How to Start a Travel Blog in 2025: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Travel blogging changed my life. And I don’t say that lightly. I’ve been blogging online since 2013, when I first moved abroad to France for my undergraduate study abroad program.

Later, when I started my first WordPress travel blog in 2015, I had a little idea what I was doing—but I did have stories I wanted to tell, photos I wanted to share, and a desire to document my travels.

I was already making money blogging from a niche site I had started in 2014, but still, I didn’t REALLY get started until 2019.

What I didn’t expect was that this little blog would eventually grow into a full-time income and location-independent lifestyle. 🥹

If you’re here, you’re probably wondering how to start your own travel blog now, as we approach the mid-way mark of 2025. Is it worth it?

Maybe you’re tired of creating content for brand promotion on social media. Maybe you want more creative freedom. Or maybe you just feel that itch to write and publish something uniquely yours.

This guide will walk you through exactly how to start a blog for beginners—step by step—with intention and purpose.

How to Start a Blog in 2025 (for Beginners)

Step 1: Get Clarity on Your Blog’s Purpose

Before we dive into hosting or WordPress, let’s zoom out. Why are you starting this blog in the first place?

Your blog’s purpose and niche shape everything, from your blog name and branding to how you grow and monetize it. Don’t stress about being “perfectly niched” from day one, but do spend time reflecting on:

• What you want to share
• Who you want to help or inspire!
• The type of content you enjoy creating

For example, my first “real” travel blog, Bucketlist Bri, started as a personal travel diary and was called Sharing Wanderlust, Living with Wanderlust, and Bits of Bri. (LOL, RIGHT.)

But over time, it evolved from a diary of sorts into a professional blog that blends SEO guides with impactful storytelling. You’re allowed to evolve, too, so this step doesn’t have to feel so stuck.

🌟 If you want CLARITY in your blog’s vision and strategy, then sign up for my clarity waitlist to get your hands on my clarity workbook!

Step 2: Pick a Blog Name, Buy Your Domain (& Web Hosting)

Your blog name is what you’ll naturally start with. It doesn’t have to be perfect, or forever, but it should be:

• Easy to spell and remember
• Available as a .com domain
• Aligned with your vision or vibe
• Intentional for your content / niche

I recommend doing your domain name purchase AND setting up your web host at the same time. It’s so much easier. Expect to pay around $10–15 per year for domain names.

Tip: Don’t get stuck here. Pick something that feels good and start. You can rebrand later (I’ve done it).

Step 3: Choose a Hosting Provider

Hosting is what makes your blog live on the internet. For new bloggers, I recommend:

• BigScoots — Super fast, secure, and worth every penny. Their support is unmatched and now I have 6 domains hosted with them! I’m paying around $1300/year for all of my sites, and I can’t stress how important it is to have a good web host. It’s literally the bedrock of your business.
• SiteGround — More budget-friendly option to get started if you’re not ready to invest in premium hosting. SiteGround is who I hosted with when I grew my blog to 50,000 sessions per month.

Once you’ve chosen a host, you’ll install WordPress (your hosts can do this with one-click setups!!!), and you’re ready to install a theme.

Step 4: Install WordPress and Set Up Your Theme & SEO Essentials, Plugins, and Analytics

WordPress.org is the best choice for travel blogging. It’s flexible, SEO-friendly, and you own your content. (Avoid WordPress.com, which is more limited.)

After installation, choose a theme. I personally love:

• Kadence (free or pro, framework + child themes) – Lightweight and customizable
• 17th Avenue Designs (child themes built for Kadence framework) – Beautiful themes for lifestyle and travel bloggers! I had a 17th Avenue theme to grow my travel blog to 50,000 sessions. Now, they have updated child themes built for the fast Kadence framework, too.

Customize your logo, colors, and navigation menu, then start prepping your essential pages: About, Contact, Blog, Legal, Destinations.

Now is the time to build out a smart site structure. Connect Analytics. Do all the polishing. There’s a checklist involved, but nothing to difficult a total beginner couldn’t do!

Doing all of this setup alone can be challenging, and to be honest, MOST people do it wrong. This is where having a blueprint like my blog course really helps you start from scratch and get solid foundations from the get-go. I cover all of this step-by-step inside the course.

Step 5: (Plan &) Write Your First Blog Posts with Great SEO

A lot of people get stuck here, thinking their first post has to be perfect.

It doesn’t. It’s actually gonna feel really… weird? 🧐

It’s not going to be an “all-in-one” itinerary. It’s not going to feel ‘complete’. It’s probably going to be something random as hell. But publish anyway!

Start with 3 to 5 posts that add to your primary content cluster or share a personal story:

• Your experience or review of that fun activity
• A travel itinerary (maybe a 3-day?) for a place you love and know VERY well
• A gear list, roundup, or budget guide!

Tip: Your blog will feel more like you the more you publish, as you’re building your archive, your personal library.

Just start writing and let it evolve. Then, you can build high-converting landing pages once the content comes together. But first, you need content!!!

It goes without saying that you need to learn good blog post SEO. Not just website/technical SEO. Blog post SEO can also be just a checklist, but it’s more than that. It’s about your EEAT, trust, and storytelling. It’s about your writing!

Step 6: Start Growing and Monetizing

You don’t need a huge audience to start earning from your blog. You do need clarity, consistency, and strategy.

My top monetization methods:

• Travel affiliate marketing — I use Travelpayouts and Stay22, and most of my affiliate income comes from hotel and tour commissions.
• Ads (once you hit around 10K to 50K monthly sessions). I’m on Mediavine for all of my sites!
• Digital products, or brand collaborations

Read more: Blog Ads vs Affiliate Marketing

Tip: Treat your blog like a business from day one, but build it in a way that aligns with your values, not someone else’s way of doing things. It can be hard on your mindset to compare with other creators, so just do you, boo! Lean into your unique story and perspective!

What to Do After Starting Your Blog?

Starting your travel blog is the first step. Now, it’s time to nurture it, maintain it, and POUR ALL THE LOVE IN. ❤️

I created my signature Bootstrap Blogging Course to guide you from blog setup to strategy and monetization. If anything, it will help you get unstuck and focus on what actually matters for growth.

TLDR; if you are a complete beginner, getting set up when starting a travel blog is just ONE part of it. Starting a travel blog (aka making it successful) is the complex part—it’s the process part.

If you’re not sure whether you want to start a blog vs an Instagram, read my guide for the differences between the two business models. And drop your questions in the comments!