Things you should do to make sure a travel blogger/writer fits you.
1. Check their destinations for places you’ve already been.
This gives you an idea of how well their opinions align with yours. Quite often, you’ll find the guides are full of shit. Not comprehensive, full of holes. Just seems like they’re missing many bits and/or didn’t personally go to the places they’re writing about. Like they’re just copying from other guides.
And then also…you might find that you don’t agree with their opinions at all. Like maybe they loved a certain place that you hated, or vice versa. Or they felt a certain place needed more days when you personally could have done with less, or vice versa.
2. The writer’s profile.
This is a huge one. Many travel writers may not be your exact gender, age, and cultural demographic. They might not be into the same things as you are. Even if you DO find a blogger who matches your demographic, they might have been to many more places than you and viewing things from a more jaded POV. It’s really important to keep this in mind.
3. Context.
Quite often…you need to know what other places the writer has been to and what they’re comparing things too. For example…many people think Italian food is amazing, whereas I think it’s boring as heck compared to many other cuisines. But granted…I’ve been to many places that other people don’t go and therefore other people are only aware of Italian food (and especially since it’s easily found in other countries).
Same goes for when somebody says, “most beautiful beaches”, etc and etc. Believe me…there are MANY much more beautiful beaches than all the ones 99% of people say are “most beautiful”.
Same when you see guides for recommended cities, you should also check to see if the writer has been to other cities as well. Without comparison, there is not enough helpful context. And it’s going to confuse you when you read guides for cities recommended by someone who only went to that specific city (and not the others nearby).