Become a Travel Writer
Editors around the globe, including editors at English-speaking publications in other countries, are constantly searching for well-written articles by people who can give a true and unique report on a destination.
If you think you can do this – take good notes on your trips about the things you see and do – you should try your hand at travel writing.
There’s no easier way to get your accommodation, meals, spa treatments, and more paid for by someone else.
And you just might be the perfect candidate for this job.
To learn how to get paid to travel this way, put your name and email address in the box below and we’ll send you a FREE quick-start guide:
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With this guide, we’ll also send you our free newsletter The Right Way to Travel where you’ll get regular tips on how to come up with story ideas… find markets where editors are looking for content… pinpoint the best publications for your photos and travel stories... land plum assignments… take pictures that sell… and more
Wanted: Travelers willing to share their experiences, insights, and recommendations with others
Hotels, resorts, and other attractions around the world need ambassadors like you to visit their vacation spots and spread the word about what they have to offer through your writing. As a travel writer, you could be one of these ambassadors and enjoy some seriously fun perks along the way… like free accommodation, meals, spa treatments, and more…
You don’t need any experience to get started
If you’ve ever come home from a trip and scribbled an email to a friend sharing your recommendations for what to see or do … you can do this.
All you need is an adventurous spirit … to be opinionated, persuasive, and observant … the ability and desire to research travel destinations and a thirst for fun … With this quick start guide, you can skip the learning curve, see your article in print and start enjoying the travel writer’s life faster—receiving VIP treatment and perks wherever you travel! In it, you’ll get:
How Do You Begin?
You are the expert of your own hometown. Find out how to get started writing about places near you.
Saleable Story Ideas
Story ideas are all around you. Get six easy ways to help you find them.
Query Letter Tips
Contacting editors is the most important stage in getting your travel stories into the glossy pages of a magazine. Start off on the right foot with a good query letter.
For more than 14 years, we’ve been in the business of teaching people how to get paid to travel. We spend our days talking to professional travel writers and editors (the people who are out there doing this day in and day out and earning a living from it!) and compiling their time-tested tricks of the trade, secrets, and general advice for finding success in the travel writing world.
It’s easier to get started than you may think. Here’s just a few of the recent success stories from our members:
Patti Morrow used to be a lobbyist but traded her 9-5 to have adventures in as many far-flung locations as possible as a travel writer. It took her a while to work up the courage to send in her first article … but once she did, she was on a roll … and is now writing full-time, with over 100 articles published in over 35 different publications. Some of her favorite press trips include staying in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora, hiking on the Great Wall of China, and cruising the exotic islands off the coast of Croatia.
After having an article published about a local coffee shop, Theresa St John started writing stories about her hometown of Saratoga Springs. Her first few stories landed her a free trip to Ireland and then to Fiji and to Paris. She says, “I am so grateful to have this opportunity to see the world. My mother, on her death bed, told me she regretted not seeing Paris. She wished she and my father would have traveled more. I don’t want that to be me. I don’t want to waste my life away at a boring job that means nothing for my soul. I want to live!! This picture is from that Ireland trip. I bought an authentic Irish wool hat when I was there. I smile every single time I wear it.”
Paula has been living the dream traveling to stunning natural wonders like Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon. She’s experienced Alaska, traveled along the California coastline and spent some time in Mexico. She also traveled to the Galapagos Islands to see the amazing wildlife. Along the way, Paula has started collecting bylines. Her article about swimming with sharks has already been published and she has another vacation rental article coming out soon. “The free stays are cool,” says Paula. “But nothing compares to seeing my stories and my name in print!”
Several years ago, Terri got serious about following her dream of being a travel writer. She traveled all over the U.S. as well as to Canada, Belize, Peru, Guatemala, Norway, Germany, and The Netherlands that year. And each year since has been a blessing. On a recent adventurous road trip through Belize, Terri tagged crocodiles, hand-fed howler monkeys and tried her hand at Garifuna drumming. She’s also had incredibly luxurious experiences throughout the U.S. and Europe where she’s been the private guest of award-winning chefs and attended openings of exclusive museums. Terri has had more than 300 articles published covering her adventures. Life as a travel writer has been good to her.