Annoying Things About Travel Bloggers (From a Blogger)

I’m a travel blogger. Between AI, big layoffs at travel publications, and the ever-changing social media landscape, it’s a really uncertain time out there for us. 

I’m also self-aware enough that I know there are things people find really annoying about travel bloggers. That will hold true no matter what happens next. This online space is steeped in clichés and can be fairly ridiculous.

Let’s dig into the most annoying things about travel bloggers as compiled from an examination of online platforms and maybe even my own actions.

Why do people hate travel bloggers?

Many bloggers make themselves an easy mark. They can be a lot.

Now, here’s the thing. I love my travel blogger buddies. I’ve made all kinds of online connections with smart, funny, like-minded folks. I like ‘em enough that there are quite a few I’d hang out with in person. As an introvert, that’s a big deal.

I have found incredible folks out there doing the best they can, learning, supporting others, and being hilarious. This isn’t for them…or maybe it’s for all of us? 

Here’s a sampling of what I found on Reddit threads, that cesspool travel bloggers love to hate because it outranks them for real, relevant, actually useful content:

• “I don’t give a shit about what some generic, uninteresting 26-year-old thinks about life. I really don’t.”
• “They just need to rank high and don’t give a crap about anything else.”
• “They’re people that only show the good stuff and want to create an image and seem like everything is always perfect.”
• “They’re tourists pretending to be experts.” 
• “They’re trying to sell me a course on how I can start a blog and travel the world, too.”
• “A laptop on the beach? Good luck with work in direct sun.”

That last one hits hard. Let’s dig into the biggest reasons in detail, shall we?

They live in a bubble.

The people I enjoy interacting with the most online are fellow travelers. Many of them are fellow travel bloggers. That can be a dangerous spot to be in because you can find yourself in a bubble with a lack of real perspective.

It’s why we all get into conversations about the latest garbage thing some tourists did abroad. It’s why we get into a frenzy about the latest garbage thing some other travel blogger did that really wasn’t that bad, but let’s all talk about it anyway. 

We hang out with other bloggers online. We hang out with other bloggers or “travel people” at conferences or meetups set up by other travel bloggers. When we need advice on our blogs or our travel plans or life goals we reach out to safe people who think like us.

I’ve been nomadic and I’ve lived abroad, much to the chagrin of my mother. I feel like I’m in a super bubble sometimes.

I try to keep in touch with friends in the “real world” on a regular basis for some perspective on what the heck is actually going on out there beyond myself. 

The real world can be scary. It’s cozy in the bubble. With the bubble comes privilege, though, and I know I have to remind myself of that on a regular basis.

READ MORE: There’s a lot you learn about life abroad when you actually do the thing. Check out a few lessons after a year in France!

They get super defensive.

We all have that one friend you have to tiptoe around because they’ll absolutely lose their shit if you criticize any of their actions. Maybe it’s a family member. It could be completely innocuous. It could be coming from a place of concern, even love. 

It doesn’t matter. 

Wait. Why are we spending time with this person?

Many travel bloggers exist in this space. You try to be helpful and tell them they really shouldn’t be doing this thing because it’s in poor taste or downright offensive. They come back and mock you, snap at you, or block you.

I try not to be a know-it-all. I really do. I’m not out here emailing people about all of their grammar errors. But sometimes we do silly things or even harmful things, and feedback can help us grow or correct those things.

Also, you’re blogging about the best things to eat in Lisbon, not curing cancer. 

They’re judgmental as hell.

Travel bloggers love insisting that you do things one way over another because that’s how they like to do it. The thing is, they judge other travel bloggers, too.

Heaven forbid you want to make a business out of your blog or build a brand. You’ll get purists coming out of the woodwork to talk about how they wish we could go back to the good old days when we could publish evocative content and get paid.

All of that still exists out there, by the way. It’s certainly more competitive, but it helps knowing where to look and how to pitch those outlets.

If that’s what you want your blog to be, have at it. You have to be comfortable with it being for your eyes only or for the eyes of your superfans. 

Honestly, I love a good travel story, but when I’m planning a trip, I don’t need to hear about every feeling you had about every single nip of gelato on your Italian vacation. I’m sure you had a lot of it. We all do. I’m sure it was delicious because it just is.

I want to know where I can find it, friend. TELL ME WHERE TO FIND THE GELATO. 

I won’t blame you for the ads on your blog posts to give me that essential info, by the way. How do people think we keep the lights on in these places? Go kick rocks and purchase a travel guide at the bookstore if you’re dissatisfied.

They fancy themselves better than the average tourist.

If you haven’t participated in a conversation about the differences between traveler vs. tourist, you truly haven’t lived.

Oh, you want to take a photo of yourself in front of the most popular attraction at that destination? Better move it along because such and such from some .com is waiting to do that very thing, and they do this for the greater good.

Come off it.

You are not better than any other traveler. 

Well, maybe you’re better than those jackwagons taking glamour shots on the tracks at Auschwitz-Birkenau, but the vast majority of travelers are just doing the best they can. They’re just trying to have a nice time, an educational time, or a delicious time.

Quit judging them for traveling differently from your ideal. They may not want to live out of hostels for months at a time. I know I don’t, by the way. It sounds smelly.

They’re self-important.

On that note, travel bloggers really need to chill sometimes. I get that you’re really into the thing you’re doing, but not everyone cares about that as much as you do. 

That stings to read back even for my own views of my “work.”

Beyond helping people plan a fun trip, we are not out here doing the gods’ work.

Note: I don’t know what you believe, nor do I care. It’s a little “g” on purpose to allow for freedom of whatever.

Before starting my blog, I was seeking deep meaning in my chosen profession. I was a journalist for a while, covering state legislatures and talking to grieving humans and, sometimes, writing about kids reading children’s books to dogs in the library.

That was a slow news week.

After getting tired of making pennies for the hours I’d put in weekly, I decided to really hit the jackpot with a gig in education. 

I lasted eight years as a special educator. I worked with difficult, at times abusive kids, grieving humans, and sometimes ran school newspapers.

Everything is connected, people.

I burned out completely. It was too much. I was giving too much of my time, myself, my resources, and my sanity. It was a worthy cause, for sure, but it was all I had.

As a travel blogger by night (freelance work is my “day job”), I have to remind myself that this isn’t like that other stuff. Nobody will grieve when I don’t publish for a week or disappear from social media for a while. 

There are dozens of bloggers right behind me, all trying to do similar things.

Travel blogging is supposed to be fun. On a higher level, it’s supposed to inform, entertain, or engage. All of that is great. You’re still not curing cancer, though, so can we stop with the platitudes?

They’re in an identity crisis.

We all feel some confusion over what we’d like to be and what we’ve become. Maybe you’ve gone too far down the robot slide and want to return to the light. Perhaps you don’t want to write like a personal diary anymore and make a business out of your blog.

No one cares if you have to do an about-face for the better. I’m rooting for you. We’re all rooting for you, especially in the current climate of AI-generated content.

I’m constantly wondering whether I should just scrap the whole thing and start over. I have hundreds of posts at this point and still look at some of them like, “Who allowed you to exist in this space?”

Some of it is probably your imposter syndrome. Some of it might be a sign that some perspective-taking is necessary. Your blog isn’t your identity, or at least it doesn’t have to be. It’s a sunny day outside. Go touch some grass.

I don’t mean that in an offensive way, by the way. I mean it literally. It’s fun to go out and touch grass and have yourself that park picnic that travel bloggers are always talking about.

They’re not transparent.

If you hated a place, say so. If you’re embarrassed that you loved a place, say that, too. I love that for you. You should be able to own the fact that you’re a Disney adult without shame.

I’ve made it very clear that I’m not into cruises, but I’m not out there making cruisers’ lives miserable.

Is that what they’re called? I feel like that word has a few different meanings these days.

Anyway, own whatever it is that you’re afraid to own. 

Solid info isn’t as important as eyes on your stuff.

If I’m writing about day trips from a city, I’m not going to give you information about what you can do in that city. Going to the local history museum in that city isn’t a day trip. It’s just being a tourist in that city.

On the other hand, if I’m writing about day trips from a city, I won’t tell you about a place that’s like half a day’s drive from that city. It’s not a day trip when you need multiple days to make it happen.

Why do bloggers do this?

In the before-times, it was for Google. They had a list of keywords they felt like they needed to use in a post, even if it meant a crap experience for their readers. 

I used to think there were ways to please the Google gods and share solid information about places you’ve visited, but honestly, I don’t know at this point.

It seems like there’s been a brain switch to selling strategies to build your online business, which feels pretty predatory.

Solid info isn’t as important as churning out the content.

It takes me a really long time to put content together. Some of that is my perfectionist streak. Some of it is my journalism background. I like things just so, and I like them accurate. That’s a good thing when it comes to sharing information, right?

If you’ve been paying any attention to what’s going on in the world of AI lately, you’ll know that things are getting weird online. Tools like ChatGPT hallucinate information, and bloggers are out there publishing it anyway.

Worse yet, AI tools are stealing our information to feed the machine without any thought about what this means for small publishers.

If you’re using AI to speed up your internal processes, I’m not going to hate on that. Kudos for teaching the robots to do things you don’t feel like doing.

Can AI handle all of my follow-up emails, by the way? That’s the worst.

If you’re using AI to replace you completely, that’s weird. The responsible thing would be to let your readers know that in some way. You should also have a solid editing process in place to make sure that you’re not publishing nonsense that the robots made up. 

I have seen so much of this lately, and it’s forced me to return to some of the big travel sites for a good chunk of my travel information. At least they have editors.

I want to use travel blogs to plan my travel. People want to trust what they’re reading. For the love of Pete, fact-check your work before you hit publish. 

It’s all too good to be true.

If you got food poisoning somewhere, I want to know so I don’t also find myself a sweaty mess on the bathroom floor. You don’t need to paint a rosy picture of every destination to connect with people. In fact, the opposite is true. 

You don’t even need to paint a rosy picture of every place to rank if that’s your priority.

One of my highest-performing posts was my post on Tombstone, Arizona. I said some things in that post that I guess were too political for some. I expressed some discomfort I felt about certain things I saw.

Outside of the traffic, I got boatloads of angry comments. Some folks called me a stupid bitch. Others tell me to go back to California. (I’m from Chicago, but that’s probably worse in some way.)

Did it sting? Of course. I’d be a liar if I said I was just pleased with the traffic. Despite this wild rant I’m on right now, I don’t set out to collect negative feedback. 

Will it change the way I do things in the future? No. If I’m uncomfortable somewhere, I’ll say so. If I think a certain group of people will feel uncomfortable somewhere, I’ll say that, too. 

READ MORE: On that note, we have a list of places we don’t need to return to again in our travels. Check it out!

Is anything real?

I’ve already gabbed on about AI, but you can catch travel bloggers in quite a few pickles if you care to see whether they do things like buy social media followers, too. 

It’s a reason why I couldn’t give a hoot about that “huge” Instagram influencer with all of the followers but garbage engagement. I don’t care about them, and neither should you. 

You should be especially mindful if you want to replicate what they’re doing, take advice from that person, or even pay for advice from that person.

That’s silly. If they bought followers at some point to pad their numbers, it’s whatever. Good for them. There’s no use getting jealous about it, though. Social media isn’t real. 

They lack a thesaurus.

Epic. Ultimate. Come on, guys. I know we want eyes on our stuff, but there has to be another way.

If you’re giving me an ultimate anything, it better deliver on that promise, by the way. 

Have I done this myself? Absolutely. Am I trying to break myself out of this urge to get all hyperbolic about this, that, and the other thing? That’s also true. 

They’re supportive in theory.

There are a lot of nice, cool bloggers out there that I feel a legitimate connection to. I’m sure they know who they are. 

The blogging community as a whole can be a beast to navigate, though. 

It sucks to approach every new follower on social media with skepticism. What do they want? Will they just unfollow me as soon as I follow back? Will they message with whatever they’re selling now that we’ve connected?

Are they trying to get me involved in the cult of travel agents to get a referral bonus? It’s a lot.

They lie.

This comes back to the bit on transparency, but takes it a step further. Travel bloggers who use their platforms to sell you stuff with the idea that you too can be just as successful as they are if you buy this one thing are the worst.

No, I’m not saying we should all share our financials. I applaud bloggers who do that sort of thing in a transparent way. That’s really brave, and it takes a lot of work.

But if you’re going to start selling courses about how to become a successful blogger, you need to back up your claims beyond how much money you make from the stuff you sell.

That money you made is often on the backs of suckers who buy those courses. A closer look might reveal that you’re not making much off your blog at all. 

It’s your courses. 

That’s not as impressive a claim when you’re asking for my credit card’s expiration date. 

They’re entitled.

We all love free stuff. Any travel blogger who says they don’t love the potential perks associated with blogging is a liar. 

Oh, you’d rather stay pure and wax poetic about the sunset you saw on the Mediterranean Sea? I’m sure it was beautiful, but you know freebies sweeten that experience.

That all said, you shouldn’t assume you should be getting free stuff wherever you land because you blog for fun or even for a living. First of all, free stuff doesn’t pay the bills. It’s also super presumptuous.

Folks, we have lived through a pandemic.

We’ve watched our favorite small businesses shut down, and the travel industry itself was completely upended. 

Be reasonable.

They’re all about the (promotional) Benjamins.

There are some blogs out there that are only in it for the moolah. It’s not even that much money, but it’s enough of a driving force that their content has become a constant barrage of promotional affiliate content.

I use affiliate links. I promote tours and hotels and hiking gear and dog poop bags. I should hope it’s not in your face, but feel free to come at me if you feel duped.

Self-promotion is a biggie, too. Some of us are worried more about our personal brand than promoting the destination. We’re worried about letting people take a look underneath the hood to see your real personality.

I promise that being real sells, too. 

They fancy themselves more authentic than you.

This goes back to the right and wrong way to travel. If you’re not able to spend a couple of weeks, even a full month somewhere, you’re not a real traveler. 

If you’re not able to sit around in a coffee shop during your trip for the bulk of an afternoon, you haven’t experienced anything of value. 

Note: I’ve witnessed these same bloggers hawk the shit out of their social media profiles and YouTube channels to locals just trying to make them a sandwich. 

Is that authentic? 

Put the business cards away, pay the man what you owe him, and step aside so that I may also have a sandwich.

I refuse to judge people for visiting a place that isn’t off the beaten path. What’s that even mean, by the way?

If you want to spend your one week of vacation at an all-inclusive resort, have at it. You (probably) worked hard for that cheddar, and you deserve to treat yourself as you see fit. If you sold photos of your feet for that resort trip, I’m not even judging you for that. 

Get that foot money, honey.

Your travel is no more or less authentic than the smelly guy who’s been backpacking for six months and snores his way through cheap hostels. I keep coming back to this image because it’s disturbing, frankly. Where’s the joy in it?

Here I go, judging smelly guys. I’m not perfect, either.

Your travel is authentic because you’re out there exploring the world. It’s authentic for that smelly guy because he’s living his best life. Travel is already authentic because you choose to spend your time and resources on travel. That’s a huge deal. Celebrate it.

They’re arbiters of taste and what’s overrated.

If your only hot take is about how people should skip Paris, it’s become a cold take. First of all, get some new material.

Second, you don’t know if there’s a traveler who has been saving up for that Paris trip for months and is now second-guessing themselves because of your opinions.

Was that your intention?

If so, why? Who hurt you?

Let people like what they like.

Fun fact: Calling destinations overrated is overrated.

Share your opinions to your heart’s content, but don’t rain on someone’s parade because they don’t agree with you. That’s, unless it’s about oysters, in which case they are the boogers of the sea and you can’t tell me any different.

They lack perspective.

You can have an identity beyond travel blogging. There are things going on beyond your camera lens that are more important. Recognize the privilege involved in what you’re doing. 

People hate us not because they ain’t us, but because quite a bit of what’s published out there is tone-deaf. You don’t need to work through your guilt about how lucky you are in everything you put out there, but if you completely ignore that privilege, that’s lame.

That goes for folks who work to travel vs. work to live. Good for you. I don’t have any kids, so I tend to spend my money on experiences, food, and treats for my dog.

Acknowledge the fact that you can make the decision to prioritize travel over anything else. 

You are very lucky and in the minority.

They lack a sense of humor about their lot in life.

If you’re a blogger feeling called out, that sounds like a you problem. I’m kidding a little bit, but if there’s any profession (or hobby) that requires a lighter touch, it’s travel blogging.

Why are so many of them so serious all the time?

Travel can be messy and hilarious. Whether you hate the idea of being an “influencer” or not, we’re in that same bucket with the ladies with the butts and the flowy dresses. 

Fun fact: Frankly, I don’t care if I come across this kind of thing while traveling, as long as they’re being respectful to that place. 

At least they’re obvious about their identity.

They want to pretend they hiked to the top of that mountain in that dress rather than tell you the real story about changing into that frock in the tick-infested woods nearby. Whatever. You do you, sister. 

Obviously, I’m bright enough that I can tell when content is overly staged or unrealistic. It’d be great if these things came with a disclaimer. Will I go protest about it in the streets? No. We have bigger fish to fry. Are you listening, Google?

They can be misleading.

Outside of hallucinated AI information, bloggers who bop from one spot to the next just for the pic or to say they did can miss out on important context about those destinations.

It can be difficult to learn about the cultural norms of every single place when you’re on the road all the time. That’s part of what you signed up for when you decided to do this thing. 

You can learn things like appropriate greetings, how to behave in sacred spaces, and how to behave with your partner in some parts of the world before you go to a new place. This is especially true if you’re going to advertise your exploits on social media.

Information is power, and disinformation can be even more powerful.

If you’re traveling to the United States, by the way, we tip our servers. It’s a whole thing, but it is what it is. You will be called out for not doing so because of some moral high ground that only punishes the person trying to make a living on the other side.

It’s OK to be a little annoying…sometimes.

I feel like I attacked myself in some ways with this one, but I think that just means I’m self-aware. It’s OK to laugh at yourself and make fun of the broader travel bloggerverse. It’s been getting a little too serious out there to the detriment of the content.

If you don’t inject yourself into your work, the robots have won, right?

Looking for more content like this? Check out these posts:

• Hiker Types You May See Out on the Trail
• The Best Wine Puns to Bring to Your Tasting
• A Real Portrayal of What it’s Like to Hike
• Best Quotes About Travel With Friends
• A Terrible Flight Story That Tops the Others

A few more travel tips to get you through the day:

• Underrated U.S. Cities to Put on Your Wish List
• Unique Gifts for Big Travelers in Your Life
• Fall Is Simply the Best Season. Here’s Why!
• Wine Descriptions to Impress That Cute Sommelier
• Things to Do During Long-Haul Travel Days

Want to see more?