the Dummies Guide to Travel Blogging: How To Write Any City Guide

Thinking of starting a blog to write about all the awesome places you’ve been to? Or, got a case of writers’ block? Here’s a tongue in cheek walkthroughย on how to (or possibly, not how to) write a city guide of pretty much any place.

How To Write A Travel Guide Template

kotorStart off with a short intro that sounds poetic but is actually meaningless for readers and can be used for any city really.
“It is such an incredible, beautiful, fun city! You can easily wander around, and reach all of the X,Y and Z, but it still retains its old charm.You might think you need a tour guide, but getting lost is half the fun, especially in the little alleys and hidden spots.”

Then hit off with some general tips accompanied with dreamy photos.
“Why don’t you check out the church/cathedral/temple/mosque [delete as appropriate] on the main square. If you’re a fan of this type of architecture, you’ll fall in love with X, with its bะตะฐutั–ful [colour] walls and multั–-ั•ั€ั–rะตd rะพะพf/stairs/walls.”

feast-london-tobacco-dock“Make sure to hit the [market] and grab yourself one of the amazing [local delicacy].”

“When hunting for a bite to eat, stay away from the restaurants on [main street] as they are often overpriced tourist traps. Make sure to check out the smaller places in the side streets, including this shockingly good [bar].”

Give a little tip and call it ‘insider info’, after all you’ve spent a two whole days in the city.
“If you get a little tired on your feet, don’t give in to taxis or a car, but try the bus/metro/tram as it’s cheaper and you get the chance to experience life like the locals.”

Writing A City Guide Tips

On accommodations.
“Stay at a hostel just outside the city as it’s cheaper and you’ll make friends a lot easier. Or try AirBnB, you are actually lucky, because if you use THIS code you get X discount on your booking.”ย  Make it sound like it’s something you arranged for them and not a regular thing, also don’t mentioned that it’s only for first time bookers, they’ll find out themselves. Continue with some more wise words on where to book your stay”

“For both hotels and AirBnBs, you’re are more likely to find cheaper accommodation in the outer districts. You don’t need to stay in [insert neighbourhood city is known for] to have a good visit to [insert city]. Many neighbourhoods in X ย and X ย are cute or upcoming areas, and ย close to many great tourist attractions, and it is easy to access [city centre] by [insert transport] in 15-20 minutes, which is a whole experience in itself and feels more like an experience than a holiday.”

city guideAny city now has a coffee place so you should definitely include one to up your hipster credibility.
“This hip coffee place is just like your gran’s house. Only here the sewing machines serve as tables and you have to pay for your coffee and cake. The [carrot/sponge/tequila-cream] cake is delicious, try one slice, or maybe the whole thing…”

view from the shard, london, londra,londen,londres,shardAlways mention a thing or two that are free, everyone loves a freebie.
“Many don’t know this, but you can climb to the top of [building] to get an amazing 360 degrees view. And the icing on the cake – it’s for free, so more money to spend on [drink/cake/souvenirs]”

When you’ve run out of stuff to say on your location, try a tip about a museum – not that anyone gets too excited about visiting one, but you don’t want to come across some philistine and the SEO helps too.
“Expose your eyes to [artistic movement] at the [Museum of Art]. Here you’ll find works of [Picasso/Dali/Matisse], including that [famous example] you’ll want to tell everyone about.”

I’m sure we’re all guilty our standard ‘go-to’ ideas when we write, but it’s amazing how some places can all just sound the same, so I like to use this as inspiration to try and make every post I write try to capture a little piece of the magic of where I’ve been.

Have you got any examples of similar things?

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10 Comments

  1. Thanks, travel blogging has never been easier! ๐Ÿ˜€ ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Also, don’t forget to include the [vintage/hip/chocolate/whatever] shop in a small alley which is quite difficult to find but worth the detour.

  2. Hah! Not what I was expecting when I clicked on this post but so, so funny and so very true! I try so hard not to employ any of these cliches but now I’ll be trawling through past posts to see if I’m a serial offender!

  3. Haha, really loved this post! The start is always the most difficult but thanks to u it shouldn’t be a problem anymore ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks

  4. Yeah, it’s actually so difficult sometime to make sure every place sounds different. It’s hard when every place you travel is so wonderful! I will find myself running out of words to use. When I do my go to is to Google the word and then put ‘synonym’ after it. Usually I’ll get a pretty good list of other words to use to describe a place so it doesn’t sound too similar. Good tips here!

    1. Oh and I do realize this was supposed to be funny (or so I think ha). A+ for your wit! Love it. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Great post haha! I know that I’m a serial offender with some of these lines… oops. This will definitely make me think about what I’m writing in the future! Look at that, a funny post that’s actually helpful!

  6. I have just been asked to write some city guides and I found this super useful! I like how you write practical examples so I can see it used in practise- thanks for sharing! ๐Ÿ™‚