My favourite travel blogs of 2009
By Darren Cronian on Thursday, December 31st, 2009

It has been an interesting year for blogs and blogging: there was some stupid talk that blogs are dying, loads of debates on blogger trips and the quality of sponsored blog posts. Then there’s bloggers coming together to raise thousands of pounds to help build a school in Cambodia.

My favourite travel blogs of 2009

Blogs useful for travel consumers

Today, I am going to highlight the blogs that I have enjoyed reading in 2009. I didn’t want to base this list on the useless Alexa ranking or how many people follow them on Twitter; I want to highlight these blogs because they are great sources of information for travel consumers.

Velvet Escape

You can see that Keith puts a lot of time into his blog posts, they are inspiring, and give you a good outlook on a destination or tourist attraction. If you are looking for some inspiration to find next year’s holiday destination then a visit to Velvet Escape is a must.

Roaming Tales

I’m lazy, it’s rare you’ll see a 500 words plus post on Travel Rants but you can tell Caitlin is a professional travel writer; concise, well written posts, great photos and the occasional video too. The blog features a mixture of destination content and Caitlin’s own thoughts and opinions on travel.

Elliott

The blog written by travel journalist, Christopher Elliott is a regular read for me as a travel consumer blogger. Well written and like Travel Rants looks at consumer issues. While most of the posts focus on the US industry it is good to read what is going on the other side of the pond.

Heather on her Travels

Not only is this a very good travel blog, but it is also worth a visit if you enjoy browsing through travel photos, watching videos and listening to podcasts. Truly multimedia, the Heather on her Travels blog reviews the destinations that she has visited. A useful blog if you are looking for some travel inspiration.

Europe a la Carte

Heading to Europe? Well I recommend a visit to Europe a la Carte, written by a group of writers and edited by Karen Bryan. I have met Karen and I have never met someone so passionate about Europe and travel. The blog doesn’t just feature popular tourist hotspots, but the lesser known European destinations too.

Londonelicious

I started reading Krista’s, Londonelicious not long after I launched my Leeds travel site and loved the well written reviews of restaurants and the life of an American living in London. Full with great photos, but my only advice is; don’t visit this blog if you are hungry.

Your favourite blogs of 2009

What travel blogs you have enjoyed reading this year and you must tell me why. Oh, and you cannot mention your own blog. Also what do you think 2010 will bring for blogs and bloggers, make your predictions for the coming year and we’ll see if they come true?

I would like to thank everyone for their support in 2009, have a fantastic New Year.


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12 responses to “My favourite travel blogs of 2009”

Jane | 31 December, 2009 at 6:25 pm

Great summary! Thanks for sharing. I particularly like http://www.yummymummyclub.ca and their selection of blogs – the travel blogs are great. The http://www.ciaobambino.com blog is excellent – and Don’s Place at http://www.adventurecollection.com is great too.

Happy new year to you and please keep blogging in 2010!
Jane.

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Karen Bryan | 31 December, 2009 at 7:17 pm

Thanks for featuring Europe a la Carte on your favourite travel blogs of 2009.

You’ll find a great selection of niche travel blogs contributing on the other site which I edit, Top Travel Content Europe http://europe.toptravelcontent.com including Heather on her Travels and Velvet Escape,
as well as
Eurocheapo
http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog
Europe up Close
http://www.europeupclose.com
Arttrav
http://www.arttrav.com

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Amy | 31 December, 2009 at 8:05 pm

I am a fan to all the blogs you mentioned.

Here is SOME of my fav travel bloggers this year. (the list will be too long if I list them all. :) )

1) The Planet D – Dave & Deb is a Canadian Adventure couple. Their blog is full of travel stories and tips. I always enjoy reading their blog because even though I’m not that adventurous their blog take me to places that I probably will never go myself. http://www.theplanetd.com

2) Sharing Experience – Andy along with a group of writer make this blog great travel resources. I particular love Andy’s interview with other bloggers. It’s not your typical same questions format. He has unique way to interview each blogger. http://www.sharingtravelexperiences.com/

3) Folie a` Deux – Jen’s blog is a real eye candy for travel and food. She has an amazing way to capture her experience and translate that into word or photo. http://www.myfolieadeux.com/

My prediction for travel bloggers is that we will connect more and do more a great thing together as a group in years to come. :)

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Caitlin | 31 December, 2009 at 8:10 pm

Thank you for including me! What an honour!

I’m a fan of the other blogs on the list too. Thanks for reminding me about Velvet Escape – that needs to go in my RSS reader. I already follow the others.

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John Hunter | 1 January, 2010 at 5:03 pm

Thanks, I found a few new blogs to add to my reader.

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David Brice | 4 January, 2010 at 4:38 pm

I am finding that good travel blogs have more relevant and upto date content than a standard webpage. Writing a good blog takes time and effort and I see many travel sites jumping on the bandwagon and writing blog pages than are completly unimaginative.

I suppose they write them hoping that search engines will like them. To me, however, it’s all about entertaining your readers and getting them to come back to read your blog on a regular basis. I have noticed that Google has included more blog pages in its search results but only the good ones deserve to succeed.

Producing a great blog takes time. I have been writing my blog for a year now and I am learning all the time. I take a lot of time deciding what to write about and always try to make my blog as interesting as possible, Hopefully time will reward my efforts !

Well done Darren for your efforts (from one Leeds blogger to another!)

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Andy Hayes | 4 January, 2010 at 11:30 pm

Wow – some great blogs I didn’t know about. My RSS reader thanks you *burp* :-)

And Amy thanks for the shout out, very kind of you!!

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Jane Ince | 4 January, 2010 at 11:40 pm

Fun idea…
I really like theseboots.travel. The blogger has a silly sense of fun in her writing, but with a sincere message in almost all posts. She is Canada based and clearly has some travel in those boots. She sees, has seen and does many things… all with great Canadian pride (you know, the understated “I love my country but don’t want to shove that in your face Canadiana way”).

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AnnaI | 5 January, 2010 at 1:26 pm

I really like your blog, Darren! Yours was one of the first travel blogs I’ve ever read and it inspired me to start blogging myself.
So there. Now you know. LOL!

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Darren Cronian | 5 January, 2010 at 7:25 pm

@ Anna

Now the cheque is in the post for the nice comments ;) I am glad you enjoy reading the blog. I will drop by yours more often. I had a read of a post last week and your comments made me laugh. Keep up the great work! :)

@ David

Thank you for the comments! You do have to be passion about what you write about and this will come across in your writing. I think this is more important for travel companies who are wanting to write content to inspire to travel. I am just about to drop you an email, as I am organising a few events in Leeds for Travel companies / Bloggers which might be of help to you.

@ Andy

Thanks for the comment! It’s good to see more British travel blogs out there.

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Vi | 10 January, 2010 at 12:38 pm

My rss reader will explode shortly because of so many interesting blogs to read :)

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Dave and Deb | 15 January, 2010 at 8:21 pm

Always hard to narrow down favorite blogs. I love so many. Amy, you are the best! Thanks for the shout out. I love many of the blogs mentioned above including http://www.theqfamilyadventures.com
Glad to have a few other blogs to check out as well!

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