I tell travel stories for a living. I do this because I can't NOT tell travel stories - every experience I have is shaped in the moment and waits in anticipation to shoot out of my fingertips.
And I live to share those stories with an audience. As humans, we're hard-wired to be influenced by storytelling, and I feel like stories are what inspire people to actually book a trip.
To be honest, though, compelling stories are what's missing from most travel blogs today, where SEO-driven travel planning posts make up the majority of the content.
We have SO many great travel stories to tell. But we're not telling them as often as we should. So I decided to share some of the best stories in one place.
I reached out to my travel blogger friends to share their most entertaining posts of all time. Nothing travel planning-oriented, nothing keyword- or affiliate-stuffed - just fun, entertaining stories that would make a stranger smile or laugh. And did they EVER pay off!
Each of these stories is a treasure. I hope you enjoy them.
Note: Due to COVID-19 and a dwindled demand for travel worldwide, travel bloggers have lost significant portions of their incomes. Between people not researching or booking travel and advertisers reducing their spend, many travel bloggers will be making a small fraction of their usual income for months. The best thing you can do right now is find a story you like on this list and visit several pages on their blog. It costs you nothing, but your eyes on their display ads (no clicks necessary, we get paid by views!) will earn them some much-needed cash in a difficult time. Want to help out even more? If you love one of these blog posts, sign up for their email newsletter. You can find mine here.
Are you looking to read about crazy mishaps that happened on the road? Here are some good ones!
OMG. I had never read this one before but this is one of the funniest travel stories I've ever read! Jared tells the story of when diarrhea hit at the worst time ever - on a Chinese bus - and where he ultimately ended up pooping!
Jodi is well-known for being pooped on while traveling - 14 birds and one bat so far - but this post shared plenty more of those stories, including the most embarrassing way to ask where to catch the bus in Argentina.
Lauren is well-known for her extensive list of disastrous "travel incidents" around the world. This one involves a snorkeling trip where she accidentally flashed her vag to an entire boat of people, including a family with young kids.
Imagine being a travel writer who gets paid to stay in a luxurious resort in the Maldives. Dream job, huh? Now imagine that you get hit by the worst diarrhea of your life while pretending that everything is normal as the staff gives you a tour. Janet lays out her experience in excruciating detail.
I may be a city girl who took her first steps in a tent - but not all city girls take to camping so easily. Melissa shares a camping adventure in Newfoundland that did not go as planned! (NEVER forget the bottle opener!)
What happens when you rent a weird pea-green car that looks like an emaciated Volkswagen Beetle? Well, you definitely get an adventure out of it, Emily shares. Know this before you rent a tiny car on a Mexican island.
Sometimes you have a travel day when you hit disaster after disaster after disaster - and sometimes it's when you're on your first full travel day with your boyfriend, ever. That happened to Steph in Phuket, but soon she found a way to turn it around.
In this round-up, Cassie shares tons of stories from her adventures around the world - from climbing a mountain overnight without any warm gear to letting a guy kiss her and having him follow her around Laos for two weeks, she's had a lot of hilarious-in-retrospect mishaps on the road!
Continuing the bodily fluids theme, Chris shares a rather disgusting late-night incident in a hostel dorm - proving that sometimes fellow backpackers are the most horrifying thing you could run into on the road.
From missing a flight at the last minute due to a nosebleed to getting mistaken for a child at the age of 32, Paroma shares her favorite travel mishaps she's collected over the years.
And I thought I was terrified in the Monkey Forest in Ubud - Victoria and Steve got TRAPPED in a house surrounded by monkeys and couldn't escape! One of my worst nightmares.
Norbert had never driven stick before in his life - so when the car he rented in Morocco turned out to have a manual transmission, he figured he could just wing it and learn to drive stick that day. NOT SO MUCH! As a fellow driver who has never driven stick, I felt this one.
If you had the chance to get a massage for just $16 in the heart of Kerala, India, you would go for it, wouldn't you? Then Jessie found out that this massage was done naked. COMPLETELY naked. With lots of oil and boob massage.
Sometimes mishaps can be on the dark side - though often you'll find aspects of them humorous in retrospect. Either way, you won't want to miss these posts.
When horseback riding in rural Mongolia, Theodora's son fell and severely broke his arm...in the middle of absolute nowhere. This kicked off a breathless emergency of trying to find healthcare in one of the most remote places on Earth. It's a gripping read.
What's worse than getting bitten by a bunch of bugs in the night? Getting bitten by giant mutant insects whose bites swell up enormously...right in the middle of your forehead. Nathan details the story of his medical incident in Morocco and a doctor's office that looks straight out of Chernobyl.
One of the scariest things while traveling is when a man has fixated on you - and because the culture is so different, you're not sure whether you should be afraid or not. In this story, Marieke shares the story of an Indian man who showed up at her door and kept refusing to leave.
Do you love stories about love? I bet you do!! Here are three stories that will make you believe in finding love on the road.
This is an ongoing series on Brenna's blog where she tells the stories of the loves she's met while traveling. This is a short story that feels like it's much longer - an incredibly romantic dalliance with a French man on a tropical island, then how it all crashes down once returning to real life.
It's been years, but this is still one of my favorite posts I've ever written. I share ten different love stories from my travels, and tell you the ten locations where they took place - but you have to use logic and deduction to figure out which location matches with each story. Nobody has ever guessed all 10 correctly. Maybe you will.
Looking back to days on one of the most beautiful beaches near El Nido in the Philippines, Marky tells the story of a special girl and the sweet moments they shared on one of the most idyllic islands in the world. They've long since broken up, but he gently holds the experience in his hand, frozen in time.
These are the moments that got us out of our comfort zone, introduced us to memorable characters, and turned us into better travelers - and people.
Every now and then, you meet someone who restores your faith in humanity. Gunther the taxi driver was one of those people - not only did he defy the odds to get Kash to his bus on time, he was unbelievably kind about the dilemma that happened next.
The Kumano Kodo hike in Japan is one of the most famous spiritual pilgrimages in the world. Richelle was excited to get out of her comfort zone - then ended up doing the hike in convenience store waterproof pants. Despite a very tough start, it turned out to be a fantastic experience.
Sometimes the most magical travel experiences take place in the most remote areas. Abi extols the romance and beauty and culture of these isolated villages of Morocco, yet wonders if bringing more travelers here would be a good thing.
When Ashley went to Rishikesh, India, for yoga teacher training, she went out of her comfort zone by staying sober, sticking to a vegetarian diet, and giving up complaining. Did it work? In some ways, yes, and she learned a lot about herself from the experience.
So your girlfriend has dropped her camera in the Nam Song river in Laos. Surely a lost cause, isn't it? Not for Poi - a.k.a. Super Boyfriend - who leaped to the rescue, underwater among the sharp rocks.
Alaska is a destination that so many travelers dream of - but the reality ends up looking different from what you pictured. Mike and Anne share gorgeous photos and stories from their multi-year honeymoon.
A lot of bloggers swear that controversial posts are the way to get traffic. I agree, as long as you go about it the right way. By that, I mean make a point, be fair, and defend it well. And PLEASE don't trash the Philippines just to get crazy traffic.
It seems so fashionable to hate the "Instagram girl" with the popular travel account - after all, who really wears a ball gown on top of a mountain? But in this post, Victoria points out why the hate is misguided and the reasons why we should be supporting women with unconventional careers.
Sure, Wales is beautiful and fun and interesting to explore, Amanda writes - but do they REALLY need all those castles and myths? Come on, now. (Let's say some people didn't quite get the sarcasm.)
I'm sorry, why are we even traveling, anyway? It's so annoying, Mitch says! What if people don't speak English? What if you're forced to challenge your preciously held views? WHAT IF YOU GET LOST AND CAN'T GET UN-LOST?! Better stay at home.
Turning 40 and continuing to backpack around the world as a single woman with no kids. It's what Christine enjoys - but is this what she really should be doing at this age? For her, the answer is yes - and this post really shows how deep our cultural norms can set.
When people love food and wine and music as much as Tommo and Megsy, it's not surprising that they're equally passionate about what they hate: hiking. Who needs to go back to nature? Who likes going somewhere without pubs? Is it a bonding experience? Bonding in misery, maybe!
Travel blogs are a great place to learn something new! And often it's something you NEVER thought you needed to know...
Who knew just the act of throwing out your trash was so ridiculous and complicated in Germany?! Ali shares what she's learned as an expat in Berlin. Also, the comments are a gold mine here.
Worrying about stocking up on toilet paper? Indians don't use toilet paper at all! India expert Mariellen shares all the tips for using the toilet in an unconventional (better?) way, and shares a hilarious video from Wilbur Sargunaraj.
Reese spent years living in Puerto Rico, and during that time she went through quite a few power outages, including a four-day outage in 2016. Step one? Immediately buy all the cold beer you can and take it home!
Have you ever stopped in your tracks at the sight of a bidet in a bathroom in Italy or France and not known exactly how to use it? Lisa shows you what you need to know. Because there's nothing better than a clean anus!
All of us love to travel for the unusual things we discover on the road. Here are some of the best stories of unusual discoveries while traveling.
Did you know that the ancient ruins of Pompeii are filled with penises? WELL, YOU DO NOW! Katie visited the ruins for a day and was struck by how you can find a peen outline just about everywhere you look.
Proof that there's lots to be loved here in lesser-known parts of the US - and I love this sign that Lillie shared from a farmer with a side of sass!
Naples is one of the greatest food cities in Italy - if not all of Europe - so it's no surprise that the felines and canines of this city are as plump as they are adorable! A cute post from Daryl and Mindi.
The Lake District of England is a wonderful place for a scenic drive...if it weren't for the kamikaze sheep who leap right in front of your car! I didn't believe how fearless the sheep were until I saw Heather's crazy photos.
You don't have to be afraid of clowns to be creeped out by this weird museum, Ashley opines. If you're a hardcore circus fan, sure, knock yourself out! Other people? You don't know what you're getting into...
Who knew it was so hard to grocery shop in the UK as an American? (Me. Boy, do I know that.) Turns out none of the items are the same as what you would look for in the US (no tomato sauce ANYWHERE!) and Julie struggles to find normal items she just wants to cook.
Tuk-tuks are one of the most common forms of transportation in India - and they can be TERRIFYING. Nicole and Cam vividly share every detail of a typical tuk-tuk ride, from near-accidents to carefully maneuvering around cows, and you'll be white-knuckling it along with them.
When Jeremy and Angie had to spend the night in a Colombian border town, Angie chose a nondescript hotel. Well. Turns out it was filled with a wide cadre of "hourly" guests all night long - and the walls were paper-thin.
You know...these funny posts don't fit anywhere else, so here they are.
Forget those usual bucket list items - go skydiving! See Machu Picchu! - and focus on things that you CAN do. Trip on a shoelace. Use a leaf as a bookmark. Walk into plate glass. Mike makes sure you'll finish this post with a smile on your face.
So once the zombie apocalypse actually hits, where should people be going? Chris shares his favorite spots, including Louisville, home to the famous baseball bat. I have to admit, the isolated Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha is an inspired choice.
Guilherme and his twin brother Gregório are identical twins who travel together - and they are VERY distinctive-looking. They get photographed nonstop, people who meet them individually refuse to believe there are two of them, and yes, they play a lot of pranks. (I laughed out loud at their hostel prank!)
Thanks for reading! We loved sharing these posts with you.
Which one of these stories was your favorite? Share away!
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