This month we are delighted to feature Travel Dave as our blog of the month. Dave has been sharing his solo travel adventures for 12 years and has no plans to stop anytime soon! He has travelled to over 86 countries, worked and lived in Singapore, Switzerland and the USA, studied and lived in Finland, Wales and The Netherlands… all of which has been possible by sticking to a backpackers budget.
Below we’ve asked Dave to share his expert tips for setting up a travel blog and asked him to reveal where he will be exploring in 2018.
What inspired you to start blogging?
I started my travel blog as a way to communicate with my Mum about what I was getting up to on my travels in 2005 as she wouldn’t let me go alone to Finland at the age of 15 unless I kept her up-to-date. As topping up my phone credit (remember that?) to make international phone calls became too costly, writing a blog was a lot easier and a great way to document my travels.
12 years later, my blog Traveldave.co.uk is still going strong and my Mum has since lost interest in what I’m up to as she can’t keep up with my travels. Funny how these sorts of things start, hey!
What are your blogging and travel plans for 2018?
Blog-wise I’m currently working on my next book about long term travel and would love to finish this off by the end of the year (fingers crossed!). For 2018 my travel plans have been building up nicely. Countries in the works are: Cuba, Sri Lanka, Panama, Uganda, Serbia, Myanmar, Faroe Islands and a visit to NYC in January. 2018 will be an action-packed year for sure.
Where is your favourite destination in the world?
Without question my answer is always Iceland. After 4 visits I still want to go back and explore more. It’s geologically one of the youngest countries in the world, and you can discover glaciers, waterfalls, lagoons, and volcanoes there. The country is purely stunning! Just got back last month after my first winter visit and the snow added a wonderful element to the already beautiful landscape. Can’t get enough of Iceland and the Nordics in general.
Please share with us the blogs you love to read for inspiration?
My favourite travel blog that I like to read is An Adventurous World. Another fellow adventurer, Macca has been travelling the world, offering wonderful travel advice, stunning photography and epic videos. If travel inspiration is what you seek, then Macca is sure to bring a lot to the plate.
Come on, reveal your three most popular posts on your blog!?
Happy to! They are three, quite different, articles featuring some of my most memorable sole travel adventures to date…
North Karelia a Finnish winter holiday in Finland
Discover Fukuoka, Japan
Road Trip Adventure around Nova Scotia, Canada
What tips do you have for newer bloggers who aspire to set up a travel blog?
Just do it! Simple words, but taking the steps to start a travel blog and keep going is one of the key parts of being successful. Many give up after a year because it’s tough, but those who keep going normally become successful. My advice would be to cover a topic that no one is writing about that you’re passionate about. Writing another genetic travel blog won’t get you far, but if you can find an area which is yet to be covered you could possibly be on to a winner.
If you could go back in time to when you first set up your blog would you do anything differently?
Make friends with other travel bloggers a lot quicker. For the first few years when I started, I didn’t reach out to other bloggers or attend events, so I was sort of blogging in the dark. The moment I made friends with other travel bloggers, became part of communities and attended blogger events I was able to find the advice and help I needed from my fellow peers.
The great thing about travel blogging has to be the awesome communities and friendships you create as we all share travel as a passion and spending time with likeminded individuals is key to being successful as it’s the sort of support you want to surround yourself with.
Huge thanks to Dave for sharing his words or wisdom and travel plans for 2018 and beyond with us! If you would like to find out more about Dave and his blog, Travel Dave, check out his social media channels – Instagram: @Traveldaveuk, Twitter: @TravelDaveUK, Facebook: Travel Dave Facebook, YouTube: Travel Dave UK Channel
