Top UK Travel Blog April -Emily Luxton Travels

Top UK Travel Blog April- Emily Luxton Travels

Our top  UK travel blog for April is a blog that focusses on fun, luxury, adventure and deep travel; Emily Luxton Travels. Here Emily shares some of her experiences with us about what got her started, why her blog is successful and what makes her want to carry on travelling and sharing her adventures….

What inspired you to start blogging?

I’d wanted to be a travel writer for years, but somehow never found the confidence to give it a go. Then, a friend of mine gave me some travel books for my birthday, along with a book about travel writing. Her saying she believed in me like that gave me a real boost! She also suggested a start a blog as a way to practice. I never thought anything would come of it, or that anyone would read it – but they did. I’ll always be so grateful to my friend for giving me that push – it’s led me to some amazing things!

What destination was your first “proper” blog review?
The very first destination I ever blogged about was Morocco. I visited Marrakech, the Atlas Mountains, and the Sahara desert in a whirlwind two week trip. Most of those posts make me cringe now, but it’s what got me started so I love them too! My first proper review – arranged in exchange for the exposure – was of a hotel in Bogota, Colombia. It was also the very start of the five month trip that changed everything for me.

Have you ever been anywhere you really didn’t like?

I don’t really tend to dislike places all that much. My favourite thing about travel is the discovery of being somewhere new, the experiences that come with travel – so it’s rare that I’ll completely dislike everything about a place. That being said, the tiny town of Moyobamba in Peru was so distressingly strange and boring that I left a few hours after arriving – despite having already paid for my room that night. That’s the only memorable time of me disliking a place.

Where’s the best meal you’ve ever eaten – what was it?

Funnily enough, I can recall more of the worst meals I’ve ever eaten than the best! I’ve had so many good meals that it’s really hard to pick a favourite. Just because I was talking about it earlier today, I’ll choose the epic banh mi sandwiches from Banh Mi Phuong in Hoi An, Vietnam. Banh mi is an amazing Vietnamese baguette sandwich stuffed with barbecue pork, pate, cured meats, and veggies – and Phuong’s in Hoi An is widely considered the best, with good reason. I ate one on an amazing food tour with some local girls and it was absolutely amazing! 

What’s your favourite view in the world?

The view of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate, which is set a bit further back from the main area and gives absolutely incredible views. I can remember sitting there feeling the most wonderful sense of achievement and happiness at having finally achieved a lifelong dream.

Which other blogs do you love to read?

I love Wanderlust Chloe, TwoScotsAbroad, VickyFlipFLop and Steps to Follow – to name just a few!

What’s been the most popular post on your site?

Interestingly, it’s one of the earliest posts I ever wrote – How to Plan a Desert Trip in Morocco. When I went four years ago, there was no information online at all about getting from Marrakech to the Sahara. Everything I read said you needed to book with a tour company, and I didn’t have the budget for that. After doing a lot of digging online and in Marrakech after I arrived, I figured out a way of doing the whole trip independently and at a much lower cost. I wrote the post to help other people who wanted to do the same, and it’s consistently been my most visited post ever since! 

One of the posts that’s had the most comments and engagement on all my social channels is this rant I wrote about what I call “counting countries”. I find more and more people these days seem to visit places just for the sake of getting their country count higher, or just so they can say they’ve been. So I wrote a post about why travel should be about experiences and memories – and not about the numbers! It’s had a great response and loads of people have got in touch to say they share my feelings!

What tips do you have for newer bloggers who would love to emulate your success?

Just stay true to yourself! There are a lot of advice guides around these days about “how to start a blog”, where successful bloggers (or people pretending to be more successful than they are) share the “secrets” of their success or the magic formula to blogging and social media that will make you instantly successful. I’ve even seen posts on “how to make your article go viral.” Sadly, it’s not that easy! If it was, then posts would be going viral all the time, and everyone would be a rich and famous travel blogger. The beauty of the internet is that it gives a platform to all kinds of unique and wonderful things, and the beauty of blogging is that your uniqueness is what might just make other people want to follow you. I never followed any of the rules. I rarely write with SEO in mind, my posts are almost always over 1000 words instead of the 350-500 words that apparently no one can read past, my writing style is a little bit formal and more like a novel than a blog post sometimes – and a whole lot more of what I do flies in the face of what everybody says you’re supposed to do. Despite that, I’m still fairly successful – I make a full time living from my blog and get to travel whenever I want.

Whilst it’s good to do some research and pay attention to good advice – especially when it comes to learning the ropes with various social media – don’t feel you need to follow any magic formula. Be yourself, let your personality shine through, and people will respond to that. Plus, if you don’t run your blog in a way that feels natural and enjoyable to you, you’ll quickly become bored with it – and blogging should be fun!

Biog

Emily Luxton is an award-winning writer and travel blogger on a mission to explore the world through deeper, more intelligent travel. In an attempt to really get to know the world, Emily seeks out adventure, cultural exchanges, food experiences and more whenever she travels. A lMe Squareover of the great outdoors, sunsets, good food, and the odd bit of luxury, her travel styles vary from trip to trip, but the hunt for a good story is always the same. You can follow Emily at her blog Emily Luxton Travels or on Twitter at @Em_Luxton