St Tola goat’s cheese and organic leaves with a tomato, basil and vodka jelly…roast hake on a risotto of pearl barley with a truffle salsa. For a story about eating and drinking stops along Ireland’s river Shannon, the Purple Onion gastro-pub in Tarmonbarry is definitely worth including.
People travel to Ireland for many reasons. Some go to unearth their heritage, to experience a glimpse of Irish history, to celebrate the spirit of the Irish people or simply to sample the spirits in the land of Jameson and Guinness. Not me. I went to Ireland to work. I’m a travel writer and my job is to bring the places I visit to life for everyone who reads my articles.
The best thing about being a freelance writer is that you can work from anywhere—so I packed up and moved to Costa Rica. It might seem like a brave move, but it was also a sensible one. The cost of living is low here—so paychecks go a long way. Plus, my family gets to experience another culture.
I had to work last Sunday. I was up by 7.30 a.m. But don’t feel bad for me just yet. Once out of bed, I slipped into my swimsuit, cover-up and flip-flops and checked out of my room at a hotel I was staying in at the mouth of the Rio Dulce in Livingston, Guatemala.
I had been staying in the tranquil Nepalese tourist town of Pokhara for a month when a travel writing assignment came in. It involved researching retirement in Nepal—and I needed to find some expats. As I sat drinking my morning chai at a lakefront breakfast joint, I wondered where all the Westerners were hiding. I had seen only a handful since I arrived, and they all seemed to be just passing through.
Today, my office is a hotel balcony on the Cote d’Azur in southern France. There’s a view of a palm-lined promenade and the glittery Mediterranean—it’s as forget-me-not blue as the sky. Back home in Ireland, my neighbors are enduring unexpected April snow showers.
It’s Wednesday night and I’m sitting in The Roaring Donkey—a neighborhood pub in Cobh, Ireland—Guinness in hand as I attempt to sing along with my new friends, the residents of this colorful town. I’m here because a local invited me to join him and his friends for an informal “jam session” of traditional Irish music.
Within a few hours of Ecuador’s capital, Quito, you can tour the jungles of the Amazon, relax on expansive, sandy beaches, or hike up snow-capped volcanoes. No wonder it’s a popular jumping-off point for adventures, or a great base from which to seek out the perfect retirement spot.
I didn’t set out to be a travel writer. And the way I fell into it was haphazard. So when the editors of IL asked me to reveal how I funded my year roaming through Latin America by writing, I didn’t think I could do it.
My childhood dream was to explore the world, treading in the footsteps of past explorers while discovering the wonders of its landscapes and people for myself. I was still just dreaming when I grew up—and I was stuck working long hours behind an office desk.
Getting paid to drink beer in Berlin, Germany—it’s so much fun being a travel writer! The first beer of the night, a sparkling wheat beer called Kristall Weizen, cost a very reasonable €2.10 ($2.79). Around 30 minutes later, I ordered a second. This time, it cost $2.52. Snigger if you must, but it was thrilling to get the timing right and save 27 cents.
I’d always wanted to be a writer. It was something I yearned to do for a living. I had worked in banking all my life but in 2008, aged 47, I decided that it was now or never—I would take a chance. So, I quit my job, sold my house, gave away my two cats (to a woman who adored them) and moved lock, stock and barrel with my wife to Malaysia.
I like to travel. I work much of the time from my home in Colorado (where my tax-deductible office is exactly 11 steps from my bedroom and has a million-dollar mountain view). But, I’ve also worked from Vail, Denver, and Leadville… I’ve toted my computer to France, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, Germany, and the list goes on (and on).
Saturday night in Murcia City, southern Spain. I’m in El Secreto tapas bar, trying to summon up the willpower to eat a sea urchin. It looks absolutely bizarre. And in all honesty, absolutely vile. But as all vacationers need to eat, food stories are a travel writer’s staple.
I don’t enjoy spending my own money. Not if I can spend someone else’s. After all, travel writers give publicity to a destination which then helps ‘sell’ it to a wider audience. And studies have shown that readers pay far more attention to a travel story than an advertisement.
Even travel writers need escapes. One of my favorite getaways is Alicante, a city on Spain’s Costa Blanca. Yes, I know I’ve disparaged “the Costas” in the past. Spain-without-the-Spanish…paunchy northern Europeans overdosing on sun, sex, and cheap booze…hideous plastic donkeys…concrete jungles…acres of lookalike vacation homes. So why Alicante? Well, there’s a big difference between seaside cities and purpose-built resorts. Alicante is lively, sunny, and inexpensive, for sure. But it’s also charming, fairly sophisticated, and its ambiance is as Spanish as that of Madrid.
Many people dream of getting paid for their passion for travel. But few ever take that first step of turning dreams into reality. I’m just back from teaching at AWAI’s travel writer’s workshop. Our “students” came from all backgrounds and walks of life—and there wasn’t one who didn’t have what it takes to be a travel writer.
I first came to Antigua, Guatemala in 2006 to study Spanish and extended my one-month language course month-by-month for seven months. By then, I’d fallen in love with the city and lifestyle, befriended both locals and expats and felt I wanted to make this a more permanent lifestyle…so I stayed.
It’s hard to believe, but the travel blog I first started in 2007 as a way to keep my family, friends and co-workers updated now nets me at least $1,000 a month, allowing me to travel and spend time in amazing places all over the world. Just in the last year, I’ve been to Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago, and my next stop may be Mexico or Argentina.
Twenty years down the road, I wouldn’t swap my lifestyle for anything. But the start of the road might have been easier—and the spoils more lucrative—if I’d known these seven things beforehand.
Steenie shares her best tips on becoming a top travel writer
Once you speak the language and armed with the right information, anyone can become a writer for profit. We’ve got five easy-to-apply tips from AWAI’s Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in Chicago to help you get started.
Dinner time on the Chinese island of Hainan Dao, but I don’t feel hungry. When presented with what resembles the diseased body parts of Things From Outer Space, your appetite tends to vanish.
Steenie Harvey travels more than any other person I know. Of course, she’s a travel writer—plane hopping comes with the territory. But even if she didn’t make a living writing about her trips, Steenie would still travel—a lot—because she loves it.
I’m sitting in a hotel room on the stunning island of Tobago. I pull back the curtains, and sunlight floods my room—it’s a perfect day. From my window, the ocean’s blue competes with the immaculately manicured gardens for my attention.
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