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As some of you may already know, I rarely plan my travels in advance or organize much before setting off on a trip. As a result—combined with a lack of time—I don’t often read travel blogs. In fact, even my own adventure travel blog sometimes takes a back seat to the journey itself.
Having started my travels long before the rise of travel blogs, I learned to craft my itineraries using a mix of history books, paper road maps like Michelin, Reise Know-How, or Freytag & Berndt, and classic guidebooks such as The Rough Guides or Lonely Planet. More often than not, I set off on my journeys with no fixed destination in mind—just a sense of adventure and curiosity about what I might discover along the way.
The experience of being on the road has always succeeded the destination itself.
Despite the immense growth of the travel blogging community, I have naturally gravitated toward following a relatively small number of bloggers—those whose content I find both practical and insightful. Since I value hands-on travel advice over personal narratives, my selection of travel blogs primarily focuses on useful information rather than individual road stories.
I rarely seek out other people’s travel experiences, as I prefer to shape my own adventures without external influences. For me, travel is about discovering unique destinations, figuring out how to reach them, and immersing myself in the experience without preconceived notions. After all, we should never strive to imitate someone else’s journey—we should always carve our own path. Below, you’ll find a list of my favorite travel bloggers, whose work I occasionally read and appreciate.
Inspirational Adventure Travel Blogs
Most of the Inspirational Travel Blogs on this list aren’t necessarily the most famous, but rather those that stand out to me as unique, practical, or refreshingly different. Each blog offers something special—whether it’s insightful travel advice, off-the-beaten-path discoveries, or a distinctive perspective on exploring the world. This list is dynamic and will continue to evolve over time as I come across new and inspiring travel voices.
Against the Compass
Joan has a well-written/easy to navigate blog that I end up checking travel information once in a while. Indeed one of my favorite adventure travel blogs. We are both from the Iberian Peninsula, and apart from this interesting geographic similarity, he seems to like the same dusty and off the beaten path destinations that I do. From backpacking in Pakistan, trekking the highest and most beautiful mountains in the world to visiting a Syrian refugee camp in Iraq and sneaking into the forbidden Russian town of Baikonur, Joan’s blog is a must.
Visit Against the Compass blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Uncharted Backpacker
Stephen’s travel blog is my favorite regarding featured destinations, and due to the incredible adventures this guy puts himself into. Stephen knows how to explore challenging and unreachable regions where most travelers would not dare to go, such as Afghanistan, Congo, Pakistan or Yemen. His experiences have taken him to drinking tea in Kabul bazaar, crossing snow-covered peaks of the Nepalese Himalayas and teaching English in Libya.
Visit Uncharted Backpacker blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Expert Vagabond
Matt from Expert Vagabond is the guy from my list of bloggers that everyone knows, and that hardly needs an introduction. I’ve been following Matthew for a long time now, and I do really appreciate the fact that he shares excellent and useful information about exciting adventure destinations. I also enjoy the fact that although he is all over the blogging world, he keeps it cool and with a humble attitude. On his blog, Matt shares entertaining stories, useful travel tips, fun videos, inspiring photography, and crazy adventures around the world.
Visit Expert Vagabond blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
The Travel Stories
This is a travel blog featuring several authors. I first read it while interested in their published story about getting malaria in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As I also got malaria in the D.R.C., I immediately connected to this subject and after I started exploring the website, I came up to discover many exciting travel destinations through real adventures from the road. The Travel Stories is a platform for travel stories and selected narratives with an eye for detail, accentuated with breathtaking pictures and videos.
Visit The Travel Stories blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Journal of Nomads
Cynthia and Niko lovely travel blog takes us wandering around the world through their own exploits. Their blog features excellent content with valuable practical information that will make your life easier during your next trip. This couple from Belgium and Canada are currently on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, traveling from Ireland to Alaska, across six continents, with no time limit and without taking any airplanes. They travel overland mainly by hitchhiking and cross the oceans and seas by taking boats. I met Cynthia in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and we were able to share some ideas and get to know each other a bit better. I hope I can finally meet Niko somewhere around the world.
Visit Journal of Nomads blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Travelsauro
Miguel’s blog has some nice destinations and his travel writing is not boring, focusing more on his own itineraries and practical information and how to do things and how to get there. His travels have taken him to amazing places such as Papua New Guinea, East-Timor, Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and Dominica. In every place he visited, he always tries to combine his passion for hiking, scuba diving, and photography into unforgettable travel experiences.
Visit Travelsauro blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
João Cajuda
João is my personal friend, we work together organizing tours in Morocco. He is new to the blogging world, but his artistic eye for photography and filmmaking makes him one of the best image makers that I know of. Although João goes to more common countries such as Thailand, Cuba or Philippines, I love the way he mingles himself into compelling scenarios creating inspiring and motivational pictures and movies. Some of his inspirational videos reached over 14 million views!
Visit Joao Cajuda blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Matthew P Gallagher
If you’re tired of picture-perfect travel blogs and want raw, wild, and out-of-the-box adventures, Matthew G’s Adventure Travel Unfiltered is for you. From sleeping on haunted Turkish beaches to accidentally joining a militia in the Congo, Matthew’s stories take you to the weirdest, most offbeat destinations. His dark humor, immersive storytelling, and “don’t-try-this-at-home” experiences make his blog one of the most thrilling reads in travel journalism.
Breathe with Us
Hugo and Cristina takes us to famous travel destinations creating compiling travel guides from their favourite places. They a couple on a quest to travel and explore the world’s best cultural and nature destinations. Although they do hit the most conventional destinations, their blog is very well built and easy to navigate. Follow them to discover all their latest adventures and for some travel inspiration.
Visit Breathe with Us blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
The Planet D
Dave and Deb have a great travel blog where you can navigate through an immense variety of nations around the world. My main reason to like their blog is that they combine interesting articles with amazing travel photos. This adventure couple has a mission to inspire people to step out of their comfort zones and prove that you don’t have to be an uber-athlete, adrenaline junkie or part of the ultra rich to be an adventurer.
Visit The Planet D blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
One Chai
This is one of my favorite adventure travel blogs as it focuses on really different and peculiar travel destinations. For those who like to read in other languages rather than English, Laurent takes us to unknown and bizarre destinations written in French. On this list of blogs, I actually didn’t want to feature any blog not written in English, but I couldn’t end up without mentioning One Chai. I particularly like the photos and the acute sense of humor expressed on Laurent’s travelogues.
Visit One Chai blog and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
