Ever dreamed of getting into travel writing? The very notion evokes images of cruising through Queensland’s Whitsunday Islands on a superyacht, exploring the remote Goto Islands in Japan, and swimming with manta rays in the Maldives. These are just three experiences I’ve had in the past three years – and, better still, I’ve been paid to write about them.
But it’s not all cocktail cruises, high-end hotels, or jaw-dropping wildlife encounters. Behind the scenes, there’s a lot of hard work involved, much of it unpaid. It’s an important factor to know when you’re considering ‘how do I get into travel writing?’
Despite the downsides, I still think travel writing is the best gig in the world. Here’s why you should consider adding a travel writing skillset to the existing work you do – and how to get started.
What is travel writing?
Travel writing defies easy description and every freelance travel writer might have their own take on it. It would, on the surface, seem to be about destinations and journeys. Yet what really brings a narrative to life are the people you meet, the experiences you have along the way, and the things that don’t go according to plan. Although travel writing is non-fiction, and thus based on facts, it is highly subjective, being shaped by an individual writer’s interests, preferences, and biases.
What is freelance travel writing?” is another common question from beginners. Travel writer Jonathan Raban described his craft as “a notoriously raffish open house where different genres are likely to end up in the same bed.” Travel writing borrows from multiple genres, including memoir, journalism, fiction, poetry, and (some would argue) commentary. It also crosses a range of subject areas, including history, geology, politics, popular culture, gastronomy, and more.
Even technology gets a twirl, as robotic baristas, contactless check-ins, and wearable tech like translation earbuds continue to change the face of travel.
Travel writing also encompasses multiple different types of freelance writing:
- You might pen an experiential first-person narrative for a print newspaper,
- Or a listicle (such as ‘12 fun things to do in Rome’) for a print magazine,
- Or a research and photo-based slideshow of “20 Must-visit restaurants in London” for a lifestyle website.
- You might contribute to travel or generalist websites or gather material for your own travel blog.
Do you think longer projects might be up your alley when you look into how to get into travel writing?
Some travel writers compile guidebooks which are designed to dispense practical advice on where to stay, eat, shop and tour.
As you explore how to become a travel writer, you might consider writing something like Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love book. Others such as Bill Bryson entertain by sharing the funny or absurd aspects of travel while still others share deeply transformative travel experiences.
What are the benefits of adding travel into your freelance writing mix?
Even if you don’t plan on becoming a full-time travel writer, there are sound reasons why you may wish to add a travel writing skill to your repertoire as part of the exercises when you ask yourself “how do I get into travel writing?”
It improves your observational skills.
When you’re trying to capture the essence of a destination, you’re paying keen attention to all the details. There’s a necessary focus on what you can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. You’re intent on ‘showing’ not ‘telling’, on analyzing your emotional responses, and reflecting on the meaning of it all. This naturally improves your storytelling skills, making your content in all areas more engaging.
(Keep in mined these 13 truths and 1 lie about being a travel writer.)
The novelty stokes your creativity.
Immersing yourself in an unfamiliar destination encourages you to make novel associations – which is one of the key elements of creativity, says Moshe Bar, author of Mindwandering. “The more preprogrammed our thinking is, the less likely innovative connections are to be made and fewer creative ideas will bubble up,” he writes in his book. The exploratory nature of travel writing can thus spur your creativity, benefitting your work in other areas.
You stumble across additional story ideas.
It’s rare to go off on a travel writing jobs assignment and come back with only the story you were originally commissioned to write. Many other possibilities usually present themselves once you’re on the road (usually with minimal additional effort on your part). And they’re not always travel-related. For example, what I’ve learned during travel writing assignments has led to pitches, and subsequent commissions, from business, science and agricultural publications.
How can I get my first travel story published?
Getting your first travel story published might be easier than you think.
Start close to home.
Local newspapers or regional magazines are often looking for stories about nearby attractions, which provides an accessible entry point for new freelance travel writers. Also remember that what’s routine for you is interesting, or even exotic, for someone else. That’s one of the reasons that editors actively seek out writers who are resident in a particular area. Read more about why your backyard is the best place to kick off your travel writing career.
Publish on your own freelance travel blog or website.
You’ll need a strong track record of publication to break into publications like Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler, but you don’t need anyone’s permission to publish travel stories on your own blog or website. The content you publish may even attract editors and clients looking for fresh voices. For example, freelance travel writer Matthew Kepnes initially wrote about his adventures on his NomadicMatt.com blog – but has since been published in The New York Times, CNN, The Guardian, and more. Travel blogs can also become assets in themselves.
Guest post on established travel blogs.
Guest posting on established travel blogs is another way to get your foot in the door, reach new audiences, or boost your online presence. Some blogs actively seek guest contributions and provide detailed submission guidelines, allowing you to craft submissions that best suit their needs.
Some pay a nominal fee; others don’t pay at all. This might be acceptable if you’re just starting out. Travel blogs that currently accept guest posts include The Art of Travel, Practical Wanderlust, and Backpackers World Travel.
How do I break into the big-league travel publications?
Exposure on your own or more established travel blogs will only get you so far. Eventually, you’ll want to sell your stories to a travel publication that’s willing to pay for them – and this usually starts with freelance article pitches to the editor.
A travel story pitch needs to identify the destination you’re proposing to cover.
As with other pitches, open with an engaging hook which captures the editor’s attention and gives them a sense of what’s to come. (I recommend writing the first couple of sentences of the story you’re proposing to write, using all the colorful sensory detail you can muster.)
It’s also important to identify your travel article’s angle – that is, the unique perspective you’re planning to take with this freelance travel feature.
‘Kyoto’, for instance, is a destination, not an angle. But exploring the essence of Kyoto, as revealed through its Zen gardens, as in this piece in The New York Times, is an angle.
Your pitch will also need to answer the two questions that are usually top of mind for editors – “Why this?” and “Why now?”
For example, a new airport, along with the introduction of international flights, makes a story about the under-the-radar destination of Greenland newly topical.
A freelance travel article pitch may also identify why a particular story is a good fit for that publication – or why it would work well in one of the publication’s regular sections.
Don’t forget to include details on your credentials with a link to your portfolio – which is why getting those first few freelance travel stories under your belt, as described earlier, is so important.
How do you find publications to pitch to?
Despite the generally grim state of editorial publishing, it seems there are still trillions of travel publications to pitch to.
One of the ways I still like to find them is by browsing the shelves of my local news agency or library.
Along with top tier print publications such as Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Travel and Travel + Leisure, there are also those aimed at particular niches.
In my local (Australian) market, these include publications focusing upon high-end travel (think Luxury Travel Magazine), adventure (including Wild), the intersection of travel, food and wine (as in Gourmet Traveller) and many more.
Most generalist magazines and newspapers also have travel sections.
There are also publications which contain substantial travel content such as Roads & Kingdoms, Outside Online, and Adventure.com.
Don’t overlook B2B trade publications such as Travel Weekly and Skift, which are aimed at industry professionals such as travel agents and destination marketers rather than the general public.
Many publications in all the categories above will have submission guidelines which provide useful guidance on what they’re looking for and might even serve to spark ideas.
Searching freelance job boards such as Contena, joining groups such as TravMedia or professional associations such as the Society of American Travel Writers, subscribing to curated lists of editor callouts such as Opportunities of the Week Newsletter x Study Hall, are other good ways to keep your ear to the ground about travel writing opportunities.
FAQ about getting started in travel writing
What does travel writing pay in 2025?
Few publications are upfront about the rates they pay for travel writing. That’s because they vary wildly depending on the publication, story type, and writer’s willingness to work for peanuts – or for nothing.
For example, despite publishing a finicky list of ‘dos and don’ts’ for writers, BootsnAll does not pay for submissions. Rather, it offers exposure (which might be acceptable if you’re trying to build a portfolio), and a single backlink (which comes in handy if you’re keen to promote your own blog).
At the other end of the spectrum, big budget publications like Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure used to pay up to $2.00 per word for the print publications, according to Who Pays Writers. (Note that those numbers were from 2017.)
However, some contributors to that freelance rate website have also reported rates of as little as $0.17 USD per word for those same publications.
In my experience, the majority seem to pay anywhere from $0.30 USD to $0.62 USD per word.
But when you factor in the time spent travelling, then subsequently writing the relevant stories, the difficulty associated with making a living through editorial work alone becomes apparent.
For that reason, many travel writers also take on various types of freelance writing for other niches, content writing for brands (BTW, what is “content marketing?”), tourism boards, or travel companies, or blogging for their own sites.
Writing on his own blog, Tim Leffel claims that publishing a story on your own travel blog is likely to yield far better financial returns over the longer term than publishing the same story with a mainstream media title.
Do you pitch the story first or do the travel and then pitch it?
This is a real chicken-and-egg scenario, with no satisfactory answer other than ‘it depends’.
Often, you’ll only uncover the most captivating angles once you’ve had time to explore a destination.
And when you’re just starting out, you generally won’t have the support of tourism boards and other travel industry players, so you’ll often need to travel at your own expense.
After spending time on the ground, you can then write about your travels, in the hope that an editor is sufficiently interested and engaged to buy your words.
However, more established travel writers tend to pitch an editor first, and then undertake the travel.
That’s because once you’ve secured a confirmed commission from a publication, you’re in a much stronger position to seek sponsorship for your trip from the relevant tourism board, or hotels, restaurants, and tour companies that will feature in your story.
Just be aware that there are some big name titles – including BBC Travel, The New York Times and The Washington Post – which won’t commission stories based on sponsored travel.
In practice, I usually pitch first, so I can set off with at least one confirmed commission, along with the sponsorship that makes it all possible.
On the road, I almost always stumble upon additional stories which can be placed subsequently.
Discover how to wring multiple stories from each trip.
How do I get invited on press trips?
Once you have a few published travel stories under your belt, you’ll likely start to receive press trip invitations – either from PR representatives or editors you’ve previously worked with.
Also known as group familiarization trips (or ‘famils’ or ‘fams’) these tend to be fast-paced, but rewarding.
To increase your chances of being on the invite list, it’s important to build (and maintain) a quality freelance portfolio.
Attending networking events such as TravMedia’s International Media Marketplace (IMM) is another way to build contacts and learn more about upcoming press trip opportunities.
