10 Instagram Travel Accounts You Need to Follow Right Now

If you’re anything like me, you too are guilty of spending countless hours scrolling through Instagram. Sure, I’ve wasted more time than I care to admit procrastinating on it, but there are some days and moments when I find the site inspiring, motivating, and downright fascinating. For example, I love celebrating my friends’ milestones and successes, laughing at memes, connecting with like-minded (and safe) strangers, reposting encouraging messages, and reading quotes and real-life captions that inspire me to keep going when I want to do everything but that.

But if I’m really honest, one of my favorite things about Instagram is how easy it is for me to indulge in one of my guilty pleasures—travel photos. I mean, I’m never ashamed to claim I’ve got the wanderlust gene flowing through my veins, but I could literally—and I do mean literally—look at travel photos all day long. So, if you too carry the wanderlust gene or just find travel or photography intriguing, relaxing, or just downright fun, here are 10 Instagram travel accounts you must follow. These are real people, most of whom left real jobs to pursue a dream and see the world. Call me crazy, but I absolutely love following them and think you will too. And who knows, if all goes according to plan, you’ll see me right alongside them one day—traveling the world, turning strangers into friends and telling crazy adventure stories.

Account: @helloemilie
Website: helloemilie.com
Background story: Emilie Ristevski is an Australian based photographer motivated by curiosity and a love of natural light; she hopes her photography tells stories about the places to where she travels.
What we love about it: Can you say travel zen? Emilie’s beautiful landscape photos provide instant serenity through your phone screen. It’s like taking out the time to sit back, relax, and meditate all while looking at travel photography.
Be inspired by her love of the unexpected. Emilie is most drawn to capturing quick, fleeting moments that often go unseen. As we scroll through her gorgeous images, may we too come to love the unexpected, quick moments in our lives we often gloss over in search of something bigger and grander. All aspects of life can be beautiful.

Account name: @lostwithpurpose
Website: lostwithpurpose.com
Background story: Alex is a 20-something that decided to ditch her apartment for two backpacks and passport stamps. Coming from a family that’s half-Filipino and half-English, her family always encouraged her to travel.

What we love about it: Alex isn’t afraid to go places often overlooked by western society. She’s brave, and she’s not afraid of traveling alone. In fact, she’s been to places where she’s had to mime the entire time because it was her only form of communication. What she’s learned, though, is that all cultures and ethnicities are beautiful, fun to explore and worth getting to know. Reminds me of one of my favorite bible verses, Revelation 7:9. Oh, and did I mention how colorful her Instagram account is? Stunning.
Be inspired by Alex’s love of lesser visited places like Pakistan, Iran, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. Let her travels inspire you to connect with someone different from you. You don’t have to travel to do so. Visit a foreign market in your area. Watch a movie in a different language. Cook a recipe from a different culture. Whatever you do, be intentional about learning something new.

Account name: @travellikeachieff
Website: travellikeachieff.com
Background story: Pamela Chieffallo is a Canadian travel blogger living in Dublin, Ireland who loves the finer things in life. Though she’s always loved traveling, she started Travel Like a Chieff in 2017 when her husband mentioned a work opportunity in Dublin. She jumped with excitement at the idea and quit her job. Since then, she’s been to 55 different countries, four continents, and has visited more than 200 cities.
What we love about it: She focuses on luxury at its finest. And although the average person isn’t living a life of luxury every day, a girl can dream.
Be inspired by her hotel guides on her website, which give you all the scoop on some of the world’s most exquisite hotels. Who knows, you just might find yourself at one of these posh places one day. And thanks to Pamela, when you get there, you’ll know exactly what to look and ask for and what experiences are truly worth your time.

Account name: @being__her
Website: beinghermonheroda.com
Background story: London-based twins Hermon and Heroda started traveling in 2017. After going deaf when they were only seven years old, the Eritrean and Ethiopian twins vowed that they would never let being deaf hold them back. So, in 2017, they challenged themselves to travel to 12 countries to inspire other deaf people around the world to travel and explore the world around them. Talk about living life with grit.
What we love about it: These are women on a mission!
Be inspired by their story and their message. One day while playing outside, the twins went deaf, literally, out of nowhere. But they didn’t let that stop or define them. Sure, their lives changed, and they had to adjust to a new reality, but their passion and zest for life remained the same. Their blog, Being Her, is loaded with content reminding women that “being yourself is the most powerful beauty product available” and is chock full of fashion, beauty, and travel tips as well. Don’t be afraid to learn a little British Sign Language from them either.

Account name: @hey_ciara
Website: heyciara.com
Background story: Ciara first traveled outside of the U.S. when she was 20 years old on a study abroad trip to Panama. She fell in love with it and traveled to India for her 21st birthday and South Africa for her 22nd birthday. She’s been exploring the world ever since.
What we love about it: She’s young, passionate, vibrant, and unafraid.
Be inspired by her numerous tips and tricks on how to travel the world budget-friendly style. Woop! Woop!

Account name: @ochristine
Website: ochristine.com
Background story: Olivia Christine Perez is a Bronx native that calls both New York and Philadelphia home. Being born with lupus and stuck in what she calls an “overworked” career, she often dreamed about escaping life. What she discovered though, as she began to travel the U.S. and the world, is that investing in experiences and living a life of wellness resulted in a life she didn’t want to escape, but enjoy more.
What we love about it: Not only is Olivia into travel, but she’s into wellness also. She wrote a blog post for those of us who work full time but want to travel more.
Be inspired by the fact that Olivia refuses to let lupus control and dictate her life. We all know that life can throw lemons at us just as much as it throws curveballs, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take our lemons, make lemonade, pour it in a to-go cup, and continue right on with our journey.

Account name: @gettingstamped
Website: gettingstamped.com
Background story: Adam and Hannah started traveling as a result of a literal life-changing conversation with total strangers. They had good jobs and a nice house, but, as they approached 30, found themselves wondering, “Is this all life has to offer?” So they took a week-long vacation to Belize where they met a couple who had just sold everything they owned in order to travel the world. Shocked, they returned home, Googled travel websites, launched their own, booked two one-way tickets to Belize, and began their “one year around the world trip.” Six years later, they’re still traveling the world and have no plans to stop.
What we love about it: They travel together! Sure, solo trips around the world are fun, but there’s just something special about traveling with people you love. Oh, and their travel videos are a must-see.
Be inspired by their travel within the United States. While I, like Hannah and Adam, love a good trip overseas, this couple’s Instagram account is also full of dreamy pictures of cities we know and love, which is a fantastic reminder of how beautiful the U.S. is. So don’t fret if you’re not the overseas type—fantastic travel opportunities can be found in our own country as well.

Account name: @spiritedpursuit
Website: spiritedpursuit.com
Background story: Visual storyteller Lee Litumbe’s mission is simple: travel the world, have amazing adventures, and experience new cultures with a passion. Inspired by her Cameroonian roots, her site, which launched in 2014, primarily focuses on showcasing the beauty of Africa, but she also focuses on the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Oceania, Europe, and a little of North America. So, she quit her job in finance, sold everything she had, saved all the money she could, and set off to travel the world.
What we love about it: Because Lee’s purpose for traveling is more about representing the true beauty of a place rather than pure luxury, she takes the time to conduct interviews with locals during her travels. These community stories, really reveal the spirit of a place as well as its people and are evidence of just how spirited Lee is in her pursuit of experiencing and showcasing places well.
Be inspired by the fact that Lee is a self-taught photographer. That’s right, she taught herself everything she knows about the camera and photography. I don’t know about you, but DIY people are some of my favorite kind of people to be around. Totally inspiring, right?

Account name: @elialocardi
Website: elialocardi.com
Background story: Internationally acclaimed professional travel photographer Elia Locardi has been traveling the world and taking stunning photographs since 2009. Since then, he’s visited more than 65 countries, flown nearly two million miles, and has worked with non-profits, companies, and brands from nearly every continent.
What we love about it: In addition to the sheer professionalism of his photos, Elia’s Instagram posts also capture his thoughtful and introspective personality through his captions and accompanying quotes. So sit back and gaze in awe at these gorgeous photos as you take some time to mull over what motivates, moves, and encourages you.
Be inspired by Elia’s amazing Youtube videos as well as his story (scroll down to watch the video) ongoing from bankruptcy to an independent travel photographer. Dreams really do come true, and hard work really does pay off.

Account name: @becky vandijk
Website: beckyvandijk.com
Background story: So Becky, who’s half-English and half-Dutch, is not only a traveler. She’s an ex-private banker turned blogger, educator, and entrepreneur. After living the city life for 10 years, she quit her job in finance, launched We Are Travel Girls, and started exploring the world. In addition to that, she makes time to educate, mentor, and encourage other women to pursue their business and entrepreneurship dreams as well.
What we love about it: She founded and created the site, We Are Travel Girls. Talk about girl power!
Be inspired by the way Becky has turned her passion into a business that blends both her creative side and her business side. Who’s to say you can’t be both business-minded and fun, creative, and logical?

So, the next time you find yourself scrolling on Instagram, check out one of these fabulous travel accounts. Let the stories inspire you, the places intrigue you, and the photos encourage you to pursue your own passion whatever that may be. We were made in the image of the Creator of the world, so go on, get inspired, and create and innovate—all it takes is a healthy dose of grit and grace.