ExpatDen’s mission is to make it easy for current and future expats all over the world to comfortably and confidently live, work, study, retire, or start a business abroad. They publish reviews and guides. They pay based on experience level and the topic assigned to the writer. To learn more, refer to this page.
Italy Magazine’s team of local experts celebrates the best of the Bel Paese. Through sharp coverage that spans culture to food to current events, their aim is to help readers deepen their understanding of Italy for richer travels. They welcome pitches from freelance writers and journalists, and their preference is to work with those based in Italy. They write stories with travelers in mind. Most of the articles they publish range between 800-1400 words. According to their pitch guide, they pay between $.15 and $.20 per word, depending largely on the complexity of the topic and the format. To learn more, refer to this page.
Escapism is a travel print magazine published by twenty-two, a Canadian publishing house and creative agency. They pay for print-first travel guides, which are then repurposed online. Their travel features are also included in the company's food magazine, Foodism. For those, features don’t have to have a food or beverage angle, but they do need a unique perspective. Escapism's travel guides are less about first-person experiences in longform, and more about what to see, eat and do in a given destination. According to their pitch guide, they pay $600 for features of 1,200 – 1,500 words, and $0.40 per word for the travel guides, which should be 500 words and up. To learn more, refer to this page.
HI USA bring travelers together in the largest hostel network in the USA. They believe in the power of travel to foster a deeper understanding of people, places, and cultures. They encourage submissions and perspectives from members of communities that are often excluded from or marginalized in the travel space. All of their writers get paid. To learn more, refer to this page.
Viator, a Tripadvisor company, is a marketplace for travel experiences. They’re seeking roundups, guides, features, tips, and essays. According to their pitch guide, their rates begin at $290.
Thrillist is a digital media publication at the intersection of travel, experience, and local culture. They accept pitches directly from freelance writers. They publish travel guides, maps, and itineraries for destinations, as well as profiles of people and interesting places. They state to pay competitive rates. According to a tweet by their ex-editorial director, they pay $350 per article. To learn more, refer to their pitching guidelines.
Going offers cheap flight deals. They regularly seek calls for pitches on a variety of travel related topics. According to their write for us page, their rates range from $250 to $600.
Resonate is an online travel publication. They publish local stories from around the globe. The type of articles that they look for are: destination guides (1,500-2,000 words); burning issues (600-1,000 words); game changers (600-1,000 words); local stories (600-1,000 words); and travellers’ tales (600-1,000 words). According to their writers guidelines, they pay €100.
Ori Magazine is a twice-a-year travel magazine that publishes stories by talented local journalists. They would love to receive pitches from writers. According to an old tweet by their editor, features pay $0.50-$1.00/word and single page department pieces pay $200. If you want to contribute a story, then refer to their contributor inquiries page.
JRNY Travel Magazine features travel stories, essays, and photos from some of the world’s best talents. They are interested in stories about lesser-known places and new takes on more familiar ones, inquisitive, open-minded journalism, sustainable and ethical travel, achievable (it must be somewhere that readers can get to/book tickets to), and diverse voices. They are not always open to submissions. According to their pitch guide, they pay £0.20 per word.