17 Travel Blog Success Stories [2024]
If you are an avid traveler, you will agree there is nothing like arriving on a tropical island. The exotic creatures, clear oceans, palm trees, plenty of water activities, and cool weather are some reasons travelers choose tropical destinations.
Do you live on a tropical island? Or maybe you are a blogger looking for the next idea. How about starting a blog relating to tropical island destinations? You can mention all the fantastic sightseeing sites, water activities, and other fun activities available to travelers.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a travel blog:
1. My Curly Adventures ($48K/year)
Jessica, the founder of MyCurlyAdventures, came up with the idea for her business after realizing that there was a demand for travel destinations close to home that could be visited on a weekend getaway. By showcasing these unique and lesser-known locations in Texas through her blog and social media, she was able to attract a growing audience and monetize her platform through advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate income. With her income steadily increasing and a constant focus on creating high-quality content, Jessica's future looks bright as she continues to inspire others to explore and travel.
How much they make: $48K/year
Current team size: 2
Learn how Jessica started a niche travel blog and quit her 9-5 job, earning a living wage through Instagram advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate income, while traveling 3-4 times a month and increasing her website traffic from 400 to 25k page views in a year with Pinterest and Instagram growth tactics.
2. PubClub.com ($24K/year)
Kevin Wilkerson came up with the idea for PubClub.com while in Amsterdam with a friend, realizing the importance of knowing not just where to go in a city, but when to be there. He started the lifestyle website to provide information on travel, nightlife, food and drink, festivals, and sports, and has since expanded it to generate approximately $2,000 a month from advertising with around 25k users per month. Through his background in journalism and PR, he has been able to publish quality content and attract partnerships with tourism boards.
How much they make: $24K/year
Current team size: 1
PubClub.com, a lifestyle website with information on travel, nightlife, food and drink, festivals, and sports around the world, generates approximately $2,000 a month from advertising and has approximately 25k users/month to its website, with founder Kevin Wilkerson starting the company in order to provide a unique concept for a tourism guide site.
So... can you actually make money with a travel blog?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. Golf Trip Junkie ($1.98M/year)
Sean Petersen, the founder of Golf Trip Junkie, came up with the idea for his business while playing a game of golf. As a passionate golfer and traveler, he wanted to combine his two passions into a successful business. From the first successful vacation he planned, Sean realized that helping people enjoy life and de-stress through golf was his true motivation, and that fueled his drive to create a thriving business.
How much they make: $1.98M/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
Current team size: 5
Golf Trip Junkie founder Sean Petersen shares how he turned his passion for golf and travel into a profitable business, with average monthly revenue of $165,000, by designing personalized golf vacations for middle-aged men and companies looking for a unique corporate outing experience.
4. CuddlyNest ($2.8M/year)
Ritesh Raj, the co-founder and COO of CuddlyNest, came up with the idea for the accommodation booking platform after years of traveling to over 100 countries and realizing the pain points of finding diverse types of accommodations. Alongside his co-founder, they decided to create a centralized platform that offers all kinds of properties for all types of travelers. Since its launch, CuddlyNest has raised over $14 million in funding and has plans for continued growth and expansion.
How much they make: $2.8M/year
Current team size: 72
CuddlyNest has become the only online travel agency that offers all types of accommodations in one platform, with inventory currently including over 4 million properties of all types in 80k+ cities, and is expecting to hire more than fifty new employees in the coming months.
So... can you actually make money with a travel blog?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. ANTHONYKDO INC ($120K/year)
Anthony's passion for filming and moving led him to create films that were appreciated by his audience. As he gained more recognition, he started receiving requests to create films for others. After his first successful client project, he was convinced of his entrepreneurial potential.
How much they make: $120K/year
Current team size: 0
A nomadic Canadian filmmaker started their creative business six years ago and now has over two dozen loyal clients scattered across six different countries, earning between $7000-15000/month, with a website built on WIX and no traditional marketing approach, relying on word of mouth and social media, they operate like an agency these days aiming for more meaningful work.
6. Yolo Intel ($240K/year)
Yolo Journal is a travel lifestyle media brand that publishes a physical printed magazine three times a year and has a successful travel-focused newsletter, Yolo Intel, which is the most popular travel newsletter on Substack.
Yolanda Edwards, founder of Yolo Journal, came up with the idea after realizing there was a gap in the market for a travel magazine that focused on providing trustworthy and insider information. With her background in the magazine industry and passion for travel, she launched Yolo Journal and quickly gained success, with her weekly newsletter now bringing in $20k a month.
How much they make: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $15K
Current team size: 1
Yolo Journal's founder, Yolanda Edwards, launched a travel lifestyle media brand with a magazine and newsletter that now generates $20k a month in revenue. Edwards' business success can be attributed to understanding the hole in the magazine market and creating trust-worthy insider information.
So... can you actually make money with a travel blog?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
7. Frugal and Frills ($36K/year)
After becoming a mother for the second time and wanting to find a way to combine her financial background with her everyday life as a mother, Asia Crawford decided to start a blog. Despite having no prior knowledge of website design or blogging, she taught herself everything through YouTube tutorials. In just two years, Asia has grown her blog to 18.5K Instagram followers, 1.2 million monthly viewers on Pinterest, and 12.5K monthly blog pageviews, generating between $1,500-$3,000 in extra income every month.
How much they make: $36K/year
Current team size: 1
How one mother built a profitable frugal motherhood, life, and travel blog from scratch, using Instagram, Pinterest, and paid sponsorships to grow from 0 to 18.5K followers and generate $1,500-$3,000 per month in less than two years.
8. Packs Light ($170K/year)
How much they make: $170K/year
Current team size: 4
Packs Lights is a successful travel blog founded by Gabby Beckford, a young adventurer and TEDx speaker, that offers a plethora of travel tips and resources, and has earned her over $170,000 in gross cash from sponsored content and blog pieces.
9. Travel Blogging 101 ($660K/year)
Shelley, a former travel magazine editor, decided to start a travel blog after leaving her corporate job. In just two years, she became a six-figure blogger and started teaching others how to achieve similar success. Through her courses and blog, Shelley has generated significant income and plans to continue expanding her business and creating more courses in the future.
How much they make: $660K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 1
Travel blogger turns four profitable blogs into a six-figure business, increasing income by 3,113% from 2021 to 2022, and now teaches others how to scale quickly using her techniques.
10. TRVL MORE ($19.2M/year)
Raj Mahal, founder of PlanMoreTrips, came up with the idea for his AI travel app after founding his previous company, TRVL MORE, and gaining expertise in the travel industry. His deep knowledge of frequent flyer miles from his travel blog allowed him to monetize his content through affiliate revenue, and he later enrolled in a coding boot camp to develop the skills needed to create his own app. Despite facing setbacks with his previous startup, Raj's passion for travel and desire to inspire others led him to launch PlanMoreTrips and continue his entrepreneurial journey.
How much they make: $19.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 10
This case study follows the entrepreneurial journey of Raj Mahal, the founder of PlanMoreTrips and TRVL MORE, who bootstrapped TRVL MORE from $0 to $20,000,000 in annual sales and eventually launched PlanMoreTrips, an AI travel app that saves users money on flights and hotels.
11. Solo Female Travelers ($1.8M/year)
How much they make: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $100K
Current team size: 1
"Read how Solo Female Travelers, a women-led tour company, grossed just over 1 million EUR in revenues in 2023 by offering tours in 14 destinations, empowering women through travel and contributing to more equitable tourism industries."
12. The Wayward Home ($240K/year)
In 2017, Kristin stumbled upon an article about Michelle Schroeder-Gardner's blog, Making Sense of Cents. In it, she learned that Michelle was making $100,000 per month through blogging.
This got her interested in the idea and she started researching more about it. As a former journalist, Kristin has always enjoyed writing and interviewing people.
Being in the media, she was aware that stories about alternative living were gaining a lot of traction and hence, she decided to start a website where she could interview nomads and publish articles about their lives, living in vans, buses, and boats.
Thats how she embarked on the journey of creating her own blog.
How much they make: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
Current team size: 0
This case study article is about Kristin Hanes, the publisher at The Wayward Home, who grew her website to make up to $28,000 per month during peak season but experienced a decrease in revenue due to a Google update, showing the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and the need to adapt and persevere.
13. Etramping ($12K/year)
Agness and Cez, the founders of Etramping, started their business in 2011 as a personal site to share budget travel hacks for backpackers. Their passion for travel and their own experiences of backpacking on a tight budget drove them to share their knowledge and help aspiring adventurers explore the world. Since then, Etramping has grown into a thriving community, offering unique itineraries, travel hacks, budget tips, and buying guides for travel gear. With consistent content, strategic partnerships, and a focus on their audience's needs, Etramping has attracted and retained a loyal customer base.
How much they make: $12K/year
Current team size: 1
This case study follows the journey of Agness and Cez, founders of Etramping, as they started a personal travel site in 2011 and grew it into a thriving business, sharing budget travel hacks, unique itineraries, helpful tips, and buying guides, attracting half a million page views in a month and earning up to $2,000 in monthly ad revenue through Mediavine and affiliate marketing.
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- Access to our founder directory
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- 8,628 business ideas
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
