Dear Writers,
Travel writing is still around! In fact, people are quite antsy to start traveling, and travel magazines want to serve those desperate audiences with high-quality writing.
Here’s a list of 18 publications that pay for travel writing.
A friendly reminder: Please carefully study each publication before contacting them. And, if you don’t know how to write a pitch that wins over editors, please watch this.
Also: See our recent article on How to Succeed in Travel Writing Post-Lockdown.
— Jacob Jans
Fodor’s Travel is a source for expert travel advice. They love buzzy, zeitgeist-y, and newsworthy stories that are told with a bold voice. According to their editor, they pay $250 to $400 per story. If interested, email your story pitches to pitches@fodors.com. To learn more about them, click here. To read their pitching guidelines, click here.
Horizon Guides is a travel website that publishes “in-depth travel guides and long-form features that cover a particular aspect of a destination or a new way of looking at otherwise familiar places.” They pay £400+ for guides and £200+ for features. To learn more, refer to this page.
Passion Passport is a community-based travel website that features personal travel stories, travel guides, city guides, how-to guides, Instagrammer’s guides, and more. They pay $50 for pieces that start at 400 words. They pay $75 to $125 for pieces of 800 words and more. Read their submissions tips and guidelines here. Submit your work here.
Via Magazine is a magazine and website that serves AAA (American Automobile Association) members in nine western states. They offer travel tips and inspiration. They also offer practical life advice about managing your money, living well at home and away, and taking care of your house and car. They pay $200 to $500 per piece. To contact them, refer to thispage.
TripSavvy is “a travel site written by real experts, not anonymous reviewers.” They are always seeking experienced and qualified digital travel writers. According to their editorial director, they pay $150 to $400 per story. They don’t accept unsolicited guest-authored articles. To learn more, visit this page.
Lonely Planet is a travel media company. They “enable curious travelers to experience the world and get to the heart of a place via guides to every destination on the planet, an award-winning website with booking capabilities, a suite of mobile digital products and a dedicated traveler community.” According to one payment report, they paid €290 for a travel feature of 1,000 words. To contribute, refer to this page.
Wine Enthusiast Magazine features wine ratings, reviews, recipe ideas, pairing information, news, and guides. They welcome proposals from freelance writers about wine, fine food and travel. They also accept story ideas for their website. According to one payment report, they paid $1.00 per word for a 700-word profile or interview. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
TheFoodellers is a food travel website. They are always looking for “articles on inspirational travel, photo stories, tips, top XX’s, your experiences traveling the world, your recipes, and your food travel experiences in the world.” They pay $20 to $50 per article. They also give a link to the writer’s website. To learn more, visit this page.
MMM is “Britain’s best-selling motorhome magazine.” They pay £250 for owner reports (up to 1,700 words with 12 photos), £80 for my view/my travels articles (600 words with 2 photos), and £40 for campsite reviews (300 words with 4 to 8 photos). For details, refer to this page.
Trailer Life is a monthly magazine for RV enthusiasts. They cover travel destinations, outdoor activities, technical trailer info, and DIY projects for trailers. They pay $100 to $700 (with photos) depending on the topic. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
Hostelling International Canada is a not-for-profit network of hostels in Canada. They are seeking pitches for their online magazine. They publish 5 types of articles: travel stories, lists, opinion pieces, tips, and guides. They generally pay $70 to $200 CAD per article. For details, refer to this Twitter post and thispage.
Canadian Geographic is a magazine by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. They publish 6 times a year. Each issue features the latest science, technology, environment, culture, and travel stories from across Canada. According to one payment report, they paid $1.00 per word for a 1,500-word feature. For details, read their submission guidelines.
Daytripping is a magazine that promotes antique and craft shops, tearooms, stops, towns, events, and museums in Southwestern Ontario. They publish 5 times a year. They are particularly interested in “articles about traveling and discovering ‘small town’ Southern Ontario.” They prefer articles of 500 to 600 words. They pay $25 or $50 per article. Detailshere.
The Sun is Britain’s largest newspaper. They cover news, politics, business, lifestyle, sports, celebrities, showbiz, and travel. According to payment reports, they pay £250 to £500 per feature. To contact them, refer to this page.
Portland Monthly is a magazine that covers food, style, shopping, arts, culture, travel, and more in Portland, Oregon. They are always accepting story pitches for these departments: “Dispatch, Report, Ventures, Field Notes, Habitat, Long Story Short, and Arts & Culture, as well as for full-length feature stories on news, culture, or lifestyle.” According to their editor, they pay about 60/70 cents per word. To learn more, read their writer’s guidelines.
Lady Latitudes is a travel blogazine featuring kitsch, curios, and Canadiana. They pay $100 for features, $80 for short articles, blog posts or personal essays, and $50 for reviews. They prioritize emerging, unpublished, under-published and/or underrepresented voices. If interested, email your pitches or submissions to courtney@ladylatitudes.ca. For more information, refer to this page.
Scuba Diving Magazine is a publication that delivers cutting-edge scuba diving gear, travel, and training information. They are always accepting digital pitches. The stories that they publish generally fall into these categories: travel, news, animal encounters, training, gear, and conservation. According to their editor, their digital rate starts at $0.25 per word. If interested, send your pitches to edit@padi.com. For more pitching information, refer to this page.
