Travel blogger Melvin Boecher loves to travel, discover the world and still likes to be informed like an insider. These were the reasons why he started Traveldudes.org: a website where travellers can exchange their passion and experiences.
Traveldudes is one of the top online travel influencers, with over 80 000 followers on Twitter. Traveldudes won the bloggy award for Best Collaboration between Bloggers and the Travel Industry and is also part of the Super-Blogger-Team, which officially represents Great Britain.
Melvin will be speaking at the Getaway Travel Blog Conference on Saturday 4 August in Cape Town about ‘Leveraging your social media channels’ – one of the most important topics for travel bloggers.
For more on the conference click here and to book a spot at the event click here or email me on [email protected].
I caught up with Melvin just before he arrives in South Africa to find out more about why he became a travel blogger and his tips for travel blogging success.
How did you first get into travel blogging?
It all started with a trip through Indochina. I travelled with a friend of mine doing the typical route through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos for three months. We wanted to share our travel experiences with our friends and families, so we built our own website for that.
I decided to begin Traveldudes.org because I wanted to share travel experiences and to show how easy and how much fun it is to travel the world.
What do you love most about being a travel blogger?
I love exploring the world, but also being my own boss and to work independently.
What’s the secret to creating a successful travel blog?
Be yourself, and work very hard. You need a lot of patience, but the most important thing is to have fun.
How do you get your blog noticed amongst the millions of other blogs out there?
You have to be visible as much as possible. Be very active on the different social media channels. Go to travel conferences, meet-ups and travel as much as you can.
What advice would you give to fledgling travel bloggers?
Being a full time blogger is not easy! If it would be easy, everybody would do it.
How do you fit in blogging while on the road?
Be prepared before the trip, but also during the trip. You might just get a few hours of sleep, as there are is still other work to be done after a day of travel. Make sure that you always have the chance to get online the one or other day. If that is not possible, use the off-line time to write articles.
What’s your most epic travel story?
There are too many to fit in here. I’ve had a thrilling encounter with an elephant in Tanzania, slept with cockroaches in my hair in Thailand, swam with crocodiles and sharks in Australia, had an amazingly bad Delhi belly in India, thought an old man was dying next to me in the plane, as it seems he was splitting blood…
What is your favourite destination so far?
I love Havana! Some other destinations where I had amazing travel experiences were Laos and Tanzania.
What are your top gadgets that you always take travelling?
I never travel without my sunglasses, photo camera, flip flops and when being longer on the road also with my hammock. Sure, nowadays I also need my laptop. I have my mobile with me just in case, but actually like to disconnect from it as much as possible. And never forget your adapter!
What’s your favourite phrase in a foreign language?
“Don’t listen to what they say. Go see.” (Luckily, English is a foreign language for me.)
Otherwise I love: “Ding Dong Mack Mack” and “Baba Bobo”. I have no clue if that is spelled correctly. They are Khmer and Thai words that both mean “crazy”.
Would you ever do any other job?
One day I would love to produce documentaries.
What’s next on your bucket list?
There is not that much of a bucket list. I love going with the flow and seeing where life takes me. But I would still love to see the Antarctica one day and do some island hopping in the Phillipines and Papua New Guinea.
Follow Melvin Boecher on Twitter @traveldudes and check out his website Traveldudes.org.
