Top Travel Blogs for 2019

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This list ranks the world’s 1,200 best travel blogs on the basis of algorithmic authority. It attempts to measure the authority of the website based on several popular SEO metrics.

As with all such lists, this is imperfect and only represents one way to look at the authority of a blog. Scroll down below the list to get a complete explanation of the metrics used, along with their strengths and weaknesses.

If you have a blog and would like it listed, please leave a comment with the URL of your travel blog.

If you don’t have a travel blog yet, read this guide for how to start a travel blog.

Color Coding: 50+ | 45.0-49.9 | 40.0-44.9 | 35.0-39.9 | 30.0-34.9 | 25.0-29.9 | < 25.0

Overview of the Ranking Methodology

Figuring out the best travel blogs is an inherently flawed process. 20 people can look at it 20 different ways. I do not claim that this list is the be all and end all when it comes to this subject.

This list attempts to be an objective look at website algorithmic authority. To do this, I take three publically available metrics which are all on a 100 point scale and take the average of the three to determine a site’s rank on the list. There is no subjectivity in the data or the results.

Why Authority? Other lists use traffic to rank sites. There is nothing wrong with that, but there are lots of ways to get traffic. Just publishing a lot of low-quality posts can build up overall traffic. Likewise, you could have an online forum which could inflate number, or you could just get a post that goes viral. Also, the only way to truly know traffic is to have voluntary participation with every single person on the list. Authority doesn’t tend to jump around a lot. Traffic can go up and down, but these metrics only have small fluctuations and take time to raise or lower.

Why These Three Metrics? To create a list like this, I needed metrics which were publically available and used a similar scale. I felt that these three metrics while having some overlap, were all different yet measured important aspects of website authority. Also, I am aware of the weaknesses of all the metrics, but they are weak in different ways, and I think they mostly cancel each other out when taken together.

Why Trust Flow? Trust Flow is a metric from Majestic.com. It is probably the least well known of the three metrics I use, but it is also the most enlightening. It is a measure of the quality of links to a website. You will notice that the majority of websites only have a Trust Flow number in the teens or twenties, even though they have a Domain Authority much higher. This is because they don’t have many links beyond the blogosphere. A high Trust Flow number represents links from mainstream media outlets and other large websites, which is exactly the sort of authority which this list is trying to capture. (Note: I am using DOMAIN Trust Flow, not URL Trust Flow. They are different numbers.)

Why Domain Authority? Moz’s Domain Authority has become a staple metric for the industry, so using it made sense. It is on a 100 point scale like the other metrics. Sites which have been around longer, with more links tend to score higher. While it is possible to game it, you can only game it so far as it is on a logarithmic scale. It captures both link quantity and quality.

Why Domain Rating? The third metric is Domain Rating from AHREFS. Like the other metrics, they use their proprietary database of links and website to calculate an overall profile for each domain based on the quantity and quality of backlinks.

Why isn’t my site listed? Ask. Just leave a comment below and if it meets the rules I will add it.

Why is my site data out of date? If you have a new site, data can change dramatically over a few months. If you would like a manual review of your site, please mention it in the comments.

Rules

  1. Your site must have travel as its main focus. If you primarily write about food, fashion, or something else, with a small travel section, it will not be listed.
  2. Your site must be hosted under its own domain. For example, Blogspot, Blogger, or WordPress.com sites can’t be listed.
  3. Sites must be owned by the content creator(s). Corporate own sites are not included.
  4. The site must primarily be a travel blog. If the majority of your content is user-generated, or some other travel related non-blogging content, it will not be listed.

What are the weaknesses of this list? Each of the individual metrics has weaknesses which are well known. This list also only captures algorithmic authority of the website and no other real-world authority. If you appear on TV, have a popular YouTube channel, podcast or Instagram account, that will not be reflected on this list.

Does the list have a bias? Yes. It tends to be biased towards sites which have been around a while. I have no problem with this bias as time and experience are important parts of what constitutes authority. The longer you’ve been around, the more likely to get high-quality links and build a social media following. I have recently added domain age to the list. This is taken from the date the domain was first registered. For non dot com domains for which this information isn’t available, I took the first day it appeared on the Internet Wayback Machine at archive.org. In the rare event, it is a brand new site which isn’t listed in the Internet Wayback Machine AND it isn’t a .com domain, I set 30-days before it was added to the list as the creation date.

What are the strengths of this list? It is hard to game all three of these metrics. The sites near the top of the list have been around for the better part of a decade. I don’t see how someone could jump into the top 10 after blogging for a year unless they were a celebrity when they started. The youngest sites near the top of the list have been around for at least 5-years.

How often will this list be updated? Periodically. A least once a quarter, but possibly more. All three of these companies have gotten better at updating their database and their metrics. That being said, you usually don’t see large swings in any of these numbers, so there is little need to constantly be updating.

What is SATW/BGTW? A checkbox indicates that the blogger is a member of SATW or the British Guild of Travel Writers.

564 Replies to “Top Travel Blogs for 2019”

  2. #297 adventuremomblog I have a few updates when you get a chance. I have a DA 43, PA 42, and I’m a member of SATW. Thanks!

    Reply

  5. Hey! Wonderful article. Would love for my new(ish) travel blog to be added to the list! Appreciate your attention to detail!

    Reply

  13. Hi Gary, thanks for this extensive list of travel blogs! I used to read your posts religiously on Travel Blog Success FB group back then. Learned a lot about photography and blogging. But, interestingly never stumbled upon this extensive list of travel blogs.

    Please take a look at my travel blog and I would appreciate if you can add it to the list. I have been blogging for over 3 years now. I primarily write about traveling on visas, targeting travelers from developing countries. Thanks, Gary!

    Reply

  15. Hi,

    Greetings from India!

    Not sure if our blog is already in the list. If not pls take a look at details.

    Best regards,
    Poorna & Brinda

    Reply

  20. Wow what an impressive list of blogs! Our blog is about New Zealand & worldwide travels – thestylejungle.co.nz. I wonder if it can be added? So keen to see what place can we score :)

    Reply

  39. Hi Gary! I would love if you could add the Trekaroo blog. Our blog’s homepage is blog.trekaroo.com . We are far from corporate. Just a few parents dedicated to sharing our love for family travel with our readers. We are celebrating year 9 of our blog’s existence.

    Reply

    1. I responded to your husband back in June.

      Most of your site is not a blog. Most of it is user-generated content with a blog attached. Because these are all domain metrics, I can’t isolate just your blog. Most of your site is closer to being TripAdvisor than a regular travel blog.

      Reply

  60. Hello Gary, thanks for the list, interesting! If you consider foreign language blogs as well (mine has limited English content, mostly Hungarian), I blog since 1996 (!), current domain is from Dec 2010, DA 29, this Majestic Trust Flow figure is 20, total social following (all organic) 35K. I freelance for Natgeo online in Hungary, and lots of prints: Forbes, Geo and several other magazines (all in Hungarian). Visited 124 countries and 473 UNESCO sights (I also collect them, like you:-) Regards, Eva (travellina.hu)

    Reply

  70. Thank you so much for including me on this list. Making the top 100, I can tell you I’m doing cartwheels in my little pigsty in France (it’s my makeshift office and the pig’s not here!). Feeling totally inspired by this. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from a happy travel writer in the middle of nowhere France!

    Reply

  76. What a fascinating list, so many amazing travel blogs to research now. Would it be possible to include our blog jwalkingin.com in your list? We are only small and have been running for a little over 3 and a half years. Not sure if we are popular enough to be listed.

    Reply

  77. Hey Gary,

    I’m the owner of https://www.BucketListly.blog, I share my travel guides and itinerary, plus photos and travel films about destinations are around the world and I was wondering if you could add my site to the list. I’m not sure how the qualification here works but here are some ranking info that you might find useful:

    Majestic: 21
    Moz: 34
    Ahref: 61

    Let me know if this info are enough to be considered to be on the list.

    Best,

    Pete R.

    Reply

  82. Good Afternoon,

    Really like the site, a ton of great content. Just wanted to reach out to see if you may want to include our website. We are the top independent travel website in South Carolina and thought maybe your readers would enjoy some reading. Our site is https://sctravelguide.com . Take a look and maybe we could be a useful resource for your website. Thank You

    Reply

  85. Hi Gary,

    Hope you can include my travel blog – B.L.A.S.T. – Benjie Layug: Adventures of a Savvy Traveler. At 60, I’m probably one of the oldest travel bloggers around. I’m a late bloomer when it comes to traveling but, once I got into it, the travel bug has never left me. Written 5 travel books on Philippine travel too.

    Thanks

    Benjie

    Reply

  86. Would love to be listed somewhere please Gary.
    Even if its in the oldies ?
    .
    We did have a quick chat at Tbex Manila a couple of years ago but you probably wont remember.
    .
    Silverbackpacker.com

    Reply

    2. Hi Gary,

      Thanks for adding us! I noticed our name isn’t a link though, probably because of the .world extension. Would it be possible to add that?

      Thanks!

      Reply

      1. That is a Google Docs issue. Nothing I can do about it.

        I think you are going to have a ton of issues using such an uncommon top-level domain.

        Reply

  95. Hi, Gary:
    Thanks again for including my post, Highlights of Cuba, as a guest post on your site. I loved your panel talk with The Planet D at Travel Con and thought your comment on the open position for “wife and fellow blogger” pretty humorous.

    I would love it if you would include my blog on this list, http://www.travelswithtalek.com.
    Thank you,

    Reply

  102. Hi Gary, For some reason the links I left in the TBEX Facebook group were faulty. The sites are up. I fixed the links. Here’s the message repaired:
    https://www.tripwellness.com/ Although I thought it was in there, perhaps as the original domain. Thank you also, Gary. Very generous.

    Reply

  105. THANKS
    This is great list. This is not crap, am glad you did manually check them all before dropping the list.
    Am happy, I can use them to build quality backlinks to my new site.

    Reply

  111. Hello! My husband and I run A Couple for the Road – Cultural Travel Blog celebrating international art, history, architecture, music, language and culinary traditions. We are based in South Florida, U.S., and would love to be added to the list. MOZ DA26. Thanks!

    Reply

  113. Hi Gary,

    Would you be willing to add sightdoing.net to the list? I’d be curious to see where it falls with the other blogs. Thank you for compiling such a resource!

    Reply

  114. Hi, Gary! This list looks great. I would like to be listed here. My travel blog is – WeAreFromLatvia.com. Thank you!

    Reply

  134. Hey Gary! You explained the methodology used for this list (Trust flow, DA, Domain Rating, Domain age…), and that’s very clear. But you didn’t explain how you measured/found/calculated the SEO score?

    Reply

  143. Hi! We are a tour and activities directory website, but we recently launch our blog to help traveller to know more about destinations, experiences and interesting in regards to travelling. It would be nice to be listed here.

    Thanks a lot.

    Reply

  147. Great list with useful details about fellow bloggers and their blogs. Certainly keeps newbies like me motivated to keep up the, hopefully, good work.

    It would be awesome if my travel blog Iva Says https://www.ivasays.com/ is featured in the list in the future. I’d be really happy to see it here.

    All the best,
    Iva

    Reply

  155. Hi Gary. Very interesting! I am a very new blog and haven’t done a lot to promote our site yet. Still learning a lot as we go along. Since we are very new, its up to you whether you include us or not. Thanks for the work you are doing! George

    Reply

  157. Hi there, I’m not seeing my site, Stuffed Suitcase, and would love to be considered. I’ve been blogging for 6 years and I’m a member of SATW.

    Reply

  169. Hi there,

    I was just reading your site – what a useful article, thanks. Great to see so many good travel sites too. I wondered if it would be possible to include us in your list please? If of course you think we’re an appropriate fit.
    Best wishes,
    Chrystal

    Reply

  179. Hi Gary,
    I am Kyle from MyFamilyTravels.com a.k.a FamilyTravelForum.com. Thanks so much for including us! Very exciting to be among such notable company and if you know ways to improve the metrics you list (like SEO score) then I would gladly heed your advice.
    Also, only comment — while I would never take on JohnnyJet directly — in terms of longevity, we launched our first website (pre-blogs) in December of 1996 so that makes us a bit older than his and the other blogs mentioned here.
    Again, many thanks for including us and safe travels!

    Reply

  186. Hi Gary, could I get my two travel blogs added into your list?

    livingthedreamrtw.com
    discovertheburgh.com

    Would be interested in seeing how our two sites line up considering their traffic / metrics are quite different. (Discover the Burgh is 7 years newer, significantly smaller DA, but receives significantly higher organic traffic).

    Reply

  197. I thought I had done this already but I guess not after scrolling through all the names. jetsetandforget.com please. Thank you for the add! What an interesting list.

    Reply

  198. Hi Gary, I’d love to be looked at. Whiskynsunshine.com. We’re a travel and lifestyle site. Our DA and PA were much higher before we rebranded from MerlotMommy.com in February but we’re getting back up there. Thanks for your consideration. It was great chatting with you at TBEX last year.

    Reply

  203. I’d love for you to add UncoveringPA.com to your list. I believe that it would already rank in the top 100 based on your criteria. Thanks.

    Reply

  223. Excellent work, m8 :) In future iterations of your opus magnum, will there be tick columns for BGTW & ASTW member blogs?

    Reply

  227. hey Gary,

    Fotostrasse.com used to be part of this list but no more =/

    Can you add me again?

    thank you sooo much

    Reply

  229. Hello! Would love my CaribbeanAndCo.com blog to be added into the mix.

    Domain Authority: 29
    Page Authority: 38
    Klout: 60

    THANKS!

    Reply

  230. Evening Gary I have been following your new MOZ discovery in the group when I came across this link request from Lesli. Were do you find the time to collect all this data. Ooofta. Thanks for all the hardwork, and would love to submit my travel blog ~ aowanders.com ~ PA20/DA17/Klout10 ~I just started so its not to compete, but set a benchmark to see where I end up this time next year against all you wonderful peers. Happy travel y’all. Looking forward to reading all your stuff.

    Reply

  233. This list is a great source of new stuff to read, and it’s interesting to see who’s doing well out there :-) Thanks.

    Reply

  239. Hi Gary,

    Local traveler and explorer based here in Jamaica. I think it would be a great previlige to be added to your list. DR 36. Site jamaicahotelreview.com

    Reply

  248. Hi there Gary,

    Amazing job on the article! I would love to be added as well if possible:

    Victorstravels.com
    Trust flow: 10
    DA: 26
    Klout: 42
    Total: 78

    That would get me somewhere around nr 481.

    Thanks!
    Victor

    Reply

  250. Hi Gary. Since it seems to be ok to ask for consideration, I will as well.
    IrelandFamilyVacations.com

    Majestic Trust Flow- 35
    Klout – 62
    MozDA – 33

    Total- 130

    Thanks for considering!

    Reply

  260. Hi Gary, Thanks for maintaining this list. I appreciate it must be a lot of work. My blog Happinessandthings.com is missing :)

    Reply

  261. Hi Gary,
    Thanks for undertaking this ambition list! Would love to be added:
    Trust score 34
    DA 43.27
    Klout 53
    PA 51.83
    Total 129.1
    SATW Member – YES

    Reply

  262. Hi Gary – Would love to have you include my blog in your list. Traveling with Sweeney has been around since 2010 and I have to admit I was disappointed that I wasn’t on your radar. My rankings have actually been quite a bit higher, but are still respectable and I’m working to get those back up. Thanks very much!

    DA = 39
    Klout = 60
    Trust Flow = 24

    Reply

      1. Thanks for the add and putting all of this together, Gary. Just a note — my Trust Flow is 24, not 18. Or was I using the wrong Majestic number?

        Reply

  263. Hi Gary,
    When do you find the time to do these statistics?
    Anyway, it sounds like a good way to put some order in all these rankings that everybody chases. Next time you work on the list please add my blog too hiclassmag.com.

    Meanwhile keep on tweeting. You have great images

    Reply

  264. I just came across this listing — very unique algorithm (although I’m not a fan of MOZ as it never pulls in my non-domain backlinks, oh well). I like this list overall, unique angle. I hadn’t heard of Majestic before, so that was a bonus.
    Please feel free to add my Luxury Disney Travel Blog to the list.
    MikeBelobradic.com
    TrustFlow=24
    Moz DA=15
    Klout=54

    Reply

  265. Hi Gary,

    Would love to be a part of your list! Here are my blog’s scores
    DA- 13
    Klout – 43
    Trust Flow – 12

    This truly is a wonderful opportunity for growing bloggers. Thank you. :)

    Reply

  267. Hi Gary. Quite a numerical way to establish influence of bloggers and their social audience. I am quite new to all of these sites, but its helped me get some perspective, as I have been pretty new on this (18 months)

    Could you please add me to the list

    My scores are as follows for my url (www.katchutravels.com)

    Majestic- 22
    Klout- 40
    MOZ DA-17
    Total -79

    Reply

  268. Great list! It’s such a tricky area to what out what metrics are relevant and I’m not a big fan of Rise rankings (that are heavily Twitter based), so appreciate your list.

    Would love it if you could add my blog: Travelnuity.com (currently 14 + 31 + 55 = 100). Thanks!

    Reply

  269. Hi Gary,

    I’d love to submit our site, Roamancing.com, for the next time you update this list. Currently the score we are sitting at is: trust flow 10 + domain authority 32 + klout 60 = 102.

    Thanks so much!

    Erica

    Reply

  271. Hey, Gary, a lot of efforts putting all that info in one piece but the result is great. Would you consider adding LittleBigTraveler.com as well (DA: 22, K61, TF:4).
    Thanks!

    Reply

  272. Gary, this is a great resource. I am a new blogger and this is all new info for me. Do you have any other articles that dig deeper into using these scoring sites? Either that you have written or that you could recommend. Also, is there any way to search your list by site name rather than just ranking?
    Thank you for all the work you put into this

    Reply

  273. Interesting list, though a few inclusions made me laugh. Yes, laugh. But I guess objective analysis does behave strangely sometimes. Do read some the travel articles on my blog sometime please.

    Reply

  275. Thanks for including World in Paris on your list for Paris :-) Actually this is a cool blog directory, with some great names to check from time to time for inspiration.

    Reply

  280. Gary, my site Breathedreamgo is often left off top travel blog lists, which has always been a puzzle to me because I have high DA, good traffic, 8+ years, strong social media following, awards … and it’s very strong in terms of niche authority (for travel in India). On your list, I’m in the top 50. That is cool. Thanks.

    Reply

  282. Great list and interesting approach, Gary. Whenever you’ll update would love to be included: TF 11 + DA 46 + K 54 = 111.
    Thank you!

    Reply

  284. Very cool! I didn’t even know about a couple of these metrics, so it was a pleasant surprise to find our website, GetawayMavens.com, totaling 111. Please consider including us when you run your next update.

    Reply

  285. Thanks for including me, Gary. I like that you are transparent and share the weight and metrics of how you ranked the bloggers. Is it perfect? No, but it gives us an indication and allows us to compare apple to apples.

    Now I guess I’ll head over to Klout and try to reconnect some of my accounts, ha ;-)

    Reply

  287. Awesome! Very happy to see my blog One Girl One World on this list! Years of hard work does pay off. Hoping to inch higher and higher as the years go by. Thanks Gary!

    Reply

  288. Thanks for sharing, Gary! I’m bookmarking this so I can explore these sites. There are many I wasn’t familiar with. I’m also excited to see TheLocalTourist would be up there in the top 20! (TrustFlow 42, DA 43, Klout 59).

    Reply

  291. Hey Gary, for future consideration –

    JustaPack.com

    Klout – 68
    DA – 37
    Trust – 14 apparently, unless im looking at it wrong.

    Total – 119

    Cheers!

    Reply

  293. Thanks for putting this together Gary and for being so transparent with how it is calculated. I live being able to see and work out where I would rank in the list ;-)

    Reply

  294. Gary, you’re kidding yourself if you think Klout or Domain Authority matter…. Twitter is dead and pretty much no one, but those with a Twitter following are even considering it these days. That’s the highest impact on “Klout.” Unless you’re living under a rock you know Youtube, Instagram, and a little bit of Facebook carry the weight these days. And as far as Domain Authority it’s pretty easy to manipulate and just a third party number.

    Reply

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