Can You Be a Travel Writer If You Don’t Travel Full-Time?

Is there a minimum amount of travel required?

I started writing on Medium over a year ago. I didn’t want to settle on a niche so I wrote about whatever I felt like writing at the time. Over time, I started to narrow down the topics that I enjoyed the most.

One of those is travel. Specifically, I love writing about the intersection of travel and pets and of travel and food.

I publish most of my stories in the Globetrotters publication, which is truly wonderful to write for.

I have been lucky to live all of my life abroad. Originally from France, I have lived in Greece, Hong Kong, India, Qatar, different parts of Canada, and England, among many others. Living in these different areas of the world has given me so many opportunities for travel and a definite taste for exploring new places.

While I spent a good part of my young adult life not travelling (due to time and money constraints as a student), I have recently gotten back into more frequent travelling and I have loved sharing my adventures, both past and present with my readers.

However, doubt and imposter syndrome often creep in. Can I truly call myself a travel writer when I don’t travel full-time? Is it really “travelling” if I’m only visiting a place an hour away from my home? Surely they are people more qualified than me to write about these places.

My experience is unique to me

A lot of people have travelled longer, better, more often than me. I was certainly not the first person to visit Dubrovnik, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Naples, the Almafi Coast, Pompeii, or Rome.

But those other people probably didn’t take the wrong train to Pompeii, leading them to discover an incredible restaurant along the way.

They probably planned their trip to the Almafi Coast better than me and didn’t end up travelling for over 8 hours to spend less than two hours in Almafi.

Other people might have gone on the same trips as me but my experiences were unique to me. It is a futile exercise to compare myself to other people that have had a better time in Pompeii or spent a whole day sunbathing in Positano. I didn’t have those experiences.

All I can do is share what I’ve lived. And that makes my stories interesting. That teaches something to my readers. Even if it’s how not to travel.

Most people can’t/don’t want to travel full-time

While we might look at people travelling full-time with envy and love following along on their adventures, the truth is that not everyone is able to travel full-time.

Even if we wanted to travel full-time, it would not necessarily be possible. Travel costs money and you need a job to make money. Most jobs don’t allow you to travel full-time.

Other than money, most people have responsibilities that keep them rooted in an area. I have pets and, while I love travelling with them, I can’t just whisk them off to new places all the time. A lot of people have kids that need to go to school and need stability. Or elderly parents that need to be taken care of.

Moreover, I believe that most people would not want to travel full-time. I love travelling. But I also love my home. I love my bed. I love having all my stuff. I love my routines. I love my friends. I love my comfort zone. After a week away from home, I start to miss it and look forward to coming back. And nothing feels as good as sleeping in your own bed after spending time away.

I think the same is probably true for most people. You might daydream about quitting everything, getting a backpack, and never looking back. But you’d surely miss the comforts of home.

Because of that, I believe that not travelling full-time is actually an advantage. My life is no different from other people’s. I have a job. I have responsibilities. And I fit travel in between all of that.

My readers can probably relate to my travel experiences better than to the travel experiences of a full-time traveller. They’ll read full-time travel stories for the fantasy. They’ll read my stories for practical tips.

Both are valuable.

Travel doesn’t only apply to far-off, exotic places

While I do try to go on long-distance trips and visit far-off places, those are few and far between. Long-distance flights are expensive. This type of travel requires a time and effort commitment that I’m not able to fit into my life too often.

So most of my stories focus on the kind of travel I am able to fit into my daily life, in between those big trips: day trips less than two hours away from home, week-end trips to nearby European destinations, visits to family, etc.

For example, I have been publishing a series of stories I call “Adventures with my Dog in North-East England”. These are stories of places I take my dog to for a change of scenery. Most of these places are a short car ride away from my home.

And yet, that also counts as travel. People are also interested in these places. Admittedly, fewer people read these stories than stories about, let's say, Croatia and Italy. But that doesn’t take away their value.

Am I providing something of value to my readers?

In the end, the question is not “are you a real travel writer?”, it’s “do you have something to say that people will want to read?”.

As long as you provide value to your readers, even if you only travel to parks or beaches near you, you can be a travel writer.

I’m far from being the most popular writer on this platform but I do think that my stories are appreciated by the people who read them.

If you want to be a travel writer, be a travel writer! Share your unique experiences with the rest of us.

I’m looking forward to reading them!