With studies suggesting that travel can improve your phycological and physical wellbeing, packing a suitcase and boarding a plane to a new destination is no longer solely an exciting thing to do, it’s beneficial and educational; a way to gain new experiences, meet new people, learn about culture, languages, and a form of independence.
Photo, Sincerely Media.
Perhaps the current lockdown has you itching to get back out there and see the world, maybe it’s time to revisit the plans you had to cancel before the coronavirus pandemic turned everything upside down. You might be a first time traveller, a solo traveller, somebody versed in jumping on planes, perhaps even a nomadic traveller or a person who doesn’t class one place as home …
Whatever your status, congratulations, this is an exciting chapter in your life, and one that could you made all the smoother with some insight from other likeminded souls. The travel blog has come a long way since the dawn of the blogosphere, many beginner bloggers have gone on to become leading journalists in their field, others becoming major media platforms of their own; it’s a far cry from the early days of ‘write an essay for me‘ blog-by-numbers. For those seeking post-pandemic travel inspiration, the sheer wealth of options out there can be hard to cut through.
The following guides, blogs, platforms and curated online sources represent some of the very best in the field, allowing you to save time and stress on your arrival and get set to uncover some fabulous earthly gems on the way.
Trippin
Trippin: Beginning life as a Facebook page, Trippin is an independent platform that connects travel, culture and creativity, combining guides and experiences that are found at the intersection of social and cultural boundaries. Champions of global creativity, connect with cultures the world over through the eyes of its locals. Helping people to travel with more purpose, this is a travel platform powered by its global community.
The Voyageur
The Voyageur: Featuring a wide range of destinations, itineraries, food suggestions and cultural options, The Voyageur is a travel blog founded and run by French creative director, style consultant, photographer and blogger Pauline Chardin. A visual guide, it’s the result of Chardin’s weak spot for travel and good design, the Paris-based written commenting of the blog “This is a place to make you discover or rediscover small corners of the world that feel unique, inspirational and surprising.” So flick through, and get ready to be roused.
On the Grid
On the Grid: More of an urban than lie-by-the-beach kinda traveller? Do you prefer uncovering the true grit of a city, its vibrant neighbourhoods, the locals who populate it, the places that make it what it is? Do you want to get to the very heart and soul of where you’re headed? On the Grid is one for you if so; a detour from many a traditional travel blog.
Curated by designers from around the world, these guys do not produce guides for the average tourist, swerving tacky souvenir shops and overrated ‘hoods, instead introducing its readers to districts where contemporary arts and culture thrive and tolerance is celebrated. Boasting 534 neighbourhoods in over 114 cities (and growing), On the Grid is a guide guaranteed to have you covered. For those deep in research for post-pandemic travel, ask this extensive culturally aware travel guide: will you do my homework for me? It likely already has.
Melting Butter
Melting Butter: Creating curated city guides for the cultured traveler, Melting Butter is an online resource of places, experiences and recommendations. Founded by Jenny Nguyen—who’s supported by a host of international tastemakers—this bunch are passionate about recommending to their readers the best food, fashion, art, design and music experiences in their cities and beyond. With more destinations than you can shake a stick at, you’d be hard pressed not to find something of value here.
Jungles in Paris
Jungles in Paris: Exploring planet Earth in all its multi-coloured diversity, with a special focus on nature, culture, roots and place, Jungles in Paris is a travel blog that we should all pay special attention to, especially having taken a break from travel in 2020 and allowing our planet time to heal a little.
Shining a spotlight on craft, culture, geography and wildlife, the aim behind this website is to prioritise the local, the endemic, the time-honoured, and meaningful, celebrating subjects—human and non-human alike—that are often at risk of extinction in a globalised, growth-driven 21st century. A reminder to all that despite the joys of travel, we must learn to enjoy it more consciously and respectfully. With so much content flooding the web today, the quality of writing has naturally taken a dip—sites like SpeedyPaper reviews testament to that—Jungles in Paris is refreshingly well researched, compiled and written, a sterling example of what a travel blog in 2020 should be.
