

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  • The website opens with a beautiful full-screen image that captures the essence of travel.
  • Offers detailed travel guides and itineraries for a wide array of global destinations.
  • Focuses on promoting sustainable travel and provides practical advice for digital nomads.

Nick and Dariece, the duo behind Goats on the Road, have been globetrotting and living overseas for over ten years. This is one of the greatest travel blog examples for learning how to earn while traveling. It’s not just them – they’ve got a team of travel-loving writers sharing real-deal travel stories and advice, like working abroad and digital nomad life. They even offer courses on boosting your brand and mastering SEO, plus a free WordPress course for starting your own travel blog. And, of course, loads of cool travel destination info!

Goats on the Road is quite user-friendly, with an engaging layout that’s easy to navigate. It seems to attract traffic mainly from social media and search engines.

The blog makes money through affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and offering courses.

Luxury and adventure travel experiences.

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  • The blog combines luxury travel with exciting adventures.
  • Features detailed guides on numerous global locations.
  • The site uses bright colors and provides a mix of travel tips, hotel reviews, and personal stories.

Kach from the Philippines totally rocks her travel blog, sharing how she swapped her regular job for globetrotting right after college. Since 2013, she’s hit up over 180 countries and isn’t stopping anytime soon. Her blog is one of the best travel blog examples for anyone keen on solo travel. You’ll find cool insights into the places she’s been, plus handy travel and outdoor activity guides – think hiking, cruising, and more.

Two Monkeys Travel Group offers an easily navigable and visually appealing website, enhancing the browsing experience. The blog attracts a diverse readership through its active presence on various social media channels and organic search.

Its revenue is generated through affiliate links, sponsored posts, online business courses, and collaborative partnerships.

Global travel tips and destination highlights.

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  • The site is filled with stunning photos that really capture the beauty of each location.
  • Offers in-depth guides and practical tips for various destinations worldwide.
  • The content is based on personal travel experiences, adding a relatable and authentic touch.

The World Travel Guy is a cool example of a travel blog run by Davi, his wife Intan, and their team. They’ve put together an awesome, in-depth blog covering their travels across various continents. The site’s packed with posts about all sorts of destinations, even UNESCO World Heritage sites, and offers practical tips like where to stay.

They’ve sorted their content by continents and categories, like hikes and monuments, and there’s a sweet gallery of scenic photos too. It’s a great mix of budget-friendly advice and inspiring guides.

The World Travel Guy website has an organized and visually appealing layout. The site primarily attracts traffic through search engines and social media platforms.

As for monetization, the blog uses affiliate marketing and possibly sponsored content.

Eco-friendly travel and sustainable lifestyle.

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  • The site promotes sustainable travel practices, focusing on environmental responsibility.
  • Offers detailed guides for various destinations, emphasizing sustainable travel experiences.
  • Features inspiring and high-quality travel photography, enhancing the user experience.

The Travel Book is a fantastic example of travel blog, especially for those who care about the environment. It’s a brilliant resource for learning how to enjoy luxurious, high-quality vacations in an eco-friendly way.

For avid travelers, this blog offers invaluable insights into sustainable travel practices. Plus, for anyone keen on starting a travel blog, The Travel Book is full of great content ideas and practices to emulate in your own eco-conscious travel blog.

The Travel Book’s website is user-friendly with an easy-to-use, clean layout. It uses social media, like Instagram, to draw visitors and engage well with its audience.

The site also makes money through its shop, selling books, eco-friendly products, and collaborating with various brands.

Adventure travel insights and professional tips.

https://10web.io/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Travel-Freak-Travel-Blog-Example-e1704968645670.png

  • The website features a visually appealing design with vibrant imagery that enhances the content.
  • Features diverse and detailed guides for numerous travel destinations.
  • Uses modern, easily readable fonts, contributing to a comfortable reading experience.

Jeremy’s Travel Freak blog is a real gem for those who want to break free from the norm and start their own travel adventures. With over ten years of travel under his belt, Jeremy’s site is a treasure trove of info for folks who dream of solo travel, working while wandering, or just saving some cash on the road. He’s got the lowdown on the best travel gear for any trip. Plus, despite some health challenges, Jeremy’s still rocking it with heaps of tips on being a digital nomad, blogger, and influencer.

TravelFreak is a user-friendly site with easy navigation. It effectively uses social media for audience engagement and traffic.

The website smartly integrates monetization through affiliate marketing and partnerships.

Culinary and cultural travel experiences.

https://10web.io/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/A-Couple-for-the-Road-Travel-Blog-Example.png

  • The site offers a wide range of travel-related topics, including detailed guides and reviews.
  • The website features engaging and high-quality imagery that enhances the browsing experience.
  • The layout of the site is intuitive with well-organized categories and accessible information.

A Couple for the Road is a chill travel blog by Justin and Tracy. They show you how to travel without quitting your day job. They got the travel bug from big travel blog websites like Nomadic Matt’s and have been to over 75 places, sharing cool stories and tips on snagging awesome travel deals. They’re all about seeing the world while keeping your regular life humming.

A Couple for the Road is one of the best travel blog examples due to its simple, navigable layout. The website gains traction and audience mainly through its social media presence.

For revenue, it cleverly uses affiliate links and partnership agreements, all the while maintaining a user-friendly experience.

Detailed travel guides and beautiful photography.

https://10web.io/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Place-of-Juma-Travel-Blog-Example.png

  • The site offers diverse and detailed travel guides and information.
  • Showcases stunning images of various destinations, enhancing the visual appeal.
  • Features a well-structured layout, making it easy to navigate and find information.

Places of Juma is all about capturing those special travel moments through a lens. Martina and Jürgen, the duo behind the blog, mix cool photography with storytelling about their adventures. If you’re into photography, their blog is a treat. You can explore more photography website examples in our related article .

They’re not just about pretty pictures, though. They also dish out solid travel advice, complete with guides, tips, and ideas for city breaks. It’s a mix of stunning visuals and practical travel know-how.

Places of Juma is super easy to navigate, with awesome travel photos and great guides. The site mostly gets its visitors through social media and search engines.

They make their money through affiliate links and sponsored posts.

In-depth travel, food, and cultural stories.

https://10web.io/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Roads-and-Kingdoms-Travel-Blog-Example.png

  • Offers a rich blend of travel, food, and political content.
  • Features comprehensive guides and articles with unique insights into various destinations.
  • The website’s design is visually appealing and effectively showcases its varied content.

Roads and Kingdoms isn’t just another example of a travel blog. It’s a cool mix of storytelling and documentary-style photography that dives into all sorts of topics – travel, food, politics, you name it.

The travel section is filled with amazing stories and top-notch photos from experienced journalists and travelers. For foodies, there’s a whole section on the best dishes from around the world. And if you’re planning a trip, their city guides are super handy.

Roads & Kingdoms is user-friendly, featuring deep storytelling and engaging visuals. The website attracts its audience through social media and search engine optimization, indicating a broad reach.

Monetization includes affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and partnerships.

Creating a blog involves a series of strategic steps. This section will help you in turning your vision into reality and creating your ideal website.

1. Gather inspiration : Begin by exploring the various examples of the websites listed in this article that are handpicked by the 10Web Editorial team. Take notes of all the things that you like and that you’d like to see on your website as well.

2. Select the right platform: There are different website builders and platforms, each with its unique advantages and disadvantages. For example, WordPress stands out with its customization and wide range of themes and plugins, while Wix stands out with its easy-to-use editor.

3. Optimize website performance : Your website’s speed and responsiveness are crucial for engaging visitors and improving search engine rankings. Opt for reliable hosting that ensures your site is fast and accessible to all users.

4. Use AI to simplify website creation: AI can help with everything from design decisions to content creation, making the process more efficient. Use AI to automate and innovate, reducing the time you spend on website building and focusing more on growing your business.

All these and even more can be automated with 10Web’s AI Builder: 

  • Create a website with AI in less than a minute
  • Super fast Google Cloud Partner hosting
  • Website performance & speed optimization
  • Managed security & backups

Generate Your Website

Travel blogs are now key tools for both new and experienced travelers, showcasing the impact of storytelling and stunning photography in engaging readers and sparking their curiosity. For those feeling inspired to create their own travel website, the 10Web AI Website Builder stands out as an easy and effective solution. Whether you want to replicate an existing design or start from scratch, 10Web AI can quickly generate a unique, content-rich travel website tailored to your vision, combining unique images and personalized content.

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simple travel blog

Loved this.

simple travel blog

great List of Travel blog.. I love it…

Never Ending Footsteps

How to Start a Successful Travel Blog in 2024

Starting a travel blog is the best decision I've ever made. It's now funded five years of full-time travel, led to a book deal, and changed my life. This is a step-by-step guide to starting a travel blog and maximizing your chance of success!

Last updated: 13th February 2024. 

Starting a travel blog is the best decision I’ve ever made.

Through this site, I’ve funded 12 years of full-time travel and gained a book deal for my travel memoir, along with a big New York City agent. I’ve been featured in large publications, like the Wall Street Journal, the Independent, and the BBC. I’ve been interviewed on the radio in front of an audience of 1.6 million listeners. I’ve been to over 100 countries. And I make a comfortable six figures each year in entirely passive income, meaning the money comes in whether I’m working or not. (In 2024, I average about three hours of work a day).

And yet, before starting Never Ending Footsteps, I had zero writing experience, had no idea how to run a website, didn’t really know what a blog was, and had never heard of WordPress.

I hadn’t even travelled before.

I’d just graduated from college with a physics degree and was fully intending to throw myself into a career in particle physics — that is, after I took a year-long round-the-world trip.

Guys, I’ve now been travelling full-time for twelve.   freaking. years . That’s 12 years of travel paid for entirely through this travel blog. I want to cry when I think about it.

But you know what? Success to me isn’t just about the money, the book deal, and the media mentions.

Running Never Ending Footsteps has led to life-changing friendships with some of the most fascinating and inspirational people I’ve ever met. It’s taught me dozens of new skills and taken me to over a hundred countries. I even found my boyfriend of 10+ years through this travel blog!

So yeah, I’d say starting a travel blog was the best decision I’ve made.

There are approximately seventeen bajillion articles describing how to start a travel blog in 2024, so I hesitated throwing my take into the mix for many years because of it. After reading several of these articles and cringing my way through them, though, I couldn’t hold back. So much of the information was outdated and wrong! And so, I want to write an article about how you can actually start a travel blog.

I want to show that you can build a six figure business — quickly and without selling out. And that being creative doesn’t have to mean being broke.

You don’t need to do what everyone else is doing — in fact, I recommend actively avoiding it. In a space as crowded as the travel blogging world, you need to stand out and that’s why my guide is the one you should follow. It’s one that’s based around what will give you the best chances of success in the present day.

And how do I know it works?

Because I’ve been mentoring a dozen brand new travel bloggers over the past two years, helping them get set up and find financial success in lighting-fast time. I even secretly started a second travel blog in March 2023 (anonymously, so that I couldn’t use my existing audience to jump-start its success) and it’s already making $1,000 a month in passive income, less than a year after starting it.

So many of the biggest travel bloggers write these guides but have no idea how to gain success in 2024 because they all did it back in 2010! The tactics that worked back then (back when Instagram didn’t even exist!) are the opposite of what works now.

I know what works in 2024 because I’ve been successful within the past year.

So with that out of the way, let’s jump into the article!

Here’s how to start a travel blog in 2024:

  • Find the perfect name to suit your personality
  • Set up hosting for your blog
  • Install WordPress
  • Learn how your blog’s dashboard works
  • Download a lightweight, user-friendly theme
  • How to design a logo
  • Install these essential plugins
  • Start making money from day one (yes, it’s possible!)

What You Need to Know About Travel Blogging in 2024

The first thing you need to know is that travel blogging in 2024 is nothing like the travel blogging of a decade ago.

Most people’s impression of travel blogging is that it’s producing diary-style first-person narratives about somebody’s own travels, sharing their first impressions and personal experiences of a country.

This was the type of content that reigned supreme in 2012. Back then, you cultivated an audience who followed your adventures in each and every destination you visited. Bloggers didn’t publish helpful guides; they wrote chronologically about their travel experiences, focusing on telling stories and offering their opinions of a country, sharing lessons learned and future plans. People followed personalities, and they followed them for entertainment.

A decade later and this style of blogging is archaic. How many Gen Z-ers do you know who subscribe to blogs? No, when it comes to entertainment, people are looking to Youtube and TikTok to follow along on travellers’ adventures.

So what is travel blogging in 2024?

Travel blogging is more along the lines of guidebook writing. It’s actually useful to think of it as running a travel website rather than a blog. It’s not about entertainment (at least, not entirely), it’s about helping people. It’s writing detailed guides to destinations, sharing the top things to do and how to make the most of your time there. It’s about positioning yourself as a travel expert and teaching readers how they can see more of the world.

It’s actually a lot of fun, and these useful guides make so much more money than personal narratives.

My storytelling posts usually average $100 a year in advertising income, while my detailed city guides make more like $2,000 a year from ads. You can do the math: write 50 excellent city guides and you’re making $100,000 a year! Or… you can write 1,000 excellent stories to reach that same income level.

I know which one I’d choose.

First, we’ll take a look at the technical steps you need to take to get your blog up and running, then I’ll dive into how you can write those detailed travel articles and set them up to make you money.

simple travel blog

Step One: Deciding On a Name for Your Travel Blog

Finding the perfect name sounds as though it should be one of the most challenging aspects of starting a travel blog. A lot of new travel bloggers spend days and weeks agonising over finding the name that feels just right .

In reality, though, as long as your chosen site name isn’t offensive, you’ll be all good.

This ties in to what I was saying in the previous section: in 2024, the vast majority of your income is going to stem from writing helpful guides to cities and countries. And I’ll let you in on a secret: for most successful travel bloggers, 90% of their site traffic comes from Google ( not social media). People will be googling what to do in Tokyo , find your blog, browse the article, then get on with their trip. Most likely, they won’t have even noticed what your website was called.

Think about it: when you’re searching online for travel tips, how much attention do you give to the names of the travel blogs you end up visiting?

That’s why your blog name is less important than you think.

If you can rank in Google (and I’ll teach you how to do that later on), you can easily make money from that traffic. And the name of your blog? It could be anything and you would still be pulling in income.

So. With that being said, here’s what I recommend keeping in mind:

You don’t really need to stand out:  Yes, names like Nomadic [name], [name] Abroad, Backpacking [name], [name]’s Travels, and Wandering [name]have all been done to death, so if you go down that route, know that your site name is going to be fairly generic. That’s not a bad thing! It’s short, catchy, and has worked for others in the past; there’s no real need to avoid choosing similarly.

What about your name?: If in doubt, register your own name as the title of your travel blog! Why not? You’re never going to grow out of it, it’s an accurate representation of who you are, and it makes branding a hell of a lot easier.

You should probably take a long-term view:  Don’t call yourself The Thirty-Year-Old Traveller if you plan on running your site long-term — what happens if you’re running that blog when your 50?. Likewise, My African Adventures is going to lead to you feeling as though you can’t write about anything outside of the continent. Having a travel style in the blog name — like Backpacking [name] or [name]’s Luxury Travels Travel — could cause problems down the line if you decide, for example, you no longer want to stay in dorms every night.

Keep it classy:  If you’re hoping to eventually end up taking sponsored trips or working with companies in any capacity, think about how you’ll feel when handing over your business card or pitching for a trip. “Hey, I run the successful travel blog, “Sex, Drugs, and Travel” won’t necessarily make for the best first impression. Imagine introducing your site to the CEO of a tour company to see if it feels right. Imagine being older than you are now — will the name hold up when you’re 50, 60, or 70?

Make the name as easy as possible to share:  I’d avoid a site name that contains more than around five words, and I’d also recommend against using hyphens, because they make it tricky to describe your site address to people. Imagine being on a podcast and having to say, “my site is travel hyphen like hyphen a hyphen local,” or, “my site is Travel Like a Local with hyphens in between every word.” Most bloggers I know with hyphens in their url have come to loathe it.

Similarly, long, complicated words can make it tough for people who may not know how to spell them off the top of their heads. The word peripatetic describes a person who moves from place to place — sounds like a great word to include in your travel blog name, right? Now imagine how much of the general public can spell the word correctly first time, let alone know what it means!

Keep in mind that not everybody uses American English or Commonwealth English — if you’re Canadian and call your blog something like My Favourite Places or The Bold Traveller, not everybody will spell those words in the same way, so may not be able to find your site.

Check out the social media options before buying the domain:  Before purchasing your domain, see if the name of your site is available on every social media network you can think of. It’s not the end of the world if your chosen site name is too long for a username because you can modify it slightly. I’m NEFootsteps on everything, for example. And if you’re really in love with your blog name, just use your actual name for social media — lots of bloggers do that.

Think of puns and quotes: If you’re really struggling, I suggest finding a long list of travel quotes and seeing if any of them resonate. Do you have a favourite inspirational saying that you can work into a blog name? Can you think of a play on words with your name to twist it into a travel-themed phrase? How about your favourite songs? Are there any lyrics that resonate with your current mindset?

How Did I Choose Never Ending Footsteps?

I opted for Never Ending Footsteps for the name of my travel blog because it’s one that can grow with me. It doesn’t link me to a particular travel style, specific age, or length of trip. I personally wanted to choose a site name that didn’t include my own name because — thinking long-term! — it would be easier to sell my site somewhere down the line if it wasn’t tied to me as a person. Finally, I liked that, while Never Ending Footsteps evokes a sense of travel, I could potentially transition it into something else in the distant future. Never Ending Footsteps would work as a name for a hiking blog or a personal development site, for example.

Hopefully by now, you’ve decided on a name for your blog. Now it’s time to move on to the next step: registering it!

Oh, and full disclosure, as always: This blog post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase through one of these links, I receive a commission from the sale at no additional cost to you. (I’ll also teach you how you can do this too, later on in the post! )

Step Two: Setting Up Hosting

Hosting was the scariest part for me, because what even is hosting? When I started out, I had no idea. Fortunately, it’s quick and easy to get it all set up.

Hosting is essentially a home for your travel blog — it’s where it lives on the internet. So in order to have your website exist, you need to sign up with a host . What your host does is provide the physical servers for your website to live on, maintain the software required to keep your site online, and perform regular maintenance to keep your site up and running smoothly.

Honestly, I don’t understand much more than that, so don’t panic if you’re baffled by what on earth I’m going on about. You don’t need to know how it all works to get your blog set up — I’d say 95% of travel bloggers couldn’t clearly explain what hosting actually is to you.

All you need to know is that: you need it in order for your site to exist.

I’ve tried and paid for four different budget hosting companies over the years and had countless issues with all of them apart from  Bluehost . They’re the host I recommend most. I use them every single time I start a brand new website — and all of the bloggers I’ve mentored do, too. In other words, I’m putting my money where my mouth is: I use this myself!

And exciting news time! I’ve reached out to Bluehost and got them to agree to give readers of Never Ending Footsteps a discount on their hosting! When you use  this link , you’ll pay just $2.95 a month , rather than $8.99.

Bluehost is also one of the cheapest options around, their live chat support team are helpful, friendly, and can usually fix issues within minutes, and — bonus! — you’ll receive your domain name (the url of your site) for free. Setting it up should take you less than ten minutes, and I promise it’s super-easy.

Head to Bluehost’s homepage . This is what you’ll see — you can change your currency in the top right-hand corner:

simple travel blog

Hit that green button that says “Get Started Now” and you’ll be redirected to a page outlining their different hosting plans:

simple travel blog

Don’t go for their recommended plan, “Choice Plus” — you absolutely don’t need this. Instead, I recommend the cheapest plan, for $2.95 per month. This is the one I always use when setting up a new site.

(The “Plus” plan is for people who will be running multiple blogs, which you won’t be doing right now. The added privacy and security included with “Choice Plus” aren’t needed, as there are free, just-as-good alternatives to those features out there. And the “Pro” plan is for sites that receive a lot of visitors — this isn’t you right now, so you don’t want to pay extra for resources you’re not using.)

Select the “Basic” plan and you’ll be sent to the following screen:

simple travel blog

This one’s easy! Type your chosen blog name into the box on the left and click next. Check the name multiple times for spelling errors! Now check it again . You wouldn’t believe how many people register a domain name with a spelling mistake in it and don’t realise until everything is set-up and paid for.

Okay, so you’ve chosen your domain name and have clicked next. Now it’s time to pay for your hosting.

This is the part when Bluehost tries to get you to sign up for things that you absolutely don’t need, so I’m going to tell you which extras I always add to my package — as well as what you should skip out on paying for.

simple travel blog

Okay, let’s dive into these options, what they all mean, and why you don’t need most of them.

For the service term option, I recommend 12 months (which is $2.95 a month) as opposed to 36 months ($4.95 a month). Well, that’s a no-brainer, isn’t it? You’re tied into a shorter contract and paying less money for it.

As you can see above, domain privacy + protection is the only additional feature I recommend going for. Basically, when you run a website, it’s possible for people to use services to find out who owns the blog and what their home address is. You definitely don’t want this on the internet! The privacy and protection feature hides these details and replaces them with a generic Bluehost address.

None of the other features are needed, as there are free, same-quality alternatives out there to all of them. There are free programs that backup your site for you; Yoast SEO has a free option that contains everything you need to optimise your site, you can get a quality SSL certificate for free, and Google Workspace Business Starter is not required at all.

So that’s everything! Fill in your personal details and payment information and you’re good to go!

Bam! You’ve now set up your hosting and domain name — easy, right?

You’re now so close to having your site up and running.

Step Three: Installing WordPress

Now that you’ve set up your hosting, it’s time to install WordPress. This is the software that you’ll use to run your website. Through WordPress, you’ll be able to publish articles, accept comments, install useful features, and customise the look of your travel blog.

simple travel blog

As you’ll see in the screenshot above, it’s now time to create your account on Bluehost. After you click on that blue button, you’ll be asked to enter a new password for your site.

When you’ve entered in your password and clicked “create account”, it’ll take a couple of minutes to process and take you through to the next step, so don’t panic if you’re sitting there for a while.

And with that, it’s time to start building your site. You’ll see the below graphic next, and you already know what to do: click create your website !

simple travel blog

Okay, now the fun part starts! Fortunately, Bluehost really holds your hand through every step of the process. So let’s choose the option of “a little help” on the right-hand side:

simple travel blog

On the next screen, you’re going to want to click on “blog”.

simple travel blog

On the following screen, it’s pretty self-explanatory: the type of blog you’re creating is “travel & documentary” and you’re creating the site for yourself:

simple travel blog

Moving on! You’ll now enter the name of your site — I’ve used “Lauren’s New Travel Blog” as an example, and then you can enter in a tagline. Honestly, just put some placeholder text in here, as you’re easily able to change this at any point in the future — there’s no point agonising over it right now.

simple travel blog

Now, Bluehost will ask you to pick a theme that appeals most to you. Just as with your tagline, I wouldn’t recommend spending any real time on this. This is just a placeholder to help you get your site off the ground — you’ll want to change it to a premium theme once you’ve finished setting up. (I’ll recommend some of my favourite ones in the next step).

So in this case, I’ve just selected the first them on the list (Sinatra) and clicked “use this theme”.

simple travel blog

Guess what?

You can breathe now.

The hard part is over.

The technical part is finished.

You’re all done.

You’ve now successfully registered a domain name for your site, signed up for hosting, and installed WordPress. And now?

Now is when the fun truly begins.

simple travel blog

Step Four: Logging In to Your Site

There’s now two different ways that you can access your website. The first is displayed in that screenshot above: just click on the button that says “log into WordPress”.

The second method is what you’ll be using from now on. Just head to https://yourdomainname.com/wp-admin. You obviously want to replace “yourdomainname” with the url you just purchased. (And the wp-admin part stands for WordPress admin).

With that, you’ll see the following screen:

simple travel blog

Type in your username and password and you’re in!

That screen you now see is your WordPress dashboard and that’s where you’ll be running your business.

Down the left-hand side, you have all of the important stuff

  • Posts (for writing articles for your readers)
  • Pages (for static pages on your site, like an about me or contact page — these will be shown on the navigation bar at the top of your site at all times and will be easily accessible to your readers)
  • Comments (where you’ll approve, spam, or reply to comments on your articles from readers)
  • Appearance (where you’ll alter the look of your site by installing a new theme, editing its code, and adding sections to your sidebar)
  • Plugins (for adding additional features to your site)
  • Settings (where you can alter your site settings).

It all sounds a little overwhelming right now, but I promise it’ll all fall into place within a day or two.

Here’s what your next steps should be in order to get your site live and kicking:

Working in the Maldives: surprisingly easy!

Step Five: Finding a Theme

It’s time to make your site pretty! Your website theme is how you’re going to personalise your site to get it looking exactly how you’re currently hoping it will. Here are a couple of options for finding a theme, and I’ve used both of these on Never Ending Footsteps:

Elegant Themes : The very first version of my blog used an  Elegant Themes theme (Divi is my favourite), and I made my way through several other ones during my first couple of years. For $89 a year, you’ll gain access to 87 professional-looking themes. It’s great value for money, getting to choose from such a wide selection means you can play around with different designs, and the support team always managed to solve any problems I was having within 24 hours. You can browse all of the designs before signing up, too!

ThemeForest: If you want to use a theme with an even slicker design head to ThemeForest . There, you’ll pay around $50 per theme (the price varies, but averages out at around $50), but the themes available have hundreds of options for customisation and have a support team to solve your queries within a few hours. I’m currently using a ThemeForest theme on Never Ending Footsteps and I love it!

Once you’ve bought a theme, it’s time to install it on your site.

Themes will usually include installation instructions, so this shouldn’t be difficult at all. On Themeforest, for example, you’ll be able to download an installable WordPress file.

Once you’ve downloaded the file, you can log into WordPress, click on Appearance – Themes – Upload, upload the zip file you’ve just downloaded from Themeforest, and you’ll be on your way to a beautiful site.

Prepare to spend a week or two customising your theme, learning how it works, and getting everything to look exactly how you want. This part can be overwhelming at times, but don’t panic — whenever I install a new theme, I find myself still optimising it a month later. It’s something you’ll probably work on for a while, so there’s no need to get it perfect right away.

If you’re having problems and want to get your site looking a certain way, you can use the support forums on Elegant Themes or Themeforest to get help from the theme’s creator.

And if you’re really struggling, just drop me an email. I’ve installed and customised themes for over 30 travel bloggers now, so I can probably show you exactly where you’re going wrong.

simple travel blog

Step Six: Getting Yourself a Logo

A logo/banner/header is what you’ll use to differentiate yourself from other bloggers, so it’s kind of a big deal. But I’ll jump in here and say that I don’t think it’s something you need to put a huge amount of time or money into in the beginning stages of your blog. More important is your kickass content, then once you’ve started to build a following, you can pay more attention to your site’s design. As with practically everything in life, you’ll gain more benefit through investing money early on, but if you want to cut corners, this is where I recommend doing so.

Here’s what I recommend:

Canva:   Canva is completely free to use, so if you’re starting your travel blog with a tight budget, this is a great option. Once you’ve created an account and signed in, click on create a design and play around with any of the banner-sized options. If you click on, for example, Tumblr Banner or Logo, you’ll find a list of pre-made templates that you can customise with your blog name. I created the logo for Never Ending Footsteps with a free trial of Canva Premium!

Fiverr:  If you’re not comfortable with your own design skills, I recommend heading to Fiverr and checking out what’s on offer. You’ll be able to browse reviews and examples of each designer’s work on the site to ensure you receive a decent-looking end result. If I wasn’t confident in my design skills, I’d use Fiverr to find a designer.

Etsy: Fun fact! Etsy is a fantastic place to pick up a premade template for a logo for your site. Just search for travel blog logo, blog banner, travel logo, and see if any of the designs work for your vision. This is a great way to get something up on your site that’s well-designed and professional-looking without having to learn graphic design yourself.

Working by the pool

Step Seven: My Essential Plugins for Travel Bloggers

You’ve got all of the design features of your site installed at this point, so it’s time to start working on some of the behind-the-scenes stuff. With your site almost ready to go at this point, you’ll want to start installing some WordPress plugins. These will help improve the functionality of your site and give you access to a ton of new features.

Head over to the plugins section of your site and click on “add new”. You’ll then be able to search for the following plugins:

Akismet:  I didn’t realise how much websites are inundated with spammy comments until I started this site. At the moment, I receive 2 or 3 spam comments a minute.  Fortunately, I don’t have to see any of them because Akismet catches and deletes them automatically.

Comments Not Replied To: Building a community is important, and this plugin shows you a list of comments you haven’t replied to yet. If someone spends their time commenting on your blog, it’s worth taking a few minutes out of your day to reply. Plus, if your readers can see you reply to everyone, they’ll be more likely to leave a comment themselves.

Contact Form 7: This will add a form to your contact page so that people can email you.

Interactive World Maps:  Have you seen the beautiful map on my Where I’ve Been page? It’s a plugin called Interactive World Maps , which I highly recommend getting. It’s a paid plugin, so it’s not something to opt for if you’re trying to keep your costs low, but if you want a beautifully designed map to showcase your travels, this is the one to go for.

Yoast SEO:  If you install only one plugin, make it this. Yoast SEO makes it so easy to improve your rankings in Google and is the absolute best plugin out there. It comes with hundreds of features and options so I won’t list them out there, but needless to say: you need this.

lauren-hammock-belize

Step Eight: Your First Blogging Steps

Create an about page:  Before you even publish your first post, you should create an about page. The first thing I do whenever I arrive on a travel blog for the first time is find out who the blogger is, what they’re currently doing, and why I should care about them. An about page is so, so important. It tells potential readers why they should follow along on your journey. This is also the place to let your personality shine! Share weird facts about yourself, tell people why you want to travel, show them you’re human and worth following. You want to be anything but boring here, as this is your chance to grab your readers and convince them to stick around.

Write your first post:  After you’ve got your about page sorted, make your first blog post about you. Tell people why you started the blog, what it’s going to be about, where you’re going, and where you’ve been. Your introduction is how people will get to know you and it helps kick your blog off with a bang. Once you’ve written it, start sharing it on social media — Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are where you’re going to want to start publicising your wonderful content.

Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through:  Don’t be boring. When I decided to start a travel blog, I was so focused on appearing professional and being an expert that I ended up writing bland posts that read like a Wikipedia article. Little did I know, it’s your personality that’s going to convince people to subscribe. Once I embraced my inner idiot and started writing about the ways I’d screwed up on the road, my traffic skyrocketed. It’s so important to have a personality in blogging; don’t try to be a guidebook. Be a person. Be yourself. Even if you’re really weird. One thing that helps me achieve this is to write my blog posts as I would speak, then tidy up the grammar and sentence structure afterwards.

Create a business plan:  Nobody talks about this, but it’s so important! If you want to find success, you need to treat your travel blog just like any other business.  How are you going to find success? How will you monetise your site? How will you build an audience? Where do you want to be in three months? Or in a year? Which companies do you want to work with? Where do you want to be featured? Start thinking long-term, write down your goals, and start working towards them from day one.

If I was starting a travel blog in 2024, my plan would involve joining dozens of Facebook groups to network with other travel bloggers, looking for travel blogging guest post opportunities to build links to my site, focusing on Pinterest to build traffic, writing 3,000+ word resources that are better and more detailed than anything on Google’s first page, and making $500 a month. You should be able to achieve that income goal within 3-6 months of starting your travel blog.

Install Google Analytics: You’ll want to be able to record how many people visit your site each day, so Google Analytics is a must. This will allow you to track your traffic and find out more about your readers. Don’t get obsessive over it though! It’s far too easy to waste an entire day staring at your live analytics. Check every couple of days to see which posts are receiving traffic and whether it’s increasing or decreasing over time.

Stand out from the crowd by doing things differently: There are hundreds of thousands of travel blogs out there now. How are you going to stand out from the crowd? I’m a contrarian so if I see that everyone’s doing something, I try to do the opposite in order to find a niche.

I don’t take press trips or sponsored hotel stays or even accept free products for review. Why? Because every travel blogger does all of those things and I knew it was one of the things their readers dislike most about their blogs. I decided I’d pay for everything myself and travel how non-bloggers travel and have received nothing but amazing feedback in response to it.

I don’t offer advice on how to travel the world. Instead, I write about how I screwed up while travelling, because nobody else is doing that. And because travel isn’t always amazing but so many travel bloggers pretend that it is. I don’t make out that my life is perfect and I’m living the dream — instead, I write frequently about my battles with anxiety and what it’s like to deal with a mental health disorder on the road. I write about what it’s like to get lost in every goddamn city you visit; about how it feels to get scammed for the twentieth time in a year; about how to deal with your boat starting to sink in Thailand.

Everyone says to create a regular posting schedule. I didn’t start off by posting regularly though, and I never have. Bloggers say to post three times a week, but sometimes I’ve posted once a week for months on end. When I got a book deal, I posted once every three months and my traffic still grew. Interestingly, I once posted every single day for a month and my traffic dropped! Most important of all is focusing on your quality of writing. Don’t rush to post as much as possible if it’s going to sacrifice the quality of your work.

There are some things that will help you find success and that’s why everyone’s doing them. Go self-hosted with Bluehost, come up with a catchy name, find a beautiful theme, and come up with a way to brand yourself. But everything else isn’t as important. Post when you want, travel where you want, and write about the things that interest you. Be yourself. That’s the way to build a successful travel blog.

How Do You Make Money With a Travel Blog?

A lot of travel bloggers recommend waiting until you’ve built a large and engaged audience before you even start to think about monetising your site, but I don’t think it’s necessary. There are plenty of ways to start earning money that won’t negatively affect your growth or annoy anyone who visits your site. Here’s how I recommend getting started:

Adsense: The easiest way to start making money with advertising is through Adsense . Sign up for an account, enter in the ad settings you want (I’ve received the most success with a 300×250 sized banner placed below the first paragraph of a post), and then you’re good to go! Download the Quick Adsense plugin, too, as it makes placing the ad code anywhere on your site straightforward. Experiment with different placements, too.

You should be able to make as much as $1 per 1,000 visitors to your site if you have enough placements, and while that won’t sound like much, once you reach 25,000 visitors a month, you can leave Adsense, join Mediavine and start making 10x more money with advertising. There are plenty of new travel bloggers who manage to reach 50,000 page views a month in under a year — with Mediavine, that means making around $750 a month in ad revenue, which is enough to live off in cheaper countries like Vietnam.

Amazon:  If you want to get started with affiliate marketing (and you definitely should — I make those annual six figures from affiliate marketing alone!)  Amazon Associates is best for beginners. Any time you mention a product on your site, you can search for the product through Amazon Associates, and then use that link in your post. Whenever your readers click on that link and choose to buy anything, you’ll receive a commission on that sale. Packing lists, in-depth reviews, and gift guides are great for monetising through Amazon, so get started with those.

I have packing lists on my site that make me over $300 per post each month, so if you can write a detailed packing list and get it ranking first in Google, that’s a great way to make money before you have a huge audience. Write three of them? Well, now you’ve got $1,000 coming in each and every month.

Other affiliate programs:  As long as you don’t go overboard and stuff every single paragraph with a ton of affiliate links (which can always be tempting!), there’s no reason why you can’t join other affiliate programs, too. Some popular ones that I use and recommend include Booking.com for linking to accommodation I’ve stayed in, GetYourGuide for recommending tours and Skyscanner for whenever I talk about finding inexpensive flights.

That way, when you write a detailed travel guide for a place, you can recommend the hotel you stayed in, share how you found cheap flights, and recommend that your readers make the most of their time by taking tours. Then, of course, you can make money whenever somebody clicks those links and follows your recommendation.

I have a single post on my site that brings in $1,500 a month in Booking.com commissions alone, so you can see how lucrative affiliate marketing can really be.

Most important of all: I use every single one of these companies and have done since the very first day I started travelling. If you hate Skyscanner and never use them, for example, you shouldn’t recommend them to your readers just so you can make money from them. You’ve got to be ethical!

The best thing about affiliates is that you can start making money from day one. If you start your travel blog off by writing a travel guide to Athens and find that it makes its way to the first page of Google within the next month or so, you can add affiliate links to that post and you will make a decent amount of money from it — even though your overall blog doesn’t get that much traffic.

That’s all I’d focus on right now. I’d steer away from monetising your social media, trying to get comped travel, and running branded content posts/sponsored posts in the early stages, if not forever, because they’re most likely to annoy your readers.

How Much Does it Cost to Start a Travel Blog?

Now that I’ve covered how to make money with your site, let’s take a look at the upfront costs you can expect to pay to keep a blog running. Here are several options:

You want to run a blog to keep friends and family informed of your travels: free

If your aim is to keep a record of your travels for your friends to follow along with and you have no desire to turn it into a business, there’s no need to make an investment up front. Instead, I recommend heading to WordPress.com (rather than .org) and setting up your site through there. You won’t have to pay for hosting and you’ll have access to free themes to use on your travel blog.

You want to start a professional travel blog but don’t have much money to do so: $109

There are definitely ways that you can cut corners without sacrificing the overall quality of your travel blog.

I’ve yet to come across a popular travel blog that wasn’t self-hosted, so that’s an essential. When it comes to a theme, having a slick and modern one will create a better first impression, so I think that’s important, too. Opt for a ThemeForest theme in this case, for around $50, and you’ll be well on your way to building a wonderful travel blog.

For your logo, go for Canva if you’re trying to save money. They have some pretty impressive banner designs that won’t cost you a cent to use, and you can hire a professional designer further down the line as you find success. Skip everything else that’s paid at this point — you can invest in those later on once you start making money with your site.

If you’re tight on money, then, you’ll find you’ll pay $59 for your Bluehost hosting , $50 up-front for a professional theme, and that’s it!

You’re determined to build a successful, lucrative travel blog as quickly as possible: $150 up-front

If you’ve got money to spend and you’re ready to dedicate as much as you can to getting your travel blog off the ground, you’ll be looking at large up-front costs. You’ll also likely start making money within your first year of blogging, if not sooner.

You’ll cover the basics with a Bluehost hosting plan for three years ($100), and then splurge on a ThemeForest theme for around $50.

You’re me: $330 a month

Ha! I’m including me in this list because you’re most likely curious to know how much you’ll be looking at spending on a site once you’re successful. Here’s how my main monthly expenses break down:

  • I pay $35 a month to host my site with Cloudways . As my site has grown, I’ve tried a variety of hosts over the years, sometimes paying as much as $300 a month in an attempt to make my site the fastest on the internet. In the end, I settled on Cloudways, as it offers an excellent balance of speed and price.
  • I spend $100 a month for SEMRush . This is an SEO tool that allows you to see which keywords your site is ranking for in Google, determine which articles are best for you to write next, analyse your competitors’ websites, learn which sites have linked to yours, track brand mentions online, and all kinds of other useful stuff. It’s pricey, but I easily make that money back every year from the information it provides me with, so consider it an essential. You can check it out with a two week trial through this link .
  • I spend $700 a year for newsletter services with  ConvertKit .
  • I spend $600 a year to schedule pins on Pinterest with  Tailwind .
  • I pay $400 a year for accounting software with  Xero .
  • I pay $250 a year to host my travel photos online with  Crashplan .

It sounds like a lot, but keep in mind that I make well over $10,000 a month from my travel blog, so they’re all expenses that I can justify.

Is It Too Late to Start a Travel Blog in 2024?

I receive a lot of emails and comments from readers who are concerned it’s too late to start travel blogging. Is it? Nope! Hell no. Seriously — it’s not too late.

And the pandemic? It caused a lot of travel bloggers to give up. While the travel blogging world used to be super-crowded, it’s now thinned out over the past year, as bloggers who were reliant on press trips began to run out of money. And now that the world is starting to return to normal, those of us who focused on passive income are doing better than ever, with less competition than before.

It’s a great time to start.

And you know what? There are so many more opportunities for income than there used to be. When I started out, there were only a handful of travel bloggers who made $1,000 a month, and they were the people who had been blogging for several years. These days, there are several hundred travel bloggers who are pulling in six figures each and every year.

In Facebook groups, I see new bloggers sharing how they managed to reach six figures in just a year or two of blogging — something that used to take the original travel bloggers four or five years to manage.

If I were to start my travel blog today, I’d be able to reach my current income within two years. So don’t be dissuaded by the sheer number of travel bloggers on the internet today — focus on generating traffic then monetising your audience, and you’ll be doing well in no time at all!

Now Get Blogging!

I have one final suggestion, and that’s to take a look through the comments of this article below. I now have almost a thousand comments on this article from people asking questions and looking for advice. My answers will likely be useful as you start your travel blogging journey, and feel free to ask for any clarification in the comments, too!

And most of all, good luck! I promise you can do it :-)

693 Comments

So this is actually only the second blog post I’ve read about how to start a travel blog, but I must say that I like yours the best. Mostly because you mention a little a bit about what you’re paying up front when you sign up for Bluehost. I’m sure if I started a live chat with them I could’ve discovered it on my own, but sometimes I have a little aversion to social interaction lol being an introvert sucks … anyways … I just wanted to thank you for helping me understand why I was so confused when I tried to start my website and it was declined due to insufficient funds lol being a food runner/expeditor does’t pay much lol

I really liked this post a lot and just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated all the information and time you put into it. I didn’t even know about logos and that was awesome that you shared that because the first blog post I read just mentioned “good content”.

I am saving this for future reference and thank you greatly for the inspiration your blog has given me. Keep on doing you =) You’re doing GREAT!

Thank you so much for your kind words, Eden!

Before I put this guide together, I spent several weeks looking at similar posts by other travel bloggers to make sure that I could fill in any gaps they’d left. I found the majority of them didn’t include as much information as I would have liked to have seen when I first started out, so I’m thrilled to hear that my article was helpful for you :-)

Hi Lauren, I’m a new travel blogger based in Nigeria and I decided to start my travel blogging with touring round my state in Nigeria. I’m really having a hard time thinking about if this is really best for me but I know I have a strong passion for going places. And I can’t explore other continents because I’m underage and my college won’t allow me to. I have already created my word press account and uploaded my first about post. But I need advice on how to move on and I am using the WordPress free plan for a start. What kind of advice can you give to me please ?

Start by writing about the places you’ve already been to in Nigeria, and focus on building up your social media following. You can still find success by writing detailed guides to destinations you’ve already visited.

Hey, I stumbled on your blog while looking for ways to work since I’m laid off from my job as a cook due to the pandemic. I was bouncing around an idea regarding a travel blog revolving around virtual vacations since no one is allowed to go anywhere. All you really find is dry how to dos on the subject. I thought about how get the most out of it on a budget. Now I think I really want to try it. Just because you are stuck at home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy the world. I was hoping you’d have a little advice for me.

But do you think most bloggers set out with the intention of creating the kind of blog that can be monetized?

For me it’s been an evolutionary process – I started out on Google’s blogger in 2013 just as a way of keeping memoir for myself really, as well as a postcard substitute for friends and family. Then once my content grew I got frustrated with blogger’s limitations and moved to wordpress.com, then to wordpress.org hosted as part of my husband’s business website, and only to wordpress.org/Bluehost last month with a free theme from Catchthemes.

All I’ve paid for so far is Bluehost. The next step might be the paid-for version of my theme, but I think it’s unnecessary spend any money AT ALL until you know you’re going to stick with blogging – it’s easy enough to import existing content into a wordpress blog, so doesn’t it make more sense to create some content first and see if you enjoy the process? After all, a monetized blog seems take an awful lot of time and effort and probably isn’t for everyone – I still haven’t decided whether the monetized part is something I want to pursue.

It’s tough. I think more new travel bloggers are setting out with the intention of making money purely because there’s so much inspiration out there to quit your job and try it, and it makes it look easy.

There are pros and cons to investing in your site when you first start out. Like you say: you might end up giving it a go and then discover you don’t actually enjoy the writing and you’d much rather travel without the commitment. But at the same time, if you don’t take the time to build a slick blog that looks professional it’s going to be incredibly hard to build any kind of audience, which could discourage you from continuing, because it seems so much harder than it should be.

I’ve only just started and I’ve read quite a few “How to start a travel blog” posts – but I particularly like what you say towards the end about doing things differently. That was initial gut feeling, finding a USP rather than trying to compete in an overcrowded space, until I started reading about having to blog prolifically to start with etc. I like your approach better. You’re also the only person who specifically mentioned getting a logo – something that I’d only had loose ideas about, but will definitely go about getting this now. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Thanks so much, Maki! I actually wrote about this recently: Everyone Said I Was Doing it Wrong . I find that a lot of bloggers recommend doing the same things to find success and, while clearly they have worked for them, I’ve found success through doing things differently to everyone else. Standing out from the crowd is so important!

Thanks for this list! I can vouch for Fiverr. Found a great graphic artist who did my logo. She runs a legit design house with other artists working for her, so it might be better to find a user with an extensive portfolio and lots of positive reviews.

Oh, that’s good to hear! Thanks for the tip :-)

Wow wow wow, firstly, well done on your achievement!! Secondly, thank you for sharing these steps as many do not go into so much detail. Greatly appreciated. I’m in Cape Town, South Africa, recently retired and have always been interested in writing about our travels. We’ve done numerous motorcycle tours and I would usually do a short reflection of it. Friends have been pushing me to write more. ..I’ve recently posted 2 recent day trips on Facebook (Colleen Arendse-Stain), and being reminded again to start a book or a blog….now that I have more free time, I would like to give it a go. Thank you for the advice and inspiration… When will you visit Cape Town???

Best of luck with getting it all set up, Colleen! And I looooove Cape Town :-)

What if you are unsure what your niche is? I want my blog to encompass all aspects of my traveling life whether it’s the how to’s, budgeting, disasters on the road, travel hacking, etc. I’m concerned that by doing everything I’ll slip through the cracks and won’t be noticed.

I’d recommend focusing on one angle and tying everything else into that. For example, you could make budget travel your main focus, but still write about everything else. Travel disasters could be tied into traveling on a budget if you have mishaps in hostels, for example. Travel hacking could have a budget focus, so it isn’t all about getting as many credit cards as possible. How to travel on a budget… you get the idea. After you choose a niche that doesn’t have to be your sole, sole focus — you just want people to be able to say, “Oh, Mike? He’s that guy that writes about…”

My focus is being a walking disaster, but that isn’t all I write about! I’d probably only end up posting every few months if that was the case. I still write resource-y posts and guides to cities and posts about anxiety, but I’ll throw in a mention of a misadventure I had every now and then.

Hi Lauren –

Your blog is awesome and is set up so beautifully!! I’m working on setting one up and am trying to add a “Where I’ve Been Map” that I can link things to. I’ve been looking at maps on a few different travel blogs and yours is the closest to what I’m looking for.

Any tips for creating a map with countries colored in that can be linked to certain posts? Most of the sites I’ve found either share only a map with filled in countries OR a Google map with pins that can be moved around.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks :)

Hi Alison. Yep! I use a plugin called interactive world maps for mine. I highly recommend it as it’s easy to use, looks great, and is very customisable! :-)

Lauren, is it possible to move from my existing WordPress address to this host and get the .com address? I don’t want to start from scratch after all this time, and I’m generally happy with my existing blog on WordPress, but I know I will have to start paying for it soon. Thanks for any feedback you can provide!

Yep! You just need to transfer your site from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. When you log into your dashboard, navigate to tools and click export -> all content. Once you’ve done that, sign up for hosting and install WordPress using the directions I included in this post. Once that’s sorted, you can log in, head to tools -> import -> WordPress, and upload the exported file from your wordpress.com site. Let me know if you need any help! :-)

Are there any free themes? Could I possibly bring in my own theme designed by a graphic designer ? To sign up for wordpress do I have to use WordPress themes ?

Hi Marcy. Yep, just google free WordPress themes and a ton will come up. You can also hire a graphic designer to help you out with your site — I’d recommend this as you’d likely end up with a more professional looking theme. Yep, you need to use WordPress-specific themes for WordPress.

Let me know if I can help with anything else!

All good stuff! After building over 100 WordPress sites I would highly recommend using good security plugins, WP is easy to hack.

-Bulletproof security -Wordfence

Awesome! Thanks so much, Jane! I’ll get on that now :-)

Hi Lauren, I’m in the process of switching my WordPress blog over to a website and your post is the most helpful I’ve found so far. I had a few questions, but they’ve mostly been answered already in the comments :-) Jane’s tip sounds good about redirecting the admin login to avoid hackers, but what does this mean? How do I do it? I’d be really grateful if you or Jane could explain. I’m sure I could google it, but you make everything sound so clear and easy to follow :-)

Yep, it’s super-easy to do. Download this plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/better-wp-security/ and you can change the url of the admin area, and add a load of extra security features to your site, too :-)

I’m surprised you didn’t mention joining travel blog success like all the other bloggers do – which is impressive! I love how you personality just shows through your delicate writing!

I started blogging about my travel experience recently as well, but I am a photographer and I have my name as the domain for my portfolio site – so I just built a blog page on top of what I already have – I’m still debating if I should just create a separate domain for blogging or just keep it as is..

I like to do things differently :-) Honestly, I think Travel Blog Success is overpriced and unnecessary. I’ve never joined so I can’t speak from experience, but I’ve been just fine without it.

hi lauren! nice article as usual! I wanted to know if the plugins are hard to use with wordpress? What do you think of squarespace?

Plugins are super-easy to use. Just search for them in the the plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and hit install. The settings for them are easy to understand, as well.

Never used Squarespace or subscribed to a site that uses it. I don’t like many of the templates and there aren’t many options for customisation.

Glad you found it helpful, Kate! Digg Digg works fine for me, so you shouldn’t have a problem with it — maybe try again? I’ve never used Genesis, so I’m afraid I can’t help with that. My theme is called Presso and I bought it from Themeforest.

Hi Lauren Thank you for sharing your tips on this post I found it really helpful :-) I am currently travelling and about to launch my own blog, more to share my experiences than to make a living out of it but obviously still want it to be unique and interesting. I read your book “How NotTo Travel The World” whilst I was travelling around India and loved it ❤️ It’s good to know I’m not the only one who makes travelling mistakes and gets into the odd disaster…. Haha st least we will both have entertaing stories to tell! xxx

Thanks so much, Jayne! I’m delighted to hear you enjoyed my book, and no, you’re definitely not the only one to have disasters :-) Best of luck with your blog!

Thanks, Lauren. I’ve read a gazillion “how to set up a travel blog” posts and even attended webinars but this is the first time I think I could actually do it. I started writing a weekly travel column for the newspapers 10 years ago but shied away from blogging because I’m technically challenged. Thanks for your confidence boosting “how to start a successful travel blog” post.

Happy travels.

That’s amazing to hear, Helga! I’m so happy to hear my post could fill you with the confidence to give it a try :-) Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing when I first started, but you pick it up pretty quickly :-)

Hi Lauren Just finished your book and reading through this blog! My husband and I plan to head out for a year of travel in a couple of years and I’d like to blog. In the meantime, I have a sort of friends and family blog about camping in Colorado. It isn’t hosted and I use free wordpress. I’d like to transform it into something lots more professional and public. So, my question is–should I just scratch it and start over? Sounds like it is hard to move content and change a name? Because I’m giving tips on where to camp I think I may need to re-visit some of the older locations anyway. Will it actually disappear so that people will only find the new one? Finally, about how long did it take before your blog began earning an income? What exactly did you do–seek out advertisers? Or did they find you? Thanks!

Hi Stephanie!

What you could do is set up a new blog, then export all of your content from your wordpress.com site to your new one. There’s literally an export and import button on both WordPress versions, so it should be super-quick and easy. You could either redirect your old site to the new one, or just delete the old one if it doesn’t receive much traffic.

I started earning money from my site three months after starting it, and was making enough to live off of after around a year. Advertisers found me for the most part, but one thing you could do is create a Facebook group or small community of travel bloggers who started their sites at the same time as you, and share contacts with each other there.

Hope that helps!

I have been following your blog for so long now and it has helped me so much with my travels so I first just want to say thank you!! I’ve just started my own blog so my family/friends can keep up to date with what I’m doing etc, I originally didn’t set it up to make it into a business or to make money but I can’t help but notice how many people are making a living from blogging. My main question would be when and how did you know when to turn it from a hobby into a priority? For me I don’t want to spend money on a domain/Wordpress.org etc if it’s only ever going to be a hobby but I also know I can’t get anywhere without if that makes sense, sorry to ramble on I just don’t know what to do and after reading this post I thought it might be best to ask you the expert hehe! xx

Roughly how much a year do you think you’d spend on expenses for your blog? Preferably in NZD or something I can convert just so I have an idea ?

These days I’d estimate I spend around 2000 USD a year. I use WP Engine as my hosting company and pay around $70 a month for them. They’re one of the best hosting options there, but pretty expensive and completely unnecessary for a new blogger. I pay around $120 a year each for social media scheduling with Coschedule and Pinterest scheduling with Tailwind. Maybe around $50 a year for new plugins for my site. $600 a year for my newsletter service with ConvertKit. That’s probably about it.

During my first year of running this blog, I think I probably only spent around $50 a year. I paid for hosting and that was about it.

Hi Lauren! I am just starting out trying to create a travel blog too and I’m really struggling with making my site look the way I imagine. I’ve purchased a theme and it’s “installed” but doesnt seem to resemble what I purchased. I am not well versed in graphic design but I like to consider myself computer savvy. Can you suggest or recommend a good resource/s for setting up the themes and basically making my sight look like I imagine? Also a good place to create a banner? or is that what you mean by a logo? I’ve been considering travel blog success but I just dont know that I’m ready or willing to invest in it yet.Thank you so much for your help!

Your theme will usually have installation instructions that run through how to set it up and get everything looking how you want it to. Otherwise, using the theme options page on your WordPress dashboard is where you need to be. That’s where you’ll make all of the changes to your site’s appearance.

Yep, you can have a banner made through the same sites I recommend for a logo.

You probably won’t recognise my name, but I’ve tweeted you a couple times :) anyway, I just wanted to ask, what is a logo? I’ve never heard of that before. I seem to be having some issues with my domain name registering, but once its sorted, (fingers crossed it will be.) I’ll be moving on to personalising my blog. how do you pick a theme? There seems to be thousands of them! As someone who doesn’t have a clue or anyone to ask, I feel like i need to be walkeeen at this for 2 days and I’ve still not got my blog! Please help!d through by baby steps! I’ve already been derailed twice, please help! haha hope alls well! Eilidh

Oh, by logo, I mean the banner up at the top of every page. The Never Ending Footsteps part is the logo. It’a way to help brand your site and inject some personality to it, rather than having some plain, boring text as the site title.

When it comes to picking a theme, it took me about a week to find one that I like. I went to Themeforest and sorted the WordPress themes by popularity. From there, I went down the list until I found one that I liked. Honestly, it all comes down to what features you’re looking for and what style works for you. Take a look at the live preview of each site and see if anything clicks. Most of the themes are very customisable, so it’d be hard to go wrong!

Great tips, wish I would’ve had this post when I started. I’m glad you mention how much work it is behind the scenes as many people just think is taking photos and publishing then online. My biggest challenge has been seo, I actually invested in a professional to help me out. Looking forward to your posts.

Thanks so much, Sanket! I’m so happy to hear you found the post useful :-) It definitely takes a lot of work to build a successful site, which is why it can sometimes be a little frustrating when people assume you’re on a permanent vacation!

That’s a good tip about investing in someone to help you out if you’re not so great at a certain skill. I know that I tried to do everything when I first started out to the detriment of my site!

Hi Lauren, I’ve been following Dave since 2012-ish and then you soon after – you’ve both been so incredibly helpful with all my travel planning. Loved your book too! I’m looking to start monetising my blog but I’m currently using blogger – I want to transfer everything so I can have my own .com name… can you do this with a blogger page or do I need to start again and copy paste the content across? I’m just worried about losing any follows! Thanks :)

Hi Clare! :-) You can keep your current Blogger site and just get a custom domain for it. Info here: https://support.google.com/blogger/troubleshooter/1233381?hl=en#ts=1734115

Great advice :)

I have a question around how your blog became successful – was there one particular moment or incident which turned your blog into a profession? There are so many travel blogs out there so im just wondering how you go about getting “discovered” – how did your readers find you?

Thanks Megan

There wasn’t really a particular moment when things skyrocketed — I definitely noticed a huge jump in engagement and follower numbers once I started embracing my disastrous side :-) but much of my growth has been pretty organic. If you were to look at my traffic numbers, it would be something like 5,000 visitors per month on average for the first six months, 10,000 visitors per month for the next six months and so on, so I’ve always had steady growth rather than one big moment when things rapidly expanded.

But that’s talking about audience size, which is different to turning my blog into a profession. For me, I didn’t think of my blog as my *job* until I’d been running it for around nine months (and travelling for three of them). By that point, I was making enough income to live in Southeast Asia, and was starting to become more well-known in the travel blogging world. It was at that point when I realised, hey, I don’t actually have to go home after a year :-)

And as for how my readers found me, I can actually answer this quite accurately as I recently ran a reader survey and asked exactly that question! To quote from that post :

“35% of you found me through Googling something random and 30% discovered me through another travel blog. On the lower-but-heartwarming end of the spectrum, 5% found me through a friend’s recommendations, 8 responders know me in real life (hi!), and 5 of you even found the site through buying How Not to Travel the World first.”

Hi Lauren! I’m in my last year of high school and your blog has definitely inspired me to chase my travelling dreams :) Was just wondering though, is a web blog essential/necessary in funding your travels or could your travels be funded from other things? What else could provide as a main resource for funding travel?

Saf – the way from Australia :)

Hi Saf! Nope, it’s definitely not essential. There are so many ways you could fund travel that don’t involve opening a laptop — teaching English, working as a surf instructor or divemaster, working on a cruise ship, running tours, working in hostels, working in bars… And for something online based, it could be doing your current job remotely if you don’t need to be in the office, working as a graphic designer or computer programmer or an app developer or a translator or a freelance writer or editor, or an SEO specialist or a social media marketer, or selling things you’ve made on Etsy or elsewhere, or self-publishing books on Amazon. The possibilities are endless! :-)

Thanks Lauren, for creating another master class post. I am bookmarking the post because in near future, I am going to make a travel related blog. Such instruction can make my work easier.

That’s so kind of you to say! Glad you found it useful :-)

Just wanted to say thank you Lauren, some fantastic tips in here. Nearly finished your book now, it’s brilliant. Never read a book that’s kept my attention and interest like yours does. You should be so very proud of yourself for such great writing. Best wishes and safe (as it gets with you!!) travels! Richard – BeyondTheVan.

Thank you so much, Richard! Your comment truly means the world to me :-)

This was really helpful, thanks so much. I still have a lot to figure out, but you’ve given me a good start.

No problem! Happy to help :-)

You’ve mentioned in your post and a few of the comments that you would suggest starting a FB page with other bloggers who are starting out around the same time as you. Do you have any tips/suggestions/advice on how to find people just starting? All the bloggers I follow online are already established.

Thanks so much :)

Hey, Renata! I answered this a couple of comments down :-)

My mother brought me a copy of your book home from work one day last year, and it had me cracking up thinking about how similar we are in terms of unlucky things seeming to gravitate to us no matter where we go. I got head butted on a subway in Shanghai by a man applying eye drops, for example..

Currently in the process of (trying) to set up my blog for my upcoming travels, and this post is doing wonders, so thanks so much!

Oh, that means the absolute world to me to hear, Jack! And oh my god, I laughed so hard at the image of you being headbutted, haha. Feel free to drop me an email if you get stuck when setting up your site! :-)

Thanks for the informative post! I’m also in the process of starting my own spiritual travel blog and was wondering…how did you find other bloggers who were new to start a Facebook group? I agree with Renata in her comment above; all the bloggers I see on social media are well established and not beginners like me.

Thanks, Christine

Hi Christine,

Twitter chats could be a good place for starting to get to know other bloggers, like #TTOT. Also, searching for hashtags like #rtwsoon for people who are about to head out on a rtw trip, or #rtwnow. Or googling travel blog 2016 “first post” or “my itinerary” or “travel plans” or something like that should bring up recent posts from new blogs. There are also a ton of Facebook groups, like the Travel Bloggers group, and lots of others for newbies as well. Just have a search for “Travel bloggers”. Finally, you could look for other travel bloggers who are commenting on blog posts.

I forged most of my friendships through Twitter, because it’s more conversational and you’re not like, “hey! *Facebook friend request even though you have no idea who I am*!”

great Article about starting a travel bog. After I had finished it, it was clear to me that you have written more or less about “professional” travel blogs. I have also started my own blog. But it is primary used to keep my family and friends up to date. So i choose one of the easy to use platforms. In my case: http://www.traveloca.com . I think it was a good decision as long as I don’t have such a popular travel blog. :) I am a real non technically-minded blogger and until my blog gets not hundreds or thousands of visitor per day, I think such a platform makes much easier. :)

Hi Maria! Yep, this is a guide to starting a successful travel blog, so a lot of my tips are based around how to give yourself the best opportunity possible of making it. If your blog is for friends and family, there’s no need to spend money on hosting and themes and stuff :-)

Yep, perhaps it gets more popular in time. Than I can think about such a “professional” blog but up to now it is enough :) What I could do so far is following some of your tips from step eight.

Yes! And I’m planning to update this article over the next week or so to include money making tips and a few other bits and bobs :-)

Oooooo!! Excited to read that update, as your clarity, illumination, and support is always appreciated ;). Thank you for everything you do!

Thanks for the tips, Lauren!

No problem!

Thanks for this! Lot’s of great tips for us lil guys starting out.

You’re welcome! :-D

Hi Lauren! Just stumbled upon this post on google – very helpful article! I’ve been blogging for about 6 months and most of my viewers come from Quora. Do you have any tips on similar sites to gain more visitors? Would really appreciate any advice :) Keep up the good work!

Thank you so much, Maria! I don’t focus too much on traffic generations on sites like that, purely because it takes a lot of time and effort and I’m not sure how sustainable the traffic is. For example, I used to get quite a bit of traffic from the TripAdvisor forums to my Maldives posts (it was in my top 10 referrers), but I just checked, and six months later, I get two visits a month. I’ve seen things like this happen over and over, so it’s not something I personally focus on. But if Quora works for you, then that’s great, and there’s no reason to stop working on it! :-)

One thing I would suggest is to focus on guest posting. Pitch articles for huge sites that are relevant to what you write about (for example, I could pitch a writing site about how I got a book deal, or an anxiety site about how travel helps my anxiety, or a personal development site on how travel changed my life, or a women’s site about how I met my boyfriend on the road). It’ll bring new people to your site, benefit your blog by giving you a link back (and therefore helping increase your search traffic), and it forces you to practice writing for a different audience!

This is my first time visiting your blog and first off, it’s fucking awesome. As I’m sure most of your followers are, I’m a travel nut (currently writing this while in Vienna, Austria) and want nothing more than to be able to travel for the rest of my life. I’m currently a junior German and Communication Studies double-major and would love to be able to travel after I graduate and share my experiences with others. I found this article really helpful! I did have a few questions for you though. 1) How exactly did you gain all of your followers? 2) How do you use your blog to pay for your trips? Obviously, money plays an important role in travel.

If you could give me any tips I would really, really appreciate it! (:

Awww, thank you so much, Jacqueline! I really appreciate it! :-)

1) Honestly, it all happened organically. Remember that I’ve been doing this for six years now, so that’s a lot of time for people to find me and decide to follow along on my travels. I just shared my travels here on my site and linked out to my social media pages on the site, I shared photos of my travels and little updates on Facebook and Twitter, and somehow people found me. I realise that isn’t very helpful, but I really didn’t do anything beyond share what I was doing. I didn’t buy any followers, or take part in reciprocal liking, or anything like that really. I’d imagine the vast majority of my followers stumbled upon my site in Google and decided to follow me then.

2) I have an entire post dedicated to how I fund my travels here: https://www.neverendingfootsteps.com/how-to-fund-travel-blog/ These days, I make money through advertising (small banner ads in the sidebar and through ads on my Youtube channel), affiliate sales (this post is an example: if you decided to set up your site using Bluehost by following my link, I’d receive a small percentage of the sale), freelance writing (I write regularly for About Student Travel and Too Many Adapters, and occasionally write pieces every so often for other websites and magazines), and book royalties from my memoir. I think that’s about it.

There are a few things other travel bloggers do to make money that I don’t: taking press trips and charging a day rate (or taking press trips for free in order to save on travel expenses), selling ebooks or courses, doing social media marketing for other companies, selling photos online, working with brands on sponsored posts, placing ads on social media, selling ad space to other travel bloggers, using something like Patreon, where their readers help support them, or reader donations… there are lots of ways you can make money through travel blogging!

Thanks, Karen! :-)

No problem! Glad it helped :-)

I’m SO glad that you said not to spend money on Travel Blog Success! I feel like everyone just recommends it so that they can get money from the affiliate links…

Yeah. A lot of travel bloggers make it sound as if you’ll never be successful unless you join. Not true!

can you recommend a good (free) travel theme by WordPress. I’ll be traveling by bike with daily entries and lots of pictures…thanks!

The problem with free themes is that more often than not they contain malware and dodgy links, which will do nothing but penalise your site — that’s why people give them away for free, because they know they can add, for example, links to cheap viagra, etc from your site and cash in from that. It’s for that reason that I recommend going with a paid one.

If you don’t have the cash to spend, use one of the themes WordPress recommends in the themes section of your site. I haven’t used any of them, so don’t have any personal recommendations.

thanks Lauren, all good points! I’m not looking to monetize my blog and mostly want it for friends and family to be able to access to follow my travels but maybe there are other issues too that could effect my site negatively by going with the free stuff. Tim

Ah, just use one of the WordPress ones you’ll find in your backend then.

Hi Lauren, This is amazing! Probably the most comprehensive guide I’ve read so far. I am new to travel blogging and i’m looking at monetizing my blog too. I have used wordpress.com before, but the features are so limited which is why I’m shifting to wordpress.org, I want to take blogging seriously but i’m quite confuse about hosting. Thank you so much, the step by step guide for BlueHost is a big help for me!

Thanks so much, Lhea! I’m so happy to hear that :-) Let me know if you have any questions at any point!

This might be a bit of a naive question, but in terms of theme and logo, do you have to go through a professional graphic designer or can you just sort of put something together yourself? I would love to design my logo myself :)

No, you don’t have to go through a professional! If you can do it yourself, you totally should :-)

Lauren, thank you! One of my aims for 2017 was to start a travel blog and now that the year is half-way through, I’m starting to realise I need to get ON THIS right now. Thank you so much for your helpful blog article — it’s inspiring, easy to understand, and packed full of useful information. Can I ask what some of your favourite travel blogs are? I love yours (obviously) but I’d love to discover other authentic travellers out there to inspire me on my own travel blog journey.

Thanks again!

I’m so happy you wrote this post, Lauren! I’m a longtime reader of your site and have been inspired by how much travel has helped you to grow. I’m setting out for my own soul searching experience in July and this has convinced me to take the leap and try travel blogging for myself to see how it goes.

That’s amazing, Edna. I’m touched to hear my story could inspire you <3 Best of luck with your blog and let me know if I can help out with anything if you get stuck along the way.

Who do you use for hosting your travel blog? Is it still Bluehost or somebody different? I read in another blog post of yours that you changed hosting company a few years ago and experienced a rise in traffic from search engines. Would you not then recommend starting with a more expensive host to give yourself the best chance of success?

Would there be much interest in retirement travel as a niche do you think? My children have flown the nest, my husband has died and I want to start traveling and showing other older women that it’s never too late to see the world. Is there any chance I can find an audience at my age? Travel blogging seems to be focused so much on younger women in their 20s.

This has been so helpful, thank you. Can I ask if these are the exact steps you followed when you started your blog or like are these things that you learned along the way? You are obviously successful and I was wondering if you made it by doing this exactly or doing some things differently. I hope this makes sense!

Can I be cheeky and ask which banner design you like most for a logo in Canvaa? Theres so many to choose from and I want one that will make me stand out.

This was just what I needed to give me a kick up the butt and convince me to start my travel blog! Time to start brainstorming names…

Yay! I’m happy to hear that, Loretta! Best of luck :-)

Hi Lauren. This was an amazing post! It not only inspired me to start my own blog but also to follow the exact steps you’ve laid out on your post. It was very helpful. Thank you. I have one question though. At the bottom of your blog, it says ‘Copyright Lauren………’. How do I do that on my blog using Word Press. Currently it says ‘Proudly powered by Word Press…..’ and the theme I use. Can I edit this?

Yes! If you go to Appearance -> Editor and find your footer.php file, you should be able to edit it in there. If not, most themes will have something in the theme options section of the WordPress dashboard where you can change it.

This is the most detailed post I found on starting a travel blog so I have to say thanks to you for that Lauren. My one question to you: would you recommend making your own logo in Photoshop or Canva when you’re starting out?

I’d go for Canva if you don’t have experience with graphic design yet. It’ll be much easier than trying to teach yourself Photoshop from scratch.

You don’t have to answer this but how much money do you make through this travel blog?

Thank you SO much for this Lauren! A treasure trove of information for new bloggers :o)

Happy you found it so helpful! Thanks! :-)

Apologises if you’ve answered this in another comment, but how long did it take before you started making money? How soon do you think a new travel blogger can start making money, realistically? How long to make their first penny and how long before they make $1000 a month, then $2000, etc. What are the best types of income for new travel bloggers to chase?

Hi Lauren. Why do you recommend Bluehost over Hostgator, etc? Who do you use for hosting your travel blog?

Thank you a lot for this Lauren! You made an overwhelming task sound manageable. No easy feat when you’re as scared of technology as me!

Oh, that’s incredible! Thanks so much for the huge compliment, Gemma!

I am about to embark on a 3 month trip backpacking SE Asia with my fiance, I have thought a lot about blogging…. but don’t want to start while I’m there. This will be a big first for both of us and we don’t want to worry about bringing our laptops as we are unsure what the trip will bring and don’t want to risk losing or breaking it. Have you or any bloggers you know started blogging after your trip as more of a reflection on the events rather than staying current with your posts?

Great , These are amazing tips for start travel blogs and these are very effective tips.

i wanted to tell you i found this incredibly informative and helpful. i want to share the kind of unconventional trips my brothers and i go on and you have given me a great starting point. once i get things up and running i’ll be sure to send you a link :)

happy travels to you.

So happy to hear that! And yep, I’d love to see how it looks when you’ve got it all set up :-)

This gave me the boost of confidence I needed. For about 2 years now, I’ve wanted to travel and be able to share it with other people. I’ve looked into doing a vlog as well, but have been to scared of failure. Thank you so much for posting this and making it easier for me finally start doing what I’ve been meaning to for years!

Thank you so much! I’m thrilled to hear I could make it easier for you :-) Good luck!

Hey Lauren!

I just wanted to leave you a little comment to let you know that I read your book and it inspired me to try start blogging. So much so I even referenced you in my first post! My blog is more as a pass time and fun than as a way to try make any money down the road but it was something I’d never really considered until I’d read your book. Your initial experience of travelling alone was also a comfort as my own first week travelling never exactly went to plan either! I just posted a blog piece about it (I came from the UK to Melbourne) and it made me remember all the things that happened during that week that I’d forgotten about. But writing it also made me realise how far I’ve come in 10 months.

So thanks again :D

So sorry to bother you if this has been asked before but, what is the difference between using Bluehost and transferring my current content over and simply purchasing a upgrade on WordPress for my blog?

Thanks so much lady!

Brydie Spark

I am just starting out with a travel blog and this article was really helpful! It looks like a daunting task to start a successful blog and monetize it but your words make it look do-able so thanks for that :)

Amazing! I’m so happy to hear that, Marium! :-)

Hi Lauren! Just wanted to say what an amazing blog this is; it’s really helped me with a lot of my travels around India and the Middle East. I’ve only just started my travel/self growth blog and I’m feeling so overwhelmed about trying to get more readers and how to do this? You mentioned getting in touch with other travel bloggers in the beginning stages but I’m not sure how to do this!? Thanks so much, love, Sophia

you are fantastic! Great (and super helpful) article. Thank you for helping out us aspiring travel bloggers

Thank you! I’m glad you found it helpful :-)

Your article is very powerful, I take your advice seriously while preparing to start my own travel blog.

Good luck! :-)

Hi Lauren, thanks for this very informative post! I usually don’t comment on things I read but this made an impression on me. I also have a question for you. Your disclaimer states that the income produced helps reduce the cost of running the site but is that all one can expect from following your advice is to supplement your travel budget or are you able to travel full time from the revenue of your site?

Hi Michael! Thank you so much — I’m pleased to hear that :-)

Oh, I should probably make my disclaimer clearer — I’ll go update it now. I was referring to the income from this specific post helping to reduce the running costs. I’ve more than funded over five years of full-time travel through Never Ending Footsteps.

Thanks for the Tips :-) this is very informative for me.After reading this I follow all the steps to start my Travel Blog I am very thankful to you Lauren.

Happy travel & All the best

Thank you! Same to you :-)

Hi Lauren, i almost never comment on blogs but this is a must! I stumbled on your blog while doing a research on how to start a Travel blog and your steps are very simple, informative and really helpful. Thank you!!

Hope i can come back to give you a feedback when i eventually start mine.

Thank you and All the best with everything :)

Thank you so much! Definitely let me know when your blog is all set up and I’ll be happy to give you some feedback :-)

Hi Lauren, I always follow your blogs and really they are inspiring for me!! I have read this blog on starting a travel blog and i found that your way is very simple, i really like it!! i just want to ask few questions:

1- I didn’t get about how toe use of skimlinks. i am little confused about it. 2- Please tell me how can i use youtube for earning money if i start travel blog.

Thank you for sharing such blogs

Ah, thank you so much! :-)

1) They have instructions for how to set up Skimlinks on the site: https://skimlinks.com/getting-started — you basically copy and paste a line of code onto your site, and then Skimlinks will take words from your articles, check to see if there are affiliate programs for these products or services, and add a link for you if there is. Once it’s installed on your site, you can just forget about it and it does all of the hard work for you.

As an example: if in a blog post, I wrote: “I decided to buy the Canon 550D camera this month and I’m loving the photos I’ve been getting from it!” Skimlinks would detect that Canon 550D was the name of a product and insert an affiliate link to the Canon website or Amazon, and then if anyone clicks that link and buys a product, you get a percentage of the sale.

2) I probably make around $10 a month from Youtube, so I’m not really the person to be asking! I don’t actively film videos on my channel, so it’s not a source of income I pursue. A good way to start is by putting Adsense ads on your videos through the Youtube Partner Program.

Hi Lauren ,

I came across your blog today and its seriously a very inspiring one….I have been searching for some sources which help me in setting up a travel blog….i found yours very helpful and informative….

Thank u so much and all the best for your future endeavours….

Just a small question. What camera do you use, as your photos are always so colorful! Thanks so much for this useful guide Lauren :)

I use the Sony A7ii :-)

Thank you sooooo much for this guide Lauren!! I’ve just taken the plunge and got a Bluehost account, found a theme and I’m now starting to think about content. I know you say that your traffic and success hasn’t been affected by how much you post, but do you have a number of posts per week that you’d recommend for someone starting out? As much as possible? Once a week?

I’d love to see a more advanced guide about how you made it as a travel blogger after you’ve set everything up. This is so useful for new bloggers so it would be awesome to see a similar guide for more intermediate bloggers too.

Oooh, that’s a great idea! I’ll put some ideas together and see what I can do :-)

We are just starting off with out blog and this article was incredibly helpful! I have followed your steps to start our site but am confused when asked to connect to a wordpress.com account for the JetPack in order to download some of the plug-ins you mentioned. I wasn’t sure I should connect since I read in your comments that WordPress.org vs WordPress.com is very different.

You definitely don’t need to use Jetpack to download any of the plugins I recommend. I still use all of them and I’ve never used Jetpack. Feel free to drop me an email with more details if you’re still having problems and I’ll see if I can help out :-)

Hi Lauren! wHat do you recommend writing about if you’ve just started your blog but haven’t started traveling yet? I feel like i’ve run out of ideas after my first few articles (travel plans for my rtw trip, why I want to travel, and a past trip). Thanks for the helpful article.

Hi! ? I want to say that this post has been really helpful, especially the tip about the business plan because most blogs will advise to wait. It helps the reader to think long term and I really like the part when you say you said you were a bit of a contrarian. Haha!

I want to know about w h a t should be the first posts. I mean there are the technical parts of building a blog, the installation of plugins and all such things but I was hoping to find an article about what should be my first posts… when I start a travel blog from scratch what do I actually do and where do I go and what do I write about? The truth is that I am only beginning to s e t o u t to travel and wanted to blog about it but don’t know where to start in the “travelling” part, and I have received help about the “blogging” part. Do i just go to a place and talk about it? Wouldn’t that be boring?

Do you have an article somewhere in this blog about the blog post ideas I am looking for? I’ll be really glad to read them! Your blog inspires me ?

I was wondering what Hosting actually was. You mention it confused you too so I’m relieved to know I’m not alone and I get it’s basically paying for your website address but is that it or does that pay for access to plugins etc?

Right, so hosting is basically paying for the server (computer space) that your website lives on. The advantage to going self-hosted rather than using wordpress.com or blogspot.com is that your site will typically be faster, you have access to support if anything goes wrong with your site, and you’re paying for the flexibility and freedom to do whatever you want with it. Blogspot/Wordpress.com, etc restrict you in terms of what themes you can use, what plugins you can install, how much you can monetise your site…

thank you for these tips. I purchased the host on bluehost and I am looking at themes. The one I want cost $59 do you recommend paying the $49 for the install theme.

No, don’t pay to install the theme. You literally just download the files, log into WordPress, and click on Plugins -> Add New and upload the theme file you just downloaded. It’s really easy to do and you definitely don’t need to pay someone to do it for you :-)

This was really helpful, thanks so much. I still have a lot to figure out, like my blog name, but you’ve given me a good start. so thanks for sharing this information…Such a great Resource and the best guide on starting a travel blog Ive read so far.

Thank you! Best of luck with your blog! :-)

Great blog i love it has a lot of great information and i like how you kept it real about you don’t necessarily have to buy the travel bloggers program. I started my blog back like 2 months before i took off to my journey to Southeast Asia for three months in August. I’ve been doing a few posting every now and then just been trying to come up with a few different ideas to get more traffic and start earning some income i really don’t care how much I start earning in the beginning just as long as I’m making some type of income it would make me feel that I’ve started somewhere

Take A looking at my travel blog and let me know what you think or what would you recommend me changing

My main topic is A African/Haitian Nomad thats on a journey to see the world on a budget learn about new cultures and there history. I’m planning for my next journey going away for 7 months to 1yr to Africa in the next few months

I also want to thank you for this post. I am new to the world of blogging and your article was very helpful. Any suggested beginner user guides to WordPress? I find getting accustomed to the dashboard a little overwhelming!

Oooh, that’s a good question! I had a look around and this site has a ton of information on getting started and understanding what everything in the dashboard does: http://easywpguide.com/wordpress-manual/dashboard/dashboard-menu-options/

Hi Lauren. Thank you for providing such a different point of view to starting a travel blog. You’re right – so many are the same! I found this post a couple of days ago but have come back now before I take the plunge tomorrow and start setting up – I think I’ve decided on thetransientexplorer.com as a name. Maybe without the ‘the’… My problem is I like to make sure everything is perfect when actually I need to make a leap – kinda like travelling I guess!

One thing I have noticed is BlueHost is promoted by most bloggers. I used to have little websites years ago and I’m guessing things have changed, but I once got charged $100 for a data spike so I get a bit nervous, especially of a non-UK company. Because BlueHost are often mentioned I think I’ll follow your advice and use them.

I look forward to coming back to your blog and checking out some more posts.

Just wanted to say that I’ve spent all day researching how to start my travel blog and your guide was easily the most comprehensible and easy to follow. I now feel like I’ve got a good chance at making my travel blog a success. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Anna! :-)

Thank you so much for informing about Skimlinks, will definitely try that.

No problem! Hope it works out for you :-) It makes affiliate earning so easy.

Thanks so much for this post! It has made a huge difference for me. :)

I’m so happy to hear that, Ryan! :-)

I wanted a tip on if i am starting and i want to approach a company to affiliate should i go directly and tell my plan, or i do some stuff build the website and then go for it?

You’ll want to build the website first, so that you can show the company where their affiliate links will be placed. For the most part, though, you won’t ever directly approach a company and pitch to affiliate for them — they’ll either already have an affiliate program you can apply for or won’t offer one at all.

Hope that helps! :-)

Hi Lauren. Long time reader of your site here. Do you have any tips for how to inject more personality into your posts? I’m a big fan of your blog because reading it feels like I’m sitting down with a friend over a cup of tea and hearing about their travel stories. I’d love for my blog to have the same kind of feel. Thanks so much Lauren!

One thing that helps me is to write in a similar way to how I speak. You could just record a few minutes of you talking about a trip you took, then replay it, and transcribe what you said. It’ll eventually become second nature to write in this style, so you won’t need to keep recording your voice. Also, reading, reading, reading. Read lots of books and article from writers with big personalities and study how they get their point across and the types of words they use.

Wow Lauren, you’re truly INSPIRATIONAL. I live to TRAVEL and this post has given me the mojo to start my own blog which I had been procrastinatng for so long. Thank you so much.

Wow, thank you so much for the compliment! :-)

Thanks so much for writing about this! A travel blog of my own is slowly forming in my mind.

Did you ever take lessons for journalism/ writing to feel confident about your writing style? Or did you intuitively post articles? (if that makes sense).

Thankyou again!

I didn’t. I found the best way to improve my writing was to read and write as much as possible. Something as simple as sitting down every day and forcing yourself to write 1000 words, whether you publish them or not, can do wonders for your writing ability. Practice, practice, practice! Even now, whenever I look back at blog posts I wrote a year ago, I want to make edits and spot dozens of ways to improve them. It shows me that I’m constantly developing as a writer and improving the more I write.

Incredible Post!! You have done an amazing job. Worth reading this entire article for travel bloggers who are about to start their travel blog. Keep it Up!! Thanks :)

Thank you! :-)

Hi, Lauren!

I got to thank you for writing this article. I’ve been researching stuffs on how to start a travel blog and I find yours very inspiring. I want to restart blogging with a new perspective but felt pressured since most of the bloggers I knew are following some kind of patterns like writing articles in exchange for freebies and with that I felt really pressured. Coz I don’t like I’ll be good at it. After reading this post, I felt at ease. I realized I don’t really have to do what everyone else is doing. Thank you for making me realize that! Now, I’m still brainstorming for a blog name. ?

You definitely don’t, Charlyn. If something doesn’t make you feel comfortable, you can find a different way to fund your travels. It’s totally nerve-wracking at first, but I feel nothing but relief when I think about how I didn’t go down the route. And honestly, from what I’ve heard, most readers of travel blogs find the freebies the most irritating aspect of sites, so if you do something different, you’ll most likely attract readers because of it.

Good luck in your search for a name!

Hi, I have a question. So how we make the money from the blog? Just by clicking on the travel link we share? Thanks for the reply.

There are so many ways to make money from a travel blog. I’ve listed the ways I recommend at the end of this article. I’d suggest going for advertising through Adsense and affiliate links to start with. In both cases, you’ll make money if one of your readers clicks either an ad or an affiliate link that’s in your post.

How is this different from the bajillion other “how to start a travel blog” posts? How is this unconventional?

The. Exact. Same. Stuff. Infact, it is the same as the bajillion “how to start a blog” post. Not even “travel blog”, just “blog”.

Just a post for you to insert affliate links.

Unfortunately, as soon as my post started to rank in Google, other travel bloggers began to copy the stuff I’d shared in this post, so I’ll take your point on board that it’s not as original as it could be/used to be. And on top of that, I guess my opinions on certain things changed, like travel blogging courses. To be fair, though, in the introduction I say:

“You don’t need to do what everyone else is doing — in fact, I recommend actively avoiding it.

I’ve never joined Travel Blog Success and won’t tell you that you should; I think it’s expensive and unnecessary. I’ve had a strict no press trips or sponsored travel policy for three years and counting, preferring to make my blog a success so that I can just afford to go wherever I want, rather than traveling on someone else’s dime. I write about how not to travel the world and don’t try to pretend to be a travel expert. I’ve never had a regular posting schedule. I’ve done everything differently and that’s what’s helped me to stand out from the crowd.”

And I don’t think this post deviates from that message. I still recommend to do all of those things and that’s unconventional advice in travel blogging, where people will say: “have a regular posting schedule! Write detailed resources! Don’t inject too much personality into your posts! Be an expert!”

And yes, there are affiliate links in this post, because as much as I’d love to offer I’ve everything I’ve learned over the past six years of blogging for free (and this post actually does if people don’t click my links), I do still have to eat. And I do believe the things I’ve learned have value.

It’s good work by you! Very interesting blog and article! I want ask you about some themes, what i want to use in my website(blog). I consider these: Divi, Monsteroid, Avada, maybe X-theme. Have you seen or work with anyone of them? I also found information about them on https://www.templatemonster.com/blog/avada-5-0-vs-monstroid-2/ it’s Avada 5.0 vs. Monstroid 2 they are all good i think. So what can you advise to choose?

I actually used to run this site on Avada! I really liked it, but it was super, super bloated. It offers so many features and customisation options that it slows down your site and makes your pages enormous in size. I’m not sure about the other themes you mentioned as I haven’t used them, and I’m currently offline and using data in Namibia so can’t check them out right now.

thank you Lauren this article has made up my mind to start a blog. I love technology , however I am an older learner :) I will be travelling solo to Italy Paris & Barcelona later in the year. Art is my passion as culture and history is what I love so much. An old friend and I travelled for 4 weeks around Turkey a few years ago although I made a beautiful photography book through Blurb I did not keep a blog and now wish I had. I did keep a journal. However, this time I think a blog will keep my family & friends up to date but importantly I will be able to share my daily adventures and cultivate lasting memories. I will start thinking of a name first..that will take me a while. Thanks again

Hi Heather! Best of luck with coming up with a name and getting started with your blog. I’m so glad I started mine so that now I have such a detailed record of my travels.

This is quite informative. I like it. I have done a lot of content for clients in the Travel niche and find this topic interesting. I, however, wish to start my blog because I equally love traveling and talking about the best travel destinations. Do you think this is the right blog for me to start? All in all, your content is quite useful. At least I have some points to get me started if I settle for this. Very rich content.

I think travel blogging would be perfect for you as you already have experience writing travel-related posts and it obviously hasn’t put you off writing even more :-). That’s a good thing, because a lot of people start travel blogging thinking it’s going to be their path to riches, but find after just a few months that they don’t enjoy it and they’re not making enough money to make it worth it. So having a passion for writing and travel is helpful when it comes to starting :-)

Thank you, for this blog! It’s gonna help me a lot :)

Hi Lauren, I quite enjoyed your website, and have caught myself glued to your past blogs for several weeks now. Being 30 now, I finally caught the travel bug five years ago, and have since been to almost 20 countries, and will be going to Morocco, Spain & South of France (2nd time to France) in May. I’m sorry to hear you did not enjoy Bratislava. My fiance is from Slovakia, and we go to Bratislava yearly. If you ever make it back there again, I highly recommend checking out some wineries located on medieval castle grounds outside of the city. Especially in Spring, it can be simply bliss! Currently living on the West Coast of Canada, getting anywhere (Europe, Asia, Africa) is not only expensive, but the fights are at minimum 9 hours. I do have a full time career, however I am in the early stages of starting my blog, and have years of photos and written material to start with. How do you suggest someone with a full-time career, and say only 3-4 weeks a year to travel, successfully launch their blog? Thanking you in Advance Kyle

Thank you so much for this post. Incredibly informative. Thanks to the post, I was able to setup my blog quite seamlessly and also made a few edits to the original theme (I’m a developer so I found some of the PHP debugging, files stuff fun – so geeky haha!) I’m three posts old right now and have so much motivation to write more posts. I want to go back and share details from previous trips and start a series on specific themes. Too many ideas.

I love the point about letting your personality shine through – that helps me write more naturally and in a conversational tone. I’m no expert but my experience and stories make me who I am. Right now I am focusing on the look/feel/layout and content. I’ve only added a few links to resources using the Amazing Affiliate program (was so easy to setup) but waiting to get more readers to see where it all leads.

Hi Sonya! That’s so wonderful to hear :-) And it’s such a great sign that you’re full of motivation from the very start, as that’s usually when people will realise it’s tougher than they thought and give up. So, yay! Best of luck with your site — I’m heading over there to check it out now :-)

Thank you lauren! I am following your steps and excited to start my travel blog but I am stuck at finding a theme. Are there any elegant themese themes you would choose now? I don’t like the Cherry Truffle one you spoke about in your post.

Definitely Divi theme! It’s super slick and modern.

I’ve spend some time reading different travel blog posts and I’ve found that I have enjoyed yours the best. I like how your off the beaten path and not like the typical travel bloggers. I started to read some of your very first blogs and found them very inspiring, but I also can connect in some ways with how you think. Most days I wake up and ask myself what the heck am I doing with my life because most of the time I feel incomplete. Something is always missing. I’ve always enjoyed traveling and its always something I’ve dreamed of and being 24, almost 25. I’m tired of waiting because honestly I don’t know what I’m waiting for.. So I guess my main question is how did you choose a topic to stick with? I know my interests in animals will always have a pull on me when I travel. There’s so many beautiful creatures out there and I feel like I could take it with me in the future as well. Is that something that could last?

Hey Rebecca! Your comment definite resonates with me. I felt very similar to how you do before I started travelling, and seeing the world has helped me feel more fulfilled and happy in life. I also struggled with feeling as though I was just waiting and waiting when all I wanted to do was leave immediately — I decided to travel after I graduated and man, that was a long five years of studying and attempting to focus on work when all I wanted to do was be somewhere else!

Anyway, it took me a few months to figure out what topic I wanted to focus on. At first, my site was pretty generic and I was trying to write helpful guides and short stories about my experiences. It wasn’t until I’d been travelling for a few months that I started to figure out who I was as a traveller and what my future was likely to hold. That was when I made the decision to brand myself as an unlucky traveller, so it wasn’t something I started out with from day one. I think that having a focus on animals as you travel would be a great niche, though! You could write about animal charities you encounter around the world and how to ethically volunteer with wildlife as you travel. I think it’d work really well and obviously wouldn’t be something you would grow out of either. I like it!

I have read this post and comments. I like that you are so natural and easy to communicate with. I have been travelling for many years now and would like to start a travel blog and hopefully monetise from it.. i dont want it to be too complicating, just fun and easy to start with.

Please assist me

Hi Faiekha! Thanks so much for saying that :-) Starting a travel blog can be tricky and time-consuming when you start out, but it becomes much easier the longer you do it. I recommend starting out by following the steps in this post and then you’ll be in a great position for running a successful travel blog.

I go travelling in a couple of weeks time for a year around Asia and Australia and I have been debating starting a blog for a while – this post has encouraged me to definitely start one, thank you.

One question I do have though, is what device do you use to blog on? I’m not taking a MacBook or laptop and was wondering if it is even possible me to run a successful blog from just an iPhone?

Thanks for your help! Ellie

I travel with a Macbook Pro and do recommend taking a laptop if you’re aiming to blog on the road. I don’t know of any successful blogger who doesn’t use one. Typing out a 2000+ world blog post sounds like it would be an awful and slow experience on an iPhone! Plus there’s stuff like editing photos, fixing site code, email management, etc that would be much trickier to do on a phone. It’s not impossible, but I’d imagine it’d take five times longer to do anything, which would leave you with no time to actually see the places you’re in. When my laptop broke, I attempted to run my site from a tablet and lasted four days before I’d discovered a bunch of tasks I couldn’t complete without one.

I will say, though, that if it’ll be a blog to keep friends and family up to date with what you’re doing, you’d probably be fine with a phone, as you wouldn’t need to worry too much about editing, post formatting, marketing, etc. If you’re hoping to one day make money from your site, you have to treat it like a business and that means using a laptop.

This is simply my treasure!! It’s been like a month that I’m reading this wonderful article and following it step by step, word by word. The result is the birth of my first travel blog. I’m sure many people would be inspired as I was to do great job! Thank you so much

I’m so happy to hear that, Marc! Next up, I’d recommend creating an awesome About page so your readers can learn more about you and your travels :-)

Hey thank you this really helped me towards starting my own blog! I appreciate your advice!

HI Lauren !. i really want to do this travel and blogging things, but i do not own a camera yet im still a student and budget limited person. I just want to make my own Money first without using my parents. Do you have any ideas how to earn Money first? im starting my first ever blog soon. So do you mind lending you genius way of thinkings ? please !

Do you have a phone with a camera? If not, you can take photos from Flickr’s creative commons section — as long as you attribute the photographer, you can use them on your blog for free. It might be worth looking into freelance writing at http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com while you wait for your blog to become profitable.

Thank you Lauren.Great tips and inspiring!

Glad you found it useful, Steve!

You’re my travel blogging hero! I love that you’ve managed to do all of this WITHOUT selling out like other travel bloggers. You’re an inspiration Lauren and I hope you don’t ever give up or stop blogging. You do more than you realise.

Awww, thank you so much! That means a lot and I so appreciate that comment, Patrick! Sometimes it feels as though I’m cutting off my nose to spite my face when I take a stand against all of the sponsored stuff, but hearing from readers like you make me feel as though it’s all worthwhile.

Lauren! Thank you for this helpful guide. I’ve been going back and forth about starting a travel blog for my upcoming trip for months now but your post is what’s convinced me to take the plunge. I’ve thought of a name, signed up for WordPress and Bluehost and now I have to start looking for a theme. With any luck I should be up and running by the end of the next week! Do you mind if I send you an email at that point to gain your feedback on how I’m doing so far?

Of course! Just drop me a message through my contact form and I’d be happy to help :-)

Hi Lauren, Your blogs and especially this post are tremendously inspiring. I have been meaning to start my own blog for such a long time. I even started 2 anonymous blogs, but could never gather courage to continue them. Now that I am highly motivated, I finally want to start blogging from scratch with my name (finally) but not limiting it to just travel at the moment. I would love to publish some of my poetry and short stories too. Still innumerable apprehensions and inhibitions are not leaving me alone. I am more concerned about if I am making any sense for the readers, if they would like me, what if I become a butt of jokes, etc. Since I am relating more to your blog posts after going through many, I would be grateful if you could shed some light on me for fighting all unnecessary doubts and worries

Love, A Young Aspiring Blogger

Hey Devika!

I share your fears, and actually I still experience them now from time to time.

I just keep in mind that you can’t please everyone and not everyone is going to love what you put out into the world. But that’s okay, because you don’t know who they are and their opinion of you doesn’t matter. And a bonus: if you do receive hurtful comments, it gives you a thicker skin and helps you deal with it better, which is always good :-).

For the most part, though, there aren’t many travel bloggers that receive a lot of hate, and those that do, get it for a reason — they’re racist or offensive or rude, etc — so it’s really not something you need to worry about. For example, fter doing this for six years and building up a reasonable sized audience, I still only receive a negative comment maybe once every three months, if that. And I can be pretty polarising, as I focus on a lot of negatives when I travel, which can sometimes rub people up the wrong way!

Hope that helps ease your fears. I promise that the longer you do it, the easier it gets, and you’ll see that nobody is laughing at you and your readers love and appreciate you :-)

Just to say thanks for the tips. I’ve been travelling for 3 years now but I’ve only just realised the potential of blog writing. I’ve got a lot to catch up on. Thanks for the tips. Good luck in the future travels

There’s so much potential! Best of luck with everything and let me know if I can help out with anything at all! :-)

I just started my own blog on Squarespace and found it frustrating to use compared to my past WordPress. Do you know anyone that uses Squarespace or does everyone use wordpress?

Thank you, Jess

Hi Jessica! I don’t know of anyone who uses Squarespace — everyone I know uses WordPress.

Thank you for this Lauren! I have a question for you if it’s not too personal. How much time would you estimate you need to spend per week to build a successful travel blog? How many hours did you spend when you first started and how much do you work on your blog now?

That’s a good question! I’ll answer the easy part first: right now, I spend about 20 hours a week total working, whether that’s on my site or freelancing or whatever.

When I first started out, I probably worked around 20 hours a week, then when I decided to turn my travel blog into a business, I slowed down my movement and worked harder. For example: four months into my travels, I decided to go to Chiang Mai and spent six months living there and working on my site. There, I probably spent around 40-60 hours a week on my site. Then once I started travelling faster it was more like 10-20 hours a week. It really did depend on what I had going on in my life at that time.

So as for how many hours I think you need to put in at the start, the simple answer is as many as possible. I think it depends on your situation, though. If you have a full-time job, or you’re currently travelling quickly, you’re not going to be able to put 40 hours a week into your site. And that’s okay. Just try to hit a minimum of 20 hours and you should be good.

Do you sell text links as advertising on your site? What are your thoughts on it? How much should you charge per link?

Ah, that’s a controversial topic! For anyone else who is reading: selling text links is a way to make money with a travel blog, but is very risky to do so. Basically a company pays you to place a link to their site in one of your posts. That link helps them to rank higher in Google, but it’s also against Google’s terms of service, which means that if they catch you, they’ll penalise your site and you could lose all of your search traffic overnight.

I sold text links on my site for several years, and it was an easy way to make money, but I don’t recommend doing it. I feel that the risks are too great with something like this, and it’s much better to focus on building a business instead. Work on creating the best resource on the internet for a particular subject, have Google send you a ton of traffic, and place affiliate links for companies you use and love in your post to make money from that traffic. It’s a much more legitimate way to make money and there isn’t that risk that your business will be destroyed overnight without warning.

But having said that, obviously I can’t judge anyone who decides to sell links after I did it for several years, so if you want to go ahead with it, a typical price is around $200 per link.

There are a whole bunch of “how to start a travel blog” entries out there, but this was one of the more comprehensive and clear examples, so it was the one I used to set up my new blog. Thanks for writing it.

Ah, thanks so much, Andrew! That means a lot :-)

I’ve spent all weekend searching for tips on starting a blog (food not travel though) and I just wanted to let you know that yours was most helpful. I followed your guide step by step and it was so much easier than I expected it to be. Now I feel ready to start writing my first blog posts and hopefully to build a successful brand. Thank you for all you do, Lauren!

Thank you for commenting, Chaaru! I’m so happy to hear you found my guide to be helpful :-)

This is definitely a must read post for someone starting up their own blog. Thanks for sharing the plugins info, very useful to me considering there are tons of plugins out there.

I have a question on Fiverr and 99designs. 99designs’ pricing looks pretty steep to me so I’m more keen to try Fiverr. But it would be great to know which one would you recommend in terms of quality of work and results?

It really does depend on what type of look you’re going for with your site — some of the artists offer watercolour styles, and some are more modern… and having not used Fiverr myself, I don’t have any personal recommendations based on experience. I wouldn’t want to recommend something I haven’t personally used. But play around with the site, check out the design examples and reviews of anyone you’re considering, and if you find something similar to what you’re looking for, it should turn out well :-)

Just wanted to let you know that I’ve set my blog up using your advice and I found it very easy to follow. All I need to do know is find a theme and then I’ll be ready to start writing!

Wow, thanks so much, Malik! Best of luck in finding the perfect theme :-)

I’ve been considering starting a travel blog for a while now. I currently work full time in Texas and have been saving up some money to travel full time (for at least a year, hopefully more) . I estimate that within the next 1-2 years, I’ll be able to take a hiatus from my work and start my “gap year” of sorts.

I have traveled to Central America several times, Asia once, and typically take at least 2 trips out of the country per year. I do take alot of weekend trips around the state and nearby states.

My question is, would it be reasonable to start a blog now? I would write about my past experiences traveling (not sure if this is a good strategy, or if it’s better to blog while actually there). I would also write about travels within the US and my international trips (about twice a year). Would it be worth using these past experiences and occasional trips?

Yep, definitely start your blog now. Writing about your past experiences is a great way to get the hang of blogging, and figuring out how WordPress works, etc. When I first started my site, I only wrote about past travels, and it worked well for me!

This article helped me a lot! Thank you for being so honest and open about your success. Have a lovely day,

Great read. Very helpful for the beginner like myself that’s interested in starting a blog. Love the insight on how much it costs. Thank you

No problem! Glad you found it helpful :-)

Yo Lauren! I have maybe an interesting question for you. What are five things that you feel you did wrong when starting out with travel blogging? What mistakes have you made and what regrets do you have?

I love this question, Aman! In fact, I loved it so much that I wrote an entire blog post about it: https://www.neverendingfootsteps.com/travel-blogging-mistakes hope you enjoy the read!

Hi Lauren. I’ve been using your guide to set up my site and so far its going really well, thank you so much for all of the detail you’ve put into this. My question for you is what should I look to include in my blog’s sidebar?

Take a look at mine for what I recommend. I always think you should have a short about section at the very top, along with a photo of yourself. As for everything else, it’s not as important. I’ve gone for some social media links, a sign-up form, and a list of my currently trending posts for any new readers.

Great Work! I glad to thank you for guiding me, actually I’ll be staring my travel blog and your article is very helpful for me.

Happy to hear it, Ana! Let me know if I can help with anything as you get your blog set up :-)

Hey Lauren. I’ve been working on my own travel blog for a year now and I wanted to ask how long it took for you to see this success. At the moment I receive only 1000 visitors a month and I’m feeling demotivated. I’ve done everything you list in this post but I don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere. Any tips? (I’m too shy to share the link to my blog!)

I was receiving 1,000 visitors a month just under six months after staring my blog. How long have you been running yours for? And honestly, your reluctance is probably holding you back. If you’re too shy to share the link to your site, how are you attempting to build traffic to it?

thank you for this helpful guide… the best one i have found on starting a travel blog… now to sign up for bluehost. My husband and i are going to travel in our retirement and want to write about how to save money while doing it… best wishes.

Best of luck, Joan! :-)

Fantastic post, Lauren! You covered everything I needed to know and I’m convinced to try my hand at this travel blogging thing! Wish me luck!

Good luck! Let me know if I can help out with anything at all! :-)

This is hands down the best guide I’ve seen for starting a travel blog on the internet. I can’t imagine how long it took to put all of this together, so thank you, thank you for doing so!

Wow! Thank you so much for that enormous compliment! :-)

Hey Lauren. What do you suggest doing if you can’t afford to pay for a premium theme? Are there any free themes out there that you would recommend? Thanx

Yeah, I would recommend looking through the themes that WordPress offers (click on appearance/themes/add new/popular) and see if any of those work for you. I recommend not just googling “wordpress free themes” as these are often full of dodgy links and are rarely updated, leading to google penalties and an increased chance of being hacked.

So Bluehost has terrible reviews. Why do you still continue to recommend them?

Eh, search for any hosting company’s reviews and you’ll find terrible ones all over the internet. It’s not a Bluehost thing — check out HostGator reviews or GoDaddy reviews. It’s similar to how if you search for travel insurance companies you’re pretty likely to find nothing but awful reviews, but that doesn’t mean all travel insurance companies are evil. I recommend Bluehost based on my own experiences, and as I mentioned in the post, after trialing four companies, Bluehost gave me the best service. If you want to pay as little as possible for your hosting, I believe Bluehost is the best option out there.

Just a quick question from me, Lauren. What laptop do you use for running your blog, and is there any that you would recommend for travel? I’m about to start my big RTW trip in a couple of months and want something small, lightweight, and hopefully cheap. I have a Macbook Pro at the moment — would that be too heavy for this trip? Thank you!

I use a Macbook Pro, too, and have been happy with it. I thought about getting something smaller for travel, but I didn’t want the annoyance of having to type on a smaller keyboard, and none of the really small laptops receive amazing reviews. I’d recommend just sticking with what you have. If you find it’s really impossible to travel with, you can ship it home or sell it, and pick up another one wherever you are in the world. I bought my laptop in Mexico and my boyfriend bought his in Taiwan, so it’s easy to do while you’re overseas.

Wow! Very elaborately you have explained with apt names (of plugins or affiliates, etc) and your choices. As an absolute new comer in this field, I read few other “how to” sites. And finally I decided to stick to yours and have blindly followed your picks. Hope this will help me building a travel blogger of me :)

Thanks so much, Gargi! If you run into any roadblocks, feel free to drop me an email and I’ll do my best to help you out. I know how intimidating these early stages of building a travel blog can be :-)

I’ve been comparing your post with several others from travel bloggers, and many of the other posts suggest building an email list is something you should prioritise. Do you agree or disagree? I notice you didn’t mention it in this guide and was wondering why.

Yeah, I don’t think it’s much of a priority in the early stages of running a site. There are more important things to focus on, like generating traffic, before you worry about sending out newsletters to an audience you don’t yet have.

This is great guide to starting a travel blog I just search for that how to start a blog and found your post. Its good to have travel blog. Thanks for sharing these step by step guide. Regards Abid Masih

Hi Lauren, Just wanted to say that this is the clearest and most helpful ‘travel blog beginner’ post I’ve read so far! Really useful and love that you are honest about how much everything costs and what beginners should bother splurging on! I’m going to check out your book as well, my sister has struggled with anxiety and think it might be inspiring!

Thank you so much, Steffi!

Hi Lauren, I am just starting to build my blog and reading your article was really helpful. I am in a dilemma whether to use WIX or WordPress. I am inclined to using WIX as it make it so easy to customize the look of the blog as compared to WordPress. But i am concerned if the growth potential in terms of monetization and plugins would be limited if i were to use WIX as compared to WordPress. Appreciate your advice.

Wix will limit the amount of customisation you can do with your site, as there aren’t many themes or plugins available in comparison to WordPress, so you might struggle to get your site looking how you like. Wix is also more expensive than WordPress and the sites don’t perform as well in Google. There’s a reason why almost every top website in the world is on WordPress.

Wix is much easier to learn and use, but that’s about its only advantage. I think you’d eventually grow out of it and switch to WordPress in the end.

Looking to start a blog, I am in no position to travel at the present moment (young twins), but thought perhaps for content sake I could use my local environment, this wont simply be just photos and un-planned material.

Is this a possibility before we can actually travel?

The goal here is to eventually retire myself from my day job, which I’m sure we all want to achieve.

I have a premium theme and a web designer/word press guru for a wife so that side is no issue.

Yes! That’s definitely possible. Some of the most lucrative travel blogs are actually resource sites for a city the person lives in, rather than the nomadic, long-term travel blogs.

Dear Lauren, After reading this post several months ago, at the beginning of my trip, the thought of starting a blog has been floating about in my head. Yesterday I launched my site =) Thank you for the guide.

I may be mistaken, but I’m sure I read something about Stumble Upon on your site and how to drive traffic? Perhaps it was in a different post? Could you direct me there please?

Many thanks, Donné

Ah, that wasn’t me. StumbleUpon used to be a great traffic driver back in 2011 or so, but is pretty much dead these days. Pinterest is where it’s at now!

Thank you for sharing, the article is very detailed

No problem :-)

Hi Lauren – I absolutely love your article. I find it a refreshing approach to blogging. I have been tossing around the idea of starting a blog myself for over a year. I have finally thought of a name that I really like and it looks that no one is using it BUT a website called “uniregistry” owns it when I try to register with Bluehost. Do you know anything about buying a domain name that isn’t actually being used? I’m wondering if I can buy this at a reasonable price (which I don’t even know what a reasonable price is) and then transfer the domain over to Bluehost? I’d really appreciate any insight you may have! Thanks!

Have you looked on Uniregistry to see how much they’re charging for it? It looks like you can just type in the domain name on Uniregistry and buy it through there. So I’d take a look at that first to see what it’s for sale at. If it was me, I wouldn’t spend more than $50 at the absolute most for a domain name, and even then, it’s quite a lot when maybe a similar name would be available for free through Bluehost.

Ah, okay. Fingers crossed it works out! :-)

So I’ve come across this blog after reading tonnes (literally tonnes) of other posts on how to start a travel blog and this is by far the best one I’ve seen. Step by step with everything you need to know in one place – both the good and the bad! Excellent post! Really helpful for a beginner like myself :)

That means the world to me, Aaron! Yay! :-)

I’m glad I found this during the set up process. I’d like to get to a point where my travels are paid for! haha- probably unrealistic for a loooong while.

Don’t be so pessimistic! If you work hard and focus on building an engaged audience, you could be getting comps in under a year.

This page is awesome and really helpful. Thank you for the inspiration! I’ve started my first travel blog for my friend who is unable to make a trip we planned years ago. I was wondering if you could shed some insight on how to link interactive world maps to blog posts for each respective country. I can’t figure it out and I’d love to get it working! Did you write your own code or did you just use the interface provided. Thanks so much and happy travels.

Yep, it’s super easy. Just paste the url in the action value column.

Super detailed! I’m happy to see I have done much of what you recommend! I can’t believe you earn $6,000 a month. I’d love a post that details how your revenue has increased year over year since you started, particularity the earlier stages, and how your revenue has diversified over the years too. Great post!

I’m currently working on a post about that as we speak! :-)

Hey Lauren, I loved your blog and found out that you haven’t been to India yet. I hope you are planning to visit This Beautiful country soon and I will get the opportunity to meet you. Thanks Touseef ahmed

I’m heading there in a few months!

Hi Lauren! I aspire to travel like you! I love this post, it perfectly outlines creating a successful blog and that is my goal. I started a free WordPress blog several months ago to keep family and friends up to date on my travels, but I’ve really enjoyed it and want to pursue it on a more professional level. Is there a way to upgrade to Bluehost without losing all of the content I have already published? Do I need to just start from scratch? What would you recommend I do?

You don’t need to start from scratch! Just sign up for Bluehost, install WordPress, and then you’ll be able to click export on your WordPress.com site’s dashboard and import it on your WordPress.org site’s dashboard.

Many thanks for the great insight. As an over 50 couple who travel the world two or three times a year I am sick of wasting the knowledge and experience we have picked up along the way. So your blog and tips are now our inspiration to start and over 50s travel blog.( As so as we return from Borneo)

Many thanks again Best wishes Paul and Lorrainne

Ah, i’m so happy to hear that! And it sounds like you have lots of useful information to share. Best of luck with it! :-)

Lauren! If you will visit India, Is it possible to hangout with you?

Unfortunately not. After a few bad experiences, I no longer meet up with blog readers unless I know them well or have mutual friends.

Lauren – just reporting back. The owner of the registered domain wanted a *cough cough* cool $14000 for it!!! Needless to say…it’s not mine and nor will it be. I figured out a twist in the name and am happy with it. Now I simply need to start writing content. I have travel content over the past five years that I could cover; would you think I’d be better off starting with the first trip or the my most current trip? Thanks again for all the help – I really love this post and think it’s the best one I’ve seen.

Hi Julie, i am having the same dilemma whether to cover my travels over the past four years or to start with the latest trip. Lets connect to bounce back some ideas,

Hi Lauren, Your post is just amazingly well detailed, whenever i had any doubts i used to refer it to sail through with the doubts. Thanks for such an amazing post.

Thanks so much, Asmaan! I would recommend doing a mix of both in the beginning. Write about the most exciting trips you’ve done in the part and mix it up with some of your most recent travels.

Hi Lauren, this post has been amazing as I’m beginning stages of developing my own travel blog. I was wondering how you navigate citations for facts in a blog. Say you were talking about the history of a city, would you need to cite that in your blog or does that count as common knowledge? Any insight would be great! Thanks!

I only cite an article if I’m quoting directly from somewhere that has information you can’t find anywhere else. I’ll normally be like “Here’s a couple of paragraphs I copied and pasted from Wikipedia[link]” or something like that — it doesn’t need to be super formal with a blog.

Fantastic article, incredibly informative and sure to be very helpful to many people who read it and are wondering where to start like myself. One question I do have though, when you were first starting out, how often did you need to post and therefore travel in order to build an audience and did you need to have a fair amount of money saved up before starting the blog in order to do this?

Hey Alex! I would say at least two posts a week is a good amount. For the first six months of my blog’s life, though, I was publishing about once a week, and because I was studying, I wasn’t travelling at all. I just wrote about past trips I had taken and my upcoming travel plans. These days, I try to average two posts a week and travel for four-ish months of the year. The great thing about travel blogging is that it doesn’t require you to travel full-time in order to be successful — some of the most lucrative travel blogs are resources about the city the author lives in, for example, so they barely travel at all!

Great Post!. I was about to buy a book about this subject before i read this post. Now i feel like writing a book about this subject lol. TBH your blog is like a blogging bible to the newbie bloggers like me. I will always come back for more info. Thanks very much for sharing.

Sweet, thanks so much, Elizabeth! :-)

Just wanted to say that I love that you pay for all of your travels yourself and don’t take press trips! I have to say I was drawn into the idea of travel blogging by the thought of traveling for free but knowing there’s another way definately has me thinking. Maybe it would be even better if I paid for my own travels to go wherever I wanted rather than taking the free trips. Just gotta start making money first I guess!

Hi, thanks for the tips, but I think you should develop the monetisation part.

By the way there’s a small mistake, you wrote ‘adesense’ instead of ‘adsense’.

Thanks for the correction! To be honest, I really don’t think that there’s much more you should focus on when it comes to monetisation as a new blogger. In fact, advertising and affiliate sales are the only ways I monetise my blog right now.

What a great post! I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a travel blog, and this post broke it down so nicely into steps that I am now convinced to bite the bullet and go for it!

I studied in Europe a year and a half ago, and traveled quite a bit – I kept a blog while there, but it was mostly just to keep my friends and family back home updated on my travels. I enjoyed it so much that I want to start a more professional blog, but what do you recommend about the content – should I start when I go on my next trip in a few months, or start by writing about all the places I’ve been in the past?

Thanks so much!!

Hey Cristina! I’m so happy to hear this post could inspire you to try your hand at travel blogging :-)

As for content, I’d recommend starting as soon as you can, and writing about your previous trips. That way, you’ll have got the hang of WordPress and how publishing blog posts, etc work by the time you take your next trip. I started out by writing about previous trips I’d taken, then once I started travelling six months later, I didn’t have to worry about figuring out how blogging worked when all I wanted to do was write about how amazing everywhere had been.

I have came across many article on how to start a travel blog. But I have to admit that you have mentioned the entire process step by step but with necessary details. Your article is informative as well as inspirational.

Thank you so much :-)

That was a lot to digest, yet also great information. I have thought about starting a traveling blog, but my grammar pretty much sucks. Recommend I take classes to deal with that?

Well, your grammar wasn’t terrible in your comment :-) If you think it really needs some work, you could take some classes, but I’ve found simply writing frequently on my site has hugely improved the quality of my writing.

I have a dumb question — how do I get a photo of my face appearing when I leave a comment? Do I need to upload my photo anywhere on this page to get it to show?

That’s a Gravatar! Upload a photo here: http://gravatar.com/ and whenever you enter in your email address in a comment field of a blog, your photo will show!

I haven’t seen many questions about SEO on here, so I have some I wanted to ask you. Especially as your post about starting a travel blog ranks first in Google! You must know what you’re doing :-)

-How can you get started with SEO? -What tactics work in 2017? -Can a new travel blog rank for anything really in Google? -Guest posting a good option?

Interesting read. I actually started travel blogging in 2011, made a fair bit of money from selling text links, and was penalized by Google and lost everything overnight. I went home a few months later when I ran out of money.

Fast forward five years and I’m ready to give it another shot! How have things changed since 2011? I assume text links are a no-no? Are there any ways to start making money as soon as you start your travel blog? What the hell is a Pinterest? Haha. I can’t believe you’re still going! I remember following you from the Chinese tea scam days!

Very helpful guide thank you! Do you make much money from freelance writing or do you recommend not pursuing that path as a travel blogger?

Hmmm. I think it’s a good way to fund your travels while you’re building up traffic on your travel blog, but I think as soon as you start making money from your site, you’ll quickly move away from freelance writing. Having to constantly pitch pieces gets old quickly, and forever chasing up payments is even worse. Plus, the money is usually kind of terrible. So, yeah. Go for it in the early days, but expect that once you start making decent money from your site, you’ll likely start working on that full-time.

I’ve read through every single guide on the first page of Google and yours was easily the best Lauren! I love how much personality your writing has and unlike everyone else, I didn’t feel like you were desperately trying to sell me things.

Ah, thank you so much, Gemma! :-)

I don’t think I’ve ever sat and read an article this long from start to finish before. Great read. My question for you is: do you have any tips for building an audience over the first three months of a site’s lifetime? How do you get people to discover your travel blog when it doesn’t have an audience or much of a standing in Google yet?

Pinterest, definitely. Write posts that do well on Pinterest and teach yourself how to create beautiful pins. Join Pinterest groups and Tailwind tribes. Pinterest is one of the easiest ways to start building traffic when you don’t have an audience yet.

This was honestly the most helpful post I’ve found on how to start a travel blog. Thank you so much for sharing! Now it’s time to start working on mine.

Best of luck, Ivan! And thank you so much for the huge compliment :-)

Hello, I have started blogging myself. I am trying to find out the basic problems that my blog is having and looking for solutions. Also, I’m searching for some basic things like themes and other stuff. I have read your whole article, I am looking forward to getting a positive result after performing this myself. Can you suggest me any basic idea that I might need in the future as a new blogger? Thank you

Oh, you asked me the same question later on, so I’m already answered it below. If you have a more detailed question, I’d be happy to help out, but a request for basic ideas could mean anything!

Cheers for this. What’s your take on Travel Blog Success? I see most travel bloggers recommending that and wondered why you don’t?

I just think Superstar Blogging offers so much more value — you learn from experts in their field rather than top travel bloggers, and it focuses more on building a business than taking freebies and press trips, etc.

Plus, every single travel blogger promotes the crap out of Travel Blog Success and it annoys the hell out of me, so I don’t want to be one of them :-)

Thank you so much for your post, it is so helpful and full of useful content. We have started a blog and your tips and advice has really helped us. Thank you so much!

That’s a good idea! As I’ve said a few times in these comments, some of the most successful travel blogs are those that are about one specific location rather than dozens of countries around the world. Blogging about your local environment would be a smart thing to do :-)

Hey Lauren! Cool name ;)

You said in your post that you’re now making $7000 a month from your travel blog. If it’s not too nosey, can I ask how long it took for you to reach this ammount? I know that it didn’t take long for you to start making money, and then to make enough to live in Southeast Asia, but what about this high level of income? How long does it take for most travel bloggers to reach these levels and do you think it’s possible for anyone to get there?

Hey! I started making that much around four years after starting this site. I’d say you could reach these levels in two or three years if you focused on driving traffic through writing incredibly detailed guides to rank in Google, and pretty pins to bring traffic from Pinterest. Then kept your sole monetisation strategy to be affiliate income.

Just wanted to say thank youfor this, Lauren! I’ve been searching for months about how to build a travel blog and actually turn it into a business and your guide is the first I’ve found that actually covers this. No questions, just wanted to tall you that I really appreciate the effort you must have put into this guide.

Oh, thank you so much, Lance! Best of luck with your blog! :-)

I’ve been wanting to start a travel blog for so long. I think fear of the unknown held me back. Ok thats a lie. I know fear of failure held me back. Luckily, I am putting the pieces together slowly. In so doing i’ve been reading so many travel blog tips for beginners to saturation point. Yesterday I came across your post. I’ve never been so glad to find something that makes so much sense – and all in one place. So much useful information. I know its a long one but I’ve read it a couple of times so far lol – noting down and some! So, thank you. Thank you for taking the time to share this info and honestly so. And thank you for giving me that extra push I really needed!

PS: Im from Kenya, noticed on your interactive map you haven’t been yet, or maybe you did before blogging. In any case, Karibu sana (most welcome)!

Hello, I have researched about choosing a specific web host. I ended up having many options. Can you tell me if Bluehost is the ideal one to host my website on?

Yep, when you’re just starting out, Bluehost is the best inexpensive host.

Hello, I have started blogging myself. I am trying to find out the basic problems that my blog is having and looking for solutions. Also, I’m searching for some basic things like themes and other stuffs. I have read your whole article, I am looking forward to get a positive result after performing this myself. Can you suggest me any basic idea that I might need in the future as a new blogger? Thank you

I’d say that most of the basics are already included in the article!

Hi Lauren I tried to start my own blog on wordpress just for my Peru Trip and found even that “easy to use interface” very finicky. My photos and text didnt line up at all how I wanted them to. Secondly I did buy up a domain name and hosting through GoDaddy a few years ago and again used a free design template but again despite the ease of use found it too hard to use. I don`t have an idea in my head of how the website should look or be designed. What made me comment on your page is that you gave a lot of good start up advice but also that you mentioned you have anxiety. Other than chronicling my world travels with photos and video and having a poetry section, I was thinking of also having a section on my mental illness and links to helpful resources. I am worried bc my illness is the most stigmatizing of all of them, about using my real name and having my photos of my travels associated with my mental illness blog or section. Should I have a different blog or website for that and use a pseudonym? I currently work for the school board so that health information is a touchy subject I dont want prospective/current employers ect to know about it. I know I just read your article but I still feel lost on where to start…I write about travel, spiritual growth, mental illness, healing mental illness via shamanism and psychedelics (controversial) I write poems. How do I pick something so someone will remember me like you mentioned, oh melody…she writes about…..

Sounds like a good plan to me!

Thanks, Krishna!

Hi Lauren – the first time that I’ve been on your blog is through a Google search of how to start my own travel blog. I’m in a bit of a rut right now, with my quarter life crisis, and I want to say that traveling has been one of the most consistent and loved things that I have in my life. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, as I hope to share with my friends/family/others in the near future. This was super helpful! :-)

I’m so glad to hear that, Vickie! Best of luck as you get your own travel blog up and running :-)

Hello Dear Mam, this blog post is very useful information for the new bloggers, your blog post went to get a lot of new education after I read it, Please continue to post such an informative blog. Therefore, people like us will be motivated in real life. I’m new in this area and I’m building my website, I’m working hard on this Your blogs are very useful here and especially to this blog, which provide this point information, I have received lots of help to read this blog post, please continue to share this kind of information. Thank you.

Good luck, Nazrul!

Hi Lauran, very informative and useful post – thank you. A couple of questions: 1. How do you even go about uploading photos in to your blog posts i.e. working out what size they should be, inserting them etc? 2. How did you break through in to freelance writing? I’d say I definitely have advanced writing skills – I write at length every day in my job, I’ve got a personal blog and I write creative prose and poetry in my spare time, but I have no idea how to sell my skills online or even where to start. Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks, Hayley

I edit my photos in Photoshop and save them at 1500 px in width, then upload them to my site (just click upload on the new post screen), and resize them to 750 px in width (which is the width of the text area in my theme). I save them at double the width to start with to ensure the photos look pretty on retina screens (which have double the pixels). Always make your photos as wide as your theme will allow them, as the bigger the photos, the better your site looks.

I’m not the best person to ask about freelance writing, as it kind of just fell into my lap! I started writing here, and then once I’d built up a reasonable audience (10,000 visitors a month or so), companies began contacting me to ask if they could pay me to write for them. I’d recommend building up a portfolio on your site, then heading to https://problogger.com/jobs/ to apply for writing gigs.

I really enjoyed your blog post! It’s the third I’ve read, but I really like yours because you gave more information about advertising and plugins. I also really admire how you travel on your own salary! I do that as well, and though it’s hard, I want to keep it that way because I feel it’s more fun and freeing, and isn’t the “freeing” feeling what makes traveling so amazing?

I just purchased my domain through BlueHost and am currently working on it before launching. I’ve run into some problems with my business plan, though, because I currently became unemployed and don’t know how I can now afford to travel while I look for a new job.

What is your recommendation for content when you’ve had to put travel on pause? Has this ever happened to you?

I appreciate the help, and I definitely will begin to follow your blog!

Best Regards

Thanks so much, Karina! I definitely agree that not taking press trips makes travel feel more freeing — I can do and write about whatever I want without having to worry about pleasing a random tourism board!

As for what to write about, focus on previous trips or post travel guides for wherever you’re currently living. If you can build your site up to be an amazing resource for where you’re living, you’ll do really well in Google/find it easier to make money than trying to write about everywhere in the world. During the first six months or so of my site, I had never travelled before, so was focusing on writing about London, my upcoming trip plans, and previous trips I’d taken.

Bloody brilliant post on how to write a successful travel blog! Thank you so much Lauren! I’ve only recently heard of WordPress (very old fashioned)and affiliate marketing, AdSense, plugins and Tumblrs are all unknown territory to me… One question though, what is self hosting???!! Thanks in advance, Karen :-)

Ah, so self-hosting is basically paying for the server (computer space) that your website lives on, rather than using the free option a company like WordPress offers.

The advantage to going self-hosted (wordpress.org) rather than using wordpress.com or blogspot.com is that your site will typically be faster, you have access to support if anything goes wrong with your site, and you’re paying for the flexibility and freedom to do whatever you want with it. Blogspot/Wordpress.com, etc restrict you in terms of what themes you can use, what plugins you can install, how you can make money from your site, etc, so you’re really limited.

Wow, thank you Lauren. This really is a minefield!! I just set up a free WordPress.com site last month to write some travel blogs, and thought that was it! Do I have to set up hosting myself though if I want to add plug-ins etc? and Do I really need a ‘theme’? How do you go about adding advertising links and getting commission? Sorry for all the questions.. it’s mind boggling to me! I’ve only recently left working with domestic and sexual abuse survivors (prior to that working with offenders) and started working from home, so this is a huge learning curve for me! I learnt to type on the old fashioned typewriters years ago, so I feel like an old dinosaur! Thanks anyway, much appreciated, Karen

Hey Lauren. I’ve just recently moved to India to work as a teacher and wanted to set up a personal blog for some time. I’m so pleased I stumbled upon your blog post because it’s helped enormously! I’m really enjoying documenting my adventures and sharing it with friends and family. I’m not too bothered about boosting my popularity at this stage, but I look forward to learning more about the blogging world! Thanks again! Emily

Best of luck, Emily! :-)

Hi Lauren, I am going through this post for the 3rd time and it still amazes me about all the details. You really filled all the gaps. I have been thinking about starting my own travel blog for about 4 months, but I don’t get the courage to do so. I have only been on a single international trip. I work in a 9-6 job. So I don’t even have much of a data dos share. I am also scared about funding my site because I am new to this blog world. Can you guide me? Thanks in advance. Keep rocking.

Thank you! Honestly, you just have to take the plunge and do it. If you’d started four months ago when you first decided to do it, you would have likely started making money from your site by now! Write about the place you currently live in if you can’t travel, and make yourself known as a resource for that specific place.

I started my blog in May of this year thanks to this post! THANK YOU so much for the inspiration and also the detailed steps on actually getting started. Just made my first big affiliate sale and I am so excited!

Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that, Katie! :-)

Hi there – nice write up! I’ve set up personal websites before (for bands and music), but only recently want d to do a travel blog. I’ve experience with WordPress but one of the issues I’ve found was that while going this route means you have control over your site, you don’t always have the right suppprt if the themes and plug ins go haywire. Ive had some of my site break without being able to fix it.

So I moved over to Squarespace. 24/7 support. They work great for my music sites. But they have limited templates and themes for travel themed blogs.

Any experience or feedback on WordPress vs Squarespace?

I haven’t used Squarespace before, so I can’t comment on the differences and pros/cons, so if Squarespace works for you, stick with it. If it doesn’t, I recommend WordPress because it’s so powerful and you can do pretty much anything you need to with it. But you’re right in that the downside is not always having the best support — it’s not something that’s ever affected me, as the support for my theme/plugins has always been kickass, but it could mean you’d need to hire a tech person if your site breaks at some point. If that happens, you can usually hire someone on Fiverr for not too much money to get things working again.

Love you blog, Lauren. Any tips on authenticity as a blogger? You’re one of the few I follow who do it right and I’m eager to follow in your footsteps.

Thank you so much, Vivien! Honestly, just be yourself. Write your blog posts as though you’re telling a story to your best friend or writing in your diary, don’t filter to the point where your personality disappears, and embrace any of your quirks. Write your blog posts as you speak aloud and then edit them afterwards, and that’ll help you personality to shine through.

Amazing, amazing post! I can’t believe how much information you share. I have a question for you. How do you possible decide on the best theme for a travel blog?! There are so many incredible ones out there that I’m having problems just choosing one.

Thanks for sharing.Keep going! Its nice and informative blog.I am new to this and don’t know where to start but your post helped me giving an idea.

Best of luck, Sravani! :-)

Very nice article, can you also please share the marketing methods that you use for this blog.

Good question! Most of my success has actually come quite organically to me. Social media is a big one for me — Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest have worked best — and guest posting on other sites. I should do more of the latter, actually, as that’s a great way to build your audience. But um, honestly that’s about it!

Hi Lauren! I am about to start my travel blog and I must say that your post by far is the best! I read a lot on how to start a blog but never found anything as detailed and simple as yours. You just make it look very easy. I have taken all your tips into account and hopefully will be up and running my own blog in just few weeks! Fingers crossed :) Thank you for making me believe that it is doable! :)

Ah, that’s so lovely, Arina! Let me know if I can help with anything as you get set up :-)

Thanks for this article – it had a few things in there that would never have occurred to me otherwise.

I’ve been running my blog for over 3 years about living and travelling on a boat but had never considered Yoast/WPTouch – WPTouch especially is really great.

So glad it helped you out, Matt! :-)

Hei YO! Thanks for the tips. I willing to start my own blog. I think after doing a lot of trips I want to be helpful to other people. Thanks to you now I have a clue.

On this stage, I’m trying to understand wordpress.org a little bit more. How does the advertising work with WordPress? Do they plug in their own google adds? Or what are the important points that we can hold the control of our own sites?

You have complete control of your site, and advertising is separate from WordPress. With Google ads, you’ll sign up for them and be given a code to copy and paste onto your site wherever you want the ad to show up.

You’ve done so well at carving a niche for yourself… what do you think is a good travel blogging niche that has yet to be overdone? I want to stand out from the crowd but it feels like there’s no way to do so anymore.

Oooh, good question! I think, though, that the best thing to do would be to travel and write and then wait to see what consistencies emerge from your blog posts. If you’re creating a niche just because it’s not overdone, it’s more likely you won’t feel passionate about your site and then stand less chance of finding success. I think that travel blogs focusing on a specific city or region do exceptionally well, and I also think that sustainable travel is going to be huge in the coming months and years.

hi Lauren. When do you think is the idea time to start a travel blog? I’m going to be traveling when I graduate in 2019 and I want to get a head start but is it worth starting when I won’t even be leaving for another two years? Thanks for all that you do in the travel blogging world — reading yours is always a breath of fresh air.

As soon as possible! Start writing about where you currently live, get onto social media and start building an audience, work on finding your writing voice — if you start now, you’ll be making money from your blog by the time you leave to travel! :-)

Thank you very much, excellent insights as I am just starting my blog!

Glad you found it helpful, Samantha!

This is an awesome guide! Can you explain a bit more about how to make money with affiliates? I’m not quite sure what they are or how to get started. Thanks!

Sure! So it’s like a commission. Say you want to recommend a travel product to your readers — in that case you can google [product name] affiliate, and if there’s a program, you can sign up for it. If not, you can usually find it on Amazon and use Amazon Associates to link to it. Once you’ve created an account there, you can then create a link to a product and place that link on your site. If one of your readers clicks that link and buys something, you get a commission on the sale.

Here’s an example: if I booked a hotel, I might then write a blog post about the place I visited and recommend the hotel if I liked it. In that blog post, I can add a booking.com affiliate link whenever I mention the hotel. If someone reads the post, clicks that link, and decides to book a stay at that hotel, I make a percentage of that sale. Let me know if you have any further questions!

Hi Lauren Brilliant informative site. I have just sailed up the Mozambican coast and am now in Pemba. I met many great local people all along the coast. I came across your blog whilst doing some reasearch with a view of bringing my yacht here to charter. You have now inspired me to get one of these going. I use instagram simply because its so easy to edit pics and post. If you interested instagram moveswithsail2017 . My yacht’s name is just4fun and in the next few months I intend setting up a wordpress with the same handle. Maybe ‘theadventuresofjust4fun.com Do you think this is a bit too long ? Thanx

Thanks so much! Sounds like an incredible trip — Mozambique is such a wonderful country! I think your domain name is a little too long. Maybe just4funadventures is available? Or just Moveswithsail?

Very informative! How to increase traffic on existing blog?

Updating old posts, writing guest posts for other blogs, and focusing everything you have on Pinterest!

Hey! thanks for giving motivation…..I will start my pet blog soon..one more thing wordpress is better than blogspot?

Yes, definitely go with WordPress!

More wonderfully inspirational and easy to initiate ideas! When life is busy, it’s fantastic to hear your tips and be reminded of some of the little essentials. Much needed motivation!

Hey, thanks so much, Essa! :-)

Thanks so much for giving me the guide lines for starting new blog. I just decided to learn how to create a travel blog, your article was really helpful for me.

Glad to hear it! Feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions :-)

Hi, this is very useful for me. Starting, running, upgrading and maintaining a travel blog is a difficult and time-consuming activity. In the the beginning we made a blog about the trip and thought everyone will love it. Not so. Thanks for giving us some useful ways to increase the audience.

The early days are the toughest, because you’re still figuring out your voice and it’s a struggle to build your audience. But stick with it! It’s hard work but you’ll get there in the end :-)

I love this article and it honestly has given me a little extra boost to continue what I am doing!

I’m so happy to hear that, Jason!

I have to personally thank you so much for this article. I’ve had it bookmarked for the past couple of months and i used it as my bible while creating my own Travel Blog. I would revisit it every once in a while to make sure I was following through on all your valuable advise. My blog has been up for a few months now and though I don’t yet have much of an audience, I’m really glad this post gave me the inspiration I needed to get started.

I just have one question though. I’m at the stage wherein I’m trying to approach Affiliate programs such as TripAdvisor, Agoda, etc, and I find my applications rejected. When did you start applying for Affiliate programs? Was it right at the beginning? Or did you wait till you had some dedicated traffic before applying?

Thanks again for this article!

Take Care, Rohan

Really loved the way how you explained each and everything in detail and still kept it entertaining until the last line. You shared your own experience as a beginner, putting yourself in our shoes and that really gave me the idea how to start from scratch. I feel a lot more confident now and hopefully gonna start my blog asap. Thanks

Thanks so much, Salman! Best of luck :-)

Hey Lauren,

I really enjoyed reading your advises and i feel like go out there and be a blogger. Travel is my passion and o always wanted to share it with my friends and family.

I’m going to Central America soon and i’ll start taking photos and videos and share them in a blog i’ll open.

Thank you so much!

Good luck, Leo! :-)

Thank you so much for your post! It was really helpful. May I ask if the Basic plan from Bluehost was sufficient for you? It seems as though the plans have changed and that you can only get Domain Privacy through the Prime plan now. I really want to get the ball rolling on my blog, but nervous at the same time.

I think you should be able to still get it on the basic plan. This page https://my.bluehost.com/hosting/help/domain-privacy seems to indicate you can buy it after you’ve set everything up.

I see that! Thank you so much for your quick response.

No problem! :-)

Hi Lauren! This is an excellent guide, I’ve taken the plunge to convert my wordpress to a real blog.

I love maps so it was great to see your suggestion for the interactive world map plugin. Just to let you know that it now says “This plugin is deprecated” after installing, but it does recommend a different one to use.

Do you still use the old plugin?

Really? That’s so weird, as it says here https://codecanyon.net/item/interactive-world-maps/2874264?ref=NEFootsteps that it was last updated on the 19th September 2017 and the creator was replying to comments and answering support questions for the plugin nine hours ago. Are you sure you downloaded the right plugin, as I can’t see anywhere that it’s stopped working?

I’d ask a question in the comments section of the plugin about it or ask for a refund if it really has been depreciated. It’s unfair to get someone to pay $21 and only afterwards say that it wasn’t working and to download something else instead!

Thanks for your quick reply. Turns out it’s all in the detail ;) I searched your suggested plug-ins instead of clicking through. After a bit of playing around I could tell it definitely wasn’t the same as yours! There’s a free version with a similar name (map instead of maps).

Once I get my blog going I think this will be a great investment. Keep up the good work and happy travels!

Ah, got it! :-) Thanks so much, and good luck with getting your site off the ground!

Thanks for this great information!!

I specially found your tips very good :)

I have already started blog an running well but can you please suggest me plugins specific to travel which can help me to create a better travel blog

That’s included in the guide! :-)

I wanted to see if you could tell us about the ways of getting the blog legal with the state. And how the money you generate actually gets transferred to your (bank,PayPal) account? Or where ever it goes too. Really enjoy your blog!

Legal in what way? You’ll want to register as self-employed and get an accountant so that you can start paying taxes, but you won’t need to do this until your site starts making money because it’s a hobby up until that point. But that’s about it. Some pay me via Paypal and some via bank transfer; usually the former though.

How do I start a website that costs me nothing at all?

Use WordPress.com instead of WordPress.org, get a free theme, and you’re done :-)

This is good. My wife and I have a pretty amazing idea for a blog. Came up with the idea like 2 hours ago and this was the first thing I read. Pretty solid advice.

How can I ask you questions in the future?

Same as you’re doing right now! ;-) Leave a comment here or message me through my contact form.

Sounds good. Do you have any resources for the product review side of blogging? Like a person i should research, or a site I should visit.

Would you recommend me doing one site with different blogging types? For example, one tab is travel, one tab is product reviews, one is parenting stuff, etc…

I want to do a lot, but dont want to pay for multiple sites. Wanted to see if you have had seen anyone do that in the past.

Great step by step on starting a blog – I’m about to start mine…what do use for security of the site or are you a specific plan with bluehost that keeps everything secure?

When I was with Bluehost, I used the Word Fence plugin, but now site security is included in my package with my current host.

This information was SO helpful for me! Starting a new blog, I had no idea where to start. The process could easily be intimidating and overwhelming, but this step-by-step makes it relatively easy. I’ve come back to this post almost daily as I get going. I’m still in the early stages of travel blogging and still learning a lot, but I feel like I’m off to a good start. So thank you!!

My blog: http://www.lichenandlayovers.com

That’s so kind of you to say, Erin — thank you! Best of luck as you get everything up and running, and feel free to drop me an email if I can help with anything!

No questions, just my undying gratitude that you put this guide together. Can’t wait to get stuck in with this in 2018.

Ah, thank you so much! Glad you found it useful and best of luck!

That’s what I need! As a novice, I’m very grateful to you for your information. I’m starting my blog this weekend. I feel scared but excited! Thank you.

Best of luck, Mary! Feel free to head back and ask me any questions if you get stuck or confused :-)

Hiya Lauren,

To be honest earlier today was the first day I thought of starting a travel blog. This was very very informative and I have already favourited to save on my web-page. I had just one question – what would you suggest be the best way to get traffic to your blog?

Pinterest and Google! Focus on SEO for both :-) Oh, and guest posting for larger sites.

I found this really helpful.Thank You! I have ideas of how i want my travel blog to look like but the content is what I am worried about. Throughout my travels, i was inspired to document the most powerful moments i had with ‘strangers.’ I haven’t yet shared them with the world. For a muslim, a girl, and coming from a conservative culture, I saw the world very different when i began travelling at 20. I want to have a human-centric approach to my blog to show the beauty of people of different cultures and faith. From Asia, to Europe, to the US, Middle East and Africa, I don’t like being a tourist, I tend to dwell on immersing myself in the local life, attend events, get togethers, food stores and places of worship. And through such, I have become a better person myself. I want to share my travel expriences in a very captivating way whilst being able to break stereotypes and prejudice.

Sounds fascinating! I’d love to read your blog — let me know when you’ve set it up and I’ll offer some feedback. But don’t worry about the content, I think it sounds like a great niche for your site.

Hi Lauren. This is by far the best read about how to start a travel blog. You didn’t advertise, you smartly inform people. Thank you. ?

Thank you so much, Rachel! That means the world to me :-)

Hello Lauren,

Thanks for your effort and sharing the valuable post with us, I did a lot of research on how to start a travel blog but didn’t find the right information for a beginner. Once I read your blog and realize that you have shared the right information that I’m looking for, Keep sharing your valuable and informative content on a regular basis. Thank you once again.

Glad you found it helpful, Amy! Feel free to drop me an email with any questions if you have them :-)

What do you do about copyright on your images? I’m particularly concerned about theft of mine. I notice you don’t watermark yours – is there something you do behind the scenes to prevent your photos from being stolen from your travel blog?

Yeah, I don’t care. People will take your images whether you add a watermark or not, and the watermark makes them look ugly, so I don’t have one. It’s part of the package that comes from working online.

Nice guide. I guess the one thing that’s holding me back from starting a travel blog is the belief that it’s too late. There are so many travel bloggers out there now that it feels impossible to get your voice heard. Do you think it’s too late to make money with a travel blog now? And what tactics can I use to be discovered when there’s so much noise in this space?

No, no, no! It’s definitely not too late. I’m a part of a few Facebook groups and there are so many people who are starting to make thousands of dollars a month within a year of starting their blogs. It’s so inspiring to see and proves that there’s always space for more people in this industry. Focus on improving your photography, figuring out how to drive traffic through Pinterest, writing as many guest posts as you possibly can, and providing the most detailed resources on a topic to rank highly in Google. You can do it! :-)

Spot on with this guide! I’ve been blogging for three years and agree with everything you’ve said. Keep on being your authentic self – the internet needs more people like you!

Hey, thanks so much! :-)

i am shankar, 60 yrs male from india and have been travelling around for the past 35 years . After marriage family priorities and business life took over. In between my passion for travelling, photography & reading continued. Lot of my friends and relatives have been encouraging to put my experiences in writing and making extra buck too. Now i have been thinking seriously, why not start at this point of time and still see the world & make money too.

All i want to know from you is, is it right time to start writing blogs combined with my travels and also make some extra buck.

You insight and encouragement is going to plan my future. After going thru your writeup on travel blogging, i feel excited as to why not start off now. Your views and comments should help me in shaping my passion. Please advise. Shankar…india

The best time to start is as soon as possible! It takes a while to get everything figured out, so if you’re determined to start a travel blog at some point, start it today. Good luck! :-)

Hi Lauren! Great guide as always. I’m setting my travel blog up now by following your instructions and wanted to say thank you for the effort you put into this resource. It’s helped me no end as I’ve tried to figure out this whole blogging thing. I’m now starting to publish my first blog post and wanted to ask what you think is a good word count to be aiming for. I know your posts generally skew longer and was wondering if there’s a reason for that?

Yes! I find that the longer and more detailed my blog posts are, the easier it is for them to rank in Google. I usually publish blog posts of at least 2,000 words, but sometimes aim for as many as 4,000! Oh, and also, when I was writing my book, I got into the habit of writing 5,000 word chapters and haven’t been able to break it yet — it feels more natural to write the longer posts now, especially if it’s a narrative. Hope that helps!

you havent replied to my query sent on jan 14th 2018. awaiting ur reply soon.

hi, lauren i want little help from you, please suggest me a good and free seo optimized theme for self hosted wordpress blog.

Take a look at the options offered by WordPress in the themes section of your dashboard. They have some quite nice ones these days :-)

Hey, I found this super helpful and intriguing!

Do you think you need to be on a long travel trip in order to start a travel blog? Or (because I am little money and am still studying) can you start a travel blog with only two trips a year?

Nope, definitely not! The most successful travel bloggers are the ones that travel only a handful of times a year. When I stopped travelling full-time and found a base in Portugal to live for six months of the year, my income doubled within a year! Start by writing about where you currently live and you’ll find it far easier to make money than focusing on the entire planet — with the latter, Google won’t know what you specialise in and you’ll subsequently find it harder to rank for many terms.

Thank you for your instructions. I have thought of starting a travel blog for a while since I love to travel. I am just so busy with work, kids, and life in general. You have definitely inspired me to start it now though. I just have a few questions about the business aspect of a blog. Did you set up a corporation or any type of business account? Are your travels tax deductable even if you don’t make that much money off of it? Does every travel blogger make money? How can I keep a blog going since I can’t travel all the time because of my kids’ school schedule? Thank you in advance.

1) I didn’t set up a business until this year. For the first five years of running my travel blog, I was registered as self-employed. 2) As long as you can show a business plan that details how you were planning on making money through those travels, you should be okay. 3) No, not every travel blogger makes money. There are no guarantees. If a travel blogger didn’t go self-hosted, had ugly photos, and was a terrible writer, they’d be unlikely to find success. 4) Not being able to travel all the time is the best way to build a successful travel blog! The travel bloggers that make the most money are the ones that have a home and don’t travel frequently. You have more time to work on building an audience and can position yourself as an authority in your hometown, too!

Hi Lauren!!

I just read your article and it was worth my time.. I recently just started my blog too, which i hope to make it a travel blog rather than a travel guide, and tips blog later on when i have the resources.

And yeah, I’m now a BIG FAN..!!

Thank you! Best of luck with your travel blogging career :-)

I have some although it was a great post Can I use blogger for blogging. What is the disadvantage if any?

I wouldn’t recommend using Blogger. It has some pretty severe limitations and you’ll find it harder to build an audience on the platform.

Hey, Thank you so much for such a thorough explanation. I am a freelancer tour organizer and mostly I organize tours for groups, Currently, I am working in India and organizing tours(mostly treks) in the mountains of India. I recently thought about developing a travel blog for myself and was about to start up my own travel organizing company, this article cleared up many things which I was confused about, I was very confused about the SEO part too but I hope these steps will clear up some fog for me now!! Really appreciate it! Thank you for sharing!!

Yay! Feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions or need help with anything as you get set up :-)

Really helpful post! Just have a quick question about Bluehost – If I put in my address which is in the UK, there is tax added to the total which is around $21. Does it matter if I keep the country as the US to avoid paying that tax or does it need to be your actual country? Sounds stupid but thought I’d ask!

If you have a US address you can use then yeah, I assume you can do that. Worth a try!

Please, please post an updated breakdown of how you make money with your travel blog Lauren. I’m sure many of us here would love to read it! I’m curious what sources of income you have, the percentage breakdown of these sources when it comes to your overall income, how much you make (if that’s not too personal!) and how much time you spend working on your blog at present.

You got it! It’s definitely on the list — I’ll try to get to it within a month or so.

Really useful tips! I haven’t even thought that there are so many fine points to pay attention to!

Right? It sounds overwhelming at the start, but things do start to fall into place as you work at it.

I’ve just come across your blog and I’m really enjoying reading it (currently about your trip to Maputo!). I do a bit of travel blogging on the side and enjoy doing it but find it hard to get it out to a wider audience. Have you any other suggestions?

Thanks so much, Sam! My biggest recommendation is to guest post on other sites. Not necessarily travel blogs, although somewhere like Nomadic Matt would definitely help expose your writing to a new, wider audience, but sites that are relevant to the topics you write about. As an example, I might write about travelling with anxiety on a large mental health-focused site, or how I budget for a month-long trip on a financial advice website, or what it’s like to travel as a bisexual for an LGBT magazine. Stuff like that. It’s one of the best ways to build up your audience, as not only does it bring new readers to the site, but it also gives you links that’ll help your article rank higher in Google and therefore bring more readers in that way.

I literally googled “how to start a travel blog” and this is the first site that came up. I currently enjoy traveling a lot, have started to post photos on Instagram and have become super interested in travel blogging.

Your instructions make it seem so simple! And great advice/tips!

Thanks so much, Raven! Best of luck if you decide to go ahead with travel blogging :-)

I have caught the travel bug after putting down deposits for my Round the World trip, however, this wont be until sept 2019, as we have to save enough money. I’m wanting to start a travel blog, is it too early now? I have been to many exciting places (Tanzania, Turkey, San Francisco, Zakynthos, and many beautiful places in my home country, UK) and will be going to NYC this summer.

What i’m wondering is do you reckon it is too early to get into my travel blog before my RTW trip? I am worried I dont have enough content (stories and pictures!) to keep posting regularly?

Thank you, Elle

Nope! It’s never too early — the earlier you start, the better! There’ll always be things to write about, whether it’s your previous trips, your plans for the future, where you currently live, and random pieces of travel advice and tips. The most successful travel bloggers are those that don’t travel super frequently, so don’t feel as though you need to be travelling full-time in order to build a successful travel blog :-)

I’m currently studying engineering physics in Sweden (where I’m from) and after this semester I’ve decided to take at least one year off to travel. I have always loved writing (I have been writing a diary since I was 12, and I’m now at the age of 28) and I’m also very passionate about photography. I have done some traveling before I started my studies and I have lived and worked in Spain, Australia and New Zealand. I’ve always written about my travels, but only in my diary or personal blog. I want to combine my passions (writing, photography, traveling) and turn it into a professional travel blog. My main intention is not to make money (that’s just a big plus), but to reach out to people. To share my travel experiences. I get so inspired by you and other great travel blogs out there, I want to inspire too.

Do you think I can create a successful international blog even though english isn’t my native language?

I think I’m pretty good at english, but I can’t tell if my grammar is correct at all times. I mean, spelling checks are easy, but checking entire sentences and sentence structure and all of that… it’s a bit harder. Any thoughts or tips regarding this topic? Do you think that I have to improve my english writing skills before I start blogging? Or do you think people would read anyway? And do you know of any successful blog written by someone that have another native language than english?

Thank you for this post!

Hi, i had a question about billing… does the total on blue host mean that that is the total that you pay once a year or can you pay it monthly? meaning can i pay it monthly or or does it take it out all at once? sorry very new to this and a bit confused, just want to make sure i can understand everything that im investing in.

Hi Rachel! You pay for it all up front rather than month by month.

is there a way to pay it month by month or is that the only option?

I think that’s the only option.

Lauren I love the concept of the blog. I full heartedly agree, you don’t see a lot of people blogging about the down side of traveling. I recently spent 3 weeks in Europe solo traveling, and I got a lot of compliments about how pretty the pictures were, meanwhile no one saw all the internal muck that was beginning to come up. I finally stated my blog after a year of sitting on it. Right now it’s just for fun. We’ll see where it goes. I also enjoyed reading about your Cook Island experience, as its currently on my list for travels in 2019. Cheers. Ryan

Best of luck with your blog, Ryan, and with your travels to the Cook Islands! Thanks so much for the huge compliment :-)

Thank you for this very interesting post. I’ll keep your advices in mind for my brand-new blog ;)

Thank you Lauren for sharing this great information.. you inspired me to start my own travel blog.. One question, how to get traffic with new created blog ? Thank you so much..

Best regards, Karen.

Pinterest, guest posting, and writing long and detailed travel guides to popular destinations.

Thank you so much for the great insights. I’ve been itching myself for the past month or so in trying to publish my first post. I felt the “About Me” page and first post are almost similar and based on what you suggested, it doesn’t seem too different too. So I’m a bit worried.

Also, what I am mostly worried about is if it’s too late to start up a travel blog now?

Hey! thanks for sharing information, as a beginner it will help me to learn and write my own travel blog.

Wow! Thank you for such a detailed post! My 13-year-old daughter is taking next year off to travel. We set up her website and plan to launch it in June. I’ve been looking at ways to monetize her site because I think she would feel so accomplished if she made a buck or two. We are literally starting from scratch, but she wants to makes go of travel blogging for this year. We are super excited! I’m so grateful for your post!

Hey, Thanks for sharing such awesome tips for making a travel blog.

Thankyou. This is so engagingly written. I am in Buenos Aires with a cold & just decided to explore blogging as I can’t dance at mo with this cold. And I love writing vignettes about ordinary but magical things. I’m in a cafe at this moment for my favourite coffee y medialunas ~ lol not good food for a cold but good for the soul. When i get back to my room, I’m gonna start. Thankyou for you simplicity & integrity.

Thank you for the huge compliment! :-) Best of luck with getting started, and feel free to drop me an email if you need help with anything at all :-)

Hello, Lauren! I enjoyed reading your take on starting a travel blog. You gave a lot of good information and ways to help get started. I’ve wanted to travel my whole life and now in my late 40s, I’ve finally decided to stop wasting time waiting for the travel fairy to visit me and start living my dreams. Writing, photography and travel are my passions and I’m super excited to get started putting all three of my passions to work for me instead of me working for them.

I have a bit of a different approach with my travel blog, at least I haven’t found one like it yet, and I’m looking forward to trying it on for size.

My biggest concern is getting started and actually developing the audience. Short of physically pulling up my site on random strangers phones for them to visit did not seem like such a great idea so I’m wondering what steps did you take to create a following or was it a matter of trial and error?

Thank you so much for any information you can offer to help me get started. Safe travels!

Hi Lauren i’m starting my website soon and will get blue host from your link :) I have a question. Is it a must to spend money on theme. Could i just look for free themes and still earn money through blogging?

Yep, you can use a free theme to get started! And once you start making money from your site, you can invest in a paid theme.

I’m just about to launch my website (which I’ve been avoiding for a while). I came across your article and it’s now getting me excited!

Good luck, Jesse! Let me know if I can help out with anything as you get your blog set up :-)

Yikes! I thought this was going well until… I followed all the instructions, and then when I got to the point where I wanted to log in to the admin portal of wordpress, I could not figure out my username and/or password. So I tried to get a new password, and neither my email address or what I thought was my username works. What do I do? I’m all signed up and paid up but can’t do a thing!

Hi Leanne! Try Bluehost’s live chat and they should be able to help you out: https://helpchat.bluehost.com/

Thank you so much for sharing this information. I’ve been planning to launch a travel blog myself and I guess I will bookmark this page for future reference.

Again, a great post!

Hello Lauren! thank you for your amazing blog! :) yes….you’ve heard that a million times…but still it’s true and hearing nice things about your achievements can never be too much ;)

I was really inspired by your article now to finally kick start my own blog. I have an existing webpage with squarespace.com. they are amazing. most of the plug ins that you are recommending they have built in anyway. but of course their annual service is a bit more expensive. I did some calculation and am thinking to switch to bluehost and themeforest. BUT then I realized that the plugins also have to be paid…or am i not getting it? Cause I don’t find it in your listing for the costs of starting a travel blog. hmmmm?…:) Thank you for your time and answer! Love, Sanya

Hey Sanya! No, all of the plugins listed in this post are totally free to use, apart from the Interactive World Maps one. And thank you! That means a lot to me :-)

Thanks for this post Lauren. It’s helped me so much and I’ve finally set up my own travel blog. It does take sooo much work and I feel like I could’ve done with a ‘how to use WordPress’ post before starting the process too haha!

Hi, thank you for this amazing tips. At this time I’m working as a writer, but I’ve always dream to become a travel blogger. That’s great chance to see the world and earn some money :) I’ve a few question to you. I have no idea how to create my own travel blog and how to promote it. And which camera should i purchase for my blog as a beginner blogger. I’ll be grateful to you if you answer me. Thank you for sharing this wonderful article.

How many post should I create in advance before starting a blog?

It doesn’t really matter, to be honest. I created my site first and then began writing for it. You wouldn’t need more than two or three, though.

Hi ! I had a great journey navigating through your blog, and I would like to mention that it is amazing and very relatable. But I do have a question. How exactly do you make money? I do not have an idea about running blogs but I am a travel enthusiast and want to turn travelling into a full time career. I am just not sure how to make the money required for travelling. I hope you will help me out.

For me, I make money from advertising (with Mediavine), affiliate marketing (from various companies, like Amazon, World Nomads, Booking), book royalties (from sales of my travel memoir, How Not to Travel the World), and, um, that’s about it! I used to make money from freelance writing, but eventually stopped doing that because the money was pretty bad and I didn’t enjoy the work.

Great tips! I used to have a website a few years ago and now I have stopped due to losing interest. Now after I read this, it kinda motivates and inspires me to start a travel blog. Cheers!

Sweet! Best of luck if you do decide to do so :-)

I’d like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this.

In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my own site now ;)

Sweet! Get on it :-)

How did you add the number of posts to the hover on the interactive map? I can’t find how to do that.

Your blog has forced me to create my own travel blog. It is not as extensive as your site. Not to mention we are coming to Portugal and the Azores based on your posts.

I do that manually every time I publish a post, or whenever I remember to update it. And don’t worry too much about your site not being so extensive — I’ve been running this blog for eight years, so I’ve had tons of time to write my blog posts! Hope you have an incredible time in Portugal. It’s such a wonderful country.

I was able to get help from the developer to figure that out. I was using tags and not categories and that was the problem. We enjoyed our trip and now looking to retire in Portugal and possibly the Azores as the destination. Although, the mainland is probably better for travel.

I found that writing posts after the fact can be difficult to remember all the info and all the odd things that happen along the way. It takes me 4-8 hours to put together the pictures and text for each day of travel. I should probably take notes along the way ;-).

Hi Lauren, Fantastic and informative post – wish I’d known this years ago when I started travelling! BTW it helped me immensely in using your step-by-step instructions to set up my own travel blog (mostly just as a memoir of my journeys, not with monetisation in mind), and I had a trial run of if during recent trek in Nepal. Any thoughts on setting up/linking to FB, Twitter, IG, etc? Seems like an additional burden to maintain the various social sites as well, but it would be nice to be able to post to IG and have it appear on blog…..

Hi Lauren, love your website and I am half way through your book, which I also love! I am a big traveller myself but mainly long weekends all over Europe and three long backpacking trips over the last ten years. I want to set up a blog to document my adventures, but down the line if I wanted to upgrade to a more professional approach would it be a relatively straight forward process of moving all the material to a paid for service? I am in two minds whether to jump in the deep end and pay for the items and services you outlined above or whether to go for more of a memoirs approach. Regards, Alan

Hi Lauren, this is so great. I have been trying to decide if i should start a travel blog. My husband and I love to travel and now we are taking our kids with us (8 and 5 both on their second pasports) I love to take photos and am not so sure about the writing. Would i set it up the same way. Does wordpress work for that or should i use something else? I am initially looking to share with friends and family but would love to be able to travel for a year with the kids but currently our jobs don’t allow it. Longest trips about 4-5 weeks Sorry for rambling. Thank you again for ao much clear information.

I’m not new to traveling, but I am new to travel blogging. I’ve been researching travel blogs for a few weeks now and just came across your page, thank you for the information and the time that you took to write this! It was very clear and helpful!

thank you very much, i have always loved travelling and always wanted to start travel blogging since the first time i left my country. i have learnt alot from your guide and from you and intend to get started right away.

My desire is to meet you one day, my home Country is Zambia in southern Africa so do swing by one day, lol.

very insightful and best regard,

Wow I just love your article here on blogging as a travel blogger! I have been in the same career for 10 years and I am ready for a change. I have been thinking of becoming a travel agent (solo on my own) for years. Do you have recommendations?

my best, Suz

Hi Laura, great info! One question I’m starting a travel blog site myself but have not published it yet, did you wait till you had several blog post before you published your site or did you just publish it once your blog site was set up?

Thanks Marc

No need to wait, just start publishing now! It’s going to take a while for people to actually find your site, so get everything up as soon as possible.

Hey Lauren ,

I wanted to start a travel blog in a local language is this a good idea to start it in a local language ? I have a passion about writing and travelling but never use blog for the same. Should I go with free or Paid in wordpress for the very first time? And is it possible that you start a free first and then convert in to paid and your blogs are available as same as before? Kindly Guide.

—Shivani

Hey! I found this information to be invaluable and very inspiring! Just like you before your blog, I’ve never written anything but I have been curious about blogging for some time now. I’ve always wanted to travel the world and experience different cultures, meet new, interesting people, eat amazing food and write about all my adventures but I always let the fear of failure deter me or I would feel so intimidated because I wouldn’t have a clue how to get started and like you I’m not technically inclined at all! This has really been a great article for me to read and I feel so excited! You make it sound so easy! Do you think incorporating spirituality or capturing culture and local destinations instead of just touristy attractions would entertain readers? Do I start my site before I go anywhere? Do I write about the places I have already been even though I don’t have all the pictures I feel I would need to make my web page more interesting or captivating (Or all the memories intact for that matter)? I would like to focus my travel blog on the people, culture, spirituality or native life, mostly (of course, also along with and all the other things people usually write about in travel blogs). Do you think that would be a good niche?

Hi Lauren, Just read your blog. This blog not only helped me a lot but also improved my knowledge of blogging too. Thank you so much for the great info and keep sharing your ideas with us so that we can explore more.

Hi Laren, I’m off to the island of Mauritius in October, where I will be staying for the next few years. In the past 6 months I have been preparing for this as I plan to create a travel photography blog before I leave the UK. I have one question to ask. Before I do, let me just say that I have a photography website that is up and running, but it does not have a blog section. So my question is: Will I be able to create a blog from the information provided above, and add it to my website or will I have to create a blog separate to the web site?

Kind regards Marc

Hi Marc! You should be able to add a blog to your website without needing to follow my instructions, as it’s likely already built into your site as a feature. Is your site running on WordPress or Squarespace or…?

Thank you so much for this post! it really encourages me to keep going on making my own travel blog as for now I have my travel videos on my youtube channel but I wanna do the next step !

Good luck! Let me know if you get stuck with any of the steps :-)

I LOVED your post. I found it incredibly helpful and inspiring. My thoughts on starting a travel blog are very new. I currently graduated University with a Photography degree and I have been saving money to travel. I spent two months in India then spent two months in Israel, now I am back in England starting my saving process again. Do you recommend I hold off getting a blog up and running until I have the funds to actually start my travels?

I recommend starting now, as the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll find success! You’ll still have plenty to write about, having spent time in India, and starting now means you’ll get the hang of how blogging actually works by the time you can afford to travel.

Hello Lauren! I have love traveling ever since I was a little girl with my family. A few years ago I started traveling on my own, and I haven’t stopped since. I’m currently an elementary school teacher and travel every break I get, but I keep wanting to blog and had no idea how to. I love writing in journals, so that’s a plus :) My question is, do you ever go back and blog about past travel experiences? Or do you focus on the present and future outings? I want to set up a Blog and your article was amazing! Any additional advice will help and thank you for being honest in this article.

Hi Lynda! Yep, I definitely do. I try to focus more on storytelling over creating a resource when I do this, as things may have changed in the time (like prices, quality of food in restaurants, etc) since I was there, but there’s no reason why you can’t blog about previous trips. It’s a great sign that you already love writing in journals :-)

This is great. I think the best way to find your travel blog is to just go out and travel. Eventually, you’ll figure out the kind of travel you want to do. Thanks for the good points here.

I do agree with that, actually. People change, and assuming you’re going to be a budget backpacker forever when you first start out could end up being disastrous if you realise you can’t stand hostels!

This is a great blog! Thank you! I have just set up a blog on WordPress and this was so helpful! I’m still creating my blog and I would like to have a hotel section and would write about the hotels I’ve stayed at.

So I need photos for my post – should I approach hotels and ask permission to use their photos? As I’m just starting out not sure if I’d be eligible to be an affiliate on booking.com but have seen that other travel bloggers must have used that as an option and it looks great but have literally written three post, so may be small fry!

You could do that but I recommend using your own photos of the hotel instead. It makes your review more personal and proves you actually stayed there :-) Definitely sign up as an affiliate now. You want to be making money from the first post you publish. If you’re going to be talking about the places you stayed in in your posts, why not add an affiliate link? You might not have an audience now, but when you do in the future, you’ll wish you’d set up all of your posts for success from day one.

Great tips, I am new here but I must say you are pretty famous! I am curious to know what your opinion would be for starter with respect to starting costs? Well I hope I am not asking a question thats already been answered but I didn’t read it yet!

There’s a whole section in the post about that :)

As many have replied – this blog is great! My husband and I love to travel. For years he has said I should create a blog. We just got back from Grand Cayman and I’m starting to think more seriously about it! My husband is OCD, analytical, guidebook and I’m more of a free spirit. Thinking about maybe posting from our 2 points of view? Haha. Coming up with a unique name and brand would probably be my biggest struggle. Thanks for your blog – it’s gotten me many things to think about!

Hi Lauren, Thank you so much for putting this guide togetherness. It’s proven to be invaluable to help me get started on my own blog, theteatimeadventurer.com. The hardest part was getting started. The content pours itself out. I know I’ll look back on my first few posts eventually and say, why did I post that. I have two questions for you; my first question is how do you figure out who to contact about adding a link to your blog to drive traffic? How established should you be post wise? I’m having trouble getting to the next step. Second, would you recommend contacting a more experienced travel blogger to read your posts to get feedback? I know it’s important to join blogging superstar, but I’m a little tight on funds right now. Hope this changes in the future. Thank you again.

Thanks for sharing an amazing guide for bloggers in the making. I am now kinda inspired to start off immediately! Good luck to you!

This article was very informative. As I am a newbie and hardly know this blogging world, you made an extra effort to write this article in very simple letters. Thank you!!

I love this post thanks a lot. I still struggle with the traffic, even though I have my blog for a long time now. But it just won’t get more :( Thanks for your advise anyway :) Greetings from Vienna!

Am I *really* the first one to notice that the math doesn’t make sense here: “You should be able to make as much as $1 per 1,000 visitors to your site if you have enough placements, and while that won’t sound like much, there are new travel bloggers who reach 50,000 page views a month in under a year — that’s $500 a month…”

$1 for 1k = $50 for 50k. Not $500 So they either had 500,000 monthly visitors or they’re earning $50 a month! ?

Ah, I forgot to clarify. Once bloggers hit 25,000 views a month, they can join Mediavine and make far more money with advertising than they will with Adsense. 50,000 page views usually equate to $500 with Mediavine, or around $50 with Adsense.

So the numbers are correct, I just forgot to mention you’d want to change ad networks once you started receiving more traffic.

Truly useful piece of information. It’s good to learn the ways to improve a blog from top bloggers.

I’m glad to hear that! Best of luck with your blogging journey :-)

Hi!. Your article was a huge inspiration for me and I just run my own travel blog. For now I am blogging in polish but maybe some time I will decide to start doing it in English even tho it’s not my first language ofc. Thank you once again!

No problem! I think it’s a good idea to blog in your native language, as there’s probably a lot less competition when it comes to travel blogging in Polish!

Just read your article but I already built my blog but in Squarespace. Maybe you can help me with some great plugins for my website?

Ah, sorry, I have no experience with Squarespace so I’d just be googling best plugins for Squarespace to answer your question.

Hi Lauren. This was a wonderful post. I know a lot of people like you said are doing travel blogs/vlogs. I still would love to do a blog with pics and Vlog about airlines. I see all the others out there. But not so much bigger guys like me, And not meaning tall. My concern starting this would be trying to get viewers and well funding to get tickets to review the airlines. I really love the step by step process you did. It is the best how to start a blog I have read yet. My goal is to do a flight a week or a flight every other week. Starting from scratch makes that hard. Just wondering you had ideas on ways to make it so even if I make no money at the start. Any help you might have would be a big help. And hope you don’t mind helping a beginner out.

Umm! I really don’t know where to start commenting, your article is so articulated I’ve got lot of good Information from it I’m amazed. So i just have one question.

I have not travel the world before, but i have travel overseas two times to Indonesia twice, and the USA once.

So my question is.

After doing a research, Is it okay to start a Travel blog that directs and inform people about places to visit, what to do when they get there, where to go, which to avoid, and stuff like that.

And all that without me being travel, I just conduct a research and inform people.

Is that okay from what you have been experienced?

Thank you so much for you very informative article! It makes me think that the dream of becoming a blogger is well within reach. My question for you is this: how important do you think it is to specialize your blog? Do you think a blog about trying out all kinds of new things might be as well-received?

Love this post, it’s the best one I’ve seen. So I’m a big traveler and one of my New Years resolutions for 2019 is to start my own travel blog. I’ve never heard about hosting before and was wondering if you think first-time bloggers should invest in this? I’m a perfectionist and the main thing holding me back from starting the blog is my hesitation about the design and layout not looking perfect but what are the benefits of hosting on Bluehost? Exactly what is hosting?

Also I’m heading to Cairo, Luxor, and Beirut in a few weeks and I want to start blogging there. Do you think that I have enough time to get this up and running?

This was such an enlightening article for me. I love traveling and have always wanted to start a blog with no clue on what to do and how to go about this, and reading your article has given me such good direction. I still have questions though and I can email you if you have some time for me pls.

Thank you! Yeah, definitely drop me an email if you’re having any problems with getting your site set up :-)

I want to start a travel blog, but I’m not a full time traveler and not sure I ever want to be. Initially I though of your first option “run a blog to keep friends and family informed of your travels” but I also want to blog about other stuff, like social problems (I work for an NGO and my line of work is International Development) and personal relatable stuff (moving on my own at 17, having married young, being vegetarian, etc). Have you found bloggers with this kind of issues and what have they opted for? How does it work for them?

i recently started my blog. after reading your awesome guide. thanks for that

Best of luck with it :-)

I honestly read everything and even keep a note of the important things. I’m planning to start a travel blog soon but wanted to be educated first of what is expected to happen. Great post!

Thanks, Keith! Best of luck with getting yours set up and running smoothly :-) You can always drop me an email if you get stuck along the way, too.

Thanks so much for you guide- super in depth and easy to read. I’m really interested in starting a travel blog and I have been for years, but my anxiety has been a huge factor in preventing me from taking the jump. I think I am finally ready to just go for it- and I’m excited! My question is, you wrote this article almost 5 years ago. How have things changed since then? Do you think it’s STILL not too late to start a travel blog?

Yep! I update this article every couple of months and added the section about whether it’s too late last year. So, this article is up-to-date already — as soon as something changes I make sure to add it here :-)

Loved your article, but Bluehost deactivated me because my government ID didn’t match my mailing address. My husband and I retired, sold our house and are full-time travelers. I can’t give them an ID that matches my mailing address because my mailing address is a mail-forwarding business, so they deactivated my account after a couple of days. Just thought you should know. I still want to set up a blog, but will have to find a different route.

Hi! Thanks for such a detailed thread! Clarified many of my doubts although I decided to use a different hosting where I had registered my domain. Thanks again!

Hi! This is a really great post about starting out in travel blogging, and I wish I had read it a year ago, when i switched from a free to a self hosted WP blog. I found the hosting /theme/plugin sections particularly helpful and would like to stress that a good security and a backup plugin are essential and I would also install Jetpack as it does a lot of essential Support and is free/good value. Living in Europe, I was not sure about Bluehost , and went with a cut-price EU provider which is Slim in Prices and customer Support but I had no major issues so far. I just get what I pay for! As a Hobbyist, I am not averse to creating some income, but I agree with you that good unbiased content is the key. It is refreshing to read a professional blogger who does not take sponsored or press trips – which, let’s face it, don’t reflect the reality of travelling! – yet still make good income from the blog. I hope you Keep the transparency, and thank you for such a detailed post!

Hi Lauren, Firstly, great post!! I read your book a couple of years ago, before properly committing myself to travel. It definitely inspired me to not be afraid of things going wrong. Now I am away, 4 months into travelling SEA, and I am definitely one for not pretending that travel is always sunshine and roses with no challenges!!

I have been very VERY slowly working towards a blog the last couple of months but am ready to get serious. I wonder how you developed a writing routine in the early days when you didn’t know what you were doing? I love to write but I’ve always been very bad when it comes to a blank canvas.

I’m so happy to read this. This is the type of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that is at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this greatest doc.

Thank you! That means a lot :-)

Starting september i’ll be going on a world trip for around 12 months, and considering to start my own blog as well, partly because of that the site I co-write for doesn’t do enough marketing or knows how to market itself and is stuck with declining page views, partly because of posts such as yours. My biggest concern however, is how do you generate enough traffic, especially when you’re just starting out with the blog. I’ve recently deleted my social media accounts as I didn’t reckon they were worth my time so I can’t rely on those, but do have some knowledge about marketing due to my studies, but little regarding SEO Do you have any advice on how to generate sufficient traffic, especially when starting up your site. And how do you write and post for the best SEO results? I understand that that’s partly traffic, but to create organic traffic you need to write in a certain way / use certain words , or am I mistaken?

For a long time, I thought about creating my blog about travels. Each year there were more trips, the photos no longer fit on the hard disk and memories began to blur. This article became an inspiration for me. The blog was created and let us see where it will lead me :) Thank you!

First off, thank you for this awesome, comprehensive how-to! It’s helping me a ton, as I’m just starting out.

I have a question: how many hours a day/week would you say it takes to connect with people on and post content to Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest, in order to stay relevant?

I’m pretty averse to social media, and I’m trying to understand whether I have time to stay active and promote my blog on those platforms, all while working a full-time job and some freelance gigs.

Thanks a ton! :)

Honestly, I’m pretty averse to it too, these days. I deleted my Instagram, share my posts on Facebook and Twitter when I publish them, which takes about 5 minutes a week, and Pinterest I use Tailwind to schedule my pins to go out, so maybe five minutes a week? The longer I’ve been a travel blogger, the more I’ve realised that social media doesn’t really do much to help out your site. 85% of my readers come to my site from Google, so it started to feel like a bit of a waste of time. It’s definitely not essential to find success!

Hi Lauren, Thanks so much for this amazing information. When choosing a name for your blog, are there any problems if your name is similar to another business? I have seen several blogs with similar names. But, I wasn’t sure if it creates problems if it is similar to an unrelated business if the domain name is available.

I’d steer away from anything with an identical name, but it’s okay if it’s similar. After all, there’s a travel blog called Never Ending Voyage, and it’s never caused any problems for either us — we’ve both been very successful! If somebody registered like, neverendingfootsteps . org, yeah, that would be a problem.

Hey! I must say that your post has been the most helpful out of all the ones I’ve read. Thank you so much for doing this. I have only one big question bothering me-

When I first start broadcasting about my travel blog on all platforms of social media, and people will come to my blog to check it out, will it look good that I have only one post? Should I rather write and post 10 articles before I share it on social media? I would really like to know how to start with my blog- one article at a time or posting a few?

Hello Lauren, Thanks for the lovely post.

I am in the process of starting my blog, but I’m bogged down by bluehost and their associates.

I followed through on the process as described, but bluehost is yet to add the wordpress theme I chose to my domain name.

Contacting their customer service has been a pain in the neck: the guys on their chat seems lost all the time and take forever to respond, I called their line, I was on hold for about an hour, no one answered. Nohting has been resolved yet.

Is there any advise you can give or anyway you can help? I feel like the more bluehost lingers on this, my desire to get this blog going may wane.

Hi Uzoma! Hmmm, what do you mean that Bluehost is yet to add the WordPress theme to your domain name? If you log into your WordPress dashboard, you can add the theme to your site by clicking on appearance – themes – upload and do it all yourself without getting Bluehost involved. Themes are something that you add yourself, not something your host gets involved with. Unless I’m misunderstanding what you’re saying.

Feel free to drop me an email with more information if you’re still struggling! It should only take a few minutes to figure out :-)

Thanks for the reply, You are awesome. I’d be emailing you shortly.

Good Lord this was fun and exciting to read from beginning to end. I almost hate to say I’d like to start a travel blog too but yup…Two Cats Travels is weighing on my mind. Even with your detailed instructions I’m a little overwhelmed by the technology of it all… but I’ll just follow your step by step directions to see where we land. I LOVE the idea of making your first blog like a first date…more of a getting to know you moment! My husband is claustrophobic so planes are an issue so our travels have proceeded concentrically from our home in New England. We’ve made it as far as Croatia and I am so hoping for Japan someday soon…I have never written to a blog before but you really have me jazzed to turn this kernel of an idea into the whole cob as it were! Questions: Once I get this started is it to late to write about our past travels over the past 3 years if I fact check? Or does it need to be an in the moment excercise. I ask because every time we go somewhere I immediately come home an create a hardcover book as a memento for us and I love to write so they are not just pix. As a hook or unique angle I’m thinking of the old children’s phrase curiosity got the cat and satisfaction brought it back because that’s basically why we travel. Does this make sense outside my head? Anyway, thanks and happy travels! Warmly, Lori and Jim

Hi Lauren, I’ve been thinking about starting a ‘travel’ blog but am moving more toward even a ‘life/lifestyle’ blog if that’s even a thing. I love to travel but I also enjoy a lot of home design stuff and do a bit of wedding coordinating. I know this is all a bit scattered but at the same time they are all a part of my life. Any recommendations, as I am a total newbie, on where to begin figuring out my niche? there’s a lot of pieces of my life I think could be beneficial to a blog but I’m so hesitant to start and be confined by only one of these things!

Wow thanks a lot! I just lanuched my blog and this post gave me a million new ideas to think about. Thanks for spreading the love!

Hi Lauren! I have always written a personal travel journal and after several people suggesting I should write a blog – I’m seriously considering it. For now I’d love for it to be mainly for family and friends but I also want the option for it to be something more later on if I wanted it to be. Is there any themes that are free that I can choose? I can commit to $2.95 a month for hosting but nothing more at this stage as my travels at the moment are for 6 months so budget is tight. Also can you download and create an entire blog on WordPress on an iPad? Because that’s all I have with me on this big trip ?

like your website and especially your incredible story and all the tips you give here. Well done!

I am working on a website about tips and tricks for backpackers myself and have to say one tip from this post I would really like to stress is

LET YOUR PERSONALITY SHINE THROUGH!

I am getting there more and more myself. It feels more natural to write and just have a look at some other blogs. Some people flat out swear half the time – in successful blogs! So whatever your style is, write like that, write like you talk. Best advice ever!

Also, what I am always curious about is, how long it takes to make money from your blog. A lot of people give you different answers and for example you said after 3 months you started making money, but it took you about a year to live on it.

But how much time did you spend on average? I assume (and you actually mentioned it as well) you lived in cheaper countries and worked probably close to 24/7 on your blog in the beginning. I guess. So for someone who works 40h per week and works on their blog in the evenings and mostly on their days off it would obviously take a lot longer. But nevertheless, from what I read it is absolutely not unusual that it might take more than a year to make any money at all. I am not even there, but I notice how I get better at things and I’ll get there. Would just like to know what your take on this is.

Now I know it can really take quite some time, like seriously you will have to be persistent. But if you see progress and you believe in what you do, just hang in there! That would be my personal advice.

Thanks Lauren for all the useful tips and stories you share.

All the best

Hi Lauren, Thank you so much for putting this guide togetherness. It’s proven to be invaluable to help me get started on my own blog, The hardest part was getting started. The content pours itself out. I know I’ll look back on my first few posts eventually and say, why did I post that. I have two questions for you; my first question is how do you figure out who to contact about adding a link to your blog to drive traffic? How established should you be post wise?

Keep Posting, You are a Big inspiration for all of us. I have recently started my travel blog so Its cool to come across experienced bloggers like you. Cheers

Wow I am so confused… (nervous laugh)

I just purchased through your link on Bluehost today :) Thought I would support you out of all the blogposts I’ve been reading about how to start a blog. I literally have no clue what I’m doing in there, it is so much fun! And I am happy to announce that wowiwalkers.com will be up whenever I find the courage to hit “launch”.

My boyfriend and I are going for a year. Thanks for the inspiration during the years.

Hugs Cecilie.

Hi Cecilie! Ah, congratulations for taking that first step :-) It’s a great sign that you’re finding it fun, too! Best of luck as you work through those early stages and let me know when your site is live. I’d love to take a look at it :-)

Wow :) you just cleared my clouded mind thank you so much , i just bought a domain name to build travel blog and was fully confused where to start how to start , do i have to updated the blog after ever trip or i have to updated as a whole. how i am going to do it . you just showed me my way :)

Hi Lauren! Really great suggestions. We’re just starting out but took much of your advice into consideration. Thanks so much! We figure that if nothing else we’ll end up with a nice collection of our travel memories together: http://wanderinghikers.com/

By the way, I noticed you don’t have Instagram in your list of social media links. Is that not a platform you recommend using for helping build your audience? Personally, I don’t like how it limits hyperlinks to just your bio page, so it’s hard for someone to use the platform to drive traffic to a website. On the other hand, we like to make cinemagraphs and Instagram displays them quite nicely. Any thoughts?

I wanted to start a travel blog recently and I just don’t know where to start. I like backpacking in Europe, especially the Camino – Santiago de Compostela. Already been there twice and I want to start a travel blog on this particular journey. However, I just don’t know where to start from. I get all the website setup but the contents are my problem. Not sure what to start from.

Can you give any advice?

I’m planning to do another Camino sometime soon before I actually start my own website just to get more information and ideas from the travel.

That’s awesome. I’m actually going to be walking my first Camino in a couple of months! I’d suggest brainstorming which kind of posts you would have wanted to read when you were planning your Camino, or backpacking in Europe. So maybe that’s a packing list or a day-by-day itinerary or what to know before you go… or maybe it’s a narrative about how the Camino changed your life or why you decided to walk it a second time or the people you met along the way.

Whenever I’m not sure what to write about, I always think about what I would want to read on a blog. Hope that helps!

Hello Lauren, Because of your post, I started a travel blog in no time. Thank you so much, the steps was easy to follow. I have been to 25 countries and fell its the right time to start Regards, Praveen

I have been very fond of travelling over the globe and i just love to write about travelling stuff. But i am always keep on facing financial issues..i cant leave my job immediately..Is it really important to travel to a city to write a blog?Could you please advise me a way to deal with all such issues?

Thank you in advance!!

Hey, Lauren! Yours is the first article that i read when i thought of starting a travel blog and i don’t think i’m going to need to look at anything else because you have explained everything so vividly. I am not a person who travels constantly and continously. Travelling was just my hobby and i recently discovered that i want to keep doing it as my priority and want to make a living out of it by making a blog and because i don’t have enough money, i am doing some part time jobs to earn money so i can travel to different places. because obviously with so much competition out there i won’t start getting paid very soon. So, what i wanted to ask was , do i need to travel constantly and a lot to start a blog or can i have some breaks in between the travelling to earn some money?

This is brilliant, thank you so much for all of this amazing information! It has actually inspired me to go ahead with my ideas and I have started taking the initial steps to do so!

Thank you again, I look forward to following you further :-)

Hi Lauren Firstly thanks for taking the time to write in such detail about a topic which is quite daunting to someone contemplating entering the world of travel blogging, My question might be a bit stupid but I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction, I was following your step by step guide, I got the name, set up hosting, set up wordpress but I then had to leave it for a bit and when I came back to it I cant find continue from where I left off, pretty much from picking a theme onwards,,any help would be greatly apreciated

I started traveling when I was 10 in 1974 and 3 years ago began traveling again when I came to work in Iraq. My dream was to go to Maldives, I was recently divorced so I was a bit scared going by myself but I was like my bucket list will never get done if I don’t start. Thats when I found YOU ! my first alone trip was to the Maldives …. to Fulidhoo because of you! I work around so many people that travel constantly and would love to have a blog. My question is how often to start out would you need to travel? Can I continue to work and blog every trip I go on which is about 3-4 months? I would really appreciate your opinion and by the way I loved Fulidhoo and because of that trip I am fine traveling alone . Thank you! Carol

Hi, Is it sensible to start a travel blog with a best but free WordPress theme for 2-3 months or longer and then jump to a professional theme like Divi from Elegant Themes?

Yeah, you can totally start off with a free theme for a few months while you get the hang of things and start to build your audience up :-)

I am 2+ months away from 65 but still holding up on my dream of capturing the images of the world and sharing my thoughts in writing … which you made me realize is through travel blogging. I searched and met your articles. It inspired me 😊

Thank you so much. Your step by step instructions helped me understood the necessities it requires. I wish I could still fullfil this dream.

Thumbs up for Lauren!

Thanks for the great advice on this; my blog is set up and running now. Looking at starting the next step of your advice which is the monetising side. I have one question about a dedicated bank account for the blog in the early stages of setting up, and noticed you gave the following response to someone else question:

“You’ll want to register as self-employed and get an accountant so that you can start paying taxes, but you won’t need to do this until your site starts making money because it’s a hobby up until that point”.

Would you set up a dedicated business bank account for your blog and then look at taxes once revenue is coming in, or would you just use your personal account for now until it starts taking off?

Lauren, I must applaud you for this article, you are an amazing writer! Of all the guides I have read about blogging few days ago, this is the most detailed yet concise and captivating of all.

Am a novice in the blogging world with very little travelling experience, being born and brought up from a small village and poor family in Nigeria. I decided to create a travel blog about travelling , presenting poor people’s travel style and luxurious travel style, sharing mostly about people’s travel experiences in those two categories and encouraging everyone in their capacity to be involved. It is an entirely different approach to the usual travel blog and I want you to help me organise this idea to be more realistic and business savvy.

Kia Ora Lauren

I am reading this from New Zealand and I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your generosity in sharing this info. One of the best I have I read. I have just started a year long Diploma course in Travelwriting and Photography so I was really keen to see what I could do to start and take the plunge to start my blog.

Keep up the great writing and come to New Zeland sometime.

Ah, thank you so much, LJ! I actually spend a month of every year in New Zealand! My boyfriend is from Christchurch, so I’m always popping back to hang out with his family.

Hi Lauren! I’m sad to say that I’d already purchased hosting before I read your article a few months ago, so I ended up with something other than Bluehost. I didn’t understand how affiliate links work either, so I’m REALLY sorry again. But I AM considering switching hosts following a day-long site outage that my current host refuses to explain. In your experience, is it fairly easy to switch hosting plans? If I go with Bluehost I’ll sign up via your affiliate link now that I know how that works, lol.

Thanks! Andrew https://www.hikingillustrated.com

Yep, I’ve never had any problems with switching hosts, although it definitely took a little bit of googling to figure out which steps to take — if you get stuck at any point, you can always use the Bluehost live chat, if you decide to go with them, to ask for help understanding any of the steps.

Awesome, thank you so much!

Stumbled onto your blog not long ago, while looking for inspiration to start my own. I really appreciate that you’ve written this! It’s awesome! I’ve come across a little hitch, that maybe you can help me understand. While looking into wordpress, (This is before I commit to hosting and domains and all that) I noticed that to use the business option (instead of the personal) it costs around $350 a year! Yikes, wasn’t expecting that, in your blog here it never mentions anything about that. If I set up through bluehost first, and then to wordpress, like you’ve mentioned, do you not have to deal with the scary $350 for a business site set up?

Ah, you’re looking at wordpress.com — wordpress.org is what you’re looking for :-) and what this guide is for. WordPress.com hosts your site for you — so there’s no need to sign up for Bluehost — whereas WordPress.org allows you to use your own host as described in this post. You want the latter, as self-hosted sites have a lot more freedom in terms of plugins, advertising, and other stuff. WordPress.org is totally free to use, so no $350 a year — definitely don’t pay that!

Ohhhhh!!! How did I ever miss that detail. Thank you so much for clarifying that. Just downloaded it now and am officially even more lost. I guess with wordpress.com you can play around with the workings of the site before you launch it, and with wordpress.org, even to play around with it you have no choice but to pay for hosting. I wanted to play around first to see if I even have a clue how to do all of this before paying, because committing to a pay thing, and then realising I’m not smart enough to figure it out, is a very real thing. Damn!

You can play around with wordpress.com first if you like. I think the dashboards are similar, you just won’t have access to the same plugins and will be a little more limited than you would be with the .org version.

But yeah, you need a host to use wordpress.org. But honestly, WordPress is so simple to figure out that I don’t think you’ll have a problem just going with it.

Hi Lauren, thank you for your incredibly helpful post. I was wondering – once you’ve set up your hosting (for example with Bluehost) and have your website built and ready – how do you integrate the posts on your website/blog with your social media platforms such as FB/Instagram? Is there an integrated way to do this or is there lot of duplication if you want to post and establish presence on social media also (eg, do you have to post on your blog, then post on Instagram, then post on Facebook etc)?

No problem! I usually publish my blog post, tweet it out immediately after it goes live, and then share it on my Facebook page the day afterwards, and that’s it.

The more I put thought into it, the more I think I may just take the plunge and do it. I have an urge to share my travel stories and no one to share them with. This reason alone makes me think it would be worth it! Thanks so much for your replies. :)

Thank you for the informative post. I had hosted a blog around 2008-2009 but closed down after running it for a year or two, so I had some experience but needed a checklist kind of post to get started again. I’ve launched another travel blog in 2019 and I must thank you for this post as it helped me refresh everything I knew without having to go through 10 different articles :-)

Best, Tabish

Hi Lauren, thankyou for your post information, I have been thinking of starting a blog about “my family travel bucket list” I haven’t traveled outside of Australia yet but I have so many places I want to take my family, and have found that I spend alot of time researching everything about traveling with kids and family that I would like to share it with other parents out there that want to travel as well. Of course I would use reviews and do thorough research, and even have others contribute to what I am posting as well. I guess what I’m asking is, do you think this is an idea worth looking into? Thankyou.

My twin sister and I currently own and run a travel agency in addition to our full time jobs. We’ve only had the agency for about a year but so far it’s been moderately successful. We want to start getting into travel blogging as well as vlogging because we believe that it mirrors why we got into traveling and starting the travel agency. We grew up poor and never had the opportunity to travel. In college we were blessed with the opportunity to do a travel abroad program in Ghana and have been traveling ever sense. We want the blog to mirror our current and past travels as well as talk about food wine and culture shock while traveling for example when we went to China a lot of ppl wanted to take pictures with us and we did it understand why and after talking with locals we learned that there aren’t a lot of black ppl in China so that’s why they wanted to take pictures of us so we want to touch on the cultural exchanges that we do while traveling and meeting locals. I guess my question is do you think it’s a conflict of interest to have a travel blog as well as a travel agency? Do you think the viewpoints that we want to relay are different enough for us to stand out? How would you suggest dealing with two different ppl writing for the same blog bc although we are twins we have different personalities experiences and thus writing voices? We leave for a trip to Thailand and Indonesia in three weeks. Is it realistic to have a blog up and running by then or should we take pictures and write once we get back from the trip?

Hi Lauren ,Thanks for your wonderful article.I like to start a travel blog. It is 2 week still I am looking for a suitable name for my blog. Will it be ok if I use the nomber 2 instead of ‘ two’ to make the blog name shorter.Your advise is appreciated.thanks

Yep, that’s fine!

Hi Lauren, I never commented on a blog post before, but I have to say I love your post. I have been looking into starting a blog for at least a year now and all the post I have found are the same. Thank you for being different. You have inspired me to make my dream a reality. I look forward to checking out more of your post.

Hi Lauren, Your article was very helpful! When you mentioned making money off of affiliated programs such as world nomads or booking.com do you have to reach out to those companies to set something up to get commission through links in your posts or how exactly would you go about actually making money off of them?

Nope, just google “Booking affiliate program” or “World Nomads affiliate program” and sign up on their sites. Takes 2 seconds to fill in the forms and get your account set up :-)

What do you think of using content from places you have previously traveled to to kickstart your blog? Do you think it’s ok to write about trips you’ve made in the past year or only new recent trips?

Nah not necessary! I don’t do it.

Dear Lauren Good day to you.Thanks for your advise on ‘boost on Facebook’ I only recently started publishing on word press. As I am on a limited budget and zero experience on blogging I started with a personal plan. I try to install yoast SEO plugin (free version) but it is only for business plan according to word press. Is there any alternative SEO plugin or even other way to do SEO for newbies like me. This is just a temporary measure until we are financially stable.Thanks Lauren…

Ah, I see. If you’re using wordpress.com, then yeah, you won’t be able to use Yoast. That’s for people who self-host with companies like Bluehost or pay with WordPress.com.

I don’t have any personal experience with using wordpress.com, but I’d just say ignore the plugins for now. Just focus on making sure you’ve got your keywords in your blog posts and that your articles are as useful and detailed as they can possibly be — if they are, they’ll start to rank.

Hi Lauren Thanks for some great advice. I am planning a 12 month trip through Central and South America and I am looking to start a travel blog now as I plan. Some great advice for me to consider. I am clear on my usp/focus and I have experience at building wordpress sites. At the moment I’m trying to think of a good name… going to throw it out to my group of friends to see what comes up. I am quite a mature person and have travelled with a pack on my back quite extensively.. but never blogged. Going to give it a try. Cheers for the inspiration.

Hey, hi and hello!

Your blog on how to startup… well, blogs was the first one I have read and I have to admit that I got to the end and was truly stumped for questions. I mean, I DID have questions but nothing that I could not figure out and find on my own. For the most part, you cleared up all mysticism that I had found surrounding blog startups.

I am aiming to start my own travel blog within this year so I am doing the rounds right now to gather what information I can on how to do so and what I should really be looking for. I have only read a couple blogs so far and yours has pretty much delved into the waters that other sites just didn’t go into, like your own income and expenditure for instance!

But with a newfound sense of confidence, I am still going to make the leap and hopefully will have found my own little corner of the blogger world to fashion into my own!

Thank you! And Happy New Year!

hello, I was wondering if it is possible for you to switch from a personal blog to a buisness blog? I want to begin my blog soon, but do not currently have the money to begin with a buiness one? Is it easy to switch an excisting personal blog to a buisness or would you think it is better for me to wait until i do have the funds and then start from then? thankyou :)

Hi Lauren This is such great information and such a good resource for bloggers. I honestly wish that we had this information on hand when we started our blog back in 2013. Coming up with the right name was the hardest but we did get there in the end. Hosting was also hard as everyone had their own opinions what was the better. Thanks for this article.

Thank you for sharing your tips and knowledge. Starting anything new is always intimidating and can be overwhelming. It’s nice to get advice from people who actually have done it!

My family & I are very excited to evolve our travel blog!

Love this Lauren! Which subscription widget do you use? I’m stuck between feedburner vs jetpack – if either of them! Thanks

The widget in my sidebar? That’s from ConvertKit.

I used your site almost exclusively in an attempt to create a travel blog. Unfortunately, BlueHost/Word Press is one of the worst and most complex ways for someone who’s new to the game to enter the business. While they seem to have a lot of options, their tech support is $99 a month which after spending a $100 for the hosting, template, and a plug in, doubles the cost to get started.

Luckily, my husband who’s far better at this than I am is helping, but even he has been having a frustrating time sifting through unexplained menus and information with no tutorial.

I had so much planned and now I am very close to canceling my account with BlueHost/Word Press and either going with another hosting site that is much simpler OR sticking to posting YouTube Videos, Instagram, and FB posts.

Feel free to ask me any questions if you’re having problems, either here or through my contact form.

I promise it’s so easy to use once you get the hang of it and you definitely don’t need to pay for WordPress tech support!

The vast majority of the internet runs on WordPress, so it’s really worth figuring it out. Keep in mind that your host is just the space where your website lives on the internet, so all hosting services are identical. Once you’ve signed up for bluehost and installed WordPress, you’ll basically never sign into your bluehost account again. Then everything is done through your WordPress dashboard. I just thought I’d mention that, in case you’re trying to do anything on the bluehost site.

As I said, feel free to ask me any questions!

Hi Lauren! Thank you for sharing this. Such a great information specially to my fellow beginner bloggers out there! I really don’t know how to start on blogging but to be honest this blog makes me feel better and gets me go to with confidence. Thank you again!!

The article was really helpful and motivating :) good luck with your travel plans for 2020!

I’m glad to hear it! My travel plans have been cut short due to coronavirus, but that’s okay. Hopefully things get back to normal soon :-)

Hi Lauren, I wrote to you earlier on here. I’m not even a traveler, but just want to let you know: I discovered this site by googling: “Best lifestyle blog NAMES” and you were one of them! Congratulations! I’m going to follow your blog, even though I backpacked 30 years ago!!!

Thank you so much, Annien! :-)

Hello! You’re article is really helpful! I got so motivated, I got a name and logo! I want to register my domain with Bluehost, if I pick the 36-month plan, do I pay monthly or do I have to pay the 106$ once off? Thank you

I think you now have to pay upfront.

Dear Lauren, I have started my travel blog 3 months ago.I have bought my domain from word press. Unfortunately I hardly get more than 5 visitors a day and sometimes none. Recently I consulted another travel blogger he told me my travel blog confuse readers as they don’t know what I am writing about.travel blog also lacks good navigation.I have improved the navigation part but still I hardly get visitors. I also feel blue host maybe a better choice than wordpress because I have to upgrade it inorder to get stuff like SEO and Custom email. Lastly I think I have start with the wrong footing. Is it better to start all over again with blue host and a new domain.Thanks…

This is so helpful, thank you!!! I have always loved traveling but we are a young family and don’t have the means to travel as much as most but I really feel like this is what I am being called to do. I’ve travelled a lot around my state but that was years ago. Would you recommend posting about previous travels even if they were quite a while ago? And I love to budget out places that we want to go to but haven’t visited yet, would you recommend posting those ideas as well or should I just stick to something that I know? Hopefully we will start traveling more but until then I’d like to build my blog and make it successful before then. Thank you so much for your time and this post, it has been extremely helpful.

I’m sure you must get the same message often, but your site was one of the big reasons why I was able to finally make the decision to start blogging. After reading about how you were able to start traveling from a low wage job and turned it into a business, It really made me think I could achieve that too. I’ve struggled with depression and with thinking where I am is as good as my life is going to get. I’m not going to lie, it’s been really hard at times, thinking all there is to life is working to pay bills so i can live to work to pay bill, ect.

I am where you were back in 2011 and while it’s been years and, like you said, the travel blog market is really diluted now, you make it feel like it’s not to late to start living life. I’m in the process of building a site and hoping to get more of a social media presence so i can start building an audience. I’ve even planned a trip a few states away just to get out for a little bit. It’s not much, but it’s given me something to look forward to again.

Thank you so much. You have no idea how grateful i am to you.

Hey Lauren: I just ran across your site after searching @ hiking through Portugal to France which I am doing in the fall. Any advice you can give. Not sure if I’m really up for for blogging the whole time although I’m equipped to do that. Bit of a geek. Guess it would be nice if I could make some $ at it but that is very secondary. But advice would be greatly appreciated as I have never been to Spain…but I’ve been to Oklahoma.

I’m so happy to hear that!

Your article is a great help. I decided to start travel blogging and created a website using Godaddy for Domain and globehost for hosting. It was a breeze and cost me $12 to get my site up. The pandemic has made us Work from home and using the spare time for the website creation. Any suggestions on a good free theme, i have started with Writee but it has some limitations.

Happy to have found your extremely helpful article which am bookmarking for future reference.

Hi Lauren, I need your opinion if you don’t mind: I have bought my domain and built website through Dynadot. Now I learned I need wordpress. Dynadot have access to WordPress through their VPS plan ($10/month). I don’t really understand terminology like servers, plug ins etc… If you were me, would you stay with dynadot and get that plan, or move the domain to Bluehost and get WordPress through them? Thanks!

If you haven’t bought hosting through Dynadot, you can keep your domain name with them, buy hosting through Bluehost and then download WordPress through there. It’ll be cheaper that way. I bought my domain name through a random site I found when I was first starting out, so my domain name is on a different platform to my host. I’d probably do that. When you sign up for Bluehost, you can just select I already have a domain name, enter your one that you bought through Dynadot and then access WordPress through Bluehost.

Hi! I’m just starting my travel blog underthesameskye.com and trying to get to grips with this whole pinterest thing! Something noone says in their blogs regarding pinterest is – should you be pinning other peoples pins to your blogs? Or just your own when trying to grow a following? I love this post, but this is the one question I can never seem to find the answer to!

Most people recommend pinning 80% other people’s content and 20% your own. That’s what I try to do, unless I’m feeling lazy, in which case Tailwind just pins my stuff automatically for me.

Hey Lauren thanks so much for making this post it has helped me an incredible amount in getting my blog set up.

Now my main dilemma is when the best time would be to actually go all in and publish my first post…I’ve only traveled to a handful of places so I know I could probably write a few posts about where I’ve been already but I don’t want to start posting until I actually have plans to be traveling for a significant amount of time and know I will have plenty to write about, which may not be until a couple years from now. What do you recommend is the best thing to do in the meantime?

I’m a teacher, and I’ve gotten very bored with quarantine and summer. My husband and I have taken some amazing trips, and I would love to start a travel blog to document them and the ones to come. I’m basically wondering what purpose does a host serve? I would love to make a living off of a blog in the future, but I’m not about to quit my job with those dreams unless they become true. I would like to invest as little as I can in the beginning because I’m not sure of what I would even blog during the school year in between travels, so I would hate to invest and not see a return.

Hosting is basically like renting a space on the internet where your website lives. The hosting company provides the physical servers for your website to live on, maintains the software required to keep your site online, and does regular maintenance to keep your site up and running smoothly.

You can get free hosting with sites like Blogspot, but they’re very limited — you can only run certain ads, some of the ads that do run make your hosting company money as opposed to you, you can’t install many plugins, and are limited with themes. When you opt for free hosting, you have no control over your blog — it could get shut down tomorrow and you’d lose everything.

That’s why I recommend self-hosting with Bluehost, as that removes all of those limitations.

Wow, I love your set up. The info is so honest. I just recently started my own travel blog as my husband [The Big Guy] and I are looking to move abroad come first of the new 2021 yr. The pandemic put a screeching halt to our March 2020 take off date. Ha. I have been told I should not be so personal but its hard to be personable in your blog without losing your personality. You do a great job. My blog is 100% yet – still have a page or two to add & fill in, but I’m close, I think, to start thinking about affiliates soon.

Just for giggles, how much do you charge for mentoring?

Oh, I found your blog when I was looking for info on moving to Portugal, just fyi. Best, Holly

Hey Holly! Such a bummer to hear you had to postpone your trip :-( But I wholeheartedly disagree with the person who told you not to be so personal with your blog — it’s what helped me to be successful! Readers want to connect to people who are human, and the more personal you are, the more relatable people will find you :-)

My mentorship program is $300 a month if you sign up in June. Feel free to drop me an email if you’re interested!

Hi Lauren, great blog post, thanks for your work putting everything together. I was already at step 7 when finding your post, but even the things mentioned in step 8 helped me – especially the tips on HARO, Pinterest and Facebook groups.

Thanks and all the best, hope we can travel soon again. Cheers, Chris

thanku so much Lauren for giving a most valuable information about blog.Before,reading your post i m too confused about blogging but now everything is clear…Lauren, your writting way of posts was so simple and awesome.i can easily understood each and every line of your post…

There are approximately seventeen bazillion articles describing how to start a travel blog out there and few of them makes sense… I keep reading a lot of them but yours is one of the practical and useful one!! Great post…

Thank you! So, so, so many travel bloggers have ripped off this post since I wrote it, so I’m thrilled that you rate mine as more useful! :-)

Hey Lauren, Hope you are doing well. I am yet to start my travel blog and this post has been my goto place for any doubts whatsoever. I have been dwindling upon the idea of whether to publish my blog now or not. As due to covid-19, travel plans have been halted. I do have a few places that I have travelled, but I am in doubt whether this is the right time to publish or not. Would people really be interested in trips that I have taken 6 or 7 years back? Please help out here. I have already written 10 posts and just waiting for the right time to publish. Also, is it a good idea to start affiliate links right when I start or should I wait for some traffic? Thanks in advance. :)

There’s still plenty of other travel-related content you can focus on — like general travel tips. How to save up for travel, how to make friends while travelling, how to save money on flights, how to overcome jetlag, how to handle dorm rooms, how to use points and miles, how to pack for a weekend away… that’s just off the top of my head. You can also write about where you currently live, if it’s a popular tourist destination. And you can totally write about trips you took years ago, too — I’m currently writing a post about something I did eight years ago. I just don’t make recommendations in those posts because I can’t be sure of accuracy of restaurant/hotel quality.

The right time to publish is yesterday :-) The sooner you start, the sooner you build and audience, the sooner you’ll start making money. Absolutely start today. And start with affiliate links from day one, yes.

Thank you so much Lauren for the support and guidance you have provided. I finally created my blog and even published a few posts. I am a long way to get it all optimized and everything but just as you said, taking the first step was the most important. You are an awesome person and blogger. Thanks again :)

Hi Lauren, i am amazed with your website really ,, i am an Egyptian interior designer,,studied architecture and have gone only to Turkey,Istanbul couple of years ago,,i LOVE traveling and would like to link between architecture,interior design and traveling,,,um planning to travel to malaysia KL next trip,, and would like yo to advice me from where can i start. Thankyou :)

Wow, I just love your article. The info is so honest. I just recently started my own travel blog. This post will really help me to grow my blog significantly. Keep up the good work. Thanks a lot for this awesome piece of information.

Heya. This is such wonderful post and I feel very inspired! I’ve been rethinking what I’d like to do in life and Travel Blogging is something I’ve always wanted to do but have never done because I get extremely frustrated sitting down using technology. Do you ever feel like this? What would you say to someone who’s starting a travel blog with content written from years ago? Alongside new travel posts, of course. Thank you so much for your time x

Hey Lauren, Thanks so much for the great blog post! I like that everything is right here. I’ve been working by writing for a blog, but I think I might start my own blog on the side. I really love writing… Almost as much as I love traveling. Thank you for putting everything together. I know all about writing, but this will help me with setting it up to begin with. Looking forward to the end of this pandemic so we can travel again. Warm regards, Nancy A

I am so grateful that I stumbled upon this post of yours. There’s so much value in this post and I can’t thank you enough for it. I had an epiphany only yesterday that I do want to start a travel blog. I mean, I’ve always loved traveling and I’ve always thought of how I can share these travel experiences with people. Creating a blog has been going in and out of my mind for the past years but it was only yesterday that I am truly determined to get serious on it.

I can’t wait to start implementing the steps you mentioned here. It’s gotta be a tough road, but it’s a road I am willing and actually excited to pass through.

Again, thank you so much for this. I’ll be checking our your travel blogging mentorship post now. Hehe. :)

Much respect, Gielyn

Thank you for creating this guide! There was so much information in the article, and as I’ve been reading the comments, there’s been a second wealth of information there as well. I like that you really go over every single possible step a person may run into. I’m starting a new blog, and I had no idea where to start! This certainly is a big help for me! Thank you for the help!

Hi! I’m just thinking about building my own business and starting a blog. How did you learn to operate WordPress? Are there some tutorials you would recommend? Please let me know, I’m not sure if it’s going to be intuitive..

Loved this guide!

Honestly, I didn’t find WordPress too difficult to understand. You have your posts, where you write your blog posts, your pages, where you publish your static pages, your comments where you moderate comments, your categories where you categorise your posts, your menus, where you build your structure and navigation. I found it all very intuitive! I struggled more with deciphering how my themes worked, but they usually include documentation and demo content that shows you how to build up your site. If in doubt, Google your problem and you’ll probably find an answer :-) Or I can build your site for you if you’re on my mentorship program, so you don’t need to worry about it!

Helow Lauren! How are you? You absolutely great. Just like wow. Your blog content made me think about to persue blogging. What a great travel writer. Haha. Sorry i’m just amazed about your writing skills.

Quick question. Since beginner and looking forward to be your mentor and guide to start and navigate my blog, is that something about how tos? I mean for the next 3 months you will guide, navigate and teach me and for the next month i will be the one who will manage my blog? Please enlighten me lauren and have a great day.

Eleyn….

Yeah, with the mentorship, I spend each month showing you how to build up your blog to stand the absolute best chances of success — it doesn’t have to be for three months, either. Just for however long you feel you need — could be a month; could be six months.

Hi Lauren! I’m sad to say that I’d already purchased hosting before I read your article a few months ago, so I ended up with something other than Bluehost. I didn’t understand how affiliate links work either, so I’m REALLY sorry again. But I AM considering switching hosts following a day-long site outage that my current host refuses to explain. In your experience, is it fairly easy to switch hosting plans? If I go with Bluehost I’ll sign up via your affiliate link now that I know how that works, lol. Phuong http://haiphongtours.com/

Hello Lauren. My wife and I have been following you travel blog for several years. If you don’t mind, I have a few questions about your website. Do you use custom post types and taxonomies? I noticed your destination url’s are listed like “destinations/continent/country/” not the typical “category/continent/country”. Your other groupings (archive pages) such as blog, monthly-summaries, popular posts, resources, site news, what’s it like in, musings, packing, travel itineraries, travel expensise, confessions, incidents, travel plans, etc. – I figure some of these may be standard WP pages but are some of them custom taxonomies similar to the standard WP categories or tags? Thank you

That’s a setting with the Yoast plugin — you can just choose to not have category show in the url. Everything else you mentioned is a standard WordPress page.

I had been blogging for past 5 years almost (foodravel com) and yet I’m struggling to make any money. At times I feel like giving up and then I get hopes from people like you that some day I will shine. But when? Always a question.

You really make it sound so straightforward !! (I was going to say easy, but then decided that that’s SO definitely not the right word … it sure isn’t easy and you’ve probably put a lot of hard work into this) and I will definitely save this post for the future ! I’ve been thinking of a travel blog for a while, as I started traveling last year – sadly a few months before Covid-19 hit the world and after months and months of still somehow trying to get around without being unreasonable, had to just stop it all and go home. But I’m definitely planning on going again, and my next trip might bring me all the way up to Greenland, if I do it right ! So then I’ll surely have a lot to talk about … Thank you so much for all the super helpful advice, I especially love the bit about “doing things differently”. That’s what I always say – I’m terrible at posing for nice pictures, and people will more likely see dirty clothes, muddy shoes, sweaty faces and greasy hair … because well, that’s the hard reality of what will happen ! Keep going, you’re great ! X

Hi Lauren, I really enjoy your blog and following your adventures. Good luck with your move to New Zealand. I live in Charleston, SC and you should check it out once the pandemic is over. I have a technical question about your photos. Do you compress or use a compression app to make the image size smaller with the photos you use in your posts? Thanks, Luke

Thank you! I’d love to visit Charleston — it’s definitely on my list. I’d love to do a big southeast US road trip once the pandemic is over, as it’s a part of the country I really haven’t explored yet.

For photos, I compress them using Lightroom once I’ve finished editing them. I usually aim to have them between 100 and 300 kb in size when I upload.

There is so much individual and local culture in the American Southeast. You really can’t beat Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, and St Augustine. I hope to read about your travels there once the pandemic is over.

Hi Lauren :)

I’m currently following your post to help set up my first (well, second, but first official) blog.

So I’m stumped. My setup process was a little different than yours. I was never prompted to “install” WordPress. And by the look of your screenshots, it doesn’t seem like you “installed” WP either. It looks as if you were just prompted to register/sign up for an account with them to be able to use it.

I’m stumped because I didn’t have this step. Maybe it’s because I already had a blog.wordpress.com acct previously. Although, this time I’m creating a blog using a hosting account.

So my question to you is, do I need to physically go to the WP.org website and install WP there? Because that is an option and when I visit the site, it shows that I don’t yet have it installed. Or is the sign up/registration sufficient?

Thanks in advance for the help! (I’ve tried my best to find an answer to this problem, but have spent enough hours without any success, so I decided to reach out and ask :))

Hey Christina!

Feel free to drop me an email through my contact form and when I reply, you’ll be able to attach screenshots of what you’re seeing. You should be installing WordPress through Bluehost, not through WordPress.org. Does this article help you out? https://www.bluehost.com/help/article/install-wordpress?_ga=2.161335485.122244224.1609126555-2039552607.1593160949

And thanks for the reminder to update the screenshots on this post to make sure they’re current! I’ll get working on that this week :-)

Loved your article on how to set up a travel blog.

I live in Australia and am looking at going down the .com.au route instead of a .com website.

Any tips on that?

I hope 2021 treats your bustling travel life better this year.

I have a question about copyright. Do I need to apply/register for copyright, or does the content on my website automatically come under copyright? If it’s automatic, should I state it in my footer? If not automatic, how do I register?

Cheers! Lauren (Waugh)

Hi, Lauren, I have just read your article on how to begin a travel blog, with interest. You provide a host of blogger hacks with insights into the art of blogging and travelling. Out of so many principles to success the one that stands out for me is, ” don’t try to be a guidebook. Be a person. ” I used to travel for a living for the same reason you started travelling. A passion to see what was over the horizon. Then the obsession really got a grip of me for 15 years. The pictures and my diaries from that time are sadly lost or damaged beyond use. I still make notes on our travels and have started a diary again regularly. I always liked writing, and writing about where I’d been. I worked as a photographer, so my niece suggested I start a travel blog to combine the two. I spend a lot of time in Italy, sampling the food and the culture. My partner and I plan to travel more in, and out, of Italy so hopefully I will have a lot more inspiration and material to fire up my literary creativity. Thank you, Lauren for taking the time to share your knowledge and secrets with the rest of us.

Wow! I’m so happy I found your blog! You really gave me a lot of motivation to start my blog :-)

Hello, I found your post incredibly helpful! My question is a little off topic but I don’t know who else to ask.

About a year ago I decided to start a blog through bluehost and word press and had no idea what I was doing, didn’t research it and it was a total disaster. I just recently found out that I am still paying for it and I have spent hours trying to figure out how to cancel the services and subscriptions with no luck!! I have tried to contact the company but its an automated machine and when I enter the information it just hangs up on me!! Any guidance or help you can offer would be much appreciated!!

I would really like to start over with a travel blog and do this the right way! But I am worried that if I start another blog and it doesn’t work out I will be stuck in the same situation!! Thank in advance for your help!!

You can cancel your account. Just log in to your Bluehost account and click on do not renew — you won’t be charged any further payments. Instructions are here: https://www.bluehost.com/hosting/help/how-to-cancel-my-hosting-account

But beyond that, is there any reason for you to cancel this one and start another one? Can you not stick with your current one and work on that? Having an aged domain helps your site to rank in Google, so there is a benefit to keeping your current set-up.

I loved this. I see a few hundred comments above me so wonder if mine will break through. I’m in year three of travel blogging and infinitley patient that it will pay off one day. Thank you for the advice, I plan to take you up on lots of it. Just ordered some books and will go in depth on the other points. I would kind of argue your point (in that my blog is first hand experiential) that personal storytelling won’t work. Many of my comments are about how I made someone feel like they are there, or want to book a trip to go there. Just a little point that hopefully separates me to some degree. Thanks again for the insight! I’ll be following!

The problem with storytelling is that it won’t bring a large audience to your site, as storytelling posts rarely rank in Google or perform well on Pinterest — those two sources making up 95% of traffic for almost every travel blog. And the other issue is that they’re tremendously difficult to monetise with affiliates, as you’ll rarely be reaching your audience at the booking stage of their trip, which is when they’ll be looking to spend money through your recommendations. It’s not to say you can’t find success through narrative posts, but that it’s best to have plenty of resource guides on your site, too — the guides will bring people to your site and your stories are what will keep them there.

Hey Lauren I had just started blogging a few days back and was so much confused about which topic to choose. First I selected to blog about technologies and updates but laterwards I shifted my topic to travel-related. So going through the topics I got your topic about starting a travel blog, it is so knowledgeable that if a person wants to start blogging related to travel must read this topic as it has all the details from the beginning like how to buy hosting and the most important that is to choose the topic that about which topic that the want to start a blog and also telling about the theme you should use. Thanks for proving such great knowledge to people and helping me with great knowledge and excitement to focus on my blog and making it more beautiful. Thank You

I have suffered with Depression for the past few years and would love to start a travel blog, travelling is my passion and the pandemic has certainly made me realise even more how i want my life to go! I want to eventually leave the office day job behind and spend time experiencing the world with my family. Your article is inspiring and i am going to give this my best shot.

I am so glad I came across your page today – I am graduating with an engineering degree this winter and am planning to doing some traveling (mainly to Australia) for about a year!

I would love to start a travel blog, as similar to you, I’ve always loved to travel and have wanted to find a way to do it more than just a few weeks a year.

Do you think it would be possible to start a successful blog when only traveling a few months a year to start? Also, would it be worth starting it before my trip and just including stuff from around my state?

Thanks in advance and keep up the great blog!

Thank you so much for the advice ! My girlfriend and I have seriously been considering starting a travel blog and this has motivated me so much. Together we have been to Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Panama so far, but we are scared that we do not have enough traveling experience to start a blog, or that we will run out of things to post before our next trip. Do you think it is still attainable ?

Absolutely! There’s hundreds of blog posts you can write just for those destinations alone

Travel Tips for Costa Rica The Best Time of Year to Visit Costa Rica How Long to Spend in Costa Rica How to Spend a Week in Costa Rica How to Spend Two Weeks in Costa Rica What to Pack for Costa Rica How Much Does it Cost to Travel in Costa Rica First Impressions of Costa Rica The Best Things to Do in Costa Rica The Best Beaches in Costa Rica Is Costa Rica Safe The Best Accommodation in Costa Rica What to East in Costa Rica

And that’s just at a country-level. You can also write a dozen posts for each of the cities/towns you visited. Do that for every destination. Write similar posts for the country you’re currently living in. Write general travel posts, about how to stay safe while travelling, how to avoid scams, how to save money while travelling, how to save money on flights, how to make friends while travelling, what’s it like in hostels, how to find the best tours, how to plan a trip from start to finish, items not to pack with you, why you want to travel, tips for travelling as a couple.

The most successful, most lucrative travel blogs are the ones that only focus on an individual country, so the fewer the destinations you concentrate on, the more successful you’ll be :-). It’s a big misconception in travel blogging: that you have to be well-travelled and a full-time traveller to find success, but the opposite is true. Even for myself, I tripled my travel blog’s income within a year of stopping my full-time travels to find a base.

So yep, 100% attainable. And there’s no way you’ll even come close to running out of things to post about.

Thank you so much Lauren. I have been so confused trying to start a travel blog! I have a library full of information on how to start a travel blog and I was still unable to start one. Your information prompted me to start now with it. Your steps are easy to follow. I like the way you justify every step you mention. Once again Thank You! You are my redeemer! Kgabo

Hello Lauren! I am also thinking about starting a travel blog to gain exposure regarding my photographs and share my travel stories with others! Do you have any general advice for me in how to approach starting the blog and how to go about gaining interest and readers? Also many of my entries to the blog will be me talking about past travels and experiences, as opposed to being currently in those places and was wondering if that is alright or if the blogging world is more so oriented to blogging about things in the present as opposed to the past?

Meet Lauren Juliff

Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

How to Start a Travel Blog

A laptop on a desk inside an office with lots of plants

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links, including the links for HostGator and Bluehost. At no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links. If you have any questions about the companies or my status as an affiliate, please don’t hesitate to email me.

Whether as a hobby or profession, starting a travel blog is pretty easy. You can set it up in under 30 minutes. It’s a lot easier than when I started my blog in 2008. Back then, I didn’t know the first thing about making a website. Luckily, on my adventures around the world, I met Matt and Kat, a British couple who also happened to be web designers.

When I came home and decided I wanted to start this travel blog, they agreed to help me set it up and teach me HTML. I hand-coded the website and used a funky tool called Dreamweaver to build it. It was painfully slow and I wasn’t very good at it. (And my original website was really ugly!)

Luckily, you no longer have to build websites that way!

Creating a website has gotten a lot easier and simpler thanks to WordPress, an out-of-the-box platform designed to make sites easier for those not technically savvy (like myself). It powers over 25% of the internet and is the best platform to start a blog on. It’s super flexible and can do whatever you want it to do — from a simple journal to complex blogs and e-commerce websites.

In our blogging course , we’ve had thousands of students start a website on WordPress without any technical skills. They got them up and running — and you can too!

While I’ve talked about how to succeed as a travel blog in the past, today, I want to give a quick tutorial on how to create a travel blog from scratch in seven easy steps.  

Table of Contents

Step 1: Picking a Name Step 2: Signing Up for a Host Step 3: Installing WordPress Step 4: Setting Up Your Website Step 5: Installing Your Theme Step 6: Creating Your Main Pages Step 7: Joining Our Blogging Course Frequently Asked Questions

Step 1: Pick your domain name

The first thing you need to do is pick a domain name (i.e., your website name). When doing so, there are no hard and fast rules. There’s no such thing as a “wrong domain name,” but there are a couple of rules I like to live by:

Make a name that can last – If you pick “JohnsAsiaAdeventure.com” and then you leave Asia, the domain name won’t make sense anymore. Make sure you pick a name that isn’t so focused that if you decide to shift gears, you can keep the same domain name.

Don’t date your blog – Don’t pick something related to your age either. “Twenty-Something Travel” becomes really irrelevant when you get older, which actually happened to a blogger I know. Pick a name that can be used no matter your age!

Avoid certain words – Avoid words like “nomad,” “vagabond,” “wanderlust,” and “adventure.” They have been done to death, and they will make you seem like you’re copying people, not being original.

Pick a name that describes what you do as much as possible – I was a nomad, so “Nomadic Matt” was the best pick for me. If you’re into luxury, put words in your domain name that convey that. You want people to see the name and go, “I get what that website is about.”

Keep it short  – Use 3-4 words maximum. You want the name that rolls off the tongue. Even Ramit Sethi from “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” abbreviates his site to “I Will Teach” or “IWT.” The shorter, the better.

Keep it simple – I’m not a fan of using jargon or slang in your domain name, as I think that makes things confusing for people who don’t know it. The last thing you want is someone saying, “What does that mean?” or being confused. If someone has to think hard about the meaning, then you’ve already lost them. So don’t try to be clever!  

Step 2: Sign up for a host

After you’ve picked out your domain name, you’ll need to register it online and buy hosting (the little computer in the sky that’s going to power your website). There are a lot of basic hosting companies out there — and most of them are pretty terrible.

However, the two biggest and best are HostGator and Bluehost . I would go with one of those two.

While they are owned by the same parent company, I lean toward HostGator , as I find its call center customer service quicker and friendlier, and HostGator is prone to fewer outages (no one wants their website to go down!). It’s also really improved its service and now offers free SSL certificates (that’s the thing that tells users your website is secure).

Here’s a walk-through of how to set up your host with HostGator (it won’t take long):

First, head over to the website’s sign-up page and get hosting for only $2.78 per month. That’s over 60% off the normal price!

HostGator screenshot

Next, choose your plan (I suggest the hatchling plan):

HostGator screenshot

Enter your desired domain name at the top of the page. Make sure before you sign up that the domain you want is available, so as to avoid issues with your signup process.

register your domain name with hostgator

The system will then prompt you to take out “domain privacy protection,” which we recommend you do. (Why? This will hide your address and contact details from appearing online when someone queries your domain name, and it will keep spammers from calling you to sell their sketchy web services. It’s really annoying — and once your name and phone number are out there, they’re out there forever. Nip it in the bud by hiding them from the beginning.)

If you already have a domain name but need hosting, simply select the “I already own this domain” from the tab at the top. Then, enter your domain name and continue to the next step.

select your hosting plan with hostgator

Make sure you have selected the right hosting plan from the drop-down list and then select the billing cycle you are prepared to pay. The longer you lock in for, the cheaper initial pricing will be.

We suggest starting with the “Hatchling Plan” (which gives you hosting for one single domain), but if you have plans for more than one website, then opt for the “Baby Plan” instead, to give you room to grow (since you can host unlimited domains with it).

Next, you will then select the username for your account and a security PIN. Fill out your billing information and preferred payment type (credit card or PayPal.)

You can opt-out of all of the additional services on offer by unchecking them.

additional services offered by hsotgator

Review your order details and make sure everything is correct. Then click “Checkout Now!” at the bottom of the page.

Once your order has been received, you’ll be redirected to the HostGator billing portal. You will also be sent two separate emails with the login credentials to your hosting control panel and the billing portal for your HostGator account. Be sure to save the information. Save them on your computer and/or print the emails for safekeeping.

They will look similar to the example below:

hostgator admin portal

For those of you with an existing domain or a domain purchased from a third-party site like GoDaddy, take note of the nameservers listed on your hosting account email. You will need to add those to your domain where you purchased it, to link your domain and hosting together. Please refer to the support documents from where you bought your domain for exact instructions on how to update your nameservers.

That’s it! All that takes about five minutes from start to finish!

Again, you can click here to go to  HostGator  to set it up.  

Step 3: How to Install WordPress

After you’ve registered your domain name and chosen your hosting package, the next thing you’ll want to do is install WordPress. (WordPress is what will actually run the website. The host is simply the computer your site sits on.)

WordPress is an open-source, free web publishing application, content management system (CMS), and blogging tool built by a community of developers and contributors to make it easy for people to blog!

After you’ve paid for your domain, you’ll get an email telling you your login details. Log in to your hosting control panel using the link provided to you by email when you purchased your hosting from Hostgator. The link would look similar to this:

https://gatorXXXX.hostgator.com:2083

The email will be titled “Your Account Info” if you have trouble locating it in your inbox.

Once logged into your control panel, you need to scroll down the settings page to locate the “Software” section. Then click on the “QuickInstall” link. The software section will be located toward the bottom of the page.

Quick Install WordPress

On the page that loads, select WordPress from the top menu or the WordPress tile on the page..

Install WordPress

Select your domain name from the drop-down. Leave the “install/path/here” field blank.

Enter the name of your blog, an admin username (make sure the admin username is hard to guess), your name, and your email address, and then agree to the terms and conditions below. Then click the “Install” button.

Install WordPress Deatil Settings

Once the install process has finished, you will be given the password you need to log in to your WordPress site in the notification bar at the top (dismiss the popup that appears). Take note of the password, as we will show you how to change that later on. You will also be emailed the details if you miss or forget to save the info.

Complete WordPress Install

Step 4: Setting up your website

After you’ve installed WordPress, go to domainname.com/wp-admin and use the username and password you created to log in. You’ll see a screen like this after you log in:

WordPress Admin Dashboard

Here’s a little overview of the menu on the left side of the screen:

  • Dashboard  – The dashboard is the first thing you see when you log in to WordPress, and it’s the main administrative area for your blog.
  • Home  – This will take you back to the main dashboard view.
  • Updates  – This area will tell you if WordPress, your plugins, or your theme need to be updated.
  • Posts  – You can view all your blog posts here, as well as set up new ones and add categories and tags.
  • Media  – Here’s where you can view your media library and add new media content, like photos and videos.
  • Pages  – Pages are the individual landing pages on your website (like your About page, Contact page, Resources page, etc.). You can add new pages here as well as review and edit existing ones.
  • Comments  – Comments on your blog posts go here. You may want to check the spam folder periodically to make sure you’re not missing real comments.
  • WPForms  – WordPress’s contact-form plugin.
  • Marketplace  – Here you can create an online marketplace.
  • Appearance  – This section lets you entirely customize your site’s appearance.
  • Plugins  – Review, install, and update your plugins here.
  • Users  – If there’s more than one person accessing your blog, you can create accounts and give them certain privileges here.
  • Tools  – This section has certain tools to aid you with management tasks.
  • Settings  – You can adjust all your site’s settings here, including things like your blog title and the size of thumbnails being used.
  • Insights  – Insights provides traffic and user stats about those visiting your website. (Google Analytics is a better choice, though.)

Plugins are a great way to add additional functionality to a WordPress-powered site. And with over 50,000 listed in the WordPress Repository and many more premium options available from developers, there are endless possibilities as to what you can do with your site. (I’ll list some examples below.)

To get started, click on “Plugins” and then “Add New” when logged into your WordPress dashboard. Here you can search for plugins that you want and install them via a one-click install that automatically installs them to your WordPress platform.

Add a plugin to WordPress

Alternatively, you have the option to upload a plugin you have purchased or downloaded from a third-party site. To do this, see the “Step 3” arrow in the picture above. All you have to do is click “upload plugin” and you’ll be asked to upload the ZIP file of the plugin that you downloaded from the third-party website.

Once you have uploaded a plugin (or searched for one, as I’ve shown in the image below) you can install it.

install a plugin on WordPress

After clicking the “Install Now” option, the button will change to say “Activate.” This allows you to enable the plugin on your site and makes it ready to be configured and used.

If you can think of a feature you’d like to have on your site, I can almost guarantee there is a plugin for it, but here are the essential ones for your travel blog:

Akismet  – Just like getting junk mail in your mailbox, your website will get spammers looking to leave junk comments on your site. Akismet seeks to reduce the amount of this by automatically filtering it for you.

Yoast SEO – The best SEO plugin out there. This combines the ability to create meta tags and descriptions for your posts, optimize your titles, create a sitemap for search engines to read, customize how your posts appear across social media, and do a whole lot more.

Relevanssi  – While WordPress does a lot of things well, what it fails at is adding search functionality to your site. Relevanssi seeks to fix this and give your readers the most accurate results when searching on your site.

UpdraftPlus – You can never back up your site too much. The WordPress database holds every word you’ve ever written, and if your blog has started to make you a few dollars, you would be nuts not to keep regular backups. UpdraftPlus does it perfectly.

Grow by Mediavine  – A great social sharing plugin for your site. It comes with great a simple set of icons that work well on both desktop and mobile.

Cache Enabler – This plugin creates saved copies of your site, making loading your web pages much faster.

Code Canyon – This interactive map is a cool way to highlight your travels and share them with your readers.  

Step 5: Install your theme

One of the most important things a blog needs besides good content is a good design. People decide in seconds whether or not they trust your website and choose to stay. A visually unappealing website will turn off readers and reduce the number of return visits you get.

So to accomplish a good design, you will need an amazing WordPress theme (i.e., design templates and files).

Luckily, there are lots of out-of-the-box options for you where you can download a predesigned theme, upload it to your website, switch it on, change some settings, and presto! A new look for your website!

You can get:

  • Free themes – Free themes are plentiful and for budding new bloggers looking to make their mark online. They seem like a great option, as they allow you to keep costs low. There are many great free themes online, but most of them are not amazing. If you plan on blogging for a long time, this might become a problem as your website grows. However, if you just need a simple design to blog for your friends and family, then go the free route. You can find some good free themes at wordpress.org .
  • Premium themes – The next step up from a free theme is a premium theme. Premium themes are paid themes that offer a bit more uniqueness, flexibility, and functionality. These cost $25 USD and up, depending on the developer and features.

I suggest getting a premium theme . Yes, it’s another cost — but here is why you should do it:

  • With a premium theme, you almost always get customer support from the developers. If you get in trouble, they are there for you. You don’t get that with a free theme.
  • With a premium theme, there are more controls and instructions so they are easier to change. Free themes don’t have that.
  • Premium themes tend to be a lot prettier.
  • Premium themes are faster and more SEO friendly.

Genesis themes by StudioPress are some of the best and most popular if you’re looking to invest in a top-notch theme.

To install your theme, simply go to the left-hand column, click Appearance –> Themes –> Upload.

Whatever theme you picked will come as a .ZIP file for you to easily upload. From there, you just activate it, and it’s turned on! All themes come with a manual and help file so you can customize your design to your specific needs.

(If you want a custom logo or need to hire any designers, two sites to find freelancers are Upwork and 99designs .)  

Step 6: Create your main pages

After you’ve uploaded your theme, you’re going to want to make a few basic pages on your website in addition to the blog posts. The difference between a page and a post is that a page is a static piece of content that lives separate from the blog. A post is a blog post that gets “buried” as you write more and more. For example, this post is a blog post. When I update again, another blog post will get put on top of it, and it will be pushed down in the archives, making it harder to find.

But a page, like my About page, lives on the top of the website, right near the main URL, and does NOT get buried. It’s a lot easier to find.

To create these pages, go again to your left sidebar and click Pages —> Add New. (For blog posts, use Posts –> Add New.)

I recommend creating four basic pages to start:

About page – This where you tell people about yourself and your history, what your blog is about, and why it will help them. This is one of the most important pages on your website, so make it personable!

Contact page – People need a way to reach you! Be sure to be very clear on what emails you will and won’t respond to, so people don’t send you spam.

Privacy page  – This is a standard user agreement page informing readers what the applicable laws on your site are, that you use cookies, etc. etc. You can find out-of-the-box examples throughout the internet.

Copyright page  – This is a standard page letting people know you own this work and not to steal it. You can find out-of-the-box examples of these, too, throughout the internet.

(If you look in my footer, under the “About Us” section, you can see examples of all four of these pages!)  

Step 7: Join our blogging program! (optional)

Superstar Blogging travel blogging program

You’ll learn everything I know about creating a successful blog from creating engaging content, going viral, networking with bloggers, getting media attention, mastering SEO, creating products, growing a newsletter, and making money.

If you’re interested,  click here to learn more and get started !  

requently Asked Questions

Starting a blog can be an intimidating process. I struggled a ton when I first started blogging and had a lot of questions — but no one to ask them to. Since I continue to get questions about blogging emailed to me every week, I thought I’d share some of the answers here (we cover all of this in the course I mentioned above too).

How much does it cost to start a blog? You can start a travel blog for just a few dollars per month. Hosting costs less than $5 USD per month, which is the only expense you absolutely need. In a perfect world, you’d also purchase a premium theme, which can cost around $100-150 USD, but that’s about all you need at the start. Everything else can wait!

Can I blog if I have a full-time job? You definitely don’t need to be a full-time traveler to be successful. I started my blog as a hobby while working as a teacher — and so did tons of other bloggers who are now successful. Starting a blog is like starting a business. It won’t make money overnight, so keeping your day job is a smart move. Lots of part-time bloggers are successful!

Do I need a laptop or fancy camera to start a blog? You definitely need a laptop and, while a camera is helpful, a big fancy camera is not 100% necessary. A simple phone camera or point-and-shoot camera will suffice. I only travel with my iPhone and that works well!

Is it too late to start a blog? Definitely not! Think of blogs like restaurants. Is it too late to start a restaurant? Of course not! Yes, there are already a TON of restaurants out there, but there’s always room for a new, awesome restaurant.

The same goes for blogging. There are TONS of blogs out there, but most of them are average. There is ALWAYS room for new, awesome content!

Can you actually make money blogging? Definitely! This is not a get-rich-quick industry though. Most bloggers don’t make any money for their first year, however, there are thousands of travel bloggers out there making everything from a few bucks per month to full-time incomes. If you put in the work, learn the right skills, and stay consistent, it’s 100% possible to make a living in this industry.

Do I need a lot of technical skills to get started? There are some minor technical skills you need, but otherwise, that’s it. I had zero technical skills when I started, which is why I wanted to include a comprehensive tech unit in my course as the tech stuff is the most tedious. But you don’t need to be a computer whiz to get started. You just need to learn the basics.

How much money can you make as a blogger? There are travel bloggers bringing in over 1 million dollars a year from their website so the sky is the limit! But, realistically, the majority of full-time bloggers make between 80,000-150,000 a year.

That’s it! You’ve set up your basic website. Sure, there are social media buttons to add, blogs to write, images to upload, and things to tweak but all that comes later. Once you do the steps above, you have the framework needed to create and share your story with the world! To recap on how to start a travel blog:

  • Step 1: Pick a Name
  • Step 2: Sign Up for Hosting
  • Step 3: Install WordPress
  • Step 4: Set Up Your Website
  • Step 5: Install Your Theme
  • Step 6: Create Your Main Pages
  • Step 7: Join Our Blogging Course (Optional!)

By following these steps, you can start your travel blog and your stories and tips with the world! (That’s where the real fun begins!) Don’t let the tech scare you. I didn’t know anything when I started. I was totally clueless and had to teach myself how to do this. If I can do this, you can start a blog too! I believe in you! (Email me if you want more encouragement.)

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner . It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld . If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

  • SafetyWing (best for everyone)
  • Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)
  • Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.

Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.

Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, including the links for HostGator and Bluehost. At no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links. If you have any questions about the companies or my status as an affiliate, please don’t hesitate to email me.

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

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How To Travel Like A Minimalist: Packing List And More

how to travel like a minimalist

Traveling like a minimalist means striking the balance of finding comfort while away from home, but not being weighed down by excess stuff either. Choosing minimalist travel has changed my packing process entirely and made everything easier for me.

ryans tiny house

Hi, I’m Ryan

Having a minimalist mindset while traveling has taken all the hassle and headache out of my traveling experience. Packing light allows me to have what I need without being weighed down, and focus on the experience of the trip itself.

ryan mitchell simple living expert

What Is Minimalist Travel?

What Is Minimalist Travel

Minimalist Travel Packing List: Essentials Only

Minimalist Travel Packing List

When I’m packing for any trip, I divide my needs into smaller categories to make the packing process more manageable and keep track of what I actually need. I start with my travel capsule wardrobe, then pack my toiletries. I prefer to organize things into packing cubes to keep the chaos at bay while on the move.

Minimalist Travel Capsule Wardrobe

Minimalist Travel Capsule Wardrobe

Traveling with a well-planned capsule wardrobe is the move for any vacation, especially if you’re trying to travel like a minimalist. Clothes are a major culprit that take up a lot of space in a suitcase or bag. Create your own capsule wardrobe to minimize your luggage.

minimalist packing for travel

To do this, you’ll want to think through several things. Check the weather for the entirety of your trip, and choose items that will work with the climate you’ll be in. It’s also important to pack high-quality, staple pieces that can be worn more than once, especially for longer trips where you’ll have access to a washer and dryer.

Similar to personal uniforms , capsule wardrobes work best when you have a few base pieces like neutral shirts and pants, and then accentuate with only a few pieces that can give the outfit an entirely new look.

A Basic Travel Capsule Might Include

  • Two T-shirts
  • Two long sleeves or tank tops
  • Two pairs of shorts or jeans
  • One dress or suit
  • Sweater or swimwear
  • Four pairs of underwear
  • Four pairs of socks

how to build a capsule wardrobe

My own capsule wardrobe is pretty simple, but you can make it as decorative or basic as you prefer. Of course, this basic list will need to be adjusted based on the weather on your trip, if you have plans to go out somewhere fancy, or any other trip-specific clothing needs that might come up.

Minimalist Travel Toiletries

Minimalist Travel Toiletries

Toiletries are probably the second biggest category of travel items that can suck the space from your suitcase. Of course, it’s different for women and men, and it also depends on how basic your daily routine is.

Ryans Minimalist Travel Toiletries

If I’m going to a place that doesn’t provide basics, I tend to pack a two-in-one bar that can I use as my shampoo, bodywash and facewash — my favorite is the Duke Cannon’s Midnight Swim Bars or their Shampoo Pucks in Gold Rush Scent .

For the larger bar, I cut a chunk off to suit the length of my trip put in a Matador flat pack soap bar bag . The pucks come in a small tin which is super convenient. I’m not one to overcomplicate things with multiple products, but I also don’t have temperamental skin or hair.

Basic Toiletries To Pack As A Minimalist

  • Toothbrush and toothpaste
  • Conditioner
  • Facial cleanser or wipes
  • Razor and shaving cream
  • Basic makeup
  • Daily medications
  • Feminine products

Basic Toiletries To Pack

When it comes to packing my toiletries as space-consciously as possible, I use Gotoobs to hold my liquid toiletries , which have never leaked on me, and I put that in a bag inside my larger toiletry bag where I keep everything else. This saves me space and keeps my liquid toiletries separate to help prevent leaks or spills in transport.

Toiletries You Can Travel Without

  • Extra lotions or skin creams
  • Entire makeup bag
  • Multiple hair styling tools
  • Hair accessories
  • Nail polish
  • Essential oils or perfumes

Toiletries You Can Travel Without

Ryan’s Minimalist Toiletries

Ryans Minimalist Toiletries

My personal toiletry kit has a two-in-one soap puck, deodorant, razor, comb, tooth brush, toothpaste tablets, and a nail clipper. I use the shampoo puck as body and face wash, then also use it for shaving.

minimalist travel convenience items

The two white tablets in the photo are mini hand towels that expand — those along with the face wipes are a godsend when you’ve been traveling for a long time and need to wash up when you don’t have access to a shower. The Purell packets are also good because their size won’t bring much attention as a single use packet going through airport security.

For longer trips, I’ll often add shaving cream, a mini sewing kit, and lotion.

Minimalist Daily Travel Essentials

Minimalist Daily Essentials For Travel

One of the best things to do when it comes to packing the rest of your miscellaneous daily items is to have a central location in your home where these items live regularly. This could look like a catchall tray, a storage bin, or a backpack or travel bag.

Keep daily essentials like chargers, electronics, a water bottle, and more in this spot. Then, when you’re preparing for a trip, you can move all of your essentials to your luggage quickly. You’ll save yourself the mental space of having to fish through your closet or under your bed for your lesser-used items that are still essentials.

Daily Essentials For Minimalist Packing

  • Charging cords
  • Keys and wallet
  • Cash and credit cards
  • Identification (license/passport)
  • Refillable water bottle
  • Book/notebook
  • First-aid kit

minimalist travel essentials

Ryan’s Daily Minimalist Essentials

Ryans Daily Minimalist Essentials

When I’m packing my minimalist travel bag, I usually put all of these daily essentials in a separate travel bag than my clothes and toiletries. If I’m flying, this is what I fill my carry-on with for easy access. Even if I’m road-tripping in a car or travel van , I usually put these items in a carry-all pouch that goes in my backpack.

Ryan’s Daily Items Packing List

  • Modern Coup Admin Pouch
  • Benchmade Bugout Pocket Knife
  • Smooth Precision Pens – Bolt Action Pen V2.2
  • Anker Compact737 Charger
  • Herschel Slim Men’s Wallet
  • Field Notes Notebook
  • Griffin Mini-Cable Kit
  • Human Gear Go Bites Duo Utensil Set

Ryans Daily Travel Items Packing List

Trip-Specific Items For Minimalist Travel

Trip Specific Items

Once I’ve covered all my daily essentials and basic needs, I usually have about half a suitcase of room left to focus on items specific to my trip. This could be anything from ski gear to a surfboard to your bridesmaid dress to a nylon tent and off-grid camping cookware .

I don’t know about you, but the process of packing always feels super tedious and mentally draining to me. Covering all of your basics first is one of the best ways to pack like a minimalist and make the packing process way less daunting. You knock out all the more thought-intensive categories first, then just focus on the fun stuff.

How To Pack Like A Minimalist: Best Travel Gear

Best Minimalist Travel Gear

In addition to having a packing strategy and following a packing list, using savvy packing gadgets can help you travel light. Investing in these simple products can make your minimalist packing life a whole lot easier.

Amazon Basics 4 Piece Packing Travel Organizer Cubes

Four Piece Packing Cube Set

GoToobs by Humangear

GoToobs And GoTubbs By Humangear

Packism Clear Toiletry Bags

Packism Clear Toiletry Bag

Like I mentioned in my advice above, when I pack my toiletries, I like to separate my wet toiletries from my dry toiletries. These small, clear toiletry bags by Packism are an ideal size to store all my liquid toiletries and then nestle into my larger suitcase or carry on.

Matador Toiletry Bag And Soap Bar Case

Matador Toiletry Bag And Soap Bar Case

General Medi Store First Aid Kit

General Medi Store First Aid Kit

Nomader Collapsible Leak Proof Water Bottle

Nomader Collapsible Leak-Proof Water Bottle

things you only need to buy once in a lifetime

Build A Minimalist Travel Backpack For Solo Travel

Minimalist Travel Backpack For Solo Travel

For me, traveling solo has been something that has set me free and given me experiences that I could never have had by just staying home. In the past decade, I’ve had the privilege of traveling 23 countries including Canada , Australia , and several European and Latin American countries .

Minimalist Travel Backpack

Best Minimalist Travel Backpacks For Solo Travel

Best Minimalist Travel Backpacks For Solo Travel

Fitting all of the belongings I need into a simple travel backpack always provides me with a deeply freeing feeling. Choosing a minimalist travel backpack that will support you fully, last for years without tearing, and have room for all your travel gadgets and gizmos is a must.

I have a couple of personal favorite travel backpacks that I would recommend for regular use. The first one is the GoRuck GR1 . The GR1 is ridiculously sturdy and ideal for strenuous hikes or camping trips. I also love the Osprey Porter 46 Travel Backpack . It has an extremely strong hip belt and sturdy shoulder straps, and multiple compartments for storing all the gear you might need.

Other Popular Minimalist Travel Backpacks

  • Minaal Carry-on 3.0
  • Tortuga Travel Backpack 40L
  • Matador SEG42
  • Zpacks Nero 38L ROBIC
  • AER Travel Pack 2

Minaal Carry-on Backpack

How To Pack Your Minimalist Travel Backpack

How To Pack Your Minimalist Travel Backpack

Figuring out how to pack your travel backpack is a whole other can of worms. Of course, this will also heavily depend on where you’re going on your trip, how long you’ll be gone, and what your essential needs will be.

There are a few things I make sure to always have with me when I pack my minimalist travel bag for camping, off-griding, or any kind of basic travel.

Travel Backpacking List

  • Basic hygiene supplies
  • Sleeping bag and sleeping pad
  • Water treatment supplies
  • Snacks/food
  • Map/compass/GPS
  • Small tools/repair kit

Travel Backpacking Items

Does Minimalist Travel Make Life Better?

Does Minimalist Travel Make Life Better

  • How will you pack like a minimalist on your next vacation?
  • What items will you pack verses go without?

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Thanks for this article. I’m planning to visit some family living in Mexico and bought a overhead suitcase to use for traveling..made a stateside trip and and stuff it with what I thought I’d need for a 3week trip..with your list ideas, I’ll make smarter packing & weight decisions..looking forward to hassle freely out of country trip more now..

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Great post. Very helpful. Thank you.

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  • 30+ Best Travel Blog Examples (2023)

Ogi Djuraskovic

Most people who have a 9-to-5 job usually travel once or twice a year. However, some occasionally end up inspired by one of these trips and decide to embrace traveling as a way of life. Yes, I’m referring to travel bloggers who have often given up safe and profitable jobs to pursue their true passion and earn money by traveling the world.

If you’re reading this and feeling butterflies in your stomach, this is the article for you. You can travel around the planet and get paid for it, but you’ll need a solid blog to get started .

In this article, you’ll be presented with a variety of top-rated travel blog examples that provide compelling travel content, attractive photos, and modern design to attract readers. If you’re ready for your first lesson on how to become a travel blogger , pay attention to the rest of this article.

35 best travel blogs

When you start looking up travel blogs on the internet , you’ll come across hundreds of different websites. That’s why I have attempted to pick 35 of them that are currently active and growing. They are great examples of travel inspiration, guides, tips, and photography.

1. Salt in Our Hair

Salt in Our Hair Homepage

Follow Hannah and Nick, two creative travel bloggers from the Netherlands, who own and run the Salt in our Hair blog. This award-winning travel blog will get your attention with its fantastic travel stories, guides, and tips, accompanied by spectacular Instagram-friendly photos.

Main topics covered: travel tips, travel guides, lifestyle Built with: WordPress The main source of income: presets, e-book The most popular post: Ultimate 3-Week Route Guide on What to Do in Bali Instagram account: @saltinourhair

2. The Blonde Abroad

The Blonde Abroad Homepage

Kiki is a beautiful blonde who’s been empowering women to travel solo for many years. Throughout her journey, this blogger has managed to visit over 70 countries and collect material for high-quality blog posts that focus on tips for female solo travelers.

Main topics covered: travel tips, packing guides, photography, lifestyle Built with: WordPress The main source of income: presets, product sales The most popular post: Travel Bucket List for 2021 Instagram account: @theblondeabroad

3. The Travel Book

The Travel Book Homepage

While this may seem like a travel couple’s simple blog at first, it’s actually much more than that. This blog will teach you how to travel and remain environmentally conscious at the same time. You can expect a lot of eco-friendly advice and travel tips from this travel blog while also learning about some of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Main topics covered: eco-friendly traveling, sustainable lifestyle Built with: WordPress The main source of income: book, e-books, posters The most popular post: Lofoten — Must-See Places Instagram account: @thetravelbook

4. TravelFreak

Travel Freak Homepage

Jeremy is a travel blogger with an exceptional eye for photography. He’s been traveling for more than a decade now, and his blog is like an art gallery where you will find extraordinary pieces featuring different kinds of scenery from the most diverse places. Check out his website and see for yourself why Forbes, New York Times, and Vanity Fair consider Jeremy worth mentioning.

Main topics covered: travel tips, travel gear, inspiration and mindset, working abroad Built with: WordPress The main source of income: partnerships, advertising, content creation, product reviews, affiliates The most popular post: 17 Best Travel Backpacks for Every Adventure Instagram account: @travelfreak

5. Be My Travel Muse

Be My Travel Muse Homepage

Kristin is another solo traveler that’s been exploring the planet for more than nine years. Her travel blog is one of the top websites of this genre, attracting more than five million readers per year thanks to her useful money-saving tips and stories about wild adventures.

Main topics covered: travel adventures, money-saving tips Built with: WordPress The main source of income: books, courses, tours, clothing design The most popular post: The Cheapest Travel Destinations in the World in 2021 Instagram account: @bemytravelmuse

6. Adventurous Kate

Adventurous Kate Homepage

According to Kate, every woman can travel the world on her own after completing thorough research about a place. Still, in order to help you skip the daunting task of investigating a destination for hours, Kate has prepared a variety of guides that’ll make your female solo trip to almost any country in the world as easy as ABC.

Main topics covered: travel guides, travel inspiration Built with: WordPress The main source of income: advertising, campaigns, affiliates The most popular post: Backpacking Southeast Asia vs. Backpacking Central America Instagram account: @adventurouskate

7. Nomadic Matt

Nomadic Matt Homepage

If you want to find out how to travel the world on $50 a day, then Nomadic Matt’s blog is the first page you should check out. This New York Times best-selling author has helped millions of people travel on a budget and visit far-away places for as little cash as possible. Make sure to check out his website, as you’ll definitely benefit from reading his numerous travel tips and tricks.

Main topics covered: travel on a budget, planning and packing guides Built with: WordPress The main source of income: books, e-books, destination guidebooks The most popular post: The Ultimate Guide to Travelling When You Have No Money Instagram account: @nomadicmatt

8. Camels & Chocolate

Camels and Chocolate Homepage

Kristin Luna loves taking photos, trying delicious food, and doing both of these worldwide. As a true journalist, she tells her readers all about her travel adventures in her blog posts, along with stories about her hometown. At the same time, she touches upon details about becoming a freelancer and other useful things.

Main topics covered: travel, family, animals Built with: WordPress The main source of income: partnerships, consulting, marketing, editorial content The most popular post: Mingling Mermaids: Diving Into Grenada’s Culture Instagram account: @lunaticatlarge

9. A Broken Backpack

A Broken Backpack Homepage

If you don’t mind cutting down on a luxurious lifestyle in order to spend more time in an exotic country, make sure to take a peek into this broken backpack. The stories come from a woman who started her own travel adventures with a pile of student debt and learned how to save and earn money along the way in order to make her travel dreams come true. She shares these lessons with the world on this amazing blog.

Main topics covered: expat life, travel tips Built with: WordPress The main source of income: affiliate marketing, content creating, advertising The most popular post: Most Scenic Drives in Vermont Instagram account: @abrokenbackpack

10. Getting Stamped

Getting Stamped Homepage

The couple behind this blog doesn’t simply want to brag about all those countries where they have gotten stamped. Quite the opposite! These two have been trying to add meaning to each of the destinations they have visited and inspire their readers to travel more. Believe me — you’ll definitely get motivated to travel after you see their captivating photos and videos.

Main topics covered: travel tips, honeymoon guides, photography Built with: WordPress The main source of income: collaborations, affiliate marketing The most popular post: Top 12 Caribbean Islands for Beach Lovers Instagram account: @gettingstamped

11. Spirited Pursuit

Spirited Pursuit Homepage

If you’re particular about your next travel destination, and it has to be in Africa, you must take a look at the stories coming from this lovely lady. She believes that Africans should be the ones representing this beautiful continent and promoting its best qualities to the rest of the world, which is exactly what she has been doing in her travel and lifestyle stories.

Main topics covered: travel stories, retreats, lifestyle Built with: WordPress The main source of income: e-books, collaborations, partnerships The most popular post: 10+ Tips for Visiting African Countries Instagram account: @spiritedpursuit

12. SilverSpoon London

SilverSpoon London Homepage

Here is something for those of you who are interested in both travel and luxury. SilverSpoon London is a blog that has won many awards, such as the No. 4 UK Luxury Travel Blog by Vuelio in 2019 and the Best Luxury Travel Bloggers by Teletext Holidays. This speaks volumes about the kind of content you’ll find on this page.

Main topics covered: luxury travel and lifestyle, traveling with a baby Built with: WordPress The main source of income: collaborations, photography The most popular post: The Eight Most Romantic Places in Italy Instagram account: @angiesilverspoon

13. Limitless Secrets

Limitless Secrets Homepage

Ophélie is a beautiful and avid traveler, food connoisseur, and photographer living in Paris. On her blog you can discover the best sights to see and restaurants to visit both in Paris and around the world. Learn where you can get the best meals, take the most Instagram-friendly photos, and much more.

Main topics covered: Travel, photography, food Built with: WordPress The main source of income: Photography, collaboration, product or service promotions The most popular post: Best Instagram Spots in Chicago Instagram account: @limitlesssecrets

14. Goats on the Road

Goats on the Road Homepage

Even though this blog won’t actually tell you stories about goats, this couple from Canada considers this name ideal for a team of two wanderers, since goats clearly display this characteristic as well. Their travel blog is filled with great content available in both text and video format, and it’s user-friendly, so that you can easily find what you’re looking for.

Main topics covered: traveling, business, and money-making tips Built with: WordPress The main source of income: online business courses The most popular post: Ten High-Paying Online Jobs to Earn $3,000+ Per Month Instagram account: @goatsontheroad

15. The World Travel Guide

The World Travel Guide Homepage

David’s travel blog is one of those sites that can be easily understood by backpackers, millennials, solo travelers, couples… basically, anybody who wants to travel the world without spending a fortune. All of the images and videos on his blog are unique, and his readers can enjoy some breathtaking drone photos that can’t be found anywhere else.

Main topics covered: travel stories, photos, and videos Built with: WordPress The main source of income: partnerships, photography The most popular post: Cappadocia Turkey: Travel Guide, Map, Tours, & Best Cave Hotels Instagram account: @theworldtravelguy

16. Two Monkeys Travel

Two Monkeys Travel Homepage

Kach and her husband met on the road during a backpacking trip to Laos. The moment they saw each other, they recognized a mutual burning desire to describe their travel experiences on a blog. Together, they have visited more than 80 countries, while Kach has managed to personally experience a total of 143 countries.

Main topics covered: travel stories, itineraries, staycation, lifestyle Built with: WordPress The main source of income: online business courses The most popular post: What to Look For in a Great Travel App [Travel App Tips] Instagram account: @2monkeystravel

17. The Barefoot Nomad

The Barefoot Nomad Homepage

What started out as a couple has now turned into a family of four. Their combined love of traveling and technology has made all of their stories available online. If you want to see the world while living a fulfilling family life, make sure to follow their example.

Main topics covered: travel, tech, family Built with: WordPress The main source of income: advertising, promotions, product reviews The most popular post: The Best Small Travel Gifts Instagram account: @thebarefootnomad

18. One Girl One World

One Girl One World Homepage

Are you the kind of person who doesn’t want to miss out on taking care of their skin and hair while traveling? If the answer is yes, you’ll be happy to know that there’s finally a girl who can help you with all of it. Find advice not only about traveling but also on maintaining a good skincare and haircare routine while on the road.

Main topics covered: travel stories, skincare, haircare Built with: WordPress The main source of income: e-books, one-on-one coaching The most popular post: Your Ultimate Guide to Instagram Reels Instagram account: @onegrloneworld

19. Backpacking Matt

Backpacking Matt Homepage

Apart from being a traveler and Instagrammer, Matt is also a travel planner living in New Zealand who can map out your next trip to this distant country. Read his backpacking advice, contact him for trip organization, and don’t forget to pick up some tips about running an amazing travel blog.

Main topics covered: travel planning, adventures, lifestyle Built with: WordPress The main source of income: travel planning and booking website  The most popular post: Do’s and Don’ts in Italy Instagram account: @backpackingmatt

20. PlacesofJuma

PlacesofJuma Homepage

PlacesofJuma is a famous travel blog in Europe. The Austrian travel bloggers Jürgen and Martina launched PlacesofJuma in 2017 and their blog is with a focus on adventure, travel photography and how to organize perfect round trips. By 2021, they had published more than 600 articles about their travels around the world, where readers can learn more about the best places to visit and get useful tips and tricks about traveling.

Main topics covered: travel tips, how to organize your trip, best hotels, travel photography Built with: WordPress The main source of income: affiliate links The most popular post: 15 Best Places to Visit in Tuscany, Italy! Instagram account: @placesofjuma

21. Wandering Earl

Wandering Earl Homepage

A blog that’s been active for more than two decades definitely represents a good example of how things are done in this niche. Wandering Earl has helped many people make their travel dreams come true by building a platform that offers practical and easily applicable travel tips.

Main topics covered: travel tips and advice, travel costs, travel guides Built with: WordPress The main source of income: affiliate marketing, e-books, online projects The most popular post: Why I Travel So Much? Instagram account: @wanderingearl

22. Dan Flying Solo

Dan Flying Solo Homepage

By spending 1467 days on the road, this simple guy once working as a restaurant manager has transformed himself into a popular travel blogger. Dan has seen the world, and he wants people to see it too, which is why his blog is an ideal place for anyone in need of inspiration.

Main topics covered: travel, photography Built with: WordPress The main source of income: partnerships, advertising, photography The most popular post: Unique Honeymoon Ideas: Ten Alternative Romantic Escapes Instagram account: @danflyingsolo

23. The Poor Traveler

The Poor Traveler Homepage

Although these guys didn’t have a lot of money when they started their travel blog, the word “poor” in this context is used as a synonym for “unfortunate or unlucky” rather than “penniless.” They claim to have made some poor decisions on their travel journeys, but they have used these mistakes to develop a travel blog that everybody wants to read.

Main topics covered: travel guides and itineraries, visa guides Built with: WordPress The main source of income: advertising The most popular post: CENTRAL JAPAN: 25 Best Things to Do & Places to Visit Instagram account: @thepoortraveler

24. Let’s Be Merry

Let’s Be Merry Homepage

Being constantly on the road may seem fun and exciting, but it can often be tiring too. Your energy can be easily drained by all of those sleepless nights at airports, unhealthy fast food, and other tiny but significant things. However, if you read Merry’s travel blog, you can get some wellness tips that can help you maintain your health and fitness while on the go.

Main topics covered: travel, wellness, lifestyle Built with: WordPress The main source of income: commissionable links The most popular post: Dreaming of Travel? Consider These 6 Travel Trends for 2021 Instagram account: @lets_be_merry

25. Traveltomtom

simple travel blog

Remember how I’ve mentioned people who start their career as travel blogger because of a single trip? Well, Tom is one of those people who is continuously traveling since 2012. No home base, not spending more than one week in a place. And that is a good enough reason to check out both his blog and Instagram account, and maybe become inspired to follow his lead.

Main topics covered: detailed destination guides, planning tips, budget traveling ideas Built with: Joomla! The main source of income: advertising, affiliate marketing, guided tours The most popular post: 13 Off The Beaten Path Destinations in Europe for 2021 Instagram account: @traveltomtom

26. Expert Vagabond

Expert Vagabond Homepage

Expert Vagabond has been writing his travel diary for over a decade now. He has been recognized by the Travel Channel, Lonely Planet, Nat Geo, and other renowned names from the travel industry. His blog, which is a great example of an all-inclusive travel platform, contains content for both families and solo travelers.

Main topics covered: travel, backpacking, photography Built with: WordPress The main source of income: affiliate and influencer marketing, travel photography, advertising The most popular post: 50 Best Travel Tips After 10 Years Traveling The World Instagram account: @expertvagabond

27. Time Travel Turtle

simple travel blog

Time Travel Turtle will inspire you to check out not only the world’s top classic tourist destinations but also the protected UNESCO World Heritage Sites that aren’t easily accessible. Get access to ancient temples and cave arts, old factories, and much more incredible content by visiting this unique travel blog.

Main topics covered: UNESCO World Heritage Sites Built with: WordPress The main source of income: sponsorships, affiliate marketing, content creating The most popular post: Is Cambodia Safe for Travellers? Instagram account: @michaelturtle

28. A Dangerous Business Travel Blog

dangerous business travel blog

You don’t necessarily have to quit your job to become a travel blogger. On her blog, Amanda will show you how to make the most out of your current lifestyle and adapt it to your travel desires.

Main topics covered: solo-female travels, cost-effective travel inspiration Built with: WordPress The main source of income: advertising and affiliates The most popular post: Why I’m Not Afraid to Travel Alone Instagram account: @dangerousbiz

29. Indie Traveller

Indie Traveller Homepage

This is a travel blog that features an organized layout and simple design so that readers can focus completely on the content. You’ll find great travel tips on this website, so make sure to browse through it carefully.

Main topics covered: travel tips, budgeting, accommodation Built with: WordPress The main source of income: book, advertising, affiliate The most popular post: 9 Underrated Destinations You Must Have on Your Travel List Instagram account: @indietravlr

30. TheBohoChica

TheBohoChica Homepage

Read stories from a woman who lives in Dubai but has a passion for Arctic landscapes and the countryside. If this sounds like your kind of content, make sure not to miss this chica’s travel reports.

Main topics covered: travel stories, culture, hiking, cuisine Built with: WordPress The main source of income: print sales, advertising, affiliates, books The most popular post: Where to Stay in Dubai: Insider Guide to Dubai Accommodation (By A Local) Instagram account: @thebohochica

31. Of Whiskey and Words

Of Whiskey and Words Homepage

Yes, this guy also quit his job to travel the world, but though he still travels frequently he doesn’t do it full time like others on this list. All of these travel experiences helped him to realize what’s important in life: finding your purpose and achieving balance in your life. If this combo is what interests you too, feel free to glance at this travel blog.

Main topics covered: travel tips, location guides, packing advice, whiskey recommendations Built with: WordPress The main source of income: affiliate marketing, travel agency, and trip planning service The most popular post: How to Start a Travel Blog Instagram account: @ofwhiskeyandwords

32. Travel Hacking Mom

Travel Hacking Mom Homepage

If you still haven’t heard of travel hacking, make sure that you devote some of your time to this mom’s blog. Here, you can learn all about it thanks to her straightforward and engaging content.

Main topics covered: free travel using credit card points Built with: WordPress The main source of income: partnerships The most popular post: How to Travel for Free Instagram account: @travelhackingmom

33. Luggage and Lipstick

landl home page

All of you Baby Boomers out there will relate to this Boomer Blond. Perhaps you’ll even get motivated to finally plan that trip to your dream destination. Remember, age means nothing, as long as there’s a will to explore this lovely planet.

Main topics covered: outdoor adventure, beaches, solo travel, and unique experiences Built with: WordPress The main source of income: book, affiliate marketing The most popular post: 13 Jaw-Dropping Places to Visit Once in a Lifetime Instagram account: @luggageandlipstick

34. A Couple for the Road

A Couple for the Road Homepage

Lovers of music, history, art, and cuisine who want to travel the world while also keeping their current jobs can discover the exact way to do it on this travel blog. If this courageous couple can do it, so can you!

Main topics covered: travel tips and guides, food Built with: WordPress The main source of income: product sales The most popular post: Five Best Day Trips from Berlin Instagram account: @acouplefortheroad

35. World of Wanderlust

World of Wanderlust Homepage

Even with the recent traveling restrictions, this blog has been kept alive and it has continued inspiring women to travel on their own. Read their expert tips about solo trips and get ready for your next big adventure.

Main topics covered: travel, lifestyle, entrepreneurship, health and wellbeing Built with: WordPress The main source of income: travel courses The most popular post: 20 Best Places for Solo Female Travelers Instagram account: @worldwonderlust

As you can see, great travel blogs are everywhere around you, and they provide numerous tips and tricks on becoming a travel blogger yourself. If you’re confident that traveling the world is your calling, take a good look at the examples from this article, pick out the best parts from each travel blog, and start writing about your latest trip.

The first step is the hardest, but once you get going, it will become easier day by day.

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VickyFlipFlopTravels

Travel Bloggers: What to Write and How to Write a Travel Blog in 2024 (50+ Tips)

“I want to start a travel blog, what do you think I should write about?”

True story.

I was a few drinks down at a London Travel Massive event and a lady unknown to me had just targeted me with the above. In fact, interrupting the conversation I was having midflow. Usually full of advice and happy to dish it out this question had me stumped, as much as her demeanour.

travel bloggers writing

There’s no sugar coating it: I really think you should have at least a few ideas of what you want to write about before you start even thinking about setting up a travel blog. If not a few fully written posts so you have some material to play around with when it comes to style and design.

Since then I’ve often been asked how to write a travel blog, and think back to this night. 

Travel Blogger High

Talking about the interaction with a close fellow travel blogger the next day we established that both of us had lists of at least tens of articles we wanted to write, but seeing as we both worked full time at that point, never had the time to see them through. Though I could always rely on a  professional essay writing service  to help me with the writing part, that’s something that I prefer to do myself.

You can’t win.

If you’re in ‘clueless Cathy’s’ camp above, and are stuck for what to write about on your travel blog, what you need is some travel blogging inspiration.

Take a look a the ideas below on what to write in a travel blog and think about which idea appeals to you most. Then, just get started! 

This is a pretty long post so if you’re all good for inspiration but need some advice on how to write travel blogs , click to go to the second half.

what to write about

What to write in a travel blog: 10 ideas 

If you’re trying to work out what to write in a travel blog, here are 10 ideas for you. When it comes to travel blog writing you might just need a few ideas to start you off, and then the creative juices will start to flow and travel blog ideas will be flowing out of you. 

Use two or three of these to get you started writing your travel blog.

If you want to see a travel blog example, take a look around my blog, obviously – and also check out this list of the top 50 travel bloggers in the UK . If that doesn’t give you inspiration, I don’t know what will!

FAMIL RETREAT OASIS

1. Write about your first holiday

This is a good way to get started in blogging about travel. Tell your readers about your memories of your first holiday – I did this when I found some Euro Disney memorabilia when I was cleaning out my room. It was my first holiday abroad and I’d kept the sugar sachets from Disney for almost 20 years! Think about describing the way it affected all your senses to get you started. Are there particular sounds, smells and sights that take you back to that moment in time?

Take my advice, first printed in Wanderlust Magazine in Could You Write a Travel Blog?

“Before you decide on a name, platform or topic, take a deep breath and close your eyes,” says travel blogger Victoria Philpott. Vicky, who blogs alongside her day job, suggests wannabe bloggers start by conjuring up their happiest travel memory and letting the story flow.”

2. Write about your locale

Travel blogging

London is the number one travel destination in the world, if you live there you’ve got enough content to see you through for years. Find unique events, have a unique view and there you have your next article. And that’s just an example of my blogging gone wrong – I lived there for years, got to know a few neighbourhoods really well, but did I write about them? No. They’re straight on the never ending to do list.

I spent my first 18 years in a village in the Midlands called Barton-under-Needwood (pop. 5000). A quick Google search shows me that no one has written any sort of guide to things to do there. There’s a unique opportunity, especially as there are new developments in the area. This might not seem like the most exciting post if it’s covering somewhere you lived for so long but your insider knowledge is invaluable and someone, somewhere, will be interested.

You never know when world interest in any place could start to peak and you’d be all set up to be the go to person on that area.

Writing in a travel bullet journal is a great way to get started.

Subscribe on YouTube to see more of my adventures

First travel blog post

Travel blog writing doesn’t have to be about exotic, faraway places, it can easily be your own neighbourhood. In fact, I find that a lot of travel bloggers who’ve been doing it as long as I have, have come back to England and decided to concentrate on writing their travel blogs about here, as it suddenly becomes so much more appealing. 

Follow me on Instagram @VickyFlipFlop for the latest.

Instagram VickyFlipFlop

3. Where shall I go on holiday next year?

Don’t answer me by saying , answer by writing in blogging about travel. Create a blog post with all the reasons you have to advise why I should go to a certain place on holiday. Another aspect of travel blogging is persuasive writing.

There are a few destinations I’ve been to that I’ve really, really loved and I want my readers to see them too. In writing about New York , Vietnam , Porto and now Tokyo I want to persuade my readers that they should go too.

If they like my blog I know they’ll like them, and a happy reader will come back for more.

Watch this little video of what to write about for more ideas…

4. Write about you

The juiciest posts are the most personal ones. They’re the ones I like to read to get to know the blogger I’m reading about. I admire people who can be so honestly open about life, people like Toni over handling mental, health and family issues while travelling and Planet D about how their travel blog saved their marriage .

Travel blog examples like these help you to see there are real person at the end of these blog posts – real people with real problems.

Me as a travel blogger

I find it very difficult to write posts like this. In fact there are only two on my blog: one about why I was going travelling when my boyfriend dumped me  and a dedication to my nan when she died, which I can’t read without crying as I’ve just proven to myself.

If you’re suffering from blogger’s block – bit like writer’s block – then this is the post for you.

READ MORE: 66 Positive Affirmations for Writers

5. Your thoughts on a destination

I really like writing about my impressions of a country once I’m back and have processed my thoughts, feelings and photos.

Posts like What Vietnam was Like For Me and What is Cuba Really Like? Busting the Tourist Myth may not be as instantly appealable as a quickie list post on the destination but writing them makes me happy.

I like to read back over them to remind me of how I felt when I was there as you can really use your experience and creativity in posts like this.

Pin this travel blogging guide for later?

writing a travel blog

Lists are popular for a reason – they’re easy to read and quick to do. Whole websites have been created to just feature lists although they’re usually pretty flakey.

Outlandish titles like 11 Awesome Ways to Sneak Alcohol into Festivals will usually generate a few more views too – if audience figures are one of your travel blogging goals that is. Look at other bloggers’ travel blog examples for inspiration.

Travel blogging course

When I’m in a destination I’ll look for the best things to do there and it’ll be a list I’m after, not some think piece I mention above. So give your audience what they want and write a well-researched useful to do list.

7. What’s popular?

Some of the most popular topics on my blog are Vietnam and Glastonbury. I rank well for these in Google and I can see from my analytics that my readers keep coming back for more. Once you know that you have a popular topic or post on your blog it makes sense to keep creating more valuable content around it.

Someone once said to me: “Go the extra mile, it’s less crowded there”. Meaning, put the effort in, more than anyone else, and you will be rewarded. Or something along those lines anyway. 

You can link from your already popular posts and know that your readers will enjoy it. Take a look at the keywords they come in on on Google Analytics for inspiration on how to write more.

how to write travel blogs

8. What do you want to read?

When you’re looking for information on a destination make sure to note the questions you have and the answers you can’t find – then you know the gaps to fill when it comes to you writing up your trip. 

From my research and subsequent article on The Best Things to Do in Vietnam According to Travel Bloggers I found that no one had really done a guide to travelling around Vietnam, it was just all advice on particular aspects.

What to write about

It took me ages to plan that trip so I wrote up all my findings and now my Two Weeks in Vietnam Itinerary is the second most popular post on my blog. More importantly, it’s inspired loads of people to explore Vietnam by themselves, rather than book on expensive tours.

I’ll pat myself on the back there.

9. Go niche

Sometimes the nichest of niche things work well when you’re blogging about travel, as you’ll be answering very specific questions.

Another of the most popular articles on my blog is 9-Hour Stopover in Qatar: Is it Worth Exploring? Not something an average reader would be interested in but because it’s so specific and not many people have written about it, it does well in Google search and again, I’ve helped people decide on what to do in Qatar.

Insider, actual tried and tested travel knowledge, is what makes a travel blogger stand out over the average travel company.

10. Interviews

Interviews are a great way to get started if you need some inspiration. Don’t just look to other travel bloggers though – unless you’ve got an exclusive or they’ve got a really interesting story there are already so many about.

What is Papua New Guinea Like?

Instead, interview people from your travels and write a profile of them rather than just a Q and A. This will help you to get more of you in there as well as them. It also means it’s not just an email exchange but a well thought out background piece.

How to write a travel blog without travelling

Learning how to write travel blogs isn’t easy, and it may take a while for you to find your style. Stick with it, it’s fun!

As you’ll have just read in those examples, you don’t actually have to be travelling to write a travel blog. Interviews, lists, you, they all work if you don’t have the time and money to be constantly on the road. 

Look on the bright side – you have the opportunity to spend the time over your writing instead of rushing between destinations. If it was me, I’d pick a destination or theme, and stick steadfastly to that.   

If you’re good at budgeting, you can help people plan their budget for their next trip, for example. Topics about  finding cheap flights  or hotels are in high demand. You can do some research and cover these types of helpful topics on your travel blog.

Having a tight niche is another way to really stand out over the many, many other travel bloggers. 

What is Guernsey like?

How to write a travel blog

Travel blogs examples to inspire your travel blog writing.

Once you have a few posts done and your fingertips are finding their way round that keyboard with rhythm start to think about the kind of writer you want to be. Think about how you want your travel blogging voice to develop, how you want readers to feel when they’re on your blog and what kind of topics you want to cover.

This is how you’ll start to gain a distinctive voice in the world of travel blogging – something that can be very difficult to do.

Travel blog examples

Here are a few travel bloggers, with travel blog writing examples, who really stand out to me for having been able to do this. When you’re writing for travel blogs, you can really make it your own, like these guys…

Becki Enright

Travel blogging what to write about

Becki from bordersofadventure.com writes serious travel blog about sides of countries your average traveller wouldn’t get to see.

She’s even been on Sky News discussing tourism in North Korea and regularly produces the kind of political posts you won’t see on any other blog.

  • Inside the ‘Den of Espionage’ – Getting Inside the former US Embassy in Tehran
  • Visiting the West Bank in Palestine – Understanding the Conflict from Both Jewish and Arab Perspectives in Hebron

Brenna Holeman

Travel blogging what to write about

Brenna from thisbatteredsuitcase.com creates beautifully written heartfelt stories about her life on the road.

She’s so open and powerful I enjoy reading her posts and know I can go to her site to be transported into her world.

Check out her travel blog for some major writing inspiration.

  • The Last Time I Saw You: London Edition
  • Being Happy with Being Content

Travel blogging what to write about

For another distinctive voice in the travel blogging world check out Dylan’s blog at thetravelingeditor.com. At a risk of sounding like an imbecile, he uses a lot of ‘big words’. He’s an eloquent sesquipedalian .  These posts are a good example of the tone and style of writing Dylan is known for.

  • The palatal awakening of Mercatino del Gusto
  • The thunderous convergence of Rotterdam Unlimited

How to write a unique travel blog

All three of these travel blogger examples are very different to what I aim to do on my blog. There may be some crossover in topics but the four of us have very different writing styles and I bet you could spot it if we wrote for each other.

When you’re writing a travel blog you should sound like you , be passionate about the things you’re passionate about, and relay in your own style. In that way you’ll stand out above what is now a very crowded and saturated market place. 

writing for travel blogs

Writing my travel blog

As well as inspiring people to travel , like these guys, I also want to give practical advice on how to do it. My blog has advice on transport, money, where to stay, trip planning, itineraries and packing lists to make travelling as accessible as possible to my readers.

The best compliment people can give me about my blog is that it inspired them to travel, entertained them and made them laugh.

You don’t have to define and limit yourself straight off though when you’re writing for travel blogs. My advice would be to let your style, tone and topics instinctively evolve over time and with every post you write. You’ll soon come to find your natural writing flow and hopefully be distinctive too.

50 tips for travel bloggers on what to write and how to write a travel blog

Always be yourself

When I went to the Traverse conference in Brighton everyone was excited to see Will Peach on his panel. His open, truthful and at times offensive writing on thegonzotraveller.com and the now defunct travelsexlife.com was definitely entertaining whether you loved it or hated it. When I met him he didn’t seem the same as his douchebag online persona and a few weeks later he came out with this article about his disillusion with the travel blogging industry. After that he only posted a few more blogs before he went on to focus on the brilliantly written, yet less offensive, willpeach.com.

Will’s angry voice was so distinct in the hyperbolically positive world of travel bloggers, but he wasn’t being himself. I’m glad he’s found his flow on his blog now – it’s still one of the most insightful out there.

Travel Blogger High

You’ve got to be yourself in travel blogging.

That’s the number one rule about putting any creativity in the public space. This is scary. I used to worry about people reading my stuff and sometimes I look back at my past work and wonder what I was on. But, I did what was right at the time. If you start worrying what advertisers / other bloggers / your mum, thinks then you’ll lose what’s interesting about you in the first place.

I also think that when you start writing a travel blog it can be hard to portray who you really are. You may be so used to writing for school or work that writing with a blog style and flair doesn’t come easily. This can also be improved with practice. The more you read travel blogs, and write your travel blog, the more you can work on your travel blogging voice. 

READ MORE: How Much Do Travel Bloggers Get Paid ?

How often should I blog?

Whenever you have something to say is always the best answer. I aim for at least twice a week but usually end up doing quite a bit more. Under promise and over deliver is my motto – even if it’s between me, myself and I.

The more you write the easier and better it will become. Worryingly I’ve seen a few resolution lists for this year where bloggers have said they want to ‘up their blogging output’, but I just think this is a dangerous goal. Set your aims too high and then travel blogging just becomes another pressure to live by, and for most people pressure is a fun killer, which ruins the whole point of travel blogging.

How to be a successful travel blogger

My writing style  

I tend to write everything I want to and then fit it together. I just keep going until it’s all out and then go back and edit. Often I’ll write it on my phone when the inspiration hits then just use my laptop to edit as when I sit at my laptop I get to distracted.

I like to write into Google Sheets and then I’ll upload to WordPress and edit. It takes me AGES to write a blog post now. With all the research, writing, picture research, look at SEO and formatting, it’s at least a day.

Ideal length of a travel blog post

I like to write over 2000 words per article when I’m blogging about travel. Not all posts on my travel blog will be that long, but that’s the goal. In reading other travel blogs I think it’s hard to get your points and personality across in any less. 

READ MORE: How to Make Your Travel Blogging Career Last for 10 Years+ !

top UK travel bloggers

How to write a travel blog post

Learning how to write a good travel blog can be quite formulaic in the way it’s set out. Of course the creativity comes when you decide which words to choose. Think about these ‘rules’ when it comes to writing your travel blog.

  • Decide on a cool idea that you’re passionate to spend time writing. 
  • Write it, thinking in sections though. The best travel blog posts are divided by headers to make it easier for the reader. 
  • Think of a good headline that will draw the reader in and make them want to read more. 
  • Think in 500-1000 words. I know I said I do 2000, but I think that can be quite overwhelming if you’re still learning how to write travel blogs. 
  • If your idea is too big, then break it down into easier sections and write a few blog posts instead. You can always craft them back together again when you’ve finished, like my backpackers guide to Vietnam . 
  • Use photos to bring the post to life. If you know how to use Photoshop or Lightroom them brighten and edit for the best result. If not, don’t worry about it. 
  • Make sure you have a few H1s and H2s in there to help us readers, read the post. 
  • Proof read. 
  • Publish. 
  • Share! Social media is really important for travel bloggers. It might feel scary at first, to share your travel blog. I mean, I kept mine secret for at least a year. But the sooner you share the sooner you’ll get readers. And at the start your friends will help you to get word out there. Then they’ll get jealous of you travelling, but that’s future yous problem. 

Once you’ve learned how to write a travel blog, you can really start to have fun with it, and learn to express yourself through your love of travel.

Travel blogging writing tips

travel blogging changed

  • Write whenever the feeling hits you – even if that’s in the ‘notes’ section of your phone.
  • Keep practising – you don’t have to publish everything you write.
  • Read other travel blogs analytically as well as for fun.
  • Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
  • Write about what you want.
  • Use Pinterest to see what’s popular and for inspirational titles
  • Sign up to bloglovin ( follow me ) for a whole resource of inspiration. Make a note of the titles you actually click on.
  • Keep a spreadsheet, or similar, of all the titles you want to write. Use when necessary.
  • Keep a folder in your bookmarks of articles that have inspired you.
  • Offer to write for others to create your own incentives.

On that last point I remember way back when and I pitched to Flight Centre. I got a commission for three articles. At the time it was this financial incentive and the idea that they thought I’d be able to do it that got me going. I was so proud to see my work up on their blog and it just inspired me to write more.

Once you feel confident enough, start to pitch to other websites and blogs and see if they’ll accept your ideas. Here are a few travel websites that will pay you to write for them .

how to write a travel blog

More travel blog examples

If you’re looking for an example of a travel blog post, then check out a few of these, from me…

Travel blog example 1: ‘Things to Do’ listicle

Fun things to do in a destination. There’s a bit of snobbery around listicles in travel blogging, but personally I think they’re a really important and useful example of a travel blog.

You need to do them carefully though, and with heart and experience. If you want to write about traveling, listicle posts can be a good way to get started.

Check out my guide to fun things to do in Hobe Sound , or the best things to do in Levi, Finland . My guide to the best things to do in Lake Maggiore is pretty good too.

What to do lake maggiore

Travel blog example 2: a trip itinerary

Trip itineraries are so important, and often the backbone of any good travel blog. A tried and tested step by step trip itinerary is worth so much for people trying to plan a trip to the destinations you’re writing about.

Check out my two week itinerary for the Philippines , or my Norfolk road trip to get an idea of how to set these travel blog trip itineraries out.

Travel blog example 3: a real insight

Only you can experience a destination in the way you do – that’s why the real insights into destinations are one of the ways you can stand out from the travel blogging crowd. If you feel like you’ve had a really unique experience, or want to share exactly what you thought of a place, then these honest insights can make for a great travel blog.

Check out ‘ What is Cuba Really Like ‘, and ‘ What is Vietnam Like ‘ to see what I mean.

one week in vietnam

Travel blog example 4: personal stories

Ooo you can’t beat a personal story on a travel blog. The trouble is, you either need to really enjoy writing it, or not care if people read it or not. These personal stories are very hard to rank in Google, but they’re good to help your readers get to know you.

If you want to read some of my personal stories then check out these posts about when my boyfriend and I split up , the shock of going into lockdown, and my best moments in travel blogging.

Travel blog example 5: helpful guides

My helpful guides to what you can for for 9 hours in Qatar on a layover , how to avoid festival toilets and how to manage the overnight trains in Vietnam are some of the most popular posts on my travel blog.

If you’ve had a unique experience that will help other people who may go through the same then write about it!

Fill it with useful advice, personal anecdotes and interesting titbits to keep your readers intrigued, and Google showing it to them.

If you’re blogging about travel there’s no end to what you can write about!

Kokkari Bay

How to blog about travel in a pandemic

Ok, so feeling inspired to blog about travel during a global pandemic has been difficult.

Us travel bloggers have had to rethink, reuse and try harder than ever to keep readers interested and ourselves inspired. It’s not been easy.

You can see my latest posts to see what I have managed to write a travel blog about – mainly paddleboarding in winter , my pledge to walk 1000 miles, and responsible travel tips , as well as my camping trip to the Outer Hebrides and the most fun days out in the UK .

Writing a travel blog

How to create a travel blog in 2018

What you write about on your travel blog goes back to what you think a successful travel blog is . If you’re after views something like 50 reasons to travel in your 20s will do well, but if you want to flex your first hand experience a heartfelt think piece could be just your thing. I like to mix things up depending on my mood.

I really hope these travel blog writing tips have helped you see how to write a travel blog post. Writing a travel blog isn’t easy, and keeping it up is even harder. But once you settle in, and find your groove, you’ll start to enjoy it. 

When it comes to your travel blog you could write about anything – so long as you have the passion for it – that’s what’s so good about being a travel blogger. Just a coffee you enjoyed somewhere unique, an interaction with someone or a whole guide to your take on a destination could make for an interesting article with the right enthusiasm, interest and execution.

How do you decide what to write about on your travel blog?

Let me know in the comments box below. 

PIN HOW TO WRITE A TRAVEL BLOG TIPS FOR LATER

writing a travel blog

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Hi, I'm Vicky! I wrote this. You can find me on all the social media @VickyFlipFlop. I love a bit of adventure, will try anything once, and have a strong passion for the local food and drink, whatever it may be. I'm here to help inspire you to travel to places a little out of your comfort zone, or at least to explore the usual destinations in a different way. Stay, have a look around, and if you have any questions – let me know below.

127 Comments

Such a lovely guide. Just what I needed. I am just starting my own travel blog. I have put it off for too long but the passion of travelling… I struggled with what to write and was already focusing on likes and audience. Your post has really inspired me and now I have about 6 topics I can write on(that’s after I figure out how to use WP properly). Thank you very much.

Thanks for this – some good advise and ideas for me. I have had my blog on hold for the past 6 months. I have quite a few posts written but everytime I go back to them the message I want to give changes as I am in a different mood! So everything remains in edit mode!! Hopefully after reading your posts I will get the confidence to post soon.

Yeah the passing of time and changing of self is a weird one. I’ve got posts on here that totally make me cringe because I don’t necessarily agree with what I was on about at the time. But, the thing is, it’s like a time capsule. It captures us and our thoughts in a moment in time which is exactly why we should publish right away. Our thoughts and opinions can have an expiry date!

Great post with some good ideas for me as I am thinking of getting on with the bog I have had in edit mode for the past 6 months! Just need that confidence to post, but find what I want to say about each idea changes depends on the mood I am in when I go back to it!! So nothing posted yet… soon, I hope.

Before it was difficult for us to get idea and find topics to write about. But what we did is to just find out what is popular and create something about it.

Yeah that totally makes sense! Good plan!

Good idea Tristan!

Points are really great and I really love them. As we all know that writing something regarding traveling without getting your audience bored is not so easy. These points would definitely help us in creating new and unique posts.

Hello, oh I’m happy I could help!

Interesting points you have here. Like it! 🙂

Thanks Julex!

This is good beginning

i didnt notice that you wrote this on your blog, what an inspirational advice for someone like me. Thank you for let me know another inspirational travel blogger. It encourages me to write more

Great news! Glad you’re enjoying my work and to hear that it’s helped. I try!

  • Pingback: VickyFlipFlopTravels » Cool Festivals and Epic Holidays |Lessons I've Learned from the Top Travel Vloggers

First time I’ve seen this; have to say it’s a really great series. Best of luck with it.

Thanks for the mention too. Couldn’t have put it better myself!

Ah good, just read it again and I’m glad you didn’t find it offensive!

  • Pingback: VickyFlipFlopTravels » Cool Festivals and Epic Holidays |Travel Blogger High: The Online School for Wannabe Travel Bloggers

A really long detailed insightful post which is such a help to those starting out. Liked the tips about compiling engaging titles – something I really struggle with particularly when Google insists on short titles! Many thanks for sharing your tips.

Holy Cow. I’m so unbelievably glad I found you. This is by far the best advice I have ever read. Thank you so much!!

Aw, thank you! That’s one of the nicest comments I’ve read! 🙂

Great article! I love Brenna’s blog and started writing one when in moved to London from Australia but rarely update it even though I have so many notes with adventures I have been on. I know people back home like reading what im doing but I am just lazy after I finish work.

Yeah, it can be pretty hard to get the motivation when you’ve been working all day. I know the feeling!

Another awesome post Vic! I couldn’t imagine starting a blog if I didn’t already have an idea of what to write but you handle the subject of getting started really well. Plus I remember those guest posts you referred to – you were our go to girl for great content 🙂

Thanks Jayne. Yeah nor me, but I think sometimes there’s so many options it can be hard to pick something. I remember for my A Level English coursework I could choose any two books I wanted to write about and it took me about three months to choose the book and then a week to write it. I imagine getting started can sometimes feel like that. You just need some guidelines to get down to it.

Ha, thanks!

Again a really helpful and interesting post! My travel blog is just a travel diary at the moment but I’m looking forward to expanding it and writing about more things! Your vietnam writing was how I found your blog too, and it inspired and helped me so much with booking my trip out there in November! Thanks Vicky! X

Yay, love it when people tell me that Vikki 🙂 And happy I’m helping you to think about your blog too. Thanks for reading!

Thank you so much for including me here! I’m loving all of this advice so much – this is such a great guide for both beginners and those of us who have been around for a few years. x

No worries Brenna – I love your blog!

I can’t remember where or when I read it but it went something like this: “when the student’s ready the teacher will appear” and here you are! In my quest to create a useful blog I’ve read a lot, in fact I’ve read so much I have no idea what’s right and what isn’t. I’ve had a yearning to be me “warts n all” to write in my voice but have been scared it would hold my blog back, here you are giving permission to be me. I hope one day in the future when I have an audience I can write a post that has such a profound effect as this post has for me. Thank you Vicky for writing this post.

Aw, thank you Rob. Your comment has made me really happy. I’m really enjoying helping people in Travel Blogger High, and getting all these comments. And yes, the best, most honest and most interesting person you can be is you, so go for it and have fun!

Some great tips – lots of food for thought. I’m usually in the too many ideas, not enough time camp, so I’m actually trying to focus on writing the right pieces this year, whether that’s the ones I really want to do or the ones I think will appeal to readers (both for usefulness and hits…!). Like you say, when you’re putting pressure on to hit targets, the fun goes out of it.

Some of the best ones I’ve done have been ones which really touched a nerve with me, and so with my readers too, or the ones which filled a niche as no-one else has written about them, like you mention. I slightly fell into those by accident, so the tricky bit for me is working out what other niches are waiting to be filled!

That’s a good idea to think about their usefulness. I find that I go with the one that inspires me most in that minute that I’m choosing which one to write. I guess it depends whether you want to be a bit more tactical about it, which I probably should be. Yeah, if you can find something you’re interested in that no one else has written about you’re definitely onto a winner!

I don’t really have much to add to this. I come from another niche (whoop whoop for lifestyle/food/fashion) but thoroughly enjoying the challenge of writing for the travel niche. I started out with a spreadsheet of over 100 titles for blog posts and it keeps growing. I have so much to write and there’s not enough time. Ahhhhh!!!!

I love blogging, writing, sharing and travelling – so for me, travel blogging is a real passion project.

Agree with the spreadsheet and reading blogs analytically as well as for pleasure.

Yeah that’s how I feel. Especially when you’re travelling full time as well. Every day you see new things and have new experiences you want to write about it’s really difficult to keep up! I love it too though – wouldn’t have it any other way 🙂

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14 Top Travel Blog Platforms Reviewed – Which is the Best?

I make and work with a lot of people wanting to start travel websites, finding something versatile that was quick to deploy with minimal knowledge of code, was crucial.

There are a few platforms where you can share maps, and travel stories easily. Some of them are specifically built just for travel bloggers which are really awesome, as you can share your stories, connect, and log your trips a lot easier.

The most common website platforms were; WordPress, Wix, Blogger, Tumblr and Weebly, but I found more than 20 when I was looking.

Best travel blog

I decided to try 7 different travel blogging platforms.

What I did to test:   Made a post, engaged with some people, and tried to make a journey, story, trip or route to see how each one functions and their pros and cons.

Bloggers Platforms

  • Atameo (now Mapify)
  • Travellerspoint
  • Traveldiariesapp

Squarespace

Comparison table, travel blogging sites.

These sites were all the ones I could find that allowed you to create a travel blog, or allow you to write, upload images or create maps of your trips .

Free Travel Sites

The sites below are all travel platforms that you use to create a FREE travel blog. I tried all of them and my favorite way Atameo because of its ease of use.

Want your own beautiful travel website built by proffessionals? Click here to view our web design packages

Travellerspoint Review

Travellerspoint – Plan your Trip – Book your Stay – Share your experience

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Travellerspoint Pros

  • It has a big and active community already so you can interact with others.
  • It does everything that all the other platforms do.

Travellerspoint Con

  • The interface is a little older than others but not hindering.

Atameo Review

Atameo – It’s a travel blogging platform that is built to easily log your trips.

Atameo Pros

  • Can add photos and you are able to add trips to your blog.
  • Really nice to plan your trips.
  • You can’t create a page and it isn’t a very active community from what I can see.

Photler Review

Photler – a place to share your travel photos

Photler Pros

  • The system is nice and clean, almost beautiful.
  • The platform makes creating sites attractive & very easy.

Photler Cons

  • Pretty limited in terms of templates/themes.
  • Doesn’t have a lot of creative space
  • Requires payment

Triponto Review

Tripoto – Global Community for Travelers

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Triponto Pros

  • Can create posts and trips.
  • It’s fairly well established so it has a real community.

Triponto Cons

  • More focused on planning trips
  • Write-ups don’t seem to get as much attention.

Livenguide Review

Livenguide – Find a local Guide, search for a Tour, or become a Guide yourself.

Livenguide Pros

  • Able to book travels with members, as well as meet up with members from all over the world.
  • You can make money while meeting people and exploring countries.

Livenguide Con

  • Unable to translate posts and reviews that aren’t in English. Therefore limiting the guides you would be able to work with.
  • More about becoming a guide than a travel platform.

Jauntlet Review

Jauntlet – Tell stories of where you’ve been and share plans of where you will be.

Jauntlet Pros

  • You can log how far you’ve traveled as well as the days, which allows you to see who the most experienced travelers are.
  • You can allow friends to edit your blogs, adding more content and substance to your posts.

Jauntlet Cons

  • Site navigation could use some work.
  • Finding a person is pretty hard because the search criteria are for cities alone.

Traveldiariesapp Review

Traveldiariesapp – Create your own travel diary to capture and share your travel

Traveldiariesapp Pro

  • You can make long and detailed write-ups that are laid out in chapters, this gives the effect of reading a short, personal story.

Traveldiariesapp Cons

  • Unable to follow other writers (dairies).
  • All write-ups are also anonymous.
  • Unable to link to any other blogs or posts that you may have written.

Best Blogging Site to Start a Travel Blog

When starting a travel blog, the first thing most people try to figure out is which site or blogging site they are going to use to make it. There are many options out there, but in this day and age, there is only one winner, WordPress.

WordPress has long been recognized as the go-to platform for making your own website or blog. A lot of companies and businesses have started their websites on WordPress, and it is the platform of choice for almost every blogger across the globe.

If you have already decided to use WordPress, brilliant, if you are on the fence or have heard better recommendations for using other platforms, this post is for you. We will break down why WordPress is the best platform for your travel blog.

It is Free and Open Source

One of the biggest benefits of using WordPress is that it is free. You can use the basic platform and download plugins and themes for free. There are some more advanced themes and plugins that cost money, but for testing and trying out, it is completely free.

As well as being free, WordPress is open source. Open source meaning it is being constantly upgraded, improved and tested, and with hundreds of thousands of people across the globe specializing in WordPress, world-class support is only a click away.

Very Beginner Friendly

WordPress is designed to be used by anyone, and that means ANYONE. Whether you are a 55-year-old mom with zero blogging or CMS knowledge, or a 13-year-old wanting to start a blog on his favorite TV series, you can use WordPress with little to no problems.

WordPress does not require any coding knowledge to use or customize, if you want a new feature on your site, it is as simple as downloading and activating a plugin which will do all the complicated work for you.

WordPress can easily be called a drag-and-drop site, as most of the hard work is done automatically, and the most you have to do is input your information into the relevant box or drop-down, simple.

Themes and Plugins

One of the huge benefits of WordPress is that it allows third-party designers and programmers o upload their own themes and plugins, this means that their library for these aspects is enormous.

There is a theme that will suit any type of blog, blogger, and personality, and each is fully customizable. You can easily take a theme that has been downloaded 100 000 times and turn it into something completely unique.

The plugins are just as versatile. There is a plugin for absolutely everything you may want or need your blog to do or to look like. Whether you want your social media buttons on the bottom of the page, or to keep track of how many clicks you get between lunch and 2 pm on a Thursday, there is a plugin that will do it perfectly.

All these themes and plugins allow you to turn your site into an e-commerce store, a photography site, a hotel booking site, whatever you may need your website to do, you can customize it accordingly.

All these themes and plugins come with their own support system from the designers themselves, allowing you to have every query or question answered, as well as getting inside tips on how to fully utilize each theme or plugin.

Security Features

Considering WordPress is used to start important websites, blogs, and e-commerce stores that handle lots of money and contain a massive database of personal information, the site was designed with high security in mind from the get-go.

If you are still uneasy about security, there are many plugins that will add layer upon layer of security to your site to give you even more peace of mind. Security is not a problem with WordPress, and they ensure, with constant updates, that you are constantly protected.

Ranking in Search Engines

If you are making a blog for your business or company, you will most likely want it to be viewed and seen by as many people as possible. To do this on the internet, you need SEO to optimize your site to make it as search engine friendly as possible.

Once again, WordPress has these bases covered from the start. WordPress automatically ensures your website is fast and responsive and optimized for mobile platforms, keys for great SEO.

If this isn’t enough, there are a host of SEO plugins and tools you can install to ensure your SEO is always at its best. The best one on the market right now is Yoast SEO, which covers all the basic SEO bases as well as many more. Obviously, like most of WordPress, it is easy to use and understand.

Unparalleled Support

It has been mentioned numerous times just how easy WordPress is to use and how easy it is to set up a fully functioning website. There will, however, be sticking points that you just can’t fix, this is the WordPress community comes in.

WordPress has a massive support community that covers absolutely every aspect of the platform, and no matter what you are stuck on, there will be someone who can help you fix it.

WordPress have their own official support forums, online tutorials, and courses, support forums for each and every theme and plugin, as well as WordPress blogs, that go into every tiny detail of every aspect of the site.

WordPress is without a doubt the best platform for your travel blog or any blog for that matter. If you started reading this feeling unsure if it was the right option for you, it is clear that it is not only the right option but the only option too.

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Main Blogging Platforms Review

All of the platforms above can be used to start a blog, but the websites/platforms below are specifically designed for you to have more control and customization – which is really important down the line.

If you plan on monetizing your travel blog, I would recommend starting it on a platform that you have control over and own, such as the ones mentioned below.

Tumblr is a good option if you just want to share photos and videos in a very simple and easy-to-use form (lacks things like plugins and customization).

Much easier to use (no coding required, just drag & drop content around). Your website will be a lot less customizable when compared to using WordPress, as you can’t modify the codes to your website.

This platform doesn’t have a free plan really, so it’s hard to get properly acquainted with it or take the leap. It’s easier to use than some of the platforms but it lacks customization. There is also not that much back-end maintenance with this kind of platform.

Blogger is one of the simpler platforms and that’s why it is pretty popular. It’s a platform that many bloggers start out on, then maybe move onto a more customizable platform or something that suits your needs better.

WordPress – More flexibility and highly customizable. Requires ongoing maintenance, higher initial learning curve, and more likely to have a higher financial commitment over the long run. Costs are less predictable, depending on whether you need to hire developers.

Medium is great if you want to share stories with nice imagery and it’s one of the cleanest. But you cannot log trips or connect with fellow travelers on this platform as easily as you can on other platforms.

WordPress is by far the best, I have tried many platforms in my quest to build the best travel website or get links for SEO.

If you not very serious about your blog and its just to show people where you going and what you up to, then I recommend any of the above but If you plan on having a blog for an extended period I would recommend getting good WordPress hosting from Siteground  or any other host which allows you the easy install and setup.

I think all the platforms have their pros and cons. It is hard to say which one of them is the best. However, I will continue to use each platform to log some trips and see if one particularly stands out from the rest.

In the end, I went to WordPress to start my new travel blog.

What do you think?

Is there a platform that you are using that is working well for you, or have I missed something? Leave it in the comments 🙂

Matt G Davison

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10 Best (FREE) Website Builders for Travel Bloggers in 2024

Alexander Banerjee

Short on Time? These Are the Best Website Builders for Travel Bloggers in 2024

  • Wix – Largest selection of travel-related blog templates and full creative control.
  • SITE123 – Beginner-friendly editor with great blogging tools to get your site set up quickly.
  • Squarespace – Showcase your adventures with striking templates for visually-focused travel blogs.

See 3 More Great Options | Comparison Table

  • What We Look For in the Best Website Builders for Travel Bloggers
  • High-quality templates. These builders offer a selection of striking blog templates that will display your travel photos in all their glory and do it on any device – desktop, tablet, or mobile.
  • Ease-of-use. With these services, you don’t need to know how to code to build a stunning travel blog. All you have to do to customize the look and feel of your template is drag and drop or point and click.
  • Advanced blogging tools. Every builder on this list offers useful blogging features, from post scheduling and an RSS feed to social media sharing and comments.These tools can help you build a sense of community – and keep followers engaged.
  • Features to drive traffic. In addition to powerful built-in SEO tools that help your blog rank higher in search engine results, these builders offer additional social media and marketing features to boost visibility and grow your audience.
  • Mobile-friendly experience. I prioritized builders that offer mobile-friendly blogging, so you can post and manage comments while traveling.
  • 1. Wix: Best Templates and Features for Travel Blogging

Wix Travel Blog template

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  • Multimedia features. Easily add photos, videos, podcasts, and other multimedia content to create a more immersive experience for readers. Dynamic effects, including animations and transitions, add visual interest.
  • Manage your blog on the go. You can use the Wix Owner app (or log into your blog on your mobile) to write and edit posts and add videos, images, videos, or Gifs from wherever your travels take you.
  • Automatic notifications . Send automatic email or text notifications to your subscribers every time you create a new blog post.
  • Blog performance reports . Wix Analytics gives you in-depth insight into your blog’s activity. You can view metrics on how visitors interact with your blog posts (views, shares, likes, comments), learn which are the most popular posts, and see activity for specific timeframes and time of day.
  • 2. SITE123: Best for Getting a Travel Blog Online Fast

SITE123 Wildlife Explorer blog template

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  • Royalty-free image library. SITE123 gives you access to hundreds of free images and videos you can use to add visual interest to your blog posts.
  • Automatic site translation. When you upgrade to a paid plan, SITE123 will automatically translate your blog content into multiple languages, making it easier to connect with international travelers.
  • Exceptional support. Helpful live chat support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • Affiliate marketing. As your audience grows, you may want to consider affiliate marketing with SITE123 to make money with your travel blog.

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  • 3. Squarespace: Best for Image-Focused Travel Blogs

Squarespace Rivoli template

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  • Flexible blog layouts. Enhance your blog’s pages with attractive gallery layouts, including masonry, simple grid, single column, side by side, and alternating side by side. To add visuals effects, simply toggle options like fade in, slide in, or glide in and then set the speed.
  • Make money blogging. Turn your blog into a profit center with paid newsletters, podcasts, travel videos, and exclusive content.
  • Social tools and integrations. Easily create stylish social content to boost your blog’s visibility with the Unfold app to gain more loyal readers. Other features allow you to automatically sync content on your blog and social media platforms.
  • Useful analytics. Visual reports provide insight into your website’s traffic and visitors’ behavior. You’ll also learn which posts draw the most interest and reader interaction.
  • 4. Webador: Easiest Builder for New Travel Bloggers

Webador Explorer travel blog template

  • Stock photos. Choose from over 100,000 free and royalty-free images you can add to your blog, including high-resolution photos. Search by pre-set categories, enter a subject in the search bar, or filter by resolution.
  • Unlimited blog pages. You can organize posts by trip or topic on individual pages and nest these sub-pages in a drop-down menu, making it easy for visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for. There’s no limit on the number of pages you can add.
  • Code-free embeds. Expand your blog’s appeal by linking to other website content, such as a hotel you recommend, a specific attraction you’ve visited, or another highlight of your journey.
  • Multilingual travel blog. You can make your blog available in more than one language when you upgrade to a paid plan.There’s a small fee for each language you add.
  • 5. IONOS: Simple, Budget-Friendly Builder

IONOS Travel template

  • Automated ad campaigns. When you’re ready to start selling IONOS will help you design Google AdWords marketing campaigns to promote your blog. There’s a small monthly fee.
  • Tools to master SEO. When you sign up for rankingCoach, you will receive text and video tutorials that will guide you through the process of optimizing your blog’s SEO. The IONOS rankingCoach tool will also provide you with personalized tips on how to enhance your site’s search engine ranking.
  • Free favicon and logo. IONOS’s handy AI tools let you design a favicon or a personalized logo for your travel blog. Put them on your blog and social profiles to boost your brand’s awareness.
  • Personal support consultant. If you have a design question or need help with your website, simply contact your dedicated customer service agent for personalized support.
  • 6. WordPress.com: Best For Organizing Lots of Blog Posts

WordPress Meraki travel blog theme

  • Shortcode blocks. Shortcode blocks let you paste a simple line of code to embed widgets on your page, which is especially helpful for integrating third-party tools. For example, your email marketing platform can give you a shortcode that creates a sign-up form on your blog.
  • Social sharing features. WordPress will automatically send new posts to your social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Tumblr) when you set up social updates. You can also allow your readers to share your content on their own social media accounts to further boost your blog’s visibility.
  • Mobile app. With the Jetpack mobile app for IOS and Android you can create posts, upload images, and add pages to your site from wherever your travels take you.
  • Content ownership and portability. With WordPress, your blog’s content is yours so you can easily export your site to another platform if you decide to switch.
  • Other Notable Website Builders for Travel Bloggers

Shopify's 'enterprise' template

10. Hostinger Website Builder

Hostinger's 'Kodah' blog template

  • Choose the Best Free Website Builder for Your Travel Blog

Which website builder is best for travel blogging?

How do i create a travel blog for free, can i make money with a travel blog, what’s the easiest way to create a travel blog.

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The Best Inspiring Travel Blog Examples For Students

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Are you dreaming of exploring new horizons and sharing your adventures with the world? Look no further! Discover the best inspiring travel blog examples tailored for students like you.

Whether you’re itching to write, travel, or start your own blog, these examples are your perfect guide to embarking on an unforgettable journey. Dive in and let your wanderlust and creativity soar! But before;

Why are travel blogs particularly inspiring for students? Travel blogs offer a unique blend of adventure, cultural insights, and personal growth, making them ideal sources of inspiration for students. They provide practical tips and firsthand experiences that can ignite a student’s desire to explore and learn beyond the classroom.

How can students benefit from writing their own travel blog? Writing a travel blog allows students to develop valuable skills like writing, digital marketing, and photography. It’s a creative outlet that documents their journeys and reflections, enhancing their learning and potentially connecting them with a global audience.

What should students consider when starting their travel blog? Students should focus on their unique perspective and interests, choosing themes that resonate with their experiences. Important considerations include defining their target audience, ensuring consistent content, and leveraging social media for wider reach and engagement.

See >> Generate a travel blog with AI AI tool that will generate tailored content & images

What Are the Best Travel Blog Website Examples for Students to Get Inspired From?

Blog example 1. salt in our hair blog.

Salt in Our Hair Homepage: Travel Blog Examples For Students

Salt in Our Hair is a travel blog created by Nick and Hannah, a Dutch couple who started posting about their travels on Instagram during their first backpacking trip in 2015. The blog features travel guides, digital nomad resources, and sustainable travel tips. Here are three relevant points about what makes this blog special for students:

  • Travel Guides : Salt in Our Hair provides detailed travel guides for various destinations around the world, which can be helpful for students planning trips or studying abroad.
  • Sustainable Travel Tips : The blog also offers tips for sustainable travel, which can be important for students who want to reduce their environmental impact while traveling.
  • Digital Nomad Resources : For students who are interested in working remotely while traveling, Salt in Our Hair provides resources and tips for becoming a digital nomad.

Overall, Salt in Our Hair is a great resource for students who are interested in travel and want to learn more about sustainable travel, working remotely, and exploring new destinations.

Blog Example 2. The Blonde Abroad Blog

The Blonde Abroad Homepage: Best Travel Blog Examples For Students

The Blonde Abroad is a popular travel and lifestyle blog featuring travel tips, fashion, food, and photography from around the world. The blog is run by Kiersten, a California native who left her career in corporate finance to explore the world. Here are some relevant points for students about TheBlondeAbroad:

  • Travel for Free : The blog features an article on how to use travel reward credit cards to book free flights and hotels around the world. This could be useful for students who want to travel on a budget.
  • Starting a Blog : The blog also has an article on how to start a successful travel blog. This could be helpful for students who are interested in starting their own blog.
  • Lessons Learned : Kiersten has written an article on 20 things she wishes she knew before starting a blog. This could be useful for students who are interested in blogging or want to learn from Kiersten’s experience.

Blog Example 3. Be My Travel Muse Blog

Be My Travel Muse Homepage

Be My Travel Muse is a solo female travel blog by Kristin Addis, who has been traveling for over five years. The blog includes packing tips, adventures, and comprehensive guides.

  • The blog is especially useful for students who are interested in solo female travel.
  • The blog provides tips and advice on how to travel safely and confidently as a solo female traveler.
  • It also includes information on budget travel, which can be helpful for students who are traveling on a tight budget.
  • Additionally, the blog features guest posts from other travelers, which can provide a variety of perspectives and travel experiences.

Overall, Be My Travel Muse is a great resource for students who are interested in solo female travel and want to learn more about how to travel safely and on a budget.

[See: Convert a website to WordPress with AI Insert a URL to recreate its layout with AI ]

Blog Example 4. Nomadic Matt Blog

Nomadic Matt Homepage

Nomadic Matt ‘s blog is a travel website that provides tips and advice on how to travel better, cheaper, and smarter so that people can explore the world on a budget. The blog is especially useful for students who want to travel but have limited budgets. Here are three relevant points about the blog:

  • Budget Advice : Nomadic Matt’s blog is known for providing the best budget advice out there. The website has been featured in major media time and time again because of this. The blog provides tips on how to find cheap flights, cheap accommodation, and how to save money while traveling.
  • Travel Planning : The blog provides a step-by-step guide on how to plan a trip, including how to choose a backpack, how to buy travel insurance, and how to pick the right travel credit card. It also provides a packing guide and tips for new travelers.
  • Destination Guides : The blog provides destination guides for various locations around the world. It includes information on where to stay, what to do, and how to get around. The blog also provides solo female travel tips, family and senior travel tips, and school group tours.

Overall, Nomadic Matt’s blog is a great resource for students who want to travel on a budget. It provides practical advice on how to save money while traveling and how to plan a trip. The blog also provides destination guides for various locations around the world.

Blog Example 5. Goats on the Road Blog

Goats on the Road Homepage

Goats on the Road is a travel blog that aims to help people turn travel into a lifestyle. The blog provides tips on how to prepare and save for travel, and teaches ways to work remotely so that people can travel indefinitely.

While the blog does not have a specific section for students, there are some articles that may be helpful for students who are interested in traveling. Here are some relevant points about Goatsontheroad:

  • Plan Your Travels : Goats on the Road has a section that provides everything you need to know about planning for your next big trip around the world. This section includes articles on how to choose a destination, how to create a travel budget, and how to find cheap flights.
  • Be a Digital Nomad : For students who are interested in working remotely while traveling, Goats on the Road has detailed city guides to the best destinations for digital nomads. The blog also provides tools and advice for starting out as a digital nomad.
  • Work Remotely : Goats on the Road has a section that lists jobs that give people the freedom to work from anywhere, including their home, an RV, a cafe, or the beach. This section includes articles on how to find remote jobs, how to create a remote work schedule, and how to stay productive while working remotely.

Blog Example 6. Two Monkeys Travel Blog

Two Monkeys Travel Homepage

Two Monkeys Travel Group is a travel blog that focuses on luxury and adventure travel. The blog covers a wide range of topics related to travel, including visa applications for Filipinos.

The blog also features travel tips, inspiration, and DIY travel guides, from luxury to backpacker travel.

  • Students who are interested in travel may find the blog’s content useful for planning trips and getting inspiration for their travels.
  • The blog covers a wide range of topics related to travel, including budget travel, adventure travel, and luxury travel, which may be of interest to students with different travel preferences.
  • Additionally, the blog’s focus on visa applications for Filipinos may be helpful for Filipino students who are planning to travel abroad.

Blog Example 7. Places of Juma Blog

Places of Juma Homepage: Best Travel Blog Examples For Students

PlacesofJuma is a travel blog that provides travel guides and travel information for various destinations, including Croatia, Istria, Rovinj, Pula, Porec, Umag, Medulin, Novigrad, Rabac, Kvarner Bay, Opatija, Crikvenica, Rijeka, Selce, Senj, and more.

The blog offers insights into the best places to go on vacation, including medieval architecture, main attractions, and beautiful places in Edinburgh. PlacesofJuma has been recognized as one of the best travel blogs of 2023.

The blog is an excellent resource for students who are interested in traveling and exploring new destinations.

  • Travel blogs like PlacesofJuma provide invaluable resources for anyone who wants to travel, offering tips, insights, recommendations, and personal experiences while traveling.
  • Students can use these resources to plan their trips, learn about different cultures, and enrich their learning experience.
  • PlacesofJuma’s Instagram account also provides travel inspiration and ideas for students who are interested in exploring new destinations.

Overall, PlacesofJuma is an excellent travel blog that provides valuable information and insights for students who are interested in traveling and exploring new destinations.

Blog Example 8. Expert Vagabond Blog

Expert Vagabond Homepage

Expert Vagabond is a popular adventure travel and photography blog created by Matthew Karsten The blog features inspirational stories, photography, and budget travel tips from around the world.

The blog is a great resource for students who are interested in adventure travel and want to learn more about budget travel.

  • The blog provides useful travel tips and experiences from around the world, which can help students plan their own trips.
  • The blog also features fun YouTube videos and inspiring travel photography, which can be a great source of inspiration for students who are interested in photography or videography.
  • Additionally, the blog provides advice on the digital nomad lifestyle, which can be helpful for students who are interested in working remotely while traveling.

Overall, Expert Vagabond is a great resource for students who are interested in adventure travel, budget travel, and the digital nomad lifestyle.

Blog Example 9. World of Wanderlust Blog

World of Wanderlust Homepage

World of Wanderlust is a solo female travel blog that follows Brooke Saward around the world. The blog offers a variety of travel-related content, including packing guides, destination recommendations, and tips for solo female travel. Here are three relevant points for students about the blog:

  • Travel after a break-up : World of Wanderlust offers advice for those who want to travel after a break-up. This can be a great way for students to take a break from their studies and explore the world while healing from a difficult experience.
  • 20 Places in your 20s : The blog has a section dedicated to travel destinations for people in their 20s. This can be a helpful resource for students who are looking for travel ideas that are appropriate for their age group.
  • How to travel the world and get paid : World of Wanderlust has a post that explains how Brooke Saward was able to travel the world and get paid for it. This can be an inspiring read for students who are interested in pursuing a career in travel blogging or who want to learn how to make money while traveling.

Best Travel Blog Themes for Students

6 wordpress blog themes for students

Top student travel blog WordPress themes are:

  • Gowilds theme
  • Surround theme
  • Tonsberg – Travel Blog Theme
  • Maaya Blog – Travel Blog, Personal Blog
  • Piemont – Travel & Lifestyle WordPress Blog theme
  • Ofelia – Travel Personal WordPress Blog Theme
  • Springbook – Blog Travel Photography WP Theme
  • Thype | Personal Blog & Travel WordPress Theme

1. Gowilds theme

Gowilds theme for WP

Gowilds – Tour Booking WordPress Theme. It is a complete WordPress theme built for the tourism sector and is ideal for tour operators and travel agents specializing in day tours, tour packages, vacations, hiking and camping, city tours, cruise packages, etc.

  • The theme has its own powerful theme control panel with useful options and tools to manage the site.
  • It applies the latest web technologies such as Bootstrap 5, SASS, HTML5, CSS3, and Font Awesome.
  • The theme has features such as 4 Home Page Demo, Header Builder with Elementor, Footer Builder with Elementor, Page Layout with Elementor Page Builder, and Elementor Plugin Integration.
  • It also includes a one-click demo import, frontend dashboard page, calendar and tour price, gallery tour, comment and rating tour, and travel destination page design.
  • The theme is fully responsive and comes with the Elementor Page Builder, WooCommerce shop setup and products, and WPML support.
  • The theme is powered by Redux framework, which brings unlimited color and Google fonts options.
  • The theme is compatible with third-party plugins such as Elementor Page Builder, BA Book Everything, Slider Revolution, WooCommerce, Contact Form 7, and MailChimp for WP.
  • The theme is child theme compatible and includes basic child theme.
  • The theme has detailed documentation and extensive video guides on how to set up and customize the theme.

2. Surround theme

Surround theme for WP

“Surround Vlog & Blog” is a designed theme for micro niches and includes features such as a responsive and retina-ready layout, SEO optimization, cross-browser compatibility, and various layouts for blog pages and posts.

It also includes plugins such as a page builder, world map, and reviewer plugin, as well as shortcodes for various elements.

The theme is compatible with WooCommerce and various other plugins

>> Clone any travel blog with AI Insert a URL to recreate its layout with AI

How to make a travel blog as a student.. the simplest way and tools

Creating a travel blog as a student can be a rewarding experience, allowing you to document your journeys, share insights, and even build a portfolio for future opportunities. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to get started, along with some recommended tools:

1. Define Your Niche and Purpose

  • Why : Understand why you want to start a blog. Is it to document personal experiences, share tips, or build a portfolio?
  • Niche : Decide on a specific focus, e.g., budget travels, study abroad experiences, local explorations, etc.

2. Choose a Blogging Platform

  • WordPress : The most popular blogging platform. It’s flexible, customizable, and has a vast array of plugins.
  • Blogger : A free and straightforward platform by Google. Less customizable than WordPress but very user-friendly.
  • Medium : A platform that allows you to write and publish without worrying about design or hosting.

3. Pick a Domain Name

  • Namecheap or GoDaddy : Platforms where you can purchase and register a domain name.
  • Tip : Choose a name that’s memorable, relevant to travel, and resonates with your student identity.

4. Select a Hosting Provider (if using WordPress)

  • Bluehost or SiteGround : Affordable and reliable hosting providers with excellent customer support.

5. Design Your Blog

  • Themes : Both WordPress and Blogger offer free and premium themes from Elegant Themes or Envato for WordPress . Choose one that’s responsive (mobile-friendly) and visually appealing.
  • Customization : Adjust colors, fonts, and layout to match your style.

6. Start Writing!

  • Content Ideas : Share personal travel stories, tips for traveling on a budget, cultural experiences, academic insights from travels, etc.
  • Images : Use your own photos or free stock images from sites like Unsplash or Pexels .

7. Grow Audience

  • Comments : Enable comments on your posts to interact with readers.
  • Social Media : Create profiles/pages for your blog on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter to share updates and engage with followers.

8. Optimize for Search Engines (SEO)

  • Yoast SEO : A WordPress plugin that provides real-time feedback on your content’s SEO.
  • Keyword Research : Use tools like Semrush , Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to find relevant keywords.

9. Stay Consistent

  • Posting Schedule : Decide on a posting frequency (e.g., once a week, bi-weekly) and stick to it.
  • Content Calendar : Plan your posts in advance to maintain consistency.

10. Network and Collaborate

  • Guest Posts : Write for other student blogs or invite fellow student travelers to write for yours.
  • Join Communities : Engage in student travel forums, Facebook groups, or other online communities.

Tools to Consider:

  • Grammarly : For grammar and spell-check.
  • Canva : For creating graphics, banners, and blog post images.
  • Trello or Asana : For content planning and organization.
  • Google Analytics : To track your blog’s traffic and audience behavior.

Remember, the key to a successful blog is passion and consistency. As a student, you have a unique perspective, so embrace it and share your journey with the world!

How to blog about travel as a student: best tips and ideas

Blogging about travel as a student can be an exciting and rewarding endeavor. Not only does it allow you to document your adventures and share them with others, but it can also help you develop valuable skills in writing, photography, and digital marketing. Here are some tips and ideas to get you started:

1. Start with Why:

  • Purpose: Determine why you want to blog. Is it to document your journeys, share tips with other students, or perhaps even turn it into a potential career?
  • Niche: As a student, you have a unique perspective. Maybe you’re traveling on a budget, studying abroad, or exploring places during breaks. Find your niche and stick to it.

2. Budget-Friendly Travel:

  • Share tips on how to travel on a student budget.
  • Discuss student discounts, cheap accommodations like hostels or couchsurfing, and affordable transportation options.

3. Study Abroad Experiences:

  • If you’re studying abroad, share your experiences, challenges, and learnings.
  • Offer advice for students considering a similar program.

4. Local Adventures:

  • You don’t have to go far to have an adventure. Explore your college town or nearby areas and write about them.

5. Document Your Journey:

  • Use photos, videos, and journal entries. Remember, it’s not just about the destination but also about the journey.

6. Collaborate:

  • Team up with fellow student travelers or bloggers to share stories, guest post, or even start a joint blog.

7. Practical Tips:

  • Share packing lists, visa application processes, or how to balance travel with studies.

8. Engage with Your Audience:

  • Respond to comments, ask for feedback, and encourage readers to share their own experiences.

9. Be Authentic:

  • Share both the highs and the lows. Not every travel experience is perfect, and your readers will appreciate your honesty.

10. Learn SEO and Digital Marketing:

  • If you want to grow your audience, it’s essential to understand the basics of search engine optimization and digital marketing.

11. Consistency is Key:

  • Try to maintain a regular posting schedule, whether it’s once a week, bi-weekly, or even once a month.

12. Monetization:

  • As your blog grows, consider monetizing through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, or selling digital products like e-books or courses.

13. Invest in Good Equipment:

  • A good camera, microphone (for podcasts or vlogs), and reliable hosting can make a difference in the quality of your content.

14. Attend Travel Blogging Conferences:

  • This can help you network, learn from seasoned bloggers, and get insights into the latest trends.

15. Stay Updated:

  • The world of travel is always evolving. Stay updated with the latest travel news, restrictions, and trends.

16. Personal Growth:

  • Share how traveling has impacted your personal growth, understanding of cultures, and worldviews.

17. Courses & Workshops:

  • Consider taking courses or workshops on writing, photography, or videography to enhance the quality of your content.

18. Backup Your Content:

  • Always have backups of your writings, photos, and videos. You never know when technical issues might arise.

19. Stay Safe:

  • Always prioritize your safety. Share safety tips and resources for other student travelers.

20. Enjoy the Process:

  • Remember, blogging is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the process of writing, exploring, and connecting with your audience.

Starting a travel blog as a student can be a fulfilling experience. It allows you to share your unique perspective, connect with like-minded individuals, and even open doors to potential career opportunities in the future. Happy blogging!

See >> Create a new blog with AI AI tool that will generate tailored content & images ]

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simple travel blog

How To Start a Travel Blog in 6 Easy Steps

Y aaaay! I am so happy that you are ready to start your own travel blog and that want to share your adventures with everyone out there! Keep in mind that there are millions of other blogs out there so to start your journey out in the right direction, we have wrote our six easy tips to help you grow your travel blog from the first day. In this guide we will be sharing step by step how to start your own travel blog.

Step by step on how to start a blog:

1. choose a website name.

Like any business it is important to find the right name for your travel blog. The name has to go with what you are selling, in this case your adventures and your style of travel. In today’s world, a name is not just a name, it needs to be catchy, something people will remember and is easy enough to type without mistakes.

You need to make sure you can not only buy the domain but acquire all appropriate social media handles as well. We use Namechk , to quickly check the availability of domains and social media handles. This makes the brainstorming session harder but in the end it will be worth it. You will have a good idea of what your brand is and the perfect name to represent it.

Before you run out and buy a domain ask your friends and family what they think when you say the name out loud. This will help you understand if the name has the meaning you are trying to portray to your potential audience. What sounds good in your head does not always work for the masses.

2. Buy a domain and a web hosting

The next step after finding the perfect name and verifying that you can get the same handle for your social media channels is to buy your hosting and domain.

If you want to truly become a blogger from the start I strongly recommend to start with a self-hosted website and avoid programs like Wix or Blogger. They might be free and easier to set up in the beginning but in the end the capabilities are limited and when you would like to upgrade the cost way more expensive than hosting your website yourself. If you do start using this programs remember that if you decided to migrate the site later it will be a hassle and in few words you might have to rebuild the entire website.

My recommendation when people want to buy their hosting or domain name, I suggest Blue Host or Namecheap . I have worked with both in the past because of the low prices, quality support centers, and their Cpanel (the dashbord behind the scene of your site) are super easy to figure out. The sign up process is simple and easy, with great hosting packages that can grown with your website.

3. Install WordPress and choose a theme

Once you are done purchasing your domain and hosting, it is time to visit the Cpanel. You will receive an email with all this important information from the hosting company you chose. Once you are in the dashboard go to the tab that says “Website Builders” or that has the WordPress logo.

The initial installation process is quick and we recommend everyone build their website in WordPress. After you install WordPress, you will be redirected to your site’s dashboard ( www.yourblog.com/wp-admin ) where you enter your username and password to log in. From here on out this is where the magic of building your website takes place.

Before choosing a theme, make sure you have an idea on the look you want your website to have, as there are hundreds of free and paid themes to chose from. We know some HTML and CSS so it is easier for us to customize our website to our needs, but if you are a new website owner it is easier and faster to purchase a $50 theme with simple customization options.

There are so many different options on where you can find both paid and free themes. Some of our favorites are  Theme Forest , Elegant Themes , Free WordPress Theme , and even in the theme section on your dashboard by going to Appearance -> Theme there is an option where you can search for themes and select different options that you want your site to have.

Do not rush this process and actually take your time looking for a theme that makes you happy, fits your brand and that will be mobile responsive. You do not want to spend the time customizing your site only to want to rebuild it in a few months. Once you found or bought your theme go to Appearance > Themes > Add New to install it.

Now comes the fun part of building up your website, customizing the colors and look to have the perfect website. If this is your first website, it is important to remember that this design process is a journey and will require some tweaks after your website is up and running.

4. Produce content for your site

It would not be a good travel website without content, so it is time to get writing. Before you just start writing whatever comes to mind, do a lot of research. Go and see what other successful bloggers in your niche are doing and try to adapt ideas to your own site. Never copy but try to adapt good ideas into your travel site. Remember that some travel bloggers been around for over a dozen years and that they have done a lot of testing until they found what worked, so why not using this useful information.

One of the things that we have realized after our years as travel writers is that a personal website does way better than a business looking one. People want to follow someones journey, hardships and wins, otherwise they would just be on Tripadvisor building a list. Make it easier for new visitors to your travel site to find  content and learn what you are all about.

When writing a travel blog you need to be aware that there are countless website sharing something similar to you, which is why your content has to be genuine, truthful and with an added value. Do not write content for the sake of having more blog posts. Actually take your time to write a piece of content that you think people will be interested in and that will add value to them. You want to build an idea that your audience wants to share with their friends.

Keep in mind that this is a loop and you have to produce fresh content every week. There is no end to content production on a travel website, which is good because it forces you to travel more often if you run out of ideas to write about.

5. Share your content on social media

Remember we mentioned to make sure you can get the same social handles as your travel website before buying the domain? People remember your name and if they love your content they will find you everywhere. But if you have different names on different social media accounts, the search becomes more difficult, losing some audience members along the way.

Social media is the perfect place to share your content with your friends, family and audience to remind them that something new is on your site! The more you interact with your audience on social media the more traffic you could bring to your site. However, with Instagram is a little bit harder to get your community to visit your blog as you can have one link in your bio and the swipe up feature in stories.

6. Get your name and brand out there

Now that you have a solid work ethic and content creation strategy in place, it is time to expand you audience to new heights. Reach out to fellow travel bloggers, travel related companies and even news sites about writing guest posts or by getting yourself interviewed. As you increase your name out there and get more people to know you exist, the more your travel website and community can grow.

Yaaaay! I am so happy that you are ready to start your own travel blog and that want to share your adventures with everyone out there! Keep in mind that there are millions of other blogs out there so to start your journey out in the right direction, we have wrote our six easy tips …

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Discover top guides, trends, tips and expertise from AIO Writers

Explore with Google’s Travel AI Tools for Easy Trip Planning

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Julia McCoy

Google's new travel AI tools

Hitting the road has become a breeze, all thanks to Google’s newest trick up its sleeve. With the introduction of Google’s Travel AI Tools , gone are the days of juggling between countless tabs to plan a single trip. Whether you’re an independent adventurer or planning for the family, these tools promise not only to streamline your journey but also bring forth options you hadn’t even considered. Imagine having a personal assistant that knows the ins and outs of travel locations worldwide, equipped with real-time booking data and expanded business profile details at its fingertips.

Table of Contents:

The role of ai in streamlining travel planning, understanding search generative experience (sge), ai-powered trip itineraries in search, dynamic and efficient planning with sge, customizable lists and recommendations in google maps, exploring hidden gem restaurants with ai, real-time booking data integration, expanded business profile details, is there an ai tool to make a travel itinerary, is there a google travel app, what is google ai tool, how ai is used in the travel industry, unveiling google’s ai tools for travel planning.

Google’s AI is revolutionizing the way we plan our trips. Say goodbye to the hassle of sifting through countless websites and hello to a streamlined, personalized travel planning experience.

The latest trick up the search giant’s sleeve, dubbed the Search Generative Experience (SGE), is shaking things up in a big way. It’s like having your own personal travel concierge, ready to help you plan the trip of your dreams.

Gone are the days of spending hours researching destinations, flights, and accommodations. With Google’s AI-powered tools, you can sit back and let the technology do the heavy lifting.

Imagine being able to simply tell Google your preferences and budget, and within seconds, you have a curated list of options tailored just for you. That’s the power of AI in action.

So, what exactly is SGE? It’s Google’s new AI-driven search experience that’s set to transform the way we plan our travels.

SGE uses advanced natural language processing and machine learning to understand your unique needs and preferences. It then generates personalized recommendations and itineraries, taking the guesswork out of travel planning.

Enhancing Travel Itinerary with Google’s AI

Picture this: you’re dreaming of a trip to Italy, but you have no idea where to start. That’s where Google’s AI comes in. With just a few clicks, you can have a fully customized itinerary, complete with flights, hotels, and must-see attractions.

And the best part? Everything boils down to what tickles your fancy and catches your eye. No more generic, one-size-fits-all travel plans.

Source: TechCrunch

Google’s AI-powered trip itineraries are a traveler’s dream come true. Simply search for your desired destination, and SGE will generate a personalized itinerary based on your preferences, budget, and travel style.

From finding the best flights and accommodations to recommending hidden gems and off-the-beaten-path experiences, Google’s AI has got you covered. It’s like having a local expert guiding you every step of the way.

One of the coolest perks of using SGE is how it turns the chore of planning trips into something quick and fun. No more spending hours comparing prices and reading reviews.

With real-time data and AI-powered insights, SGE can help you find the best deals and make informed decisions quickly. It’s all about maximizing your time and budget, so you can focus on what really matters – enjoying your trip.

Personalized Travel Experiences Through Google’s AI

Google’s AI isn’t just about making travel planning easier; it’s also about creating personalized, unforgettable experiences. From customizable lists to hidden gem recommendations, Google’s AI is your key to unlocking the best of every destination.

Google Maps is getting an AI-powered upgrade, too. You can now create customizable lists of places you want to visit, complete with AI-generated recommendations based on your interests.

So, if you’re all about discovering those hidden gems in the culinary world or itching for adventures that take you away from the usual tourist spots, trust me, Google’s AI has your back. It’s like having a personalized guidebook in the palm of your hand.

One of the most exciting features of Google’s AI is its ability to help you discover hidden gem restaurants. No more relying on generic tourist traps or outdated guidebooks.

With AI-powered recommendations based on local insights and user reviews, you can experience the best of every destination’s culinary scene. Buckle up for a wild ride of flavors and unforgettable moments, all brought to you by the magic of Google’s AI.

Google’s New Additions to SGE for Enhanced Travel Information

Google isn’t stopping at just personalized itineraries and recommendations. They’re constantly adding new features to SGE to make travel planning even more seamless and informative.

One of the latest additions to SGE is real-time booking data integration. This means that you can now see up-to-date information on flight prices, hotel availability, and more, all within the SGE interface.

No more switching between multiple tabs and websites to compare prices and make bookings. With SGE, everything you need is in one place, making travel planning a breeze.

Google is also expanding the information available in business profiles, giving you even more insights into the places you’re considering visiting. From detailed descriptions to user-generated photos and reviews, you’ll have all the information you need to make informed decisions.

By tapping into the power of AI to analyze all this data, SGE can dish out even more customized tips and insights just for you. It’s all about helping you create the perfect trip, tailored just for you.

Google’s AI tools are changing the travel game, making trip planning a breeze. Just say what you want, and get personalized options in seconds.

Dreaming of Italy? Google’s AI crafts your perfect itinerary with just a few clicks, based on what you love.

SGE takes out the guesswork – giving tailored recommendations for flights, hotels, and hidden gems that fit your style and budget.

No more endless searching or second-guessing. SGE uses real-time data to find top deals fast, letting you focus on enjoying your adventure.

From customizable maps lists to discovering local dining secrets with AI help – it’s like having a personal guide at every step.

New SGE features include up-to-the-minute booking info and expanded business profiles for smarter decisions and seamless planning.

FAQs in Relation to Google’s Travel Ai Tools

Yes, Google’s Search Generative Experience helps craft personalized travel itineraries by understanding your preferences and needs.

No direct app exists, but Google integrates its travel features across Maps, Flights, and the Search Generative Experience.

Google’s AI tools span various applications, including language processing in Search and route optimization in Maps for better user experiences.

In the travel sector, AI powers personalization engines for recommendations, optimizes routes in real-time maps services. It also enhances customer service through chatbots.

So there we have it – a closer look into how Google’s Travel AI Tools are reshaping our approach to travel planning. It’s not about replacing human touch; rather, it enhances our experiences by filtering out noise and bringing forward what truly matters – memorable journeys made easy. From offering dynamic itinerary creation capabilities down to uncovering hidden gem restaurants along your route, this suite of tools quietly revolutionizes how we explore new horizons.

This isn’t some far-off dream cooked up in sci-fi movies; it’s here now making everyday adventures smoother and smarter than ever before.

In essence, as we move forward embracing technology like never before in our travels,

  • The horizon looks promising,
  • The road less traveled seems welcoming,

All while Google stands behind us like an old friend ready with helpful tips anytime we need them.

Written by Julia McCoy

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Money blog: Big drop in energy bills on way in summer; government urged to let some Britons retire early

A respected pension expert has called for an end to the triple lock - and for some people to get their pensions earlier. Read this and more in the Money blog - your place for consumer and personal finance news. You can leave a comment on anything we've covered in the form below.

Thursday 28 March 2024 20:33, UK

  • 'Outrageous': Should the youngest British workers really be paid less?
  • Government urged to drop triple lock - but let some Britons retire earlier
  • Energy bills predicted to drop this summer
  • Eight things that are going up in price next week - and six major boosts to Britons' pockets
  • Free childcare about to be extended - here's all the support on offer to parents of young children
  • ISA deadline approaching - here's what you need to know
  • Tap here to follow the Ian King Business Podcast wherever you get your podcasts

Ask a question or make a comment

We'll be back with our Weekend Money features on Saturday - and will return with live consumer and personal finance updates after the Easter weekend on Tuesday.

For those who've got time off, enjoy - and thanks for following along.

By James Sillars , business reporter

High margins for fuel retailers may mean drivers are still paying over the odds at the pump, according to the competition regulator.

In a monitoring report, following its fuel market study of 2022, the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) said fuel margins - the difference between what retailers pay for their fuel and the price they sell it at - remained "concerning".

The regulator said supermarket margins, which had stood at 4% in 2017, rose to 7.8% in 2023.

Other retailers, it said, saw their margins hit 9.1% last year.

This was "not a good sign for drivers", the CMA said, though it stopped short of openly declaring that they were being overcharged.

Lobby groups representing both the supermarkets and independent retailers, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) respectively, have consistently denied ripping drivers off.

Read more on this story here ... 

By Victoria Seabrook , climate reporter 

Emissions of climate-heating gases from the UK continued to fall last year.

That's good news for the climate, and reinforces the fact UK has cut emissions faster than any other G20 country - by 53% since 1990.

But the reasons aren't entirely good.

While most of the fall last year was down to the UK burning less gas for electricity because it imported more from France, a large chunk was due to homes and businesses cutting back on electricity amid soaring prices.

Budgets were also "squeezed" by high interest rates, inflation and mortgages, said Glenn Rickson, who analyses the UK power sector for S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Read more on this story here ...

More than 600 Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport will go on a four-day strike from 11 April, the last weekend of the Easter school break, their union has announced.

The officers, who carry out immigration controls and passport checks, have voted to take strike action over a new roster and changes to their shift pattern. 

The PCS union has warned the changes could see 250 members of staff lose their jobs by the end of April.

"Ministers have 14 days to withdraw these unfair and unnecessary proposals or our members at Heathrow will take strike action," Fran Heathcote, its general secretary, said.

"Ripping up flexible working arrangements is no way to treat staff especially as the government says their work is critical to our nation's security." 

Read more on this story here :

Respected energy consultants Cornwall Insight have predicted the typical household's energy bill will fall to £1,560 a year from July. 

That's more than £100 less than the price cap that comes into force on Monday, which is set at £1,690 a year. 

However, the leading market researcher's latest prediction is around 7% higher than its previous forecast from around a month ago.

Ofgem changes the price cap every three months based on several factors, the most important of which is the price of energy on wholesale markets.

Wholesale prices recently hit their lowest point for a quarter of a decade, but have risen slightly in recent weeks.

The price cap does not limit a household's total bills - the figures provided are just for an average-use household.

Cornwall Insight also predicts the price cap will rise slightly from the July figure to £1,631 in October. 

"With wholesale prices hitting a two-and-a-half-year low, it was only a matter of time before a slight rise occurred as the market stabilises," Dr Craig Lowrey, its principal consultant, said.

"While no household will want to see forecasts rising, it's important to recognise that these do still represent a fall from the new cap coming in from April, itself a large drop." 

Uswitch has said the prediction is "another step in the right direction" for households. 

Energy expert Will Owen said: "Energy prices are forecast to rise into autumn and winter, so for the many households wanting price certainty, now is a good time to consider fixing.

"We're increasingly seeing suppliers offer better value deals, but Ofgem’s steps to reform the price cap must encourage more innovation from suppliers and bring back competition on price and customer service." 

Elon Musk has announced further changes to social media platform X that will see certain accounts get premium features for free.

The tech billionaire, writing on the platform formerly known as Twitter, said all accounts with more than 2,500 verified subscriber followers would be able to access features that usually cost $8 (£6.30) a month.

Premium features include the ability to edit and write longer posts, as well as reducing the number of adverts seen by the user. It also gives the account holder a blue tick next to their display name.

Read more on that story here ...

Disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of stealing billions of dollars from his customers.

He was the chief executive of FTX, which suddenly went bankrupt in November 2022 - leaving millions of users frozen out of their accounts and unable to make withdrawals.

Read the full story here ...

Cambridge is considering introducing a tourist tax at its hotels, charging £2 per night.

The city could introduce a local charge on visitors staying in hotels, something that is common in Europe, according to a new report from Cambridge City Council.

It follows the launch of a similar scheme in Manchester last April.

Read more on that here ... 

Supermarket giant Asda has apologised as its employees continue to face payroll issues.

Staff said that despite the issue being identified last week, they were still out-of-pocket, with some unable to pay their bills or even rent.

Nearly 10,000 Asda workers received incorrect payslips due to an "IT glitch", with union bosses suggesting some had been underpaid.

One employee told Retail Gazette: "Six days in and my pay has still not be sorted it's a disgrace!"

Another said: "Missing £827 from my wages. Rent direct debit has been declined. Management haven't got a clue what to do. Surely this is illegal. Cannot contact HR directly as have to go through store managers. 

"I'm just going round in circles. Angry, upset and ashamed at having to tell my landlord that I can't pay my rent due to Asda not paying me!"

A spokesperson for Asda told Retail Gazette: "While the majority of Asda's 150,000 colleagues were paid correctly this month, we know there have been discrepancies for some hourly paid colleagues."

"We sincerely apologise to those affected and want to reassure them we are proactively resolving this issue by making additional payments as soon as possible."

Sky News has approached Asda for comment. 

Thousands of you have left a comment in the form at the top of this page in the past two weeks.

And they fall broadly into three categories: anger, questions and people saying their bosses also swindle them out of annual holiday after this week's Money Problem...

We're going to tackle a few of the employment disputes in our Money Problem series (this runs every Monday) over the coming months and your correspondence has prompted us to write a Basically... feature on employment rights that will be published this coming Tuesday.

Turning to some of your questions , we had this...

What is Labour's position on compensation for Waspi women? Because, hand-on-heart I think if Labour won power they would play the "we haven't got the money card". Worried of Shropshire

As has been widely reported, the government has refused to commit to compensation for women born in the 1950s and affected by how changes to their pension age were brought forward.

Labour, too, has been vague, with shadow women and equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds telling the BBC on Sunday: "Those women deserve respect, that's the most important [thing].

"If I was to sit in your studio and I was to say, plucking out of the air, this is exactly how, for example, compensation should work or other elements of the response to the Waspi women… I don't think they would believe me, frankly, and nor should they."

Another question that landed in our inbox related to our Friday feature about making your supermarket shop healthier for less.

Last Friday focused on bread and concluded that sourdough may be your best option...

Interested in how to buy healthier bread as it can be confusing. I get why sourdough might be healthier because of how it's made. But the question of salt content has not been addressed here. Bread has a significant amount of salt. Does sourdough have less salt? Mrs Helene Shorter

We asked Dr Laura Brown, senior lecturer in nutrition, food and health sciences at Teesside University. She says (as the feature explained) that sourdough isn't the absolute healthiest bread - those would be breads made with whole grains.

And sourdough does have a higher salt content, she says - especially bakery bread, so reading the label and picking wholemeal sourdough are good tips. A high salt content is classed as being more than 1.5g salt per 100g.

All this said, sourdough does have a "great nutritional profile"...

"With sourdough being rich in vitamins and minerals and lower on the glycaemic index, it is a healthier alternative to regular white or whole wheat bread," she says.

Now to anger - which had a broad range of causes...

After  our post about the owner of Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds, London Eye and Legoland introducing surge pricing, which makes tickets more or less expensive depending on how busy it is...

Surge pricing on everything from trains, hotels, holidays, flights and now attractions should be banned. These companies should be ashamed of themselves. 1963 stu

We also heard from dozens of pensioners pointing out that the national insurance cut wouldn't benefit them...

Pensioners are much worse off! Council tax, food shopping, house insurance & car insurance almost doubled… Tax threshold never gone up & pension increase puts pensioners into income tax bracket... Lose-lose for pensioners, win-win for this government. Julia choo

We're regularly reporting on house prices - and this week we brought you news about a new £5,000 deposit mortgage aimed at helping first-time buyers.

But will it make a big difference?

As a 23-year-old, it feels like the possibility of owning a home in the UK grows increasingly unlikely every year. Will there ever be a time period where owning your first home will be somewhat more affordable? Abbie
How am I ever going to afford to buy a house when I finish university? Islander

By Brad Young, Money team

On Summer Scholes's 16th birthday, two days after her mum died, the first thing on her mind was getting a job to keep a roof over her head.

It was 2021, and alongside her studies in Margate, Summer said she worked for £4.62 an hour (the minimum wage for under-18s at the time) just so she and her aunt could pay rent and put food in the fridge.

By the time she was 18, last September, she was spending the summer working 50 hours a week in hospitality for £375, while her colleagues aged 21 were legally entitled to at least £134 more for the same job.

There are three different adult minimum wages in the UK, determined by age. On Monday, the government will reduce this to two, but inequality between those aged 18-20 and those aged 21 and over will remain.

"I strongly disagree with it. As someone who is 19, I see the work that I do and the work that my friends do, and I believe that we work just as hard, if not harder, than some of the people who are older than us," Summer told the Money blog.

She said she had felt undervalued, adding: "I think it should be based on someone's work ethic and their ability to do a job.

"I was unable to save for any of my future studies, which is why I'm now at college for an extra couple of years."

Sky News understands from sources at the Department for Business and Trade that the government believes the pay disparity will encourage businesses to keep younger employees and avoid them being exposed to prolonged unemployment.

But GMB Union officer Ross Holden said the cost of living crisis did not discriminate based on age and the government was denying young workers the "equal earnings they should be entitled to".

"It's an outrage that those under 21 working average hours on the minimum wage could be left up to £159 a week out of pocket than older colleagues doing the same job. There is no excuse for wage rates based on age - ending them is long overdue."

Last year, about 34% of employees aged 18-20 were paid between £7.49, the hourly minimum wage for their age bracket, and £10.18, the minimum for the next age bracket, according to the Low Pay Commission, which advises the government on setting wage rates.

UK at 'extreme end' of pay disparity

The UK is not alone in having age-based minimum wage legislation, but it is "on the relatively extreme end of penalising the over-18-year-olds", Ken Mayhew, economist and Oxford University professor, said.

In France, under-17s with fewer than six months' experience can be paid 80% of the minimum wage, he said. In the Netherlands, the minimum tapers upwards to age 21, while in the US, there is a small variation for those aged below 20 in their first 90 days of employment.

Professor Mayhew said employers could justify lower wages during a training period - when young workers are less productive - "but I think for national legislation to assume that's true for all 18 to 20-year-olds is dodgy, quite frankly".

Some employer groups have previously said they wouldn't hire less experienced adults if they had to pay them an equal wage, Professor Mayhew said.

But, he added, those groups also argued employees of all ages would be priced out of jobs when the minimum wage was first introduced in 1998 - yet "the employment effects have been minor to non-existent".

Small businesses saw their wage bills increase by 14% at the end of last year, according to the Sage small business tracker.

The British Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses declined to comment on the upcoming minimum wage changes.

The Association of Convenience Stores did not respond to a request for comment.

The British Retail Consortium said: "The retail industry recognises the value of its employees and that's why the overwhelming majority of our members continue to pay above the minimum wage rate regardless of age."

Real living wage?

The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers called the government's policy "deeply disappointing", saying all adults should be paid at least £12 an hour.

Businesses that pay all their employees £12 - rising to £13.15 in London - are accredited by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF) as paying the so-called real living wage.

Head of communications John Hood said: "An 18-year-old, a lot of the time, they're not a dependent. They're paying for their housing, they're paying rent, they're paying transport bills, council tax – all the same costs that a 21-year-old is paying."

He said the difference between the minimum wage and the real living wage was "the difference between being able to live with dignity, with security, with stability, to be able to plan for your future".

Summer recently joined those on the real living wage after being hired by Newington Fish Bar, in Margate.

"It makes me feel a lot more equal and more valued," she said, "like my work is being appreciated."

A government spokesperson said: "There have been different rates for younger age groups since the introduction of the minimum wage in 1998, but this government is giving young people a pay rise to put more money in their pockets.

"From 1 April, we will increase the National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds by over 14%, giving someone in full-time employment a gross annual pay rise of over £2,000."

 By Sarah Taffee-Maguire , business reporter 

Nearly a tenth of Papa John's pizza outlets in the UK are to close in an effort to boost company profits.

A total of 43 of its 450 locations across the country have been found to be "low-performing" or "underperforming" and are said to no longer be financially viable.

The sites will be closed by mid-May, Papa John's said - after it informs impacted staff.

The company would not say how many jobs are to be lost; how many people work at the locations; nor the number of staff it employs across the UK.

The company aims to close branches in the following locations:

  • Cricklewood
  • East Dulwich
  • East Grinstead
  • Leeds - Meanwood
  • Liverpool - West
  • Middlesbrough
  • Mottingham (London)
  • Northwood Hills
  • Sittingbourne
  • Stoke Newington
  • Tunbridge Wells
  • Watford St Albans

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COMMENTS

  1. Homepage

    The World. Hi, i am Hasan founder of thesimpletravel blog. I have been a travel enthusiast forever and I started this blog with one thing in mind: to have fun and not get anxious about the details. In the past few years travelling and then blogging about it has become an education, an adventure and the ride of a lifetime all rolled into one!

  2. 53 Best Travel Blogs and Bloggers To Follow (2024)

    Here are 53 of the best travel blogs on the web today, like Nomadic Matt and The Blonde Abroad. Get travel inspiration and ideas for your very own travel blog. ... Nadine's goal is simple: share her travel experiences with the world and help others do the same. Hey Nadine contains a host of content on travel advice, hacks, destinations, and ...

  3. 13 Best Travel Blogs in 2023: Top Travel Bloggers to Follow

    4. The Planet D. For adventure seekers, The Planet D is one of the best travel blogs out there. Dave and Deb are an award-winning travel duo based in Canada and have visited more than 110 countries. They write comprehensive travel guides and itineraries, which I've used to plan my own travels around the world.

  4. ️ 15 Inspiring Travel Blog Examples in 2024

    15 Travel Blog Examples. Let's take a look at some of the most intriguing and accomplished travel blogs out there. Indie Traveller: DIY travel. The Hawaii Vacation Guide: Hawaii travel blog. Travel Hacking Mom: Traveling using points. Anywhere We Roam: Travel adventures.

  5. The 50 Best Travel Blogs & What You Can Learn From Them

    Ways to promote travel books through your blog; How a simple blog design can be used to capture a large audience; The importance of linking to your other websites and offerings; 12. Expert Vagabond @expertvagabond. Expert Vagabond features photography tips, travel advice, and guides for how to maximize your travel budget.

  6. My 61 Best Travel Tips: Become a Master Traveler in 2024

    Dry Fox travel towels are my favorite (use the code "nomadicmatt" for 15% off your purchase)! 2. Use a small backpack/suitcase. By purchasing a small backpack (I like something around 35/45 liters), you will be forced to pack light and avoid carrying too much stuff. Humans have a natural tendency to want to fill space.

  7. Complete Guide: Travel Blogging For Beginners

    Everybody can start a travel blog. It's easy to get started! Yes, having a travel blog is a thing. I started travel blogging in July 2015 and so far, I still love it! Being a travel blogger is a full-time job… even if you already have a full-time job. Blogging is also putting yourself out there. It's writing. It's socializing. It's ...

  8. How to Start a Travel Blog (Step-by-Step Guide for 2024)

    What You Need Before Our 'How to Start a Travel Blog' Guide. Step 1 - Pick Your Name and Brand. Tips For Picking A Travel Blog Name. Tips For Defining Your Brand. Step 2 - Get Hosting And The Domain. Domains vs Hosts. Our Favourite Host is SiteGround. Managed WordPress Hosting. Step By Step Guide With SiteGround.

  9. How to Start a Travel Blog: The Complete Guide

    Color palette: Have a set of 2 to 3 complementing colors (anything more would be distracting). Fonts: 3 at most. Think one for your logo, one for headings, one for body copy. Images that reflect what you want your blog to evoke when visitors drop by your site.

  10. 24 Most Stunning Travel Blogs to Follow in 2024

    If you are looking for a travel blog with top-notch content as well as extremely pleasing aesthetics, be sure to check out Roadbook.com. It doesn't get any better than this. 5. The Blonde Abroad. What I love about it: The Blonde Abroad is probably one of the most well-themed travel blogs on this list.

  11. Best travel blogs to find inspiration for your trips

    You can find simple travel guides, lots of travel advice, but even reviews and travel stories about different destinations. 10. Worldpackers travel blog: discover the volunteers community. Last but not least, one of the best travel blogs you can read is Worldpackers community travel blog.

  12. How To Start A Travel Blog: An Easy Step By Step Guide

    5. Download A Professional Theme. Your new WordPress blog comes with a couple of standard "themes", or designs for your site. While this is ok for playing around in the beginning, if you want to take this seriously and eventually make money with your travel blog, you should buy a premium design.

  13. Top 33 Stunning Travel Blog Examples to Inspire in 2024

    Mark Wien's blog is one of the top travel blog examples for those who love both food and travel. He dishes out guides on hotspots like Mexico and Bangkok, sharing the best food joints and must-try dishes. Beyond tasty eats, Mark hooks you up with practical stuff like visa tips, transport options, and places to crash.

  14. How to Start a Successful Travel Blog in 2024

    So let's choose the option of "a little help" on the right-hand side: On the next screen, you're going to want to click on "blog". On the following screen, it's pretty self-explanatory: the type of blog you're creating is "travel & documentary" and you're creating the site for yourself: Moving on!

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    Select your domain name from the drop-down. Leave the "install/path/here" field blank. Enter the name of your blog, an admin username (make sure the admin username is hard to guess), your name, and your email address, and then agree to the terms and conditions below. Then click the "Install" button.

  16. How To Travel Like A Minimalist: Packing List And More

    Minimalist Daily Travel Essentials. One of the best things to do when it comes to packing the rest of your miscellaneous daily items is to have a central location in your home where these items live regularly. This could look like a catchall tray, a storage bin, or a backpack or travel bag. Keep daily essentials like chargers, electronics, a ...

  17. 30+ Best Travel Blogs To Inspire You (2023 edition)

    7. Nomadic Matt. If you want to find out how to travel the world on $50 a day, then Nomadic Matt's blog is the first page you should check out. This New York Times best-selling author has helped millions of people travel on a budget and visit far-away places for as little cash as possible.

  18. 12 Examples of Travel Blogs Created with WordPress for Your Inspiration

    The color scheme is a real standout feature of this travel blog. A combination of bright colors and bold text grab the attention of visitors and help give the site a fun and refreshing feel. 6. Nomadic Matt. At first glance, this looks like just another fun-loving travel blog.

  19. Travel Bloggers: What to Write & How to Write a Travel Blog

    Travel blog example 1: 'Things to Do' listicle. Fun things to do in a destination. There's a bit of snobbery around listicles in travel blogging, but personally I think they're a really important and useful example of a travel blog. You need to do them carefully though, and with heart and experience.

  20. 14 Top Travel Blog Platforms Reviewed

    Travel Blogging Sites. These sites were all the ones I could find that allowed you to create a travel blog, or allow you to write, upload images or create maps of your trips. Atameo. Photler. Travellerspoint. Tripoto. Livenguide. Jauntlet. Traveldiariesapp.

  21. 10 Best (FREE) Website Builders for Travel Bloggers in 2024

    These Are the Best Website Builders for Travel Bloggers in 2024. Wix - Largest selection of travel-related blog templates and full creative control. SITE123 - Beginner-friendly editor with great blogging tools to get your site set up quickly. Squarespace - Showcase your adventures with striking templates for visually-focused travel blogs.

  22. The Best Inspiring Travel Blog Examples For Students

    Blog Example 4. Nomadic Matt Blog. Nomadic Matt 's blog is a travel website that provides tips and advice on how to travel better, cheaper, and smarter so that people can explore the world on a budget. The blog is especially useful for students who want to travel but have limited budgets.

  23. How To Start a Travel Blog in 6 Easy Steps

    Keep in mind that there are millions of other blogs out there so to start your journey out in the right direction, we have wrote our six easy tips to help you grow your travel blog from the first day.

  24. Shaft Blog

    Shaft Blog is a simple, clean and responsive WordPress blog theme built by Kantipur Themes. This theme is perfect for youtube bloggers, travel blog, food blog, fashion blog and writers who need to create personal blog site with simple creative features and effects to make readers feel the pleasure of reading blog posts and articles.

  25. Explore with Google's Travel AI Tools for Easy Trip Planning

    Hitting the road has become a breeze, all thanks to Google's newest trick up its sleeve. With the introduction of Google's Travel AI Tools, gone are the days of juggling between countless tabs to plan a single trip.Whether you're an independent adventurer or planning for the family, these tools promise not only to streamline your journey but also bring forth options you hadn't even ...

  26. Customer review: Cytric Easy conveniently delivered travel industry

    Amadeus Cytric Easy allows our employees to search, book, and pay for business travel within the Microsoft 365 productivity tools they use every day, like Microsoft Teams. With this ability, employees can focus on the objectives of a trip, rather than being bogged down planning complex travel logistics.

  27. Money blog: Government urged to let some Britons retire earlier

    By Brad Young, Money team. On Summer Scholes's 16th birthday, two days after her mum died, the first thing on her mind was getting a job to keep a roof over her head.