Best Websites for Travel Writers

You can find numerous websites on travel writing.  But finding the best websites  can be a daunting and time consuming task.

First, you want websites that will advance your knowledge of freelance travel writing.  You want to discover fresh ideas and master new skills.  And you want travel writing websites that offer sound advice to freelancers around the world.

You also want websites that help you find magazine leads for paid travel assignments. And finally, you’re looking for websites that tell you where press trips are happening. 

Here are seven hand-picked, highly recommended travel writer’s websites.  Our selection criteria included:  fresh and interesting information to help you get more writing assignments, earn more money, improve your writing, and connect with DMOs and other people in the travel writing community.

I’ve implemented advice from a couple of these websites and made thousands of dollars, almost immediately! You’ll find a brief introduction of each and a link to the websites below:

Pitch Travel Write

I’m obviously biased about this website because I’m the author!

PitchTravelWrite is all about marketing and selling your travel stories to print publications. You’ll find plenty of travel writer’s websites that show you how to improve your travel writing. 

PitchTravelWrite shows you how to sell your stories, because if you can’t sell your articles, you don’t get to write them.

When you’re starting out in travel writing you’ll spend most of your time marketing your ideas to editors. This happens to be what I’m really good at.  So I share my ideas with you so you can be successful, too. This is the essence of PitchTravelWrite.


You’ll learn about the sales pitch - also known as your query letter. But marketing your ideas to publications is about more than just query letters - and you’ll learn about my process that will help you get published more easily and more often.

PitchTravelWrite has plenty of information about increasing your bylines on travel websites.  And you’ll find advice on how to use your travel writing assignments to land press trips and complimentary travel perks.

Travel Writers Exchange

Curated by Trish Miller, Travel-Writers-Exchange is a community of travel writers, bloggers, and journalists.  “We exchange tools, tips, and resources, and provide a forum to help our community expand their online reach and find new opportunities.”

It makes the best websites list because it “serves as a resource for all travel writers – a place to find information, inspiration, education, encouragement, advice, networking, and possibly even travel writing opportunities.”

“We offer a Forum for increased interaction with other travel writers, and we’ll regularly invite guest bloggers to share their experiences in this exciting and growing field.”

TravMedia

TravMedia is a social media site for travel writers and is one of the best websites because its as close to one-stop shopping for connections you’ll find.  Here’s how it can help you ...

• Travel writers can list their upcoming trips and destinations for potential match-ups with magazine editors.
• You can list your biography
• You can list places you’ve traveled to
• You can place links to your latest travel stories to show them off
• You can follow other travel writers, and have them follow you
• You can correspond with other writers and TravMedia.com members
• You can access a calendar of events around the world
• You can receive Editor Alerts for article assignments
• You can receive listings and updates about all aspects of tourism from hotels & resorts to international tourism boards
• Plus a few other things!

I’ve landed several on-board assignments with numerous cruise line magazines through TravMedia.com and scored a few press trips from TravMedia.com announcements.

The Writers Workshop

Want to improve your travel writing?  Take some courses through travel writing instructor, Nick O’Connell’s, private online school.

Seattle travel writer and instructor, Nick O’Connell’s list of bylines is enough to make even the pros drool.  He is the author a five books, and his magazine bylines include: Newsweek, Gourmet, Condé Nast Traveler, Saveur, Food and Wine, The Wine Spectator, Outside, GO, National Geographic Adventure, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Commonweal, Alaska Airlines Magazine, Westways, Sierra, and others.  These are top shelf glossies, and you’ve got to be an outstanding writer to get published in them.  So you’ll be learning from the best.

Nick also does a one-day workshop on the essential elements of travel writing alongside our Travel Writing & Marketing Master Class.  I sat through Nick’s workshop last April, and it was excellent! 

Even though I’ve got a long list of bylines and have been published in more than 1000 magazines, I learned some things in Nick’s class.  And his advice has rubbed off  - I’ve made some fundamental changes to my writing style.

Here’s what Nick says about travel writing on his website, TheWritersWorkshop: “Travel writing, Food writing and Wine writing are some of the most appealing genres of nonfiction, calling on all of an author’s skills - dramatic scenes, character sketches, concrete detail, point of view, scene by scene construction - to compose compelling, engaging travel narratives.”  It makes the best websites list because it links to high quality writing courses.

Travel Writing 2

Produced by Terri Marshall and Tim Leffel, “This travel writing blog site aims to be the most definitive, detailed guide to success in the digital age.  It achieves that through the stories and advice from working writers, authors, and bloggers who travel.”

It's on my best websites list because you can learn a lot browsing through TravelWriting2.

Travel Write Earn

Former CNN Travel Editor and freelancer, James Durston, has a pithy blog for travel writers & bloggers trying to make their way in the travel writing arena.  The articles on TravelWriteEarn are excellent.

Articles related to best websites for travel writers that will interest you:

Getting Published
Why Travel Writers Need a Professional Website
Finding Travel Magazine Leads on Vendor Websites
Where to Find Magazine Leads

Roy Stevenson is a professional travel writer and the author of www.PitchTravelWrite.com.  Over the past ten years, he’s had more than 1000 articles published in 200 magazines, trade and specialty journals, in-flights, on-boards, blogs and websites and has traveled on assignment around the U.S. and to dozens of international destinations.