It’s estimated that over 127 million influencers are out there, and part of them are travel influencers sharing their adventures, tips, and hacks on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
We all know that followers trust influencers they love. That’s why brands work with them to spread the word about their products.
Finding the perfect travel influencers for your brand can be a bit of a journey itself. To make things easier, we recommend using an influencer marketing platform. These platforms can help you discover authentic creators and connect with them easily.
This blog is your guide. First, we’ll provide a list of top travel creators on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, highlighting their unique content and social media followers.
Next, we’ll introduce you to a user-friendly and budget-friendly influencer marketing platform, Ainfluencer, to help you find the ideal travel influencer for your brand. Let’s dive in and explore!
Top Travel Influencers: Their Niches, Follower Count & Engagement Rates
Here, you can find a quick overview of the best travel influencers, from luxury travel bloggers to family travel creators, within the table:
| Influencer | Main Social Media | Followers | Niche |
| @chrisburkard | 3.9M | Adventure | |
| @thebucketlistfamily | 3M | Family | |
| @karl_shakur | 1M | Adventure | |
| @theblondeabroad | 512K | Solo | |
| @oneikaraymond | 307K | Solo, family | |
| @alexojeda | TikTok | 8.5M | Adventure |
| @juliiathompson | TikTok | 3.7M | Adventure |
| @mgtenazas | TikTok | 1.5M | Luxury, adventure |
| @theworldpursuit | TikTok | 627K | Adventure |
| @topflightfamily | TikTok | 601K | Luxury |
| @luisitocomunica | YouTube | 43.7M | Food |
| @drewbinsky | YouTube | 4.9M | Adventure |
| @KaraandNate | YouTube | 4M | Adventure |
| @IndigoTraveller) | YouTube | 2M | Adventure |
| @flyingthenest | YouTube | 1.25M | Family |
Top 5 Instagram Travel Influencers
Let’s kickstart our list with the top travel influencers on Instagram who captivated their audience and increased their Instagram influence!
1. Chris Burkard (@chrisburkard)
Chris Burkard is an American influencer, photographer, and filmmaker born in 1986. Known for his adventure travel photography, Burkard shares stunning images from remote locations like Iceland and Norway across his social media platforms.
His content also includes glimpses into his life as a father and valuable photography tips. Chris has won the Gold Medalist title at the X Games Zoom Photo Contest and the Trierenberg Super Circuit.
- Instagram: 3.9M
- Facebook: 701K
- YouTube: 50K
- Niche: Adventure
2. The Bucket List Family (@thebucketlistfamily)
Let’s meet one of the most popular family travel influencers on Instagram: The Bucket List Family, created by Garrett and Jessica Gee (travel journalists), shares family-friendly destinations, activities, and tips for traveling with children.
In 2015, they started a global journey with their three children after selling most of their possessions. Since then, the family has visited over 65 countries and written “National Geographic Bucket List Family Travel,” a comprehensive guide for families who dream of exploring the world together.
- Instagram: 3M
- YouTube: 1.5M
- TikTok: 495K
- Facebook: 701K
- Niche: Family
3. Karl Ndieli (@karl_shakur)
Karl Ndieli, also known as Karl Shakur, is one of the well-known black travel influencers, specializing in adventure, lifestyle, and aerial photography. This Nigerian photographer began his photography journey about three years ago during a family trip to Texas, where he started documenting his travels with his father’s old camera.
Karl’s photos have been even featured in popular magazines like Daily Mail. On Instagram, he shares a mix of stunning photos from his travels, often featuring dramatic landscapes and personal stories behind each image.
- Instagram: 1.1M
- TikTok: 389K
- YouTube: 187K
- Niche: Adventure
4. Kiersten Rich (@theblondeabroad)
36-year-old Kiersten is an American blogger and one of the Top 10 Travel Influencers by Forbes in 2017. As of now, she has visited 70 countries and taken 446 flights, covering over 845,000 miles.
Kiersten also runs a blog, The Blonde Abroad, which emphasizes solo female travel and has become one of the largest travel platforms globally. Additionally, she’s founded “Girls LOVE Travel”, an online community for female travelers with over one million members.
On Instagram, Kiersten Rich isn’t just about travel pics and guides. She also shares amazing fashion advice for travel lovers.
- Instagram: 512K
- TikTok: 1.4K
- YouTube: 37.3K
- Niche: Solo travel
5. Oneika Raymond (@oneikaraymond)
Oneika is a 41-year-old black influencer and travel journalist who has traveled to over 120 countries and is recognized for her work on the Travel Channel, hosting shows like Big City, Little Budget, and One Bag and You’re Out.
She was also named “Wanderful Creator of the Year” in 2019 and won “Best Travel Blog” from the Society of American Travel Writers in 2018.”
This Canadian influencer describes herself as an on-air travel expert, focusing on solo and family travels. That’s what you can find in her Instagram posts.
- Instagram: 307K
- TikTok: 26.9K
- YouTube: 22.5K
- Niche: Solo, family travel
5 Most Popular TikTok Travel Influencers
Here, you can meet some of the TikTok travel stars with many followers and likes:
1. Alex Ojeda (@alexojeda)
Alex Ojeda is a 23-year-old American-Mexican influencer, known for his engaging travel content, particularly about theme parks and adventure sports. Alex has gained over 340M likes on his TikTok videos which feature testing and reviewing roller coasters, water slides, and other exciting attractions.
He has also collaborated with various brands including Royal Caribbean International and has served as a global creator ambassador for them.
- TikTok: 8.5M
- YouTube: 4.2M
- Instagram: 738K
- Niche: Adventure
2. Julia Thompson (@juliiathompson)
Julia Thompson is a 34-year-old Canadian traveler and photographer who’s amassed a massive following on TikTok with over 113 MILLION likes! She and her partner Chris Locke have built a successful business as full-time travel photographers, documenting their incredible adventures around the world.
Julia also shares her travel expertise on her blog, Fernwehcollective, where you can find helpful guides and tips.
- TikTok: 3.7M
- Instagram: 798K
- Niche: Adventure
3. Mikki Tenazas (@mgtenazas)
Here’s one of the top luxury travel influencers with 16M likes on TikTok: Mikki Tenazas is a Filipino influencer who founded his travel brand, The Globe Wanderer, in August 2014, where he curates content about nature, climate issues, and unique travel experiences.
Tenazas has worked with major tourism boards from Saudi Arabia and Bhutan. He’s also created a popular line of Lightroom presets that help photographers enhance their travel photos.
- TikTok: 1.5M
- Instagram: 496K
- Niche: Luxury, adventure
4. Natasha & Cameron (@theworldpursuit)
The World Pursuit is a TikTok account with more than 670K followers and 30M likes created by Natasha and Cameron, an American couple who have traveled to 95 countries. They also have a travel blog under the same name where you can find travel guides, tips, and eco-friendly products.
- TikTok: 672K
- Instagram: 131K
- Niche: Adventure
5. Carmen Sognonvi (@topflightfamily)
American Cameron Sognonvi is one of the best luxury travel influencers on TikTok with 16M+ likes. This NYC-based creator is also an Amazon influencer and has co-founded the Top Flight Family travel channel, which has been active for over eight years.
At first, Cameron and her family traveled full-time while homeschooling their children. But over time, she’s changed her content focus from family travel to luxury travel, beauty, and lifestyle.
- TikTok: 601K
- Instagram: 295K
- Niche: Luxury travel
5 Famous Travel Influencers on YouTube
We’ve rounded up a list of the best travel YouTubers of all time. Let’s explore it:
1. Luisito Comunica (@luisitocomunica)
Luis Arturo Villar Sudek, known as Luisito Comunica, is a 33-year-old Mexican influencer who joined YouTube in 2012. Luisito has won numerous awards, including “Digital Leader of the Year” at the Eliot Awards and “Digital Star of the Year” by GQ Mexico. He focuses on the foodie travel niche, showcasing local cuisines and street food from various countries.
- YouTube: 43.7M
- Instagram: 33.6M
- TikTok: 17.2M
- Niche: Food travel
2. Drew Binskey (@drewbinsky)
Drew Goldberg, aka Drew Binsky, is another American travel influencer who is famous for his travels to lesser-known destinations and exploring different cultures. Drew has traveled to all 197 countries and built a community of over 16 million followers across Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.
He focuses on sharing positive stories from often-overlooked destinations, including Afghanistan and Syria. In addition to travel stories, you can find travel tips and hacks on Drew’s YouTube channel.
- YouTube: 4.91M
- Instagram: 1.2M
- TikTok: 762K
- Facebook: 6.4M
- Niche: Adventure travel
3. Kara and Nate (@KaraandNate
Kara and Nate are an American couple from Nashville who began their travel journey in 2016 after saving extensively through travel hacking. They have visited over 100 countries and are known for their amazing travel adventures and deep dives into different cultures.
It’s worth noting that Kara and Nate have won a Shorty Award for their awesome digital content. On their YouTube channel, they share many things, from travel tips and hacks to cultural insights from different destinations.
- YouTube: 4M
- Facebook: 3M
- Instagram: 1.1M
- TikTok: 358K
- Niche: Adventure travel
4. Indigo Traveller (@IndigoTraveller)
Nick Fisher, known as Indigo Traveller, is a 32-year-old popular travel YouTuber and filmmaker from New Zealand. Nick started his YouTube channel back in April 2016. He loves exploring places that most people don’t know much about, like North Korea, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
Nick wants to show the real people and cultures behind these countries and help break down those negative stereotypes. Besides being a YouTube star, Nick also uses his channel to raise money for charities.
- YouTube: 2M
- Facebook: 453K
- Instagram: 137.6K
- Niche: Adventure travel
5. Flying the Nest (@flyingthenest)
Our last travel influencer is a popular YouTube channel co-created by Stephen Parry-Valentine and his wife, Jessica. This Australian couple started their YouTube channel in 2015, featuring their travels to more than 80 countries and highlighting their experiences as a family traveling full-time.
They have collaborated with major brands like Sony, Qantas, and Hilton. Additionally, This couple has written a best-selling children’s book and offers various online courses through the Flying the Nest Academy.
- YouTube: 1.25M
- Facebook: 910K
- Instagram: 166K
- TikTok: 42.9K
- Niche: Family travel
You’ve learned all about the best travel influencers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. It’s time to explore a highly cost-effective platform for your influencer marketing campaigns.
The Best Way to Find and Connect with the Right Travel Influencers: Ainfluencer
To discover the best fit for your influencer marketing campaign, you need to search through creators and select based on their follower count, demographics, and more useful data.
That’s what Ainfluencer lets you do for free! As the world’s first free, DIY influencer marketplace, Ainfluencer charges no fees from users to create campaigns or utilize its features. It only receives 20% of the commission fees from influencers.
Let’s explore why Ainfluencer is the best solution for your influencer marketing needs:
- Ainfluencer is not only free to sign up but also free to use every feature you need to create effective campaigns.
- It’s also easy to navigate and user-friendly, allowing you to create campaigns in a few simple steps.
- This tool uses AI filters to search through a database of 100% verified influencers on Instagram and TikTok.
- You can access valuable data about each creator including past collabs, demographics, social media profiles, and customers’ reviews.
- Ainfluencer allows you to track your campaign’s success by measuring key metrics like ROI, conversion, and engagement rate.
- It offers a built-in chat inbox, enabling you to create campaigns, communicate with influencers, and make payments within the platform.
- With Ainfluencer’s Shopify integration, you can set up your affiliate program.
- More importantly, it secures both brands’ and creators’ transactions with an escrow payment system.
Don’t waste your time, searching for influencers manually. Here’s your magic tool!
FAQs
Let’s dive into some FAQs regarding top social media travel influencers:
1. What Is a Travel Influencer?
A travel influencer is a person who shares their travel experiences, insights, and recommendations with a large audience on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and blogs. Brands can collaborate with travel content creators to promote destinations, accommodations, and travel brands by creating engaging content.
2. Who Is the Biggest Travel Influencer?
It’s hard to define a creator as the biggest travel influencer. However, some of the most popular influencers include:
- @thebucketlistfamily,
- @theworldpursuit,
- @IndigoTraveller,
- @KaraandNate,
- @karl_shakur.
3. How Much Do Travel Influencers Make?
Travel influencers’ income depends on their follower count, engagement rates, and niche. Generally, micro-influencers with 10k to 100k followers earn between $20k to $50k annually, while macro-influencers (100k to 500k followers) can make between $50,000 to $150,000.
Plus, influencers with over 500,000 followers often earn from $150,000 to over $1 million per year through sponsored content and brand partnerships.
4. How to Become a Travel Influencer?
If you want to become a travel influencer and make money on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, you can follow these steps:
- Choose your travel niche including luxury, adventure, family, solo, or foodie travel,
- Know your target audience, their ages, interests, and budgets,
- Design a content calendar and post regularly at the best times,
- Create captivating content like high-quality photos, behind-the-scenes, travel tips, and guides,
- Engage with your followers through top travel hashtags, responding to their comments, and collaborating with brands and other creators,
- Stay updated on travel trends, news, and destinations.
Final Thoughts
We explored a range of travel influencers on various social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. We also highlighted creators across different travel niches such as adventure, family, and luxury.
If you’re looking to partner with the right travel creators to boost your ROI, this article provides a great starting point. To discover potential collaborators and connect with them, you can join Ainfluencer, a free platform that allows you to create unlimited campaigns at no cost.