laST Updated: 10/10/20 | October 10th, 2020
I’m not going to lie: I think I have a pretty good travel blog. (You probably do too if you’re here.) I work hard to provide excellent practical travel advice to help you travel better, but I’m not the only great travel blogger out there. In fact — and I know this might be shocking — there’s a lot about travel that I’m not an expert on. Family travel? No idea. Travel as a woman? Clueless. Information on hotels? Only a little. Photography? I can manage to turn my camera on if that counts. Food expert? Only at eating it.
I’ve realized that it’s been a while since I last talked about the best travel blogs out there — the ones I read — so I wanted to take a moment and highlight some of my favorite travel blogs that can also help you travel better, cheaper, and smarter. There are so many good blogs out there, I feel like I’m long overdue to point you to some of them:
Legal Nomads
Besides being one of my all-time favorite people in the world, Jodi is also a damn amazing blogger who writes often about food and culture. She devotes a lot of time to food on the road, taking mouthwatering photos that make me jealous of her ability to do so. A former lawyer, she also writes a series called “Thrillable Hours” about other lawyers who gave up being a corporate lackey for life on the road.
Uncornered Market
If there was a contest for the best travel blog, I would tell everyone to vote for me. Then I would go vote for Audrey and Dan. They tell heartwarming stories and take incredible, out-of-this-world photographs. Their blog focuses on cultural travel and sustainability issues (they even work with the UN Global Sustainable Tourism Council). I focus on the nuts and bolts of going places, whereas they focus on the people. They are simply great storytellers.
Alex in Wanderland
I met Alex years ago in New York City and we’ve been friends ever since. The author of the article on diving in Koh Tao, Alex is a photographer, graphic designer, travel lover, and dive specialist currently roaming the States. Her blog features great photos, dive tips, travel stories, and a biting and self-deprecating humor. Plus, I helped pick out her blog name, so it’s hard not to love it.
The Blonde Abroad
Kiersten’s site focuses on the intersection of fashion and travel. She gives tips and advice for women on what wear, pack, and see while overseas and focuses more on higher-end, comfort travel than I do. I think her blog is one of the best for female travelers and, though it’s not targeted to me, I find useful information that I share with others. Kiersten and I are friends, and I love seeing her site grow and expand, especially over the last year. She seems to be everywhere!
Hey Nadine
This popular YouTube channel by Nadine Sykora documents her experiences as she travels around the world. Nadine’s zany, nerdy take on travel makes her videos entertaining to watch! She’s funny, smart, and a bit awkward, but her filmmaking style really puts you there in the destination with her. There’s a reason she’s one of the biggest travel channels on YouTube!
View from the Wing
Gary Leff is the “OG” of travel hacking. While I read many travel-hacking blogs, I follow Gary because he provides industry analysis and behind-the-scenes information on loyalty programs and airlines. Gary doesn’t just provide trip reports or share deals and reward opportunities, he gives you context and a greater understanding of how travel hacking and airlines operate.
Wandering Earl
My kindred spirit, Earl is a vagabonding nomad backpacker like myself. We both love budget travel, backpacking, blogging, and everything in between (and yes, we’re good friends in real life too). I read Earl’s blog because he goes to places few people ever visit (Kurdistan, anyone?) and tells raw, honest travel stories that don’t sugarcoat the travel experience. Very few blogs do that, and for that, I think he’s one of the best travel websites out there. I’ve been reading him for years and he deserves a feature! (He’s also one of the few other bloggers I know that doesn’t accept sponsored content or trips!)
Oneika the Traveller
One of my favorite blogs as she talks about the “real” side of travel and is not afraid to get political, talk about racial prejudice when she travels and discusses life as a black female traveler. So much of travel writing is from a white perspective, it’s really great to hear from someone else. Not only that, but her tips and tricks are super useful and her writing and photos stellar too.
Never Ending Footsteps
Lauren is the most accident prone traveler I know. Anything that can go wrong usually does go wrong when she travelers. She’s one of the unluckiest travelers I know. But all that misadventure leads to some amazing travel stories and her blog is filled with funny tales that will keep you captivated for hours.
Additionally, she provides some wonderful practical tips on travel and detailed expense breakdowns on how much she spends in each place.
Be My Travel Muse
Kristin is an adventurous solo female traveler and my resident expert on all things solo female travel. She isn’t afraid to get off the beaten path and explore less-visited destinations, sharing her tips and tricks along the way. She takes incredible photos and also makes amazing YouTube videos (she’s one of the most underrated travel YouTubers out there if you ask me). She’s been traveling for over 5 years now and creates insightful, entertaining content. Even if you’re not a solo female traveler, you’ll still enjoy her posts and videos.
HoneyTrek
Mike and Anne quit their jobs in 2012 to go on an extended honeymoon. Eight years later and they are still on the road. They’ve road-tripped around the US in their camper van, stayed at some of the most incredible glamping sites in the world, and wrote the book on ultimate couples travel experiences. They’re an adventurous couple with a focus on the outdoors and sustainability and they share tons of tips on living in an RV, couples travel, and long-term travel as well.
Chubby Diaries
Chubby Diaries is run by Jeff Jenkins and focuses on plus-size travel. His blog tackles body shaming head-on and provides travelers of all shapes and sizes with resources and inspiration. His optimism and positivity are infectious and he never shies away from telling it like it is. Jeff is going above and beyond to shake things up and make the travel space more inclusive. He’s an awesome guy who creates incredible content.
Travels of Adam
Adam has one of the best LGBTQ bloggers out there. (He also wrote a bunch of LGBTQ content for this site!) He focuses on gay travel and lifestyle content, with a specific focus on hipster city guides. If you want to know where to find the coolest bars, hippest cafes, and the best nightlife spots, Adam is the man to ask. As a former expat, he also has tons of great content on Berlin, one of Europe’s hippest and artsy cities.
Hey Ciara
Ciara is a full-time solo female traveler who shares honest, insightful travel reflections and advice. She’s been featured in major travel publications and has built up a solid following of readers who appreciate her genuine style and her honesty about traveling as a solo black female traveler. She’s a good writer and creates a lot of practical and helpful content.
So there you have it! My current list of favorite travel blogs on the web (besides mine) that I read. This is an ever-changing list so I’ll be updating as time goes on! After all, new travel blogs start every day. Go read these ones, laugh, learn, and be inspired!
Are you looking to start a blog too? These posts can help you do that:
- How to Start a Travel Blog
- 19 Things I Learned From 10 Years of Blogging
- 9 Ways to Become a Successful Blogger
Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is 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 they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap 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. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
- World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
- Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
- Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage)
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.
David
Some great choices Matt, including a couple I’ve not heard of before, cheers!
Kirsten Alana
Thank you for including me, Matt!! There are two I didn’t know about in here and you’ve included a few of my personal favorites. Great list.
Also, makes me realize how much I need to redesign my site when I see the professionalism of some of these other ones. I’ve concentrated on content and let the design part go a bit. #oops
Drew Meyers
Totally depends on what your goals are as to whether or not a redesign makes sense or not. The primary goal of most redesigns is increased conversion — buying some sort of product, building an email list, or contacting you for some other reason. What conversion means of course depends on what your business goals are. Looking at your site, unless your main business goal is to get people to read your content and engage with it (for some people, that is the primary thing they want their audience doing), then I would recommend a redesign to make your desired user actions much clearer.
Kirsten
Valid points, Drew! I want people to be inspired to go out and travel themselves, and to do so in a way where they really learn and experience another culture. That’s honestly my biggest and probably my only goal. I don’t want to sell them anything like an e-book, I choose to be employed in other ways than monetizing my blog. It’s why I always kept the design simple, so it was about the content. But I do wonder if it’s easy enough for people to navigate.
Drew Meyers
If you want to chat further, lemme know. Web design is what I’ve done for the past 18 months (but am moving away from it now to build a new travel startup)
Diane
So glad you featured Alex! She was one of the first blogs I started reading and is a nice person too! Checking out the other blogs on your list now. Thanks!
Jeremy Branham
Good list. I am familiar with almost every one of these. I love the writing of Sally, Canaan, and Kent. Love what Dan and Audrey do with their site. Thanks for sharing these!
Pol
Will be nice to see some Non-english speaking blogs as well 😉 specially in Spanish, a language you and many americans can speak
Alex
Wow, what an honor to be in this round-up with so many amazing bloggers! Thanks for featuring me, Matt!
Sally
Wowza. Thanks so much for including me. I’ve definitely got some awesome company!
Jeff
Thanks for giving me more reasons not to work on my own blog by giving me more blogs to follow. My facebook and twitter feeds are completely dominated by travel sites.
I have been following your site for a while and think it deserves to be on this list. Keep up the good work.
CheezyK
I’ve spent the last few days considering reducing the number of travel blogs I read because they are causing serious wanderlust and confusion (over where the next trip will be) … and then here you go placing a whole raft of excellent ones right in front of me! 😀 I have a feeling most, if not all, will be added to my reading list in short order.
Daniel Noll
Belated thanks for including us, Matt. Really honored that you would vote for us (blushes). I promise to be nicer to you next time we share a speaker panel.
Pete
Nerd Fitness.. what a great blog. Opened my eyes to far more then just push-ups in my dorm room.
NomadicMatt
Steve is the man.
Emily
Thank you for a great list.
It’s really fun to see what other travel bloggers are up to. Especially since the travel community I have lived in for the past 6 years — full-time RV travelers and full-time sailing cruisers — has a very different idea of what blogging is…
Full-time RV and cruising blogs tend to be day-by-day travel diaries, because we are all on the road all the time, constantly seeing new things. But we are following an itinerary that is linear — headed down a particular route.
Travel bloggers seem to blog about shorter duration trips that are done from a home base via airplane and hotels — traveling in a star pattern from home — and the emphasis often seems to be on providing travel tips for vacations.
Very interesting stuff — but all new to me!!!
David Earley
There are a lot of names here, but I don’t notice any dogs on the list. When I go adventuring I prefer to take my dog. Are there any dog friendly traveling blogs you can recommend?
We (Pawsitively Adventurous) are just starting to get into the traveling niche, and away from the “hiking in my own area” one. Videos have been experimental, and I’m still not sure people are open to watching a dog hike or travel.
Some of the more well-known websites outrank us for destinations (even in our own area) even though their content can be misleading. I’ve been hoping to connect with related blogs and vlogs because the general consensus is that the little dogs must band together to compete with the higher authority sites. Do you have any suggestions?
David N Brace
So many greats on here! Many like Travel muse and Alex in Wanderland I have read for years, but there are always a few new ones on your lists that I now have to check out!
Rocio J
Mike and Anne, they both are lovely. The travel blog story of these two guys are quite interesting. I tried to explore their blog but it is showing some errors. I’m not able to access their blog.