This is what it looks like when we plan a trip at Fathom HQ.
Traveling can be exhilarating and exhausting, inspiring and intimidating all at once. But with every personal connection the world gets smaller and more navigable. All it takes is one compelling tale about Ouagandougou, and going there suddenly seems easy.
At Fathom, we have three missions. One: To help you indulge your love of travel whether you're on the road or staying home. Two: To narrow down the endless options (hotels, sites, destinations) to those that feel really special. And three: To seek out the best travel stories from our network of trusted sources as well as the world at large. With all of these in mind, we present the 24 bloggers and websites that most inspire us to pack our bags and see the world.
We asked them the same thing we ask everyone: What do you travel for? And we invite you to tell us what you travel for on Twitter (use #itravelforthe) and Facebook.
You'll be seeing more of these amazing writers and travelers on Fathom. We're thrilled to get to know them better. Stay tuned.
Alex Robertson Textor
What We Love: We met when he wrote one of the first stories about us last summer for Gadling. (Thanks, Alex!) Ever since, whenever we hear about a trip he's taking, we have to consult an atlas. Total. Passport. Envy.
He travels for the opportunity to glimpse different ways of living.
What We Love: Clean, sophisticated, well-appointed highlights in travel, culture, and style. Beautiful, crisp photographs are paired with unique, interesting, and digestible bits of information that assume its readers to be smart and savvy.
What We Love: A website that stays true to its mission to be a growing compendium of the world's wonders, curiosities, and esoterica. Joshua Foer's work is irreverent, bizarre, and utterly charming.
He travels for the little museums that are only open two days a week.
What We Love: Paul Steele walks the world's beautiful places with a sense of wonder and an incredible eye for the perfect photo. He makes us never want to set foot in a city again.
What We Love: Three friends — Courtney Adamo in London, Emilie Walmsley in Paris, and Esther van de Paal in Amsterdam — celebrate family fun around the world.
Esther travels for the love of the unexpected. Courtney travels for the sunshine.
What We Love: Heinz Legler and Veronique Lievre travel the world looking for for architectural gems (including their properties, Verana and Far Meadow) in accessible and unexpected locales. Total eye candy.
What We Love: Whether he's advocating for consumers or writing about his family trips, we are always inspired by his journalistic ethos. And we can't figure out when he sleeps.
What We Love: A melting pot of information, the online magazine run by Maria and Anthony Russo has the lowdown on everything from Denmark's slow food movement to one-on-ones with travel insiders like Afar's Joe Diaz.
Maria travels for the raw experiences. Anthony travels for the thrill.
What We Love: Meghan McEwen culls the world for the homiest, coziest, most thoughtfully considered accommodations. She's so committed to this that she created an inn of her own: Honor and Folly in Detroit.
She travels for the all-day walking, naps on trains, and little old ladies blowing kisses out second-story windows to the toddler strapped to her back.
What We Love: Hungry people the world over can nerd out over the dining details that make meals memorable. Founders Scott Rosen and Laura Siciliano-Rosen are earnest without being indulgent. Their international selections feel like real foodie finds.
What We Love: When in doubt, ask the local experts. For Robin Dorian and Nick Bumstead, that means turning to chefs, mixologists, and artisans for their best addresses around the world.
Nick travels to discover and devour local food and drink. Robin travels for the culinary photo ops.
What We Love: Doctor-turned-travel writer and photographer Abigail King uses her scientific background to dig deep and reveal unusual travel experiences like candy cooking lessons in Sweden and ghosts in Tuscany.
What We Love: Travel anecdotes, packing advice, and quirky personal style photos. The travel section reads like little bits of poetry and proverb. ("I had a sentimental preference for the bowl at Brennan's because the staff was singing happy anniversary to a gray-haired couple at the next table.")
What We Love: A side gig for magazine editors Pilar Guzman and Yolanda Edwards, as well as cool contributors, the site brims with tips and trends (like Air New Zealand's new SkyCouch) that are interesting whether or not there are kids in your picture.
What We Love: The beautiful photography and the collection of heritage-makers and new Americana on Jay Carroll's blog leave us longing for the open road and an empty trunk.
He travels for the experience, the love of feeling lost, and the desire to live in the moment.
What We Love: Our friends at Black Tomato, the cool UK-based travel agency, know that behind every trip lies the a-ha! moment when it comes together. Editor Becky Shay finds those moments.
What We Love: Dave and Deb were Vancouver movie industry vets who spent so many shooting hiatuses traveling that they decided to turn their adventures into a full-time gig. We can't get enough of their crazy trips: cycling Africa in the world's longest bicycle race, exploring Antarctica by kayak.
What We Love: There's something adventurous about heeding the advice of a total stranger and something compelling about a site that encourages you to roll the dice and act on random tips. Founder Bart van Poll encourages readers to look beyond the guidebook.
What We Love: "Limited quantity," "exclusive," and "numbered edition" spoken here. A mainline for the latest urban shopping, fashion happenings, and releases from around the world.
CEO Wayne travels for the urban reconnaissance missions.
What We Love: Parisians by way of California Adrian and Danielle Rubi-Dentzel capture their culinary escapades so gorgeously on their gastro travelogue that they make us want to swap lives.
She travels for the discovery of the most magical, hidden, and delicious corners of the world.
What We Love: A newsy site and reliable compendium of book reviews, how-tos, anthologies, dispatches, and online travel commentary neatly packaged for travel fanatics.
We make every effort to ensure the information in our articles is accurate at the time of publication. But the world moves fast, and even we double-check important details before hitting the road.
