A good travel article is shaped like a good short story, with a clear beginning, middle and end.
(Don George, The Lonely Planet Guide to Travel Writing)

• not necessarily in chronological order
• may be structured around a theme or a narrative
• thematic pieces are less chronological

The beginning (1st half of 1/3)

• The doorway to the story
• Sets the story’s scene
• Where we are
• Why we’re there
• The quest / challenge ahead of us
• The theme of the piece
• The ‘characters’ who will accompany us or we will encounter
• Must ‘hook’ reader
• Set ‘active questions’ – tempts reader to want to know more
• May jump straight into the action – medias res (in the middle of things)
• The writer sometimes only finds the beginning at the end!

The middle (2/3 of story)

• The long and winding road
• Destination is brought alive for the reader
• The writer’s experience is a filter / conduit for the reader to vicariously experience the place – use all the senses!
• If thematic structure used: ascending series of examples reaching overriding point
• If narrative: chronological series of anecdotal incidents that embody the angle you have chosen (eg the delights of Cantonese cooking)
• Choose incidents that bring the point / angle to life.
• Keeping with the short story analogy, the middle should rise in tension to a dramatic / thematic climax.

The end

• Bring the focus of the story to a satisfying conclusion
• The aftermath of the climax
• A reflection on the inner experience; lessons learnt etc
• A summing up of whether or not goals / expectations have been achieved or met.
• Tie the story back to its beginning
• Deliver your reader back to the world.

You can read more travel writing tips, including potential markets at The Crafty Writer.

Essentially there are two kinds of travel articles: travel guides and travelogues.

Travel guides

Travel guides tend to be external, focusing on what to see, where to go and how to get there. They are or may be:

• quick wrap-ups of ‘must sees’
• Numbered lists: eg “The 5 best sunshine destinations”
• Often focused on the general traveller – lowest common denominator
• An overview of a place rather than detailed description
• Make extensive use of text boxes and sidebars for info
• Use tourist info brochures/websites/guidebooks as source material – be careful not to plagiarise!
• Usually uses 2nd Person point of view (POV) rather than 1st (but occasionally can). 3rd Person is too distancing.

Short journeys
If you use a narrative structure (telling the story of the journey), focus on short periods of time: weekend getaways or city breaks are good subjects for general articles.

Longer journeys
If you try to cover a longer journey in the travel guide style then it becomes: ‘and then we saw … and then we went … and then we did … then we went to bed … and then … and then… and then we came home.

Solution? Narrow your focus. One highlight, surprise find, unusual encounter.

Travelogues and travel features

Travelogues are literary accounts of a journey written as a memoir – these may be written up as books, essays, blogs or articles. When ‘packaged’ for a magazine, the travelogue becomes a travel feature. They are or may be:

Internal rather than external, focusing more on the writer’s experience of the destination. The best travel writing incorporates both.

• A narrative journey: The article is structured as a journey of discovery.
• The writer becomes a travelling companion (see Bryson) rather than just a guide.
• The writer uses his / her own experience as a lens on a destination
• Always written in 1st person.
• Very narrowly focused either on subject or theme
• May be presented as a quest: eg the quest to find the perfect curry; the quest to find a legendary guitar maker
• An inner journey: the writer contemplates a spiritual, emotional or metaphysical change that has taken place as a result of the journey or encounter.
• Plays with timelines
• More ‘literary’ in tone and style than a mere travel guide
• Utilises the senses
• ‘Fictional’ writing techniques (eg dialogue, shifts in timeline, characterisation, mood setting)

For more on how to structure a travel article see writing travel articles.