I spend a lot of my free time listening to travel related podcasts and reading travel blogs. Here are some of my favorites.
Frequent Miler on the Air (podcast and website). The podcast has two episodes a week – one is longer filled with any news from the past week and dives deep into a topic of the week. The second episode is shorter and just focuses on a single topic. Both the podcast and website focus on credit cards, points and miles but even if you are not into the points and miles game, there is also useful advice about planning for trips. The website provides a great one stop resource regarding new cards and how to guides.
Amateur Traveler (podcast and website). Amateur Traveler is one of the few podcasts I have found that is focused on destinations. In each episode, Chris Christensen interviews either an expert or recent traveler about a specific location. I get tons of great ideas for trips listening to this podcast. His website also has a useful search function so you can find specific episodes to help your planning.
All the Hacks (podcast). This is not exclusively a travel podcast – I would guess about 35% of the topics are travel related and another 20% are travel adjacent. But the rest of his topics and guests span the spectrum of finance, life, health, and relationships. This is definitely one of my favorites and probably the one I most send to friends and family. https://www.chrishutchins.com/
Strong Sense of Place (podcast). This is a book podcast hosted by a charming and quirky couple – Mel and Dave. In each episode they focus on a specific destination and review 5 books set there. I have gotten some great recommendations from them, and their website has a useful search function where I can use it to find books set in my next destination.
The Blonde Abroad (blog). Kiki’s blog is beautifully designed and simple to use. Her blog is not cluttered with ads and it is easy to search for specific destinations. The Blonde Abroad • Solo Female Travel Blog
Adventurous Kate (blog). Kate has a lot of content on female solo travel and ethical travel. She also lives in Prague and is on a quest to visit every province in Italy. Her content feels genuine and I’ve found her recommendations reliable. Adventurous Kate – The Solo Female Travel Blog
Never Ending Footsteps (blog). I don’t find Lauren’s blog as useful as others but I read (and loved) her book and so I now I feel like I know her and I love occasionally checking at where she has been recently and what scrapes she has gotten into. She also provides very detailed cost breakdowns which can give you a great starting point for a budget. Home – Never Ending Footsteps
Rick Steves (blog). Rick Steve’s is of course a great resource for trips to Europe. Europe Travel Guide – The Best European Destinations | Rick Steves’ Europe
Lonely Planet (book). I don’t love their website but the first few pages of their books are a great resource for the initial stages of planning a trip. I use this as a jumping off point to then do more research. Your local library is a great place to pick up a copy for your next destination to get some inspiration. For destinations off the tourist path, Bradt is a great resource.
A few overall thoughts when using travel podcasts, blogs and travel influencers to help plan your trips:
Make sure to note when a blog or episode was written / produced. Things can change quickly. Some blogs are organized by destination and don’t tell you when they were written. Don’t get me wrong, you can still get great ideas from an older resource, but you will need to do some additional fact checking with a second source to make sure you are appropriately prepared.
Pick and choose from different resources. Rarely will you want to just blindly copy and paste a somebody else’s itinerary. Take a look at several resources to find where there is commonality and what is different. In instances where there is commonality, it is probably famous for a reason. It is now for you to decide if you want to visit the main tourist sights, if you want to avoid them, or plan a mix. For those unique tips, they can be fun to sprinkle into your itinerary, but unless it is a source you know well, you don’t want to rely on them exclusively.
Know Who You Trust. Building on the above point, the longer you travel and follow particular sites and resources you can decide which reflect your own tastes and style. Just because someone has millions of views and likes doesn’t mean you enjoy the same activities, travel at the same pace or have the same budget.
Understand their expertise. Most resources have an area of expertise. Maybe they are from there. Maybe they have traveled there multiple times. Maybe they are an expert on points and miles. Maybe they dive deep into research. Take both expertise and experience into account when relying on blogs and influencers.
Take photos, best of lists, and reviews with a grain of salt. Many reviews are sponsored and photos may be edited or enhanced. This is not necessarily bad and doesn’t mean the information is untrue. But it does mean you should analyze it through that lens. Also, nobody has done everything. I don’t care if you have lived in a city for 20 years – nobody has eaten everywhere and done everything. Take every “best of” list with a grain of salt.
I will take this opportunity to note that Life Kinetic content does not have any paid reviews and no photos have been edited or enhanced.
Be flexible and patient. Even the best laid plans are likely to run into issues, and no two trips can ever be exactly the same. The weather, how well you slept, transportation delays, your mood, if you are hungry, and a thousand other things can impact your day. Do your research, make your plans and then just enjoy how the trip unfolds!!
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