Flightster

40 Flightsters You Should Know About


So what exactly is a Flightster? It’s a question we’ve been trying to answer since the day we started the site. People have even come to us and said “dude, why is there nothing about the site itself in your about section?” So, I figured it was time to personify the brand. Flightsters seem to run the gamut ranging from travel addicts to adrenaline junkies to food fanatics. I can’t say there’s one thing that defines a Flightster. But from looking at the list below, I’d say if Flightsters have one thing in common, it’s that they love to travel so much that they make it a priority in their life.

@1yearsabbatical #11YearSabbatical
1YearSabbatical is the story of Matt Koenig, a Flightster who is packing up shop here in the United States, and despite some opposition, heading off to Bali for a year. But he’s not going it alone. He’s doing it with his wife and kid, and proving that this isn’t just something you can do if you’re a 20 something GenYer. Stories like Matt’s make you realize that it’s better late than never. I’m looking forward to sharing some waves with you in Bali my friend.

You can follow Matt on twitter @1yearsabbatical

@betsytalbot #2 Married with Luggage
Married with Luggage is the story of husband and wife Betsy and Warren Talbot who I interviewed a few months back on BlogcastFM. After several years in the corporate world, they have quite literally sold off every single thing that they own to travel the world. Their journey started a little less than 2 months ago and it’s already been an adventure that I’ve enjoyed reading about.

You can follow them on twitter @wtalbot and @betsytalbot

@NewLifeTravel #3 New Life Travel
Newlifetravel.tv: Brandon James quit his comfortable finance job working at a bank in order to embark on a bicycle trip from Berlin to Beijing. Originally from Chicago, he now finds himself in places like Tbilisi, Georgia and Istanbul, Turkey. Brandon is on a mission to show people that there is another way to live. You can follow your intuition and jump into a daring spiritual adventure. Trekking across the globe on his bicycle he is out to prove that anything is possible and invites those that want to follow his journey and share in pursuing unlimited potential. Follow his journey from financial analyst to nomadic wanderer.

You can follow him on twitter @NewLifeTravel

@wanderingearl #4 Wandering Earl
WanderingEarl: On December 25th, 1999, Earl left the USA for a three-month, post-graduation trip to Southeast Asia. Nearly 12 years later the trip has yet to finish. The trip has involved 67 countries on 6 continents and is still an ongoing adventure in the making. Branding himself a new breed of explorer, Earl has shown that it is possible to be a perpetual nomad. He has settled down and found work in certain places he has liked along the way. This includes 2 years in India with experimental meditation, teaching English in Southeast Asia, working on board a cruise ship, settling in Mexico for months to focus on his writing along with countless other places. Fueled by freedom, Earl lives and breaths travel. "Knowing that I could pack all of my possessions into my one backpack and hop on a flight to anywhere in the world on any given day is a freedom that I don’t want to give up. It is the most exhilarating feeling known to man, at least to this man." - Derek Earl Baron.

You can follow him on twitter @wanderingearl

@whereisjenny #5 Where is Jenny?
WhereisJenny is the story of location independent minimalist Jenny Leonard who is rebooting her life and leaving everything behind to travel the world and be a digital nomad. Anybody who is an adrenaline junkie with a serious travel bug is a Flightster you should know. Spend a few minutes at her site and I promise you’ll get lost in it for hours. I had a hard time completing this post when I came across her blog because I wanted to spend the rest of the day reading her content.

You can follow her on twitter @whereisjenny

@irishpolyglot #6 Fluent in 3 months
Fluent in 3 Months is the epic story of my Irish friend Benny Lewis who I appropriately met in a bar for the first time (even though he doesn’t drink). Benny is a professional language hacker. If you’re wondering what that means, it means he travels to different countries, sets up shop and becomes fluent in the local language in 3 months. If you ever needed a Flightster to be your wingman, Benny is your go to guy since he speaks 9 languages.

You can follow him on twitter@irishpolyglot

@allofusrev #7 All of us Revolution
All of us Revolution might not technically be a “travel” blog, but Kristin and Shannon are on a mission to do something revolutionary. Their goal is to create a fashion line that breaks the rules of the industry by using fair trade and creates jobs in developing countries. These are two Flightsters that are making the world a better place.

You can follow them on twitter @allofusrev

@ryangoesabroad #8 Ryan Goes Abroad
RyanGoesAbroad is the story of another language hacker in the making. Along his journey he’s attempting to find his way as a bootstrap entrepreneur, amateur photographer, and philosopher. He’s headed to Colombia in a few months and I’m looking forward to his adventure.

You can follow him on twitter @ryangoesabroad

@landlopers #9 LandLopers
Landlopers is the story of Matt Long who is experiencing the world on a budget. Anybody who writes hilarious content like “How to Annoy Everyone on You Next Flight” leaves you no choice but to include them on a list like this. That post turned me into a loyal reader of his blog.

You can follow him on twitter @landlopers

@spencerspellman #10 The Traveling Philosopher
The Traveling Philosopher: This is the story of Spencer Spellman, who got on a plane alone for the first time at age 8 and has been addicted to travel ever since. He’s a regular contributor at a number of popular blogs and definitely a Flightster you should know about.

You can follow him on twitter @spencerspellman

@igniteadventure #11 Lifestyle Ignition
Lifestyle Ignition : Mark Lawrence has an insatiable craving for travel that is fed by hair brained schemes that result in frequent flyer miles and shameless marketing efforts that makes him one of my favorite Flightsters. Mark has even written a few awesome articles here about Burning Man and Couchsurfing.

You can follow him on twitter @igniteadventure

@stretchdnick #12 Stretchd
Stretchd is the part personal development/part travel laugh out loud story of Nick Laborde who is decided to give up on the American dream in pursuit of a much more noble cause in my opinion: selling everything he owns and traveling the world. Flightsters like Nick put a smile on my face every single day.

You can follow him on twitter @stretchdnick

@toddwassel #13 Todd’s Wanderings
Todd’s Wanderings: Todd is a conflict resolution and human rights expert who has lived in Japan, Thailand, Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, most currently Kosovo, and visited over 30 countries. People ask me how I choose blogs to read and how find people to interview for my podcast. It comes down to one thing, people with interesting stories. Todd is no exception. The minute I came across his site (thanks to a referral) I was drawn into his story. Spend a few minutes here at his blog and you’ll see exactly why he’s a flightster I think you should know about.

You can follow him on twitter @toddwassel

@DangerousBiz #14 A Dangerous Business
A Dangerous Business: Amanda Williams got on my radar quite recently and we’ve been twitter buddies ever since. Her travel philosophy is summed up in a great quote on her blog“It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and, if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.” Anybody who identifies themselves as a travel addict is a Flightster you should know about.

You can follow her on twitter @DangerousBiz

@lachlancotter #15 The Art of Audacity
The Art of Audacity: With a domain like that, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by this blog. This the awesome story of Lach, a guy who is reinventing himself through a series of weekly challenges. Conveniently some great travel adventures are also part of that story. It always makes me smile to see another Flightster who is challenging the status quo.

You can follow him on twitter @lachlancotter

@chickybus #16 ChickyBus
ChickyBus: Lisa is yet another Flightster who has abandoned corporate America and finding herself off the beaten path. She provides travel tips, spirituality and humor for women (and a few brave men). After I read about the chicken buses that you’ve been on, it’s safe to say any man would be brave to take hop on one of these things. Maybe I’ll run into you on a chicken bus one of these days.

You can follow her on twitter @chickybus

@backpackerbrock #17 Backpack with Brock
BackpackwithBrock: Brock is a twenty-something Flightster who was raised on a small farm and moved to the big city to go to school. Depressed about the recession? Brock certainly isn’t. He’s turned into the perfect excuse to travel the world. I heard a rumor that he was even on Canadian Idol.(They have Canadian Idol?)

You can follow him on twitter @backpackerbrock

@YtravelBlog #18 y Travel Blog
YTravelBlog: No list of Flightsters could possibly be complete without some Aussies on the list. Everywhere I’ve ever traveled to I seem to meet Aussies. Travel seems to be a huge part of the Aussie culture, so much so, that many spend a year traveling the world after high school. I wish all cultures embraced that mindset. Craig and his wife Caz have been traveling the world are on a mission to make their life into a story they can tell. I’d say it’s a mission that’s been accomplished.

You can follow them on twitter @YtravelBlog

@babackpacker #19 Breakaway Backpacker
Breakaway Backpacker: Jaime is a twenty-something Flightster on a mission to breakaway from his home in Houston, Texas and backpack the world. If you need some guidance on planning your personal exodus the breakaway backpacker is a perfect place to start.

You can follow him on twitter @babackpacker

@joanna_haugen #20 Kaleidoscope Wandering
Kaleidoscope Wandering: Joanna is a Flightster that sees the world as a rainbow of colors and wants to paint with them all. With colorful photography and awesome content I’d say she’s well on her way to painting a masterpiece.

You can follow her on twitter @joanna_haugen

@maryinjapan #21 World Curious Traveler
World Curious Traveler: Mary Richardson is a Flightster currently living in Okinawa, who seems to have been a travel junkie from a very early age. She writes about saving money, seeking memorable encounters, and getting out of the rut.

You can follow her on twitter @maryinjapan

@seanogle #22 Location 180
Location 180: Sean Ogle is no stranger to fame at this point. His story is one of the many epic stories in the Art of Non-Conformity. He was the very first student of the TropicalMBA and I think it’s safe to say he’s headed for great things. I’ve had the good fortune to conduct and interview with Sean. Any Flightster that is blazing his own trail on the quest for world domination is one that you should know about.

You can follow him on twitter @seanogle

@codymckibb #23 Thrilling Heroics
Thrilling Heroics: Cody is a blend of travel blogger/lifestlyle designer who is living it up in Thailand while running Thrilling Heroic Consulting. He also has had the good fortune of being featured in the Art of Non-Conformity. He’s definitely a Flightster you should Know about.

You can follow him on twitter @codymckibb

@maitravelsite #24 MaiTravelSite
MaiTravelSite: When I came across Frederico’s site, I saw in the about page that he was a fellow member of a tribe(surfers) that I have pledged life long loyalty to. I knew that I had to include him in this post. Anybody who loves the ocean and ties travel into that love for it is a Flightster you should know about.

You can follow him on twitter @maitravelsite

@awanderingsole #25 A Wandering Sole
AwanderingSole: Laura Walker is another Flightster/professional nomad who caught the travel bug at an early age. She’s on an 8 month journey around the world, taking in what life has to throw her way and dishing up what she has to offer.

You can follow her on twitter @awanderingsole

@NVRguys #26 No Vacation Required
No Vacation Required: This is a great blog about two Flightsters on a mission to live their dream life everyday. What does that mean? They’ve essentially reengineered their lives to make traveling and learning about the world a top priority.

You can follow them on twitter @NVRguys

@jodisagorin #27 if you never did, you should
IfYouNeverDid: Jodi Sagorin is a Flightser writing to start a revolution that causes people to evaluate their lives on their own terms. Ready to rebel against the status quo and travel the world while you are at it? Subscribe to Jodi’s Blog. This is one of my favorite new discoveries courtesy of Mark Lawrence.

You can follow her on twitter @jodisagorin

@amzkiz #28 Don’t Ever Look Back:
Don’t Ever Look Back: Amy and Kieron are two Aussie Flightsters who have bitten hard by the travel bug after their first international trip. In 2011 they’ll be starting their extended tour which will start in North America.

You can follow them on twitter @amzkiz

@livingintransit #29 Living In Transit
LivinginTransit Jen and Eli are two Flightsters who started their journey across the world a little less than a month ago. Their blog is dedicated to learning everything there is to know about long term travel and sharing it with the world. If you’re wondering how to make adjustments to your own life in a transit, this is a must read blog.

You can follow them on twitter @livingintransit

@travoholic #30 Nerdy Nomad
NerdyNomad: Kirsty is a Flightster who headed to Australia with a one way ticket after she graduated in 2001. She’s been traveling ever since and funds her travels through her earnings from the internet. If you’re wondering how to keep the cash flow positive while you are on the road, I recommend you subscribe to her blog.

You can follow her on twitter @travoholic

@laurenabroad #31 Lauren's Road Less Traveled
Lauren's Road Less Traveled: Lauren is a Flightster who is nuts about travel and squirrels. A study abroad in Australia ignited her love for travel and it doesn’t look like that fire is going to burn out anytime soon.

You can follow her on twitter @laurenabroad

@OrdinaryTravelr #32 Ordinary Traveler
Ordinary Traveler: Christy and Scott are two Flightsters living in San Diego, who also happen to be surfers (yes, that definitely made me want to include them on this list). Ordinary traveler is based on the premise that “ordinary people can lead extraordinary lives.” So, if you are stuck in the 9 to 5 and want to travel, check out what Scott and Christy have to say about that.

You can follow them on twitter @OrdinaryTravelr

@unbravegirl #33 unbrave girl
UnbraveGirl: Sally is a Flightster who writes, teaches, performs, takes photos, travels, and eats many things. She is apparently scared of everything, but seems to be challenging her fears through a series of interesting travel adventures.

You can follow her on twitter @unbravegirl

@overyonderlust #34 Over Yonderlust
OverYonderlust: Shaun and Erica are two happily married Flightsters who are adding stamps to their passports one country at a time. When they’re not traveling and dealing with allergies in Austin, they play video games under the influence of decongestants (according to their tweets).

You can follow them on twitter @overyonderlust

@forksandjets #35 Fork and Jets
ForkandJets: Eva and Jeremy Rees are two self-proclaimed yuppie Angelinos (yeah, I’m kind of one too) who are escaping the 9 to 5, the 40 hour work week and this corner of the world which I recently described in my post called Los-Angelism: Life in the City of Angels. They’re leaving behind flat screen TV’s, and a bunch of other toys. These Flightsters are trekking across the world in search of food, and documenting the journey.

You can follow them on twitter @forksandjets

@CorneliusAesop #36 Monkey Brewster
Monkeybrewster: Cornelius Aesop is a Flightster on a mission to figure out what makes humans tick. In a moment of clarity during a cab ride through Rio De Janeiro he realized that he’d have to become a globe trotter to accomplish half of the things on his bucket list.

You can follow him on twitter @CorneliusAesop

@LaurRains #37 The Mad to Live
TheMadtoLive: Lauren got on my radar during our Flightster writing contest when she sent me a video of her adventures that made want to give her my job and trade places with her. A cross between personal development and travel blog, her site site inspires people to figure out what they want out of life and get started on living it to the fullest. I also recommend giving her bucket a list a read.

You can follow her on twitter @LaurRains

@mikeachim #38 Fevered Mutterings
Mike Sowden: Mike is a Flightster who write about The Art of Unfortunate Travel. Through a series of entertaining anecdotes Mike shares his mistakes and gives us valuable lessons to learn from them.

You can follow him on twitter @mikeachim

@nevendingvoyage #39 Never Ending Voyage
NeverendingVoyage: Simon and Erin are two Flightsters who have sold everything to to travel the world indefinitely. So I guess it really is a never-ending voyage.

You can follow them on twitter @nevendingvoyage

@mobilelawyer #40 Go, See, Write
GoSeeWrite: Michael Hodson is an Flightster who took off on his birthday to take on a challenge in 2008 that is probably not for those of us who fear uncertainty. Without getting on a plane, he made it home through 6 continents and 44 countries.

You can follow him on twitter @mobilelawyer

PG

Srinivas Rao

Srinivas is an avid surfer and personal development blogger at The Skool of Life. He's also the host and co-founder of BlogcastFM, a podcast for bloggers.

42 Comments

  1. 1 year ago
    Greg Samson

    This is an excellent list of writers! Nice work Srinivas…

    Reply
  2. 1 year ago
    Michael Hodson

    Wow — very honored to be included, especially with this great group!

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Michael

      It was my pleasure to include you in the roundup. I had a blast reading the blogs of everybody on this list as I was putting it together.

  3. 1 year ago
    Mark

    I love roundups like these! There’s so many great blogs that hadn’t been on my radar, and some that had been. Thanks for the inclusion!

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Mark,

      Thanks for your help in getting some of these on my radar. I think discovering new bloggers is always a blast and I think there’s some rising stars in this group.

  4. 1 year ago
    Caz makepeace

    So excited to be included in this great list. Thank you so much. I love most of the blogs here and the others I don’t yet know but I’m sure I’m going to love them. Awesome choices

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Caz

      Thanks for your comments on this post and previous ones :) .

  5. 1 year ago
    Norbert

    Really good list of Flighsters. I follow most of them already, but discovered a few new faces. Looking forward to read more about them.

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Norbert,

      If we can help new bloggers discover each other because of this post then I’d say I’ve accomplished what I had hoped to with the post :)

  6. 1 year ago
    Jenneil

    I love learning about new bloggers (or those I have never heard of before). Thanks for posting this list. It is definitely a great resource.

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Jenneil,

      Thanks for some of your recommendations which made it to the list :) . I got to discover lots of new people in this process too.

  7. 1 year ago
    Nick Laborde

    I’m super pumped to be among such awesome bloggers. I’m glad you decided to focus on rising stars. Of course some of them are already rock stars in my book. Now I gotta check out some of the new ones I haven’t discovered yet.

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Nick,

      If you remember my post how to build a tribe, that’s more or how I focused on building this list. Blogging has taught me that rising stars eventually become superstars so I’m glad to have people like you on this list.

  8. 1 year ago
    Matt

    Holy crap!! What a fantastic list of some of the coolest people around. I’m honored to be included. I know quite a few on this list but I see I’ve got some new friends to meet. Awesome that you put this fantastic list of Flightsters together Srinivas and I am looking forward to sharing those waves with you in Bali!

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Matt,

      Glad to have you on this list and thanks for you help in finding some of the people on this list. I’m really glad to be a part of this group too :)

  9. 1 year ago
    Natalie - Turkish Travel Blog

    Brilliant list. I know some of the bloggers but there is also some new faces there for me. Reading time sorted.

    Reply
  10. 1 year ago
    Amanda

    Now this is a list I am truly honored to be on. Some of these blogs I’ve been following for a long time, while others I’ve never even heard of. But it seems like one thing we all have in common is that passion for travel. Thanks so much for putting this together (I know it probably took a lot of work!), and for including my little corner of the Internet.

    Reply
  11. 1 year ago
    Colin Wright

    LOTS of great people on here, including some new ones I haven’t seen before.

    An epic undertaking well-performed, Srini!

    Reply
  12. 1 year ago
    Matt

    Great list including some of the best up-and-coming travel bloggers out there.

    Reply
  13. 1 year ago
    Jaime

    This is really a great list and I am honored to be a part of it. Thanks for taking the time and putting this list together. I have been following most of these blogs for a while and have discovered some new ones.

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Jaime,

      Thanks for you support both here on Flightster and on my personal blog. I’ve had a blast connecting with all these new travel bloggers :)

  14. 1 year ago
    Farnoosh

    My gosh, what a wonderful, fascinating, great world these adventure seekers are exploring. I love love LOVE traveling. I am home from a Thanksgiving in Berlin and not because we know a soul there (well I did meet a blogger) but just because – and off to Seattle for the weekend….I flew 100,000+ miles this year and I am ready to go back a day after I get home….Travel is addictive, satiating, delicious, hard and easy at the same time, but always so rewarding. I need to explore the archives more for the stories. Thank you Srini for the Fab Forty here!!

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Farnoosh,

      The people on the list are definitely inspiring, entertaining, and informative. Each one has great content and brings something unique to the table.

  15. 1 year ago
    Dan Collins

    Awesome list of bloggers here! Glad to say I already read most of their blogs… but there’s a few I’ve not seen before so will be sure to check them out!!

    Reply
  16. 1 year ago
    Ayngelina

    Great round up, I knew most of them but there are a few that somehow slipped under my radar. Love these kinds of posts.

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Ayngelina,

      Thanks for your comments and ongoing support :)

  17. 1 year ago
    Jodi (legalnomads)

    This is a great list, and I like the personal description for each of the blogs. Many of the people listed here have become good friends during my ongoing travels, and they are not only great bloggers but great people too.

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Jodi,

      Thanks for the comments and support. Each one of these bloggers really intrigured me with their stories. I’m also glad it’s brought people I hadn’t yet heard of out of the woodworks so I have more cool travel blogs to read.

  18. 1 year ago
    Lauren

    Hey Srini! Thanks for including me on this list! :D I’ve been following quite a few of these clearly awesome people, but now I’ve got a few more to add to my list :)

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      Lauren,

      It’s my pleasure. I thin you’re a star on the rise so I had to include you in this list :) .

  19. 1 year ago
    greg urbano

    wow that is some list!

    Reply
  20. 1 year ago
    Lizelle

    Awesome list! There are so many amazing travelers out there it is hard to keep count! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  21. 1 year ago
    Kieron

    Thanks again for featuring us on this list – we can’t believe we missed seeing this post earlier!

    We’re following a lot of these awesome bloggers already but some others on the list we didn’t know about until now – thanks for introducing us to them. :)

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas Rao

      My pleasure. As I’d said on Twitter, I really enjoyed what you are up to. I think the funnest thing about putting together this list learning about all these bloggers.

  22. 1 year ago
    Lisa E @chickybus

    I somehow stumbled onto this list and noticed that I’m on it….wow…and thank you so much! I truly appreciate it and feel honored to be here with the others, many of whom I know from Twitter. Thanks and I hope to see on you a chicken bus sometime soon! :)

    Reply
    • 1 year ago
      Srinivas

      Lisa,

      My pleasure to have included you. When I put this together I looked for interesting people with interesting stories and yours definitely stood out.

  23. 1 year ago
    adnes

    Great, Thanks again for featuring us on this list, We’re following a lot of these awesome bloggers already but some others on the list we didn’t know about until now – thanks for introducing us to them. :)

    Reply
  24. 1 year ago
    Cam @ Traveling Canucks

    Wow – great list. Some new peeps to check out.

    Reply
  25. 1 year ago
    Roy

    Great list, but I think you’re missing one awesome blog: http://baconismagic.ca

    Reply
  26. 4 months ago
    Justin McClelland

    This is a great list. I’m bookmarking it right now. I can’t wait to read about these 40 interesting people.

    Reply
  27. 3 months ago
    Christopher

    I’ve Bookmarked all of these people…..great list !!!

    Reply
  28. 2 months ago
    Shaun

    Excellent list. How was it chosen? Can we apply for the next list :)

    Reply

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