10 Study Abroad & Travel Blogs to Inspire You

Miriam Beard’s famous quote, “Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living,” is one that many study abroad students and alumni can relate to. It’s also an idea deeply ingrained in the travel blogging community – among those who move from country to country, staying sometimes for months, sharing their stories online. 

An endless source of inspiration flowing through our Feedly and/or Pocket accounts, here are some of the blogs (in no particular order) that we return to time and again – touching on study abroad specifically and travel more generally:  

1. PIN THE MAP PROJECT. Nikki is an independent travel journalist and blogger. In her intro, she says there are three things that her readers should know right away: She is in her 20s. She is not rich and does not have a trust fund. She loves to travel. Nikki quit a 9-5 role in advertising to travel the world and used her skills to market herself as a full time blogger to fund her travels. Her goal is to inspire other people who dream of traveling by sharing stories and advice, tricks and tips for saving, discovering new destinations and starting your own travel blog. 

TWO POSTS TO READ:
1.) Three Steps to Affording Travel Without Credit Cards
2.) A Quick Guide to Dublin

2. GO ABROAD BLOG. Go abroad is dedicated solely to international student travel in all of its forms. The study abroad section of their blog is updated regularly and covers all of the locations where CAPA students study. Posts are written by their own internal team as well as guest writers. If you’re interested in contributing your own stories, have a look at the Writer’s Academy on their Careers page.  

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) Should I Study in England or Italy? 
2.) 8 Most Common Regrets of Study Abroad Alumni
3.) Dear Mom and Dad, I’m Studying Abroad

3. THE CULTURALIST. The Culturalist operates under the belief that travel can help change the world for good as people start to understand other ways of living. They are a “community of storytellers, travelers, dreamers and changemakers who use their words and actions to make the world we love a better place.” You can choose the content you see based on whether you are a traveler, a millennial, a changemaker or a foodie. Or you can read all four sections if you identify with each!

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) Why Millennials Are Choosing Freedom Above All Else
2.) The Best Sustainable Eats in London
3.) Get Cultured – Florence: A Celebration of the City’s Art, Food, Music and Dreamy Culture

4. BORDERS OF ADVENTURE. Becki, the brain behind Borders of Adventure is a British Press award-winning travel writer and avid adventurer. As you’ll see from her stories, she has a passion for reporting on misunderstood destinations like Iran and Palestine and uncovering alternative angles on more well established destinations. She covers a lot of CAPA’s study abroad destinations but also has some great tips for places like Athens or Finland where students love to travel for weekends or break.  

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) The Creative Transformation of Athens: Rebuilding a City in Crisis
2.) Things to Do in Dublin: Ireland’s Capital of Cool and Culture
3.) What to Do in Shanghai: Where to Escape the Skyscraper Skyline

5. THE COLLEGE TOURIST. All about inspiring students to travel, The College Tourists shares a lot of easily digestible content in top 10 list formats, written by a variety of authors. You’ll find packing lists, tips for many destinations around the world including all six CAPA cities. They are also a committed partner to the Generation Study Abroad initiative organized by the Institute of International Education.

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) 10 Reasons Why You Should Study Abroad in College
2.) 10 Amazing Day Trips You Can Take From London
3.) 10 Tips for an Amazing Shanghai Study Abroad Experience 

6. FLORA THE EXPLORER. Blogger Flora is a freelance writer, traveler and avid volunteer with an obsession for hunting out the weirdness of the world. She’s lived in two CAPA cities – London and Florence – and writes about others she has explored through her travels. Flora is currently completing her Master’s in London but still travels constantly as her time allows. 

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) How to Travel the World Without Leaving London
2.) Still in Love with South America
3.) Do We Really Need Technology to Travel?

7. CANDACE ROSE RARDON. Candace is by no means your typical travel blogger. She travels the world capturing her surroundings through sketches rather than photography (although, she does mix in some photos on occasion) and her blog is full of her original drawings. She also has that key skill that it takes to be a great travel blogger and that is her talent as a storyteller. If you’re an artist and plan to capture your study abroad experience through your work, this one will especially appeal to you!   

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) Notes on Sketching the Places We Call Home
2.) From Colombia to Costa Brava: Introducing a New Sketching Adventure
3.) Summer’s Sketchbook 2014

8. THE STUDY ABROAD BLOG. Another blog dedicated solely to study abroad adventures and student travel, The Study Abroad Blog is crammed full of practical and useful ideas for saving money to travel, general travel tips and advice on how to settle in to your host city. It is run by Nate, a study abroad alum, who either writes or edits the content according to what he learned from his experience abroad or what he wishes he would have known before he went.

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) One Student’s Advice On Paying For Study Abroad
2.) Transitioning Into Life Abroad
3.) What’s the Best Digital Camera for Study Abroad?

9. LEGAL NOMADS. Jodi is a former lawyer who quit her job to eat her way around the world and has been on the road since 2008. If you love to travel and you love food, Legal Nomads is the blog for you. She’s also gluten-free and has some great guides on how to navigate a new place when you are too. She updates only about three times per month, but her posts are long and thoughtful, real reflections on how she is experiencing the world around her and worth reading. 

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) It’s Surprisingly Easy to Be Gluten Free in Italy
2.) On Homesickness and Long Term Travel
3.) Personal Musings After 7 Years of Legal Nomads

10. BUNCH OF BACKPACKERS. Manouk is the 20-something Korea-born Dutch girl who founded Bunch of Backpackers to share her love of travel. She’s a doctor in her everyday life, but is planning her next adventure whenever time allows. Want to know where she’s been and what she’s learned on her journeys through the world? Check out her travel resume. Manouk’s mission is to help travelers to make most out of their adventures.

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) Glossary: Your Guide to Backpacker Jargon
2.) Best Backpacker Reads
3.) How to Go Local While Traveling

11 (Bonus!). CAPA WORLD. Of course, we couldn’t leave out our very own CAPA World blog! We update 2-3 times a day during the week with study abroad and travel content in a variety of formats from our top 10s on Tuesdays to interviews to weekly, bi-weekly and monthly posts written by our team of columnists and official bloggers and vloggers to storytelling from some of our talented students and alumni. Make sure to bookmark us or subscribe in the sidebar on the right. 

THREE POSTS TO READ:
1.) 10 Tips to Prepare Financially to Study Abroad
2.) Study Abroad Advantage: Adaptability
3.) Setting Personal Goals for Your Study Abroad Experience 

WE ALSO ENJOY: PS – I’m On My Way; Go Overseas Blog; Suitcase Magazine; Everything Everywhere; Nomadic Notes; Afar; Uncornered Market; Nomadic Matt; Atlas Obscura & Cheri Lucas Rowlands. 

Let us know which ones we missed on Twitter #CAPAStudyAbroad.

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