‘Travel Blog Exchange’ helps connect travel bloggers

Travel blogs are a dime a dozen, possibly even cheaper, but given the nature of the web, niche sites like travel blogs are spread out and can be difficult to find. If you’re looking for something specific, say a blogger’s take on what to do (or not do) in Venice, then Google can help.

But what if you just want an interesting new site to follow? A site to stick in your RSS reader and vicariously tag along on someone else’s journey? In that case, finding a good travel blog can be tough.

That’s why the good folks over at Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX for short) have created a sort of online clearing house for independent travel bloggers. The site launched a couple of weeks ago and plans to have some real-world travel blogger events, like the Travel Blog Exchange ’09 (set for Sunday, July 26th in Chicago), but the site also offers a way to find some interesting new blogs to follow.

The TBEX site explains the community thusly:

Travel Bloggers/Writers are a unique breed of people, part explorer, part chronicler, all insatiable curiosity. But we are not all the same. Travel Bloggers have as many unique interests as there are places to visit around the globe. And TBEX is the perfect place to share your blog, pictures, experiences and to ask questions.

And naturally, if you’ve got a travel blog you’d like to promote go ahead and sign up for TBEX.

If you’d like more info on the team behind the project (Kim Mance of GoGalavanting.com, among others), check out Nomadic Matt’s site; he recently posted an interview with Mance covering the inspiration behind, and future goals for, TBEX.

As you might expect, there’s a fair amount of self-promotion to TBEX, but there are also some worthwhile blogs on the site, covering a pretty wide range of the travel writing spectrum. I still haven’t run across any great narrative blogs, but there are quite a few interesting hints and tips blogs as well as some great destination blogs, blogs about traveling with kids, blogs about teaching abroad and so on.

Also, keep in mind that the TBEX site is young and will likely continue to fill out as more bloggers discover it. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.