Writing & Publishing— Travel
Globetrotters Top 40: Check Out Our Most Read Stories
The most popular stories on Globetrotters and some speculation on why they did so well.

Last updated: 7/11/23
Whether or not a story does well on Medium is, at times, somewhat of a mystery. There may be two interesting and well-written stories, and one will go viral and the other will not. The factors that determine this can get rather complicated and are often the subject of much speculation here at Medium-World.
Since becoming an editor at Globetrotters, I wanted to see which stories here on this pub have managed to garner the most attention. Perhaps we can speculate on why they did so well.
The Most Read Globetrotters Stories
These are the top 40 most viewed stories on Globetrotters.
Can we make assumptions about why these stories have done so well? Congrats to the viral writers. Perhaps they will want to weigh in on their success as well.
#1: 6 Reasons Not to Move to Ireland
- Views: 68k
Writer Margo Hatcher published this 6-min read story to Globetrotters on April 19, 2022, which means it’s had an amazing amount of views in a short amount of time. Impressive. A whopping 34k views for this story arrived via Twitter alone, but there was also quite a bit of traffic from other social media, such as Facebook. Sharing posts to social media does seem to help.
#2: An Abandoned Race Track
- Views: 39k
Troy Larson’s story of nature taking over an abandoned racetrack is not only a great story but it proved popular with so many readers. Nice when those two things happen together. Amazing!
#3: Eight Reasons Not to Move to Erie, Pennsylvania
- Views: 34k Internal Views: 4% External views: 96%
This awesome story by our editor Gerald Sturgill did exceptionally well. People are very interested in what he has to say about the city of Erie, PA. Facebook was responsible for 7.2 k of this traffic alone. Gerald is quite religious about sharing his stories to Facebook.
#4: My First Trip to Ireland Ended in an Unwanted Orgy
- Views: 22k
Maybe it’s the reference to Ireland that is important, although maybe not since this article by Shannon Piérre also references… orgies — a topic that’s sure to catch people’s attention. 92% of traffic for this story was internal — we all know what that means — $$.
#5: The Day I Saw A Naked Woman Openly Standing In A Window
- Views: 21k
A new addition from KL Simmons. Congrats on such high views! As I will say many more time throughout this post, references to “naked” seem to get a lot of hits.
#6: Where a Dam Wall Created the Largest Man-Made Lake in the World
- Views: 17.7k
Congrats to editor Anne Bonfert on this popular post on her travel series from Africa. No “naked” needed, just great writing!
#7: When 100 Strangers Bought Me a Coffee
- Views: 17.5k
This delightful story by Janna Barrett really struck a chord with people and there’s good reason for that: it was a so well written! The concept of the story was quite orginal also, don’t you think? Congrats to Janna!
#8: A Deadly Venomous Black Mamba Snake Startled Me in South Africa
A Deadly Venomous Black Mamba Snake Startled Me in South Africa
Even our guide was aghast
medium.com
- Views: 14.7k
Klara Jane Holloway’s story of nearly coming into contact with a deadly venomous snake proved to popular and it’s not hard to understand why. Scary! People obviously wanted to read about the deadly snake encounter.
#9: My First Time in Nashville and Here’s What Shocked Me
- Views: 12.3k
Nashville is a city that continues to fascinate us all. Writer Sarina Chiu shares her candid account of visiting the music city, which may not have sat well with some commentors. But, she shared her honest opinion and that’s what counts.
#10: Our Favorite 7 Thermal (Nude) Spas in Deutschland
- Views: 12k
We love Dan Carlson | Meandering Naturist and so do a lot of other readers… also, it doesn’t hurt to have “naked” or “nude” in a title… seems to attract people’s eyeballs for some strange reason 😆.
#11: Our Hatred of Tourists and “Fetishization of Locals” Smacks of Xenophobia and Nationalism and I’m Not Here for It
- Views: 11.4k
Charlie Brown poses an interesting discussion of the various nuances of being a culturally sensitive tourist, which struck a particular chord with us readers. People seem to love negative titles like this. I suppose it gets their emotions stirred up.
#12: Top 10 Countries For Black Expats and Digital Nomads
- Views: 10.9k
Congrats to Wellness Xplora. This story was published in June of 2022… funny how older stories can suddenly pick up traction… can’t always explain it but it’s a great phenomenon. Not a lot of travel articles are geared toward this demographic, which helps explain why it probably did so well.
#13: Homestead, Florida and The Keys
- Views: 10.5k
Crystal A. Walker managed to write a popular story that wasn’t too scandalous in nature — plus, it’s about the state I technically call home. I personally never get tired of reading Florida stories — a lot of wacky stuff is always bound to happen in the state. It’s practically guaranteed.
#14: 3 Reasons Why You Should Not Move to Portugal
- Views: 9.3k
Diana Bernardo wrote this great story on the downsides of living in Portugal. Stories about Portugal are quite popular and a story about why you shouldn’t move there would naturally seem to do well.
#15: Things You Should Know Before Moving to Portugal
- Views: 7.9k
Writer Araci Almeida wrote this interesting article about Portugal, which includes briefs points on the fascinating history of the country. Yet another reason to increase the use of social media… 3.4k views came from Facebook alone.
#16: Eight Things I Hate About Italy, and You Will Probably Hate Too
- Views: 7.8k
This fun article by Araci Almeida made me crazy hungry! Again, the negative title was probably an attraction, but then Araci adds a nice twist.
#17: I Can’t Live in an American City Again
- Views: 7.5k
Shawn Forno provided a valid reason for preferring to live in a European city over an American one. America-bashing stories seem to do well for some odd reason. America is everyone’s favorite thing to kick these days, unfortunately.
#18: The Dos and Don’ts of Visiting Pompeii
- Views: 7.3k
Ophélie Quillier wrote this story and it quickly took off with a lot of views! Congrats! People are still very interested in the city of Pompeii to this very day.
#19: 3 Cultural Shocks I’ve Had Since Moving to Ireland
- Views: 7.1k
Congrats to TRAVEL STORIES BY GABE on this well-performing story! Did the words “cultural shock” catch people’s eyes, or was it the topic of Ireland? Sometimes it’s difficult to say.
#20: Hey, Travellers! Read This Before You Book Your Premium Economy Ticket
- Views: 6.8k
A new one for Linda Ng. Such a fab writer. Congrats! People love saving money on traveling, which most likely explains the popularity of this story along with Linda’s excellent writing.
21. The Biggest Culture Shocks I Experienced In The USA
- Views: 6.8k
This sleeper hit by James White picked up speed in the last couple of months (May and June), even though it was first published on Feb 15. Funny how older stories will suddenly find traction! Congrats! Wanting to know shocking things about America seemed to attract readers eyes well.
#22: The Tallest Waterfall in Oklahoma
- Views: 6.8k
Julia A. Keirns wrote this amazing story of a beautiful waterfall she encountered on her travels around the U.S. in an RV. People were obviously interested in this topic, as waterfalls aren’t probably the first thing people think of when they think of Oklahoma.
#23: Here Is An Honest Review Of My Business Class Flight On EVA Air ✈️
- Views: 6.3k
I’m so in awe of Linda Ng. Amazing person that she is… this review is just spot on. I’m taking pointers! This business class review proved popular. Why? There must be a lot of people interested in this topic, eh?
#24: Barefoot in Aruba
- Views: 6k
Gail Sawchuk writes about her beautiful family travels and shares some lovely photos. Congrats Gail! Such a beautiful and simply title with excellent photography must have had a hand in drawing people in.
#25: This Delicious Beach Town in Spain Could Be Your New Happy Place
- Views: 6k
KL Simmons knows well how to write a great travel story, like this one about a beautiful location in Spain. Could the word “delicious” have helped drawn people in? Or perhaps the phrase “new happy place”?
#26: Why I’ll Never Go to Israel Again
- Views: 5.8k
Globetrotter’s editor Adrienne Beaumont 🇦🇺 writes about her less than stellar trip to Israel. The negative connotation to a place that many people might be interested in visiting seemed to strike a fancy, or perhaps ire, with readers.
#27: Things I Hate About Living in England
- Views: 5.5k
Another hit by Ophélie Quillier. She wrote this story on Nov 1st, and by Nov. 25 it already has this many views… oh yes, it can be done! Congrats! Hate living in England? Oh yes, people just seemed to want to click on that topic and give it a read.
#28: 8 Airplane Etiquette Tips for a Happy Flight
- Views: 5.3k
Linda Ng writes about a very relatable topic — how to be respectful of other passenger’s space while flying. I’ve gotten so annoyed when some passengers want to invade my space — although I do get it, those seats are small.
#29: 7 Reasons Why Living Abroad Sucks
- Views: 5.3k
More congrats to TRAVEL STORIES BY GABE for having another well-read story on this list! Living abroad suck? Huh? People wanted to read about that odd assertion.
#30: 10 Reasons Not to Move to Florida
- Views: 5.1k
Always happy to sneak one of my own in here. I tried to combine my experience of living in the state for over a decade with a bit of research as well. People love reading about Florida it seems.
#31: Hiking the Trail to the Famous Healing Hot Springs of Big Bend
- Views: 5.1k
Congrats to Julia A. Keirns. Her lovely travel stories are fun to read… love going on adventures with her. Hiking to hot springs was something people wanted to read about.
#32: Why Ponta do Sol is the Next Big Destination for Digital Nomads
- Views: 5k
Congrats to Rui Alves on this popular story about a lovely town in Portugal. Portugal has proved to be a hot button topic for many writers.
#33: 9 “Nakation” Destinations for Dubious Newbies
- Views: 4.5k
Dan Carlson | Meandering Naturists’ recommendations for first time nudies has been a hit! There’s that “naked” reference popping up again… and for newbies. Sounded interesting to many people.
#34: A Geyser That Rivals Yellowstone’s, Without the Crowds
- Views: 4.3k
This post by Kathleen Murphy about a place I know well ended up being a successful post with readers. Yellowstone with crowds? People had to read about that.
#35: Why Moving to Southeast Asia Could Be the Worst Decision You Make
- Views: 4.2k
Awesome job U-Ming Lee getting on this list with reasons not to move to Southeast Asia. This seemed to be a topic people wanted to read more about. “The worst decision” was a great phrase to use to attract people’s attention.
#36: I Never Pay Full Fare for Flights
- Views: 4.2k
The latest post from Adrienne Beaumont to get lots of traffic. Definitely a writer to take some instruction from. People love to save money.
#37: 4 Strange Things About The Netherlands That I Have Yet To Grasp
- Views: 4k
A new entry from Chau Trieu. Congrats to her! Strange things about The Netherlands proved to be a popular topic with readers.
#38: My Nude Beach Outing, Not as Bad as Adam Sandler’s
- Views: 3.9k
A new entry from Napoleon. Congrats!! Nude and Adam Sandler in the same title made for a clickable story.
#39: How To Save Money by Sneaking Things into Your Hotel Room
- Views: 3.8k
A new entry from last month by The Sober Vegan Yogi. Congrats! Sneaking things into a hotel room proved to be an irresistible read.
#40: The World’s 10 Best Nude Beaches
- Views: 3.3k Internal Views: 38% External views: 62%
Another well performing story by Dan Carlson | Meandering Naturists. Awesome! “Nude” reeled them in again!
Personally, I know I’m going to take some great pointers on how to write engaging titles and stories!
What did you think about these stories? Your insightful comments are welcome!
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