It may seem trite, but the best job in the world is to travel, write about the people and places you see, and get paid for it. It’s the job of every dreamer with ants on their soles. Traveling and keeping everything for your own eyes is a form of selfishness in disguise. What’s the point of seeing the world’s wonders and not sharing them with the less fortunate, who don’t have the opportunity to travel but have the chance to read? And if you still get to write with passion and talent about what you see, money is just a form of reward. Which is a secondary one because nothing compares to the idea of traveling. How to start writing a travel article?
Assuming that you have defined your life’s purpose on the concept of traveling and writing, i.e., becoming a real travel writer, the question you will ask yourself at the beginning of this career is how to start writing a travel article. And in what follows, I’m going to refer to a simple text that can be published on a blog or an online publication’s website rather than a complex piece of writing aimed at getting published in National Geographic magazine.
You need to take a few simple steps to write a travel article. These are within anyone’s reach, and going through them is bound to end up with a good article for publication, as long as there is a touch of literary talent complemented by grammatically correct writing.
1 Do your research and read a lot
A travel writer is always very well-documented. A traveler should be well-versed in geography and history and know about art, architecture, and gastronomy. In other words, general knowledge is important for anyone who aims to become a travel writer. How do you acquire it? By reading.
Read as much as possible, from travel books to encyclopedias and major travel blogs. Make a selection of the websites and blogs you find most exciting and closest to the ‘slice’ you want to tackle, and subscribe to their newsletters or check them constantly to see what’s new. Pay special attention to the articles’ structure and how the authors design their texts.
There’s no template for travel writing; of course, everyone writes differently, but if you’re at the beginning, you can “steal” a bit from each worthwhile author. Approach. The tone. The humor. The reporting of various events.
Then, buy travel books. The books have a different approach, but the general culture can be gleaned to a good extent from the books. We live in an age where people are reading less and less, preferring to spend hours watching TikTok or superficial Reels. Be different! Be old-style! You may not feel like you’ve earned much at the time. Still, for the writer to become, reading is the greatest treasure – one that allows you to accumulate information, style, knowledge, the accuracy of expression, and value.
And if you know that memory is not necessarily your strongest point, take notes. Buy yourself a notebook (I recommend Moleskines, and we’ll talk about why some other time), and write down anything you find interesting after applying the reading filter: ideas, information, and themes.
2 Choose a niche
We’ve talked here about the pros and cons of choosing a niche when it comes to travel writing. Like it or not, somehow, you have to choose a niche. Or an angle on topics, a personal perspective. You can’t just write about travel. Or… you can, but the subject matter is so vast that you’ll end up drifting across the great ocean.
Just think, you’re not the only travel writer, and we’re not even in the romantic years of the Internet anymore. There are thousands, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, worldwide. Writing about the places you visit, especially if you can travel a lot, is the handiest thing to do. That’s why it’s best to niche down. And, within your chosen niche, find a sub-niche. From gastronomy to festivals, from traveling with kids to bizarre places. It doesn’t matter – all niches and sub-niches have their followers, and not a few.
There are plenty of niches to choose from, and the folks at the Host Agency Reviews website have compiled a (they say, incomplete) list of travel niches. Download it from here and study it. Find 3-4 areas where you think you’d feel most comfortable, then filter down further. Follow their travel writing niche setting scheme, which is logical and very effective.
3 Decide where you will publish your articles and texts
Every writer, of any kind, has to have the question in their head: where am I going to publish what I write? Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), there are many more possibilities today than there were, say, 30 years ago (to put it mildly). Back then, you might have thought you’d write about what you see on your travels in an article that would appear in a newspaper or magazine. Or, if you have a lot to say, publish a book.
In the meantime, the Internet came along, and the possibilities exploded. Now you can have your own ‘place’ to publish your writing. It’s called a blog, and the online is full of them. So one of the possibilities is to make your own blog. It’s simple, requires a minimum of knowledge, and there are plenty of tutorials on how to make your blog in WordPress or other platforms like Wix. I won’t go into that now, but your blog will be your business card, where you can present your portfolio.
Therefore, you can publish your travel articles on your blog to attract as many readers as possible and make your blog as successful as possible. Another option, or a follow-up to the blog option, is to submit your articles to travel publications – magazines that still appear in print or online journals. This will give you a chance to earn some money and gain notoriety as a travel writer.
4 Travel or… not
Obviously, to be a travel writer, you have to travel. It’s a prerequisite but only sometimes mandatory. Travel is great, but you won’t always be able to do it. And that for various reasons: from lack of money to the outbreak of a pandemic, from personal problems to lack of time. But keep going: it’s not just those who are forever on the road entitled to call themselves travel writers.
When you travel, you have to learn to write about the places you get to – and there’s a whole chapter here, which we talk about elsewhere. Consider that when you can’t travel, you should write about where you live, especially if you were lucky enough to be born in a city or area that holds interest and stories. Consider that only some know about that place, perhaps only a few have been there, and your writing may be of great interest to those who want to get there.
So being a travel writer is not necessarily about traveling. You can niche yourself by tackling topics related to the place you live in, and you can produce superb articles and stories about it.
Otherwise, when you travel, you should always try to look for a personal angle. One like you’ve never seen before. These days, people travel everywhere, and it’s hard to believe you’ll make it to a place that’s never been to and written about (if that’s within your grasp, double bravo!). Therefore, to become engaging, you need a fresh approach.
A travel writer needs to be very curious and always on the lookout. Seek this approach by bringing curiosity to the fore. Go to places recommended by locals, find out if there are any festivals during your stay in a particular area, attend events you sign up for in advance, research the cultural and food scene, keep yourself constantly informed and make time to go wherever you think might be of interest to your readers.
5 Talk to people
Writing about travel can only come to life if it includes the opinions and stories of people on the ground. Whenever you arrive in a new place to write about, you should always try to give the locals’ perspective. You can get stories and accounts from them to color your text with later.
Plus, when you meet a new person, things can start to connect with you if you’re looking for a specific topic. Because, as we know, someone can know someone who knows someone. New perspectives will open up to you. New ideas and approaches may come to you that you didn’t initially have in mind but that you can exploit along the way.
For example, if you are looking for the best tango salons in Buenos Aires, a tango enthusiast in the Argentine capital will help you discover the best and probably “sell” tips and stories about them.
6 Write down absolutely everything
It is essential that when you are in the place you are going to write about, you write down all the information you pick up. Furthermore, write down any impressions that come to mind at the time. Are you standing by an imposing waterfall? Write in your notebook about the loud noise made by the water and the impact on your ears. Have you tasted fried worms at a Thai vendor’s stall? Write down what you associated the taste with. Do you applaud the tribal dancing of South African natives?
Write down what they were wearing, how old they were, what they wore on their heads, and what noises they made.
It’s vital to write down all these details because as time passes, the sensations fade, and your memory can’t retain everything that impressed you, no matter how much you rely on it. I repeat – you can write it all down in a notebook or, if you find it more… modern and quicker, in a phone app. All these notes will help you enormously as you write your text.
7 Don’t cliché
Once again, when you’re on the spot, think about what readers would like to know about those moments. Do they want you to talk to them as one of their “scouts”, as someone they would have sent on a scouting trip, and then they will get there sooner or later? Or do they want to read things they would read in any travel agency guidebook looking to get as many clients as possible?
Don’t fall into the trap of clichés. That would be like calling a place “beautiful” or “interesting”. There is no greater platitude. Try to be objective and honest. If there’s something you don’t like, don’t skirt around it, but present it in real terms. Find a personal approach to elevate the aspect if it’s something you like. Your personal experiences should be reflected in your readers’ eyes precisely as you saw them, felt them, and lived them at the time. Make a story out of your journey. Create characters, compose the atmosphere, and make a scene from the place, like in a good movie. Make the reader feel there through your words.
Conclusion about how to start writing a travel article
Publishing the resulting article is a separate topic. We tried above to look at seven steps to answer the general question of how to start writing a travel article. Each of these steps has its characteristics, which you will read about on WriteOnTravel.com in other articles.
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