Travel By Design

Design your own travel experience by exploring many travel niches on this Travel by Design page.

Whether you are an adventurer or arm-chair traveler you will find stories on this page that will pique your interest and curiosity. Nearly any hobby, interest or experience can be the very essence of a travel niche and you’ll find many of them below.

Perhaps you are looking for the best LGBTQ destinations or you’re interested in different experiences, volunteer travel (voluntourism) or health and wellness opportunities there are many travel niches to experience. We have several stories that showcase a traveler’s insights and there are other stories that illuminate the outdoors and beautiful landscapes. We have stories of varied experiences from far and wide. The experiences are unique and quite interesting and come from various places across the globe. Our stories will give you a wide coverage of places from around the world.

Whatever travel experience you’re interesting in learning about or designing for your future travels you can find something here. As new travel trends evolve we will continue to add new content that addresses new travel niches.

Go through the interesting stories listed below on this Travel by Design page.

  • Shrine.Trixie Pacis scaled

    Everything appeared as expected while boarding the train into Tokyo, from the tidy train station and orderly ticket booth cues to the clasped hands of prim passengers patiently awaiting the train. As I boarded and claimed a seat by the window, I felt suddenly overwhelmed — I had 36 hours to explore Tokyo and had arrived without a plan!

  • Helen Hernandez portrait

    Helen Hernandez has worn a lot of hats in a storied career that’s taken her from the trenches of labor union activism to becoming the CEO of the North American Travel Journalist Association

  • airport traveler

      The travel advisory which had been put in place for 5 months, advising against international travel, has been lifted by the US State Department. In a news release on Thursday, the state agency said it had coordinated the lifting of the travel advisory the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They had issued the Advisory on March 19, 2020, at the highest threat alert level-4. The State Department noted on the revised travel advisory that health and safety conditions had improved in some countries while others had the potential of deteriorating. The state agency has returned to the previous system of having a country-specific travel advisory. They argued that this would provide travelers with more information that was detailed and actionable. To help them make informed travel decisions, the customary travel levels 1 through 4 threat advisories, which were provided for individual countries, provided more detailed information. Croatia [...]

  • Traveler overlooking city

    Allianz, which is a financial and travel insurance company, conducted a survey of 4,300 random clients who had purchased a policy between June 19, 2019, and February 29, 2020, with the policy ending by March 1, 2020. The survey’s intention was to ask: “what would make you comfortable enough to travel?” 

  • MLK Jr. Memorial Wash DC

    Janet Cheatham Bell is an author, scholar, budding playwright and mother to CNN host, W. Kamau Bell, of United Shades of America.  Having lived through America’s Civil Rights Movement, Janet joins World Footprints to reflect on her life journey from a segregated Indiana to her interracial marriage that defied the laws of the era.

  • Cruise Ship

    Cruise travel is at a standstill during this period of uncertainty with the Covid-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has sent out a request for information related to cruise ship embarkation and planning and infrastructure. This measure is an effort by the CDC to develop a strategy to prevent, mitigate, and respond to the spread of the virus on cruise ships. The No Sail Order extension by the CDC dated July 16 is the most recent one since it was extended on April 15. This extension will hold through September 30, 2020, and it suspends passenger operations on cruise ships in waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Since placing the No Sail Order CDC has worked with cruise lines to bring crew members back home, requiring cruise lines to sign and submit an attestation. The 28-question list compiled by the CDC is open to persons and organizations [...]

  • Monaco city port|cathedral monaco|game bank Casino Monte Carlo|monaco

    If you’ve set off on a euro trip anytime in your life, you’ve probably visited some of the most-frequented countries on the continent: France, Spain, Italy, or the United Kingdom, just to name a few. However, many travelers tend to skip over the locations that elicit some of the most unique experiences.

  • Black man reading

    Do you wonder who will tell your story and how you’ll be portrayed? Author and Publisher Ardre Orie joins World Footprints to discuss the power of storytelling, narratives on race and, of course, travel.

  • The need for masks

    The world has changed a lot in the last six months—which means we must change how we interact with it. Travel is different now. Journalism is different now.

  • Hornby Island BC scaled e1594848514292

    Our plans of chasing our bucket list across the world in 2020 have been replaced by cancellations, quarantines, and an uncertain future. Many countries still have a ban on non-essential travel, and others have opened borders under strict restrictions. It's safe to say that we travel lovers have had to do some pivoting.

  • Air travel | Airport passenger in terminal

    The coronavirus pandemic has treated the world to new norms that have never before occurred. The total shutdown of essential services and normal life during the total lockdown directives and a massive meltdown of economies leading to job losses and restructuring of revenue streams are scenarios that have not been witnessed in the recent past. Borders were shut down and airline companies parked their airplanes in airports. However, the pandemic infection rate is receding and most countries are considering a phased return to normalcy including the United States. Flights are reopening their services but Americans have had to adapt to new ways of air travel. Protection Guidelines Some of the major guidelines that have helped bring down coronavirus new infection cases are social distancing and wearing a protective mask. The airline industry is maintaining the same as a precaution against the spread of the virus. For some airlines, passengers are [...]

  • WF Road Trip Cherohala Skydrive Tennessee

    As 2020 dawned, my travel calendar filled with big plans. The St. Olav Festival in Norway, gorilla trekking in Uganda, and truffle hunting in Croatia were among the adventures scheduled for the coming months. Sadly, those plans came to an abrupt halt thanks to COVID-19.