One of the most frequently asked questions this year has been whether I read other blogs.  The answer is YES!  I love reading other travel blogs and use them as inspiration and resources for my own adventures, as well as for entertainment during my bedtime reading!

Here is a list of the blogs I have loved this past year; if you’re not already following them I highly recommend checking them out! These may not all appear in the Top 100 Travel Blogs, but they’ve all inspired me in one way or another.

 

Everything-Everywhere

 

Gary Arndt runs one of the most popular travel blogs in the world.  His phenomenal daily photos inspire wanderlust like you wouldn’t believe, and he has a certified addiction to UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  He sold his house in March 2007 and has been travelling the world ever since, inspiring passion for travel in others all around the world.

I listed Gary as one of the coolest people I have met while traveling; he is really relatable, very modest and a genuinely down to earth guy.

The Planet D

 

Dave and Deb also run one of the most popular travel blogs in the world, and one of the most inspiring.  They are the world’s favorite adventure travel couple and are inspiration for people all around the world to live their dreams.

Their adventures are epic; from cage diving with sharks in Australia, taking the polar plunge above the Arctic Circle, and kayaking with crocodiles in South Africa, they’ve inspired a new generation of adventure travelers, and their website is the first place I go for new adventurous ideas!  Their blog is full of high quality content and travel tips, as well as professional photography which ruins all productivity for the day and leaves you daydreaming of far off lands instead!

As you can imagine, I was incredibly honored to have a guest post published on their site this year!

True Nomads

 

Justin Carmack is one of the world’s most inspiring travelers. He has been on the road for the last three years and has never looked back once.  After traveling to South Africa three years ago on a University trip, he fell in love with travel and literally didn’t return home!

He now roams the earth freely with not much more than the pack on his back. He travels with very little money, finding work in hostels when he has to.  He has hitchhiked throughout the majority of Europe, randomly wound up in the beautiful Halong Bay, Vietnam, and scuba dived in more destinations than I have personally travelled to!  I interviewed Justin recently about his amazing lifestyle; his website is full of the tales you dream of living yourself.

Explore With Erin

 

Any parents who travel full time with a 2 & 4 year old in tow deserve respect. Enough said!  Explore With Erin is a family travel blog dedicated to tips, tricks and advice for traveling with kids.

Their adventures are phenomenal, and their lifestyle inspiring.  Read all about this inspiring family in my recent interview with them.

 

The Legendary Adventures of Anna

 

Anna and I became instant friends on meeting in a Starbucks in Florida.  Her main mission in life is to enjoy it, and her passion for both life and travel are infectious; hence her huge following on social media!

Her crazy adventures around the world are legendary, and achieved on an incredibly small budget.  Her website shows travelers how to travel on any budget, her travel photography is National Geographic quality, and her straight forward and honest approach to travel blogging make her incredibly approachable and relatable.  

After-Globe

 

AfterGlobe is a travel website dedicated to the story of an inspiring American couple who quit on the American dream and went after their own…of travel!

Kimmy and Drew decided they were done with the American dream of too much debt, not enough time and being exhausted, and now specialize in travel to Hawaii. They have been working hard towards becoming debt free to travel the world, and start their first international adventure in 2014.  These guys provide amazingly helpful, honest and down to earth advice on how to become debt free to travel, and even offer valuable insights on how to travel while still in debt!

***Kimmy recently passed away in a tragic car accident. Please read this tribute to the amazing woman she was.***

Honey-Trek

 

Mike and Anne Howard are my favorite travel couple!

Extreme honeymooners who have been on their honeymoon for over 600 days now, there is no end in sight for the Howard’s. Having quit their jobs and rented their house in January 2012 they have honeymooned through 29 countries and 275 cities around the world. Apparently a 10 day honeymoon wasn’t nearly enough to celebrate a new life together!

They have a wicked sense of adventure which constantly inspires, a passion for life which is contagious through their writing, and their website provides tips on both luxury and budget travel for those who love a bit of both!

Just a One Way Ticket

 

Sabrina is just another random girl from Berlin, who has been almost non-stop traveling since 2008.   Her blog is a summary of her experiences, disasters and escapades, coupled with tips for cheap traveling around the globe.

Sab’s writing is brutally honest, and I love her posts for exactly that! So do 50,000 other readers every month.  She calls things as they are, and doesn’t sugar coat experiences or destinations as so many other travel writers do.  She writes about not only her ups, but also her downs, offering a very real and well rounded insight into a life of full time travel.  She is very real.

Her writing is entertaining and stories fantastic, and she allows her readers to experience the world with her, providing tools, tips and resources with every article for how we too can achieve a lifestyle of nonstop travel!

Suitcases and Sippy Cups

 

Jessica Bowers is another one of those mothers who deserves serious credit.  Traveling with 4 boys, Jessica’s blog details what happens when a totally average family sets out to see the world.  She is a typical suburban mum, except for that bit about leaving everything behind to follow her family’s dreams of travel!

An authority on family travel, Jessica’s blogs are entertaining, inspiring and refreshingly honest.

Wanderlusters

 

Every time I visit Ben and Charli’s website I’m almost convinced I’ve been accidentally re-routed to National Geographic. Their professional photography, captivating stories, savvy tips, and colorful, sophisticated web design continually see me green with blogger envy!  In fact, they’ve actually been featured on National Geographic!

In 2010 Ben & Charli made the decision to live a life less ordinary and six months later embarked on an undefined period of travel. Enforcing no restrictions on their itinerary they have chosen to travel at a slow pace and incorporate house sitting assignments in each country they visit.  True digital nomads, with no time limit restricting their experience, from backpacking through Central America to road tripping around Australia, they embrace each and every opportunity for  adventure.

The Travel Camel

 

Shane Dallas is the Travel Camel, and goes where others will not tread.  He heads to destinations with some of the worst safety reputations in the world, and offers absolutely phenomenal photography and rare insights from destinations like North Korea, Afghanistan, Ethiopia,  Iraq and Yemen.

He has the most amazing collection of travel tales and experiences from the world’s less appreciated countries and truly takes the ‘road less traveled’. Exploring his site is an addiction in itself!

Green Global Travel

 

Bret and Mary are saving the world one story at a time!  The world’s most popular ecotourism website, their words, photos and videos from around the world both entertain and draw attention to the importance of environmental conservation at the same time.

They are constantly featuring unique content from phenomenal eco-friendly destinations around the world, and have inspired a new generation of ethical travelers.

YTravel Blog

 

Caz & Craig’s Y Travel Blog is one of the fastest growing travel sites in the world. They are incredibly down to earth and consistently provide great travel resources, tips, destination guides and inspiration.

They have a wealth of useful and practical information about traveling the world on their website, and their family adventures are a huge inspiration and motivation to get out there and see the world!

Treepot Travels

 

Treepot Travels is a new website to the travel scene, but Rachel and Mike’s phenomenal travel photography is quickly turning it into a huge success.  This is my favorite photo travel blog, exploring the world one picture at a time!

Know of any other great travel blogs I should read in 2014?