What makes a Travel Blogger? As opposed to a food blogger or family blogger who travels? Fiona Maclean, who blogs at London Unattached, sets out to find out… 

Having travelled and lived abroad throughout my life now, I’m settled in London.  I still get attacks of wanderlust though!  For the most part I write about London and travel from London.  What I believe makes me a travel blogger is that my travel writing is a focus on what is important about the place I’m visiting rather than one aspect defined by my blog. So, while I sometimes write food and wine travel pieces, I’ve been on boot-camps, spa trips and on travels where the focus was birdwatching and hiking.  I love the challenge of doing new things and of seeing new places. If I’m asked what category my blog fits into, I struggle.  Travel and Lifestyle is my usual answer, though there’s plenty of food content too.

In an effort to see what the blogosphere thinks I started by a few food and travel bloggers what defined their travel blogging activity.

Suzanne Jones who writes the travel blog The Travelbunny is perhaps closest to my idea of a pure travel blogger, with a vibrant blog where she literally seems to hop around the world!  She writes:

As a travel blogger I’m absolutely passionate about every kind of travel be it long-haul to a completely different culture, a European city break or visiting somewhere close to home. I hope my passion for travel and my inquisitive nature shines through my travel blog which is designed to inspire others to travel and help them get the best out of their trips with tips, guides and inspirational posts. I love to pair my writing with travel photography as sometimes a picture imparts more than words alone can. I also create travel related content around culinary destinations, adventure activities and culture but ultimately it’s all about the wanderlust. There’s so much wonderful world out there to discover and I’ve created my travel blog to inspire others to explore it too.

Some of my favourite bloggers have fallen into travel blogging because work or family life has brought them to a new country.  I love reading Emma’s posts about London and the UK because she is still enough of an expat to see everything with a visitor’s perspective.  Of course, like most Kiwis I know, she travels a lot too! She says

To me, travel blogging is simply having wanderlust in your soul and wanting to share your adventures with the world. It is delighting in details, wandering off the map, exploring your own backyard, keening to experience new cultures and simply having an open mind to new adventures whatever they may be.

Emma blogs at Adventures of a London Kiwi

Madeleine also has an expat background – albeit from many years ago.  I first came across her food blog FromtheHealthyHeart where she writes about her own way of managing high cholesterol through food and exercise.  Rather than writing just one blog KitchenJourneys covers all her travels in the UK and overseas.  And, her freelance writing is predominantly travel oriented.

The joy of being a travel blogger is in sharing my experiences with people who really care. Travel writing speaks directly to those who share the obsession with tracking down the ultimate experiences, the off the beaten track discoveries.  Travel blogging creates a community of like-minded explorers mapping out the world trip by trip. I like to write about cities, museums, new discoveries, where to eat, where to stay, how to experience the unexpected rather than follow the long line of tourists all heading in the same direction.

Meanwhile, Karen from LavenderandLovage, has lived and worked all over the world. Currently settled in France, she commutes back to the UK regularly and has spent the last year or so developing the travel side of her blog

She herself says:

As a seasoned traveller who has lived in numerous countries overseas, from Asia to Africa, travel blogging is a way to scratch the “travel bug” itch I frequently get……..it’s also an exciting way to reach out to my readers with new content and specially to share my travels on the form of a “photo diary” which resonates with people on so many different levels.

For her it is:

An opportunity to discover a different perspective on food and culture in places I’ve visited – the end result being new recipes and fresh editorial for my site/blog.

While Heidi who writes at Heidi Roberts Kitchen Talk says

I started out as a food blogger but now see myself as a food blogger that travels.  I would take a trip anywhere and would always look out for the food/cooking/produce angle.

What I’m trying to show is that there’s a whole gamut of bloggers out there who post about their travels.  As with everything in life, I believe it’s entirely up to each one of us to be what we want to be.  So, if 2016 is the year you want to travel more, and blog about it, then make it happen.

If you’d like to join the debate then leave your comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Biog:

An award winning freelance writer and marketing consultant, Fiona Maclean currently writes about food, wine and travel for a number of publications and runs her own London lifestyle blog, London Unattached. You can find her on Twitter @fionamaclean or Instagram @londonunattached.