Day in the life of
Travel Blogger – David Leiter
I’m an American travel blogger currently based in Bali, Indonesia, with my wife Intan (who’s a Bali local). We travel around the world and document the most scenic destinations by creating articles, photos, videos, and guides for other travelers.
I’ve been traveling full time for most of the last 5 years, and my wife has already visited a bunch of countries with me as well. I occasionally get free sponsored trips from official tourism bureaus or private tour companies as well. In total, we’ve visited dozens of countries and most of the U.S. states. Our goal is to write travel guides that are helpful for a variety of budgets and lifestyles.
What my typical day at work looks like?
Every day is different. Some days I’m trekking through a remote, nasty rainforest, other days I’m working on WiFi with my laptop in an air-conditioned cafe.
We usually travel for one or two months at a time, and then we spend a month or two resting somewhere comfy like Bali while I catch up on blogging our latest travels.
I spend a lot of time working on these things in particular:
- Writing new blog content
- Writing & responding to emails
- Working on my website design, layout, or bug fixes
- Search engine optimization (SEO) for my website
- Researching new places to travel
- Brainstorming new blog topics
- Photo dumping & editing
- Video dumping & editing
- Honing my camera skills
- Making social media posts
My wife Intan is tri-lingual, so she’s also been an indispensable translator for me in remote parts of Indonesia where almost no one speaks English, such as the Labengki and Sombori Islands.
That has allowed us to get a bit of unique content in some ultra-scenic areas of her home country, Indonesia!
Pros
The freedom is incredible, and I’m getting paid to do what I love! Travel is so amazing. I met my wife while traveling in Bali, and now she goes everywhere with me.
Together we’ve discovered new foods, cultures, landscapes, and more. Our “to do” list is wonderful and never-ending.
Some of our top “bucket list” adventures so far include:
- Komodo dragon safaris in Indonesia
- Trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas
- Riding a camel to the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt
- Tandem skydiving in Hawaii
- Famous world monuments like the Taj Mahal, Hagia Sophia, Angkor Wat, and Petra
Cons
There are cons in this line of work too. For starters, sometimes travel can be dangerous. I’ve solo traveled almost every country in Asia and the Middle East, and had plenty of close calls along the way.
We’ve driven tens of thousands of miles, and taken hundreds of flights — sometimes stuck with sketchy airlines or bad drivers. Needless to say, there’s a lot that can go wrong when you’re traveling full time.
Another unspoken con of travel blogging is that you run the risk of turning your hobby into a chore. If you do anything for work, it can become a bit less enjoyable over time. I have to constantly remind myself that income is secondary, and I don’t ever want to travel purely for money.
Overall though, it’s been an incredible experience and I could never go back to my old life!
