Are you seeking to know how travel bloggers make money ?, I guess so.

In this article, you will learn about travel blogging, how to build a successful travel blog and the top ways to make money from travel blogging.

What is a travel blog?

A travel blog is a blogging site where someone who regularly travels around the world shares stories, photographs, videos and experiences of his or her trips.

In simple terms, a travel blog is a place to read about beautiful or exciting places visited by another person.

Travel blogs give readers a chance to see the world without necessarily travelling.

Not only do travel bloggers share their travel experiences with people on their blogs, but they also earn a decent income as well from blogging. If you read further, you will discover how to make money with a travel blog.

Who is a travel blogger?

A travel blogger is someone who travels regularly, writes about their trips and publishes them as articles on their blog. Most travel bloggers do it for fun because they love to go to new and exciting places.

However, the money-making potential of a travel blog can not be overlooked.

Do travel bloggers actually make money?

Yes, travel bloggers make money from paid press trips, sponsored posts, display ads, affiliate commissions, influencer marketing, travel podcasts and the sale of digital products.

Travel bloggers have an opportunity for extra income than bloggers in other niches because they get an all-expense trip from brands or tourism boards.

During the trip, they document stories that relate to the sponsor’s product or service and then publish them on their travel blog.

The brands then gain more visibility through the travel blogger’s platform.

It becomes a win-win for the parties.

Is travel blogging worth it?

Yes, it is, you get the chance to get paid to travel and experience new places, have fun, document the experience, share it with your blog readers and increase your blog revenue with other blog monetization strategies.

You get the chance to document all your travel stories in one place, which helps you to look back and see documented reports of your life experiences.

These sweet memories become history for future generations, especially those who are looking for motivation to start a travel blog.

How much do travel bloggers make?

Successful travel bloggers earn between $591 to $208,558 monthly.

Travel blogs’ earnings may vary for many reasons,

The age of the blog
The size of monthly traffic
Search engine ranking and
Revenue sources

According to Travel Payouts, affiliate marketing is the most popular way for travel bloggers to make money.

This however does not belittle other monetization options. Affiliate marketing combined with other blog revenue options can increase a travel blogger’s earning potential.

Top Earners in the Travel Blogging Niche

We have compiled an income report for top earners in the travel blog niche;

It’s A Lovely Life ($208,588)

It’s a Lovely Life is a lifestyle and travel blog owned by those who refer to themselves as the Rees Family. They share insightful content about their trips made in 150 days in 1 year.

Website: itsalovelylife.com

Founders: Rees Family

Monthly Income: $208,558 (2018 monthly average)

Traffic: Over 6000 page views

Blog’s Age: 10 years (Launched in 2012)

Revenue: Affiliate marketing, sponsored content, course sales.

Local Adventurer ($41,003)

Local Adventurer was founded by Esther Julee. Esther combined blogging with photography.

Esther’s blog is a travel blog that focuses on general travel tips and advice.

A 2019 income report states that Local Adventurer earned $41,003 from sponsorships, affiliate commissions and ad revenue.

Esther Julee was eventually joined by her partner Jacob Fu. They jointly manage the blog now

Website: localdventurer.com

Founder: Esther Julee

Monthly Income: $41,003 (2018 monthly average)

Monthly Traffic: Approximately 473,000 monthly page views

Blog’s Age: 8 years at the time of this report (Launched in 2014)

Revenue: Affiliate marketing, sponsored content, Ad revenue.

Adventure In You ($19,233)

The Adventure In You is a travel blog owned by Anna and Tom, a love duo whose paths crossed on a backpacking trip years ago. They share useful advice on adventure trips, top travel gear and travel blogging. In 2018, they declared an average of $19,233 in monthly revenue.

Website: adventureinyou.com

Founders: Tom and Anna

Monthly Income: $19,233 (2018 monthly average)

Monthly Traffic: 336,300 monthly page views

Blog’s Age: 8 years, at the time of this report (Started 2014)

Revenue: Affiliate commissions, display ads, brand partnerships, sponsored posts, goods and services.

Two Wandering Soles ($16,389)

Two Wandering Soles was jointly created by two lovers Katie and Ben who are popular travel bloggers.

They share lovely tips about careers abroad and international travel experiences. On April 2019, a snapshot of Two Wandering Soles’ income report revealed that they earned over $16,389 in one month.

Website: twowanderingsouls.com

Founders: Katie and Ben

Monthly Income: $16,389 (2019 monthly average)

Traffic: 318,400 page views

Blog’s Age: 8 years at the time of this report (Started 2014)

Revenue: Affiliate commissions, brand partnerships, sponsored posts.

Hellen In Between ($15,755.18)

Hellen, the Founder of Hellen In Between is a travel blogger who finds peace in travelling. In her blog, she publishes content about new destinations to help other travellers discover their next destination.

Her October 2017 income report shows a cumulative $15,755.18 in earnings. This represents revenues from affiliate commissions, sponsored posts and Mediavine ads.

Website: heleninbetween.com

Founder: Hellen

Monthly Income: $ 15,755.18 (2017 monthly average)

Traffic: Over 70,000 page views

Blog’s Age: 10 years at the time of this report (Started 2012)

Revenue: Mediavine advertising, Affiliate commissions, sponsored posts.

Getaway Couple ($4,116)

Getaway Couple is a travel blog created by Rae and Jason Miller. They share their RV (Recreational Vehicle) trip experiences with their RV community members.

As seen on their 2019 income report, Rae and Jason’s revenue summed up to $4,114.92. This was collectively earned from sponsorships, YouTube and affiliate commissions.

Website: getawaycouple.com

Founders: Rae and Jason Miller.

Monthly Income: $ 4,116 (2019 monthly average)

Traffic: Over 279,600 monthly page views

Blog’s Age: 7 years, at the time of this report (Started 2015)

Revenue: Youtube ads revenue, Affiliate commissions, sponsored posts.

How to make money from a travel blog

It is common knowledge that bloggers make money from Google Adsense, sponsored posts, the sale of ad spaces etc. We have written a detailed article on how bloggers make money.

But our focus in this article is on two key monetization options for travel bloggers I.e. Paid press trips and affiliate marketing.

Make Money with Paid Press Trips

A paid press trip is an opportunity to be sponsored/paid by a company to travel to a destination, and spend some time creating content to promote the company, its product or its service.

Let me give you an example.

If a travel Company located in Jamaica needs more popularity for its brand, it will be happy to sponsor a travel blogger who creates lots of content about travelling to Jamaica (or other relevant locations) to visit Jamaica, take high-quality photographs, grant an interview, or write a story that promotes the travel company.

This content is then published on the travel blogger’s platforms (blog or social media).

This becomes a win-win for the travel company and the travel blogger.

The travel company gains more popularity and makes more sales

The travel blogger gets paid to travel to a new destination.

How to land your first paid press trip

As a rule, you need to:

Have good blog traffic. At least 20,000+ monthly visits
Reach out to travel/tourism companies and pitch your idea to them.

Usually, it takes hard work to be eligible for a paid press trip, however, most travel bloggers have had press trips without huge blog traffic.

Make Money with Affiliate marketing

This is by far the fastest and simplest way to monetize a travel blog.

Simply sign up as an affiliate with platforms like ShareASale or TripAdvisor, Agoda or Expedia.

Grab your unique affiliate link or banner, promote it on your blog and get paid a commission for each sale that comes through your affiliate link.

21 Top Travel Blog Niche Ideas

Travel gear and travel gear review
Global travel advice
Travel Blog Advice
Adventure trip advice
Camping
Travel Fashion
Travelling to work abroad
Hiking tricks, techniques and advice
RV living
Family vacation
Ecotourism
Airline transport advice
Road trip advice
Travel lodging/accommodation
Tourism and tour guidance
Holiday travel/destinations
Travel budgeting
Hostels, hotels and motels
National parks around the world
Honeymoon destinations
Theme parks

What skills do I need to be a travel blogger?

A Travel blogger should have the following skill set;

Passion for seeing new places
Good photography skills
Written communication skills
SEO content writing skills
Knowledge of exciting destinations
Adequate knowledge of blogging

What qualifications do you need to be a travel blogger?

You don’t need a formal degree or certificate to become a travel blogger.

Focus on equipping yourself with the basic skills and knowledge required to start a travel blog.

Learning profitable blogging techniques will help you earn a decent and sustainable income as a travel blogger.

Read this blogging income ebook and skyrocket your blogging business like a pro.

If you need someone to build a professional and affordable blog that will start making you money in a few months Contact Me, I will be glad to assist.

How to build a successful travel blog in 2023

Building a successful travel blog follows the general rules of building any blog, except for niche and monetization strategy (already discussed in this article).

However, this article has a step-by-step guide on how to build a successful blog (a complete beginner-friendly guide)

Key Takeaways

Travel blogging is a very lucrative business but requires hard work, patience and strategy.
Travel bloggers can make money from affiliate marketing, paid press trips, ad revenue, sponsored posts, brand partnerships and the sale of physical/digital products.