When we made the decision to travel for a year, I dove head first into travel blogs of other travelers doing the same thing. I couldn’t get enough. How did they afford it? What kind of preparations did they take before they took off? Visas? Insurance? Packing?! Oh my! There were just so many details that I hadn’t even considered. I have found such an amazing community of travelers out there who are all so supportive and forthcoming with their own stories I can only hope to inspire others as these bloggers have inspired me.
Just One Way Ticket
Sabrina is my hero. In addition to blog posts like, “TRAVEL THE PHILIPPINES 2015: 20 PHOTOS THAT WILL MAKE YOU PACK YOUR BAGS AND GO” and “8 STEPS TO FREEDOM: HOW I QUIT MY JOB AND TRAVELED AROUND THE WORLD” (LOVE!) , Sabrina’s website is probably my favorite as far as design and branding. When you make income as a travel blogger, having a clear brand becomes really important. It even comes across beautiful on her Pinterest boards. Beautiful, right? She has such a real voice and feel her honesty in every post.
Hecktic Travels 
Pete and Dalene Heck are the first married couple that I started following. Their blog is also beautifully designed, (I’m a sucker for good web design, can you tell?.. Ok, ours is a work in progress… but you can see what we’re going for!) and they also won the National Geographic award for best travelers of the year. I mean, if you win best travelers by National Geographic then you must be doing something right!
I’ve never traveled as a couple before. The longest trip Jake and I have ever taken alone together was a weekend away. So finding other traveling couples has been super inspiring for me. Another win for Pete and Dalene is that they are big-time advocates for housesitting. They literally wrote the book on it. As this is a big way that Jake and I intend to travel, it’s really great to read about real-life experiences. Another reason to follow the Hecks.. Pete’s photography is amazing!
© 2014 Hecktic Travels | HeckticTravels.com
Married with Luggage
What can I say about Betsy and Warren? I feel like I know them in person. Between their blog, books and weekly podcast episode, they’ve been whispering in my ear, “you can do this!” for months! Betsy and Warren have a great story about taking a life that just wasn’t working and completely turning it upside down. And now they inspire others to pursue their own versions living their own dream, whatever that may be. They also have wonderful advice for couples, both traveling and not. All of their advice is so practical and applicable to every day of your life.
Check out their books, “Dream Save Do, an action plan for Dreamers” and “Married with Luggage. What we learned about love by traveling the world”
The Budget-Minded Traveler
I’ve really enjoyed following Jackie on her blog and podcast. (plus we both have the same birthday! November 30th FTW) She has such a fun approach to travel. It should be affordable, accessible and something that you can continue to do through life no matter what your age. She has wonderful budgeting tips of course, like “How to Budget for International Travel” and “How to Avoid Fees With Credit Cards Overseas” and brings some truly amazing people on her podcast. While she has some amazing travel experiences under her belt, she also has a home base that she always comes back to. She reminds me that even after our yearlong adventure, that I can still make travel an important part of my life. She wrote a great book, “The Inspiring Travelers Handbook” covering a ton of basics like, what you need to do to apply for your passport or visa, how to pack efficiently for long trips, what to make sure you take care of at home to make sure your trip is stress free. Such good stuff! Oh, and of course all about how not to go into major debt to plan the trip of your dreams.
The Suitcase Entrepreneur
“Choose Freedom”? Yup, I’m sold!
Natalie Sission is a one woman action show! While not technically a travel blog, Natalie has amazing travel advice as well as how to run your location-less business while traveling. With her “Choose Freedom” approach to life, I’m drawn more and more to the idea of running my own location-less business. Although, I’m not quite sure what that looks like for me yet. Until then, I’m going to soak up all of the virtual entrepreneur’s I can find and hope that something clicks one day. Natalie not only has a ton of business info on her website, but also a great podcast I listen to weekly.
Her book pairs both the business side and the travel strategies really well, I highly recommend it if you are curious about starting your own virtual business. Check out her podcast too!
Well, there you have it! My journey down the rabbit hole of travel blogs. Do you have any good ones that you’ve found?
Share them in the comments below! I’m always looking for more.
Thank you Danielle & Jake for including us in your list. We are honored to have been a small part of the inspiration and belief that you really can live the life you want. Good for you all for leading by example and going after what you want most in life.
Thanks so much Warren! You and Betsy truly are an inspiration. Thank you for your continued encouragement, advice, and podcast sing-a-longs 😉
THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! I’m so happy to read here that someone likes my blog! That really made my day!! I Haven’t blogged for 2 months, but that really gave me a kick to sit down and publish a new blog post soon! Thank you for this!! happy travels! xoxo, sab
You are SO welcome! I keep finding myself coming back to your site again and again. Thanks for putting it out there! Seriously, one of the most beautiful blogs ev-ar! Excited to read your new post 😉 Happy travels!
Thanks so much for the shout out, what a great list to be part of! Thanks for the kind words about the podcast as well, I’ve taken a bit of a break from it recently but it’s coming back around by the end of this month. I appreciate the encouragement and am so glad we can help each other.
Thank you so much for the inspiration 🙂 Also, the Facebook group has been a wonderful mingling place. So fun to have a community of travelers. Excited for the return of the podcast!