With internet offering more and more ways to make money online, travel buffs have the luxury of following their heart while making a sizeable income. Travel bloggers/writers jot down and record their experiences of travelling across the globe; the more interesting their tales are and the better story teller they are, the more followers they get.
Hence, most popular travel bloggers are those who entertain readers with quirky tales of places you always wanted to visit but did not, because life got in the way. They inspire us to undertake a journey as well, and provide helpful tips and advice us on what and what not to do in these unchartered territories.
Here is a list of travel bloggers you absolutely need to keep track of.
Andrew Evans
An author of four books, including guides to Ukraine and Iceland, Andrew Evans is a writer who loves to travel. As National Geographic's Digital Nomad and a columnist for National Geographic Travel magazine, Evans reports his expeditions from around the world and is the recipient of several awards. However, his most noteworthy adventure was travelling all the way from Washington DC to Antarctica by bus and ship. He is a regular tweeter on the handle @WheresAndrew and has a website that is regularly updated.
Jodi Ettenberg
Jodi Ettenberg is lawyer-turned-travel blogger and self-proclaimed foodie from Montreal. A contributing editor of Long Reads and the author of The Food Traveler's Handbook, Ettenberg took off to see the world, after saving up enough money from working as a lawyer in New York for five years. She began blogging so that her friends and family could follow her through her crazy stories and photos. Little did she know that her blogs would get wide readership and she would receive freelance writing gigs and long-term partnership offers, allowing her to keep Legal Nomads, telling stories through food, ad-free. To follow Ettenberg on Twitter, go to @legalnomads.
Chris Guillebeau
Chris Guillebeau is a New York Times bestselling author and modern-day explorer, who spent four years as a volunteer executive in West Africa. He visited every single country in the world before he turned 35. Guillebeau's latest book The Happiness of Pursuit will be published in September 2014. He is also an adamant advocate of "The Art of Non-Conformity" (also the title of his first book) which he explains is "a lack of orthodoxy in thoughts or beliefs. Follow him on Twitter and visit his website for stories of his travel and adventure, including his journeys to more than 25 countries every year and the stories of fellow travellers.
Dave and Deb
Dave and Deb from Toronto are award-winning travel & photography bloggers, who have been married for 16 years. While still trying to figure out a way to keep travelling, the couple signed up for the Tour d'Afrique, which is the world's longest cycling race in 2008. Deb was the women's champion of the race and Dave won the prestigious title of "Cycling Every 'Fabulous' Inch of Africa" from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa. It was during their time in Africa that they started the now hugely popular blog. They have explored all seven continents in over 80 countries and are the American Express Canada 2013 Ambassadors and Expedia.com ViewFinders. They tweet from the handle @theplanetd and post blogs on their website The Planet D.
Paul Steele
A former British soldier who started going on hiking expeditions to lose weight, Paul Steele calls himself "the bald hiker" and has a Twitter following of 253,000. From mountaintops to beaches, from historic buildings to sunsets, Steele covers amazing places all over the globe. He was voted the most influential online travel writer in a poll by the website 'Influencers in Travel'. Steele is also the founder and editor of the travel website BaldHiker.com. An important part of Steele's storytelling takes place on his Twitter handle @paul_steele.
Erick Prince-Heaggans
After spending years doing things others felt were right, Erick Prince-Heaggans forced himself to question his beliefs and values, while studying at the University of Texas. Finally, Prince-Heaggans came up with a project that is close to his heart. He wanted to inspire young Afro-American Blacks, Latinos, the LGBT community and other diverse groups to travel and educate them that the world is a diverse and wonderful place. It is not just an effort to show others that world is not to be feared, but also a mission to discover himself. "When it comes down to it I'm out here in the wind. I can't run home to my parents if I fail...This is my journey and I've set fire to the bridges behind me so there is only one place to go. FORWARD," he says on his blog Minority Nomad. To follow him on Twitter, click here.
Matt Long
An award-winning travel blogger, writer and photographer specializing in luxury adventure travel, Matt Long has "a mortgage, significant other and even three dogs" but has made travel his profession. Long aspires to make travel more fun and accessible for everyone by providing information on how to experience the best things the world has to offer. Blogging about the art and science of travelling the world, he says he is a landloper at heart. Follow his blog Landlopers here and visit @Landlopers to get regular updates on luxury travel.
