Get paid for your travel writing! Fund your adventure, literally, writing about what you love doing the most. If you are already a travel blogger, you’ll be used to writing just for the fun of it. We do it because we love blogging, creating content, and every blog post we write can support a career we believe in.
If you love writing about travel, you can also get paid for it. Below are current, contributor-friendly outlets with what they want, who they serve, and how to pitch them, based on their latest public guidance.
Updated on 31 October 2025: refreshed outlets, current pay guidance, and direct pitch links. Rates and terms change. Always confirm before submitting.
1) International Living
FocusLiving and retiring overseas. Practical, first person advice and insider guidance on places to move, cost of living, healthcare, visas, property, and day-to-day life.
Best forWriters with on-the-ground experience. Profiles of people who have moved, actionable how-to advice, practical solutions, and healthcare stories grounded in real use.
What to pitch
Magazine features that help readers live better for less abroad.
“Solutions” pieces that answer specific questions with steps readers can act on.
Profiles with strong quotes and a clear takeaway.
Website pieces such as expat advice, listicles, itineraries, and step-by-step guides.
US or Canadian expats abroad sharing a vivid slice of life.
Pay and rightsPayment is upon publication. The magazine buys all rights. If a photo of yours is used, they pay one-time use while you retain photo rights. Website and Postcards pay a one-time rate based on word count.
How to pitch
Magazine: submissions@internationalliving.com
Daily Postcards: postcards@internationalliving.com
Website: digitaleditor@internationalliving.com
Pitch page: https://internationalliving.com/about-il/write-for-il/
Quick tipsThey are not a general travel magazine. Avoid broad sightseeing pieces. Be original, opinionated, and useful. Start with the most interesting moment, pack in actionable detail, and use direct quotes in profiles. Proofread before sending.
2. Verge Magazine
FocusPurposeful travel. Living, working, studying, or volunteering abroad. Stories that help socially aware readers make meaningful choices overseas.
Best forWriters with experience in international education, volunteering, work abroad, or community projects, and photographers with documentary sensibility.
What to pitchService pieces, features with a clear purpose angle, and reported guides that inform decisions. They also recruit “Bloggers in the Field” to document time abroad.
Pay and rightsThey pay a small flat fee for accepted contributions. Exact rates are not listed on their public page.
How to pitch
Read the contributor guidelines, then email contributing@vergemagazine.com
Pitch page: https://www.vergemagazine.com/about/contributing.html
Quick tipsPitch a focused idea with a defined reader outcome. Avoid self promotion and single organisation advertorial angles.
3. Horizon Guides
FocusExtraordinary, experience led travel. Two main commission types: in depth activity guides and reported features for The Journal.
Best forIn destination experts, veteran travel journalists, and writers with several years of recent experience in a place or niche activity.
What to pitch
Guides: Exhaustive, definitive coverage of a single activity within a destination, with concrete routes, places, logistics, and practical detail
Journal features: Reported stories with people, stakes, and payoff. Not straight first person travelogues
Pay and rights
Guideline rates start at £200+ for features and £400+ for guides, adjusted by brief. Payment up to 30 days after acceptance.
How to pitch
Email the editor with pitch headline and destination in the subject line
Include your background and links to previous work
Pitch page: https://horizonguides.com/journalists
Quick tipsCheck what they have already covered. Bring a contrarian or under reported angle. Make the place or issue the protagonist, not you.
4. Go World Travel
FocusDestination features and richly described stories that help readers experience a place. Also evergreen trend and tips reporting with an international perspective.
Best forClear, descriptive writers who can move beyond “how to get there” and into the smells, tastes, people, and local customs that define a destination.
What to pitchCompleted submissions in first person with professional tone. New angles on popular places, lesser known destinations, or unique adventures.
Pay and rightsNon exclusive online rights. Payment of 30 to 40 US dollars per accepted story or photo essay, on publication.
How to pitch
submissions@goworldtravel.comwith story title and destination in the subject
Include your name, address, email, short bio, and links to previous work
Pitch page: https://www.goworldtravel.com/submissions/
Quick tipsAvoid laundry list itineraries. Aim for vivid description, lively anecdotes, and straightforward language with curiosity.
5. Matador Network
FocusStories with a strong, specific angle across Travel, Culture, Outdoor, Food and Drink, Lifestyle, and Entertainment. Serviceable information readers can use, plus distinctive features with a clear why now.
Best forWriters with original, specific ideas, and experience based pieces that deliver planning value or a new way of seeing a topic.
What to pitchPitch stories, not places. Each pitch should have a tight headline, audience relevance, and an angle that is not widely covered elsewhere. Current editorial needs are posted on the Matador Creators page.
Not seekingPhoto essays unless requested, profiles, bloggy or promotional copy, family travel, hotel roundups, destination guides done in house, pre trip pitches, or diary style narratives without broader takeaway.
Pay and rightsThey commission paid editorial pieces. Rates vary by brief and are handled through the editorial team. Press trip disclosures are required.
How to pitch
Use the pitch form or Matador Creators portal
Pitch page: https://creators.matadornetwork.com/matador-network-pitch-guide/
Quick tipsMake the reader the focus. Include actionable elements that let readers experience what you wrote about. Disclose any conflicts and press trips.
6. Listverse
FocusListicles on unusual or fascinating topics. Offbeat, novel angles, hidden knowledge, misconceptions, unsolved mysteries, and surprising general knowledge.
Best forWriters who can research and write tight, engaging entries with reliable sources. Native level English is required.
What to pitchA completed list with a minimum of 10 items. Each item is one or two paragraphs and must include reputable sources.
Pay and rights100 US dollars per accepted list, paid via PayPal only.
How to pitch
Submit via their online form: https://listverse.com/write-get-paid/
Editor tipsOriginality is essential.
7. Intrepid Times
FocusNarrative travel writing with heart. Authentic, human stories that capture the essence of a place, moment, or journey. They publish both veteran and first time authors.
Best forWriters who can tell a crafted literary story grounded in real experience, with scene, reflection, and a clear emotional arc.
What to pitchA complete narrative travel story that feels personal yet resonates beyond the writer. Submissions are open to subscribers of their free newsletter.
Pay and rightsThey pay all accepted writers. Specific rates are not listed publicly.
How to pitch
Subscribe to their free travel writing newsletter, then submit per their instructions
Pitch page: https://intrepidtimes.com/get-published/
Quick tipsRead recent pieces to calibrate tone and pacing. They try to respond to sincere submissions, but volume can affect response times.
Note: Updated on 31 October 2025. Removed publications that no longer accept freelance submissions and added current, paying outlets.
Pre-pitch checklist
Read three recent posts from the websites above, make sure their theme is right for you.
Define a single angle.
Note any section fit and typical length.
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