How to write articles about travel that sizzle, without ever leaving home!

We all remember those grade school assignments involving a report on “What I did on summer vacation”, right? Some kids in my class apparently had a far more exciting summer than I, with trips to Disneyland, Hawaii and Yellowstone Park. As a matter of fact, I sometimes wondered if they'd actually made these trips, or had just gone to the library and done some research. These kids either had a heck of a good summer, or were early-flowering creative writers. I wonder how many went on to write articles about travel. Probably not many, but the point here is that if you want to write articles about travel, research on the net provides all the material you'll need.

Growing up in San Francisco, our family vacations consisted of weekend outings in Golden Gate Park – which, incidentally, I found fascinating and thrilling – or perhaps a picnic in Marin County. By the time I visited Disneyland, the summer vacation reports were no longer assigned! Not until I took a creative writing class in 9th grade did I realize that imagination and research were a winning combination. Our final consisted of a paper which described an activity we loved and which incorporated illustrations and photos. I decided to write a travel article of sorts, detailing the wonders of the northern California coastline.

This was my first attempt to write articles about travel. Although not well traveled at the time, I went for the 'write what you know' strategy. My outline was broken down into all of the segments of West coast beach attractions. I gathered magazine photos to paste into my report in the appropriate places – remember, this was the 1960s. I knew nothing of copyright laws. No one but the teacher would see the piece. For me, the challenge was to present my passion for the sea in the most convincing manner. I was rewarded with an A grade, much to my surprise.

So, if you want to write articles about travel, where do you begin? Let's say you have not been so fortunate as to have visited the highlands of Ireland, although you'd jump at the chance. You've heard of the armchair traveler. Do some intensive research on the net. Check out some travel guides from the library. Search out travel website articles on the highlands. See what others have written, with an eye  to the focal points. When you write articles about travel, you need a slant, highlighting some aspect of the destination. For example, you might write about the distinctiveness of the culture, or ferret out little-known but quaint hotels, B&B's, restaurants and pubs. You might make your focus the history of the area and historical sights.

As for photos, when you write articles about travel, including photos is a must if you want to get published. Short of traveling to a faraway destination, you can buy some nice photos from the stock photo sites, which, depending on your topic and the publication, may do the trick in capturing an editor's attention.

If you decide to write articles about travel, based on past vacations, you doubtless have some good original photos of the area which serve to highlight your topic. If you kept a travel journal, you've got all the notes you need to flesh out your article and make it sizzle with your target audience.

Travel articles hit the spot with both vicarious and real time travelers. If you're a travel buff, you can write articles about travel destinations you might only dream of visiting. Do your research and let your imagination and creativity fill in the gaps. Over time, you can build a client base that adds a little bit of satisfying income.