One thing I love about travel—besides well, everything—is that I come across so many other beautiful people that are passionate about going places and sharing the world’s wonders with whoever will listen.
And one thing I love about Instagram—besides the fact that it’s what tucks me in at night—is that I get to see so much of the world I don’t know about, might not have thought about, or wasn’t necessarily interested in before I got a glimpse at what it was like.
So, here’s to all the beauties sharing travel’s beauty. Those who have a calling to be where they’re not, the ones who love to learn about the ways of the world and the people who live in it.
And here are some of the accounts that inspire me and keep me excited about travel even when I’m in a trip lull (like right now).
*Disclaimer: You’ll note that there are no men’s pages listed here. And it isn’t because I was trying to be deliberately sexist, but I’ve just realized women are well outperforming men when it comes to highlighting travel on Instagram. That said, if you know a guy (or are one) who’s holding his own in this department, please tell me!
Spirited Pursuit
Like her name alone suggests, Lee Litumbe’s Spirited Pursuit page paints the most beautiful picture of the world—namely Africa. She’s on a mission to give Africa the credit it deserves as a travel destination. To do it, she quit her job in corporate finance and moved back to Africa to travel the continent. Why? As she puts it: “Africa needs more Africans to tell the world her story. To experience her endless offerings firsthand and capture her diverse beauty accurately. And most importantly, to create content that inspires and informs on how you too can come experience it all for yourself.”
And as if there wasn’t already enough to admire about her, Lee’s launched a marketplace at Marché Spirited Pursuit where you can scoop 100 percent handcrafted locally-made goods she’s uncovered in her travels. Also, she’s in Mozambique right now and her photos are everything.
Passport Voyager
A fellow resident New Yorker, Sierra from Passport Voyager takes the most beautiful pictures all over the world. You’ll feel like you’re flipping through a travel magazine when you scroll her feed. She blogs without the braggy blogger vibe you often find, she’s real and she talks about travel like it is. Plus, her page is a good place to go for a good dose of positive thinking.
Parlour Magazine
In my opinion, this is how travel magazines should be: a place real people can go for travel inspiration. Not just paid advertising pages for those in the 1 percent or hovering close to it. Parlour Magazine highlights stories and experiences by and for women of color, but there’s no one this page couldn’t inspire with its deep global reach and vibrant visuals.
Nomadic Fare
Wendy from Nomadic Fare describes her page as moments of wanderlust and whimsy and it couldn’t be more perfectly put. She does such a good job of capturing cool spots all over the U.S. that she might convince you to put your passport down one time just to go see some of it. She’s also a photographer and creative director, which gives her an eye other travel Instagrammers don’t necessarily have.
CrushGlobal
CrushGlobal is a travel company putting together the very adventures that inspire the posts on their page. Their founder, Kristin, takes so much pride in the places she goes and in highlighting the beauty in the people from those places. Whether you follow along with the adventures or actually go on one, you’ll come across things you’ve never heard of, learn about foods you might never have tasted and experience things that will constantly remind you what’s so magical about travel. Plus, she’s got the scoop on travel to Cuba now that you know who (starts with “T” and ends with rump) is trying to mess that up.
Girl Born to Travel
Hélène, better known in IG circles as Girl Born to Travel, has figured out how to make travel look like an ongoing dream. Looking at her page is like watching the sun’s greatest moments come to life all over the world, because she captures light just right. Probably because she’s an actual travel photographer. It’s so much fun to follow her shots.