Focus On: Travel Blogs

Photo courtesy of Ma.tt.

I love to travel, and when I can’t hit the road, I love to armchair travel. Travel blogs are great for vicarious sightseeing. I’ve noticed that the best travel bloggers all do certain things very well:

• They include photos. Evocative prose is great and all, but we also want to see that stunning vista.
• They don’t include too many photos. Granted, Angkor Wat is amazing, but scrolling through fifty photos of ancient temples? Not so much. Choose a few of the best, and link to the rest.
• They eat. Everybody wants to hear about food (and see pictures of food), especially new and unfamiliar food.
• They give specifics. Even if your readers are unlikely to ever follow in your footsteps, they’ll still want to know: how much was that kebab? What was the name and address of that guesthouse? How long was that train ride?
• They introduce us to interesting people. Even travel stories that would seem to be all about solitude (such as thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail) inevitably include characters. We want to hear about the new friends, the fascinating strangers, the irritating seatmates.
• They educate. They don’t just mention a monument, a tradition, or a custom; they provide history and context. Who built the monument? How did the tradition start? What does the custom symbolize? What does it mean to people today?
• They employ humor. Traveling is all about getting outside your comfort zone, and at times it can be awkward and confusing. Entertaining travel writers see the comedy in every misadventure.
• They focus on what makes their perspective unique. Many people have visited Paris, but everybody sees it differently. Are you a senior traveler, or do you travel with small children? Do you travel with a wheelchair (or with a wheelchair and small children)? Are you an introvert, or a scaredy cat? There are others like you who will be inspired by your example.

Everybody travels. Whether you’re riding a pony through Mongolia, or exploring a new area of your hometown, you’re having an adventure people will want to read about!

Do you have any favorite travel blogs on WordPress.com, and if so, what do you like about them? What tips do you have for making posts about travel interesting or useful to readers?

To find more great travel posts on WordPress.com, try browsing the Travel topic page!

On the Road

When we talk about blogging daily, we often talk about finding a blogging routine. Yet after we find ourselves in a groove with our writing, life happens and we’re pulled away from our regular habits. I’ve been traveling more often than usual for the past few weeks and found myself having a hard time figuring out when and what to write about. It’s more than just not having time, but also feeling enraptured by a new place and wanting to experience it fully, without pausing to sit behind a computer for a few moments. As the seasons change, you too may find yourself on the road — here’s a few tips I found helpful.

While you may not have time now to recap each day, save the moments of your trip you want to share and plan for a series of posts later. Once you’re home, you can upload all of your photos and write an outstanding recap of your adventures in a multi-post series. Not only does this help to alleviate an overwhelmingly large blog post, but it also gives readers a reason to come back to your blog. You can also post teaser photos and updates that give readers a taste of your trip throughout your adventures. For shorter posts like these, use post formats if your blog’s theme supports them. For example, in Twenty Eleven, there is the option to publish a post in the Status format. Publishing a “status update,” versus a blog post, often feels much more casual and easier to do on the go.

While on the road, internet connectivity isn’t always guaranteed. An easy alternative is to write your blog posts in a plain text file, which allows you the same clean, uncluttered look of the WordPress editor, while having a copy of your post saved to your computer. By using a plain text file, rather than Microsoft Word, you can easily transfer your post content over to your site when WiFi is available without causing any layout issues. (Learn more about this here.) Similarly, since travel often involves rather long periods of time in which you’re confined to a relatively small space, it’s a great time to zone out and brainstorm. While on a bus, I love nothing more than letting my mind wander and jotting down topics that I’d like to write about in the future.

Lastly, using your smart phone to grab photos and take notes while traveling is a quick and easy way to stay up to date without feeling trapped behind a computer. For iOS users, apart from the WordPress mobile app, I often use Camera+, which is a camera app with fun filters and editing options. Recently, a new version was released that allows you to automatically share your photos to WordPress. You can also use your phone to post by email or leave an audio post with our post by voice tool. Thinking outside the box for helps to keep up your daily blogging while away from your home base.

Happy travels!