travel blog story

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Best Short Travel Stories: 15+ Bloggers Share Their Favorite Travelling Story

Table of Contents:

Every tourist has at least a few interesting travel stories to share. The more you are exploring the world, the greater the chance that you have experienced something unique. We’ve asked our blogging friends to share their most memorable experiences. Check out these awesome short travel stories and get inspired!

Best Travel Stories Including Romance

Love at first lettuce.

by Juliette from Snorkels To Snow blog

4 years later the hunky builder became my husband.

Adventure With A Stranger In France

by Barbara from Jet Settera blog

After our short meeting, we kept on chatting for about a month on Facebook and then we decided to meet up in Florence in a hotel room and explore Tuscany together.

We agreed on the itinerary and he flew in from Vienna and I arrived from Milano. We rented a Fiat500 and we traveled all around Tuscany for a long weekend.

We visited some of the most romantic cities in Italy , such as Siena, Lucca, Pisa, and Cinque Terre. It was an amazing adventure together.

We had lots of fun on the trip and we went on more trips after that. The conclusion of the story was that sometimes it is good to come out of your comfort zone and take a chance on a stranger, maybe he will be an excellent travel partner.

Scary Travel Stories That Will Give You Chills!

Jumped by an adult puma in the bolivian jungle  .

by Aaron from The Dharma Trails blog

Cheap, Bolivian vodka . That’s what got me there. Isolated, deep in the Bolivian jungle, with an apex predator wrapped around my body (and hot breath on my face).  

Volunteering at a Bolivian animal sanctuary I saw all kinds of monkey bites and scratches. It was common for backpackers to show off their fresh wounds at the end of each day. But no one had a story like this…

The weekly volunteer party got out of hand (the night before). Those with the appropriate big-animal training didn’t wake up or sign in to the morning’s meeting. I was there. Hungover, but there.   So, I agreed to help out with the puma (even though it normally requires months of training and animal integration/familiarity).

After an hour of trekking through the jungle, one of the team members and I reached the puma’s enclosure. The huge cat growled at me with a distinct sense of dislike. But that didn’t stop us from continuing our task.   We entered the caged area, attached two ropes to the puma’s “collar” and begun to walk him through the jungle.   

The puma, completely unpleased with my intrusion, stepped forward hesitantly. After only a couple of minutes, he stopped, looked back at me, and growled directly into my eyes. I watched helplessly as the puma leaped 10ft into the air towards me. In a split-second, his powerful legs wrapped around my waist, arms wrapped around my throat and fangs pressed into my forehead.  

I heard my team member scream. But I couldn’t move. Completely still, I assumed the worst. Yet, somehow it felt completely natural. The circle of life. The scream faded as I began to lose consciousness. Then, all of a sudden, I was released.   The animal let me go and stepped backwards.  

After swearing profusely, my team member yelled “stick your palm out towards him”. For some reason, I did.   The huge cat stepped back towards me and licked it. And, that was it. He knew that I knew, who was king of the jungle. After that we were friends.  

Volunteering with animals is a great way to give back while you  eco travel . Just be sure to pick places with adequate training if you don’t want to have bad travel stories like mine!

Getting Arrested in Gansu, China

by Wendy from the Nomadic Vegan blog

My short story about my travel experience is from Asia. On our first trip to China , one of the destinations my husband and I were most looking forward to, was visiting the Labrang Monastery. Located in remote Gansu province in the west of China , Labrang is a holy site and a place of pilgrimage for Tibetan Buddhists. 

At that time, neither one of us spoke any Chinese, and we were finding it frustratingly difficult to get where we wanted to go. We didn’t understand why all the bus drivers were refusing to let us get on the buses heading towards the transport hub from where all onward transport to Labrang left.

When one of them finally did let us on, he then forced us to get out on the outskirts of town, well before we reached the bus station. Confused, and not knowing what else to do, we started walking in the direction we thought the station was in. We didn’t get far before two police cars skidded to a halt next to us, and we were suddenly surrounded by six cops wearing S.W.A.T. badges on their sleeves.

They brought us to the head of the prefecture, who luckily was a very friendly Tibetan man who spoke enough English to explain what was happening. Unbeknownst to us, the Chinese government had recently made that part of Gansu off-limits to foreign tourists in light of protests by ethnic Tibetans in the area.

After treating us to a tasty lunch of vegetarian Chinese food , the head of the prefecture drove us back across the prefecture border himself and made sure that we got on a bus back to where we had come from.

We never made it to the Labrang Monastery on that trip, but at that point, we were just happy not to be in a Chinese jail. As I write this, we are in Mongolia, planning to cross back into China in a couple of weeks. We have been told that Labrang has reopened for foreigners, so 10 years later we are going to give it another shot. Hopefully, we don’t get arrested this time and we will only have amazing travel stories to share!

Snake Attack In Vietnam

by Lina from Divergent Travelers blog

We were just about to take a final stretch of country road and head onto highway 1 for the next leg when we saw something in the road ahead of us.

It was up ahead of Jon and it was the kind of thing you couldn’t really tell what it was until you were right on top of it. In an instant, we saw Jon whip his legs up as a huge snake lunged at his leg when his scooter sailed next to it. I was mortified as I am very afraid of snakes. The last thing I wanted was to have this thing striking at me as we cruised by.

We pulled over, laughed, and discussed the size of it while noticing a local man running down the road with a long stick. He was hollering at us excitedly and pointing at the road. Apparently, snakes of that size are worth well over 1.2 million dong and the man was bursting with excitement about catching the venomous beast.

Asking where it went, he moved into the grass at the edge of the rice field in pursuit. The movement caused the snake to flee into the rice paddies and the local man immediately gave chase into what became a dance between him and the snake. Each challenged the other until the man lept to the opportunity and seized the snake by the head with his bare hands.

He smiled proudly as he came back to the road, showed off the snake then as swiftly as he appeared, left us standing there while he made his way down the road back to his house. Snake in hand. You don’t see that every day! It was definitely one of these fun travel stories that we will never forget.

Dangerous Night Trip In Peru

by Danielle from the Like Riding Bicycle blog

Not every travel story is fun. I have many scary travel stories to share, including the one from Peru. Many years ago, when I’d just started traveling , I took a bus going through parts of the Amazon… at night. Apparently, this wasn’t the best call. Around 3 am I was alarmed to wake up to the bus stopped, and a man in a black mask with a huge black gun pointed at us all. He yelled in Spanish and everyone’s hands went up into the air, so I flung mine up following suit. Before long the men were marched off the bus, leaving us women, hands still in the air, to wait for what would come next.

I had a moment in which I thought: “What are they about to do with the men? What are they about to do with the women? What are they about to do with me, the only foreigner on the bus?” I was far from rich, but they didn’t know that.

After some time another man came on the bus, this time with a small silver pistol which he pointed at each of us as he robbed us blind. No one was physically harmed, though I knew that people who weren’t as fortunate to be a Westerner like myself lost more than they could afford to replace, which was a hard thing to realize. I couldn’t help, only sit there with my arms in the air.

So go to Peru – it’s amazing! – just don’t take a night bus through the Amazon!

Mutant Bugs Attack

by Nathan from Foodie Flashpacker blog

Although at the time it happened I wouldn’t have called it my best travelling story, now, looking back on it, it’s one of the best/funniest stories of my nearly three years of traveling. This all took place during my visit to Fez , Morocco in 2016.

The time I survived a direct attack to the face by killer mutant bugs from outer space. And then visited a vagina doctor with the world’s oldest x-ray machine to put my face back together again.

Long story short- one day I woke up with a face full of bug bites. The concerned guest house owner sent me to a pharmacist who then sent me to a doctor.

More specifically, I later learned, was that I had been sent to a gynecologist. We established that some large insects had attacked my face and I was in need of multiple medications. And, for reasons still unknown to me, an x-ray. At least I think he x-rayed me.

Being A Suspect In The Disappearance Of Girl In France

By James from The Portugal blog

One of the funny adventure stories that I have is from the time I found a 5-month housesit in the middle of the French countryside. It sounded idyllic, and perfect for me and my girlfriend at the time who had just started out as digital nomads. 

In reality, it wasn’t quite as idyllic as advertised. The biggest issue was the lack of internet; something which was supposed to have been installed by the time we arrived. But, we made do. We bought French sim cards with 3 GB of internet each (the max we could get at the time) and vowed never to look at YouTube or anything that might use lots of data for the entire 5 months.

It was all going perfectly until one day there was a knock at the door and two local French policemen were standing there. They began asking us what we were doing on the property and where the owners were. In the best French, I could manage, I explained the concept of house-sitting but I could see it wasn’t going over. 

Then, they showed us a picture of a girl who was missing. We hadn’t seen her and, in fact, didn’t know anyone in the town. We apologized that we couldn’t be of more help, thinking that was that. 

It wasn’t. One of the policemen then pulled out a printout of a forum conversation between the missing girl and someone who they believed was her biological father. Then in the forum conversation, they showed me a mobile number: my French mobile number. 

I didn’t know how to explain it apart from to say that it must be a typo, but that wasn’t good enough. They asked to see my computer and began looking through the search history. Then, obviously not buying my house sitting story, they asked where the owners were again.  

Unsatisfied, they told me to come into the station that afternoon for more questioning at 2 pm. I didn’t know what to do. There wasn’t enough time to find a lawyer or even a translator as they would probably have had to come from the nearest city. I opened Google Translate and tried to come up with as many useful sentences as I could, but it was hard to concentrate. 

At 2 pm on the dot I walked through the doors of the police station and when the policeman saw my worried face he burst out laughing. “Lucky for you, she showed up,” he said. And that, amazingly, was the end of that. I’ve never heard any more about this again. 

Lifechanging Short Travel Stories

Stepping out of a comfort zone in dubai.

by Michaela from Awe Inclusive blog

In 2014, I was scrolling through a Facebook group when I spotted a post claiming $200 roundtrip tickets to Duba (btw if you want to save on your next trip, check out this trip com coupon ). As is routine in that group, I confirmed the deal, checked my calendar, and booked tickets – no asking friends, no waiting for job approvals, and no overthinking. It would be my first trip alone.

I met Jibri during the layover. She got my attention and started chatting about travel deals and groups. During our small talk, I considered putting my earphones back in or making up a reason to excuse myself. Instead, I decided to embrace a new person and see where it could lead.

Not only did we exchange contact information to meet-up in Dubai, but we joined other travel group members who rented out a yacht for an afternoon cruise along the Persian Gulf.

It was totally outside of my comfort zone and totally what my comfort zone needed – to be stretched out of shape! I met amazing people and forged exciting friendships.

Dubai was life-changing. I learned to trust my abilities and instincts even when I had to improvise. I learned that strangers are just friends who haven’t met you. Most importantly, I learned that my suitcase was much lighter when I didn’t fill it with fear.

This year, I took a solo trip to Thailand and it was the absolute best. More solo trips are in my future as I continue to challenge myself to get uncomfortable and do more than I thought I could.

See also: Best travel stories from Thailand .

Beautiful Travel Friendship

by Viki from Chronic Wanderlust blog

I’ve been in Playa del Carmen, Mexico for a few weeks now for my divemaster training. I spent every day in the water with customers and my instructor. I loved it! We shared the boat with another dive shop and I started to notice that they were also training a divemaster to be.

She seamed to be my age and so I started talking to her. Janice is from Canada and also madly in love with the ocean and all things diving. We started to hang out more and more and even became very good friends then.

She left Mexico a few days before I left, but we managed to stay in touch. For almost two years now we talk several times a week, she helped me through many things as a stupid breakup.

Last year I told her I was going back to Mexico for a few weeks and if she wanted to meet me there. She told me that she couldn’t manage with work. I had wanted to see her so badly! And I knew she wanted to be in sunny Mexico with me as well.

I remember the 30th of December when she told me that she had just bought the ticket and will be in Mexico the next day! I was beyond happy, I was going to see my best friend again. I was going to see her for the second time in my life and yet she knows more about me than any other person that I see more often.

I love how friendships can last over distance and time zones. Meeting Janice is definitely one of the best solo travel stories that I have.

Best Adventure Travel Stories

Hawaii adventure.

by Carole from Berkeley and Beyond blog

Even though I have many short stories about traveling the world, I want to share the one from Hawaii. I’ll never forget the time I landed on the remote Hawaiian island of Molokai and was told, “We have a wedding and two funerals on the island, and so we have run out of cars.” It was at about the same time as a popular movie with a similar title was out, so the statement had a humorous overtone.

However, since this was hang-loose Hawaii , I was assured by a mellow employee that all would work out and so there was really nothing I could do but relax into it. The car agency arranged for (and paid for) a cab to deliver us to our condo so we could check-in, and told us that the next morning someone would pick us up and deliver us to the mule ride.

Done, though we did almost miss our morning ride due to confusion regarding the meeting spot, but the point is we didn’t  miss it, and we were told by that driver that our car would be waiting in the parking lot for us after our ride.

And there it was! Pure Molokai magic.

Visiting A Real Quechua Village

by Gabor from Surfing the Planet blog

Although Machu Picchu is simply indescribable, it turned out that a totally improvised adventure left a much stronger mark on us. When we were staying at a Couchsurfer’s place in Cusco, we asked him whether it would be possible to visit a real Quechua village.

He said we could try, although we would have to find it out ourselves since these Quechua communities live quite far in the Andes and there’s no public transport to get there.

In the end, we got very lucky, since looking for transport in Ollantaytambo, we found out that the local doctor and other social workers were going to visit some of these tribes and they let us join them.

We were really happy because we had the chance to stay in a Quechua community, learn about their traditions, see the colorful clothes they wear every day and take part in their daily routine for some time. We often had to use hand gestures to communicate, since most of these people don’t speak Spanish, only Quechua. This is one of our most interesting travel stories and a real heart-warming experience that we will never forget.

Funny Short Travel Stories

Mistaking a brothel for a massage spa in china.

by Talek from Travels With Talek blog

Ah… cultural confusion.  One weekend I was in a part of Beijing I was not familiar with and decided to get a massage.  I remembered what appeared to be a massage spa nearby. The location didn’t look exactly like a typical spa, but I went in anyway.

The inside of the location had all the spa-like features which reassured me.  However, when the hostess approached me, she appeared apprehensive and asked me something in Chinese. I pantomimed a massage.  She disappeared into a dark room behind a beaded curtain. I could hear her and another woman speaking animatedly.

After some uncomfortable moments, the woman returned and lead me to a dimly lit, rectangular room with a massage table in the middle. I positioned myself as I normally would. A different woman came in and gave me a lackadaisical massage for about an hour. I paid and went back to my hotel.

The next day my colleagues and I discussed our weekend. I mentioned my massage at a location next to the Wanda department store. “Oh! That’s a high-end brothel” they said. They’re probably still laughing.

Crazy Travel Stories

Free helicopter ride.

by Kris From Nomad By Trade

My favorite travel story is from a business trip I took to a small town in Kentucky. One morning, my co-worker noticed that there was a helicopter parked out on the hotel’s lawn, which we thought was odd but pretty cool.

That week, we ended up befriending the helicopter’s pilot and his wife and talking to them at breakfast and the evening periods of light snacks.

He somehow offered to take us up for a free ride, so one morning before work, we each took a turn hopping in his helicopter and flying up and over town. He banked, dipped, and shot up to the sky like a rocket during our jaunt through the Kentucky skies.

I still find it funny that I wouldn’t get in a car with a stranger, but I had no qualms about hopping in a helicopter with one. I’ve been traveling on an almost weekly basis for work for six years and that’s still one of the coolest things that I’ve gotten to do on the road.

My Birthday In A Private Castle Near Prague

Crazy Flight With A Hyperactive Child

by Alexis from World Travel Adventurers blog

We’ve had our fair share of unforgettable and funny travel stories as parents traveling with a spirited 2-year-old and 4 years old, but this one still takes the cake. We think every parent who has ever flown with young children can relate.

We were on our way home from Salt Lake City to Baltimore, which is a 5-hour flight, so my husband had the brilliant (or so he thought) idea to sedate our energizer bunny son (whose nicknames include Taz, tornado, hurricane, wrecking ball, the destroyer) to make the long flight easier.

Having a wild toddler restricted to a seat for 5 hours is no fun for anyone, but a sleeping toddler sounded much more appealing.

We had given him Benadryl before when he was sick and it put him right to sleep like a charm, so we thought we were in the clear. It turns out, some kids have the opposite reaction to Benadryl and turn into hell on wheels.

Well, our son turned into that kid. I think everyone on the flight, especially the person sitting in front of him, wanted to kill him or at least put him in a straightjacket and a muzzle. The flight attendant, who used to be a nanny, could tell early on that something was up and had a hunch it was from Benadryl gone wrong.

In the midst of his craziness, I took him to the bathroom at the front of the plane to change his diaper. When we headed back to our seats, he took off running down the aisle full speed ahead. He was so fast and agile (being much smaller than me and able to maneuver through the narrow aisle like a star football player) that I couldn’t catch up to him until he had run the entire length of the plane.

My husband said he saw a flash go by his seat, and then saw me running after yelling my son’s name. He thought it was hilarious. I did not. We can both laugh about it today and will NEVER make that mistake again.

So to all my fellow parents of traveling youngsters, beware and never use Benadryl for a stress-free flight unless you’ve tested it a few times and are sure that your child will not turn into a Tasmanian devil. Unless you want to add something to your funny holiday stories collection, then go for it.

Meeting The President Of Ecuador

by Dane from Holiday From Where blog

My best travel story is from a time I was in a small city called Salinas on the south coast of Ecuador . I was just hanging with a local friend and surfing every day before I started to head north. I kept hearing about this wave that was really good and you couldn’t surf because you had to sneak through an air force base to get to.

One day my friend was telling me it was going to be really good, so, we decided to try and sneak in. In hindsight, it was really stupid. We were crawling on our hands and knees through some bushes on the bad side of a shooting range while they were actively shooting. We made it to the beach got changed and ran for the ocean.

We were in the water for all of 15 minutes when two large me with AK-47s appeared on the beach and started to yell and whistle. We got a few more waves and went in. The men were extremely un-impressed and very angry.

We knew we were doing the wrong thing but obviously played dumb. As we were about to get dragged off a man and his wife came over a small dune and just walked up to us. The man asked us how our day was and if we had a good surf we replied we did and he just smiled at us and walked off.

As he did my friend informed me that it was the President. Everything happened so fast and in no time we were in the back of a military vehicle being taken to a small building. I was out a short time later with a stern warning never to return. 

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Did you enjoy reading this post? Share your best travel story in the comments below!

72 Responses

Love it! Thanks for including our story. Traveling opens you up to so many incredible (sometimes hilarious) experiences so it’s great to hear about other memorable moments from fellow travel addicts!

It’s our pleasure, Alexis! Your story is great, thanks for sharing it :)

Pinoy TV is one of the few international channels that provide high-quality entertainment.

These stories are great. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Thanks for the inspiration Karolina! Traveling the world is something I’ve always wanted to do, but have found it hard to make the leap.

Hey Karolina,

Very inspiring travel stories! Makes me want to book a flight now and create an amazing travel story ever told! ;) There is nothing more gratifying than traveling, yes you spend but you learn more. Been to many places and every story is just different and amazing!

These stories are inspiring and it makes me want to travel more. Cheers!

Some amazing stories in there! It’s amazing what opportunities can present themselves when you are travelling abroad.

There’s some incredible stories in there. It’s amazing to see what opportunities can present themselves to you when you are travelling abroad. We’ve got a lot of great memories and stories from our time abroad, can’t wait to get even more!

Getting arrested in China must have been an exciting experience. Luckily, no jail. So happy end.

Thanks for the inspiration Karolina!……,! great story

Glad I enjoyed the post! Thanks for sharing this.

You’re welcome!

The only way to achieve happiness is to cherish what you have and forget what you don’t have

I really liked reading your post! Very high quality content and useful information. With such a valuable blog I believe you deserve to be ranking even higher in the search engines.

Thanks for your comment, Maria.

Wow, interesting crazy stories! good stuff!

Incredible stories. Frankly, I envy people who travel freely, I hope that I succeed.

Such a kind of knowledge give by this stories.

Much Appreciated! Get your travel and tourism guide of top tourist places, attractions about travelling and exploration of the world.

Hey really Incredible stories.Appreciated your blog.Such interesting travel story.The details are very informative.I also love to travel.This stories inspires me to travel to my dream place.Looking forward to see more from you.

Thanks for your comment!

I’ve got no idea what I’d do if a snake lunged at me while on a scooter! Hopefully, I’d have the commonsense to hit the accelerator and keep going. Even non-poisonous snakes can be dangerous. And I’m guessing that the snake ended up as someone’s dinner or that seems be have been implied :/.

I also love to travel the world. Your story inspires me a lot

Your travel stories are awesome. I love to travel to other countries and experience every culture.

Wow, interesting crazy stories! good .

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Hey, it’s amazing way for our time . Thanks for sharing.

These short travel stories always teach me something new.

Its really amazing post for me. Thanks for sharing

Excellent post with rich knowledge for travelers. Thanks for sharing

Amazing stories! Thank you so much for sharing them. As a traveler it is exciting to hear new stories. It certainly makes you want to go out and travel again.

It was nice to be inspired by you, Karolina! Although I have always dreamed about traveling the world, I have struggled to make this step because it seems so risky.

Hey, I think it’s a great way to spend our time these days. That’s great that you shared that with us.

I love your all content keep share with us, keep shared with us.

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I have been wondering where to travel across Europe. And getting exposed to this amazing stories has energised my travelling plans and the countries to visit. Thanks so much for sharing such a wonder and useful stories. Looking forward for more stories.

I am really happy with the quality and presentation of the article. Thanks a lot for keeping great stuff.

Travelling is one of the best way to create memorable stories.

What a great idea for a post and a wonderful collection of stories!

Thank you for this great sharing!

Thank god! The housesitter did not have to go to a Chinese prison. The whole incident was quite amusing.

Thanks for this site i like it.

Article was very lovely and all stories are great

All stories are lovely and amazing.

There is no better way to create memorable stories than by traveling.

Traveling is one of the ways to create and be a part of stories. The travel stories in the blog are all interesting. I have also read stories on how travelers are set up by placing drugs in their luggage at airports.

Yeah however I am not sure if it’s true.

Thanks! i loved this site thanks for recommending.

Excellent post with rich knowledge for travelers.

Unforgettable

Such a great post thanks for sharing this with us and keep posting these are soo amazing.

There is no better way to create memorable stories than by traveling. :)

thank you so much

Thank you. you have explained almost everything.

Great post.Thanks for sharing. You have explained almost everything.

all the stories shared are good and well explained.

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Thanks for sharing such information. I appreciate your hard work

Great post, Thanks for the information provided! Your post is so awesome. Keep it work and share your amazing post with us. Thanks again!

Thanks a lot for sharing this post. Your travel story is so amazing.

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks!

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We are Karolina, Patryk, and Mia, the lazy traveling family. After spending 5 years as digital nomads, and living in many countries in the world, we decided to make Poland our base.

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45 Funny, Heartfelt, Unforgettable Travel Stories

Adventurous Kate contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks!

I tell travel stories for a living. I do this because I can’t NOT tell travel stories — every experience I have is shaped in the moment and waits in anticipation to shoot out of my fingertips.

And I live to share those stories with an audience. As humans, we’re hard-wired to be influenced by storytelling, and I feel like stories are what inspire people to actually book a trip.

To be honest, though, compelling stories are what’s missing from most travel blogs today, where SEO-driven travel planning posts make up the majority of the content.

We have SO many great travel stories to tell. But we’re not telling them as often as we should. So I decided to share some of the best stories in one place.

I reached out to my travel blogger friends to share their most entertaining posts of all time. Nothing travel planning-oriented, nothing keyword- or affiliate-stuffed — just fun, entertaining stories that would make a stranger smile or laugh. And did they EVER pay off!

Each of these stories is a treasure. I hope you enjoy them.

Note: Due to COVID-19 and a dwindled demand for travel worldwide, travel bloggers have lost significant portions of their incomes. Between people not researching or booking travel and advertisers reducing their spend, many travel bloggers will be making a small fraction of their usual income for months.

The best thing you can do right now is find a story you like on this list and visit several pages on their blog. It costs you nothing, but your eyes on their display ads (no clicks necessary, we get paid by views!) will earn them some much-needed cash in a difficult time.

Want to help out even more? If you love one of these blog posts, sign up for their email newsletter. You can find mine here.

Table of Contents

Funny Travel Mishaps

Are you looking to read about crazy mishaps that happened on the road? Here are some good ones!

Possibly My Favorite Travel Poop Story Ever

Nomadasaurus

OMG. I had never read this one before but this is one of the funniest travel stories I’ve ever read!

Jared tells the story of when diarrhea hit at the worst time ever — on a Chinese bus — and where he ultimately ended up pooping!

Embarrassing Stories From My Travels

Legal Nomads

Jodi is well-known for being pooped on while traveling — 14 birds and one bat so far — but this post shared plenty more of those stories.

If you’ve ever wanted to know the most embarrassing way to ask where to catch the bus in Argentina, here it is.

Hooked on the Cook Islands: My Giant Wedgie

Neverending Footsteps

Lauren is well-known for her extensive list of disastrous “travel incidents” around the world.

This one involves a snorkeling trip where she accidentally flashed her vag to an entire boat of people, including a family with young kids.

I Have a Confession to Make

Journalist on the Run

Imagine being a travel writer who gets paid to stay in a luxurious resort in the Maldives. Dream job, huh?

Now imagine that you get hit by the worst diarrhea of your life while pretending that everything is normal as the staff gives you a tour! Janet lays out her experience in excruciating detail.

When a City Girl Goes Camping

Suitcase and Heels

I may be a city girl who took her first steps in a tent — but not all city girls take to camping so easily.

Melissa shares a camping adventure in Newfoundland that did not go as planned! (NEVER forget the bottle opener!)

An Ode to Señor Frog, The Worst Car in Cozumel

Emily Luxton Travels

What happens when you rent a weird pea-green car that looks like an emaciated Volkswagen Beetle? Well, you definitely get an adventure out of it, Emily shares.

Know this before you rent a tiny car on a Mexican island!

How to Have the Worst Day Ever in Phuket (and How to Turn It Around)

Why Wait to See the World

Sometimes you have a travel day when you hit disaster after disaster after disaster — and sometimes it’s when you’re on your first full travel day with your boyfriend, ever.

That happened to Steph in Phuket, but soon she found a way to turn it around.

The Time I Got Pissed On in Manila

Aussie on the Road

Continuing the bodily fluids theme, Chris shares a rather disgusting late-night incident in a hostel dorm.

This proves that sometimes fellow backpackers are the most horrifying thing you could run into on the road!

Terrible Travel Tales: Mishaps, Setbacks, and Comical Foibles of Globe Trotting

Year of the Monkey

From missing a flight at the last minute due to a nosebleed to getting mistaken for a child at the age of 32, this is a big list of stories.

Paroma shares her favorite travel mishaps she’s collected over the years, all in excruciating detail.

That Time We Got Held Hostage by Monkeys in Ubud

Bridges and Balloons

And I thought I was terrified in the Monkey Forest in Ubud — Victoria and Steve got TRAPPED in a house surrounded by monkeys and couldn’t escape!

One of my worst nightmares. They seemed to handle it well.

My Embarrassing Driving Experience in Ourzazate

Norbert had never driven stick before in his life — so when the car he rented in Morocco turned out to have a manual transmission, he figured he could just wing it and learn to drive stick that day. NOT SO MUCH!

As a fellow driver who has never driven stick, I felt this one.

Ayurvedic Massage, Not for the Modest

Jessie on a Journey

If you had the chance to get a massage for just $16 in the heart of Kerala, India, you would go for it, wouldn’t you?

Then Jessie found out that this massage was done naked. COMPLETELY naked. With lots of oil and boob massage.

Scary Travel Mishaps

Sometimes mishaps can be on the dark side — though often you’ll find aspects of them humorous in retrospect. Either way, you won’t want to miss these posts.

Disaster Strikes

Escape Artistes

When horseback riding in rural Mongolia, Theodora’s son fell and severely broke his arm…in the middle of absolute nowhere.

This kicked off a breathless emergency of trying to find healthcare in one of the most remote places on Earth. It’s a gripping read.

When Traveling Sucks: A Hospital Visit in Fez, Morocco

Foodie Flashpacker

What’s worse than getting bitten by a bunch of bugs in the night? Getting bitten by giant mutant insects whose bites swell up enormously…right in the middle of your forehead.

Nathan details the story of his medical incident in Morocco and a doctor’s office that looks straight out of Chernobyl.

When a Man Comes Knocking

Borderline Crazy Bloggers

One of the scariest things while traveling is when a man has fixated on you — and because the culture is so different, you’re not sure whether you should be afraid or not.

In this story, Marieke shares the story of an Indian man who showed up at her door and kept refusing to leave.

Tales of Romance and Love

Do you love stories about love? I bet you do!! Here are three stories that will make you believe in finding love on the road.

The Last Time I Saw You (Part Five)

This Battered Suitcase

This is an ongoing series on Brenna’s blog where she tells the stories of the loves she’s met while traveling.

This is a short story that feels like it’s much longer — an incredibly romantic dalliance with a French man on a tropical island, then how it all crashes down once returning to real life.

10 Love Stories From My Travels

Adventurous Kate

It’s been years, but this is still one of my favorite posts I’ve ever written. I share ten different love stories from my travels, and tell you the ten locations where they took place — but you have to use logic and deduction to figure out which location matches with each story.

Nobody has ever guessed all 10 correctly. Maybe you will.

Nacpan and Calitang Beach: One of the Last Starry-Eyed, Lovestruck Journeys of the Previous Chapter

Nomadic Experiences

Looking back to days on one of the most beautiful beaches near El Nido in the Philippines, Marky tells the story of a special girl and the sweet moments they shared on one of the most idyllic islands in the world.

They’ve long since broken up, but he gently holds the experience in his hand, frozen in time.

Unforgettable Travel Experiences

These are the moments that got us out of our comfort zone, introduced us to memorable characters, and turned us into better travelers — and people.

How I Met Gunther, The Best Taxi Driver in Vienna

Budget Traveller

Every now and then, you meet someone who restores your faith in humanity. Gunther the taxi driver was one of those people.

Not only did he defy the odds to get Kash to his bus on time, he was unbelievably kind about the dilemma that happened next.

The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done: Two Weeks Hiking Japan’s Kumano Kodo Iseji

Adventures Around Asia

The Kumano Kodo hike in Japan is one of the most famous spiritual pilgrimages in the world. Richelle was excited to get out of her comfort zone — then ended up doing the hike in convenience store waterproof pants.

Despite a very tough start, it turned out to be a fantastic experience.

Hiking in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Inside the Travel Lab

Sometimes the most magical travel experiences take place in the most remote areas.

Abi extols the romance and beauty and culture of these isolated villages of Morocco, yet wonders if bringing more travelers here would be a good thing.

What I Learned From Giving Up Meat, Alcohol, and Complaining in India

Ashley Abroad

When Ashley went to Rishikesh, India, for yoga teacher training, she went out of her comfort zone by staying sober, sticking to a vegetarian diet, and giving up complaining.

Did it work? In some ways, yes, and she learned a lot about herself from the experience.

The Thrilling Adventures of Super Boyfriend

No Place to Be

So your girlfriend has dropped her camera in the Nam Song river in Laos. Surely a lost cause, isn’t it?

Not for Poi — a.k.a. Super Boyfriend — who leaped to the rescue, underwater among the sharp rocks.

Alaska Road Trip: Our Top 12 Adventures

Alaska is a destination that so many travelers dream of — but the reality ends up looking different from what you pictured.

Mike and Anne share gorgeous photos and stories from their multi-year honeymoon.

Controversial Takes

A lot of bloggers swear that controversial posts are the way to get traffic. I agree, as long as you go about it the right way. By that, I mean make a point, be fair, and defend it well. And PLEASE don’t trash the Philippines just to get crazy traffic.

5 Reasons to Stop Hating on “The Instagram Girl”

Follow Me Away

It seems so fashionable to hate the “Instagram girl” with the popular travel account — after all, who really wears a ball gown on top of a mountain?

But in this post, Victoria points out why the hate is misguided and the reasons why we should be supporting women with unconventional careers.

8 Reasons Why You Should Never Go to Wales

A Dangerous Business

Sure, Wales is beautiful and fun and interesting to explore, Amanda writes — but do they REALLY need all those castles and myths? Come on, now.

(Let’s say some people didn’t quite get the sarcasm.)

5 Reasons Travel Just Totally Isn’t Worth It

travelingmitch

I’m sorry, why are we even traveling, anyway? It’s so annoying, Mitch says!

What if people don’t speak English? What if you’re forced to challenge your preciously held views? WHAT IF YOU GET LOST AND CAN’T GET UN-LOST?! Better stay at home.

Is a Backpack Just Another Word for “Female Mid-life Crisis”?

GrrrlTraveler

Turning 40 and continuing to backpack around the world as a single woman with no kids. It’s what Christine enjoys — but is this what she really should be doing at this age?

For her, the answer is yes — and this post really shows how deep our cultural norms can set.

8 Reasons Hiking Sucks

Food Fun Travel

When people love food and wine and music as much as Tommo and Megsy, it’s not surprising that they’re equally passionate about what they hate: hiking.

Who needs to go back to nature? Who likes going somewhere without pubs? Is it a bonding experience? Bonding in misery, maybe!

How-To Guides You Never Thought You’d Need

Travel blogs are a great place to learn something new! And often it’s something you NEVER thought you needed to know…

How to Throw Out Your Garbage in Germany

Ali’s Adventures

Who knew just the act of throwing out your trash was so ridiculous and complicated in Germany?!

Ali shares what she’s learned as an expat in Berlin. Also, the comments are a gold mine.

How to Use the Toilet in India

BreatheDreamGo

Worrying about stocking up on toilet paper? Indians don’t use toilet paper at all!

India expert Mariellen shares all the tips for using the toilet in an unconventional (better?) way, and shares a hilarious video from Wilbur Sargunaraj.

How to Survive a Power Outage like a Puerto Rican

Indecisive Traveler

Reese spent years living in Puerto Rico, and during that time she went through quite a few power outages, including a four-day outage in 2016.

Step one? Immediately buy all the cold beer you can and take it home!

Big on Bidets: How Do You Use a Bidet and What is a Bidet For?

LL World Tour

Have you ever stopped in your tracks at the sight of a bidet in a bathroom in Italy or France and not known exactly how to use it?

Lisa shows you what you need to know. Because there’s nothing better than a clean anus!

Quirky Stories from the Road

All of us love to travel for the unusual things we discover on the road. Here are some of the best stories of unusual discoveries while traveling.

The Peens of Pompeii

Domestiphobia

Did you know that the ancient ruins of Pompeii are filled with penises? WELL, YOU DO NOW!

Katie visited the ruins for a day and was struck by how you can find a peen outline just about everywhere you look.

The Funniest Farm Market Sign in Southwest PA

Around the World L

Proof that there’s lots to be loved here in lesser-known parts of the US.

I love this sign that Lillie shared from a farmer with a side of sass!

Pictures of Cats and Dogs in Naples, Italy

2 Food Trippers

Naples is one of the greatest food cities in Italy — if not all of Europe — so it’s no surprise that the felines and canines of this city are as plump as they are adorable!

A cute post from Daryl and Mindi.

Sheep Driving Distractions in the Lake District

Raulerson Girl Travels

The Lake District of England is a wonderful place for a scenic drive…if it weren’t for the kamikaze sheep who leap right in front of your car!

I didn’t believe how fearless the sheep were until I saw Heather’s crazy photos.

How Creepy is the Ringling Brothers Circus Museum in Sarasota, Florida?

My Wanderlusty Life

You don’t have to be afraid of clowns to be creeped out by this weird museum, Ashley opines.

If you’re a hardcore circus fan, sure, knock yourself out! Other people? You don’t know what you’re getting into…

Lady Fails at Grocery Shopping

A Lady in London

Who knew it was so hard to grocery shop in the UK as an American? (Me. Boy, do I know that.)

Turns out none of the items are the same as what you would look for in the US (no tomato sauce ANYWHERE!) and Julie struggles to find normal items she just wants to cook.

Transportation in India: What the Tuk-Tuk?!

Traveling Canucks

Tuk-tuks are one of the most common forms of transportation in India — and they can be TERRIFYING.

Nicole and Cam vividly share every detail of a typical tuk-tuk ride, from near-accidents to carefully maneuvering around cows, and you’ll be white-knuckling it along with them.

That Time Angie Made Us Stay in a Sex Motel

Living the Dream RTW

When Jeremy and Angie had to spend the night in a Colombian border town, Angie chose a nondescript hotel.

Well. Turns out it was filled with a wide cadre of “hourly” guests all night long — and the walls were paper-thin.

You know…these funny posts don’t fit anywhere else, so here they are.

50 Amazingly Achievable Things to Do Before You Die

Fevered Mutterings

Forget those usual bucket list items — go skydiving! See Machu Picchu! — and focus on things that you CAN do. Trip on a shoelace. Use a leaf as a bookmark. Walk into plate glass.

Mike makes sure you’ll finish this post with a smile on your face.

8 Places to Travel in Case of a Zombie Apocalypse

Amateur Traveler

So once the zombie apocalypse actually hits, where should people be going? Chris shares his favorite spots, including Louisville, home to the famous baseball bat.

I have to admit, the isolated Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha is an inspired choice.

8 Funny Facts About Traveling With Your Twin

Slow Spirit

Guilherme and his twin brother Gregório are identical twins who travel together — and they are VERY distinctive-looking. They get photographed nonstop, people who meet them individually refuse to believe there are two of them, and yes, they play a lot of pranks.

I laughed out loud at their hostel prank!

Thanks for reading! We loved sharing these posts with you.

Which one of these stories was your favorite? Share away!

Welcome to the award-winning sustainable travel blog, published by Shivya Nath.

For over a decade, I’ve been telling stories at the intersection of travel, the environment and local communities. This journey has taken me as far within as with my feet.

Join MY Adventures

Receive stories of slow, meaningful and conscious travel in your inbox., for 7 years, i travelled the world without a home and lived out of two bags. along the way, i left little pieces of myself behind – everywhere i went and in everyone i met., featured on:.

Latest from the Blog

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I learnt that travel – if done right – has the potential to enable climate action, conserve biodiversity, preserve indigenous ways of life, and transform us within..

Get Paid to Travel the World With Purpose

An in-depth, self-paced course for storytellers, creators and influencers, to get paid to travel – and have a positive impact on the world in the process!

The Shooting Star

My book –  The Shooting Star  – charts my battles and adventures from the cubicle to the road, and from small-town India to remote corners of the globe. It became a national bestseller in just over a month of release!

I’m committed to using my voice (and pen) to advocate for eco-conscious, low-carbon, community-based tourism experiences – that allow us to immerse deeper in the places we visit.

Featured stories.

To Chile, With Love.

Inspiring Women I Met in Bhutan – and What “Happiness” Means to Them.

Why You Should Drop Everything and Travel to Iran Now!

Join me as i seek meaningful adventures in remote and overlooked destinations – that can also positively benefit the planet and everyone we share it with..

Hello! I’m Shivya Nath. In 2011, at age 23, I quit my corporate job with a dream of travelling the globe. Two years later, I packed up my life into a backpack and decided to hit the road indefinitely. I travel slow, seek offbeat and local experiences, stay in a place for a few months or as long as it inspires me, and move on.

I’ve done a solo land journey from Thailand to India via Myanmar, and travelled overland from the Persian Gulf via Iran to Armenia. I’ve lived with a Mayan community in Guatemala, volunteered at a coral reef restoration project in Cuba, lived in a nunnery in Ladakh, and shed my fears and clothes at onsens across Japan. I hope to inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and experience the world – slowly, meaningfully and consciously!

Life-changing travel experience stories

There’s nothing like other travelers’ tales to get inspiration . When you are home longing to be on the road, or when you are on a journey wondering why you left the comfort of your house, submerge into these life-changing travel experience stories, beautiful tales of how a trip can alter the trajectory of your life .

I’m sure my regular readers are used to me talking about travel experiences . But for those who are discovering this little window to my soul called Experiencing the Globe , you can see that it all started with a bucket list of all the –surprise, surprise– travel experiences I want to have around the world.

The list is my goal in life, so I’m spending as much time as I can on the road. But when I’m home in between trips I seek inspiration in other travelers’ tales. I’ve read as many books about exciting journeys as I could put my hands on. And recently I got a hold of Lonely Planet’s Travel Goals: Inspiring Experiences to Transform Your Life .

It got me thinking of my own life-changing travel experiences . Like my transformation into a sustainable traveler after fully grasping what that meant for the planet and all the life in it. I have a trip to the Caribbean to thank for that. The first trip I took alone, when I was starting to test my boundaries, empowered me as a solo female traveler, and opened my eyes to a new world of possibilities! I’m so thankful I chose Italy , an amazing destination to explore on your own! I reaffirmed my faith in human kindness after spending a month in Iran , meeting the loveliest people I’ve ever encountered.  And the most literal life-changing travel experience, moving to Croatia after meeting the love of my life in this beautiful country that now I call home.

The book also encouraged me to ask other travelers if they had a story in their own travels that changed their lives in one way or another. I was overwhelmed with the beautiful tales… some of the best life-changing stories that’ll inspire you to travel!

Life-changing travel experience stories that’ll inspire you to travel

Collecting memories, not counting countries.

I want to start this series of tales with my own. As I told you, many aspects of my life have changed over the years due to a travel experience, but the one I want to elaborate on is the one that defined what my life would be. Traveling hasn’t changed me, it has made me. It’s who I am. Several trips to the south of Chile showed me where I was going. This is the story of how I became the person I am today:

My parents took me camping to the Chilean Lake District every summer while growing up. This was in the dark age, before the internet. Back then we had to rely on maps and guidebooks. So through the endless hours of our road trips, I kept myself entertained glancing at a map, reading about the small towns we passed, and convincing my folks to take a detour to visit some place that caught my attention.

During one trip I told them that I have decided I wanted to go everywhere in the world. After a few laughs, my dad told me about the Travelers’ Century Club (TCC), a group for people who have visited 100 or more of the world’s countries and territories. My eyes sparkled with the thought of being a member, and I made it my goal.

Obviously, I started asking to go to another country instead of the same National Park we always visited. They laughed again –conscious of the monster they have created– and offered a compromise: they’d take me to our neighbor Argentina, my first trip abroad, but I had to see more of my own country before I embarked on my adventure of visiting another hundred. I happily accepted.

See, what I immediately realized is that –as much as I wanted to be part of the TCC– the main reasons to travel should revolve around what I’ll get out of a trip –whether that’s meeting locals, tasting the typical cuisine, exploring nature, or adventuring into an activity– it shouldn’t be just to count countries . I know the “why you should travel” is super personal, but ticking countries off a list only because you put your feet there feels meaningless to me.

Why do people travel? Well, there are as many reasons as people traveling, but even if it is to get a tan while you’re permanently sipping from a cocktail, that trip will always be part of your story, so you should make the most of it.

After visiting every region in Chile, I started to go abroad. Nowadays, getting closer to 100 countries and territories of the TCC list properly visited, what I knew instinctively, transformed into lessons I learnt during my travels … What inspires me the most to hit the road is experiences, because they feed my adventurous soul –the TCC list (and my own bucket list) became the means to guide my journey, not an end themselves.

Spreading the word about the truth of traveling

Claudia’s life story is remarkably similar to my own. Being avid travelers changed the way we perceive a destination, and the story that should be told about it. We both left behind an academic career and repurposed our research abilities towards travel writing. Now we both blog from a distinct point of view. This is the story of how in a visit to Cuba she found her true calling:

“Cuba changed my life because it was nothing like I had expected it to be –quite the opposite, in fact. You see, being the avid traveler that I am, before my trip to Cuba I spent months reading just about anything I could put my hands on. If it talked about Cuba, I had to read it. Everything made it sound like traveling to Cuba would be easy, and locals would be generous and welcoming.

My time in Cuba was less than fabulous. Don’t get me wrong, it is a gorgeous country and now, a few years later, with much more traveling experience and understanding, I am ready to go again. But back then, it was awful. My 23 days there were a constant challenge to avoid scams –a challenge that a few times saw me succeed but that other times saw me fail miserably. It was frustrating. I felt I could not trust anybody. Where were the lovely Cubans everyone talked about in their blogs?

Cuba taught me that people lie, even (or especially) online. Because nobody really wants to say they have had a bad experience, and nobody is really interested in reading about others’ bad experiences –but is that really the case?

I decided there and then to be different. I decided that I had to warn others, tell them the truth, let them know what they should expect and what they should do to avoid scams. That’s why I opened my blog. It was just a pastime at the beginning.

Fast-forward 2 years and I realized that I did want to make an effort to make it work out. After all, what did I have to lose? My contract as a research fellow at the university had expired and I had no real prospect if not a series of menial short-term teaching jobs I was less than interested in. So, I gave blogging my heart and soul. And it worked. I’m a much happier person now. I love what I am doing. I wake up in the morning to face a long list of to-do things and I read it with a smile on my face, which is priceless.

Cuba changed my life. And despite all the frustration I felt back when I was there, it changed it for the best.”

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Encountering wildlife to find yourself

Camilla was looking for something, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Her heart lead her to India , and after that trip her life would never be the same. Animals can have different impacts in our life, but for this former vegan chef, one particular big cat meant more than anything. This is her story:

“January 2017. That’s the date I first arrived in India. By that time, I used to work as a freelance vegan chef in the hustling city of Paris. Having attended a 4-weeks course on yoga and Ayurveda, I had planned to spend the following month exploring this amazing country.

Little did I know that a special encounter would change my life forever.

Always an animal lover, over the years I had developed a passion for the most majestic of big cats: the tiger. The striped animal had somehow summoned me. To what reason and to convey what message I do not know, but to such a call one can hardly resist.

India is home to more than 60% of the world’s remaining wild tigers. The critically endangered species is highly protected, and the country has given to many of its national parks the status of Tiger Reserve.

It was time for me to see my first one in the wild.

With zero safari experience and many hours of research, I booked 4 drives in Ranthambhore, one of India’s most famous Tiger Reserves .

I will always remember the excitement before that first drive in the jungle, and I will never forget the distress of realizing that finding the elusive cat is no easy task. 

But all of a sudden, there it was. Glorious in its fierce black striped orange coat, a killer look and an attitude to die for. My first wild tiger.

That fleeting moment was enough to make me want more. Today, I have moved to Central India, prime tiger landscape of the world, and I have seen 103 different individuals. But every time I see those eyes, I feel the same excitement that I felt as a total beginner that day in Ranthambhore.”

Finding love in an unexpected place

Traveling is full of surprises. A spontaneous detour can change your life forever. Don’t I know it! A quick, unplanned stop in Split after exploring Dubrovnik ended up seeing me move continents for love. A simple recommendation of a town in The Philippines had the same in store for Alya. This is the tale of the trip that lead her to her husband:

“Meeting my future husband was definitely one of the most life-changing travel experiences I’ve ever had. We met 6 years ago in the Philippines. I was traveling alone around Southeast Asia for a couple of months. After completing my dive course in Gili Air Island in Indonesia and didn’t know where to go next. I was looking for a good place to learn to surf. My dive instructor told me about a small town on Luzon Island in the Philippines. It sounded like the perfect place for me. I bought a plane ticket immediately and two days later arrived in San Fernando.

The hostel I stayed at had a big dormitory with many beds. I met many travelers including Campbell. In fact, we had neighboring beds in the dormitory. He traveled alone as well and we liked each other, so we started going together to the beach, surfing and going out at night. By chance we had very similar travel plans and decided to continue our trip together.

We both like doing the same things, like surfing, diving and hiking. We left San Fernando and traveled around the Philippines together for 2 months. From there we went to Singapore. Unfortunately, I had to go back home, my 4-month holiday was over. We arranged to meet up again two months later in Nepal since we both had trekking to Everest Base Camp on our bucket list. So we did, it was our first multi-day trek together.

We met up a couple of times on the road again in different countries. After 6 months of on and off I decided to quit my job and join Campbell on his around the world adventure. Three years later we got married and decided to start a travel blog . In the last 6 years we’ve done hundreds of hikes, spent a year hitchhiking through Latin America, drove thousands of kilometers across Africa and walked seven Camino de Santiago routes.

Now I can’t imagine how my life would look like if I hadn’t gone to that place in the Philippines and had never met my husband.”

Giving is better than having

A trip to South East Asia gave Corritta’s life a whole new meaning. Possessions are overrated, true happiness comes from giving. She and her family left a comfortable life in the United States behind to fill their souls while making the world a better place. This is the tale of their journey:

“My life changing experience prompted me to sell our house, car and possessions to take off on a journey to see the world. That may seem a little extreme but let me explain. My first international trip was to Bangkok in 2018. I thought this trip would be a great way to get away from the stress in my life. It turned out to be a life altering experience that made me realize I was existing, not living. 

While in Bangkok we took a day trip to Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand and it changed my life. We learned how cruel animal tourism is and how we, as tourists, are unwitting accomplices. We support illegal pouching and animal cruelty by taking part in animal tourism. This includes taking pictures with large cats or monkeys and riding elephants. When we do these things, we are not only hurting the animals, we are ensuring things will never get better. I must admit I was never an animal lover but being up close and personal with elephants changed something within me. It made me want to give back.  

So, two years later, with my partner and our one-year old baby boy, decided to take off for a  family gap year .  We sold everything and left San Diego to live a life of service. We will use this time to give back to those less fortunate. 

When I left Thailand my definition of happiness changed. It was no longer associated with material possessions, but by the quality of life I wanted to live. I realized what truly matters is the love of your family. The Thai people with their families were happier than most Americans. So I decided to take back one of the most invaluable things in the world, time. Never forget, all the money in the world can’t buy you more time.” 

Small changes can make the world a better place

A trip to Australia developed plastic-issue awareness in Simona. Seeing how the tides brought tons of plastic to the shores made her change her approach to traveling. From carrying her own grocery bags and water bottle, little adjustments made her a much more responsible traveler. This is how her journey towards sustainability started:

“The first time ever I realized that plastic was a serious matter for our planet was during a road trip in Western Australia, almost 12 years ago.

We stopped at a supermarket along the Coral Bay coast to buy some groceries and the lady at the counter told us they didn’t sell any shopping bags to prevent plastic in the ocean and to help preserving the endangered turtles living in that area. After a first reaction of surprise, we gathered all our shopping in our arms and left, reflecting on what we had been told.

This was just one of the many experiences I’ve lived that made me more conscious about my impact and pushed me to adopt various habits to live and travel more sustainably. For example, after that trip, I am always carrying a cotton bag when I go shopping.

Our eco-honeymoon to Borneo was another life-changing experience that has strengthened my resolution to turn to a zero-waste lifestyle. I selected three ecotourism projects to visit. In Asia finding safe drinkable water is always a challenge, but we traveled with our water bottle, and we chose the right service providers engaged in sustainable travel so, with a little effort, we managed to avoid almost entirely the use of plastic during our trip.

However, we were seriously struck by our stay on Libaran Island, where a sustainable and turtle conservation project was launched 10 years ago. Despite the big efforts carried out by the project and the community in cleaning up the beaches and creatively re-use plastic, the shore is washed daily with tons of plastic coming from the tides. Walking on a carpet of plastic that almost prevented us from seeing the beach underneath was quite shocking.

Facing this global issue in person, raised in me a contrasting feeling of sadness and anger that soon turned into determination: to do as much as possible to reduce plastic in our life. Sometimes we may feel helpless in front of big problems, but we should be aware that small changes can actually make a difference!”

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Discovering happiness in simplicity

When her career and personal relations were failing, Soujanya decided to retreat to the mountains. The Himalayas were the perfect setting to get away from everything and regain perspective. In a small village she discovered that technology is overrated, and that what counts are real connections. This is how a trip to India changed her take on life:

“Back in mid-2019 I wasn’t in a good place in life. I was getting out of a serious relationship, I was burn out at my job, I had problems within my family, and the ever-increasing sense of loneliness had thrown me into a pit of depression. During that time, I turned to the only positive thing I had going on for myself, which was travel and blogging.

After some contemplation, I decided to quit my job to travel. I had saved up enough money that would last me 8-10 months so I didn’t give it much thought because I knew it was the only thing that would keep me from tipping over the edge.

The first thing I did after leaving my job was to head to the Himalayas in India. I spent a month in the Kinnaur and Spiti valleys in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The Kinnaur district was a breath of fresh air. The snow-clad mountain range in the distance, the lush green vegetation all around, the sparse population and the friendly people spoke to my soul.

There was one village called Chitkul , which lies on the Indo-Tibet border and has no cell connectivity, that helped heal me the most. A remote village with a population of less than a thousand people and only a handful of tourists, with nothing around it for many miles.

I spent my days sitting by the river, hiking to the nearby hills and walking through meadows. Just being there surrounded by the Himalayas, without any social media due to lack of connectivity, and making real connections with other travelers and the villagers had some sort of magical effect on me. Not only I have the best travel experience of my life, but the place also healed my mind. I came back happier than ever, with a renewed spirit, ready to enjoy everything that life had to offer.”

Uncovering a braver version of yourself

We all have that one thing we’d love to do but we’re too scared to try. A trip to Thailand taught Allison that life is what we made of it. Pushing her boundaries not only allowed her to have a ton of fun, but also gave her a new path, one in which she gets to do what she loves. This is her story, an encouragement for you to get out of you comfort zone too:

“Shortly after I graduated from college, I moved to a new state to start a full-time job. One day at work, I found myself wanting to go traveling. As I didn’t have any friends there, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to go on my first ever solo trip. So I quickly started doing research on where I’d like to go.

I had never traveled alone before, especially overseas, so I decided to sign up for a guided group that was going rock climbing in Thailand . This gave me a sense of security, being new to solo traveling. It felt like a great way to dip my toes into being alone and meeting strangers, but also doing something that sounded really fun and engaging for 2 weeks.

The entire Thailand trip forced me out of so many comfort zones that ended up being one of the big turning points of my life. The time I spent in Thailand navigating airports and taxis alone, meeting a group of complete strangers, and spending 2 weeks climbing with them in often remote parts of the country, ended up being one of the greatest experiences of my life. Up until this point I had always considered myself a ‘shy’ and ‘cautious’ kind of person, but this travel experience lit me up to become different. It showed me a brave, strong, and self-sufficient side of myself that went on to influence my life in dramatic ways when I returned home.

When I got back, I pretty much dedicated my life to spending as much time as possible outdoors whether that be climbing, hiking, or backpacking… essentially doing things that I once thought I wasn’t ‘capable of’ or was ‘too scared of’. Today, roughly 6 years later, I’m an outdoor empowerment coach and backpacking educator.

My trip to Thailand was the spark that I needed to make that change. It showed me what was possible. I don’t know if it was the people I met, the experiences I had, or the beauty of traveling in Thailand – likely a bit of all of it– but whatever it was, it changed the trajectory of my life, and I’ll forever hold Thailand (and all the people I met) in a special place in my heart.”

A leap of faith towards a new life

Getting to visit a new place after a business trip is nothing out of the ordinary. For most people. For Derek and Mike it was literally life-changing. After a quick trip to Copenhagen , they packed up and started a new chapter of their lives as expats in a different continent. This is the tale of their journey:

“In November 2016 we had a life-changing travel experience in Copenhagen, Denmark. My partner Mike was asked to make an unexpected business trip to the city to help with a project. His company had recently acquired another company in Denmark, and he was asked to help with the integration. He flew there from our hometown, Philadelphia, with only a few days’ notice, and on his first day in the office they asked if he would stay a few weeks longer. He agreed but asked for time off during the American Thanksgiving so that I could fly to Denmark and take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a cheap trip to Europe with no-cost lodging and some meals expensed.

We loved getting to check out a city that we didn’t have on our travel bucket list before this opportunity came about. We did a few tours, visited the Christmas markets and dined out. At one restaurant we got to try the Christmas traditional Danish meal . I enjoyed Copenhagen for 5 days and Mike remained there for work until the end of November.

On his last night in Denmark, he had dinner at his boss’ home. They shared a meal with a lot of wine and then Mike called me when he got back to his hotel. I could hear the excitement in his voice. He asked if I liked Copenhagen, which seemed odd because he knew I enjoyed myself when I was there. Then he asked if I liked it enough to move there, because on that final night, his boss asked if we would take an expat assignment in Denmark.

We didn’t hesitate to accept and our life abroad began almost right away. That trip to Copenhagen was certainly life-changing!”

Learning to fully appreciate what’s in front you

No matter how much you have traveled, there are places that will bring up the best of you. No matter how much there is still to see, some places will take your breath away and will forever stay in your heart. A trip to Antarctica transformed Wendy into a student. She acquired as much information as she could to fully absorb the beauty that she was about to witness. And now she is longing to go back. This is her story:

“Before my cruise from Ushuaia to Antarctica , I was already quite well-traveled. I had visited about 75 countries and seen plenty of natural beauty before. But all of that paled in comparison to the White Continent. The Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina had mesmerized me just days earlier, but now I was seeing dozens, even hundreds, of sparkling white glaciers practically everywhere I looked. These landscapes were so different from anything I’d ever seen that it felt like I’d traveled to another planet.

On the times when the weather was bad, and on the long days of crossing the Drake Passage between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica, I soaked up every bit of knowledge that I could about this snow-and-ice-covered land. Our ship, the MV Ushuaia, was manned by a full staff of scientists and lecturers who were experts in a number of relevant topics, from geology to ornithology. When we were out on the high seas with nothing to do, these experts held lectures on the flora, fauna, history and geology of Antarctica, and I attended every single one.

When we stopped at the British base at Port Lockroy on Goudier Island, I grilled the staff there with questions about how I too could go live and work on the island. And while that dream never materialized, my memories of Antarctica are still sharp in my mind 11 years later, and I still dream of returning one day.

Such an expensive voyage would normally be the trip of a lifetime, not a return destination. But if you’re willing to try your luck, sharply discounted last-minute deals can be found at the port in Ushuaia a day or two before departure. In recent years, these huge discounts have become few and far between, as most ships fill up months in advance. But still I’m thinking of a return trip to Antarctica for some more adventure!”

No matter where you go, every single place in the world has the potential to change your life! Tell me in the comments if you’ve had any life-changing travel experiences!

Liked it? Want to read it later? Pin it!

Did you like what you read? A lovely way to show your appreciation is by buying me a coffee 🙂 Your support will ensure I keep bringing you stories and insights from around the world! Thanks so much!

16 thoughts on “Life-changing travel experience stories”

Wow this is really amazing,I pray that I will be opportuned to travel around the world one day

Sometimes we think it’s a far away dream because it’s dangerous, or expensive, or because we can’t take time from work. I’m aware that for some people it’s actually quite impossible due to their passport or the political situation in their country. For others, their responsibilities are far too great to leave behind. But for most of us, it’s just a matter of priorities. Don’t wait until you have all the money you think you need, or all the time you’d like to spend on the road. Just go! Even if it’s a weekend trip to your neighboring city, or to the countryside close to your place. You got to start somewhere, and every trip has the potential to be life-changing! Let me know how it goes! 🙂

I was looking for inspiration, and inspiration I found. I can’t travel at the moment, but I’m already thinking of how to be more sustainable on my next trip. Thank you all for sharing!

That’s amazing to hear, Dani! Welcome to the sustainable traveler’s team! 🌱

I googled inspiring travel stories to see if my day could be picked up, and I’m so glad this popped up! Lovely stories, super inspiring! I can’t wait for the pandemic to be over to create some travel stories of my own ❤️

Awww! I’m so happy to read your comment, Monty! Hopefully the pandemic will be under control soon and you’ll get to have some travel stories too. Make sure you tell me about them!

Beautiful tales! I can’t wait to start traveling again. Travel already has changed my life, but I’d be happy living through any of the wonderful experiences described here!

When you get to travel again, keep an open mind and an open heart… amazing experiences will happen! ❤️

Very inspiring stories! Thank you for sharing them!

It was a blast to write this, and collect other wonderful tales!

Love all these stories! Love how travel has shaped everyone!

In one way or another, every trip makes us a bit different. It was great to get these wonderful travelers to share their stories -now I’m sure it’s not only me who is deeply changed by travel!

These are all such inspiring stories! Really goes to show you how much travel can impact your life. Thanks for sharing!

It’s crazy how much travel can change us, and how much we can learn from it, no matter where we go!

I loved reading this! All of the stories are such an inspiration! I can’t wait to get back on the road 😍

In times of armchair travel, nothing like beautiful stories to keep the wanderlust up, right? ❤️

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A Little Adrift… 23 Inspiring Travel Stories from Around the World

Last updated on January 21, 2024 by Shannon

It’s easy to share a list of the best travel books out there—although everyone has their favorites, there are a handful of books that always make the list. But inspiring travel stories are a different beast altogether.

These stories may come in the form of a book, such as a memoir detailing someone’s time on the road, or may be a journey noted in the history books, but in this digital age many of the best out there are actually in blog form.

When I left to travel the world in 2008 on a yearlong trip , there were just a handful of travelers sharing their inspiring stories via travel blogs (and later social media). Now there’s a diverse cast of characters of ever race, creed, and abilities who have made travel a priority and have embraced off-the-beaten-path adventures to every corner of the world.

Below are the best travels stories you can look to for inspiration—I included the books that tell a great tale, but also bloggers and historical figures who are notable for something about the way they traveled.

Table of Contents

The Best Online Travel Stories

Traveling blogging took off more than 15 years ago, growing from a small, close-knit collective to a sprawling industry. That said, a lot of travel stories just sound the same after a while. I’ve read travel blogs since 2007, when I was planning my round the world trip , and some stories are just a lot more compelling than the rest.

The travel community is also a lot more diverse—less WASPy and more inclusive. The travel stories below excel in some way that sets them apart. Either it’s the family’s incredible photography and aspirational adventures, or the voice of a storyteller that keeps you coming back for more.

Roads & Kingdoms

Roads & Kingdom is a captivating website that delivers phenomenal travel storytelling. Not only are the stories fascinating—and impeccably written and edited—but the immersive articles share stunning photography, and thought-provoking narratives.

Each story takes readers on a journey around the world, shedding light on diverse cultures, untold stories, and lesser-known destinations. Its unique blend of travel, politics, and culture creates a rich tapestry of exploration that goes beyond typical travel writing, offering a deeper understanding of the places they cover.

The site is run with one simple idea at the core: The more you know, the better you travel. The long-form features and useful information are aimed at armchair and aisle-seat travelers alike.

Before his death, Anthony Bourdain was Roads & Kingdoms’ sole investor—head to the “ Dispatched by Bourdain ” section for the most deeply reported, fascinating travel stories on the site.

Fearless & Far on YouTube

If you prefer your travel inspiration via video, then this adventure travel YouTube channel is the antidote to your wanderlust. It’s a wild ride with Mike Corey, who serves up his travel adventures with a side of danger in many cases—but not all!

His fascinating “Lost Tribes” series showcases a unique side of destinations you won’t find shared in many written travel stories. He’s also just charming and personable and it’s fun to watch his travel story unfold in real time as he wanders the globe.

Erik Gauger of Notes from the Road

There’s a lot to love about Gauger’s travelogue, chief among it that he focuses on storytelling and not travel advice. What you find when you read and follow Notes from the Road is funny, powerful and personal travel stories from all over the world.

What a concept! But its rare to find on travel blogs these days, so if you’re keen to follow an ordinary guy’s extraordinary adventures around the world, this is the one to follow.

He’s adventurous but not so adventurous that you think, “wow, that’s nuts” and travelers will find humor, warmth, and inspiration from his large collection of travel stories dating back to when his blog started in 1999 (not a typo!).

Jeff Jenkins of Chubby Diaries

Jeff Jenkins, the adventurous soul behind the Chubby Diaries , offers a fun and inspiring travel story that challenges stereotypes and embraces body positivity. He’s a bit of a character, so it makes a fun travel story to follow via his Instagram account .

Jeff is now a National Geographic Travel Host, and uses his online platforms to share his remarkable journey as a plus-size traveler, encouraging others to pursue their wanderlust fearlessly and unapologetically.

With his infectious enthusiasm, Jeff breaks down barriers and promotes inclusivity, proving that one’s size should never limit their ability to explore the world. His uplifting presence and empowering message make him a beacon of travel inspiration for travelers of all shapes and sizes—he’s a good reminder that travel is for everyone.

The Bucket List Family

The Bucket List Family—a husband, wife, and their three photogenic children—shares adventurous travel stories on Instagram and YouTube . I’ve followed their travel story for years now, and as an experienced traveler I still love traveling vicariously through their family adventures.

They offer stunning photography and heartfelt narratives, and bring followers on a virtual exploration of the world’s most captivating destinations. Beyond showcasing picturesque locations, they emphasize the importance of shared family adventures and creating lasting memories. My young son was born in 2021, so although he’s already visited eight countries with me, I’m still inspired by the places they take their kids—many of which are on my own bucket list.

The Bucket List Family’s story focuses on experiences over material possessions—but keep in mind they are very wealthy (one-percenters), so they go on some super bougie trips that are aspirational for most.

While they certainly weren’t the first family travel storytellers , as they claim, they do a great job. They encourage travelers to step out of their comfort zones, embrace the unknown, and prioritize quality time together—a message I can get behind. Although they technically have a website, they don’t blog. Their travel story is best followed Instagram and YouTube .

This website was a curation platform that, while it no longer shares new articles, has a treasure trove of absolutely stunning short travel stories—most are readable in about 10-20 minutes. It’s a great sadness that it’s no longer updated with fresh stories, but you can get lost for hours in the archives.

The best place to get started is with this travel story, “ Weavers of the Sky ,” or this one, “ Keepers of Ganesh: The Vanishing Art of Mahout. ” Or head to the editor’s picks page for a curated list of the best of the archives.

Oneika Raymond from Oneika the Traveller

Oneika Raymond is an Emmy-winning travel storyteller. Her stories are engaging and authentic, and she’s all about promoting inclusivity and breaking down misconceptions. Oneika’s posts inspire travelers to step out of your comfort zone and embrace the beauty of different cultures. It’s like getting tips from a friend who’s passionate about travel and believes in the power of exploration to bring people together.

While her website now pumps out more generic travel planning content, following her on Facebook is the perfect way to collect the best pieces of her travel story that encourage cultural exploration and adventure—she regularly re-shares her best videos, stories, and photos from her years of travel.

Best Historical Travel Stories

Gertrude bell.

Gertrude Bell, often dubbed as the “Queen of the Desert,” was an extraordinary woman who defied societal norms and embarked on incredible journeys across the Middle East in the early 20th century.

A British explorer, archaeologist, and writer, she traversed vast deserts, climbed mountains, and immersed herself in the cultures of the region. Her inspiring travel story lies in her unwavering determination, intelligence, and deep respect for the people and places she encountered.

Bell’s book, A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert , encapsulates her adventurous spirit and offers an intimate glimpse into her experiences, documenting her encounters with tribal leaders, her insights into the region’s history and politics, and her unique perspectives on the challenges faced by women in those times.

Her courageous and independent spirit continues to inspire travelers, historians, and feminists alike, making her an icon of female exploration and an incredible travel story even today.

Ibn Battuta

One notable historic travel adventure that captivates the imagination is the journey of Ibn Battuta, an explorer from the 14th century. Ibn Battuta embarked on a remarkable travel odyssey that spanned over 30 years and covered a distance exceeding 75,000 miles, making him one of history’s greatest adventurers.

His extensive travels took him across the Islamic world, including North Africa, the Middle East, India, and even as far as China. Battuta’s story is inspiring due to his fearlessness, curiosity, and the vastness of his exploration, which allowed him to experience diverse cultures, encounter various civilizations, and encounter numerous challenges along the way.

His travel story provides insights into the medieval world and serves as a testament to the enduring spirit of exploration. Although there are translations of his travelogue available, Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century by Ross E. Dunn is a good option to really immerse in his journey because Dunn provides a lot of historical and societal context that enriches Battuta’s story.

Emily Hahn, a trailblazing adventurer and writer, holds an inspiring travel story that spans the globe and breaks boundaries. Known as the “Mickey Mouse girl” due to her unconventional lifestyle, Hahn fearlessly journeyed to places that were deemed off-limits for women in the early 20th century.

From exploring the remote regions of China, where she witnessed political upheavals and became an unofficial concubine, to her daring escapades in the African wilderness and beyond, Hahn’s travels were marked by her independent spirit and relentless curiosity.

Her travel story, No Hurry to Get Home: The Memoir of the New Yorker Writer Whose Unconventional Life and Adventures Spanned the Twentieth Century , is captivating. Her memoir showcases her extraordinary life and captures the essence of her adventurous spirit. Emily Hahn’s audacious exploration and refusal to conform to societal norms make her an inspiring figure, leaving a lasting legacy for women in travel and writing.

Sir Ernest Shackleton

There’s just something magical about the travel stories of the great explorers from history. With the world so connected, these kinds of harrowing travel journeys are more rare (thankfully!). Shackleton’s extraordinary expedition to Antarctica in the early 20th century is renowned for its remarkable story of survival and endurance.

In 1914, Shackleton and his crew set out on the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, aiming to cross the Antarctic continent. However, their ship, the Endurance, became trapped in ice, eventually sinking. Shackleton and his crew were stranded on the ice for months before embarking on a perilous journey in lifeboats to reach Elephant Island.

Despite the immense challenges they faced, Shackleton displayed exceptional leadership, courage, and resourcefulness, ensuring the survival of his entire crew. His story of perseverance and determination in the face of extreme adversity continues to inspire adventurers and explorers to this day.

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing is a classic adventure travel story and makes for a great read. (And if you love this style of historical adventure travel, I truly loved The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey , which I read in just two days .)

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou, an iconic poet, author, and civil rights activist, embarked on a profound and inspiring travel journey that shaped her worldview and enriched her literary voice. Through her autobiographical work, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes , Angelou chronicles her time living in Ghana during the 1960s, immersing herself in the vibrant tapestry of African culture and the fight for independence.

Her travel story is one of self-discovery, resilience, and profound connection, as she navigates the complexities of identity, racial inequality, and personal growth.

Maya Angelou’s courage to venture into unknown territories, both geographically and emotionally, and her ability to find strength and inspiration amidst adversity, inspires readers around the world. Her travel experiences beautifully illustrate the transformative power of exploration and the importance of embracing diverse cultures and perspectives.

10 Best Travel Stories on A Little Adrift

I’m guilty of sharing a fair bit of travel tips and advice for travelers of all shapes—I have detailed cost of living guides for countries around the world, as well as travel guides to my favorite countries in the world.

But deep in my 15 years of archives are travel stories and photography that I remain proud of, even if they’re not search-friendly content that’s likely to appear at the top of Google Search. These are the best travel stories from my years on the road.

• A Journey to Uncover What Sustainable Coffee Really Means : The journey an Akha hill tribe community in rural Northern Thailand is taking toward creating a sustainable business and social enterprise. Filled with beautiful photographs from their community and their journey toward fair-trade sustainability.
• How One Maasai Chief is Using Tourism to Change His Community : An innovative Maasai chief and his community are using tourism funds to help end FGM in Maasai communities and instead educate girls.
• The Case for Using Tourism to Help Destinations Recover : In the wake of Nepal’s devastating earthquake, this piece looks at how tourism shapes rural economies and how it can be a vehicle to help these communities recover after natural disasters.
• A Guest is a Gift from God : One of my favorite memories from Tbilisi, Georgia was sitting under the Mother Georgia statue with group of locals for an evening of song, conversation, and snacks. In short, for the famous Georgian hospitality.
• A Pastel Sunrise Over Wadi Rum : A dawn camel ride as the sun is rising over Jordan’s desert is etched in my memory as the pinks and blues tinted the sand and rocks.
• An Unexpected Afternoon with a Taco Stand Family : A simple question leads to a wonderful afternoon learning about Mexico’s blue corn.
• Peat Fireplaces, Rugged Ireland, & Something Special : Ireland holds such a special place in my heart, the smells of fireplaces mixed with yeasty beer and flowing conversation ebb and flow throughout the island.
• A Child’s Journey Through Chinese New Year : Go on the journey of Chinese New Year festivities in Thailand’s Chinatown told through the eyes of a young child.
• A Secret Spot in Ireland’s Heart : Ireland is an island of mystery as I tap into the cadence and rhythm of the locals speech, lore, and attitudes while hiking through sheep pastures and along coastlines.
• This One’s for Africa : Riding the local transport in East Africa leads to some hilarious encounters that constantly reminded me, “Oh yeah, this is Africa.”
• Finding the Travel Spark in Yangon : After years on the road it’s a single moment in Burma that pinpoints for me why I travel and reignites the wanderlust.

Looking for more inspiration? I’ve curated the best travel books not only in general, but for each region of the world.

Perceptive Travel

Skooliepalooza and the Great Nomad Rendezvous

In Albuquerque with Malachy McCourt, Professional Irishman

Mystery of the Laotian Plain of Jars

Tracing the Shimanto River on an Island in Japan

April Travel Book Reviews

Music Museums in Memphis: Sun, Stax or Graceland?

Welcome to the April edition of Perceptive Travel, the online magazine featuring tales from wandering book authors.

We've got four new stories and some reviews of new travel books this issue, bouncing around the globe to bring you tales of adventure and mystery from the road.

Speaking of the road, let's start out with a story about nomads and where they gather. First-time contributor Clinton Harris brings us a cross between #vanlife and festival with a story about Skooliepalooza in the Arizona desert. Former Travel + Leisure editor Mark Orwoll also makes his debut with a story about an encounter with Irish author Malachy McCourt at a meet-up event for writers in Albuquerque.

We head over to Asia with another new contributor, Edward J. Taylor, who explores his adopted home of Japan on an island where a river still runs free. Brad Olsen returns with a story about the strange and sometimes violent history of the Plain of Jars in Laos.

Last, Susan Griffith is back with three notable new books to check out, two from TV hosts. One of the authors is legendary adventurer and past Perceptive Travel contributor Richard Bangs.

A Nature Snooze on a Packable Hammock

Most months we give away some new travel gear item, the prize going to one of the people who enters from our e-mail newsletter list or our Facebook page. One lucky winner this month will be ready to sleep in the woods with this mini double hammock from Tentsile. It has a mesh "shelf" underneath for storing your items to keep handy as well.

To be in the running, you just need to reply back to the newsletter with the requested info or watch our Facebook page for entry instructions. This is no lottery—odds are so good that more than a few of our readers have won twice! So click that link and get on our list join us if you're not part of the club already.

Looking for some more great travel stories? Dive into the Perceptive Travel story archives, where you can find hundreds of travel stories from around the globe, everything that has appeared here since our debut in the mid-'00s. In between new online magazine issues, check out the award-winning Perceptive Travel Blog for shorter takes on weird and wonderful places around the world.

Thanks for reading our online travel magazine, - Tim Leffel, Editor

Short Travel Stories

Love short travel stories?

Then you’re in the right place!

This guide shares some of the best travel stories you can find.

Discover funny anecdotes that will make you laugh, inspiring love stories from the road that will warm your heart, wild travel tales that will have you glued to your screen, travel horror stories that will take you out of your comfort zone, scary travel stories that will creep you out, and more.

Along with reading my own personal short stories about traveling the world, you’ll hear from other nomads who have unique anecdotes to share.

On that note, scroll down to read some truly interesting travel stories that will make you giggle, cry, scream, and more.

Q: Why do people like to read travel stories?

Crazy travel stories.

A collection of wild stories from the road.

25 Crazy Travel Stories You Need To Read To Believe

8 Crazy NYC Subway Stories That Will Make You Call A Cab

Travel Horror Stories

You’ll be thankful that you’re reading — and not telling — these horror travel stories.

Travel Horror Stories You’ll Be Glad You’re Not Telling

10 Travel Insurance Horror Stories That Prove You Need Coverage

A Host’s View: My Worst Airbnb Horror Stories

18 Scary Travel Stories From Haunted Hotels To Creepy Cabins

Short Travel Stories About Kindness & Love

Inspiring travel love stories & anecdotes showing the kindness of strangers abroad.

23 Inspiring Travel Stories Sharing The Kindness Of Strangers

38 Inspiring Travel Love Stories From The Road

Funny Travel Stories

Stories about travel that will make you laugh.

16 Short Funny Travel Stories That’ll Make You Laugh Out Loud

11 Epic Travel Fail Stories From The Road

20 Embarrassing Travel Stories That Will Make You Laugh & Blush

Travel Experience Stories

These short travel stories talk about life-changing trips!

17 Inspiring Travel Experience Stories About Life-Changing Trips

12 Short India Travel Stories From The Crazy To The Inspiring

17 True Short Adventure Travel Stories That Will Inspire Your Next Trip

Inspiring Travel Stories

Inspiring stories about traveling the world from people experiencing transformation and overcoming challenges. These are some of the best short motivational stories on the internet!

How One Woman’s Cancer Journey Led Her To Sell Everything & Travel

Kilimanjaro Trekking: A Healing Experience Summitting Africa’s Highest Mountain

Black Solo Female Travel: An Eye-Opening & Empowering Guide

How To Successfully Explore The World As A Deaf Traveler

How Traveling Can Help When Coping With Loss

How Hiking The Camino Helped One Woman Heal & Grow

Short Travel Stories FAQ

Below, find answers to frequently asked questions about the topic of short travel stories.

Q: What’s the best way to start writing a great short story?

Wondering how to write short stories?

One strategy I love using is to start with some writing prompts .

Because thinking too much can hurt your creative flow, I recommend picking one randomly and then diving into your story without spending too much time agonizing over the details. Instead, just write.

By the way, even if you only have one day to spare on education you can learn a lot.

Here is some helpful information on how to improve your creative storytelling skills for more engaging writing, as well as how to tell better stories through photography .

Q: What are the best short travel stories you have ever heard?

Personally, I love travel stories that make me feel something and take me on a journey. The story can be funny, sad, heartwarming, crazy, scary…

…or even a mix of everything, like my own crazy Couchsurfing story, shared here:

Q: What is your latest noteworthy travel story?

On a personal level, my sexual assault stories from the road have been some of the hardest but most important to share.

Additionally, I recently wrote a story about exploring England beyond London by train last which was a lot of fun to write.

Q: What are the categories you can put on a travel blog?

It is up to you, though I suggest considering the hierarchy you want your blog to have.

Think about the main topics of your blog — for instance, short travel stories is one of my categories — as well as how you can organize destinations. For example, I have continents as my categories, and then I list countries and cities as tags.

Q: What are your favorite travel stories while traveling in India?

One of the wildest India travel stories I’ve ever shared is about when I tried bhang lassi during a trip to Varanasi a few years ago.

It was the first time I’d ever heard of the drink, and it really was one of the craziest travel experiences of my life.

Here is a video I posted sharing the details:

Because stories are addictive, and great travel storytelling can transport you to destinations around the world right from your living room.

In fact, stories offer one of the best ways to travel at home .

Bonus Short Travel Stories

I hope you enjoyed reading these stories about world travel.

The amazing stories above span the globe — South Africa, South America, Machu Picchu, New Zealand, NYC, and beyond!

If you’re still craving more tales:

Click here for more short travel stories .

Click here for stories from inspiring travelers .

What are your favorite short travel stories?

Enjoyed these short stories about travel? Pin this page for later!

• NEW: Submit your Testimonial

Short Adventure Stories from around the World – Machu Picchu to Sandboarding

The Adventurous Traveler is always seeking for the adrenalin-kick, the special experience to feel alive. Find real-life travel stories from adventurous traveler all over the world. These stories were contributed by the Hostelgeeks community.

Keen for even more entertaining and inspiring travel stories? Check out are huge collection below.

Read all the great stories from around the world. You can instantly share them as well if you enjoy them!

Find all 180+ short travel stories here.

Feeling liberated in Norway!

My boyfriend and I spent last August in Norway.

Our first stop was Trolltunga, 22 km of walking through snow, mud, rain, wind and darkness. Two days later we hiked Pulpit Rock , almost half the distance, this second hike seemed like a breeze compared to the first one.

We spent the rest of the time relaxing and exploring the beautiful county of Ryfylke – from a 10 Euro/day spa overlooking the lake, gazing at the incredible and numerous waterfalls, to aimlessly driving by the fjords.

I have always been scared of heights.

It had been less than a year since my foot surgery, accomplishing these hikes made me feel excited and liberated.

On one of our drives along the fjords, we found ourselves alone on the road surrounded by endless beauty, I felt like this was my chance to do something else I’ve always wanted to do…

When visiting Norway, hop over to Bergen. It is a beautiful city to visit with so many amazing things to do.

Read our guide on fun things to do in Bergen, Norway . Here is our guide to best hostels in Bergen .

Find more exciting Short Travel Stories here .

Catching the train with the police

After our Freedom Trail tour, we wandered around China Town in Boston in search of our next thing to do. We ended up reaching the train station and thought that maybe it’ll be cool to check out Gillette Stadium. We didn’t put much thought into it and next thing we knew, we’re on the train towards Walpole station.

It was quite a hassle getting to “Patriot Place” but we found it to be a cool spot to chill out. However, we failed to realize that there will be a back-to-back football match happening that late afternoon. We lingered around too long, and there were no means for us to get back to Walpole station. (Traffic was down, making it impossible for cabs to come in, and it was a long walk away).

When we saw a policeman down the street, we ran up to him, asking about other alternatives to rush back to Walpole for the last train leaving in 10 minutes. To our disbelief, he offered us a ride in the police car. So thanks to the Boston Police, we were back in Boston safe and sound, just in time to catch our bus to New York.

Read: 13 Crazy Travel Stories – when the Hostel burns down

Danger and Fear Climbing the Italian Dolomites Mountain

Having experienced many exposed and challenging Via Ferrata, I thought my rational fear had subsided over time. That was until my friends and I had to cross an icy bridge that was completely open to the elements.

Without the usual pseudo protection of my carabiner clips and iron wire, I suddenly felt extremely at risk.

Either side of the foot-wide ice-crossing were drops that had no bottom and considering we were climbing on a mountain that stood over 2000 m tall, my guess is that if I had slipped, I would not be re-telling this story today. If I learned only one thing – do not underestimate the Dolomite Mountains!

Read: Once In A Lifetime Travel Experiences – The Travel Stories

Machu Picchu’s Gigantic Aura – Reminder Why I Travel

On day three of the classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru , we reached the summit of Abra de Runkuracay, eager to take in the surrounding views. The day was unusually warm; wispy white clouds rolled in and out of the deep green valleys, aided by a gentle breeze. We scuttled up to the highest point we could find.

Even though the clouds obstructed much of the view, I could feel the enormity of the valley we were perched above. I searched for snowy peaks in the distance, searched for the river far below. At that moment, I could do no more than revere my surroundings and feel that I was a part of something important.

The history enveloped me, the sights burned themselves into my memory, the crisp mountain air filled my lungs.  My overwhelmed senses were reminding me: This is why I travel .

Sandboarding at 65k through Namibia’s Dunes

We left Swakopmund, Namibia early in the morning and drove out to the dunes with the sand boards. It was a difficult trudge to the top, and I gulped when I got there and looked down the slope we would be using. Too late to wimp out, though.

I smeared the bottom of the board with wax, clipped in my boots and performed the backwards somersault they had shown us how to do to get started. Then I was up on my feet and scudding diagonally across the dune, balancing better than I imagined, and picking up more speed than felt safe. I shifted my weight to try to slow, but the board dug in and flung me forward, and I landed face-down in the sand and rolled. “ Like a helicopter taking off sideways,” someone said when I got back to the top, spitting sand.

I graduated then to lie-down boarding: headfirst on a sheet of ply at the top of the dune, pulling up the corners and barreling down the slope. The guy measuring the speed shouted “ 65k ”. Then the board caught and stopped dead, and I buried myself in the sand some distance ahead.

When starting your Africa-Experience, Namibia is the perfect spot. We’ve visited Tsumeb Backpackers in Tsumeb, a remarkable home on the road. Find all hostels in Tsumeb here .

Sun Rise in the Desert of Morocco – Lasting Travel Memories

Travel Memories! We love to think back of our time in the Moroccan desert.

Back in 2013 we were staying in the wild city of Marrakesh.

It was loud, it was colorful, many different smells run through our noses. It was truly a wow-experience to get to know Marrakesh. One day we got the opportunity to hop on a bus to a desert adventure. It was a bus tour with local guides on their way to the far desert, stopping at a few small towns in the mountains.

On the way we crossed the majestic Atlas Mountains, and there are tons of tiny villages hidden in the middle of nowhere.

Really impressive!

We spent the night in a small group of tents. In a bigger tent, we all came together to have dinner. After enjoying a Tajine loaded with Cous Cous and Vegetables, our new friends started to play some music, and everybody started singing.

The most impressive part of the whole night, however, was something different.

Have you ever seen 1 Billion stars?

This is how we felt whilst watching the clear sky in the cold desert. We both have never seen so many stars.

We decided to wake up early. We wanted to watch the sun climbing up behind the mountain and feel the first shafts of sunlight. This is when we took the photo, trying to freeze those good travel memories.

You can download our secret guide to Marrakesh here .

Read : complete guide to best hostels in Marrakech . We also have a guide for the best hostels in nearby Essaouira  and the best hostels in Casablanca .

We share here the best desert tour from Marrakesh, a handmade souvenir, and a secret spot you will love us for.

I believe I can fly – Tobogganing down a 3 km narrow piste

It was reassuring when, before trying out tobogganing for the first time, my friends admitted to being a little apprehensive. Staring down a 3 km narrow piste, with a flimsy wooden sled between me and the compact snow, I took a deep breath and pushed away. Before long, we were racing around bends and hitting speeds that sent the trees into a blur.

Suddenly it didn’t matter if we tumbled into the powder or got damp from the melt – we were once again 6 years old with absolutely no fear or a care in the world.

The Dangerous Roads in Morocco Across the Atlas Mountain

Traveling through Morocco by car is a great way to see this diverse and beautiful country. But the roads in Morocco can be diabolical . We rent a car and take off from Marrakesh airport. Within 5 minutes, we were lost, having missed the signposted turn-off to our destination. On entering the highway, we were greeted with an overturned truck.

We journey over the High Atlas Mountains. A steep, winding and rugged road, the main danger is not the drop-offs, or the wandering sheep, or even the overloaded trucks. The greatest danger were the Mercedes taxis that come hurtling at you from around every corner, horn blaring, speed limits ignored.

Read: best hostels in Morocco

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Our 25 Most Read Travel Stories From 2021

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Can you believe that 2021 is already drawing to a close? The team of travel experts here at TravelAwaits spent the year exploring new destinations, reliving fond memories of bygone trips, and providing travel inspiration and expertise to our readers. To celebrate another exciting year of wanderlust and jet-setting, we wanted to take a look back at the articles that you, our readers, resonated the most with in the past year. As a special treat, let’s start with the most popular article of the year so you don’t have to scroll to the bottom to find it…

1. European Towns That Are Better In The Winter Than The Summer

Topping the list this year was travel expert Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey’s piece on European towns that are better to visit in the winter than the summer. While amazing any time of year, these seven cities exude additional ambiance and charm during the colder months. From snow-covered buildings to going the extra mile — rather kilometer in this instance — around the holidays, you can’t go wrong booking your winter flight to any of these great cities. Which will you be adding to your travel list in 2022?

2. Enchanting Places Where Cars Aren’t Allowed

Travelers often yearn to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and for good reason. The constant car cacophony is enough to drive anyone mad. Travel expert Inka Piegsa Quischotte stepped in to share these 11 enchanting places around the world where cars aren’t allowed . Spanning four continents, Inka shares her favorite places where you are more likely to be run over by a donkey than a Mustang.

3. Luxury Train Line Now Operating On One Of The Most Beautiful Routes In The U.S.

Rounding out the coveted top three, travel news writer Jim Fulcher connected with readers when he shared this timely tidbit of transit news. A popular Canadian-based train line announced its foray into the United States with an exciting new line. Read more of Jim’s piece to learn which luxury Canadian train line is now operating on one of the most beautiful routes in the U.S. !

4. Where I Decided To Retire After Moving 33 Times During My Life

When I first read Peggy Cleveland’s story about retirement after moving 33 times, I was excited to know that I wasn’t the only regular re-locator (24 for me which seems paltry in comparison). But what really piqued my interest was where she landed and what drew her there after so many moves. I have to say that I fully support her reasoning and definitely desire to travel to this region in the near future at the very least. See where she decided to retire after moving 33 times during her life .

5. The Friendliest Small Towns In The U.S.

The inaugural year for our Best Of Travel Awards was 2021, and our readers excitedly voted to recognize their favorite destinations from around the globe. One of the tightest races by far was for the title of friendliest small town in the U.S., so it was not surprising to see Laura Ray’s piece showcasing the winners intriguing so many of our readers. Learn more about all 15 of the friendliest small towns in the U.S. and see if your hometown made the list!

6. This Florida Town May Be The Most Magical Place To Spend The Holidays

Florida is not necessarily an idyllic destination to spend the holidays in the traditional sense. After all, Bing Crosby isn’t the only one that dreams of a white Christmas each year. However, Greg Robertson helped create a case for why St. Augustine shouldn’t be ignored this time of the year despite its lack of snow. Learn why this Florida town may be the most magical place to spend the holidays .

RuthChoi / Shutterstock.com

7. Why Costa Rica Is The Best Place To Retire Internationally

Why is Costa Rica the best place to retire internationally ? Erika Ebsworth-Goold shares eight reasons that set Costa Rica apart from other regions with beautiful beaches and ocean views. Medical care in this unassuming Central American country tops the list of reasons why expats prefer it over other more well-known nations when they are choosing where to roost in their golden years. If you are pondering retirement abroad, make sure to read the whole article to see what else sets Costa Rica apart!

8. Delta Flight Crew Finds Letter Left In Cockpit Calling It A Pandemic Time Capsule

The year 2021 was a year where the entire world collectively held its breath in anticipation for what a new year might bring. After all, hindsight proved that 2020 was not the year that anyone had truly hoped for. Air travel came to a screeching halt, and planes found themselves parked indefinitely. Upon bringing one such plane out of storage, a Delta flight crew discovered a note left by the last person to pilot it: 435 days prior. Read the full pandemic time capsule as the crew dubbed it.

9. Friendliest Small Towns To Visit In Canada

Canada is regularly named one of the friendliest countries in the world. In fact, the internet is teeming with memes showcasing, and yes, poking fun at, this moniker. But where are the most friendly towns in the most friendly country? Canadian native and travel expert Vanessa Chiasson shares 19 towns that she believes outshine the rest. From Quebec to Nunavut, British Columbia to Newfoundland, enjoy her picks for the friendliest small towns in all of Canada .

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10. Beautiful Castles You Can Actually Visit In The Midwest

Castles are intriguing. Ramparts, portcullises, moats, and drawbridges just scratch the surface of these architectural achievements that stand the test of time. And yet, for most a trip to Europe, the motherland of castles is not in the cards. But don’t ye fret, for Midwestern travel expert Tim Trudell has shared this list of nine beautiful castles you can actually visit in the Midwestern U.S. to keep your knightly dreams alive. Have fun storming the castle!

11. Spectacular Fall Foliage Train Rides In The U.S.

Nothing is more beautiful than watching the leaves transition from lively green to even more vivacious shades of orange and red. While road trips are an exciting way to enjoy these colorful hues, being the driver does tend to detract from the experience as your eyes must stay trained on the road. If this has been your experience in the past, consider one of these spectacular fall foliage train rides in the U.S. in 2022 so you don’t miss a thing.

Louisa Rogers

12. Opportunities To Make Extra Income In Retirement

Retirement isn’t cheap, and despite the best-laid plans, earning a little extra is rarely a bad thing for most retirees. Louisa Rogers, expat and travel expert, jumped at the chance to share her expertise in this area with our readers earlier this year. Consider all eight of Louisa’s opportunities to make extra income in retirement .

13. Reasons Panama Is Popular With Retirees Looking To Live Internationally

Proximity to the U.S. and favorable climate are two of the primary reasons that expats find themselves migrating to Panama from the U.S., but they are not the only factors. In fact, Cindy Barks shares nine reasons Panama is popular with retirees looking to live internationally . Discover for yourself why this country has far more to offer than a shortcut around South America for ships.

14. Quaint European Towns That Feel Like A Hallmark Christmas Movie

Is your household one where the TV remains permanently dialed into the Hallmark Channel around the holidays (or maybe even year round)? If so, then you should jump at the chance to explore these seven quaint European towns that will make you feel like you stepped onto the set of a Hallmark Christmas movie . From fairytale-like facades to cobbled streets and artisan shops, even the Hallmark-averse traveler will find themselves at home in these charming towns across Europe.

15. Flight Attendants Reveal 13 Things You Should Always Pack In Your Carry-On

Who better to provide expert knowledge on the subject of must-haves for air travel than those who make a living out of traveling by plane. Our team worked with a group of flight attendants who revealed 13 things you should always pack in your carry-on . The most surprising entry on the list? A tennis ball. Make sure to take a look at the rest of the article to learn why, and enjoy the rest of the list so you can board your next flight as prepared as possible.

16. The World’s 7 Most Luxurious Train Rides

Travel by rail may no longer be the fastest or most efficient mode of travel, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a time and a place for it. For many train lines, the journey is immensely more important than the destination itself. So for your next trip, set aside some additional time and experience the pampering that can come with the world’s seven most luxurious train rides .

17. Dr. Beach Announces His 2021 Best Beaches List

Our readers were ready to lather up the ( coral-friendly ) sunscreen and shake the sand off their favorite beach chair back in May when Dr. Beach announced his picks for the best beaches of 2021. For 30 years, this coastal ecologist has shared his take on the factors that make a beach truly remarkable. In fact, he rates each beach in 50 unique areas, from sand softness to safety records before arriving at his selections. Don’t wait for his 2022 list to start planning your next beach trip; take a look at his 2021 picks today !

18. Beautiful Vintage Train Rides In The U.S.

Our readers were certainly on board with train content this year, with four rail articles ranking in the top 25. And again, with many more efficient travel options to choo choo chose from, railroads have had to work to make themselves stand out from the competition. Nostalgia was just the ticket to save many of these lines, as you can see with these 11 beautiful vintage train rides in the U.S. .

Kris Wiktor / Shutterstock.com

19. How To Visit Crystal Mill, One Of Colorado’s Most Photographed Sites

It is said that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and after seeing the photograph above, I can see why. Familiar, yet mysterious, photographers drive 90+ miles and then hike nearly 10 roundtrip for their shot of this iconic mill. To learn the backstory of this mysterious attraction — as well as how to visit Crystal Mill — read more about one of Colorado’s most photographed sites .

20. California’s 3 Least Visited National Parks Are Absolutely Breathtaking

With nine to its name, California has more national parks than any other state. Parks such as Yosemite , Death Valley , and Joshua Tree are household names for many, drawing millions of visitors across their borders each year. However, for a more intimate — and just as breathtaking — experience, you might consider one of these options instead. Consider visiting one of California’s three least visited national parks in 2022 and enjoy views that few others experience.

21. Rookie Travel Mistakes Made By Experienced Travelers

Even the most seasoned travelers make mistakes when abroad, as Sue Davies and Regina Ang can attest. Despite traveling regularly for over three decades, and visiting all seven continents, even these experienced travelers have fallen victim to some pretty “rookie” travel mistakes . Learn from their missteps as you prepare for your next journey, and hopefully, you will avoid the same pitfalls.

22. The Historic Canadian Town You Need To Visit This Fall

Cornwall, Ontario, is one border town that you should schedule a few days to enjoy rather than simply pass through while traveling from the U.S. to Canada. And while it is an excellent destination year round, this is one historic Canadian town you need to visit in the fall . Fall foliage and an enthralling pumpkin festival known as “Pumpkinferno” are just two reasons that make a fall trip a must.

23. Unique Small Towns To Visit In Scotland

Scotland is a mesmerizing country, steeped in enough history and lore to fill several libraries, so it is no surprise that it tops many bucket lists. What better place to discover Scottish charm than in the quaint towns where the intersection of past and present can be seen most readily. UK resident and travel expert Samantha Priestly shares seven unique small towns to visit in Scotland during your next journey to the British Isles.

Nancy Kennedy / Shutterstock.com

24. Must-Visit Quaint Towns In Upstate New York

You may be surprised that New York has more to offer than towering skyscrapers and packed public transit. In fact, once you leave the Big Apple, the state becomes far less noisy and far more open. Travel expert Sage Scott shared 13 must-visit quaint towns in Upstate New York that you should consider.

25. Pennsylvania’s Unique Dining Experience 43-Feet Underground

TravelAwaits ‘ go-to writer for all things Pennsylvania is native Robin O’Neal Smith. So when she chose to write about her unique dining experience 43-feet underground , we were intrigued. Clearly, our readers were, too, with it rounding out our list of the 25 most popular articles in 2021. Head on down , and see what all of the hubbub is about!

All of 2021 was a travel year to remember. Our team of writers excitedly made up for time not spent traveling the previous year. We hope you will continue to be inspired through their journeys as you make plans for 2022 and beyond. Don’t put off your bucket list trip for too long because you never know what curve balls life will throw at you next: Stay safe and happy travels!

He has traveled to 44 states and has taken several trips outside of the U.S.; he experienced London as a tourist during college and took immersive trips to both Mexico City and Athens through a former career with a college student ministry. One of his favorite travel memories was serving a Christmas meal to refugees in Athens and hearing their stories of hope; Athens is truly the crossroads of European, Asian, African, and Middle Eastern cultures and shouldn't be missed!

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I'm David Leiter , the guy behind this website. I'm an American who's been traveling the world full time for 8 years now.

I started this travel blog in 2019 to document my own international trips, share my photos, and help others learn how to travel the world and find some really good spots off the beaten path.

I'm currently based in Bali , Indonesia , where I met my wife Intan, who’s a Bali local. Now she joins me on these wild and crazy adventures too.

Together, we've done some bucket list hikes , climbed active volcanoes , seen exotic wildlife , and visited some spectacular castles , temples , and monuments around the world.

I've worked with and been featured by BBC Travel , NBC News , Time , and other companies.

I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list. I hope this world travel blog can help and inspire you in your own journeys as well!

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10 Travel Stories & Tales From Around The World

Written by Eagle Creek on August 20, 2022

Eagle Creek was established in 1975 by Steve and Nona Barker, a couple who revered the planet and explored it accordingly. In the process, they invented an entirely new product category: adventure travel gear. Half a century later, no one offers more expertly conceived and crafted gear for experiencing the earth in every hemisphere. Thoughtful, sustainable, function-forward solutions inspired by the belief that travel can be a force for good.

Get inspired by these amazing travelers, young and old, who have journeyed to the world’s furthest reaches, from the highest peaks to the hottest deserts, and everywhere in between. They share their incredible travel stories online, so you can take inspiration from their extensive travel experiences.

There are many different ways to travel around the world and for some, your basic all-inclusive resort experience just won’t cut it. If your kind of travel is more about self-discovery than selfies , find inspiration for your next journey from these ten adventurous world travelers who went off the beaten path and share their incredible travel stories with all who are ready for a dose of armchair travel. They grab their bags , fill their waist packs with photography gear, and pack their travel journals so they can bring you stories, videos, and photos from all over the world.

You never know what you’ll learn about yourself when you challenge yourself and experience the unexpected as you look to find your unknown.

Best Travel Stories

These 10 recommendations feature epic travel stories about current, recent, and a few little know past travelers and bloggers exploring the globe. These famous travelogues will take you around the world right from your couch.

A Journey to Rival the Odyssey

“People sometimes refer to me as an explorer, but I am not. Those who follow maps are adventurers, those who wrote the maps were the explorers.” – Karl Bushby

Karl Bushby is attempting to be the first person to completely walk an unbroken path around the world. He began his quest, known as the Goliath Expedition , in 1998 at the tip of South America and is still on the move. He hopes to reach his home in England soon, and as of 2020 he was encountering some visa obstacles, but is still committed to finishing his walking adventure. At journey’s end, he’ll have walked over 36,000 miles, through icy seas, mountains, and deserts , across four continents and two dozen countries. You can find updates on his whereabouts on his Facebook page .

Forbidden Travels to a Forbidden City

"Ever since I was five years old, a tiny precocious child of Paris, I wished to move out of the narrow limits in which, like all children of my age, I was then kept. I craved to go beyond the garden gate, to follow the road that passed it by, and to set out for the Unknown." – Alexandra David-Neel

Famous French explorer Alexandra David-Neel made history in the early 1900s by walking, disguised as a male beggar, across China and Tibet and into the forbidden and fabled city of Lhasa. She then wrote over 30 books about Eastern religion, philosophy, and her travels, until her death at age 101. It is said that her teachings influenced beat writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. She is surely one of the greatest female adventurers of the 20th century , and her travel stories also rank as some of the best travel books of our time. Check out her entire collection of stories and be inspired—we particularly love her journey to Lhasa .

In the Footsteps of Genghis Khan

“Mountains never meet… but people do” – Tim Cope

Tim Cope is no stranger to unusual travel methods. His feats, which have included traveling by bicycle, rowboat, skies, horse, and camel, caught the attention of National Geographic. He has been awarded by the famous publication both Adventure Honoree and Australian Adventurer of the Year.

His travel story? In 2004, he set off to cross the 10,000 km between Mongolia and Hungary by horse, on the trail of Genghis Khan—a journey that took over three years to complete. He later wrote a bestselling book and created a documentary series about his journey. He now has h alf a dozen travel books detailing each part of his amazing experiences, and each one is worth a read.

In the words of Tim himself :

“Journeys are integral to all our lives. They present testing challenges, moments of exquisite reward and insight, and times when you are racked by self-doubt and problems. Battling it out involves confronting fears, making yourself vulnerable, aiming for something worthy and clinging onto self-belief and passion even when it seems that everything is stacked against you. In the end a journey invariably offers us a chance to learn and grow and reach out for our dreams.”

Dancing, Badly

“The dancing gives me an opportunity to see places I'd never get to otherwise. I love to travel. The people and experiences have taught me a great deal.” – Matt Harding

In 2003, Matt Harding quit his day job to embark on a journey that would lead him to more than 39 countries in seven continents. Best known for a dance that looks very similar to running in place while snapping, Matt and his dance eventually attracted the attention of Stride Gum. The company then then paid Matt to travel, dance and record videos.

Matt has danced with locals in Mulindi, Rwanda; in a narrow canyon in Petra, Jordan; on a lush hillside overlooking Machu Picchu in Peru; and in a crowded street in Tokyo, Japan, all on his sponsor's dime. Although he no longer actively updates his website, the videos live on, as does his collection of short travel stories on social media and elsewhere, and make for an entertaining and inspiring journey around the world.

From Peak to Peak

“It’s important to try to encourage kids to go outside and protect public land.” – Matt Moniz

Every state has its highest point, and Matt Moniz has climbed them all. By the age of 12, Matt had already earned the record of being the youngest climber to summit all 50 high points in the United States in the least amount of time.

His journey , which lasted just 43 days, took him from the lowest high point in Florida to the highest point in Alaska . Matt's travels have extended beyond the U.S. as well; he has climbed Mount Elbrus in Russia and Mount Kilimanjaro and is planning to hike all of the Seven Summits. In 2014, he became the youngest climber to make the trek up Makalu in the Himalayas, the fifth highest mountain in the world.

From Ice to the Desert

“That I was the first woman to reach the pole on a solo expedition was unimportant to me. It was the learning experience and the struggle to overcome the challenges that made the journey so rewarding and the prize so precious.” – Helen Thayer

Helen Thayer became the first woman to ski solo to the North Pole, at age fifty. Along with her husky Charlie, she traversed the landscape, temperatures, and threat of polar bears. At age 63, Helen walked across all 1,600 miles of the Gobi Desert. This unconventional explorer also kayaked 2,200 miles of the Amazon River and lived above the Arctic Circle, near a wolf’s den, all of which she’s written books about. Hint: You should read them!

Travelers Exploring Every Corner of the Earth

These adventurous travel bloggers, storytellers, and photographers are inspiring explorers in their own right—their travel stories entertain, their adventures inspire, and they live their passion for travel.

• Paul Nicklen is an award-winning polar photographer using remarkable imagery to share stories of our rapidly changing planet on all seven continents.
• Wandering Earl is an off-the-beaten path adventurer who has visited many places that other people either cannot, or don’t want to go. He sheds light on offbeat destinations adventurous travelers just might want to explore
• Oneika Raymond is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and perpetual explorer—she is a passionate traveler using her travel stories to inspire others to discover the most unforgettable places.
• While certainly not the first family travel bloggers to set out to explore the world, the Bucket List Family does an amazing job sharing the wonders of the world through videos and imagery that homebound travelers can enjoy with their kids.

Where Will You Go Next?

While your travels may not be as epic in scope as these adventurous travelers, every time we leave home we open ourselves up to new opportunities and color our experiences.

Best of luck on your next adventure as you make every step around the world one of inspiration sustainability, and adventure!

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53 Best Travel Blogs and Bloggers To Follow (in 2024)

Written by Ankit Singla

3K Followers

Last Updated on:

by Ankit Singla

If you’re searching for the best travel blogs today, look no further.

As always, I created this list to help aspiring travel bloggers learn a thing or two from these established sites.

However, people who are only looking for travel ideas and tips will also enjoy this post.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top travel blogs to follow in 2024.

Best Travel Blogs

• Nomadic Matt
• Backpacking Matt
• Adventurous Kate
• The Blonde Abroad
• California Through My Lens
• Dan Flying Solo
• Travel With Lakshmi
• Fluent in 3 Months
• Cheapest Destinations Blog
• Alex in Wanderland
• I Am Aileen
• Wandering Earl
• Be My Travel Muse
• Followtheboat
• Matthew Woodward
• The Opposite Travellers
• We Seek Travel
• Bucket List Journey
• Migrationology
• The Cranky Flier
• Never Ending Footsteps
• A Dangerous Business
• Against The Compass
• Everything Everywhere
• The Longest Way Home
• Global Grasshopper
• Girl Gone Travel
• Oneika The Traveller
• The Adventurists
• Time Travel Turtle
• Hand Luggage Only
• Travel4Wildlife
• The Insatiable Traveler
• View From The Wing
• Uncornered Market
• Jessie On a Journey
• Legal Nomads
• TravelFreak
• The Everywhereist
• Keep Calm and Travel
• Practical Wanderlust
• Expert Vagabond
• The Voyageur
• Amateur Traveler
• Girl Eat World
• The Adventure Junkies
• A Broken Backpack
• The World Travel Guy
• Life Part 2

1. Nomadic Matt

By:  Matthew Kepnes

I have to be honest with you — I love everything about  Nomadic Matt .  

Everything from his website’s design to his personal writing voice makes for an engaging reading experience. Not to mention that the name “Nomadic Matt” really sticks with me. 

Matthew Kepnes, AKA Nomadic Matt, was once a cubicle worker who admittedly wasn’t always a big traveler. On his first trip back in 2004, he went to Costa Rica where his perspective in life transformed forever. 

A single trip — that’s how easy it is to fall in love with travel. 

Today, Matthew continues living the life he was born for. He primarily blogs about travel tips, encompassing topics like how to save for a trip and things to do in Singapore. 

Blog Topics 

• Travel Insurance
• Travel planning
• Saving money on travel
• Travel gear
• Destinations

Monetization Strategies

• Display advertisements
• Superstar Blogging online course
• Affiliate marketing ( Check: Best Travel Affiliate Programs )

2. Backpacking Matt

By:  Matt Kyhnn

I think there’s something about the name “Matt” that raises a person’s affinity for traveling. 

Backpacking Matt , owned and run by Matt Kyhnn, is a travel blog that has similar vibes with Nomadic Matt. It has a simplistic design, a memorable content tone, and striking travel photos that bring the blog’s stories to life. 

Matt Kyhnn also leverages videos — providing his audience a more immersive way to enjoy his content. 

Fresh out of college, Matt simply decided that he won’t settle for a 9-5 job. Instead, he spent months working and traveling across Ireland, Scotland, and other regions in mainland Europe. 

He then booked a one-way ticket to New Zealand where he now resides. In addition to his blog, Matt also runs his own travel planning and booking website — Planit NZ. 

Blog Topics

• Affiliate marketing
• Planit NZ travel planning and booking services
• Brand collaborations

3. Adventurous Kate

By:  Kate McCulley

Kate McCulley, AKA  Adventurous Kate , is a travel blogger with lots of adventures to tell.

She’s been to 83 countries, seven continents, and plenty of experiences to help women appreciate the traveling life. 

Kate’s blog was built during her time in Southeast Asia along with her freelance portfolio, which helped fund her travels. Her target audience is women who want to travel, but required guidance on how to do it safely and easily. 

The “Solo Female Travel” category on her blog consists of posts about travel safety, travel planning, destination guides, and more. She also compiled a list of travel resources that help turn her audience’s travel ideas into action plans. 

• Travel safety for women
• Sponsored posts

4. The Blonde Abroad

By:  Kiersten “Kiki” Rich

I covered Kiersten “Kiki” Rich of  The Blonde Abroad   in my list of the top lifestyle bloggers to follow in 2024. 

As her blog’s name suggests, she’s mainly a travel blogger who also discusses two other lifestyle-related topics — blogging and photography. 

Kiersten spent three, eye-opening months in multiple countries to re-envision the idea of “ success .” She succeeded in her goal and is now one of the most accomplished travel bloggers on the web. 

The Blonde Abroad covers a range of topics from travel photography to foreign cuisine. All of which draws wisdom from Kiersten’s personal travel experiences.

• Photography
• Travel destinations
• The Travel Shop
• Social media and influencer marketing consulting

5. California Through My Lens

By:  Josh McNair

Josh McNair, owner of  California Through My Lens , has a distinct writing style that vividly describes details of travel destinations. 

Unlike bloggers who discovered the love for travel in their adulthood, Josh has always been a passionate traveler at heart. He created California Through My Lens to document his adventures with the online audience. 

California Through My Lens is run by both Josh and his wife, Amy. The pair also has an active YouTube channel called Through My Lens where they share their experiences in video form. 

As you may have guessed, Josh’s content focuses on the beaches, caves, hiking trails, waterfalls, and various landmarks in California. Intricate details of each location, from hike distances to specific travel tips, are often included in his posts. 

• National parks in California
• Driving around California
• California destinations
• Selling eBooks
• Advertisements through YouTube 

6. Dan Flying Solo

By:  Daniel “Dan” Clarke

Dan Flying Solo   is by Daniel Clarke — a travel blogger, photographer, and creative director at his own Portugal-based media company. 

Dan’s blogging life was ignited by his passion for photography. He was originally a frustrated restaurant manager who wanted more out of life.

Like me, Dan is a self-taught blogger. He worked day in and day out by doing free online courses, YouTube tutorials, and heaps of informative guides. 

What makes Dan Flying Solo an extra noteworthy blog is its library of video content. Daniel also makes it clear that the site has no particular theme — not unlike everything else in life.  

“ There’s not one particular theme to this blog because I don’t think that’s how life really is. We change and what we enjoy changes.”

7. Travel with Lakshmi

By:  Lakshmi Sharath

Lakshmi Sharath worked on a desk job for multiple media organizations for 15 years. She then started her personal travel blog in 2005 — traveling to over 25 countries and across every corner of India. 

Travel with Lakshmi has only grown steadily ever since. It won multiple awards, including “India’s best travel blog of the year” award from Indiebloggie.  

As an Indian herself, Lakshmi made sure to highlight the country’s top travel destinations on the blog. She also documented her travels to foreign countries — from Abu Dhabi to the United Kingdom. 

As a way to support aspiring travelers around the world, Lakshmi also covers important tips on starting a travel blog. This includes essential tips on photography, travel planning, and travel writing.

• Social media marketing campaigns
• Content marketing and writing services
• Digital media consulting services

8. foXnoMad

By:  Anil Polat

foXnoMad   is a unique travel blog run by digital nomad Anil Polat.

Anil was exposed to travel at a young age because his parents were journalists. Other than routine trips between Turkey and the United States, they also visited multiple destinations around the world. 

Even in his professional life as a computer security consultant, travel was a big part of Anil’s life. He eventually decided to quit his job and fixate on one goal: to visit every country in the world.

What makes foXnoMad unique is that Anil utilizes his knowledge in tech to provide insightful tips on traveling smartly. He also develops apps that can help travelers in situations like determining water drinkability and calculating tips.

You can check out his podcast where he talks about current events, new product tech releases, and all things travel-related. 

Blog Topics                                           

• foXnoMad Shop
• Paid mobile apps

9. Fluent in 3 Months

By:  Brendan “Benny” Lewis

Fluent in 3 Months   by Brendan Lewis is created for travelers with a purpose. 

Apart from regular posts about travel planning and destinations, Brendan also writes a lot of guides on foreign languages. 

Remember, language is a crucial part of every culture. Brendan makes sure you learn dozens of useful words and phrases that will enrich your visit to any country. 

Some of the most prominent content formats in his blog are “ways to say” posts and phrase listicles. There are also fun, bite-sized stories like “How I Learned French on the Toilet in 6 Months.”

For more serious language learners, Fluent in 3 Months offers “The Challenge.” It’s a full-fledged online course that will enable you to hold a 15-minute conversation in a new language.

• How to speak foreign languages
• Language hacking 
• Traveling jobs
• The Challenge online course
• Speaking engagements

10. Cheapest Destinations Blog

By:  Tim Leffel

Cheapest Destinations Blog   is one of the oldest travel blogs on this list. 

It is created and run by Tim Leffel — an award-winning travel writer and author.  

Tim has made it his life’s goal to help people make the most out of travel while spending less. His blog contains posts that teach how to spend your travel money wisely and how to make every cent count. 

Other than Cheapest Destinations Blog, Tim also runs a handful of other blogs on different, travel-related topics. This includes Perceptive Travel, Travel Writing 2.0 Blog, and Cheap Living Abroad.  

• Travel budgeting
• Influencer marketing through 360 Degree Travel Network

11. Alex in Wanderland 

By:  Alexandra Baackes

Alexandra Baackes created  Alex in Wanderland   for two reasons. 

First, she’s been dealing with a case of wanderlust all her life. And second, she’s a fan of a beloved, fictional character — Alice in Wonderland. 

Alexandra is originally from Brooklyn, New York where she purchased her one-way ticket into the traveling life. She now blogs about the best travel destinations, outdoor activities, and her personal, travel-related gear.

One of the things I like about Alex in Wanderland is the presentation and categorization of content. 

On the “Categories” page, Alex makes sure articles are well-organized based on topics like travel inspiration, activities, and planning. This makes it easy for her audience to find the information they need at any given time. 

• Outdoor activities

12. Hey Nadine

By:  Nadine Sykora

Nadine Sykora of  Hey Nadine   is a popular travel blogger, YouTuber, and social media influencer.

Over the past 10 years, she has traveled across 55 countries, spoken on expert panels, and became a keynote speaker. 

Nadine’s goal is simple: share her travel experiences with the world and help others do the same. 

Hey Nadine contains a host of content on travel advice, hacks, destinations, and inspiration. As a seasoned YouTuber, you can expect her blog content to contain a lot of embedded videos from her channel. 

• Video production
• Advertisements through YouTube
• Sponsored content

13. I Am Aileen

Just like Kiersten Rich, Aileen Adalid is another travel blogger whom I also featured in my top lifestyle blogs listicle.

Aileen runs  I Am Aileen   — an award-winning blog that discusses just about everything there is to discuss in travel. She writes about destinations, the best travel activities, foreign cuisine, and more. 

What interested me the most about Aileen is her blogging background. At age 21, she quit her corporate job, which only paid $300 a month, to become a professional traveler. 

Since then, she’s been on a streak of smashing goals and breaking barriers. Thanks to her commitment to quality content, she’s recognized as one of the top bloggers in Asia. 

• Online shop

14. Wandering Earl

By:  Derek Earl Baron

Here’s a fun trivia about  Wandering Earl . 

Unlike most bloggers who use their first names, the “Earl” in “Wandering Earl” is actually a middle name. Blog owner Derek Earl Baron only thought that “Wandering Derek” didn’t sound as catchy.

Derek is a one-of-a-kind, adventurous soul who discovered his purpose as a modern nomad relatively early into adulthood. After graduating in 1999, he planned a three-month vacation across Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. 

That three-month vacation continues to this very day. 

And that’s how Wandering Earl was created — documenting Derek’s adventures in over 100 countries. He also shares valuable pieces of wisdom on travel planning, food, budgeting, gear, and so on. 

Wandering Earl has that “old-school” look and feel to it. On the plus side, the site’s design only highlights 

• Working while traveling
• Selling “eGuides”

15. Be My Travel Muse

By:  Kristin Addis

Be My Travel Muse  is a solo female travel blog created by Kristin Addis. 

She studied in Taiwan and kept an investment banking job for four years. The only problem was, her daily routine rendered her creative, dreamer side claustrophobic. 

Her first step was a one-way ticket to Bangkok — envisioning a life of writing and travel. That’s exactly what she accomplished with her blog, which now caters to millions of readers all over the world. 

Kristin believes that solo traveling is the best way for women to feel empowered and more confident. She prioritizes solo female travel tips on her blog, including guides on safety, packing, and maintaining relationships. 

Be My Travel Muse also has heaps of content on popular travel destinations and self-care for women. 

• Self-help for women
• Relationships
• The Photo Muse Masterclass online course

16. Followtheboat

By:  Liz Cleere and Jamie Furlong

Followtheboat   is a unique travel blog that focuses on a specific mode of transport: sailing. 

It is created with love by a travel writer Liz Cleere and photographer Jamie Furlong. There’s also Millie the rescue cat, which functions as a source of inspiration and encouragement for the blog’s human founders. 

Despite the focus on sailboats, Followtheboat’s content isn’t just made for sailors. The posts are tailor-made for travelers who also happen to be interested in the art and joys of sailing. 

Don’t be surprised at the humor and dynamic range of topics on the blog. You’ll find posts like “tools you need on a sailboat” and “is this the weirdest loo in the world?”

Followtheboat also has a library of podcasts, which record Liz and Jamie’s experiences on their travels. 

• Boat maintenance
• Patreon donations

17. Matthew Woodward

By:  Matthew Woodward

If Followtheboat is about boats, you can probably guess what  Matthew Woodward   is a blog about trains. 

Not to be mistaken for  Matthew Woodward  the internet marketer, Matthew Woodward the rail adventurer loved trains as a child. He owned model railway sets, traveled alone by train, and watched shows about trains on TV. 

In his time as a geography student, he explored Europe with his trusty Interrail pass. He set his passion aside to focus on his career, which he eventually gave up to become a travel writer. 

Today, he blogs about railway systems over different continents. He’s also an accomplished author of three books: “The Railway to Heaven,” “A Bridge Even Further,” and “Trans-Siberian Adventures.”

• Railway systems
• Traveling by train
• Selling books

18. The Opposite Travellers

By:  Ryan and Rachel Riel

The Opposite Travellers   were created by married couple Ryan and Rachel Riel. 

While both loved to travel, Ryan and Rachel had contrasting preferences when it comes to traveling. 

Rachel prefers to travel in style and luxury — through the accommodations and services offered by establishments and travel agencies. Ryan, on the other hand, leans toward daring adventures like biking and trekking — on $5 per night accommodations. 

The couple, however, utilized their differences as a selling point in The Opposite Travellers. 

As such, the website’s “Travel” section has two main categories: “Luxury Travel” and “Adventure Travel.” In other words, the blog has a diverse content library for travelers of all tastes and budgets.

The Opposite Travellers also boasts high-quality visuals taken and produced by Ryan Riel. All of the site’s videos are published on Ryan Riel Media — Ryan’s official YouTube channel.  

• Content production
• Social media marketing 
• Influencer marketing

19. We Seek Travel 

By:  Olly Gaspar

We Seek Travel is an adventure travel blog by traveler and adventure photographer Olly Gaspar.

Olly has been living out of his bags full-time since 2018, turning his passion for global adventure into a treasure trove of useful travel guides accompanied by his inspiring photography.

His travel blog serves as a window to extraordinary experiences around the world– from backpacking in India to climbing Himalayan peaks, crossing deserts on camelback, cycling over the Arctic Circle, hiking with gorillas in Uganda, and even fighting Muay Thai in Thailand.

But We Seek Travel is more than just a diary of adventures. It’s a resource-rich hub where Olly shares his firsthand experiences to help modern explorers discover unique outdoor adventures, off-beat hiking trails, travel photography gear, and helpful accommodation and digital nomad resources.

• Travel Planning & Accommodation
• Outdoor Adventure
• Hiking & Trekking
• Travel photography
• Travel Gear
• Photography licensing
• Adventure Photography shoots
• Tourism development

20. Bucket List Journey

By:  Annette White

Travel is all about adventures, and so is life. 

That’s the essence of the  Bucket List Journey   by Annette White. 

The blog’s tagline is “tools and inspiration to live your list.” It refers to a person’s “bucket list,” which is basically a list of goals and experiences they want in life. 

Annette didn’t always have such a positive outlook in life. She used to be diagnosed with anxiety, which caused her to miss out on life-enriching experiences and opportunities. 

Eventually, she decided that she’ll no longer become a prisoner of fear and uncertainty. She had courage and took charge of her life’s direction — something every aspiring blogger needs to do at one point. 

Bucket List Journey talks about bucket list-worthy destinations, motivation, money, and travel tips. Annette also imparts knowledge on people who also struggle with facing fear and making braver life decisions. 

• Overcoming fear and anxiety

21. Migrationology

By:  Mark Wiens

When I first visited  Migrationology , I wasn’t sure whether to classify it as a food or travel blog. 

Then I checked out Mark Wiens’s “About” page. There, I learned that he viewed food as a way to connect with people in various cultures. 

And to be exposed to these cultures, Mark dedicates his time, money, and efforts to travel. 

Mark makes sure the blog only focuses on content based on his personal travels. It’s made for people who want to experience the flavors of the world — in person or through Mark’s posts. 

Apart from general food travel blog posts and city guides, Migrationology also offers readers a “Food Tour” service. It is the result of a year of research done by Mark himself — in partnership with  Bangkok Vanguards . 

• Bangkok Food Tour

22. The Cranky Flier

By:  Brett Snyder

We already mentioned a blog about boats and another about trains. It’s time to talk about a blog on airplanes and air travel.

Cranky Flier   is a unique blog created by Brett Snyder — President and “Chief Airline Dork” of Cranky Flier LLC. 

Brett has been fascinated with airlines all his life. When he was young, he collected airline timetables and even spent a birthday with his grandmother watching planes land. 

As an adult, he spent several years in the airline industry fulfilling multiple roles. He became a sales intern at USAir, senior analyst at America West, marketing planning product at United, and so on.

Today, Brett publishes his opinions about the airline industry on Cranky Flier. He also updates several series, like “Worst Airline Ever,” “Airlines We Lost,” and “Across the Aisle Interviews.” 

I’ll let you determine what these series are all about based on what they’re called. 

• Airline industry
• Cranky Concierge service

23. Never Ending Footsteps

By:  Lauren Juliff

Lauren Juliff is one of those bloggers who already knew what they wanted to be from an early age. 

She dreamt of traveling to new places, meeting new people, and exploring new cultures.  Never Ending Footsteps   is proof that she accomplished all three. 

The blog consists of posts about Lauren’s fulfilling travels to different countries. But unlike a lot of famous travel bloggers, she also talks about the downsides of being a digital nomad.

Never Ending Footsteps has a “The Incidents” blog section where Lauren discusses the not-so-sexy aspects of traveling. She has been scammed, attacked by monkeys, locked out of her room, lost her passport, and more. 

Despite these incidents, Lauren’s love for travel only grew. Such experiences increased her wisdom and travel acumen — resulting in some of the most insightful travel articles ever published.

Lauren also helps her audience get into the world of travel blogging. Check out “How to Start a Travel Blog” for information on web hosting, working with WordPress, and so on.

• Travel safety

24. A Dangerous Business Travel Blog

By:  Amanda Williams

A Dangerous Business Travel Blog   is a straightforward blog made to help people travel. 

It is created by Amanda Williams, who is a former journalist with degrees in journalism, hospitality, and tourism management.

Amanda first got into journalism by editing obituaries — eventually becoming a copy and layout editor at a newspaper company. She started A Dangerous Business Travel Blog in 2010 out of boredom and her need for a creative outlet. 

Fast forward to 2024, the blog now averages over 340,000 page views per month. Amanda also maintains a strong social media presence with thousands of followers across networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

A Dangerous Business Travel Blog contains posts about travel planning, packing, destinations, and inspiration. Everything is sprinkled with high-quality photos to keep readers engaged and enthused.  

The centerpiece of A Dangerous Business Travel Blog is “The 10-Day Adventure Project.” Put simply, it’s a collection of ready-to-use, self-guided itineraries that will shave hours off your travel planning process.

• Packing 
• DangerousBiz online course
• Freelance writing

25. Against the Compass

By:  Joan Torres

How do you make a travel blog stand out?

Joan Torres has a surefire answer: covering the most unusual and “off the beaten track” destinations.

Against The Compass   is a unique blog that talks about the travel routes and destinations you probably haven’t heard of. It covers destinations that people don’t normally include in their bucket list, like Pakistan, Tunisia, Syria, and other high-risk countries. 

Of course, Joan makes sure to highlight the importance of safety when traveling in relatively low-popularity destinations. He has comprehensive guides for solo female travel, travel insurance, and general travel safety.

• Travel insurance

26. Everything Everywhere 

By:  Gary Arndt

In travel blogging, a picture is undeniably worth a thousand words. There’s simply no excuse for any travel blogger to forego the inclusion of visual content in their posts.

Gary Arndt’s absolutely nailed it with his photography work for  Everything Everywhere .

Gary actually won multiple, major travel photography awards — more than any travel photographer. His photography is so good that I suggest you check the “Travel Photos” page on Everything Everywhere.

Go ahead, take a break and thank me later. 

Other than taking breathtaking photos, Gary also publishes detailed blog posts about the places he’s been. He’s been on the go for roughly 9 years non-stop, which means readers will never run out of material.

27. The Longest Way Home

By:  David Ways

The Longest Way Home   started as the personal travel journal of David Ways — a solo traveler in search of home. 

The blog originally started as David’s private, digital diary. As he journeyed across Europe and gained experience, it turned into a full-on blog with travel guides to specific locations. 

David finally found home in Nepal before traveling to other parts of Southeast Asia. 

He’s not the most nitpicky blogger in terms of grammar and spelling, but he’s definitely a brilliant storyteller. He’s also skilled in capturing and immortalizing moments into photos, which you can view on his blog’s gallery. 

The Longest Way Home has a library of content about various destinations, trekking, and travel planning. It also features in-depth travel guides to Nepal, Thailand, and overland travel — plus a mini-guide to Portugal.  

• Travel planning 
• Overland travel

28. Global Grasshopper

By:  Becky Moore

Global Grasshopper   is a travel blog run by Becky Moore and her team of professional travel photographers and writers. 

Becky’s first adventure was a six-month voyage in Southeast Asia. She considers herself a “semi-nomad,” traveling from country to country while nestling in Ireland, Australia, or parts of Southeast Asia. 

Global Grasshopper contains posts about popular travel destinations, hotels, and other places that deserve more attention. Readers will also enjoy the blog’s posts about dog-friendly travel — covering topics like dog booster seats and pet-friendly hotels. 

Since the blog is run by a team of experts, expect the content quality to be top-notch across the board. The team also organizes boutique tours, which readers can participate in for a memorable travel experience. 

• Traveling with a pet
• Boutique tours bookings

29. Girl Gone Travel

By:  Carol Cain

Carol Cain is an accomplished professional in the field of communications. She is a social media marketing expert, public speaker, branding agency owner, and award-winning travel blogger.

Girl Gone Travel   is the result of Carol’s innate passion for travel and knack for digital marketing. It is a well-designed, engaging, and filled with quality content that shines with Carol’s personality. 

Other than her travel-related posts, Girl Gone Travel also publishes a lot of posts about blogging and online branding. This makes it an excellent place to start for hopeful travelers who plan to have their own blog one day. 

• Destinations 
• Online branding
• Brave World Media company

30. HoneyTrek

By:  Mike and Anne Howard

Believe it or not,  HoneyTrek   is a travel blog about a honeymoon.

Yes — it’s probably the longest honeymoon ever.

Founders Mike and Anne Howard are a power couple with skills that can make any blog great. Anne is a former magazine editor whereas Mike’s a veteran digital media strategist and photographer. 

Together, they’ve honeymooned to over seven continents and 60 countries while creating the most romantic travel blog in the process. 

HoneyTrek contains a collection of posts about their travel destinations, experiences, and travel tips for all budgets. They also wrote two successful books: “Comfortably Wild” and “Ultimate Journeys for Two.” 

• Travel budgeting 
• Travel skills

31. Oneika The Traveller

By:  Oneika Raymond

Oneika The Traveller   is an award-winning travel blog by journalist, keynote speaker, and media personality Oneika Raymond. 

For those who don’t know Oneika, she’s the on-air travel and lifestyle correspondent for CTV Canada and NBC New York. Even more impressively, her blog won her a gold medal in the 2018 SATW Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism competition.

Oneika talks about travel destinations and her go-to tips for life on the road. With her experience in the field of journalism, she’s definitely one of the most engaging storytellers on this list.

• Fashion and style while traveling
• Traveling as a minority
• Personal opinions
• Social media marketing

32. The Adventurists

By:  Tom Morgan

The Adventurists   is hands down one of the most well-designed travel blogs in this post. 

The blog proves that integrating tons of video content into one page doesn’t have to affect its loading speed. In fact, the site loads surprisingly fast despite having several video panels on the homepage.

I’m not going to delve too deeply into this technical feat. What I’m going to focus on, however, is the brilliant team behind The Adventurists. 

The site is founded by “Chief Idiot” — Tom Morgan. Apparently, most of the crazy ideas featured on the blog were his. 

Every page on the site reflects Morgan and his team’s wackiness and passion for great adventures. They do, host, and document daring outdoor activities on air, land, and sea — plus, a whole lot of charity.

Their audience can also participate in these activities, which can be held in various parts of the globe. The “Monkey Run,” for example, is an event where participants race through dirt trails on tiny bikes.

The bottom line is, it’s hard to come up with unique ideas that set you apart in the blogging landscape. The Adventurists, on the other hand, managed to do so multiple times. 

• “The Adventures” events
• The “Shop of Stuff”

33. Time Travel Turtle

By:  Michael Turtle

Time Travel Turtle   is created by Australian Journalist Michael Turtle. 

Michael was born to be a storyteller and he knew it from an early age. 

In school, he ran the student newsletter and contributed a weekly column. He also filled the role of deputy editor of a university newspaper. 

Time Travel Turtle’s contains mainly posts on the locations that Michael has visited over the years. 

Like most renowned travel bloggers, Michael captures amazing photos that travel enthusiasts can fall in love with. He puts some of these photos up for sale to companies who’d like to feature those locations or properties. 

Michael continues to explore the world as a digital nomad. He also shares practical travel tips so readers can experience these adventures themselves. 

• Selling photography

34. Hand Luggage Only

By:  Yaya and Lloyd

Hand Luggage Only   is a hugely successful travel blog by couple Yaya and Lloyd. 

The site doles out travel advice, inspiration, photography tips, food reviews, and posts about must-see destinations. It also has a library of high-quality videos where Yaya and Lloyd describe their experiences in detail.  

Yaya and Lloyd started the blog in 2014 with a plan to share their travel stories with the world. Within a few hours, they published their first posts using photos they already took and edited. 

The moral of the story is, consider starting a blog if you already have a library of unused travel photos. 

35. Travel4Wildlife

By:  Christina Garcia and Hal Brindley 

It should only take anyone a second to figure out what  Travel4Wildlife   is all about. 

The blog is created by couple Christina Garcia and Hal Brindley out of their passion for wildlife. 

Hal is an experienced wildlife photographer for organizations like the Nature Conservancy Magazine, SEE Turtles, and RARE Conservation. Christina, on the other hand, is an experienced zoologist who worked on studies on wolves, cheetahs, and leopards. 

Travel4Wildlife’s goal is to increase awareness and increase the appreciation for wildlife. More importantly, it was Christina and Hal’s life goal to promote wildlife conservation through responsible tourism. 

Behind the scenes, the couple teams up to create compelling articles that focus on wildlife in specific destinations. The blog covers a range of species on different continents — from owls in South Africa to polar bears in Canada. 

• Wildlife tour reviews
• Responsible travel

36. The Insatiable Traveler

By:  Susan Portnoy

Susan Portnoy, also called  The Insatiable Traveler   on her blog, is a seasoned travel writer and photographer. 

Susan’s last full-time job was VP of corporate communications at Condé Nast. When that door closed, she took on a freelancing career as she learned the art of photography. 

Fast forward a few years, and she has enough accolades to make photography degree holders envious. 

Her photographic works were featured by organizations like National Geographic and companies like Bing. She also won awards like the SATW Lowell Thomas Award and the 2018 Gold in the Muster Photo Competition. 

The main focal points of The Insatiable Traveler include destinations, cruises, photography, and travel gear. Susan also covers the safaris in various regions, like Tanzania, Namibia, and Kenya. 

37. View from the Wing

By:  Gary Leff 

Just like Brett Snyder, Gary Leff of  View From The Wing   is an expert in all things air travel. 

Gary was named one of the “World’s Top Travel Experts” by Condé Nast Traveler since 2010. He also co-founded InsideFlyer.com — a community made by and for frequent flyers.

View From The Wing is a goldmine of timeless tips on airline miles, credit cards, hotels, and business travel. No matter your sub-niche in travel, I recommend checking it out for ways to maximize your frequent flyer miles. 

Gary also publishes posts called “Trip Reports” about establishments, food, and various attractions. 

• Hotel reviews
• Credit cards

38. Uncornered Market

By:  Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott

Dan Noll and Audrey Scott are a pair of adventurers, storytellers, and tourism advisors who advocate for responsible traveling. 

They created  Uncornered Market   — a responsible tourism blog — after leaving their secure and stable lifestyle in Prague. Prior to that, they lived in San Francisco and took a leap of faith for the sake of avoiding regrets.  

It’s clear that both Dan and Audrey believed that fulfillment can’t be found within the confines of your comfort zone. They explored, made connections, and shared their experiences through their travel blog. 

Some of the topics you’ll find in Uncornered Market are about destinations, sustainable tourism, food, and trekking. Dan and Audrey also write about personal growth and experiential travel. 

Uncornered Market is also a tourism development and marketing consultancy company. They help travel companies, destinations, and tourism organizations build their brands and deliver their message to a wider audience. 

• Responsible tourism
• Tourism development and marketing consultancy services

39. Jessie on a Journey

By:  Jessica “Jessie” Festa

Like plenty of bloggers, Jessica Festa needed a taste of life before discovering her true calling. 

In her youth, Jessie traveled to mostly cruises in the Caribbean and road trips in North America. She also experienced being a sightseeing guide in New York. 

Jessie on a Journey   is the result of her pursuing her dreams of getting paid to do something she loves. She now blogs about being a solo female traveler, blogging it, and profiting off of it. 

I’m sure a lot of big-name bloggers are all too familiar with how Jessie made the blogging vision a reality.

For a long time, she felt that the workaday lifestyle isn’t for her. It made her feel like she’s living everyone else’s life — not the kind of life she wanted to keep. 

Despite the disapproval of loved ones, Jessie decided to quit her secure job in favor of being a travel blogger. 

She was just as unprepared as most people before starting their own blog. The key difference is, she went out there and took her first step. 

• Travel blog consulting
• Tour company consulting

40. Legal Nomads

By:  Jodi Ettenberg

Back when Jodi Ettenberg was in law school, she never would’ve guessed she’d run a successful travel and food business. 

That happens to a lot of people, especially those who never thought of giving priority to their passions. 

It’s just a hunch, but I think the name  Legal Nomads   had something to do with Jodi’s background in law. 

Legal Nomads highlights destinations and local cultures just as insightfully as other travel blogs. What makes it different is that Jodi focuses on local cuisines to experience and tell the stories of each destination. 

A huge part of Jodi’s blog is about wellness and gluten-free eating. She then utilized her knowledge and experience to create detailed restaurant cards, which travelers can use when visiting certain countries. 

• Gluten-free restaurant cards
• The Legal Nomads Shop

41. Indiana Jo

By:  Jo Fitzsimons

Like Jodi Ettenberg, Jo Fitzsimons also used to practice law before becoming a successful travel and lifestyle writer. 

Indiana Jo   started way back in 2010 where Jo can comfortably type away her thoughts and musings. Fed up with her full-time job, she went out to see the world as a digital nomad.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Indiana Jo, however. According to her, she thought about quitting the blog several times before finally realizing that it’s a lifetime thing. 

Jo writes about her travel experiences, destinations, wine, and food. She also shares travel planning tips along with a long list of content about topics that personally interest her. 

• Travel health and safety

42. TravelFreak

By:  Jeremy Scott Foster

TravelFreak   is the brainchild of Jeremy Scott Foster who left America in the middle of a recession and to Australia. 

For a while, he racked up some savings as a traveling bartender. It took some time before he finally made the switch to be a digital nomad and online entrepreneur. 

Jeremy created the blog to help people create opportunities to achieve the fulfilling life they deserve. 

He writes about travel advice, destinations, gear, and ways to get your finances in order as you travel. This includes guides on how to land and keep a job abroad along with resources on reliable booking websites. 

I personally like the way Jeremy designed TravelFreak to provide the best possible user experience. Unlike a traditional layout, the site features a search bar so readers can jump right into the content they need.

TravelFreak has been featured in Forbes, National Geographic, The New York Times, and a few other big-name publications.   

43. The Everywhereist

By:  Geraldine DeRuiter

Before anything else, yes — that’s Rand Fishkin in the photo above. 

And yes, the next travel blogger on this list is Rand’s longtime sweetheart and wife. 

Geraldine DeRuiter was a former copywriter and went with Rand in his travels, which are often business-related. She then turned to the habit of documenting their travel experiences, which she described as “love letters” to her husband. 

Today, Geraldine works full-time on  The Everywhereist   — named by Time magazine as one of the best blogs in 2011. 

The Everywhereist contains posts about food and Geraldine’s travel experiences along with a comprehensive Philadelphia travel guide. The guide contains information on where to go, eat, shop, and stay. 

Geraldine also wrote a book called “All Over The Place.” It chronicles how she embraced her love for blogging after being laid off, which aspiring bloggers can draw inspiration from. 

• All Over The Place book sales

44. Keep Calm and Travel

By:  Clelia Mattana

Keep Calm and Travel   is a travel blog created by serial traveler Clelia Mattana. 

Ever since she was 19, Clelia is a certified sea lover and globetrotter. But like many travel bloggers, she was given a choice between a secure job and the traveling lifestyle. 

Clelia’s finalized her choice when she bought a one-way ticket to Asia. She then created Keep Calm and Travel to send a simple message:

“No matter what your age is, or your budget, or status, you can travel and live your life on your own terms.”

The blog’s topics include destinations across continents, photography, and travel gear. She also has a dedicated page for Sardinia, which is one of her absolute favorite travel destinations.

45. Practical Wanderlust

By:  Lia and Jeremy Garcia

Lia and Jeremy Garcia, who aptly labeled themselves a “travel couple” on Instagram, are the minds behind  Practical Wanderlust .  

Jeremy is a film degree holder whose passions include writing and directing. He also became a high school teacher who taught filmmaking and digital media art.

Lia, on the other hand, has a fashion design and apparel merchandising degree. She took on roles in corporate merchandising before becoming a business systems analyst. 

Why did I tell you all this? Simple: I want you to know what the pair had to give up pursuing their dreams of traveling. 

Practical Wanderlust’s goal is to help other people enjoy travel in the most realistic and sensible approach possible. The blog is filled with detailed content on planning memorable trips on a budget, where to go, and staying safe.   

Lia and Jeremy also host their own podcast, which is available on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 

• Coaching and mentoring services
• Sponsored podcast episodes

46. Expert Vagabond

By:  Matthew “Matt” Karsten

Matthew Karsten, AKA the  Expert Vagabond , has been a travel blogger, photographer, and digital nomad for nine years.

He talks about budget travel tips, destinations, travel photography, and strategies to make the digital nomadic life work. 

Matt is a business degree holder who spent time freelancing as a nightlife and event photographer. While he admits it was fun, he knew that he wants and deserves something more. 

After a year of downsizing his life, eating homemade food, selling eBooks, and saving every penny, he was ready. He set out to obtain a different kind of wealth — that which is made with adventures and experiences.

• Nomadic living

47. The Voyageur

By:  Pauline Chardin

Pauline Chardin is a France-based fashion designer, photographer, and art director. 

She always had a soft spot for travel — driven by her appreciation for picturesque architecture, landscapes, and good food. She started  The Voyageur   to help people view the world through her voice and eyes. 

The Voyageur is a simple, yet aesthetic website achieved through Pauline’s incredible photography skills. Apart from itineraries and posts about hotels, food, art, and architecture, the site also has a sizeable photo gallery.

Images are accompanied by a brief article that describes the destination’s history and Pauline’s thoughts and emotions during her visit. I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something about this content format that’s truly engaging and relaxing. 

• Art and architecture

48. Amateur Traveler

By:  Chris Christensen

Don’t be fooled by the name —  Amateur Traveler   is by no means run by an amateur.

Chris Christensen is a skilled photographer, travel writer, and podcast host. The site also utilizes a long list of monetization strategies that I believe every blogger should learn. 

True, he wasn’t the most experienced traveler when he started the blog. Before he created Amateur Traveler, he was a full-time EVP of engineering and operations for a company based in Silicon Valley. 

In his defense, he grew up in a family that traveled a lot to national parks in a trailer. He also learned a lot of foreign languages, which he believes is a window into understanding and embracing different cultures. 

Amateur Traveler discusses destinations, travel budgeting, planning, gear, and booking. The site also features a weekly podcast on the top destinations around the world. 

• Amateur Traveler Shop powered by Etsy
• Podcast advertisements
• Social media and content marketing consulting services
• Content writing services
• Paid guest posts

49. Girl Eat World

By:  Melissa Hie

Melissa Hie is the “Girl” in  Girl Eat World  — a name that encapsulates what the whole blog is all about. 

You see, Melissa’s three passions are food, travel, and storytelling. She started the blog in 2015 as a digital diary for herself and friends who need travel tips. 

Prior to her blog’s success, she amassed quite a following on Instagram. This springboarded her blogging career, which she put in the back burner after focusing on her full-time career.

Girl Eat World is essentially a compendium of Melissa’s travel stories and travel planning guides. She also has an iconic style of capturing Instagram posts, which must be seen to be appreciated. 

50. The Adventure Junkies

By:  Antonio Cala and Amanda Zeisset

The Adventure Junkies   is definitely not your average travel blog. 

It’s not just about the travel stories of founders Antonio Cala and Amanda Zeisset. Upon visiting the blog for the first time, you’ll realize that it’s all about the community the blog has built. 

New visitors are encouraged to join “ Summit ” — a free community for people who seek adventures through travel and outdoor activities. There, members can connect, plan events, share posts, ask questions, form groups, and discuss anything related to travel. 

The Adventure Junkies also compile guides and resources about outdoor activities like diving, kayaking, mountain biking, and snowboarding. There’s also a section for visitors who’d like to learn about outdoor and underwater photography.

Antonio and Amanda started The Adventure Junkies as a personal blog about their three years of cycling. Over time, their readers began asking questions on how they can plan their own adventures. 

The couple then realized that they need to create something more than a personal blog. As such, they transformed The Adventure Junkies as a one-stop shop for adventurists.  

• The Adventure Junkies Store
• Paid digital guides

51. A Broken Backpack Travel Blog

By:  Melissa Giroux

Melissa Giroux used to be a social worker who only traveled once a year. 

Melissa created  A Broken Backpack   a year after her journey in the Canadian Rockies — hitch-hiking from point A to B. She continued working on her blog as a creative outlet while working on a farm in Australia. 

It didn’t take long before A Broken Backpack’s popularity gained momentum and gave Melissa a new frontier. 

The website contains crucial tips on travel gear, budgeting, destinations, and the life of a digital nomad. Melissa also put together in-depth guides on travel blogging, moving to another country as an expat, and backpacking.

• SEO eBook on Nomad Life 101

52. The World Travel Guy

By : David Leiter

David Leiter is an American travel blogger currently based in Bali, Indonesia, with his wife Intan (who’s a Bali local).

They travel around the world and try to document the most scenic destinations by creating articles, photos, videos, and guides for other travelers.

David runs  The World Travel Guy , an adventure travel blog that he started when he was a solo traveler, but now covers their travels around the globe as a couple.

In total, they’ve visited dozens of countries, while also checking off some bucket list adventures like a Komodo dragon safari in Indonesia, the Mount Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal, and a bunch of world monuments like the Angkor Wat and Taj Mahal.

• Adventure Travel
• Destination Guides
• Budget Tips
• Travel Photography
• Drone Videos
• Affiliate Partnerships
• Display Advertisements
• Sponsored Trips
• YouTube Videos

53. Life Part 2

By:  Jonathan Look Jr. and Sarah Wilson

The last blog on this list that your best life can start at any time you choose. 

Let me tell you the story behind  Life Part 2   and the people behind it.

Jonathan Look Jr. and Sarah Wilson are both happy retirees with a simple mantra: “don’t waste your retirement.”

To them, retirement isn’t about being comfortable and secure. Rather, it’s all about the freedom to listen to your heart and follow where it takes you. 

Jonathan and Sarah met in Chiang Mai, Thailand where they both agreed to see the world as a couple. 

Life Part 2 is a mix of all things travel. At times, there’ll be a post about remote destinations and backpacking, and at other times, the theme is luxury travel. 

You will, however, notice that the content topics on the blog often revolve around retirement, minimalism, and travel. 

Planning to go on your own travel adventures? Perhaps you’re thinking of starting your very own travel blog?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a case of wanderlust or the desire to be a travel blogger yourself. 

The list above has some of the best travel blogs ever created. They can provide you with ideas and inspiration for your next trip or first-ever travel blog post. 

If you think I missed a great travel blog that everyone should read, let me know in the comments below. Good luck!

Disclosure: This article includes affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting us.

Ankit Singla

Ankit Singla is a full-time blogger, YouTuber, author, and public speaker. He founded and leads Master Blogging . With over 13 years of blogging expertise, he has assisted numerous aspiring bloggers in achieving their dreams of creating successful blogs.

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Old World Voyages

A travel blog for history lovers

A Travel Blog for History Lovers

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” St. Augustine

Travel is one of the best ways to understand and connect with the past. From exploring a medieval castle to standing on a World War II battlefield to walking through ancient ruins that date back centuries, experiencing these places first hand brings history to life in a way that just reading about it never could. These places tell the stories of our shared past and stand as a reminder of the people who came before us and the events that transpired which have had a hand in shaping the world as we know it today.

This site is dedicated to exploring the past through travel. Whether you’re a history buff, a traveller, or just someone who is curious about the world, you’re in the right place. Here you’ll find travel tips, stories, insights and photos to ignite your wanderlust and transport you back in time.

“History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.” Lord Acton

I’m Jennifer, the writer and photographer behind Old World Voyages. I love to travel and I’m passionate about history. Throughout all my travel planning over the years, I’ve noticed a curious lack of history focused travel resources so I started this blog partly to help fill that void and also, as a way to share my passions for history and travel. I hope it inspires you to embark on your own voyages to the old world.

TRAVEL TAILS

Stories from the skies: celebrating world pilots day.

To commemorate World Pilots Day, let's delve into the inspiring journeys of Kaitlyn Wood, Staci Sneed, and Genesah Duffy—three exceptional pilots from Frontier Airlines. Each of them has a unique story to share, highlighting the remarkable experiences that shape our skies and connect us.  

Kaitlyn Wood: Connecting the World Through Aviation  

Kaitlyn has been soaring the skies for over seven years, bringing her passion for aviation to new heights daily. Based out of Orlando, Florida, Kaitlyn enjoys using aviation to impact the world around her positively. From building lifelong relationships to inspiring the next generation of aviators, Kaitlyn sees flying as a universal tool connecting people from around the globe. Her journey began with her father, a retired US Army Special Forces member turned flight controls engineer, whose love for aviation ignited Kaitlyn's own. Witnessing the first taxi tests of Northrop Grumman's X-47B sparked her fascination with flying, leading her to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot. Kaitlyn's advice to future pilots? Never stop being a student.  Embrace the endless opportunities for learning and exploration that aviation offers, and the sky's the limit.  

Staci Sneed: Embracing the Variety of Aviation  

With over three decades of flying experience, Staci knows that no two days in the cockpit are the same. Since joining Frontier in 2000,  she's been  based in various cities nationwide, from Denver to Chicago to Orlando. What she loves most about being a pilot is its variety—every flight presents new challenges and keeps her engaged. Staci's journey began with a family friend who took her up for her first flight, igniting her passion for aviation. Her advice to aspiring pilots? Pursue your dreams relentlessly. Aviation can be a tough industry, but the rewards are worth it.  Be open to new adventures, and enthusiastically embrace the ups and downs .  

Genesah Duffy: Finding Freedom in the Skies  

Genesah earned her commercial pilot certificate in 2014 and has been with Frontier for almost two years. Based out of TPA, she cherishes the breathtaking views that flying offers, whether cruising at 37,000 feet or soaring above the clouds in a small plane. After leaving the military, Genesah sought something beyond the ordinary 9-5 life and found her calling in aviation. A discovery flight at her local airport sealed the deal, and she hasn't looked back since. Genesah's advice to future pilots? Believe in yourself. Despite the challenges you may face, stay positive, ask for help when needed, and take ownership of your mistakes.  With determination and perseverance, you can turn your dreams of flying into reality.  

Celebrating Aviation Excellence  

On World Pilots Day, we salute Kaitlyn, Staci, and Genesah. Their passion, dedication, and love for aviation inspire us to reach new heights. Here's to the pilots who navigate our skies with skill, courage, and unwavering commitment. Happy World Pilots Day! ✈️🌍  

A millennial Lyft driver who used the gig to explore all 50 states explains his strategies for maximizing earnings and tips

• Kreskin J. Torres, a Lyft driver, has traveled across all 50 states, documenting his dining experiences.
• Torres is working on a book, an app called Rideshare Foodies, and is organizing a national potluck.
• He said gig driving is just temporary and has helped him achieve his larger goals.

Kreskin J. Torres, 35, has eaten his way through all 50 states — including Alaska and Hawaii. His ticket to doing so? Driving for Uber and Lyft .

The Army veteran and Baltimore native has documented his dining on his blog Rideshare Foodie . After seven years, he's learned the most profitable times of day to drive, the best locations to find riders in each city and the optimal strategies for maximizing tips .

"You just got to work smarter, not harder," Torres said. "From my experience, I've been in every state, so I know how every city works now."

At the same time, he's been able to pursue his foodie passions. Torres is now working on a book called "Taste of the States," his recommendations app called Rideshare Foodies, and planning a series of events to honor dishes from various states and their history.

While driving for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft can be a flexible way to earn money for people like Torres who have more than one hustle, it can also be a recipe for burnout. Among the dozens of drivers Business Insider has spoken with over the past few months, many are already dreaming of what's next — starting a business or finding new modes of employment .

And that's Torres' main career advice for those considering it. After all, he's not planning to do the job forever, as he hopes to transition away, though it helped him jump-start new paths for his future.

"Do not make this the end all be all," Torres said, noting how Uber and Lyft have threatened to pull out of Minneapolis. "When it started, it was advertised as a gig, a side hustle."

Traveling the country as a gig driver

As a veteran, he said this job has been relatively stress-free and helpful for not feeling lonely, a similar sentiment he's heard from veterans with PTSD.

"I enjoy meeting and connecting with different people and getting to see different places," Torres said.

He decided to spend his next few years on the road using driving to fund his adventures and to meet locals who could point him to the best restaurants and experiences.

"The great thing is you get to learn about different cities and how everything operates," Torres said.

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He moved to San Antonio , though he works mainly around the more-profitable Austin area, and has explored the South and Southeast.

While he doesn't make much money from his blog, he said driving has allowed him to try everything from Navajo tacos in Arizona to biscuits in chocolate gravy in Arkansas to huckleberry swirls in Montana. Driving has led him to some of his favorite restaurants like I693 Red Zone Grill in Jackson, Mississippi; Strawberry's BBQ in Holcomb, Missouri; and Rice & Roll by Xing Xing in Wichita.

Learning the most profitable places and times to drive

Torres noticed he would get more profitable rides driving around suburbs, airports, and sports stadiums, locations coveted by drivers as they get more tips and sometimes elevated fares.

He learned New Year's will always be profitable , though rides slow down around February before picking up in mid-March. It's led him to be more methodical about the types of rides to take, as well as planning when to save more of his earnings and when to splurge a little on food and travel.

"After seven years, I'm a lot more experienced. It depends on the time of the season, so I usually can do a lot more business in college towns," Torres said. "I would visit a city, see what they're known for, a little history behind it."

Torres was making enough to comfortably travel the country, though he's always been careful since he said passengers are sometimes confused by his out-of-state license plate. He also faced a permanent deactivation from Uber last year over a dispute over the color of his car.

He doesn't have a wife or kids, nor does he have an apartment, as he mainly lives out of his car to save money. He acknowledges that growing competition on the road and lower earnings could put a greater dent in savings for people with families or permanent residences.

Torres has transitioned to driving full-time for Lyft , and he typically is online for 12 hours a day but only actively drives five to six hours in between waiting around airports.

He said he's increasingly put himself in his passengers' shoes to determine the best places and times to drive — he likely won't put in the effort to drive during rain, and he's more likely to do later trips around concert venues or bars.

To continue supporting his travels, he said he sometimes does airport rides at 3 or 4 a.m., as well as rides between 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. during the morning rush. He also said being online around noon is fruitful for corporate workers, while 3 p.m. is right when schools let out. He usually tries not to drive around evening rush hours but sometimes resumes later at night.

He also devotes more time to driving between Wednesday and Sunday, when rides are more frequent, whether for "whiskey Wednesdays" or Friday afternoon happy hours. This is also when he can best network with passengers and hear their stories, as he said he occasionally gets to drive famous people.

Torres said drivers should consider this a short-term opportunity while working toward long-term goals. As he eases off the app, he has his eyes set on more international travel in the coming months. He's also investing more time in his food app, a local recommendation tool that functions like a Facebook group in which people ask questions about, for example, the best bartender in the area or where to go for particular dishes. It has launched on Android and set to be released on Apple by the summer.

"The most positivity that you can get out of it, do whatever you can and get the most out of it," Torres said. "The next few months will probably be my last time doing this because I'm focusing on other things, so I always had a plan for the things I was going to do."

Are you a ride-hailing driver who's struggling to pay bills or has had recent success? Have you recently pivoted to a new career from driving? Reach out to  [email protected] .

Watch: How 'Grand Theft Auto' actually works, according to a former car thief

• Main content

FORECAST: Thunderstorms arrive late Monday, another storm chance late Derby week

Weather headlines.

• Thunderstorms arrive late Monday afternoon into the evening, heavy rain possible
• The middle of Derby week is trending drier and warmer
• Oaks Day looking stormy, but those storms may very well be out of here in time for Derby Day!

LATEST FORECAST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - By April standards, it’s a warm and muggy night. Temperatures will only fall into the 60s during the overnight hours. Skies will be partly cloudy and we’ll stay mainly dry through the very start of Monday.

Thunderstorms arrive late Monday afternoon and into the evening hours as a cold front approaches. Severe weather is unlikely on Monday but heavy rain may be a minor issue for some folks heading into Monday night. Highs will be in the 80s on Monday.

Rain chances peak late Monday night as the cold front pushes through our area, putting down 0.25″ to 1″ of rainfall. The wholesale flooding threat is low, but some isolated 1″+ totals may cause brief rises on creeks and streams. Some showers will likely be in the region during the early part of the morning commute on Tuesday, but by the afternoon we’ll dry out and see some sunshine.

Highs on Tuesday afternoon will top out in the 70s to near 80°.

Mid week continues to trend drier as we’ll likely only see a few clouds, a small shower chance, and highs in the mid 80s by Wednesday.

Thunderstorm timing becomes more of a focus for Thursday’s Thurby activities, however at the moment most of the data points toward storms not arriving until well after dark Thursday night.

That leaves us with a likely chance of thunderstorms at some point during Oaks Day on Friday as a cold front arrives. Those storms may very well exit just in time Saturday morning to give us a mostly dry Derby Day. Stay tuned!

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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Fighting 'intensifies in eastern Ukraine as troops fall back'; UK estimates 450,000 Russian losses since war began

Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi says his troops have taken up new positions west of Berdychi, Semenivka and Novomykhailivka in order to conserve their forces while armed forces minister Leo Docherty tells the UK Defence Journal tens of thousands have deserted Russian's military since February 2022.

Sunday 28 April 2024 22:34, UK

• Fighting intensifies in eastern Ukraine as troops fall back
• UK minister estimates 450,000 Russian losses since war began
• Tajikistan citizens warned not to travel to Russia
• 'Well-provisioned' Ukrainian troops could prevent Russian advances
• Russia destroys 17 drones launched by Ukraine
• Explained : Why is Chasiv Yar the next target for Russia?
• Your questions answered: Will Ukraine launch another spring offensive?
• Listen to the Sky News Daily above and  tap here  to follow wherever you get your podcasts

That's all from our live coverage for tonight. For a reminder of today's updates, you can scroll back through this live blog. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is still waiting for promised supplies from its allies, urging the international community to hurry up. 

In his nightly video address today, he said: "We are expecting those volumes and scope that can change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine's interests." 

He also said he had spoken with US House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, and had thanked Congress for passing the long-awaited aid package for Ukraine. 

"In my conversation with Mr Jeffries, I underscored that Patriot systems are needed, and as soon as possible," he said. 

Ukrainian forces are facing a worsening position in the east and are still awaiting the delivery of US weapons. 

Mr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for more air defence systems to protect its citizens and infrastructure, particularly the Patriot systems. 

Russia will start restricting those called up for military service from leaving the country, according to news site Meduza. 

Electronic summonses will reportedly be sent out from 1 November.

Those who are called up will not be allowed to leave Russia, and they will face further restrictions if they do not go to a military registration and enlistment office within 20 days.

In that case, they will not be allowed to register to run a business, drive a car, take out loans, or conduct real estate transactions, Meduza said.

New satellite imagery appears to show damage at Russia's Kushchyovskaya military airbase in the Krasnodar region. 

Planet Labs shared images comparing how the base looked on 19 March compared with today. 

A source in Ukraine's security and defence forces earlier told Ukrainian media that Kyiv had launched drone strikes against the airbase and two oil refineries overnight. 

They told the Kyiv Independent the SBU and Ukraine's Defence Forces hit the airbase where "dozens of military aircraft, radars, and electronic warfare devices were stationed".

Earlier we brought you news of a Russian drone strike on the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv. 

The attack set a hotel ablaze and damaged energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said. 

Vitaliy Kim, the governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, said in an update the attack had "seriously damaged" the hotel.

The strike also damaged heat-generating infrastructure in the city.

There were no casualties, he said. 

A priest sprinkles holy water on believers holding willow branches during an Orthodox Palm Sunday service. 

The service is being held in Donetsk, in an area occupied by Russian forces. 

Russia gained full control of the city of Donetsk in October 2022, but the area has been a major site of fighting since 2014. 

The majority of people in Ukraine are Orthodox Christian, although they follow different branches. 

As we've been reporting, Russia has been pushing forward in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. 

Ukrainian military officials say their troops are falling back to new positions in at least three places along the frontlines. 

But they are facing public criticism about the transparency of their military updates. 

Ukrainian military blogger Myroshnykov and Ukraine's DeepState monitoring group, which updates daily changes in frontline positions, both say the updates have been unrealistic. 

DeepState shared a video on social media of a Russian soldier being killed in a drone strike in the village of Soloviove, arguing such footage was being used to mask a bigger picture. 

"You can watch with pleasure forever the video of a Russian [soldier] being torn to pieces, but nearby there is another location that requires attention: Muscovites calmly moving around the village, keeping it under control. 

"The [Ukrainian] Defence Forces inflict fire damage on them, and one can repeat at least a billion times that two-thirds of the village is under the control of the Ukrainian military, but the picture of reality is completely different." 

It appeared to be referring to a statement from Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military in the east, who also said the nearby village of Ocheretyne was still two-thirds controlled by Ukraine. 

However, DeepState says it believes Russian troops have been in control of the centre of Ocheretyne for at least three days. 

The site accused some military spokespersons of incompetence last week. 

Police have arrested a 57-year-old Russian on suspicion of murder following the killings yesterday evening, German news agency dpa reported. 

The two Ukrainians were 23 and 36 years old, and lived in the southern German county of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

They were killed at a shopping centre in the village of Murnau in Upper Bavaria.

The names of the victims and suspect have not been released due to German privacy rules. 

It is not clear if the men knew each other. 

More than one million Ukrainian refugees fled to Germany following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

Donald Trump's stance on Ukraine is "not as black and white as some people think", the Polish foreign minister has said. 

The former US president, who is running for election again this year, has said he will not commit to providing Ukraine with defence assistance. 

Republicans aligned with Mr Trump were also the reason behind a six-month delay to aid for Ukraine. 

But foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with the Axel Springer media company that Mr Trump had sent Ukraine anti-tank missiles before Russia's invasion "when others were not doing it". 

He was referring to Javelin anti-tank missiles supplied by the US in 2018. 

Mr Sikorski also said Mr Trump was "right in urging us all in Europe to spend more on defence".

He said he "did not hear any protests from Trump" once the $61bn aid package for Ukraine was approved. 

"So, I hope that candidate Trump has seen that this opposition to helping Ukraine is not actually popular in the United States, that it is harming his chances [to be re-elected]," he added.

Earlier we reported that a top Ukrainian general said troops had fallen back from three villages in the east of the country. 

We can now bring you more from Oleksandr Syrskyi, the chief of Ukraine's armed forces, about the situation on the ground.

Mr Syrskyi said the Donetsk region (in the east) remains one of the hottest sectors of the frontline as Russia continues its offensive.

He described the situation in the eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove as "the most difficult one" now.

Russia is reportedly using up to four brigades (anywhere from an estimated 8,000 to 32,000 personnel) to conduct assault operations in the direction of both the cities, which lie west of Avdiivka, which was captured earlier this year. 

Mr Syrskyi said the situation is changing "dynamically" on the frontline as a result. 

Meanwhile, Mr Syrskyi said the situation in the south also remains "intense" as Russia tries to advance near the village of Krynky in Kherson.

It also wants to advance towards the villages of Robotyne and Verbove villages in Zaporizhzhia.

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Microsoft Joins Thorn and All Tech Is Human to enact strong child safety commitments for generative AI

Apr 23, 2024 | Courtney Gregoire - Chief Digital Safety Officer

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While millions of people use AI to supercharge their productivity and expression, there is the risk that these technologies are abused. Building on our longstanding commitment to online safety, Microsoft has joined Thorn, All Tech is Human, and other leading companies in their effort to prevent the misuse of generative AI technologies to perpetrate, proliferate, and further sexual harms against children. Today, Microsoft is committing to implementing preventative and proactive principles into our generative AI technologies and products.

This initiative, led by Thorn , a nonprofit dedicated to defending children from sexual abuse, and All Tech Is Human , an organization dedicated to collectively tackling tech and society’s complex problems, aims to mitigate the risks generative AI poses to children. The principles also align to and build upon Microsoft’s approach to addressing abusive AI-generated content . That includes the need for a strong safety architecture grounded in safety by design, to safeguard our services from abusive content and conduct, and for robust collaboration across industry and with governments and civil society. We have a longstanding commitment to combating child sexual exploitation and abuse, including through critical and longstanding partnerships such as the  National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ,  the Internet Watch Foundation ,  the Tech Coalition , and the WeProtect Global Alliance . We also provide support to  INHOPE , recognizing the need for international efforts to support reporting. These principles will support us as we take forward our comprehensive approach.

As a part of this Safety by Design effort, Microsoft commits to take action on these principles and transparently share progress regularly. Full details on the commitments can be found on Thorn’s website here and below, but in summary, we will:

• DEVELOP : Develop, build and train generative AI models to proactively address child safety risks
• DEPLOY: Release and distribute generative AI models after they have been trained and evaluated for child safety, providing protections throughout the process .

MAINTAIN: Maintain model and platform safety by continuing to actively understand and respond to child safety risks

Today’s commitment marks a significant step forward in preventing the misuse of AI technologies to create or spread child sexual abuse material (AIG-CSAM) and other forms of sexual harm against children. This collective action underscores the tech industry’s approach to child safety, demonstrating a shared commitment to ethical innovation and the well-being of the most vulnerable members of society.

We will also continue to engage with policymakers on the legal and policy conditions to help support safety and innovation. This includes building a shared understanding of the AI tech stack and the application of existing laws, as well as on ways to modernize law to ensure companies have the appropriate legal frameworks to support red-teaming efforts and the development of tools to help detect potential CSAM.

We look forward to partnering across industry, civil society, and governments to take forward these commitments and advance safety across different elements of the AI tech stack. Information-sharing on emerging best practices will be critical, including through work led by the new AI Safety Institute and elsewhere.

Our full commitment

Develop: develop, build, and train generative ai models that proactively address child safety risks.

• Responsibly source our training datasets, and safeguard them from child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) : This is essential to helping prevent generative models from producing AI generated child sexual abuse material (AIG-CSAM) and CSEM. The presence of CSAM and CSEM in training datasets for generative models is one avenue in which these models are able to reproduce this type of abusive content. For some models, their compositional generalization capabilities further allow them to combine concepts (e.g. adult sexual content and non-sexual depictions of children) to then produce AIG-CSAM. We are committed to avoiding or mitigating training data with a known risk of containing CSAM and CSEM. We are committed to detecting and removing CSAM and CSEM from our training data, and reporting any confirmed CSAM to the relevant authorities. We are committed to addressing the risk of creating AIG-CSAM that is posed by having depictions of children alongside adult sexual content in our video, images and audio generation training datasets.
• Incorporate feedback loops and iterative stress-testing strategies in our development process : Continuous learning and testing to understand a model’s capabilities to produce abusive content is key in effectively combating the adversarial misuse of these models downstream. If we don’t stress test our models for these capabilities, bad actors will do so regardless. We are committed to conducting structured, scalable and consistent stress testing of our models throughout the development process for their capability to produce AIG-CSAM and CSEM within the bounds of law, and integrating these findings back into model training and development to improve safety assurance for our generative AI products and systems.
• Employ content provenance with adversarial misuse in mind : Bad actors use generative AI to create AIG-CSAM. This content is photorealistic, and can be produced at scale. Victim identification is already a needle in the haystack problem for law enforcement: sifting through huge amounts of content to find the child in active harm’s way. The expanding prevalence of AIG-CSAM is growing that haystack even further. Content provenance solutions that can be used to reliably discern whether content is AI-generated will be crucial to effectively respond to AIG-CSAM. We are committed to developing state of the art media provenance or detection solutions for our tools that generate images and videos. We are committed to deploying solutions to address adversarial misuse, such as considering incorporating watermarking or other techniques that embed signals imperceptibly in the content as part of the image and video generation process, as technically feasible.

DEPLOY: Release and distribute generative AI models after they have been trained and evaluated for child safety, providing protections throughout the process

• Safeguard our generative AI products and services from abusive content and conduct: Our generative AI products and services empower our users to create and explore new horizons. These same users deserve to have that space of creation be free from fraud and abuse. We are committed to combating and responding to abusive content (CSAM, AIG-CSAM, and CSEM) throughout our generative AI systems, and incorporating prevention efforts. Our users’ voices are key, and we are committed to incorporating user reporting or feedback options to empower these users to build freely on our platforms.
• Responsibly host models: As our models continue to achieve new capabilities and creative heights, a wide variety of deployment mechanisms manifests both opportunity and risk. Safety by design must encompass not just how our model is trained, but how our model is hosted. We are committed to responsible hosting of our first-party generative models, assessing them e.g. via red teaming or phased deployment for their potential to generate AIG-CSAM and CSEM, and implementing mitigations before hosting. We are also committed to responsibly hosting third-party models in a way that minimizes the hosting of models that generate AIG-CSAM. We will ensure we have clear rules and policies around the prohibition of models that generate child safety violative content.
• Encourage developer ownership in safety by design : Developer creativity is the lifeblood of progress. This progress must come paired with a culture of ownership and responsibility. We encourage developer ownership in safety by design. We will endeavor to provide information about our models, including a child safety section detailing steps taken to avoid the downstream misuse of the model to further sexual harms against children. We are committed to supporting the developer ecosystem in their efforts to address child safety risks.
• Prevent our services from scaling access to harmful tools: Bad actors have built models specifically to produce AIG-CSAM, in some cases targeting specific children to produce AIG-CSAM depicting their likeness. They also have built services that are used to “nudify” content of children, creating new AIG-CSAM. This is a severe violation of children’s rights. We are committed to removing from our platforms and search results these models and services.
• Invest in research and future technology solutions : Combating child sexual abuse online is an ever-evolving threat, as bad actors adopt new technologies in their efforts. Effectively combating the misuse of generative AI to further child sexual abuse will require continued research to stay up to date with new harm vectors and threats. For example, new technology to protect user content from AI manipulation will be important to protecting children from online sexual abuse and exploitation. We are committed to investing in relevant research and technology development to address the use of generative AI for online child sexual abuse and exploitation. We will continuously seek to understand how our platforms, products and models are potentially being abused by bad actors. We are committed to maintaining the quality of our mitigations to meet and overcome the new avenues of misuse that may materialize.
• Fight CSAM, AIG-CSAM and CSEM on our platforms : We are committed to fighting CSAM online and preventing our platforms from being used to create, store, solicit or distribute this material. As new threat vectors emerge, we are committed to meeting this moment. We are committed to detecting and removing child safety violative content on our platforms. We are committed to disallowing and combating CSAM, AIG-CSAM and CSEM on our platforms, and combating fraudulent uses of generative AI to sexually harm children.

Tags: child online protection , deepfakes , generative ai , Online Safety , Thorn

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Automatic Refunds and No More Hidden Fees: D.O.T. Sets New Rules for Airlines

The Transportation Department issued new requirements on refunds when flights are canceled or delayed and on revealing “junk” fees before booking. Here’s what passengers can expect.

By Christine Chung

The Transportation Department on Wednesday announced new rules taking aim at two of the most difficult and annoying issues in air travel: obtaining refunds and encountering surprise fees late in the booking process.

“Passengers deserve to know upfront what costs they are facing and should get their money back when an airline owes them — without having to ask,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement, adding that the changes would not only save passengers “time and money,” but also prevent headaches.

The department’s new rules, Mr. Buttigieg said, will hold airlines to clear and consistent standards when they cancel, delay or substantially change flights, and require automatic refunds to be issued within weeks. They will also require them to reveal all fees before a ticket is purchased.

Airlines for America , a trade group representing the country’s largest air carriers, said in a statement that its airlines “abide by and frequently exceed” D.O.T. consumer protection regulations.

Passenger advocates welcomed the new steps.

Tomasz Pawliszyn, the chief executive of AirHelp, a Berlin-based company that assists passengers with airline claims, called it a “massive step forward and huge improvement in consumer rights and protection” that brings the United States closer to global standards in passenger rights.

Here’s what we know about the D.O.T.’s new rules, which will begin to go into effect in October.

There’s now one definition for a “significant” delay.

Until now, airlines have been allowed to set their own definition for a “significant” delay and compensation has varied by carrier . Now, according to the D.O.T., there will be one standard: when departure or arrival is delayed by three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights.

Passengers will get prompt refunds for cancellations or significant changes for flights and delayed bags, for any reason.

When things go wrong, getting compensation from an airline has often required establishing a cumbersome paper trail or spending untold hours on the phone. Under the new rules, refunds will be automatic, without passengers having to request them. Refunds will be made in full, excepting the value of any transportation already used. Airlines and ticket agents must provide refunds in the original form of payment, whether by cash, credit card or airline miles. Refunds are due within seven days for credit card purchases and within 20 days for other payments.

Passengers with other flight disruptions, such as being downgraded to a lower service class, are also entitled to refunds.

The list of significant changes for which passengers can get their money back also includes: departure or arrival from an airport different from the one booked; connections at different airports or flights on planes that are less accessible to a person with a disability; an increase in the number of scheduled connections. Also, passengers who pay for services like Wi-Fi or seat selection that are then unavailable will be refunded any fees.

Airlines must give travel vouchers or credits to ticketed passengers unable to fly because of government restrictions or a doctor’s orders.

The vouchers or credits will be transferable and can be used for at least five years after the date they were issued.

Fees for checked baggage and modifying a reservation must be disclosed upfront.

Airlines and ticket agents are now required to display any extra fees for things like checking bags or seat selection clearly and individually before a ticket purchase. They will also need to outline the airline’s policies on baggage, cancellations and changing flights before a customer purchases a ticket.

The rules, which apply to all flights on domestic airlines and flights to and from the United States operated by foreign airlines, have varying start dates.

For example, automatic refunds must be instituted by the airlines within six months. But carriers have a year before they’re required to issue travel vouchers and credits for passengers advised by a medical professional not to fly.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

Christine Chung is a Times reporter covering airlines and consumer travel. More about Christine Chung

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

ACTU calls for sanctions on Israel over Gaza war – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

• Anthony Albanese criticises X’s ‘extraordinary’ fight against removal of church stabbing posts
• Queensland police fatally shoot man at rest area south of Gladstone
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails , free app or daily news podcast
• 7d ago Summary of the day
• 7d ago ACTU calls for sanctions on Israel over Gaza war
• 7d ago Man shot by Queensland police near Gladstone dies
• 7d ago Electric utes rolling to Australia, mining sites first
• 7d ago Greens want Musk to 'front parliament' after refusing to take Wakeley stabbing videos down
• 22 Apr 2024 Steve Gollschewski appointed as new Queensland police commissioner
• 22 Apr 2024 Murujuga traditional custodians call for investigation into leak of cultural heritage report
• 22 Apr 2024 PM says it is ‘extraordinary’ X not complying with takedown order
• 22 Apr 2024 ‘It just doesn’t work’: Liberal senator weighs in on job-sharing MP proposal
• 22 Apr 2024 Erin Patterson appears via video link ahead of today’s court appearance
• 22 Apr 2024 ‘Insulting and offensive’ to conflate X takedown order with censorship: Birmingham
• 22 Apr 2024 Inspection report finds ‘serious concerns’ at Western Australian detention centre
• 22 Apr 2024 Nationals leader denies tension in Coalition around nuclear power
• 21 Apr 2024 FA announces host states for Women's Asian Cup
• 21 Apr 2024 Assistant treasurer ‘incredibly disappointed’ by Elon Musk’s response to takedown directive
• 21 Apr 2024 'More determined to remove journalists than criminals': assistant treasurer on social media giants
• 21 Apr 2024 ‘An attitude they’re above the laws of a nation’: Bill Shorten on X
• 21 Apr 2024 Treasury downgrades growth forecasts ahead of budget
• 21 Apr 2024 International travel closer to pre-pandemic levels than domestic at Sydney Airport
• 21 Apr 2024 Albanese government announces 'largest-ever' tender for renewable energy projects
• 21 Apr 2024 Good morning

Summary of the day

And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s a wrap of what we’ve learned today:

The federal government has announced Australia’s “largest-ever” tender to build renewable energy projects, which will be underwritten by the commonwealth.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese said it was “extraordinary” that X, formerly known as Twitter, did not comply with orders from the eSafety commissioner to take down footage of the Wakeley church stabbing.

The X boss, Elon Musk , should “front up here to parliament”, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has declared, calling the billionaire CEO a “tech thug” and “cowboy” after his platform refused to take down the videos.

The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham , said the opposition would support any moves from the government to place penalties on social media companies that won’t remove content deemed damaging to social cohesion.

The Nationals leader, David Littleproud , has denied there is tension in the Coalition around nuclear power, telling Sky News that a “clear majority” of his party want nuclear power.

Global financial uncertainty has prompted the Treasury to downgrade its growth forecasts for major economies ahead of the federal budget.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has called for the government to issue targeted sanctions on Israel and cease all military trade due with the country due to the war in Gaza. It has also called for a commitment of an additional $100m in humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the West Bank.

An inspection report by the Australian Human Rights Commission has found a high-security immigration detention centre in Western Australia was, in part, “no longer fit for purpose”.

Steve Gollschewski has been named as the new Queensland police commissioner, following the resignation of Katarina Carroll last month.

Erin Patterson , the woman accused of murdering and attempting to murder her relatives by serving them a meal laced with deadly mushrooms, may spend 15 months in custody before she faces a committal hearing, a court has heard.

Murujuga traditional custodians have called for an immediate inquiry to investigate the alleged leak of a confidential report on the Burrup peninsula to the media.

International traffic is now closer to pre-pandemic levels than domestic flights at Sydney airport.

A man has died after being shot by police at a rest area south of Gladstone, Queensland.

Electric utes are being shipped to Australia for use on mining sites after a local firm signed a deal with one of America’s leading vehicle manufacturers.

Thanks so much for your company today. We’ll be back bright and early with all your news, live, tomorrow morning, just after 7am. See you then.

Crocodile euthanised after fatal attack on teenager

Wildlife officers have euthanised a large crocodile believed to have killed a 16-year-old boy in the Torres Strait last week.

The teenager, and a 13-year-old boy, reportedly attempted to swim back to Saibai Island from a broken-down dinghy early on Thursday morning last week, Queensland police said, with the younger boy making it to safety.

Wildlife officers located the four-metre animal responsible during spotlight searches on Friday night near where the boy died and it was killed on Saturday, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.

Read the full story here:

Moody’s seems in no hurry to downgrade NSW credit rating

As we saw earlier today, NSW treasurer Daniel Mookhey was almost daring credit agencies to cut the state’s credit rating in the wake of what he dubbed a “rip-off” GST carve-up:

So bad was it from the budget outlook, Mookhey said, it was almost certain to cost NSW its remaining AAA rating with two of the big three agencies.

Well, one of the two, Moody’s, had kicked the tyres earlier this month and seems in no hurry to downgrade NSW.

John Manning , vice-president and senior credit officer for Moody’s Ratings, told Guardian Australia:

Moody’s retains its stable outlook on the state of New South Wales’ AAA rating ahead of the release of the state’s fiscal 2025 budget.

So nothing changing just yet. The NSW budget lands in June.

Fitch, the other agency with a top-notch rating for NSW, is yet to get back to us. (S&P cut NSW’s debt rating in 2020.)

The state opposition, meanwhile, aren’t impressed, saying Mookhey was using the GST carve-up complaints to divert attention from the impact on the budget of lifting the cap on public wage increases.

The parliamentary budget office had indicated prior to the 2023 election that Labor was relying on productivity gains to offset higher salaries – something the Coalition says is yet to happen.

Call for second Melbourne injecting room amid synthetic opioid fears

Health experts are warning of the looming threat of strong synthetic opioids called nitazenes among Australian drug users, as former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark said there was an urgent need for a second safe-injecting room in Melbourne .

Referring to the long-mooted facility, Clark, who is chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, said:

The bottom line is that people that are using drugs need to be safe. And that’s why a centre is so important … I hope it will go ahead. The first one is clearly highly successful .

Speaking at the World Health Summit regional meeting, Clark said there was a need for drug decriminalisation, public drug-testing facilities and safe-injecting sites to get ahead of what was described as the imminent threat posed by synthetic opioids, which are already causing an epidemic of drug fatalities in North America .

Nitazenes have already been identified in the ACT , New South Wales , Victoria and South Australia . Certain nitazenes can be from 10 to 100 times more potent than fentanyl, which is also a powerful synthetic opioid.

ACTU calls for sanctions on Israel over Gaza war

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has released a new statement on Gaza, calling for the Australian government to, among other things, place sanctions on “Israeli officials who have called for the denial of aid, and military and civil servants denying essential food and materials to civilians in Gaza”.

Speaking for the Australian union movement, the ACTU statement says it is “horrified by the escalating violence and death toll of civilians in Gaza”.

It continues:

The ACTU reiterates its statements and resolution of 19 October 2023 and 23 February 2024 and continues to call for an urgent and permanent ceasefire and the release of hostages and political prisoners.

The union movement has urged the Albanese government to use “all influence, pressure and diplomatic measures to achieve a permanent ceasefire” and the end to all military trade with Israel.

As well as targeted sanctions and the cessation of all military trade, the ACTU has called on the government to commit an additional $100m in humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the West Bank.

The statement says:

The ACTU calls on the Israeli government and the Palestinian leadership to promote open, tolerant and respectful societies through adherence to democratic principles in governance, respect for human rights and equal treatment for all. The ACTU calls for an end to the occupation of Palestine and a just and sustainable peace in accordance with UN security council resolutions. Including the removal of illegal settlements, the withdrawal of Israel from all Palestinian lands along with the dismantling of the separation wall. In line with the ACTU’s commitment to a two-state solution with the security of borders for both nations, we call on all countries to recognise, without delay, Palestine as a sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital. This will confirm the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination in a free and independent Palestine.

Greens press for student loan overhaul

Speaking of student debt, the Greens have renewed their push for sweeping loan reforms that would scrap the process of Hecs/Help rising with inflation.

The prime minister has been dropping his own hints that recommendations to reform student loans in the University Accord are being looked at in the federal budget.

One recommendation is to tie student loans to whatever is smaller out of the wage price index (WPI) and the consumer price index (CPI) rather than setting automatically to CPI. Last year, loans were indexed by 7.1% due to high inflation, with a rise in excess of 4% expected this year.

Another option, put forward by higher education economist Andrew Norton in this masthead , would impose a cap at 3% or 4%.

But the deputy leader of the Greens, senator Mehreen Faruqi , says this isn’t enough.

WPI is usually higher than CPI (including this year, according to the govt’s projections) so this change will make little difference ... a cap of 4% still means at least a $1k hike in the avg. HECS debt and almost $3k for someone with a $70,000 debt. A hike people should not be slugged with in a cost of living crisis.

Labor refused demands from the Greens to protect students from huge debt increases last year, but there's still time to stop the massive indexation hit coming again this June. No more tinkering around the edges. In the May budget, Labor must scrap indexation on student debt. — Mehreen Faruqi (@MehreenFaruqi) April 22, 2024

Man shot by Queensland police near Gladstone dies

A man has died after being shot by police at a rest area south of Gladstone.

Police said the man was shot by an officer on Monday, 20km south of Miriam Vale, around 10.50am.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson said the man was assessed in a critical condition but they did not transport him to hospital.

Guardian Australia understands that he died at the scene.

The Bruce Highway at Gindoran, 5km north of John Clifford Way, remains closed.

Guardian Australia is still awaiting further details about the circumstances of the shooting. A police investigation is under way.

Treasurer considers relief for ‘under pressure’ students

We mentioned it briefly earlier but the treasurer, Jim Chalmers , has further hinted that relief may be on the way for students completing mandatory unpaid university placements.

Students in a range of courses including nursing, teaching and social work are required to complete hundreds of hours of internships in order to graduate.

Academics, the Greens and grassroots group Students Against Placement Poverty have lobbied the commonwealth for years to address the burden, pointing to high drop-out rates and burnout .

The University Accord final report, handed down earlier this year, urged the government to front the bill for “care” degrees, and work with industry to implement stipends for remaining mandatory internships.

Speaking to the media today, Chalmers said both loan reform and placements were being looked at in the budget, acknowledging “students are under pressure”.

With the budget a mere three weeks away – watch this space.

Court hears conflicting accounts over Victorian school bus crash

A bus driver says he slowed to a near stop at an intersection west of Melbourne when a truck rammed into the back of his bus, seriously injuring eight students, a court has heard.

But another motorist has disputed Graham Stanley’s claims, telling the Melbourne magistrates court he saw no brake or indicator lights in the lead-up to the May 2023 collision that saw a truck crash into the back of the bus.

At the time, 45 students from the Exford primary school in Eynesbury were on the bus. Eight children suffered life-threatening injuries, with two students needing to have arms and hands amputated. Stanley was also hospitalised with a broken ankle.

The driver of the truck was charged with 11 offences, including four counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury.

He faced the Melbourne magistrates court on Monday for the start of a two-day committal hearing.

Read the full story from AAP here:

Funding boost for warning systems in flood-hit regions

Flood-prone areas across Queensland will receive $7m for early warning infrastructure, AAP reports.

The federal government has announced 170 projects, including new river height gauges, cameras, signage and sensor technology for areas heavily impacted by flooding in 2022.

The emergency management minister, Murray Watt , said that with more frequent and intense flooding in recent years, this infrastructure was crucial.

While we can’t predict the future, we know complacency is simply not an option when it comes to building disaster resilience. With earlier flood warnings and more comprehensive information captured we’ll significantly improve our defence against disaster events.

More than 20 Queensland councils will get $235,000 each for new flood warning infrastructure. An extra $1m will be set aside for “high-priority” projects within nine of these local government areas.

Many thanks for joining me on the blog today. Stephanie Convery will be here to guide you through the rest of today’s news. Take care.

Crocodile believed to be responsible for fatal attack on teen euthanised

A crocodile believed to be responsible for a fatal attack on a 16-year-old boy in the Torres Strait last week has been euthanised.

Last Thursday a search and rescue operation was launched near Saibai Island after reports a 16-year-old was missing. That night a spokesperson confirmed they had discovered his body with injuries consistent with a crocodile attack.

According to a statement from the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, the four-metre crocodile was located during night spotlight searches on Friday, near where the teenage boy was killed.

The animal displayed parading behaviour such as raising its head as it swam, which is consistent with it being the target animal.

The crocodile was “humanely euthanised” on Saturday and disposed of at sea, the department said, “in keeping with the wishes of the Saibai Island community”.

The [department] expresses its sincere condolences to the friends, family and community on Saibai Island.

New Zealand PM interested in Taiwan trade, but not travel

In some international news via AAP : the New Zealand prime minister, Christopher Luxon , says he wants to increase trade links with Taiwan, but has ruled out visiting the island nation while leader in deference to the One China policy.

Last week, NZ sent its first-ever official cross-parliamentary delegation to Taiwan. Taiwan is eager to join the 11-nation CPTPP trade bloc ( which includes Australia and NZ) but is considered unlikely to be admitted, given China also wants membership.

NZ does not have an official diplomatic relationship with Taipei, but has a free trade deal signed in 2013.

Luxon said his government has a goal of doubling its export value in the next decade, and plans to lean on Asia heavily to do so. Asked specifically if that included Taiwan, he said: “Yes, we already have a free trade agreement with Taiwan.”

NZ’s openness to Taiwan comes at a moment of geopolitical inflection, with the new right-leaning government exploring closer ties with the US and “traditional” partners.

Each of the countries Luxon visited last week (Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines) have strong relationships with Washington – Thailand and the Philippines were formally allied to the US.

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