We asked our team to spend a few weekends sifting through all the countless reputable travel blogs and their referring social media accounts to determine a shortlist of the cream of the influential travel bloggers crop that you should follow on Twitter.
There are thousands of travel blogs online, yet, only a few of the most influential travel bloggers gain large followings, brand partnerships and a decent income. Running a travel blog might sound like an enticing idea, but creating a successful one takes hard work, dedication, personality and excellent presentation.
Exposure is the name of the game, and the power of an influencer stands in how deep it goes with its community and the relationship it's built with them, especially through Twitter and other social media channels.
Methodology
- We searched for individuals (not organizations) with "travel blogger" in their Twitter bios. We used SocialBee marketing tool and cross-referencing results with Google advanced operators site:Twitter.com search. As a result, we found over 8,600 travel bloggers posting on Twitter.
- To translate this quantity potential to quality score, we addressed the standard Twitter metrics first. More precisely:
- The number of followers should be significant but also not extra high, as we are looking not only for the influencers but for the trending bloggers with the potential of making the real impact in the near future as well. After short-examining the overall followers range for the bloggers in our existing list, we finally set the boundaries between 30k and 130K.
- The Following/Followers ratio should also be in some rational range (between 30% and 60%) as we consider influencers as those to be followed by the significantly larger audience then the number of friends they follow back. On the other hand, we wished to be sure that the influencer is willing to give back some love to those followers who he finds deserve it.
- Number of posts, posting frequency and consistency, and the latest post not older than three days was next on the list.
- The engagement & influence reciprocity - While lots of followers, retweets and replies will help, the more influential the people they engage with, the better the influence score.
- Last but most certainly not least - Shared content quality. We had to be sure the travel blogger use Twitter not to promote only his work or some trivia from his personal life, but to adds real value to his Twiter profile and audience interested in travel information.
Once we have completed our daunting task of cross-examining all those accounts against the given set of criteria, it was fairly easy for us to make the final selection of Top 10 travel bloggers which Twitter accounts stand out as the most influential and worth following.
So let's jump straight in:
The 10 Most Influential Travel Bloggers on Twitter
1. @mappingmegan - Megan Claire
An Australian journalist who has been travelling since 2007, developing such an obsession with travel to the point where she decided to sell her home and belongings to travel full time.
She visited 50+ countries across all seven continents. Skydiving over the Swiss Alps, walking among the mighty Elephants of Africa, and having summited the highest free-standing mountain in the world (Kilimanjaro), she has been actively sharing all the exciting experiences first hand on her Twitter account.
7 Reasons Why Mykonos Should Be Next on Your Bucket List https://t.co/KvE0oTCqzu
— Megan Claire (@mappingmegan) September 1, 2019
She is the face behind the highly successful travel blog MappingMegan.com
2. @LandLopers - Matt Long
If you love adventurous experiences along with the pampering that only great luxury can provide, then this Twitter handle is the right destination.
Matt Long is a wanderer, an adventurer that sole wish is to make travel more fun and accessible for everyone by sharing on his blog and Twitter account information on how to experience the best the world has to offer.
Best Travel Quotes We Can Retire Forever (And What to Use Instead) https://t.co/7aJmbUSSIO
— Matt Long (@LandLopers) August 30, 2019
You can read his highly successful travel blog at LandLopers.com and check out a newcomer: Explore The World Travel Podcast as well.
3. @StephBeTravel - Stephanie Be
Imagine quality, not quantity recommendations — Hikes, restaurants, bars, art, concerts...no baby pictures, no political rants, that's what this influencer's Twitter account is all about. A place where a beautiful American-Latina woman Stephanie Be shares her passions, adventures, and resources by using her existing social network and social media to help you find things and places.
Stephanie chased the American dream, always making her career a priority. Until one day, she bought a one-way ticket to bartend in Australia. 42 countries and 250 destinations later… her slogan is "The world is my office."
Did you know that it's only a two hour drive to Mountain High from Los Angeles?
— Stephanie Be (@StephBeTravel) February 1, 2018
Learn to ski in #California
READ: https://t.co/rIgpouS4lC pic.twitter.com/XXVuhnIlUL
You can find her travel blog at Travel-Break.net, and you may undoubtedly wish to check out her new project, the BUENA App, a social connector for people that love to adventure, eat, drink & experience the world around them.
4. @NomadBeautiful - Ivana & Gianni
They are Gianni Bianchini and Ivana Greslikova, originally from Italy and Slovakia, full-time digital nomads since 2013. They started from zero after deciding to quit their regular jobs but with a clear vision of travelling the world, and helping the others do the same.
Step by step, year by year, they managed to build a powerful online platform with useful travel tips, created a course for newbie travel bloggers, and diversified their main website with useful advice for digital nomads.
My Son Sanctuary in Vietnam: Tips on How to Visit It https://t.co/pX19IrjO2y#vietnam #travel #myson #architecture #traveltips #TuesdayTravel pic.twitter.com/FF0m6zhX1v
— Ivana & Gianni (@NomadBeautiful) July 23, 2019
Nomad is Beautiful is not only a great travel blog and website, but in time, it has become Ivana's and Gianni's full-time business venture.
5. @LoveandRoad - Nat & Rob
The Brazilians, Natalie Deduck and Robson Cadore have a unique vision - to travel as much as possible around the world, so every month they hit a different place.
Sometimes on a budget, other times in a fancier style, but always trying to live like locals, trying to discover great people, great food and awesome parties. And off course to share their experiences and good energy with their followers around the world.
Fall in love with the best private villas in #KohSamui, #Thailand.@LoveandRoad listed all the facilities, locations and how to save on your booking. If you want to enjoy paradise with a luxurious touch check this post out
— Nat & Rob (@LoveandRoad) August 31, 2019
➡️ https://t.co/Zxm01zI5xt#ThailandInsider pic.twitter.com/SC9yW3acZk
Love and Road was established in 2014 and it's closing a number of 100K Unique Visitors Monthly from over 190 countries.
6. @Just1WayTicket - Sabrina Iovino
This half German, half Italian declares herself as a kind of a travel guide being thrilled to share valuable tips, beautiful photos (as a proven Photoshop master) and professional travel videos at her popular travel blog and reputable Twitter account.
She travelled to more than 50 countries around the globe, and now she works hard on to getting her followers inspired to start travelling soon...
...she feels weird to write about herself in the third person, but she does like when others do, so hopefully, she will appreciate this short intro :)
When you leave your comfort zones, you begin to realize what is beautiful about life. [ #travel #lp #travelpics ] pic.twitter.com/XqmJq4TZLa
— Just One Way Ticket (@Just1WayTicket) January 7, 2015
Sabrina Iovino is the founder of JustOneWayTicket.com, a Gold Award winner for Best Culture Travel Blog 2018 at #TBCAsia.
7. @velvetescape - Keith Jenkins
This successful former investment banker has managed what has being a dream of many - creating an entirely new career following his passions for travel, writing and digital marketing.
He even spoke about his banker-to-blogger transition at TEDxTalk, “Passion. Empowerment. Social Media” and he continues to share his travel experiences with his wast audience on Twitter on a daily bases.
A fabulous Active & Discovery Danube River cruise with Avalon Waterways https://t.co/P2gTdhDWme #avalonad #rivercruise
— Keith Jenkins (@velvetescape) September 1, 2019
Keith Jenkins is a founder and Publisher of Velvet Escape, the award-winning luxury travel blog.
8. @GoatsOnTheRoad - Nick & Dariece
Adventure-loving, wine-drinking, culture-seeking Canadian couple. Videographers, photographers and writers with a noble mission to show you how to prepare for travel, save, pack, and earn money on the road so that you can make travel a bigger part of your life.
To pick up all these tips, jump on the bandwagon and follow their existing Twitter account.
How to Pull the Trigger, Buy That One-Way Ticket, and Start a Life of Travel (Even If You're "Not Ready") https://t.co/owIY9d4eER via @ProjectUntether #traveltips #travel
— Nick & Dariece (@GoatsOnTheRoad) August 16, 2019
Starting a Goats on The Road travel blog was the best thing Nick & Darice ever did, as it earns them six figures each year, which is why they aim to inspire and help others (you!) to start one too.
9. @1step2theleft - Simon Falvo
Italian woman young at heart and the soul of Wild About Travel, She's been travelling solo for over 20 years, nurturing her attraction for nature and wilderness, and her love of art and culture.
When not on the road, Simon also writes for corporate websites, holds workshops on social media and digital marketing, also holds lectures as a speaker at Conferences and still finds plenty of time to share her travel experiences at her blog and Twitter account.
Whether you're heading to Munich for Oktoberfest or for the Christmas Markets, find out what to do and see in Munich in 2 days. https://t.co/5MuaKJm7lz #Germany #Oktoberfest #traveltips pic.twitter.com/dSU7yCBEXo
— simon falvo (@1step2theleft) September 2, 2019
Simon shares her travel tips and 'tales by a solo travel addict' - as he likes to repeat, on her Wild About Travel exciting blog.
10. @travthroughlife - Carl & Christina
Carl & Christina observe this world as an abundant one, full of places, people, and things worth seeing. Their goal is to unlock you from fears that many people face and show you that there’s a vast and beautiful world outside.
As they continue exploring more of this world, they keep sharing their discoveries about places and topics near and dear to their hearts.
Books can inspire us to be in far off lands. Check out our list of books that have inspired us to travel! Any you would add? #travelhttps://t.co/YPKc1ISTmf
— Travel Through Life (@travthroughlife) September 1, 2019
Travel Through Life is the place where Carl & Christina share their experiences in the form of guides to travel destinations, interviews with the “people of travel,” articles detailing why we are traveling, travel packing lists, and more.
11. @travthroughlife - Carl & Christina
Carl & Christina observe this world as an abundant one, full of places, people, and things worth seeing. Their goal is to unlock you from fears that many people face and show you that there’s a vast and beautiful world outside.
As they continue exploring more of this world, they keep sharing their discoveries about places and topics near and dear to their hearts.
Books can inspire us to be in far off lands. Check out our list of books that have inspired us to travel! Any you would add? #travelhttps://t.co/YPKc1ISTmf
— Travel Through Life (@travthroughlife) September 1, 2019
Travel Through Life is the place where Carl & Christina share their experiences in the form of guides to travel destinations, interviews with the “people of travel,” articles detailing why we are traveling, travel packing lists, and more.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the travel bloggers & influencers that Twitter users rely on to guide them through the ultimate travelling experiences. And you know what - it was actually pretty cool taking a look at the kinds of content these "round the world" creators are making for social media.
Did we miss off your favourites? Let us know in the comments below.