Taking off Travel blog

This week’s featured travel blogger is Federico Arrizabalaga of MaiTravelSite. Fede has been a world traveler since childhood and continues to explore to find places that are different and far away.

Fede, what’s your travel background?

By the age of 10 I had lived in 3 countries in two different continents and 5 cities, so I guess it was only natural that I developed a thirst to explore and learn more about our world. As a surfer I first began to explore destinations where to ride waves, and from there I moved on to explore others as well, usually as different and a far away as possible from where I was.

What’s different about your site?

I like to tell about my experiences but I also like to provide facts and information that provide value to the reader. Very soon I will be releasing a completely new version of MaiTravelSite which will be much more user friendly and provide lots of information on how to travel the world on a budget, find accommodation, choose appropriate gear, dealing with cultural differences and all aspects involved in international travel.

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

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

I know you’ve been enjoying our Tuesday interview series profiling travel bloggers. I certainly have. So far, we have profiled 14 fantastic bloggers, with many more to come.

I’d love to feature many more bloggers, and have already approached some people privately. But I’d like to make it a bit easier for you to be a part of this. (And, let’s face it, what’s not to like? You get to link to your blog and share your favorite travel tips, resources and anecdotes).

I’m ideally looking to interview committed travel bloggers (people who have been traveling for a while and running/contributing to a travel blog for a year or more). If this is you, then email me the answers to the questions I’m about to share, along with a photo of you (I prefer active photos rather than headshots, but any photo is better than none) at sharon at parkrideflyusa dot com.

Here are the interview questions, Read more »

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 »