Great travel content goes beyond images and video – sometimes, the best way to tell a story is to narrate it, whether that’s in podcast form or by writing it. Even if you don’t plan on writing reams and reams to accompany all your posts (and you certainly don’t need to), you still want to be able to write helpful, insightful and pithy captions.
To that end, it’s well worth brushing up on travel bloggers and writers. People might come to your page for the images but stay for the stories, and it’s in captions, blog posts and podcasts that you have the chance to really narrate your story and let your audience get to know you. This also makes for really natural, active engagement, so don’t shy away from putting pen to paper.
Here are some bloggers and writers to help you get started
1. Oneika Raymond
Oneika is known for so many wonderful things, but as her profile has risen she’s seemingly using longer and more op-ed style captions on her Instagram posts. Sure, a lot of us are against lengthy captions that need you to press the ‘see more’ button, but Oneika’s posts are like mini articles in themselves. She talks to her audience about politics, current affairs, travel ethics and more all while still empowering women of colour to travel solo, and teaching us about the world we live in.
2. Emily Luxton
Emily has been blogging full time since 2016, with a focus on what she calls “deep travel”. This means that rather than racking up as many countries as possible for the sake of it, Emily focusses on really immersing herself in a country and the culture there, often returning to the same place many times. She eats the local cuisine, tries to learn some language and understand the way of life, rather than just covering the top ten tourist attractions. She writes in a really accessible but still poetic way, and her blog is great inspiration if you’re looking for a way to set your content apart and make it richer.
3. Adventurous Kate
Kate Mcully has ten years of travel blogging experience under her belt, with a focus on solo travel for women. She has a wonderful, conversational tone of voice when she’s writing, and her writing is packed full of practical hints and tips. It’s equal parts guide book and travel diary, and she gives suggestions on how to make travelling more sustainable and safe. She’s also upfront about the ways travel blogging has negatively impacted the world, from overtourism to carbon footprints. A must-read for anyone looking to move into the industry.
4. The Opposite Travellers
Rachel and Ryan are a married couple with very different travel tastes; Rachel likes to stay in luxury, and Ryan likes adventure. Their blog is dedicated to their travels and how they compromise, from half-and-half trips to full luxury or total backpacking. They’re honest and open about how difficult it can be to combine both tastes, and how they plan their trips to make sure they’re both having fun. It’s a mixture of great storytelling and an exercise in perfect planning!
5. Andrew Gunadie
Although mainly known for his YouTube channel, Andrew Gunadie’s travel adventures are documented on his Instagram account alongside short, pithy captions usually never more than a few words long. Straight to the point, normally pretty funny, and always worth a double tap.
