My friends and I are always planning trips, some will actually happen (a.k.a New York City in June with my girl Kaci) and some are what you’d call “dream trips” that I am determined to make happen (what do you mean an economy-class flight to Japan is almost $3,000?!) No matter what, though, I always start with social media. I use it to find places around the world I want to travel to and to spot places to stop by when visiting a new city or country.
I love finding new places to travel, and before social media, I never would have known there was a used bookstore in Italy where all the books float in boats on a canal as the water rises over Venice; I wouldn’t know there’s a cafe inside a cave in the south of France; and I wouldn’t know there’s a hotel in Africa where giraffes can lean through windows to be fed by hotel guests.
That said, here are five travel accounts (Instagram & YouTube) that are my holy grails when it comes to finding the most amazing off-the-beaten-path destinations and activities:
BringMe
Courtesy Joseph Large
BuzzFeed’s take on travel, BringMe produces short, niche, categorical videos on weird things for travellers to try across the globe. Most interesting videos include: “Places for Book Lovers,” “Epcot World Showcase,” and “5 Reasons to Visit Transylvania.”
Bucket List Family
Courtesy Bucket List Family
Anyone who knows me knows I love the Bucket List Family. I send every video and photo they post to all my friends (plus my mom), and my mother and I coo over Garrett and Jessica’s relationship. But mostly, I wanderlust over all the amazing adventures they have. (And let’s be honest, I’m secretly plotting to quit my career and travel full-time just like them.) My favorite of their videos include: “Facing Our Greatest Fears in New Zealand,” “WE FOUND MERMAIDS!! Indonesia with Julianne Hough, Nina Dobrev, and friends!!,” “HAVE YOU HEARD OF BHUTAN??!,” and “30 Stays in 30 Days!! The Bucket List Family at Walt Disney World.”
Follow Me To
Courtesy Lovin Dubai
Definitely one of the most photogenic travel accounts, Follow Me To started years ago when a man took a photograph of his girlfriend leading him through a market on vacation. Since then, the Russian couple has extended the photo into a series with now-wife Nataly leading husband / photographer Murad through the gorgeous places they travel like the Chongking tea house in China, the abandoned village of Gamsutl, or the Karnak temple in Egypt. Check out the Follow Me To and Nataly Osman’s YouTube channels for a behind-the-scenes look at all the efforts taken to take their jaw-dropping photos.
Shay Mitchell
Courtesy Galuxsee
Although not strictly travel-related, the Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell has coined the phrase #Shaycation for her sexy, fun, adventurous travel videos to Hong Kong, Vancouver, and Greece. She’s even levelled up her travels recently by coming out with her own line of travel bags called Beis.
Damon & Jo
Courtesy Shut Up and Go
Damon and Jo can easily be labelled as the most relatable travel bloggers in the social media sphere. After starting their channel as poor twenty-somethings creating travel content for other poor twenty-somethings, they’ve grown to have more than a million followers on YouTube. Not only do they create hilarious videos (you have to check out these videos in Greece and Paris), but they also promote learning new languages, like Spanish, French, Portuguese, English and Italian.