Travel blogs in essence are digital travel storybooks.
They generally extend beyond storytelling to include a variety of planning tips, guides, and other related topics. Travel blogs inspire people to travel and even choose different lifestyles such as digital nomadism. Readers can be a part of bloggers’ journeys, through their pictures, videos, and stories. For travel enthusiasts who want to start their travel blog website, it can be a source of income and even a full-time career, in addition to a hobby.
Travel blogs usually contain raw personal experiences vs the more formal traditional media outlets, and hence are useful sources for planning trips. You can learn the real stories from the ground, what you need to watch out for, and how to make your journeys more rewarding.
These blogs cater to many segments of the population and interests, so, whether you are looking for budget travel, solo travel, van journeys, or destination-specific information, they are all out there, for free!
Top 10 Best Travel Blogs in 2021
We have compiled the best travel blogs in 2021 considering their popularity, niche, helpful content for aspiring travelers, digital nomads, and travel bloggers, as well as the user-friendliness.
The Points Guy (TPG) is about maximizing your reward points and travel miles. The blog started by Brian Kelly in 2010 has now grown into a fully-fledged business with over 100 staff members. In addition to information around points and miles, TPG has details and reviews of an extensive list of cards including credit cards, airline cards, and reward cards. There are also reviews of hotels, flights, lounges, and travel gear. Furthermore, TPG shares information on general travel–related topics such as road trips that are especially useful for pandemic times, and travel stories. A notable section is their covid travel updates and news. The detailed coverage of topics suitable for current times makes it one of the best travel blogs in 2021 to follow.
TPG has a “purpose project” where they share tips on how to travel more purposefully as well as their work to give back to the world. Brian also has a weekly podcast where he shares travel tips.
Hand Luggage Only is a travel blog website started by Yaya and Lloyd in 2014 while still in university. They write about a range of travel and lifestyle topics instead of focusing on a specific niche. In addition to a comprehensive list of destination–related information, some notable topics include food, photography, and life hacks including home topics. As successful bloggers, they also share blogging tips.
There is something for everyone at Hand Luggage Only, whether you are considering where to hike in Canada or what to pack for your next trip. The variety and comprehensive details make Hand Luggage Only one of the best travel blogs in 2021. Don’t forget to check out their beautiful video section.
Expert Vagabond is an adventure travel blog website by digital nomad, Matthew Karsten. He also shares information on budget travel, the nomadic lifestyle, and photography.
Expert Vagabond has resources for an extensive list of destinations, as well as tips on cheap travel, safety, photography, and backpacking. Matt shares information for digital nomads such as how to make extra money, save, and travel job details, making it one of the best travel blogs in 2021 for any current and aspiring digital nomads. He also shares travel blogging tips.
Matt posts adventure travel videos among others on his YouTube channel.
Matt is a pioneer in the travel blogging sphere who shares budget travel tips. Matt was inspired to travel after his first overseas trip to Costa Rica in 2004, at age 23. Since then, he has traveled to over 100 countries and territories.
Matt shares travel planning tips from getting the right gear to finding cheap flights and saving money, among a range of travel topics. He also sells useful travel books including budget city guides to help with low-cost travel. You can join his premium membership community to get advice and help with your travels, as well as free travel products. There is a subscription for content creators that also include a writing class. Some of Nomadic Matt’s notable offerings are a blog school, virtual events, and forums where you can ask questions and engage with others.
The high quality and useful content together with the wide range of services undoubtedly makes Nomadic Matt one of the best travel blogs in 2021.
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Mark Wiens, the famous YouTuber with over 7.5 million followers, is the founder of Migrationology, a blog that is all about traveling for food. He is an avid traveler and food enthusiast who shares his food experiences and tips for a variety of destinations. He also shares travel stories and planning tips. Mark has published city guides with comprehensive food and travel details.
He sells e-books and other merchandise including a “chili cap” and “chili mask”, that would suit spicey food lovers. Mark has also collaborated with others to launch a Bangkok Food Tour. He is based in Thailand, and travels with his wife and young son. If you are a travel and food fan, Migrationology is one of the best blogs in 2021 to follow.
Be My Travel Muse is a female travel blog website by Kristin who left her investment banking job on a one-way ticket as a solo female traveler to follow her dreams. The blog has everything for solo female travelers keen on adventure. She shares detailed destination–specific information as well as tips for solo female travel, adventure travel including road trips, and itineraries, among other topics. A notable section is her content on spiritual travel, ranging from meditations to retreat information, and topics for overall wellbeing.
She has published books, created a blogging course, a photography masterclass, and a virtual retreat to balance chakras, in addition to her clothing store and other activities. If you are a current or aspiring female traveler interested in adventure and spiritual wellbeing, Be My Travel Muse is one of the best blogs in 2021 to follow.
The Blonde Abroad is a female travel blog website by Kiki who left a career in corporate finance. She has traveled to over 70 countries. She shares information on a variety of travel types from solo travel to couple travel, luxury travel, budget travel, and student travel, among others. The Blonde Abroad also has destination–specific information, as well as lifestyle topics such as home, beauty, and food. The photography section is a highlight, where Kiki covers a range of topics including photography for solo travelers. If you are a solo female traveler or a traveler in general, The Blonde Abroad is one of the best travel blogs in 2021 to follow for a variety of useful information.
Kiki has a travel shop and a range of resources across topics such as blogging, making money abroad, travel gear, and reward credit cards.
Practical Wanderlust is a travel blog website by a travel couple Lia and Jeremy who share practical travel tips that won’t require breaking the bank. They have a variety of destination information and travel tips including long-term travel. There are digital nomad-specific tips too. A notable section is the “virtual tours”, which is handy in current pandemic times.
They share blogging tips and have also shared some income reports in the past, which makes Practical Wanderlust one of the more transparent and best travel blogs in 2021 to follow, especially for aspiring travel bloggers. Lia also offers coaching and mentoring services for aspiring full-time travel bloggers and content creators.
Practical Wanderlust accommodates guest posts. So, if you are a travel blogger or a writer, check their submission requirements.
Nick and Dariece are the Goats of this travel blog website. They have been digital nomads since 2008. The blog focuses on helping others travel full-time, and also has detailed travel information.
They share resources on how to make money to maintain a long-term travel lifestyle, covering a variety of topics from remote jobs to blogging and other interesting activities you can do while traveling. They have comprehensive free content as well as paid courses. If you are a current or aspiring digital nomad and/or travel blogger, Goats on the Road by these pioneer digital nomads is one of the best travel blogs in 2021 to follow.
Nomadic Boys is a travel blog website by the travel couple, Stefan and Sebastien, with a focus to inspire LGBTQ travelers. They share gay travel tips, information for an extensive list of destinations, and inspiring interviews and stories from a variety of places. If you want specific information on gay cruises, events, or adventure travel, and other LGBTQ travel-related topics, Nomadic Boys is one of the best travel blogs in 2021 to follow.
They also share free gay travel guides that include discounts.
Steps to becoming a travel blogger
If you are interested in travel blogging, consider the below steps on how to be a travel blogger.
1. Start traveling
A key requirement for travel writing is traveling yourself. Traveling doesn’t have to be long–haul, and you can even start with local travel. There are many blogs dedicated to specific regions. To start a travel blog, however, you will need to develop a passion for travel and start traveling.
2. Choose your niche or your audience
Travel is a broad topic, and the internet is flooded with travel blogs, especially now. So, consider what travel niche you want to write about. You can get as specific as you wish such as road trips in a particular country or a region, solo female travel, or low-cost travel. Refer to our list of best travel blogs in 2021 as examples.
If you are struggling to find a niche topic, you can start with writing for a particular audience, and narrow down the topics as you go.
3. Decide the name of your blog noting the domain name availability
Deciding on a name can be challenging because the popular domain names may not be available.
Having a specific name that highlights your niche is good since it will clearly show what your website is about. However, leave some room in your name for expansion, if you think you may want to write about other travel topics in the future. You can also create a meaningless brand name like many other large brands have. Building a brand takes time, however.
Ensure your name is easy to remember because people tend to misspell complex names. Remember to check the availability of the handle on social media sites.
4. Develop a travel blog website
The next step for anyone considering how to be a travel blogger is to create the travel blog website itself. Once you’ve decided on a name, it’s time to purchase the domain, get hosting, and design the website.
Remember to self-host your travel blog website on a third-party hosting company such as Bluehost or HostGator, instead of getting a hosted domain, to avoid any restrictions in monetizing your blog in the future.
You can develop your travel blog website yourself following free resources online or get a professional developer to help you.
5. Write value-adding unique content
The most important aspect of travel blogging is creating content. Provide good value and unique content to your audience, so they’ll keep returning for more, and also subscribe to your blog. Remember there are many travel blogs out there, and people need a reason to keep visiting your travel blog website.
6. Include good pictures
Pictures help take your readers on a virtual journey with you and keep them engaged. So, ensure you take good pictures and include relevant ones that match the content.
Refer to our list of best travel blogs in 2021 for photography tips, as well as videos.
7. Join social media
Create social media pages for your travel blog website. This is a good way to grow your audience and drive traffic to your website. Make sure you post routinely and engage with your audience.
If you are considering how to be a travel blogger, join travel blogging or general blogging–related Facebook groups. They are extremely useful sources of information and they also offer promotional opportunities to grow your audience.
8. Create a newsletter.
Start developing an email list and send routine value-adding and interesting content. You can engage with your audience on a personal level through emails, and also get more traffic to your travel blog website. Remember not to spam people, however.
9. Keep learning and be patient.
Travel blogs take time to gain popularity. In addition to writing and social media, there’ll be much to learn starting from Search Engine Optimization and marketing. So, be patient and keep going.
More importantly, have fun.
How can you monetize a travel blog website – living the dream
1. Write content for others.
You can use your travel blog website as a portfolio and offer writing services to other sources. Spreading content across different mediums will help get more visitors to your blog. Some publications pay very generously for value-adding content. While this is still active income, it frees you to work from anywhere in the world, while traveling.
2. Create travel–related products.
Travel bloggers sell a variety of products and services from eBooks to courses, virtual programs, clothing, and other merchandise, as seen on our list of best travel blogs in 2021. You can sell products on your website, or through other platforms like Amazon. Once you develop your products, they will continue to generate passive income.
You can also sell your travel photos.
3. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a popular passive income stream among bloggers in general, where affiliate programs allow you to promote others’ products that you believe in, along with your content. You will receive a link to place on your website and receive a commission when readers purchase via your link.
4. Include display ads
Your blog will need a certain number of sessions or page views to get started with display ads, but it’s a passive income option for when your traffic increases. Display ads can hinder the user experience, but your readers may not mind them if you do it moderately.
5. Collaborate on social media
Once you grow your social following, you can collaborate with others to promote their products on platforms such as Instagram and get paid. Similarly, you can collaborate with other bloggers to promote each other and your respective products, or even create programs together.
What are your plans for 2021?
We have presented our list of best travel blogs in 2021, keeping in mind aspiring travel bloggers, digital nomads, and a wide range of travelers. Let us know your list of best travel blogs. Are you an aspiring travel blogger?
Get our best tips FOR FREE and learn how to become a successful digital nomad and work from anywhere!
PLUS top advice on everything related to location independence lifestyle:
- Coliving
- Working locations
- Making money online
- Travel advice
- Nomad interviews
