Twitter for Travelers

Twitter is fast becoming the social media of choice for many travelers, and it is one of the first places travelers turn to for information, recommendations and travel inspiration.   Below I have outlined the basics of twitter for those getting started, and listed popular accounts I believe all travelers should be following, as well as the times and dates for the most popular twitter chats!

Hashtags: A hashtag is marked by the “#” symbol, and is placed in front of a word like #travel to allow people to search for a specific topic.  Tagging your tweets with a hashtag will mean they turn up in searches for that topic.

Trending Topics: On the right hand column of the twitter homepage you will see a section for “trends”.  These are topics which are the most tweeted about at that time.

TRAVEL CHATS ON TWITTER

Sometimes travelers get together on twitter for organized chats!  They are great fun and an awesome way to network. The below is a list of my favorite travel chats.  All of them are listed in EST (America/Canada) time unless otherwise stated.  You can join a travel chat by searching for the hashtag at the correct time.  Read the questions which are tweeted by the host (contact person listed below), respond, comment, interact and network!

The host will tweet something to the effect of:

Q1 Why do you travel? #SBTC

and your response will be to the effect of:

A1 I travel because I love to experience new cultures #SBTC

Remember to always include the hashtag at the end of  your tweets so they show up for everyone else following the chat.

I have found the best way to participate in fast moving chats is to have three internet windows open.  My first window is the search results for my #, the second is open to my interactions (@connect), and third is open on the host’s twitter account so I don’t miss any questions.

Know of any other travel chats on twitter?  Let us know! 

WHO TO FOLLOW

When I first started out on twitter I identified the biggest travel blogs and followed who they were following.  Over time I have come to know the below as some of the top people within the travel industry, who have the best tweets about travel.  I would recommend starting here!

Know of any other amazing travelers to be following on twitter?  Let us know!

• @Airfarewatchdog: Tweets about unpublished airfare deals as well as interesting and helpful consumer travel tips.
• @ChrisGuillebeau: The expert on frequent flier advice, Chris also tweets travel inspiration.
• @travelfish: Follow Stuart for tweets on travel in Southeast Asia.
• @everywheretrip: Gary Arndt runs the biggest personal travel blog on the internet – he has been traveling around the world for years now, and has a wealth of information and phenomenal travel photography.
• @Gadling: Always have fun, exciting and relevant travel stories.  Be sure to also follow their Editor in Chief @GrantKMartin
• @GlobeTrotScott: Scott is an Associated Press An airline reporter who also reports for the New Yorker.  He is a self-proclaimed travel junkie who is always looking for adventures whether they be down the block or around the globe.
• @goseewrite: Michael is an ex-lawyer who is now permanently traveling.  He tweets about his observations around the world as well as a lot of great current travel articles.
• @gottakeepmovin: Emma is an amazing writer, and tweets about traveling with purpose.
• @greenglobaltrvl: Bret and Mary are saving the world one tweet/story at a time!  Your experts for eco and responsible travel.
• @Heather_Poole: Heather is a flight attendant for a major U.S. carrier, author of the New York Times bestseller Cruising Attitude and is fascinating to follow. Follow her if you’re interested to see what it’s like to be a flight attendant and juggle a family at the same time.
• @Hharteveldt: Tweets about what’s going on in the travel industry.
• @HuffPostTravel: Through hundreds of contributors the Huffington Post are continually creating and tweeting new content to inform and inspire travelers wishing to explore our amazing world.
• @JohnnyJet: Johnny does an amazing job at sharing relevant information on Twitter.  He is a money saving travel expert who visits 20+ countries per year, and also the host of Travel Channel’s Hot Spots 2012.  I visited his blog for a lot of these twitter recommendations!
• @kimmance: Kim Mance founded the Travel Blog Exchange and the TBEX conference. She specializes in female travel.
• @mappingmegan: – throwing myself into the mix because I believe I tweet a great mix of interesting news, travel inspiration and relevant travel information – you be the judge!
• @nomadicmatt: Nomad, vagabond, and author of “How to Travel the World on $50 a Day”.  Showing people travel can be inexpensive in hopes of inspiring them to explore their world.  Another resource I used to compile this list of top travelers on twitter.
• @NYCAviation: Tweets about aviation news, history and flight delays.  These guys are generally always first to break  travel news.
• @nycjim: Jim Roberts is the assistant managing editor of The New York Times. Though he doesn’t just tweet about travel, I find his links to news stories fascinating and timely. If you want to be in the know about anything (but many times his tweets are travel related) follow Jim.
• @ourfavadventure: Kathleen and Brock run an adventure travel blog, and have some of the most inspiring travel tweets currently on twitter.
• @pointsandtravel – A value luxury travel writer that tweets about the latest miles, points and deals for airlines and hotels, as well as international destinations that create extraordinary experiences.
• @Sean_Oneill: Travel tech Journalist for @BBC_Travel and a reporter for @Tnooz.
• @suitcases2: Michael and Nicole are an Aussie Nomadic couple living their dream of seeing the world indefinitely and sharing stories, tips and photos as they go.
• @theplanetd: Dave and Deb are an award winning Adventure couple who have been travel blogging and photographing their way around the world at ThePlanetD.   One of the largest blogs on the internet, they are always sharing relevant travel information.
• @truenomads: Justin has been on the road for 3 years now and always tweets relevant travel information, his signature tweets being based around the “top 10” things to do in a different city each day.
• @turtlestravel: Providing travel inspiration and advice, and sharing stories from the road. Tweets are by Donny and Tamara, professional and leisure nomads, doing their best to be good citizens of the Earth!
• @USATodayTravel: Tweets are always on top of the latest travel news, deals and trends about flights, hotels, cruises and destinations, although they don’t tend to tweet any content other than their own.
• @vagabondish: Tweets inspiring articles, photos, and weird travel news from around the world.
• @WheresAndrew: National Geographic’s Digital Nomad, Andrew Evans is always traveling and tweeting.