How to Start a Travel Blog That Makes Money in 2026 (Step-by-Step Guide + Extra Tips)

Starting a travel blog is something that many people dream of, and I’ll be totally honest—having one is just as good as it looks. While I don’t travel all the time, I do get to visit places whenever I want, and I’m grateful beyond belief that this is my full-time job. Even if you only keep it as a hobby, you’ll have a creative outlet and can cover your travel expenses (or bring in some extra income each month). 

But as you probably know, starting a travel blog can feel overwhelming. I know first-hand, because not knowing where to start held me back for years. I don’t want you to miss out on years of building your dream, which is why I’ve put together this full guide with everything I know. Once you’ve read it, you should have full clarity on how to start your blog. 

I will also address the biggest concerns you may have when thinking about starting a travel blog. Contrary to popular belief, travel blogging is very much alive—and while highly competitive, I still can’t imagine myself doing anything else. 

Today, I will give you step-by-step tips for setting up your travel blog. Once you’ve read this article, you should have the information you need to start your site, monetize sooner than you might expect, and reach at least 50,000 monthly sessions. I’ll also give you realistic timelines so you know what to expect. 

We’ll cover a lot of information, so I recommend bookmarking this guide to keep it handy. And if you’re worried that you don’t have enough time to start your travel blog? Don’t worry—I’ll show you how to grow your site without quitting your job or other commitments. 

Yes, You Should Still Start That Blog You’ve Been “Thinking About”

Contrary to popular belief and what many naysayers online say, travel blogging is still alive and kicking. (Spoiler alert: None of these people have successful blogs, and a lot of them like projecting their own limiting beliefs onto others). 

People Still Read Blogs. Simple As.

“Nobody reads blogs” anymore is one of the greatest lies ever told. I read blogs —you’re reading one right now —and personally, I like to absorb information through written content. So do lots of other people. 

Let’s use a couple of statistics to back up my point. 

In 2023, HubSpot revealed some interesting statistics from its own research. Only 17% of respondents in their State of Marketing Report said that they never read blog posts. I’m not great at maths, but 100 minus 17 = 83. Which means that… 83% of people read blog posts. 

From that research, 29% of recipients said they read such content 1-4 times per month. 18% said that they read blog posts daily, 16% answered with “1-3 times per week”, and 14% said they read 4-6 blog posts per week. 6% of respondents, meanwhile, said that they read blog posts DAILY. 

The research also revealed that in the year leading up to this research, only 9% of respondents said that they decreased the number of blog posts. 35% increased how much they read, while 53% of respondents said that their blog content consumption remained the same. 

Bear in mind that these stats were released in late 2023. At that time, I had fewer than 100 people reading my site. Make of that what you will. 

Let’s also talk about the size of the travel industry. According to Statista, market volume will surpass $1 trillion by 2030. By this point, it’s predicted that online sales will account for 76% of total revenue in travel and tourism. 

… Guess who can help brands meet market demand? That’s right, travel bloggers. 

Here’s my hot take: I think travel blogs will continue to increase in popularity over the coming years. 

A lot of people are getting fed up with surface-level tips and short-form content that adds no value. We’ve seen people turn to long-form content and even physical books as they crave something different. And with the amount of AI sludge out there, I also believe more people will want a personal touch on the content they consume. 

Travel blogging isn’t dead, by any stretch. In fact, I think it’s going through an evolution period, and the most innovative creators will win in the long run. 

But Isn’t Travel Blogging Too Saturated?

Ah, “saturation”. Or, as I like to call it, another common trope. 

Yes, there are many travel blogs. But does that mean all of them are ultra-high-quality? No, it doesn’t. 

Do you want my honest opinion? Every industry worth getting into looks “too saturated”. Again, people told me this when I started my blog in 2023. My response was “don’t care, didn’t ask”. 

A lot of travel blogs exist because the market demand for them is so high. And to be honest, there’s always room for new ideas. In my opinion, saturation is a cope used by people scared of innovation. 

Focus on becoming the best in your field, and I guarantee you will—with enough time and commitment—become successful. Travel blogging is no different. 

… But AI???

A contentious topic, for sure. But to be honest, I view AI as something to welcome rather than fear. For example, it can be useful for task automation. 

While it’s true that AI can write basic travel blog posts, it cannot replicate what it’s like to actually visit and experience a destination. It can replicate photos, but it can’t beat what someone who’s actually seen the place can do. 

And let’s be totally honest for a moment. Do you seriously trust AI for all of your trip planning? I don’t know about you, but if I’m booking a $3,000 trip to Iceland, I’d much rather learn from and trust someone who has actually visited. I think I trust the person who has felt sleet on their face, somehow. 

As for AI Mode, AI Overviews, AI Search, etc., I think these are all tools that we can use to our advantage. So no, I’m afraid I’m not buying this excuse. 

Travel Blogging Is Too Hard, Though 😢

I’ll be so real right now: If you’re looking for an easy road, travel blogging isn’t for you. The bar is high, and it continues to get higher. This, however, is not a bad thing. 

Is travel blogging highly competitive? Yes. So is everything else worth having. If you study a high-level degree, you’re competing with other high performers in that space. Starting any creative project where you want to stand out is the same. 

Paradoxically, though, I also think travel blogging is easier than ever. You literally have free resources like this that will walk you through starting a travel blog step by step. There are plenty of articles, videos, and podcasts to help you grow further. 

More importantly, the tech available to help is so much better these days. Seriously, you should’ve seen what it was like when I started my first blog back in 2012 💀.

While not easy, travel blogging is far from impossible. And to be truthful with you, it’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done. 

“Nobody Cares What I Have to Say”

Yes, they do. Don’t disrespect yourself like that. 

Your travel experiences are unique, and you probably have a different perspective than someone else. The beautiful thing about travel blogs is that you can add your own experiences and tone of voice, and attract an audience of like-minded people. 

Anyone who tells you that nobody will care what you have to say is projecting their own limiting beliefs. And if they’re coming from your mind, they’re not true. 

Imagine this for a second: You launch a travel blog and recommend a hotel or hostel in a rural destination. Once your traffic grows, you could literally change that person’s life and their family by giving them endless business. It’s not as crazy as you think. 

The impact you can make from writing some words on the internet is too big for you to have this belief. Your voice matters; share it with the world. 

If you want to know something: I, along with other travel bloggers, am a normal person who simply decided to share my thoughts with others. It’s not so unreasonable to think that you could build a successful blog yourself. 

How to Start a Travel Blog: Step-by-Step Tips

Okay, so you’re now on my side and also think that travel blogging is still worthwhile. You’re now ready to learn EXACTLY how to start a travel blog that makes money. Even if you want to keep it as a hobby, you should still follow these steps. 

IMPORTANT: Read and implement these steps in order! I’ve written them so you can seamlessly move from one to the next. 

Step 1: Ask Why You Want to Start a Travel Blog

Before you do anything else, let’s pause for a moment. Ask yourself this question: Why do you want to start a travel blog?. 

I cannot stress this enough—you MUST be intrinsically motivated. I know it’s easy to look at travel bloggers and think they live glamorous lives, but it’s a lot of hard work. I also don’t travel *that* much; I’m actually in Copenhagen more than elsewhere. 

If you’re only starting a travel blog for clout and money, a) you’ve got a long road ahead of you, and b) you will quit at some point. But if you want a fun, creative outlet that could lead to income later, go for it. I was happy to keep running my travel blog as a side-hustle if it never became my full-time thing, but thankfully, it did.

Your “why” doesn’t need to be complicated. It could be as simple as you don’t like what’s already out there, and you want to add your own twist. This was my precise reason for starting. 

If you’re on the fence, I recommend creating a content calendar and a draft article. Pay attention to how you feel; this is very important. 

• Do you feel uncomfortable because it’s something new? No problem. This is totally normal, and it will become easier over time.
• Do you feel bad because you just don’t like writing? If so, try other things. Maybe blogging isn’t for you, but something else—such as YouTube or social media—might be. 

Step 2: Jot a Rough Idea for Your Travel Blog (This Will Change, So Don’t Overthink It)

After confirming that you definitely want to try travel blogging, write a rough idea of what you want your blog to look like. Don’t spend too long on this because it will evolve, and I don’t want you to spend so long that you don’t actually write anything. 

1. What Type of Travel Blog Do You Want to Create?

First, ask yourself what kinds of travel you want to cover. 

• Do you want to cover a specific region? For example, while I cover other destinations, my main focus is Northern and Northwestern Europe. 
• Are you interested in a specific type of travel, such as outdoor or family travel? 

Again, you don’t need to overthink this. Personally, I picked the first thing that came to my mind and let it evolve through regular posting. My thinking was simple: 

• I live in Northern/Northwestern Europe and have done so for my entire life (I grew up in the UK, lived in Sweden, and had been in Denmark for over two years when I started). 
• I travel around this part of the world more than anywhere else, and more importantly, I enjoy exploring Scandinavia and the Nordics. Nobody, not even locals, knows this region better than I do. 

For you, it could be your hometown. Or, perhaps you’re a parent and know the challenges of traveling with kids. Lean into your expertise. 

2. Who Do You Want to Help?

Knowing your audience will make planning and writing content infinitely easier. Take some time to seriously think about this, too. 

For example: I help people who a) like long-form and detailed guides with beautiful photos, and b) who want to plan a trip with unique experiences—though they might also want to see some of the touristy sights. 

The more specific you can be, the better. But at the very least, have an overarching idea of who you’re trying to appeal to. More often than not, you’ll be trying to help people similar to you. I basically made myself the avatar and figured that, since I’m not that special, there are probably at least 100,000 others like me. 

3. What’s Your Mission?

I also suggest creating a mission statement for your blog AND yourself. I wish I had done the latter much sooner, as it’d have stopped me from getting sidetracked with shiny object syndrome. Ask yourself what you do and don’t want to do, based on your values, and make these crystal clear. 

Good to Know: Before buying a domain name and continuing with the next steps, sign up on social media to claim your username handles. 

Step 3: Buy a Domain and Website Hosting

Now that the groundwork is laid, we can start actually building your blog. First, you’ll need to buy a website domain and hosting. 

I started with Bluehost, and I’ll be completely honest with you: I do not recommend using them. I know a lot of people recommend Bluehost (they have a nice affiliate program, so I get it), but I quickly felt capped by their offerings—and their customer support wasn’t up to my liking. Instead, I suggest starting with SiteGround; I switched over after leaving Bluehost and was infinitely happier.

SiteGround offers affordable plans, and most importantly, its customer service is pretty good. Each time I had an issue, the team was quick to respond and help me resolve it. 

After setting up SiteGround, make sure you’ve enabled your SSL certificate (this is free and an absolute necessity). I also recommend using SiteGround’s other tools, such as the Security Optimizer. 

Step 4: Set Up Your WordPress.org Website (NOT WordPress.com)

WordPress.org offers full customization, and most of the big travel blogs you read will use this version. While intimidating at first, the basics are actually easy to understand. I cannot believe I spent years hesitant to use it because things are *so* much easier these days than before. 

Once you’ve signed up for a web hosting plan and chosen your domain, you’ll usually see a “WordPress Admin” section in your dashboard. From here, you can set up your admin account and start building out your site. 

IMPORTANT: Choose the Right Theme for Your Travel Blog

As part of your blog setup, you’ll need to choose a WordPress theme. You’ll find several free versions, as well as paid ones. If you’re serious about starting a travel blog that makes money, a paid theme will almost always be your best choice. 

Paid WordPress themes offer more flexibility, and they’re often more responsive. The latter is especially important: your website’s user experience and speed will impact SEO, and it would be a shame to write great content without anyone noticing. 

I’ve tried 20+ WordPress themes across the various blogs I’ve run in the past, including multiple ones on this site. However, I’m pretty settled with KadenceWP; of all the themes I’ve tried, this is by far the best. 

Kadence has allowed me to fully customize my website exactly the way I want. It’s scalable, too, with beginner-friendly elements and more advanced features (such as Mega Menus). So, as your blog grows, you won’t have to spend more time and money finding another theme. 

While Kadence has a free version, I recommend upgrading to Kadence Pro to fully customize your site. It’s more expensive than other themes, but if you want to grow your travel blog over the long run, it’s a worthwhile investment. Some of the features I can access with Kadence Pro, that aren’t available in the free version, include:

• Post grids and carousels (you’ll notice that I use this on my homepage) 
• Extensions to fully customize my website menu
• Advanced sliders

After signing up for Kadence, you can install the theme and download extra plugins you need via your user account on the Kadence site. 

If you want to save some money while getting your blog off the ground, you can sign up via my link and get a 15% discount. You can also get your money back within 30 days if you aren’t happy with your site, so it’s a low-risk, high-reward purchase. 

Make Sure You Have a Cookie Banner, Too

Setting up a cookie banner is one of the most overlooked aspects of starting a website, but it’s essential for data compliance. If you join an ad network later, you’ll get one—but before that, you can easily install a free banner on your site. 

I used Cookiebot for around a year when my site was new; setting it up is simple, and you can do so for free. Download the plugin for your WordPress site here. 

Which Pages Should I Start With When Launching a New Travel Blog?

When you read the biggest travel blogs, you’ll notice that many of them have quite comprehensive sites. You will naturally build yours out over time, so I suggest keeping things simple in the beginning. 

Start with these pages:

• Homepage: Explain what your travel blog is about and what makes you unique. 
• Blog: Create a hub for all your posts that people can easily click on. 
• About Page: Share your story with your audience. Why did you start a travel blog, and how did your love for travel begin? You can look at my About Page if you want an example. 
• Privacy Policy: Create a privacy policy and add it to the footer of your site. You can find various privacy policy generators online. 
• Contact Page: Once you start generating traffic, you will start receiving emails about collaborations and whatnot. For me, this happened when I reached around 10,000 monthly sessions. Set up your contact page, add your email address, and include a form so the infrastructure is in place. 

You should start building out your category pages, too, but I suggest doing these as you create more content. When you’re ready to do that, you can see one example of my category pages below. 

Put your pages into a header menu; in WordPress, go to Customize > Menu. You can also make a mega menu with Kadence, but this is more advanced; I suggest starting with something basic and customizing further once you’ve built some momentum and consistency. 

Step 5: Install WordPress Plugins

Plugins are useful for customization, security, and overall site functionality. Try to keep your plugins to a minimum. Too many can bloat your site and slow it down. 

As a starting point, these are some of the most essential plugins (all of these are free):

• AIO Security: Security starts with reliable hosting, but you should still further protect your site. AIO Security has firewalls, lets you set up two-factor authentication (2FA), and limits the number of login attempts. 
• 301 Redirects: Changing your permalinks can cause broken links, which is bad for user experience and SEO. 301 Redirects is easy to set up and will ensure that everything continues to work if you change the URL (which, as a side note, you should still do as little as possible).
• WPCode: Easily add header and footer code.
• Yoast SEO: Add Meta descriptions and customize your page/article URLs. I use the free version and it does everything I need, even as a full-time blogger.

How to Install Plugins on Your WordPress Site

Follow these steps to install plugins on your new travel blog. 

1. Sign in to WordPress and go to your dashboard.
2. Select Plugins > Add Plugin. 
3. Search for the plugin you want to install and select Install Now. If you’re adding an external plugin (such as Kadence’s add-ons), select Upload Plugin instead. 
4. Activate your plugin after it has downloaded. 

Step 6: List Your First 10-15 Article Ideas

By this point, you should have a basic version of your travel blog set up. Now, it’s time for the fun part: To start writing and publishing articles! 

In the beginning, I recommend writing about anything that interests you. You will naturally “find your niche” as you publish more and learn what you do and don’t like. Connections between your content will begin to appear; for example, you’ll notice that most of the destinations I cover are very similar. 

The most important thing to start with is to actually just start. You can course correct as you go along; don’t be one of those people who spend 6-12 months “thinking about” what they’re going to do. You just need to start writing and publishing. 

Start by listing 10-15 article ideas (or even more if you can). It doesn’t matter if you use Google Docs, Notion, Apple Notes, or something else. Then, begin working through these. 

Use previous trips as inspiration, or even write about experiences in the place you live. For example, I took a trip to Aalborg in Denmark just before starting my blog; this ended up being one of my first posts. 

As for how often you should post, stick to once per week in the beginning. Blogging is a long game, and quality is much more important than quantity. Stick to the same day each week for publishing. 

Step 7: Launch Your Site and Write More Articles

Once I had written my first article and created some basic pages, I launched my site. I did this to symbolically show that I was serious about growing my blog and not giving up once again. 

After launching your site, most of your initial focus should be on publishing. Don’t worry about perfection: Your first few articles will suck, and that’s okay. You will update them later and get better as you write more; I cringe when looking back at all my old stuff, and the first versions of them have since been significantly updated 🙂. 

Focus on one thing at a time to improve; over time, you’ll become a much better writer. 

Step 8: Sign Up for Google Search Console & Submit Your Sitemap

This step is VERY IMPORTANT! I didn’t do this for six months and wondered why nobody read my stuff 💀. 

Google Search Console is important for seeing how your site performs in search results, and you should sign up as soon as possible. Go to the GSC website, sign in to your Google account, and submit your URL. You will need to verify your domain name server (DNS) when you initially sign up for GSC. 

After signing up for Google Search Console and verifying your DNS, you’ll need to submit your sitemap. Start by going to Sitemaps on the left-hand side of the menu. 

On the next page, you can submit your sitemap. I created an XML with the Jetpack plugin (I deleted the plugin after doing this and use WPRocket for site speed instead). 

Step 9: Integrate Google Analytics With Your Travel Blog

You will need Google Analytics if you want to sign up for a premium ad network, and it’s useful for providing statistics to brands you’d like to collaborate with. I recommend toggling Consent Mode after signing up to improve its compliance with data regulations. 

To sign up for Google Analytics, you’ll need to go to the Google Analytics website and create a Google account (if you don’t already have one). Then, create a dashboard for your blog and add the code to your website.

I don’t recommend checking your statistics more than once per week, and at first, you don’t really need to check them more than once per month. The data is useful, but as I can attest from personal experience, having your mood influenced by traffic fluctuations is the opposite of productive. 

In GA4, you can see where your readers are based, how many views each page gets, and your traffic sources (such as search engines and social media). 

Step 10: Keep Writing Articles, Learn, and Iterate Over Time

After doing all the initial setup, you’re ready to publish more articles. Learn and iterate over time; you will start to get a feel for what does and doesn’t work. On top of that, you will learn about what you do and do not like. 

Your blog should have YOUR voice, and readers will tell if you aren’t being genuine. For example, I previously tried sounding like Monocle Magazine. But while I like Monocle’s content, it’s *their* brand. That’s not how I speak in real life, so I stopped trying to imitate. 

The beautiful thing about blogs and the internet is that you can create your own tone of voice. I am certain that you’ll have more success acting like yourself and not someone else, too. More importantly, you’ll attract an audience that likes you. 

To Summarize My Points for Starting Your Blog:

1. Start by asking yourself why you want to start a travel blog. 
2. Jot a rough idea for your travel blog.
3. Buy your domain and website hosting. 
4. Set up your website on WordPress.org.
5. Install your WordPress plugins. 
6. List your first 10-15 article ideas (if you have more, even better). 
7. Launch your site and write more articles. 
8. Sign up for Google Search Console. 
9. Integrate Google Analytics. 
10. Keep writing, stay consistent, and iterate over time. 

How to Grow Your Travel Blog’s Traffic

Writing high-quality posts is important, but to start a travel blog that makes money, you need to know *how* to specifically grow your site’s traffic. Below, I’ll share some of my top tips to help you reach your first 50,000 monthly sessions. 

1. Focus Most of Your Efforts on SEO

The amount of effort you put into any area will determine your results, and search engine optimization (SEO) is *by far* the biggest lever you can pull for traffic growth. Despite all of the recent changes to search engines, the bulk of your traffic will probably come from these sources. 

SEO is a long but rewarding game. In essence, it involves doing what you can to ensure your articles appear when users search for a term on Google. It’s more complex than that, but this is the most fundamental aspect you need to know. 

The SEO Fundamentals You Must Know

I could honestly write a full series on SEO because there are so many things to cover. However, you’ll make great progress just by focusing on the lowest-hanging fruit. 

• E–E-A-T: Stands for “Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness”. In my opinion, this is the most important element of SEO today. Personal stories, original images, and deep content clusters can help you improve your E-E-A-T. 
• Keyword Research: This is the process of finding keywords that you might want to rank for (such as “Norway Itinerary”). You won’t be seen as an authoritative site at first, so search terms with less competition can lead to quicker rankings. There are plenty of tools for keyword research, but I currently use Keysearch. Having tried all of them—Ahrefs, Semrush, the list goes on—Keysearch is my personal favorite for its plan allowances, affordability, and simplicity. Mangools is ano solid option for beginnersther. 
• Meta Titles and Descriptions: These should be optimized to explain why people should click your article. They’re effectively a preview of what you promise to offer. 
• User Experience: In addition to creating high-quality content, your website must be easy for users to navigate. 
• Internal Linking: These are a great way to increase pageviews and can help Google better contextualize your site. 

Also Useful to Know

There are so many things to learn in SEO that you can become overwhelmed; I would say not to overthink it. Focus on the essentials in the beginning; your knowledge will improve as you blog more. 

One thing I would also suggest is that while keyword research is still important, you shouldn’t rely solely on it. Zero-click searches have become more common since the introduction of AI Mode and AI Overviews, and it’s more important than ever to think about building a brand. 

Look at the articles you write as a closely-connected interweb rather than standalone pieces. In my opinion, this is the best way to build an audience over the long run. 

2. Start a Newsletter Straight Away: Think Long Term!

If I were to say one thing that I wish I had started doing earlier, it would be growing my newsletter list. I didn’t focus on this at all for the first year, and as a result, I feel like I’ve had to play catch-up. 

As your newsletter grows, you can build another stream of traffic and generate revenue through product sales, sponsorships, and more. I used Kit initially, but have since migrated to Brevo; both are good, but I prefer Brevo’s free and paid plans. The free version is more than enough for a beginner. 

3. Don’t be Afraid of Ultra-Niche Posts

I have always disliked the idea of “don’t write that because nobody will read it”. Hyper-niche content can be powerful for your travel blog, even if it doesn’t get thousands of monthly reads. 

Very niche posts often rank more easily in search engines. Beyond that, you could get better conversions when monetizing your blog. And at the very least, I believe they’re great for E-E-A-T. 

For example, I have a very niche article about photographing the village of Gásadalur in the Faroe Islands. You cannot replicate that with AI or through any amount of keyword research. Because of this, I think it’s easier to rank for more competitive terms. 

4. Grow Pinterest Alongside SEO

I suggest choosing two active forms of traffic growth at most to begin with (to me, newsletter growth will be passive in the beginning). Besides SEO, I also picked Pinterest.

Pinterest, like SEO, is a long-term channel that I suggest focusing on from the start. It’s a nice supplement to search engine traffic, and I recommend setting up an account as soon as you launch your travel blog.

What’s nice about Pinterest is that you don’t need a huge audience to grow your traffic. You just need to create searchable Pins and be consistent. For ideas, use the search bar on Pinterest and see what people are already searching for. 

Initially, I spent 4+ hours each week uploading Pins manually. I now use Tailwind, which has significantly cut that time. It’s pretty affordable and lets you schedule in bulk; I’ve grown my Pinterest traffic considerably since I began using it. 

5. I Use Instagram for Branding, Not Traffic

I have a love-hate relationship with Instagram, to be honest. Nowadays, I use it mainly for branding. It’s a place to share updates and quick tips, but I don’t rely on it for traffic. 

What has worked, however, is sharing links to new articles in my Stories. You can focus more on Instagram if you enjoy it; some bloggers do so with great success. For me, though, I prefer other forms of traffic growth.

Growing Your Travel Blog if You Don’t Have Much Time

Do you have other commitments, such as a job, kids, or partner (or all three)? Don’t worry; you can still build a travel blog that makes money if you’re intentional with your time. You don’t need to spend 40+ hours per week growing it. 

Before going full-time on my blog, I was running another business and also had other commitments elsewhere. I carved out time in my schedule to ensure I consistently wrote, which helped me grow. 

Below, I’ll share my top tips for growing your travel blog if you’re juggling other commitments. 

1. Set Reasonable Expectations

Be honest about how much time you have. If you can only publish once every 1-2 weeks, that’s fine; as I mentioned earlier, quality is more important than quantity. And actually, being intentional will likely lead to faster growth. 

List all your commitments and be honest with how much time you can spend writing each day. Even five minutes is better than nothing. You may need to experiment to determine your actual capacity.

2. Manage Your Time Effectively

To ensure that I published one post per week alongside my other commitments, I set clear times to work on my blog each day. This involved waking up an hour earlier and opening Google Docs before I did anything else. 

In your calendar app, set aside some time to work on your travel blog. Remove all other distractions; using a website blocker can be very useful for this. I suggest doing this in the morning before everyone else wakes up; I was always too tired to work on my blog in the afternoon. 

This needs to be sustainable, so arrange your time in a way that works for you. Allocating some time on the weekends might be useful if you can spare a bit, but if not, mornings are often your best option. 

3. Focus Only on the Most Essential Tasks

The biggest reason I grew my blog faster than average is that I didn’t waste my time on pointless tasks. I didn’t spend hours every week dancing for TikTok or redesigning my logo. I sat down, wrote, edited photos, edited my writing, and published. 

The 80/20 rule applies to travel blogging, too, and I would actually argue it’s closer to 90/10. Focus on the absolute essentials and get rid of everything else. Essentialism by Greg McKeown is a great book to read on this point. 

The Fun Part: Monetizing Your Travel Blog

Believe it or not, you can make money with a travel blog! While it takes time for the system to do its magic, this can be a genuine source of income once you’ve put in the initial work. Below are some of the best ways that I monetize my travel blog. 

1. Start With Affiliate Marketing

Even now, you can make serious money with affiliate marketing. It’s a large chunk of my income, and I still see significant potential in this revenue stream. 

I need to say this in advance: Affiliate marketing takes time. Lots of people online will tell you that it’s a quick way to make money, but it took me over a year to achieve my first $100 month. From there, though, it quickly snowballed. 

Nowadays, it’s much easier to monetize through affiliate marketing. You don’t need to wait for a huge amount of traffic to start getting your first few sales, and for this reason, I suggest building this system straight away. 

Keep your strategy simple and focused. To begin with, I suggest starting with Stay22 and Travelpayouts. 

Stay22 has a very useful AI tool called Nova that increases bookings by identifying users with high purchase intent. It was actually the catalyst that helped me go full-time faster; you’ll find accommodation affiliate programs like Hotels.com and Booking.com. 

If you sign up for Stay22via my link, you also get a $100 bonus after your first 100 confirmed bookings. Stay22 also recently expanded into retail, meaning that we’ll have even more monetization opportunities as bloggers in the future. 

Travelpayouts, meanwhile, is also an aggregator of affiliate programs. It includes the likes of GetYourGuide and Viator, and I like how I can keep everything in one place. Since some programs would otherwise have traffic requirements, it’s a good way to monetize even before reaching those. You can sign up via this link. 

You can later look for more niche partners. For example, I’ve partnered with some local tour companies in the Nordics. As your traffic grows, you will also receive invites to join affiliate programs; I say yes to some but turn down the majority.

IMPORTANT: Use Affiliate Marketing Intentionally

Affiliate marketing is simple in theory, but difficult in practice. Be sure to avoid some of the most common mistakes.

• Use links and widgets intentionally. You’ll actually get more conversions by doing so. 
• Don’t promote products and services you don’t use. 
• Check the affiliate program’s guidelines and make sure you don’t violate their terms and conditions. 
• ALWAYS include an affiliate disclaimer. This is required by law. You can use disclaimer plugins, and Kadence also lets you create an element where you can type a quick disclaimer at the start of your article. 

2. I’d Also Recommend Launching Digital Products Early(ish)

I’m still figuring out how to sell digital products, but I would recommend creating one early. Once you have the product, you have something to market. As a result, your blog posts will be more intentional. 

You can sell your digital products in all kinds of places. I have a separate Shopify store, but something like Gumroad is also fine in the beginning. I liked Sellfy for its simplicity, too, when I used it. I wouldn’t recommend WooCommerce if you’re not highly technical, as it’s quite challenging to set up. 

3. Ads Are Worth Adding to Your Travel Blog, but Don’t Expect to Make Significant Money Straight Away

Ad revenue *can* be a good way to monetize your travel blog, but you need the traffic. You can apply for Mediavine Journey when you have 1,000 monthly sessions, which is significantly lower than the 10,000 I needed when I joined. You probably won’t make any strong side-income money from ads until you have around 10,000 sessions, but I recommend applying when you have 1,000 sessions to start learning about how to optimize ads on your site. This is a skill in and of itself.

I actually wrote about my first three months with Journey, too, as a side-note.

I stayed with Mediavine Journey until signing up for Raptive. At the time, you needed at least 100,000 monthly pageviews to join Raptive; I could’ve applied for the full version of Mediavine after 50,000 sessions. Now, however, Raptive accepts creators with at least 25,000 pageviews—a significant opportunity. Mediavine has also changed its requirements; rather than 50,000 monthly sessions, your site needs to generate at least $5,000 in annual revenue.

Since joining Raptive, I’ve been pretty happy. The customer support team is excellent, and considering I don’t have ultra-high US traffic (US RPMs are the highest), I’m pretty satisfied. You can sign up for Raptive once your site meets the requirements via this link. 

If you decide to run ads, you need to be very careful to balance user experience with revenue. I’ve turned off numerous categories and am constantly monitoring behind the scenes—while also working closely with Raptive—to find a good middle ground.

My ad revenue fluctuates throughout the year. During the off-season, I typically make around $2,000 with 90,000 to 100,000 monthly sessions. In the summer, when my traffic is higher, I generate more. I don’t rely solely on ad revenue, but it’s a good baseline. 

Generally, I’d say you can expect to earn the following amounts depending on your travel blog’s site traffic. If you have more US/UK/Canadian/New Zealand traffic, you can potentially earn more. Earnings also fluctuate by season; Q4 is usually the highest season for RPMs.

• 10,000 monthly sessions: c. $150 
• 25,000 monthly sessions: $350 to $500
• 50,000 monthly sessions: $900 $1,000
• 100,000 monthly sessions: $2,000 to $4,000+ 

Note how I said sessions here. These are when a single person clicks your site. Pageviews are the total aggregation of everything people read. Other factors, such as the quality of your traffic, will determine how much money you make from ad revenue on your site.

Making Your Travel Blog Sustainable in the Long Run

If you’re getting into travel blogging for the short term, you will lose. This is a long game, and you therefore need to make your blog sustainable in the long run. Below are some of my top tips. 

1. Talk About Topics You Actually Find Interesting

If you look for advice on how to start any online business, you’ll see a lot of “gurus” (and I don’t use that term affectionately) telling you to ignore your passion and go after what makes the most money. I’m going to tell you this right now: 

As a travel blogger, passion is mandatory. 

Travel blogging is ultra-competitive. You will be up against people who are a) already established, and b) want the same things as you. While there is enough room for everyone to coexist and thrive, you will not succeed if you talk about topics that bore you. 

I have tried multiple times to create calendars for different creative projects. And yet, my travel blog is the only thing I’ve stuck with for long enough to see exceptional results. Why? Because writing about these topics feels fun to me. As Tiago Forte says: You can’t compete with someone who’s having fun. 

You can’t compete with someone who is having fun

— Tiago Forte (@fortelabs) June 11, 2020

Each time I’ve written about things that don’t interest me, it’s evident. My readers can feel that I’m not interested, and how can I expect them to stick around? You can only serve your audience if you genuinely want to. 

2. Leverage Your Unfair Advantages

I learned about leveraging what makes you unique from The Unfair Advantage, a book by Ash Ali and Hasan Kuba. Both are ultra-successful entrepreneurs, and I have brought their lessons into travel blogging. 

All of us have advantages that nobody else can replicate. In my opinion, leaning into them is the best thing you can do to build a travel blog that makes money. For example, some of my advantages are: 

• I love rain and cold weather. It’s not a chore for me to visit Iceland, Norway, or the Faroe Islands in winter. I go BECAUSE it’s dark and the weather is volatile, not despite it. 
• I have lived in Northern Europe for over five years and visited each Nordic capital at least six times. I also have lived in multiple countries—the UK, Sweden, and Denmark—and have two foreign-born parents.
• I also really, really like traveling around Northern Europe more than anywhere else, as well as places with similar cultures and landscapes. 
• My background in SaaS and tech means I know how to create blog posts for a specific audience, with a clear goal in mind. 
• I have a natural inclination for writing long-form content and am deeply passionate about photography. 
• I value self-improvement and can bring some of those concepts into the articles I write.

You also likely have some unique advantages. Think about how you can weave these into your travel blog. Maybe, for example, you might have a background in a certain profession or really enjoy solo travel. 

3. Consistency > Everything Else

At the time of writing this post, I have published over 150 articles on my website. Above all else, I have learned that consistency is more important than anything else. 

Consistency matters on the micro and macro levels. If you write for 15 minutes per day, you’ll still write for over an hour each week. If you publish one article per week, that’s 52 pieces per year. 

Each time I’ve done big bursts of writing, I have always felt like I need a long break afterward. For the sake of my well-being and not letting stress seep into other areas of my life, I’d have been better off reminding myself that this is a long game. 

Start slow and build from there.  

How Long Does It Take to Start Seeing Results?

I have mentioned multiple times that starting a travel blog and growing it requires a lot of time and effort. You won’t see results immediately, but knowing how long you can expect to wait will make a huge difference. 

Making Money From a Travel Blog

To make over $1,000 per month from travel blogging, you should expect it to take you over a year on average. 

For context, it took me 15 months to make my first dollar from travel blogging. I still remember the high I felt; it was when someone bought one of my photo prints. As for affiliate marketing, I didn’t have my first $100 month (i.e., money in my bank account) until around 18 months in. 

From there, though, things snowballed. Within five months, I went from making $100 per month to around $2,000/mo. It then kept growing from that point onward. My mantra was always “keep writing until the dam bursts”. 

You can, however, speed up the time it takes you to monetize. If I were starting again, I would have integrated Stay22’s and Travelpayouts’ tools much sooner. I also would have focused more on intentionally placing affiliate links and widgets. 

You can also make money faster with a digital product that solves your audience’s problems. However, you will need to experiment. I had lots of different ones that nobody bought, so this phase will last a while. 

I recommend setting up a spreadsheet to track your blog income as soon as you make your first dollar. Watching the money go up is hugely encouraging. And by the way… that first sale you make will feel like you’ve won the lottery.

Generating Reasonable Traffic

Again, generating traffic will take you some time. When your blog is new, Google doesn’t know anything about you. It, and your audience, need to see tangible proof that you’re an authoritative resource. 

It took me just over a year to reach 1,000 monthly pageviews. This happened in the summer of 2024. However, this was partly because I didn’t submit my sitemap for six months. I also changed my site’s domain and lost all my traffic in February 2024. 

I would say that you should expect it to take at least 6-12 months of consistent posting before you start generating thousands of monthly pageviews. If you want an idea of what success looks like, below are my 16-month Google Search Console statistics up to October 2025. 😄

Before Becoming a Full-Time Travel Blogger

I became a travel blogger in less than three years, but this is way faster than average. I had also been a professional writer and content marketer for 6+ years beforehand, so I had a good level of SEO and writing experience. 

To begin with, I actually set myself a much longer timeline of five years. This was to deliberately keep me consistent and also not become overwhelmed. For you, I would say to give yourself 5-10 years. Give yourself longer than you think it will take. 

Yes, I know—that’s a long time. However, blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. This is why you need to really enjoy the process. For me, building out this resource is the most rewarding thing; if you’re willing to put in the effort, it will be for you, too. 

PSA: Invest in Your Travel Blog if You Want to Grow Long-Term

The big shift for me happened when I started to take my travel blog seriously. By that, I mean that I invested significant money into equipment and useful resources. Besides a premium WordPress theme, some of my best investments were: 

• A Good Camera: Good visuals make a HUGE difference on a travel blog, and I think that learning photography is absolutely essential. I first started with a mirrorless camera; the Fujifilm XS-10 and Fujifilm XT-30 are my two favorites (the 35mm lens is perfect for travel blogging, too). Since then, I’ve upgraded to the Nikon Z6 II as a full-frame camera—with the 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens. 

• A Blogging Course: Learning from other travel bloggers and accessing a community helped me grow my blog from 15,000 pageviews to 100,000 in less than six months. I signed up for Salty Academy, run by Nick and Hannah from Salt in Our Hair. Their blog was one of my main inspirations for starting; their course is self-guided and thorough. You get access to countless workshops, Facebook community support, and can go at your own pace. 
• Photo Editing Software: Adobe Lightroom is my go-to option for editing RAW files from my camera. I’ve used it since 2019 and don’t see myself ever switching to something else. Occasionally, I also use Photoshop. 

My Top Extra Tips

We’ve covered a lot in this guide, but I wanted to give you some extra tips. 

1. Keep your travel blog as simple as possible. It’s good for your readers and your mind.
2. Understand that the long road is the short route. “Hacking the algorithm” never has, and never will, work. 
3. Limit contact with negative and unsupportive people. This is HUGE. Others will impact your beliefs, and if they’re mocking your goals rather than supporting them, you need to distance yourself from them. 
4. Think like a SaaS startup. Solve problems rather than chasing empty keywords.
5. Treat your blog like you already have success. Writing like you already have 100,000 monthly pageviews will mean that you take your blog more seriously. 
6. Size your images correctly from the beginning. You can adjust image sizing in Lightroom, Canva, and also via many WordPress themes. 
7. Keep note of what lights you up and what drains you. What kinds of articles do you feel in a flow state when writing, and when do you feel bored? 
8. Read books (and other travel blogs). Read more and become a better writer.
9. Change your mindset around money. A lot of people hate the idea of creators making money, and you’ll find some users online who don’t like that travel blogging is a business for many. The truth is simple: If you have unique insights and valuable ideas, you deserve to be paid. 

Starting a Travel Blog Can be Life-Changing

I don’t say this lightly: Starting a travel blog completely changed my life. Even before I went full-time, it gave me a creative outlet and a sense of purpose. More importantly, I felt like I was making a positive contribution and loved being able to help others create memories that’ll stick with them forever. 

Contrary to popular belief, travel blogging is not dead. In fact, while it will evolve, I think that it will thrive in the upcoming years. Maybe the best time to start one was 10-15 years ago, but the second-best time is now. 

If you’re willing to be patient and consistent, you will get the results you want with enough time. Having read this guide, you should have all the information you need to launch a successful travel blog that eventually starts making money. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to me directly, and I’ll try to help.

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