How to See the World for Free as a Travel Writer

Today I get paid to see the world. Wined, dined, pampered—often for free—and then somebody writes me a check to tell people about my experiences. It’s every bit as great as it sounds. And the good news is: Just like me, you too could learn the secrets.

After spending almost 35 years as a nurse, a friend introduced me to the world of travel writing. She thought I was a perfect candidate as I loved to travel, loved to write, and loved to share stories of my travel adventures. I took her advice and signed up for a travel-writing workshop, hosted by IL’s Executive Editor, Jennifer Stevens.

After hearing editors, writers, and photographers share stories of finding success in their areas, how editors were looking for juicy travel stories, and that writers were getting invited to destinations all on the house, I was certain this was exactly what I wanted to do when I retired from nursing. And retire I did, five years later.

My first year as a travel writer, I had over 40 published stories in a variety of online and print publications. As my reputation as grew, I began receiving invitations to destinations in exchange for a published story.

Today, I have over 800 published articles, own three magazines that I’m the co-publisher/managing editor of, and still write for top publications as a regular contributor. As a result, my offers of complimentary travel and stays have grown from local and state to national and finally international destinations. I now enjoy free trips to places like London, Paris, the Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Mexico’s Riviera Maya and more.

I’m also exactly where I want to be at this stage in my life, doing exactly what I love doing and I feel very, very blessed. But it did take some hard work to get here.

I often get questions about how I became a writer, how I know what to write about, how to break into top publications, and of course, how I get thousands of dollars in travel perks on the house. Here are the basics you need to get started:

Start With Your Own Hometown

When I first started travel writing, I was still working full-time as a nurse with a limited number of vacation days. This meant that other than the family vacations we’d already planned, I wouldn’t really be able to travel with the same freedom as I do today. As a result, many of my stories were oriented to my hometown of San Diego and Southern California.

But that ended up being a win-win all around. Editors want writers who know their town inside and out, and I got to find out things about my area that I never even knew existed.

Know What to Write

The magic key to getting an editor’s attention is figuring out what the publication is looking for. This happens when we spend time researching a publication, getting to know their voice, the regions they cover, and the types of stories they are looking for. You can’t sell budget travel to a luxury publication. Likewise, you can’t sell an article about a well-traveled destination to an editor looking for off-the-beaten-path stories. It’s important to carefully read writer guidelines to be completely in tune with the magazine and their readership.

Destinations, like people, are multifaceted. They have hotels, restaurants, and activities. But if you really want to break into a top publication, you need to figure out a new, undiscovered story angle or topic.

Develop a Relationship with Editors

It’s vitally important for writers to develop an ongoing relationship with a publication they’ve broken into. By delivering top-quality stories, the editor will want to continue to work with you, especially when you tell them something they didn’t know. And it helps even more when you’re flexible, reliable, and easy to work with.

As a result of my relationship with publications like Travel Pulse and GoNOMAD for example, editors have provided me letters of assignment, something I can show to tourist boards and hotels ensuring I have a promised article in exchange for their willingness to host me. In addition, my editors have also sought me out and sent me on all-inclusive press trips for their publication.

This is a big reason why I’ve been able to travel to so many fascinating and exciting destinations both within and outside the U.S.

Get Invited on Press Trips

There are really two types of press trips (or media trips as they’re also called). One is an individual trip where the writer contacts the destination after they’ve received an assignment or a guarantee the editor is interested in the story idea they pitched.

In a two-way conversation between writer and destination, the writer shares their needs for completing their story and the destination rep extends an offer to host. In essence, this type of trip is individually focused, allowing the writer complete control over the itinerary.

The second type of press trip is a group press trip. This is one in which the destination rep initiates an offer to a select group of writers with a pre-determined itinerary. Again, this is a trip that will typically cover everything including travel. However writers may have to have assignments in hand or compete with other writers for a spot on the trip. But they are amazing opportunities for networking.

Rely on Tenacity and Fortitude

I truly believe with the hundreds of writers I’ve met and talked with over the years, that those who don’t find success with travel writing have given up too soon.

No one is going to be instantly successful. The process takes time. None of us were experts in our profession when we first started out. We didn’t begin at the top of the heap, but rather got incrementally better at our jobs as time went along. To take an example from my own career, first-year nurses for example are never promoted to a nursing supervisor position. Nor would a first-year teacher be selected for high school principal.

Hone Your Skills

Writers, like photographers, need to hone their skills and improve their technique. I am a huge proponent of continuing education because it’s an investment in myself and my career. I noticed a big difference in my writing after I completed a creative writing course. And when I signed up for a photography course, and then a second one thereafter, my photos improved dramatically, and editors were impressed. It’s important to note that some publications will even pay extra for the writer’s own photographs. That’s what I call double dipping, and it’s pretty awesome.

If you’re really serious about wanting to become a travel writer and finding success in this profession, then do yourself a favor and make the investment in yourself. It’s so worth it.

Have a Social Media Presence

Destinations likewise pay close attention to the type of photos a writer takes. They can either check you out through your own website, through a Google search, or these days on social media, especially Instagram. Tourism representatives or a venue looking to host a writer will also want to assess your skill as a writer. Sharing published pieces on social media outlets helps them find you and get to know just who you are.

Visit Your Local Travel and Adventure Shows

Even as a brand-new writer, I decided to attend a travel and adventure show held in my hometown of San Diego. These shows are held all over the world and are designed with the traveler in mind. Representatives from destinations from all over the globe set up their table displays with alluring photos and brochures, hoping to attract travelers to Bali, Cancun, the Bahamas, and even to destinations around the U.S.

But they are also a treasure trove for the travel writer. As a show attendee, we also get to interact with these destination representatives. My first travel show yielded me five invitations to destinations, again, in exchange for published articles. The bottom line is the more you put yourself out there, the more destinations will know who you are.

Join a Travel Writing Group

No man is an island, and neither is a writer. There’s nothing like learning from one another which is exactly why I created the Travel Writer’s University with my travel partner, Kristi Dosh. We’ve developed a close-knit group of writers, editors and industry professionals that share a tremendous amount of information on the ever-changing world of travel writing. Our members have not only found tremendous travel writing success, but they too have amassed a myriad of complimentary travel perks as a result of knowing the ‘inside scoop.’

Join Organizations Like TravMedia

TravMedia is a global organization for travel professionals. This includes destination reps, editors, writers, and bloggers. Travel writers, like other professionals, create an online profile that includes a bio, travel plans, and uploaded published stories. How can this help a travel writer get free travel? Let me explain.

TravMedia is an extremely interactive community. Editors are always looking for story pitches and they reach out to TravMedia members first. They may be looking for someone who’s recently taken an Alaskan cruise, who’s been to Namibia and has high-resolution photos, or who may live or have detailed expertise in a city like San Francisco.

People who live overseas are in particularly high demand as writers for their on-the-ground expertise. Destination reps will also reach out to writers who, for example, may have covered other coastal cities in California because they’d like them to come cover their coastal destinations too, and write the stories that will help them promote their towns.

And in several destinations around the world like Singapore, Australia, France, Germany, the U.K., Brazil, and the U.S., TravMedia hosts a yearly event where travel writers are invited to meet with destination reps from all over the world for the sole purpose of connecting for future media trips. Check the website for details of upcoming events.

Get Traveling…

Successful travel writers bring all sorts of backgrounds to their writing endeavors. And if you have a few years under your belt, that can be an advantage—because your age improves your judgement.

If you like the idea of getting paid to travel around the world, travel writing should be at the top of your list of skills to learn.

You won’t get rich doing it—but you will have a lot of fun and just might see the world on somebody else’s dime.