Taking off Travel blog

It’s time for our annual roundup of the best of the blog. Before I get to the list, some interesting stats. This year blog traffic increased by over 30% over the previous year. While most of you (79%) visited from the US, we also saw lots of blog readers from Canada, the UK, India and Australia. The post that generated most traffic this year was our profile of JoAnna Haugen, part of our travel blogger interview series. And now, here are the rest of the stats.

Most Discussion

Our most discussed posts this year were a mixture of old and new. This only looks at discussion on the blog but the first post on this list also generated good discussion and sharing on Twitter, Facebook and Google+:

• Do You Speak Brit?
• Three Travel Trends That Tick Me Off
• Six Travel Bloggers You Should Follow On Twitter
• Layover In LAX – Things To Do
• Inside Chicago O’Hare (ORD) Airport
• Would You Work For Free To Save Your Company?
• Layover In JFK – Things To Do
• The Best iPhone Apps For Travelers
• Top Tools For Staying Connected
• Layover In Tampa Airport (TPA)

Made You Look – Most Viewed Posts

Again, there are perennial favorites in here as well as some new ones. In this economy, it’s no surprise that our posts on saving on travel got some attention, but people were also interested in travel trends for the year:

• International Body Language, Gestures & Manners: Don’t Be “That Guy!”
• Beat The System: Killer Priceline Tricks For Hotel Deals
• The Secret To Getting Best Travel Prices on Priceline & Hotwire: Part One
• Why Hotels Hate Priceline Guests & Other Dirty Little Secrets
• Layover In JFK – Things To Do
• Layover In LAX – Things To Do
• New Indy Park Ride & Fly Opens – Travel News
• Six Sensationally Strange Celebrations From Around the World
• The Best iPhone Apps For Travelers
• Japanese Customs, Quirks & Other Fascinating Oddities
• Luggage Trends – Interview With John Ebb Of Suitcase.com

Personal Favorites

Finally, here are a few that I enjoyed writing and you enjoyed reading too.

• Pack It Up! – Online Packing List Tools
• 20 British Expressions You Will Never Hear in the US
• Fun Facts about Valentine’s Day
• Five Fab Facebook Pages for Travelers
• The ABCs Of International Business Etiquette

Today’s featured travel blogger is freelance travel writer Nancy Mueller, author of Work Worldwide: International Career Strategies for the Adventurous Job Seeker . Nancy has traveled around the world and blogs about travel on the Wanderlust and Lipstick network. You might also have seen her work on Uptake and GoNomad.

Nancy,  what’s your travel background?

My world travels include teaching in Egypt, directing an international cultural exchange program in the Pacific Northwest, presenting communication skills workshops in Canada and throughout the United States, consulting in Europe (France, Spain and Italy), whale watching on a small-ship cruise in Alaska’s Inside Passage and in the Galapagos Islands, and traveling in Brazil, Hong Kong, China and Ecuador.

What’s different about your blog or site?

My website, http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/wanderboomer is for active baby boomers, their friends & families.

What’s the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you when you travelled and how did you handle it?

The most unexpected thing that has ever happened to me when traveling was discovering a kindred spirit in a most unlikely place and time in my life. I handled it as best I could . . .

Complete the sentence: I never travel without … because …

A journal, pen and camera because I’m a travel writer!

When it comes to travel and travel blogging, who is your mentor/hero and why?

Pico Iyer is always an inspiration for his writing and his humanity as a global citizen. Beth Whitman, owner of WanderlustandLipstick.com, has been a phenomenal mentor and inspiration as an astute business owner and travel writer.

What place is on your travel bucket list? Why?

Australia and Antarctica! Then I will have been to all 7 continents.

What is your favorite travel planning tool?

I still love poring over maps and guidebooks before and after my travels.

Anything to add?

Travel with an open mind and an open heart. Treasure your travel memories.

Martina in New Zealand

This week’s featured travel blogger is Martina McAuley, whom Travelpod users will know as FlyingBat. Martina’s been traveling to various parts of the globe for 15 years. She says giving up everything to travel was one of the best decisions ever!

Martina, what’s your travel background?

I’m Irish but left Ireland in 1988 to go and live in London. I only started traveling 15 years ago. Back then, I had to make a choice between taking a promotion at work or traveling and working on my own around Europe, which I’d never done before. For me, it meant giving up my car, my job and my house in London and heading off on my own, knowing nobody and trying to get a job and accommodation in every country I went to.

Well, it was the best decision I ever made and it came down to trusting my gut instinct when making that decision. I kept coming back to Amsterdam, which is where I’m based at the moment but have gone further afield to places like America, South Africa and New Zealand. Most of my work background has been in the hospitality business, working for 20 years in bars, hotels and restaurants all over Europe but more recently I have had roles in customer service and administration. Photography is also a skill that I’m developing and my ambition is to become a freelance travel writer/photographer.

What’s different about your blog or site?

I love traveling with my heart and soul, with all its ‘ups and downs’. Writing travel blogs for me is a way, to put into words, my passion for traveling and to be able to convey that to my readers, so that they want to go there too. I only started blogging 2 years ago. I blog about my travels abroad but I also have a blog about events, concerts, exhibitions in Amsterdam that I’ve been to or I think will be interesting to go to. I have a huge passion for New Zealand, with a special interest in the Maori culture and in November 2009, had an article published in The Holland Times newspaper, about the Mana Maori Exhibition, which was held at the Volkenkunde Museum, Leiden.

I’ve been to New Zealand twice and totally fell in love with the place, the people, the stunning scenery, the diversity of things to do there, the Maori culture and the spectacular wildlife. So I would love to concentrate on writing about New Zealand and make that my niche market, if at all possible. I’m also mad about Irish music and had an article recently published in The Irish Music Magazine about the launching of the first album by a band called Kayna.

What’s the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you when you travelled and how did you handle it? Read more »

This week, I’m happy to feature Justin Mussler of The Great Family Escape. (don’t you just love that name? I know I do!) Justin and his family are ‘obsessed with travel’ and plan a long term trip around the world, traveling mostly by bike!

Justin, what’s your travel background?

Well, I have never been able to get enough travel through my system. I wasn’t raised as a traveler. My family stayed close to home, but once I went off to school and tasted the open road I just never looked back.

The biggest adventure my wife and I ever went on was a year long trip to China. We quit our jobs shortly after getting married and just went. We saw the whole country. The past few years we have been watching our kids grow and realized we want to show them the world. We travel whenever we can. A few years back we drove across America and back with our1 year old daughter on a whim. Often we just go, but this time we are planning for a big adventure.

What’s different about your blog or site?

Our blog is The Great Family Escape.

Well, we are a family that is going from the working and living in Boston to potentially traveling the world by bicycle for many years to come. We are so obsessed with travel, that we just couldn’t bear the thought of traveling short term.

Instead of waiting to travel, I wanted to track the whole process of our journey from beginning to end. I literally started before we had any idea of what, when, and how we were going to do this. In fact, we still aren’t 100% sure, but we have learned so much and have just set a date for December 1, 2012 as our ‘launch’ date.

I think our readers love the truth, candor, and the ability to find something about themselves in the writing. There is a lot of talk about lifestyle, travel, money, kids, etc…

I think people love seeing the process we are going through. And they love the idea of traveling forever. Read more »

This week, the travel blogger spotlight shines on Adam Groffman, who left his job as a graphic designer to start a round the world trip and has never looked back. He writes about his adventures in Travels of Adam.

Adam Groffman celebrates Songkran in Bangkok in Spring 2011.

Adam, what’s your travel background?

Well, I was always interested in travel thanks to my parents who instilled a strong desire to travel in me. More recently, here’s the story: In 2009 I took a short weekend trip to Iceland (from my then-hometown of Boston) and discovered that I actually really enjoyed traveling and backpacking.

I’d been working in a corporate job as a graphic designer already for 3 years and decided NOW was the time to do some more serious traveling. For me, that included resigning from my job 9 months later and then going on around-the-world trip for which I still haven’t returned. I’ve been out of America for almost 18 months now but will finally be returning home this Thanksgiving (in just a few weeks)!

Over the past 18 months, I’ve traveled some of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia. Along the way I always tried to find something interested to do and to keep my mind active–which involved a political internship for a nonprofit in Israel and checking out the tech startup scene here in Berlin.

What’s different about your blog or site?

My blog, Travels of Adam, is what I’d like to call a “hipster travel blog” which basically means anything you want to mean. I try to find and share interesting and unique stories from around the world, whether political tours in Israel or Polaroid photography exhibits in Berlin. I’m also not afraid to stay away from controversy. I think it’s important to be aware of local politics when travelling because more often than not, most travelers don’t pay attention to the important things that happen in the cultures or societies that they visit. Travel can have a big impact on a culture so it’s important to know what we may be affecting when we visit.

What’s the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you when you travelled and how did you handle it?

I’d have to say that the most unexpected thing that happened to me while travelling is the fact that, after 18 months, I’m still abroad. I never expected to last this long, to go to so many places or do so many things.

Complete the sentence: I never travel without …

My Moleskine notebook. It’s where I write down just about anything from reminders to Skype with my parents or the really good stories that I probably shouldn’t share online

When it comes to travel and travel blogging, who is your mentor/hero and why?

Well, it’s pretty cheesy, but I’d have to say that my travel hero would be my older sister. When she was in her mid 20s she also quit her job and spent several months backpacking in Europe. While she was travelling, she’d send these e-mails home which were always a lot of fun (and oftentimes interesting) to read. I actually chose the name for my blog based on what she called her e-mails.

What place is on your travel bucket list? Why?

I’ve wanted to go to Russia for a long, long time. I studied a little bit of Russian history and literature and I’d love to see the country up-close.

What is your favorite travel planning tool?

It used to be my iPod touch until that broke when I was backpacking in India. It was a quick and easy way to access information, maps, e-mail, Twitter — all the necessities!

Anything to add?

Some travel advice: When you’re abroad, don’t be afraid to talk to strangers. It makes everything so much easier and people are so much friendlier than we might think.

(Image: agroffman)