Travel Blogs and Traveler Resources

World Travel Blogs and Travel Information Resources

The growth of the travel blogger industry amazes me. It is fabulous we can all connect with one another and share stories, inspiration and ideas. If you are new to either worldwide travel blogs or overland / travel by road blogs, I’ve listed below some of my favorite places and events. These are the blogging websites I go back to again and again for insights and inspiration. I highly recommend you check them out:

Road Trip Bloggers

These are online blogs and written mainly by individuals or couples traveling the world by road. They go by bicycle, motorcycle, foot, car, bus and camper / RV. They may be circling a single continent or in some cases the whole world.

Sprinterlife – A fun-loving couple and their dog traveling Central / South America in a 4WD Sprinter.
Drive Nacho Drive – a couple from Arizona takes on Central and South America in a Vanagon they’ve named Ignacio.
Homeonthehighway – another US couple on the Pan American Highway as we speak!
Ruined Adventures – and yes – yet another couple on the Pan Am now headed south.
Moglander.com –Merv is traveling from Europe into Africa in a tricked out Unimog
Adventurous Spirits – a retired Canadian couple who’ve done Africa by road and are traveling through Central and South America now.
Life Remotely - three freelancers write about travel, freelancing and trip planning as they drive through Central and South America in 2012.
Atlasrider.com – an intrepid singular motorcyclist who has traveled far and long on his motorbike.
Aroundtheworldin800days.com – Andy and Emma are a UK adventure couple who are leaving for a RTW by road trip in January 2012.
Overlandnomads.com – Anthony and Astrid are trading San Francisco for the world, traveling in a Toyota Land Cruiser, headed south!
Technomadia.com – Chris & Cherie sold their house and went nomadic with their trailer a few years back, recently they sold it and are now doing home stays in cool spots.
Plastic Not So Fantastic Expedition – David and Theresa are a UAE-based duo who plan to travel 50 countries and over 6 continents, covering more than 160,000 km in 18 months to expose the issues of plastic pollution.
Anita and Marcus of Black Cat Productions - this German duo has traveled by motorbike and now by RV for many years – all around the world. Now retired, their truck map of places they’ve been dwarfs our tiny thin black line of “been there.” We ran into them in a Yuma Walmart parking lot (not literally) as a coincidence. The site is in German but just hit translate and explore.

Travel Bloggers

There are so many sites written by digital nomads w experience cultures in single servings, or for longer term career break sabbaticals. Some focus on their adventures, others are making a business out of teaching others to do it too.

Nomadicmatt – super helpful, web savvy traveler and online marketer. Matt has bridged the gap from personal blogging to becoming an online resource for others and earning a living.
Everything-everywhere.com – Gary Arndt is a photographer, writer and podcaster. Time Magazine named his blog top of the heap. He has mastered the art of “Travel Porn” – or getting people to watch you because if they can’t do something themselves, its second best to watch someone else do it.
This Week in Travel Podcast – a joint venture between Jen Leo, Chris Christensen and Gary Arndt, this weekly 60 minute podcast got me through an entire season of marathon training with engaging interviews of others and overall travel news and tips.
Almostfearless – jumping off the corporate merry-go-round in 2008 Christine Gilbert set out to travel the world and blog about it. She has evolved her site and is now doing a documentary on world travelers. I’d say she is pretty much fearless.
Nodebtworldtravel.com – Brian Peters proves you don’t have to be a millionaire to travel the world. He visited over 60 countries, and then wrote an an e-book for the rest of us to learn how to do it too.
Uncornered Market - I love their writing style and overall online personalities. Freelance writers, their site serves as their story as well as their well-honed portfolio of capabilities.
WanderingTrader.com - trades by day, travels and lives abroad wherever he pleases.

Online Travel Websites and Resources

Some travel bloggers primarily share their experiences with others, but there are also many community web sites that are externally focused on helping others accomplish their own travel goals. Both topics are worth exploring and there is some blur between the two (like this blog hopes to!) Here are some of my top picks:

Drive the Americas – this is a comprehensive wiki-based resource for anyone driving Central America / South America. It profiles people doing it, includes active forums with posts from people on the road, and offers great advise for a variety of topics like border crossings and more.
Roadtrip America – an active information site for US travelers featuring routes, planning and inspiration.
Gobackpacking – this global guide to independent travel was started by David Lee after her took a round-the-world trip and wanted to inspire others to do the same. Now it’s an independent travel blog resource to be reckoned with by the big boys of travel.
Foxnomad – Digital Nomad focused Anil gives great tips on how to take your life on the road.
Muskoka Foundation – anyone overlanding needs to know about this group founded by overlanders Jay and Alice Shapiro. They connect travelers with communities for projects to help people globally.
Expeditionportal – a very active online portal for overlanders in the US. Led by industry veterans and tied closely to the awesome magazine Overland Journal, this is the place to go if you have a pension for the off-road adventure.
Horizons Unlimited – veterans of the online and motorcycle world, this site is the resource for motorcyclists. Jim has followed it for some time and it’s a great portal for inspiration and advise from other travelers worldwide.
Bootsnall Travel Network – find tons of information on this global travel network featuring guides for many hot locales as well as travel articles by multiple authors.
Go Nomad – worldwide travel information, links, tours and articles on worldwide travel.
Off Track Planet – The Maxim Magazine of the online travel world, this site is a racy, edgy independent travel resource, guide and community. Features destinations, food, and even a section called “partying + sex.”
Wanderlustandlipstick – a women’s travel site inspiring women to go explore on their own.
Overland Journal- While this is first and foremost a print magazine – and a dang good one — it is also a blog and a path into this organization’s growing passionate overlanding community. Check it out.
Backpack Forever - a community of backpackers that share stories and tips for international travel.

Couples Travel Bloggers

Little did you know there is actually a niche for couples travel… and quite a few bloggers sharing their tales of love and woe on the road together. Here are a couple of my favorites:

1000 Fights – Mike and Luci have an annual ritual to take a trip somewhere – anywhere. They’ve expanded this into a blog covering other couples’ adventures.
The Planet D – Dave and Deb bill themselves as Canada’s Adventure Couple. Follow them as they bungee jump, cave dive and sea kayak their way around the world.
So-Many-Places.com – Kim and Brian are selling their stuff and take off for a RTW road trip in 2012.
Jack and Jill Travel - this intrepid duo just quit their jobs and embarked on their one-year RTW trip to 192 countries in April 2011.

Inspirational and Motivational Writers and Bloggers

The process of giving up your furniture and home, making a life change and doing it with others in full view online is scary, to say the least. Whenever I feel just not good enough, I find inspiration in these folks’ personal stories, recommendations and advise for taming my inner critic.

The Art of Non-Conformity / Chris Guillebeau –one word: inspirational.
Escape from Cubicle Nation – Pam Slim has step-by-step planning recommendations on how to change your life.
Rock Your Day – Dave Navarro made the leap from corporate slug to entrepreneur and now talks honestly about how to make that switch both mentally and physically to doing what you love.
Four Hour Work Week Blog – Tim Ferris unwittingly started a worker revolution a few years back with his Four Hour Workweek book – a bold and somewhat snarky commentary on how to stop wasting your life working and still be productive.
Jonathanfields.com – marketer, author and writer about work, play and entrepreneurialism.

Blogger Resources

Just because you have something to say doesn’t mean its interesting to others. Follow tips from these guys to learn the ropes:

Copyblogger.com – gives advice on writing for your reader, managing your email list and more.
ProBlogger.net – with a focus on monetization rather than just writing killer content, Darren Rowse is a full-time blogger with tons of tips on how to make your blog your day job.
Write to Done – Mary Jacksch gives real world tips for how to just make what you say BETTER. Follow her tips and weave your way to better posts all around.
Travel Writers’ Exchange – tied to the similarly named Travel Blog Exchange event, this group helps starving writers bring together blogging and income.

Events and Conferences for Overlanding and Travel Writing

Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) – Annual conference reads like the “who’s who list” of travel bloggers. The next event is June 2012 in Keystone Colorado.
Blogworld Expo – touted as the world’s largest social media conference.
Overland Expo.com – an annual 2 day outdoor event hosted by the Overland Journal team. Held in AZ annually in spring.
MeetPlanGo – founded by a couple RTW travelers in 2010, this group is leading the career break movement in North America; encouraging and teaching others how to travel the world and have it be beneficial to your career. They hold local events/meetups in cities across the US to encourage would-be career break travelers to just do it.

Travel Resources