We love to read about our own beautiful country, especially from people from around the world who have visited our shores. People from different countries seem to experience New Zealand in all sorts of different ways – from those who love the beaches and coastline to those who love our lakes and mountains. One thing all visitors have in common is that they quickly fall in love with the place.
We keep our eye on some of the best bloggers around the world, looking for inspiration and ideas for our own blogs, itineraries and guides. This month, we’re featuring 19 of the best travel bloggers from the US of A. These guys are so passionate about their travel writing and really have some awesome posts, guides, tips and all round amazing articles to read.
So, in no particular order, here are 19 of our favourite travel bloggers from the USA:
1.     The Young Adventuress
Liz Carlson is one of the best travel bloggers out there. Period. Her Instagram profile is an absolute joy and her honesty, wit and intelligent writing make her posts a joy to read. By her own admission, she can divide opinion with her honesty at times but we find her posts to be nothing short of informative and entertaining – a perfect combo for travel bloggers.
Liz is from the States but currently calls New Zealand home and has for the past four years after a stint living and working in Spain. She travels extensively throughout New Zealand and also makes regular trips overseas. Make sure you check out her amazing posts all about New Zealand and follow her on Instagram!
2.     Vagabond Journey
Wade Shepherd founded his Vagabond Journey blog way back in 2004 but he has actually been travelling the world since 1999! Whilst he can often be found in China, a place he still finds extremely fascinating, he has travelled extensively throughout New Zealand.
His last visit was back in 2017 and he has posted a heap of insightful posts from his travels throughout the country. His laid back style and humorous posts make for great reading and you soon get lost in the countless posts on our beautiful country and beyond. Make sure you check out his New Zealand posts and follow him on social media.
3.     Otts World
Sherry has been travelling (or as she likes to call it, homeless) since 2006 when she decided to quit her job in IT in New York City. Originally the plan was to take career break for a year but 13 years later and Sherry is still on the road! She has visited no fewer than 23 countries in that time and has no intention of heading back to her old corporate life any time soon!
Sherry visited New Zealand back in 2017 and absolutely loved her time here. Her posts are insightful and try to provide some ‘off-the-beaten-track’ ideas for things to do rather than the same old same old activities which we love! Make sure you check out Sherry’s New Zealand posts and follow her on social media.
4.     Getting Stamped
Hannah and Adam hail from Wisconsin and have been on their travelling journey for six years after a chance encounter with some fellow travellers on a boat ride in Belize. Since they set out on their journey, they’ve never stopped! Getting Stamped is a blog not just to inspire people to travel full time but it super helpful for those planning holidays and trips away.
They visited New Zealand in 2018 and did what so many visitors do when they come here – hired a campervan. They spent two glorious weeks travelling around the South Island and then another week day-tripping from Auckland and everything is really nicely documented with really helpful guides and tips. Check out their NZ posts and find them in social.
5.     Divergent Travelers
This is one of the most comprehensive blogs to cover New Zealand. Despite spending just five weeks in our beautiful country, Lina and David wrote an incredible 35 posts covering pretty much everywhere from top to bottom.
They have been travelling together since 2001 and made it to New Zealand in 2015. They have visited over 30 countries together and have some amazing experience but their New Zealand trip sounds totally amazing. They have a ton of helpful resources on their blog and it’s a great resource for anyone planning a trip to New Zealand. Check them out on social.
6.     Travel Freak
Travel Freak is a slightly different take on travel. It’s not just about one person’s adventure. It’s a ‘growing community of people who reject the status quo’. Travel Freak is a resource which helps people to plan their trips – short and long. With tips, tricks, travel hacks and money advice, it’s a super practical resource which is great if you are planning a trip to New Zealand.
There are 18 awesome posts on the Travel Freak blog covering New Zealand with some really useful tips, some amazing photos and some helpful advice if you think about making the move full time to New Zealand with a guide to the immigration process. Check out all of their New Zealand posts and follow them on social.
7.     You Could Travel
We love reading husband and wife travel blogs as they seem to offer up such a balanced perspective on travelling. Cory and Gergely (or G as he is more commonly known) are content creators, photographers, coffee lovers and road trippers. They have been writing on their ‘You Could Travel’ blog since 2016 so relatively new to the travel blogging world but they have lost no time in travelling and have lots of great posts from their travels.
The good news is that they visited New Zealand in 2018 so they have some really recent and relevant content if you are thinking about a trip to New Zealand with guides, road trip plans and tips on the best things to do when you get here. Check out their awesome New Zealand posts and follow them on social.
8.     The Sweet Wanderlust
The Sweet Wanderlust is somewhere between a travel blog and food blog for those who like the sweeter things in life. Brittany Kulick launched the blog back in 2015 when she said goodbye to Texas and set off to explore the world. She describes the blog as ‘the go-to resource for people with a sweet tooth and a taste for adventure’ – sounds pretty good to us!
Brittany visited New Zealand in 2017 and has a series of awesome posts (including the best desserts in Auckland and Queenstown!). One of the best, especially for any Americans planning a trip to New Zealand is her guide to road tripping in New Zealand which is also a useful resource for anyone planning a road trip around New Zealand. Check out her posts and follow Brittany on social.
9.     The Boho Chica
Originally from the USA, Natasha, author and curator of The Boho Chica, is now a Dubai-based traveller and blogger with a passion for great food and hiking trails. A self-described introvert, Natasha expresses herself through her awesome writing and insightful blogs and her passion for travel is clear to see.
Natasha visited New Zealand in January 2018 so she has some up-to-date and awesome advice for anyone planning a trip to New Zealand. We really love the advice on places to stay, no matter what your budget, as well as some of the ‘top ten’ style posts which we love to write on our own blog. Make sure you check out Natasha’s blogs on New Zealand and follow her on social media.
10. Albom Adventures
Rhonda Albom is the author and curator of Albom Adventures. Rhonda is an expat who now calls New Zealand home so her blog covers New Zealand in a lot of depth. Rhonda, along with her husband and two teenage daughters have travelled extensively before landing in New Zealand, visiting 54 countries around the world across six continents.
Make sure you check out her huge catalogue of posts covering New Zealand from top to bottom and everything in between. We love Rhonda’s writing style and her awesome photography and you will find some great tips, off-the-beaten-track guides. Living here in New Zealand, all her posts are up-to-date with the latest posting from New Zealand in September 2018. Make sure you follow Rhonda on social media and keep up with her activities in the country she now calls home.
11. LL World Tour
Lisa Lubin is a pretty inspirational travel blogger. Back in 2006, she decided to chuck it all in – the job, the guy, the ‘normal life’ – and travel around the world. Since then, Lisa has visited over 60 countries and inspired many people to get out of their comfort zone and do something different with their lives. She has now settled back down in Chicago after spending four years on the road but still travels a lot.
Lisa loved her time here in New Zealand and has some great posts about travelling in New Zealand (especially for solo travellers). Make sure you check them out and follow Lisa on social media.
12. The Blonde Abroad
Another female solo traveller inspiring plenty of people to get out of the 9-5 humdrum is Kiki from California and her Blonde Abroad travel blog. Back in 2011, Kiki took a short hiatus from her job and travelled to Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. Thankfully, she didn’t stop there and has been travelling the world for the past six years, visiting over 70 countries. She now splits her time between her home bases in California and Cape Town – quite a change!
Kiki has some really cool posts from her time in New Zealand and as well as providing some awesome travel tips, guides to destinations and tip for things to do, she also has a pretty cool ‘shop my travel essentials’ section which outlines some of the essential clothing you need for visiting certain destinations. Check out her New Zealand posts and follow Kiki on social.
13. The Traveling Blondie
Nichole is the author and curator of the Traveling Blondie blog and describes herself as ‘just a traveling blondie from small town USA’. Her blog is a bit different to your typical travel blogger and she tries to cut out all the boring personal stuff and make it all about the destination. If you want to know where to go, what to do, where to stay and where to eat, then make sure you check out Nichole’s blog.
Nichole has some great blog posts from her time in New Zealand where she travelled extensively in the South Island. Make sure you check out Nichole’s New Zealand posts and follow her on social media.
14. Finding The Universe
Jessica and Laurence are the inspiration behind the Finding the Universe travel blog and whilst they are currently based in Scotland, Jessica originally hails from Ohio in the USA. Laurence was born in the UK but spent much of his childhood growing up in the Seychelles which sounds pretty amazing to us! Their blog is a mixture of insightful postings and some pretty amazing photography.
They last made a trip to New Zealand in late 2017 and they have some really great posts from their time in beautiful Aotearoa. Make sure you check out their New Zealand blog posts and follow Jessica and Laurence on social media.
15. Miss Vacation
Another blog with a difference. Miss Vacation is not about quitting your job and travelling the world (so perhaps more relatable for most of us!) but it’s about maximising your vacation time. With only 18 days of holiday a year (they’re a bit stingy in the States), maximising your vacation time is essential. Lisa’s mission is to provide you with some awesome travel tips to save you time when planning your vacation as well as all her top advice for maximising your time in different countries.
Lisa visited New Zealand in the summer of 2016 and absolutely loved her three weeks here, exploring both the North and the South Islands. If you are planning a similar trip, make sure you check out here New Zealand blog posts and follow Lisa on social.
16. Be My Travel Muse
Another solo female traveller, Kristin is from Southern California and has been travelling the world non-stop since September 2012. Her blog is for like-minded travellers who want an ‘enriching cultural experience’ when they travel. Rather like our own blog, it’s about the road less travelled and helping you to plan an off-the-beaten-track adventure.
As well as awesome blog posts from all the places Kristin visits, she also has a super-useful Resources section on her site with guides to the cost of travelling, itineraries, planning a trip and more. Kristen last visited New Zealand in the winter of 2017 so offers up a different perspective to a lot of our travel bloggers who tend to cover the summer months. Check out Kristin’s New Zealand posts and follow her on social.
17. Land Lopers
Matt Long is the author and curator of Land Lopers – a travel blog that offers a unique perspective. Matt is another of our travel bloggers on the top 19 list that is not a backpacker and has not quit his job to go travelling. He is a ‘normal person’ who has learned to get the most out of travel experiences. Instead of keeping these experiences to himself, Matt decided to share them through his Land Lopers blog and we’re glad he did as there are some awesome posts on his blog.
It’s been a while since Matt was last in New Zealand (it looks like May 2012 was his last visit), however lots of his posts still have super-relevant content about maximising your time here in New Zealand. Make sure you check out his NZ blog posts and follow Matt on social.
18. Wandering Justin
Justin is another of our travel bloggers from the USA with a bit of a different story to tell. He has some pretty awesome traditions when he travels – he typically walks at least 8kms a day when he travels, has a tradition of running a 10k in every country he visits and loves his craft beers. He’s definitely an adventurer and a lot of his posts revolve around some sort of adventure activity which makes New Zealand a perfect destination. He also loves activities that start with a ‘Z’ like Zorbing and zip lining!
Justin was last in New Zealand in 2017 and has some cool posts about mountain biking in Nelson, exploring geothermal Rotorua and drinking craft beer in Auckland amongst many others. Make sure you check out his New Zealand posts and follow Justin on social.
19. Changes in Longitude
Our final entry in our favourite travel bloggers from the USA is middle-aged married couple Larissa and Michael and their Changes in Longitude blog. After 25 years of marriage, they decided to sell their house and ditch most of their possessions to head off and explore the world – they haven’t looked back since! They set off from Philadelphia in 2011 and after visiting six continents in their first year of travelling, they returned to the US but realised they weren’t ready to stop just yet so have just kept going!
They last visited New Zealand in late 2016, spending Christmas and the New Year here. They travelled pretty extensively throughout New Zealand and you can check out their posts as well as following their travels on social media.
So there you have it – our favourite 19 travel bloggers from the USA. All with a different story to tell. All with a different experience of exploring New Zealand. And all in love with our beautiful country! If you are looking for more travel inspiration, make sure you check out more of our favourite bloggers from right here in New Zealand and across the ditch in Australia.
Happy travels!
