If you are like me, when you aren’t traveling you are in planning mode for your next trip. Researching a new journey can be fun too. That’s why I follow these famous travel experts – Patricia Schultz, Rick Steves, Pauline Frommer, Don George, and more. Explore the contributions of these and other gurus with me. I will explain where each provides value to the traveler and how to follow them.
I am a travel blogger, so shouldn’t I be recommending other bloggers? Well, yes, but there is still a real need for expert opinion that is vetted by editors, producers, publishers. And the people I talk about in this post have been in the business of travel for decades. Yes, they may have agendas, like selling more books or shows or tours, but they have earned the title “expert.” The world needs them.
Patricia Schultz
You have probably heard of the book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. It is a veritable encyclopedia of places to visit around the world, typically devoting one page to whetting your appetite about a specific location. It took Patricia Schultz eight years to complete, the first edition published in 2003. It has been updated countless times since, including a slick “coffee table book” in 2018. In between, she completed the daunting task of another 1000 Places book just for the U.S. and Canada.
Patricia certainly has the credentials, having first started writing back in 1980. Her 1,000 Places books are an essential starting point for the traveler who wonders, “where should I go next?” I used them to select Huangshan, China over Sri Lanka for a spur-of-the-moment trip when we were living in Beijing. I started with her book to help determine what I might include in a trip to Jackson Hole and Grand Tetons, Wyoming. It’s no wonder her books have become #1 New York Times Bestsellers.
I first met the highly personable Ms. Schultz in Manila, and we have stayed in touch since. She has a following on social media in the millions. Follow her on Facebook/1000 places.
Pauline Frommer
If Patricia Schultz is your starting point for famous travel experts, then the reliable Frommer’s guides are stop #2. Created by the legendary Arthur Frommer, the business was eventually sold, then bought back by the family. Daughter Pauline Frommer is now Editorial Director and Publisher of frommers.com.
Arthur Frommer arguably started the travel guide business in 1957, when he published the book Europe on 5 Dollars a Day. No, it was not placed in the fiction section, but a lot has changed in more than a half century. Fortunately, Frommer’s guides have changed too. Their Day by Day series feature maps and self-guided tours in a size that fits in your pocket or handbag. My copies used to visitcs Prague and Honolulu & Hawaii are well-worn.
And their EasyGuide series, at 300+ pages, provide more detail. I used Alaskan Cruises and Ports of Call as a starting point for a future cruise there.
The always genuine Pauline Frommer is one of my favorite travel speakers. She updates speeches with her latest findings about best flight booking sites, travel insurance providers, under-appreciated destinations, etc. Follow on Twitter @Frommers or join Facebook/FrommersTravelGuides.
Rick Steves
What started as a passion for wandering through Europe has turned into a travel empire for Rick Steves, perhaps America’s most famous travel expert. I once showed him his guidebook I was carrying, that, per his own recommendation, I had already ripped to shreds. Gone was section I had taken with me for a day trip to Toledo, Spain. Gone were the tattered sections that featured his step-by-step tours of Madrid’s Prado Museum and Royal Palace.
Rick is America’s tour guide, through both his physical tours and virtual ones. His focus on Europe Through the Back Door for decades has been relentless. I asked him if he had ever considered writing about China as a growing tourist destination. His answer was, “Never;” his hands were full maintaining accurate information about the many countries of Europe. Probably best known for his 90-show PBS series, Rick Steves’ Europe, his blue and gold guidebooks also dominate library and bookstore shelves. His influence is so great that once he talks about an “offbeat” place it can often become overrun with tourists.
Rick is an interesting guy, an activist and vocal proponent of legalizing marijuana. Do bear in mind if you follow one of his walking tours you will stop at every museum and church. His style tilts toward history, art, and religion. Ricksteves.com is a wealth of information. You can also follow him on Twitter @RickSteves and Facebook/ricksteves.
Samantha Brown
Samantha is a well-known American television travel host, first on the Travel Channel and later producing her own PBS show, Places to Love. She projects a relatable, sort of “girl next door” image on screen. She seems the same in person. She once told me the process was “Dream . . . Plan . . . Book . . . Travel . . . Preserve.” That kind of sums up the experience for all of us.
Follow Samantha on Twitter @SamanthaBrown, Instagram #samanthabrowntravels, and Facebook/RealSamanthaBrown.
Peter Greenberg
The CBS News Travel Editor is also known as the Travel Detective. His brash New York persona is the antithesis of Samantha Brown. In speeches he is not above telling an audience member they are an idiot for collecting miles/points or stupid for listening to State Department travel warnings.
Among his books is the bestseller, Don’t Go There. Always outspoken and informative, the Emmy award-winning journalist has a track record of being right. A wonderful feature of his website, petergreenberg.com, is where he personally answers readers’ emails.
You can follow Peter on Twitter @PeterSGreenberg and Facebook/PeterGreenbergWorldwide.
Don George and other travel authors
Up to this point I have focused on people who can help you research, plan, and execute a trip. There is a different category of famous travel experts – those who write about the inspiration of travel. You won’t find hotel recommendations from Don George or airline comparisons from Pico Iyer. They are essayists, whose writing about what it feels like to be in a faraway land can both transfix and transform us. And we are lucky to have them.
I first met Don George when he taught ten of us would-be travel writers in a 3-day class in Bangkok. It was a chance to learn from the master. Don had just finished writing the book, The Way of Wanderlust, a collection of his stories from four decades of world travel. As the former global editor for both Lonely Planet and National Geographic Traveler, his credentials are above reproach. He literally wrote the book on travel: Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Writing.
Don is a marvelous storyteller and an even better, more generous person. His website is don-george.com. Follow him on Twitter @Don_George and Facebook/don.george.travels.
I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention some other travel writers I have had the pleasure of meeting: the acclaimed Pico Iyer and the actor-turned-writer Andrew McCarthy. You can find some of Pico’s work on picoiyerjourneys.com and some interesting quotes on Twitter @PicoIyer.
Also check out andrewmccarthy.com/writing. You may know Andrew from numerous acting roles, such as St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink, but now he is an accomplished author too.
And finally, the late Anthony Bourdain, who defies categorizing. His unique approach to the relationships between culture, food, and travel live on through his provocative books, such as Kitchen Confidential and his television series, No Reservations and Parts Unknown.
Did I miss some of your favorites? Please leave any comments at the bottom of this post.
