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Travel writing guidelines

Find out what our editors are looking for in your travel writing and pitches.

Our content inspires travelers to discover their next adventure with meaningful, local insights on activities and experiences around the world. We provide reliable travel safety tips to keep you informed and explore the world with confidence. We share expert tips on how to be a better travel writer, photographer and filmmaker. We also strive to help travelers explore the world responsibly

Important writing guidelines

  • We like our content to include local voices and a unique angle or perspective, to truly understand people/place/culture through the traveler’s experience.
  • We’re looking for your first-hand expertise and experiences, so we want copy submitted in a first-person voice, written in a conversational tone, like you're providing tips for a friend.
  • Include humour. Write about the funny moments. Be light-hearted and don't take yourself or your writing too seriously. We want to entertain the reader, not just inform them.
  • Describe what you saw and experienced  – what local people live there, who did you meet, is there wildlife? Describe the geography and scenery, what is the temperature, the weather, when did you visit, what does it feel like to be there? Bring the place to life for the reader as much as possible. Assume they know nothing about the destination.
  • If we are recommending our travelers visit a destination, we need to explain why – where is it, what is it, what’s there, what makes it an interesting place to travel? If it isn’t worth going to, don’t mention it.
  • We don’t want a list of places to take a great selfie – we want you to report on and inspire authentic travel, and the local connections that changed the way you view the world. Was there an opportunity to give back to a place you liked? How were you changed by what you saw and did?
  • Bring the place to life through your experience, but give travelers the tools to replicate the experience, too. We want a sense of intrigue, that makes the traveler curious and excited to go and experience the place themselves.
  • Read our  Responsible Traveler’s Manifesto to make sure we are on the same page about how to travel.

Types of content we are looking for

Please become familiar with the content we have, so you don't waste your time pitching something to us that doesn’t fit our brand or have already featured.

  • Travel safety: pitch to us your expertise on crime, scams, health, and local laws, so our readers can travel with confidence.
  • Stories: share the emotions, connections, and discoveries at the heart of why you travel. We’re looking for stories that fall under these five categories: Love, Fear, Connection, Discovery, and Transformation
  • Explore: write about your personal travel experiences, provide tips and destination advice for our readers. We don't want listicles – we want to go deeper than that. We're looking for areas of the destination that nobody else is going to – not the 'Top 5 Places to Go in X'.

We’re currently seeking pitches for the following destinations:

Tunisia (pitch ideas by February 15, 2020)

Sicily (pitch ideas by March 1, 2020)

Egypt (pitch ideas by March 15, 2020)

Chile (pitch ideas by March 31, 2020)

  • Make a Difference: share your tips on how to make more responsible and sustainable travel choices.
  • Learn: write about travel writing, photography and filmmaking tips.

Ready to pitch?

Please fill out the form below. We’d love to see your working title (40 characters max), a short synopsis (no more than 250 words) explaining the subject of your pitch, the format, the section of the World Nomads website it would work best in, what makes it compelling, and why you are the right person to tell it. Also, tell us a little bit about yourself and your professional experience. 

Payment for written content

We pay US $0.50 per word for written content. Depending on the detail the editors are looking for, this will determine how many words maximum.

Most of our content falls between 500–1,000 words in length.

Please note we receive a lot of pitches, and unfortunately we can’t respond to all of them. If we decide to pursue your idea, we’ll let you know.

Pitch your travel writing to us