12 travel bloggers you should read in 2012

Note: The 2013 list is out! Here it is.

Which travel bloggers should you read in 2012?

I asked. And you answered.

And how! In a relatively slow, pre-holiday week, a total of 6,085 readers voted from a selection of 24 top travel bloggers you nominated.

Before I get to the winners, a few words about why I conduct these polls every year: I’m curious. I want to know what travelers are reading — and I want to help them figure out which travel blogs are worth following.

By the way, I’ve also published a list of 12 travel Twitter personalities worth following.

Here are the top 12 travel bloggers in the order of votes received:

1. Peter Greenberg
2. Johnny Jet
3. The Everywhereist
4. Digital Nomad
5. Go Big or Go Home
6. Go Visit Hawaii
7. Annie Fitzsimmons
8. Tim Leffel
9. Uncornered Market
10. Europe Up Close
11. Camels and Chocolate
12. Delicious Baby

I was a little surprised by the results. If you review the nominees, you’ll find some big names in the travel industry. I would have expected them to receive a number of votes proportional to their fame. Not all of them did.

At the same time, some up-and-coming travel bloggers who aren’t yet household names scored remarkably well. I guess it just goes to show that the rules are very different online, and that the only predictable thing is the unpredictability of the results.

(This poll wasn’t without a little drama. Early on, we had a report of ballot box irregularities. I immediately consulted with Zoomerang, which hosts our polls, and adjustments were made. I’ve been assured that the final results are legitimate.)

Congratulations to all the winners!

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  • http://twitter.com/ced0nulli Cedo Nulli

    Good list.  I’ve been reading Jonny Jet for a while.  My bloglet wouldn’t make that list ever though, way too much sex and mayhem mixed with long term travel.  Not for the properly sensitive Western minds.  :P

  • idealtravel

    wwww.idealtravelalongtheway.com We share the love for travel - true love – with add ons – family, dogs, food, cocktails, garlic-regret and life in all its disguises –

  • http://www.facebook.com/maddy.cuti Maddy Cuti

    Take a look on my travelling tips before you think about your next trip
    http://travellingtipsguides.blogspot.com/ 

  • sreepathy

    http://www.facebook.com/travelinsurancequotess
    pls like this page important travel packages

  • freesparrowtravel

     Here is a solo traveling blog I started.  It’s actually quite easy to travel solo. http://www.maggielea.blogspot.com

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  • http://hennahaare.blogspot.com/ coco

    This page has led me to so many fantastic blogs, which I’ve been reading all afternoon, so thanks! :)

  • Joe Smith

    I can’t say definitely that this poll based result “Best”
    100% trustworthy, there are some uncertainties, and along with I appreciate for
    your efforts and promotional write up for bringing some read worthy blogs travel
    for savvy guys

  • http://www.maulanurulkhakam.com Maula Nurul Khakam

    hmm.. i’m waiting in indonesia..

  • http://www.facebook.com/TravelXena TravelXena Xena

    Lots of cool bloggers here. Hopefully the list will be more “colorful” in the years to come.

  • Christine Oha

    congratulations to everyone who made the list. I have started my own blog this year. Please check it out if you haven’t already 
    http://vacationhomesgalore.com/blog/

  • Christine Oha

    congratulations to everyone. Hope I make the list next year. 
    http://www.vacationhomesgalore.com/blog

  • Christine Oha

    I made a hotel reservation once using venere and was charged a foreign currency exchange fee. yep, you don’t have to travel abroad

  • bodega3

    Not sure you meant to post your comment on this site, but I will respond to it anyway.  Venere is an overseas company and it tells you the price to be charged in foreign currency and the approx USD cost.  There really is no surprise in that.  It states it on their website. 

  • http://twitter.com/HazardousTay Taylor Nodell
  • astrafey18

    This is really cool. Travel blogs I find interesting and fun. I personally like a new blog http://www.hoteldirt.com

  • http://twitter.com/CityGalKLC City Gal on the go!

    I wonder how you came up with this list. I recently started a travel and lifestyle website for women http://www.citygalonthego.com Perhaps it will end up on next year’s list!

  • Christopher Franko

    altho i agree that the “best” is subjective, these are all good suggestions for further reading, in my opinion. thanks.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004173600459 James Ford

    Great list! Always looking for new bloggers to follow. I did just find some good travel discounts here:
    http://www.trendsettingtravel.com/discounts/

  • http://CMTravelAnd.blogspot.com/ Calogero Mira

    They are all new to me!

  • Vijay Mk

    Wild Elephant Resort in Munnar is situated at a beautiful location among the mountains in Munnar with a perennial waterfall which can be viewed opposite to the resort. The service is amazing although not the formal stuff. No crisply uniformed staff, in fact most of them wear T shirts with the resort logo and are locals being trained to serve guests. They even accompany you to the waterfalls and show you the surrounding area.
    The leaf cottage, the treetop cottage, the Mud cottage and the rooms above the swimming pool are all situated on the top of the hillock from where you can see the mist moving in the opposite mountains. The scenery is amazing and the silence around id stunning except for the chirping of the crickets and the sound of the nearby waterfall. From the swimming pool one can see the mountains of sholayar in adjoining Tamil Nadu.
    During the night you can also see the fantastic collection of stars up in the sky something which I have never seen in my whole life in the city.
    The jeep safari is equally amazing and takes you to waterfalls , rivers and forest terrains , the people accompanying you take the trouble to show you how cardamom is grown, take you around the tea gardens and even Rubber estates as you go downhill. There is also a fish pond where you can do fishing to your heart’s content. You can also have your catch cooked for you and have it with some good palm toddy.
    In fact it is Nature all the way and I enjoyed it.

    Wild Elephant Resort in Munnar is situated at a beautiful location among the mountains in Munnar with a perennial waterfall which can be viewed opposite to the resort. The service is amazing although not the formal stuff. No crisply uniformed staff, in fact most of them wear T shirts with the resort logo and are locals being trained to serve guests. They even accompany you to the waterfalls and show you the surrounding area.The leaf cottage, the treetop cottage, the Mud cottage and the rooms above the swimming pool are all situated on the top of the hillock from where you can see the mist moving in the opposite mountains. The scenery is amazing and the silence around id stunning except for the chirping of the crickets and the sound of the nearby waterfall. From the swimming pool one can see the mountains of sholayar in adjoining Tamil Nadu.During the night you can also see the fantastic collection of stars up in the sky something which I have never seen in my whole life in the city.The jeep safari is equally amazing and takes you to waterfalls , rivers and forest terrains , the people accompanying you take the trouble to show you how cardamom is grown, take you around the tea gardens and even Rubber estates as you go downhill. There is also a fish pond where you can do fishing to your heart’s content. You can also have your catch cooked for you and have it with some good palm toddy.In fact it is Nature all the way and I enjoyed it.

  • http://twitter.com/NomadicNepali Sunil Tamang

    I don`t care how the polls work for selection, its always great to go through the sites and get some cool information,everywhere there is something new.

  • JohnTraveler

    I hope I am not too presumptuous to put my on blog on the list. For those interested in castles, palaces, historical sites in the UK. http://www.TheUKthroughMYeyes.com.

  • http://twitter.com/hanayo321 hana

    Im building my travel blog as well :) http://www.budget-traveller.info

  • coralspirit

    This seems good

  • bill
  • ConfusedJulia

    There are some blogs on here that I had never heard of, and I thought I’d heard of pretty much all of them! Always good to find new reading material.

  • Carmen

    Im surprised http://www.misstraveltips.com is not mentioned, she is really something!

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  • Dane

    Don’t forget about http://www.whereverworker.com . It’s got some really great articles. It’s a fairly new site, but I can’t wait to see what they publish next. So far the articles have all been very helpful.

  • http://www.facebook.com/bradleyjai Brad Christensen

    You’ve also got to check out http://www.WorldWanderlusting for ideas on optimizing frequent flyer mile and point usage. They highlight interesting loops at hotels of the same brand and low-category.

  • Visiting India

    Truly awesome post! It is really very interesting and
    informative.Keep more updates.

    Thanks for posting
    this.

    Visiting
    India

  • Rob
  • Jesse

    Another one that should be on this list is http://worldwanderlusting.com They show some amazing trips but the best part is they show you how to use frequent flyer miles and other discounts! check it out!

  • Andrew

    Thank you for the tips! I’m planning a river cruise for the extended family..this should be useful! :]

  • abus00

    If you’re into something different, try also http://www.ridersontheglobe.com -
    it’s about two virtual travelers on a magic carpet, that go from one
    place to another as the readers vote destinations.

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  • Apu

    Nice post..thanks for sharing with usWebMax

  • http://www.facebook.com/paolo.bria Paolo Bria

    there are many blogs about travels. now i using this http://4bbh.com/

  • http://twitter.com/bettywilson30 Betty Wilson

    Thanks for providing list of travel blogs.

  • Holiday Traveller

    Hi, thank you for sharing. I do use Dofollow. It’s useful then. Thank’s again…..

  • Taru

    Hey, check out our blog for next time.
    We might fit into your description of one of the best travel blogs :)
    http://sailingaroundtheglobe.blogspot.com

    Best,

    Taru

  • http://www.facebook.com/mkorpi Michael Korpi Jr.

    Another one to consider, about a walk across America:

    http://www.MichaelWalksUSA.com

  • http://www.facebook.com/mkorpi Michael Korpi Jr.

    Another one to consider, about a walk across America:

    http://www.MichaelWalksUSA.com

  • Timmy
  • http://www.my-kashmir.com/ Kashmir

    different people may have have different perceptions but this list has got some good names

  • laura

    Thank you for providing the list :) it is very helpful :) for everyone who is looking for more info on any destinations in USA please read Tour America Page and Tour America Blog ;) and let me know if you were able to find what you were looking for :)

  • http://www.manntravel.com.au/ Mann Travel

    nice post!!! n thanks for giving us great list of travel blogs, which is very helpful to update

  • http://twitter.com/LyndsayCabildo Lyndsay Cabildo

    I wonder how to get in to that list? :)

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