OG Luxury Travel Bloggers Who Elevated the Industry

Before luxury travel influencers filled Instagram with infinity pools, five-star resorts and “come with me” videos, there were luxury travel bloggers quietly building an entirely new corner of the internet.

These OG luxury travel bloggers were reviewing hotels, discovering wellness retreats, sailing on cruises, and sharing premium travel experiences long before luxury content became an influencer industry. They proved that travellers wanted more than a list of things to do. They wanted trusted recommendations from people who had actually been there.

In this chapter of my OG Travel Bloggers Still Going series, I’m celebrating three of the early pioneers who helped establish luxury travel, wellness travel, and premium travel blogging as serious niches: Spa Travel Gal, A Luxury Travel Blog, and Wander With Wonder.

These are the bloggers who were there early, built credibility through experience and showed that a great travel story can take you from your laptop straight into the world’s most beautiful hotels, cruises, destinations and experiences.

Paul Johnson

Website: ALuxuryTravelBlog.com

Started travel blogging: 2005

Are you still actively travel blogging?
YES.

How many countries have you visited?
12000

Favourite destination you’ve ever visited?
My ‘stock answer’ to my favourite destination is ‘home’. I have been lucky enough to visit many stunning places around the world, but I am also very fortunate in that where I live – the English Lake District – is also a very beautiful place.

One place still on your bucket list?
South America.

Carry-on only or checked luggage?
Carry on.

Window or aisle seat?
Window

One piece of advice for someone starting today?
Persevere. Travel blogging isn’t always the easiest of careers – and has certainly seen its highs and lows – but perseverence will get you through.

Ava Roxanne Stritt

Website: SpaTravelGal.com

Started travel blogging: 2007

Are you still actively travel blogging?
Yes.

What keeps you blogging after all these years?
The love of discovering new places and introducing them to others.

How many countries have you visited?
30

Favourite destination you’ve ever visited?
Baden-Baden, Germany

One place still on your bucket list?
Safari

Biggest change you’ve seen in travel blogging since you started?
Shorter app based content allowing fast consumption of information.

Favourite blog post you’ve ever written:
Find Your Pathway at Canyon Ranch Tucson

Carry-on only or checked luggage?
Checked

Window or aisle seat?
Aisle

Did Covid make a difference to the blog?
No

Does AI make a difference to the blog?
No

One piece of advice for someone starting today?
Make sure your topic is something you are truly passionate about, not just what you feel is trendy.

Susan Lanier-Graham

Website: WanderWithWonder.com

Started travel blogging: 2009

Are you still actively travel blogging?
Yes.

What keeps you blogging after all these years?
I love writing and I love traveling. I have done both since I was a child. I started writing for magazines when I was still in college, but when blogs became a thing and I could control what I write for audiences I care about, I knew I had finally found an outlet that mattered. So, through even the worst times of this crazy industry, I’m in it for the long term.

How many countries have you visited?
I don’t count, but dozens. I decided long ago not to keep count

Favourite destination you’ve ever visited?
The south of France (Antibes)

One place still on your bucket list?
The Maldives

Biggest change you’ve seen in travel blogging since you started?
Having to battle AI and think so much about SEO. It’s harder to get people to my site than it was in 2009

Favourite blog post you’ve ever written:
I think it’s the first Viking River Cruise I took. Not that the article is the best – I keep thinking I will rewrite it – but because it was the culmination of a long-held dream.

Carry-on only or checked luggage?
Carry on

Window or aisle seat?
Aisle

Did COVID make a difference to the blog?
Yes. I did a lot of virtual travel and a LOT of recipes and cooking. We also did a section on “Bring Travel Home” that talked about ways to decorate and use your travel treasures at home. We actually did really well during COVID. But 2021 was awful. We are FINALLY recovering in 2026.

Does AI make a difference to the blog?
Yes and no. Wander is often cited by AI.

One piece of advice for someone starting today?
Be yourself, start writing about what you know first, and always be authentically you. People always want good stories. They can Google facts. They can get bland information from AI, but they can’t get stories from anyone else. And never undervalue yourself. YOUR stories matter.

OG Travel Bloggers

Love discovering the stories behind the original travel bloggers? Continue exploring the OG Travel Bloggers series:

Explore With Erin Wrap Up: The OG Luxury Travel Bloggers Still Going

What I love about these OG luxury travel bloggers is that they were here before luxury travel became an Instagram aesthetic. They built their audiences through experience, expertise, and stories, long before a beautiful hotel pool came with a swipe-up link.

Spa Travel Gal, A Luxury Travel Blog, and Wander With Wonder each carved out their own space in an industry that was still figuring out what travel blogging could become. And they are still here. Still writing, still travelling, still sharing those experiences, and still proving that there is something incredibly valuable about getting travel advice from someone who has actually been there.

In a world where AI can give you a list of luxury hotels in seconds, these OG travel bloggers can tell you which one is actually worth your money, what the experience feels like, and whether it lives up to the hype. And honestly, that’s the kind of travel advice I will always want.