Although I’ve assembled plenty of advice for aspiring travel writers on my websites over the years, I still get a steady stream of queries – often from college students – asking about how to land a travel writing gig. A recent inquiry comes from Maggie in Minnesota: I am an aspiring travel journalist and freshman...

For independent travelers just now beginning to travel in Asia, the legendary overland "Hippie Trail" of the '60s and '70s is a natural source of fascination and envy. Unlike today's Lonely Planet-toting backpackers, the counterculture wanderers of the hippie era pioneered their Asian routes by word-of-mouth and trial-and-error. Hence, in indie travel terms, Hippie Trail...

It can be difficult to find new angles through which to view places you already know well. Human nature being what is, it takes a conscious effort to see anything through new eyes. We tend to see only what we’re familiar with, and what strikes our vision on the most surface levels: the old buildings,...

Having just come back from another great trip, I’m reminded again of the richness of Europe and the gifts it keeps on giving to any traveler willing to seek them out. I went to France on assignment for three mid-size, nationally-distributed magazines, and set to work almost immediately. It’s amazing how profoundly engrossing traveling and...

Without exception, every traveler I've met has been an avid reader. Makes sense, as a keener interest in information and stories complement a curiosity to see the world. The natural next step is to pick up our keyboards and write stories of our own, in travel blogs. The website Travelllll.com had a post titled, Good...

First, a caveat, you are about to read a review of book about "Lady Adventurers," How to Climb Mt. Blanc in a Skirt written by a man, Mick Conefrey, reviewed by a man, me. That said, Conefrey's book is not just a handbook for the independent, female explorer, but a great look at the history...

Can seeing new places, meeting new people, and living new lifestyles spark your imagination? SpyreStudios, an online magazine for web designers, thinks so: 5 reasons travel can improve your design work . Here's an excerpt: " Traveling rocks. Practically everyone likes to travel, whether by land, sea or air. And why not? You get excited...

Since the glory days of Ernst Hemingway and Gertrude Stein in Paris, there's been a certain glamor about being a writer while living abroad. CNNgo had an article about the expat writer scene in Bangkok . The piece quickly bursts the bubble of starry-eyed dreamers. The writers interviewed were frank about the state of the...

BootsnAll, the company which hosts Vagablogging, has been in business for 12 years and been a regular contributor on this site for many of them. Which is why we're pleased to have this space in which to spread the word about our latest adventure - the BootsnAll Travel Writers Platform . This program will give...

The Portland-based small publisher Bedouin Books define themselves as "publishers of handmade works of literature and poetry, fiction and non-fiction." The selective and tiny publishing house began in 2003 and has released a semiannual literary journal ( swap/concessions ) and several editions of quailty, handbound books, each designed and printed using innovation and artistry. They...

Are you a writer at heart but you just can't do more than morning pages without getting stuck? Are you looking forward to having a great many hours on public transportation with only your tiny netbook for company? November is National Novel Writing Month (that's NaNoWriMo, for those in the know...or the No)! If you're...

As a writer who's often trying to keep herself on track for stories, poetry, and whatever novel might be in the cooker, inspiring yourself to write while you're traveling is sometimes hard. But if you're always traveling, then you're never writing...and then you can't really call yourself a writer anymore, can you? It's easy enough...

Yes, Lonely Planet has finally joined the bandwagon of weblog awards! Nominations for the Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards are now open. You can nominate as many blogs as you want, in the following categories: # Best Destination Blog # Best Expat Blog # Best Travelogue # Best Consumer Travel Blog # Best non-English language...

As constant travelers, one might argue that it's no longer a "travel journal", but rather just a journal. And why, you might ask, should you keep a pen and paper journal at all anymore, when blogs serve the same purpose and mean you don't have to carry anything? In the first place, having a space...