history of travel magazine

The Condé Nast Traveler Origin Story, as Told by Founding Editor Sir Harold Evans

By Paul Brady

“The philosophy was tell the truth, be honest, mediate, try and make people's travel experiences enjoyable and good, and do it from the point of view of an informed traveler,” says the legendary newspaperman Sir Harold Evans, when I reached him by phone in late June. Our staff was busily reporting and piecing together what would become our September issue , a keepsake special edition that we'd been planning since January. We’d interviewed dozens of travel industry insiders and scoured the archives for memorable covers , but we also wanted to get a sense of what it was like back in 1987, when the first edition of the magazine appeared with stories from Christopher Buckley, Robert Hughes, and Mimi Sheraton.

“The whole point about Condé Nast Traveler magazine as I intended to produce it would be to do two things,” said Evans. “Of course we should excite people about wonderful places and things and food, right? But also actually tell them that when they get there it’s a molten lake of lava, so take your gumshoes with you! We thought that was a useful thing to do.”

As we spoke, he shared more anecdotes from his time as editor in chief and why there’s still nothing quite like our annual Readers' Choice Awards.

Condé Nast Traveler: Before you started the magazine, you were a rather well-known newspaper editor. Did it ever strike you as odd to bring that journalistic rigor to something like travel?

Sir Harold Evans: The basic anecdote is this: I was editor of The Sunday Times in London and Don Berry, a very fine journalist, who later became deputy editor at The Daily Telegraph, went on a complimentary cruise that ran into all sorts of difficulties. Almost everybody was sick and many people were pulled off the boat and so on and so on. And he didn’t write it as a story, and I said, why not? And he said, “Because it was a free trip!” So I said no more free trips. The second thing, which made a huge difference, was to—how can I put this succinctly—well, we mediated between a traveler and airlines. The philosophy was tell the truth and be honest. That’s why I invented the term “truth in travel,” which was of course the thing that catapulted Traveler into a big success.

Looking back at the first issues, there’s such an embarrassment of talent in terms of writers and photographers. How did you assemble the team?

I was very lucky when I arrived and [Condé Nast chairman] Si Newhouse gave me a blank office with a pencil—and I was about to ask for a salary—but the point is, I was in the area where all these marvelous high-stepping models were passing by and there I was with this piece of paper trying to invent a magazine. We attracted a very young, skilled staff. The biggest struggle, or almost the biggest innovation, was to get John Grimwade, the graphic artist. I brought two people from England. One was Graham Boynton , editor of Business Traveller in London, and the other was John Grimwade, whom I worked with when I was editing The Sunday Times to do things like the graphic analysis of a shootout in Ireland or very specific news graphics. So why did I bring him in? Here’s the answer: My first idea, graphically, was to show you the Caribbean beaches and mark them as to various qualities we want in a Caribbean beach: the sand, the nearest restaurant, the best hotel, and so on and so on. We also had Jack Nessel, Clive Irving, Lloyd Ziff, Kathleen Klech, Klara Glowczewska, and so on. And the photography was absolutely wonderful. Another thing which was a joy as a founding editor is that people, photographers, were very interested in getting out of town and not being shot at. Although occasionally they were shot at but you know that wasn’t the name of the game.

Traveler 's first issue from September 1987.

What else did you do to set the magazine apart from the competition?

Well, 30 years ago, what nobody was doing in a travel magazine as a principal point of policy was to concentrate on saving the environment . I mean, everyone wants to save the environment now except our president, but everyone apart from that. So we went through the Tongass National Forest in Alaska , which was being torn apart to provide cheap timber for the Japanese. I wrote a piece saying we shouldn’t be doing this, we should protect the environment, and I quoted, of course, Theodore Roosevelt. So it became a bit political in that sense. I made a policy of writing an editorial with a point of view every issue, about 500 words, like save this rainforest or sue this airline or whatever. I can have a lot of opinions—some of which are worth hearing, I think.

You also started the Readers' Choice Awards, letting people vote on their favorite hotels and resorts.

We had to be very careful with that because before we made a big award to a hotel, we’d send a reporter or maybe two to check out the place that had been voted particularly well. And if we found that when we arrived that the 30 reader submissions were all written by the chef, then we would have second thoughts. So the places were tested. The people running the magazine were newspaper people, so we’d learn a thing or two and try to corroborate. So the Readers' Choice Awards got a very sophisticated rating system so that we weren’t being conned.

I made a policy of writing an editorial with a point of view every issue, about 500 words, like save this rainforest or sue this airline or whatever. I can have a lot of opinions—some of which are worth hearing, I think.

Jillian Dara

Charlie Hobbs

Alexandra Hall

Meaghan Kenny

Any other odd things happen in those early days?

Oh, well, how did you get the name Condé Nast Traveler ? I had it designed and shown to Si and Alexander Lieberman—Lieberman because he’s a visual genius, let’s not underrate Alex—and then we got challenged by National Geographic who said, you can’t use the word Traveler. I said hey, it’s a word in the English language, I’m English, and we own the English language, so you can piss off. Anyway they pissed off and the law called us and so I found myself on the witness stand defending the use of the word “traveler” for a travel magazine. It seemed to me an eccentric posture. I said, what about calling it “Condé Nast,” I’m gonna settle for that. And Si agreed, so it became Condé Nast Traveler and then the lawsuit ended with that. This was before we started the magazine, by the way! We hadn’t even started yet because we had been up against the wall with National Geographic arguing over the English language.

You mentioned “truth in travel” as a guiding principle, but what was your broader editorial philosophy?

We wanted the very best writers, not just people like Harry Evans trying to pick up a dollar or two but people like Robert Hughes, the great art critic at Time Magazine , to go to Barcelona because he was a great authority on Barcelona. We got Mimi Sheraton to fly around the world and test cuisine on the ‘round-the-world flight.

The most important news thing we investigated, I think, was a really thorough examination led by Clive Irving an authority on aviation, on which are the safest airlines. This wasn’t something we just knocked off on the back of an envelope on a Friday afternoon! This took about six months to do because it was extremely difficult to pin down the connotations and the language and confirm this and to confirm that. Paul Grimes from The New York Times, who is no longer with us, I’m afraid, came on as a news reporter and in the very first issue had a scoop, which was that when you’re calling up to book a hotel just mention the word “corporate” to get a good discount rate. Traveler was a real joy to edit because the people on it were all like you: young, handsome, well informed, good conversationalists and so on and so forth.

I’m glad that’s coming across over the phone!

We had a wonderful time—I can’t tell you how enjoyable it was. Altogether, it was fantastic fun. I wish Condé Nast Traveler another 30 years for the rest of us who are stuck at home.

Sir Harold Evans’s latest book is Do I Make Myself Clear? Why Writing Well Matters (Little, Brown). This interview has been edited.

The Online Books Page

presents serial archive listings for

Travel was an American travel magazine published in the 20th century. (There is a Wikipedia article about this serial .)

Publication History

Travel began in 1906 as The Travel Magazine, succeeding The Four-Track News (which we list separately) and continuing its volume numbering (hence, beginning with volume 12). The name shortened to Travel around 1911. The first actively copyright-renewed issue is February 1960 (v. 113 no. 2). The first actively copyright-renewed contribution is from April 1929. ( More details ) It ran until 1977, when it merged with Holiday to form what became known as Travel Holiday (which in turn ran until 2003).

Persistent Archives of Complete Issues

• 1907-1908: HathiTrust has volume 13 of The Travel Magazine , covering October 1907 through August 1908.
• 1908-1909: HathiTrust has volume 14 of The Travel Magazine , covering October 1908 through September 1909.
• 1909-1910: HathiTrust has volume 15 of The Travel Magazine , covering October 1909 through October 1910.
• 1911: HathiTrust has volume 17 , covering May through October 1911.
• 1911-1912: HathiTrust has volume 18 , covering November 1911 through April 1912.
• 1912: HathiTrust has volume 19 , covering May through October 1912.
• 1912-1913: HathiTrust has volume 20 , covering November 1912 through April 1913.
• 1913: HathiTrust has volume 21 , covering May through October 1913.
• 1914: HathiTrust has volume 23 , covering May through October 1914.
• 1915-1916: HathiTrust has volumes 26 and 27 , covering November 1915 through October 1916.
• 1916-1917: HathiTrust has volumes 28 and 29 , covering November 1916 through October 1917.
• 1917-1918: HathiTrust has volumes 30 and 31 , covering November 1917 through October 1918.
• 1918-1919: HathiTrust has volume 32 , covering November 1918 through April 1919.
• 1919: HathiTrust has volume 33 , covering May through October 1919.
• 1919-1920: HathiTrust has volume 34 , covering November 1919 through April 920.
• 1920: HathiTrust has volume 35 , covering May through October 1920.
• 1920-1921: HathiTrust has volume 36 , covering November 1920 through April 1921.
• 1921: HathiTrust has volume 37 , covering May through October 1921.
• 1921-1922: HathiTrust has volume 38 , covering November 1921 through April 922.
• 1922: HathiTrust has volume 39 , covering May through October 1922.

Related Resources

• We also list issues of The Four-Track News , this magazine's predecessor.

This is a record of a major serial archive . This page is maintained for The Online Books Page . (See our criteria for listing serial archives .) This page has no affiliation with the serial or its publisher.

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38 Inspiring Travel Magazines Worthy of a Subscription

By Jason Barnette | Travel writer and photographer with 15+ years of road tripping experience

• Last Updated on November 1, 2023
• Published on November 25, 2022

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my Affiliate Disclosure here .

Travel magazines are great resources for inspiration and information. Inciteful articles go beyond the things to do in a destination and explore why you should visit in the first place. Hotel reviews, travel gear roundups, exploration of new trends, and interviews with interesting people in the travel industry keep you entertained through dozens of glossy pages.

Some travel magazines cover the globe, offering a chance to see exotic destinations in far-off lands. Other magazines stick closer to home, covering only regions or states. And then, special interest magazines cover topics like travel gear, outdoor recreation, and unique places to visit.

But when was the last time you picked up a travel magazine?

Browse through this list of travel magazines worthy of a subscription. Read the details of the magazine’s coverage, digital vs. print editions, and their publication frequency. And keep in mind – these make excellent gifts as well.

What about city magazines?

City magazines can offer additional insight into a destination, but not always. The magazines also include local news, shopping guides for home décor, and seasonal things to do around town. I recommend checking out city magazines when you travel but don’t get a subscription unless you visit that destination several times yearly.

Table of Contents

Condé nast traveler, food & wine, national geographic, travel + leisure, blueridge country, caribbean living, coastal living, coastal virginia, cowboys & indians, midwest living, smoky mountain living, arizona highways, louisiana life, minnesota monthly, new hampshire magazine, new jersey monthly, new mexico magazine, oklahoma today magazine, rhode island monthly, texas highways, texas parks & wildlife, vermont magazine, adventure cyclist magazine, american road, backcountry, blue ridge motorcycling, garden & gun, lighthouse digest, national parks magazine, rv magazine.

Travel Lifestyle Magazines

The premier category of travel magazines, these industry icons cover worldwide topics and destinations, keep you informed about current travel trends, and inspire you to dust off the passport.

A relative newcomer to the travel magazine market, Afar began publishing six issues each year in 2009. The magazine publishes immersive stories that go deep into the culture and history of travel destinations around the world. Each issue also features columns about travel gear, food, and profiles of interesting people in the industry.

Founded in New York City in 1909, Condé Nast is a vast media company with nearly a dozen magazine publications. Condé Nast Traveler is a luxury travel magazine published eight times yearly, featuring destination guides, hotel and resort reviews, and essays. Columns explore travel trends, the hottest new restaurants and hotels, and inside info on prices worldwide.

Facebook: Join the conversations about coffee, travel, and all things road trips

First published in 1978, Food & Wine is a lifestyle magazine featuring articles about cooking and entertaining at home. But the magazine also features restaurant reviews, interviews with celebrity chefs, and new culinary trends to try worldwide. The magazine is published monthly with seasonal themes and travel inspiration in every issue.

It was a gut punch when National Geographic Traveler was shuttered in 2019. Published for twenty-five years, the travel-themed magazine was rolled into the flagship National Geographic . The broad-topic parent magazine now features one or two travel features in their monthly issues and a vast trove of information with a digital subscription.

Top Recommended

Published in New York City since 1937, Travel + Leisure is one of the top travel magazines in the world. The monthly publication features articles highlighting destinations worldwide, columns to help you save money while traveling, and reviews of hotels and restaurants. It’s one of the most inspiring magazines and the one subscription I recommend everyone order.

Wanderlust is the United Kingdom’s top travel magazine, published in London since 1993. The magazine focuses on travel destinations throughout the UK and Europe with destination guides, essays, interviews, and reviews. The bi-monthly publication features a whopping 200+ pages that will almost certainly keep you reading until the next issue arrives. A subscription also grants access to their vast digital archives.

Instagram: Browse the collection of my favorite photography from the destinations I visit

Regional Travel Magazines

Regional travel magazines broaden their topics beyond just travel to also include home décor and living. But these magazines are also an excellent resource for finding off-the-beaten-path destinations or learning about a new region of the country to explore.

Based in Roanoke, Virginia, BlueRidge Country is a lifestyle and travel magazine focused on the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The monthly issues feature a section on upcoming festivals and events that are perfect for weekend getaways. You’ll also find destination articles, hotel and restaurant reviews, and exciting things to do in the great outdoors in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

National Park Week 2024

Learn about the annual celebration of the National Park System and read my travel guides to national park units across the country.

With a subscription to Caribbean Living , you’ll “travel beyond the beach” with an inside look at the culture of the Caribbean islands. Issues are only published four times each year, but the publications are packed with intriguing travel stories, unique places to visit, and tips on how to make the most of your tropical getaway.

Life was turbulent for Coastal Living after Meredith purchased Time, Inc. in 2018. After a year stuck exclusively on newsstands, the magazine was again made available for subscriptions. The four issues published annually are packed with destination guides, travel tips, and reviews to make the most of your coastal getaway.

Published six times yearly, Coastal Virginia covers the region around Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore. The publication includes lists of local events and festivals, travel guides to popular coastal destinations, and interviews with the local business owners who keep the travel industry thriving in coastal Virginia.

When Cowboys & Indians began publishing in 1992, its editors aimed to make it “the premier magazine of the West.” And with 16 issues each year, you’ll have plenty to read about the not-so-wild west. Each issue is packed with home décor, recipes for local foods, travel guides to popular destinations, and upcoming events and festivals.

Based in Des Moines, Iowa, Midwest Living has been published four times yearly since 1986. The issues explore the vast region with travel guides, interviews, and reviews of places to visit. Issues include lifestyle topics like home décor and recipes, but you’ll still find plenty of travel topics to inspire your next Midwest adventure.

Twitter: Join conversations about travel, road trips, and national parks – 240 characters at a time

Based in Waynesville, North Carolina at the footsteps of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Smoky Mountain Living publishes stories covering the southern Appalachian Mountains. The stories include local arts and crafts, culture, music, and travel. It’s an excellent magazine for more than just the national park – it’s every small mountain town and hidden cove you never knew you wanted to visit.

The first issue of Sunset was published in 1898 – no kidding. Initially published by the Southern Pacific Railroad, today the lifestyle magazine covers the American West with topics on home life, cooking, gardening, and travel. Although it’s a broad-ranged magazine, the travel articles are inspirational.

Published since 1935, Yankee celebrates the culture of the New England states. Six issues each year feature stories about local traditions, festivals and events, lifestyle, and reviews of up-and-coming boutique hotels and restaurants.

State Travel Magazines

Narrowing the focus, state travel magazines focus on lifestyle and travel topics within their borders. If you visit a particular state every year, a subscription to one of these magazines could be invaluable for inspiring you to visit new destinations.

Published since 1935, Alaska is more than just a magazine to promote travel across the northernmost state – it’s also a journal of the Alaskan way of life. The magazine is published ten times yearly and features destination guides, seasonal activities, and outdoor adventures across the state. The magazine also featured excellent information about hunting, national parks, and how to travel across the state.

In 1921, the Arizona Department of Transportation began publishing a 10-page pamphlet to promote the highways across the state. Today, Arizona Highways is a monthly magazine published in Phoenix. Each issue includes road trip possibilities, travel guides, and stories about the state’s history and culture.

Pinterest: Browse through dozens of boards with pins about travel, road trips, national parks, and things to do

Published six times yearly, Louisiana Life includes roundups of upcoming events and festivals, travel guides, and an inside look at the state’s culture.

The “Land of 10,000 Lakes” is brought to life with Minnesota Monthly , which is now ironically only published six times annually . The travel and lifestyle magazine features articles on destinations to visit, events you must attend, and things to do across the state and over the water.

New Hampshire Magazine publishes 10 issues each year packed with information about the state’s tourist destinations, seasonal guides to explore autumn colors and spring flowers, and reviews of local restaurants.

New Jersey Monthly publishes an issue every month of the year filled with lifestyle tips, destination guides, and things to do across the state to the Jersey Shore.

Launched in 1923, New Mexico Magazine was the first magazine to focus on travel within a single state. With 11 issues published annually by the New Mexico Tourism Department in Santa Fe, the magazine features articles on the state’s culture, history, outdoor recreation, and destinations.

Since 1956, Oklahoma Today Magazine has been the official publication of the state of Oklahoma. The issues – published 6 times yearly – feature articles on history, culture, food, and travel across the state.

Published since 1933, Our State is one of the best state travel magazines in the country. The monthly issues are filled with travel guides, upcoming events and festivals, stellar photography, and things to do in small towns and big cities across the Tarheel State.

Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the country, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do. And with 12 issues of Rhode Island Monthly published each year, you can learn all about it. The articles cover events and festivals, things to do, places to visit, and go in-depth with reviews and interviews.

Published since 1974 by the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Highways is a monthly magazine that features destination guides, road trip itineraries, and seasonal inspiration for travel across the state. The articles include interviews with travel industry professionals, reviews of local restaurants and resorts, and roundups of things to do, places to go, and festivals to attend.

Based in Austin, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department protects the wildlife and their habitats across the state. And since 1942, the state agency has published Texas Parks & Wildlife . 10 issues annually are filled with tips about outdoor recreation, hunting, fishing, and anything else you can do in the great outdoors in the state.

Published only 5 times each year, Vermont Magazine explores the history, culture, and travel across the state. Articles take a deep dive with interviews, reviews, and guides to help you get the most out of a visit to the state.

Special Interest Magazines

Instead of travel guides or restaurant reviews or business owner interviews, the special interest magazine focuses on specific things to do while home or traveling. You’ll find stories about outdoor recreation, exploring national park units, and how to travel in an RV in the pages of these magazines.

Adventure Cyclist Magazine has been published since 1975 by the Adventure Cycling Association . The Missoula, Montana-based association is an excellent resource for adventurous bicycle trails, gear reviews, and technical guides. Their magazine reflects this mission with 9 issues published annually packed with useful information. Membership in the association includes a subscription to the magazine and vice versa.

Published 4 times annually, American Road is the definitive magazine of the road tripper. The issues are filled with road trip travelogues, itineraries, roadside attractions, and reviews of restaurants and hotels you’ll find along the way.

Backcountry is the only magazine dedicated to outdoor recreation far from the paved highways. Published six times yearly, the magazine features gear reviews, backcountry tips, and destination guides worldwide. It’s an excellent resource for discovering backcountry adventures, how to get there, and where to stay.

Blue Ridge Motorcycling is published 4 times annually by the same folks behind Smoky Mountain Living . The magazine features scenic and thrilling motorcycle routes throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Southern Appalachians. Issues also feature motorcycle gear reviews and travel guides perfect for two-wheel adventures.

Published in Charleston, South Carolina, Garden & Gun is a regional magazine focusing on the American South. It’s not entirely a travel magazine with a wide range of topics from household décor to outdoor adventure. But the magazine regularly publishes fantastic articles about destinations you need to visit.

Lighthouse Digest is an interesting magazine subscription, especially for lovers of lighthouses. Published bi-monthly, the magazine features the history of the lighthouses, stories of previous keepers and their families, and travel guides on how to visit them. It’s a great resource for festivals and events to help you plan a weekend getaway to a lighthouse.

National Parks Magazine is the official magazine published by the National Parks Conservation Association. Published 4 times annually, the issues are filled with conservation stories and ways people can help protect the parks. But it also features excellent travel guides on things to do in the parks and sustainable ways to visit.

Published since 1977, Outside is a magazine about everything to do outside. The magazine is published bi-monthly. Each issue is stuffed with outdoor adventure gear reviews, technical articles, interviews of outdoor enthusiasts, and travel guides to amazing outdoor adventure destinations.

RoadRUNNER is a relative newcomer to the travel magazine domain, published for the first time in 2001. Based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the magazine covers all topics related to motorcycle touring and traveling with one headlight. Published bi-monthly, issues feature gear reviews, travel guides, and thrilling routes to explore on two wheels.

RV Magazine is the premier magazine for recreational vehicle owners. Articles on tips, vehicle reviews, and new gear are published monthly. Print, digital, and combination subscriptions are offered to get the best of everything they offer.

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25 of the Best Travel Magazines

While traveling is exciting, learning about new places and seeing beautiful photos of destinations from around the world is exciting too. There are a number of ways to find new places to visit or to be inspired by the stories and experiences from others, but travel magazines are among the best options.

Thankfully, there are some very good travel magazines that are perfect for feeding your hunger for travel-related content and inspiration. Here, we’ll showcase the best travel magazines you should be following. Some of them have moved to digital-only publications, but the majority of them are still available in a printed magazine if that’s what you prefer (if they’re currently digital-only, that will be specified below).

Some of these magazines cover travel in general, while others take a more niche-specific approach. Check out the descriptions to see which ones are likely to interest you.

Best Travel Magazines

Subscribe to any of these travel publications to read and learn about destinations and your favorite types of travel.

Afar, launched in 2009, is one of the leading travel magazines. Although it covers destinations from around the world, its focus is experiential travel. It was created to inspire and guide those who travel the world seeking to connect with its people and experience their cultures. It features beautiful photos and engaging stories that are sure to inspire wanderlust.

Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure has been in print since 1937, and under the Travel + Leisure name since 1971. It’s another travel industry leader that should be on every avid traveler’s reading list. The “World’s Best” awards issue is an annual highlight.

Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine that has won many awards. If you enjoy luxury travel, this is the magazine for you. Even if you don’t travel in luxury, you’ll appreciate the photos and travel stories, as well as details about particular destinations.

National Geographic

National Geographic provides you with everything you need to know about scenery, history, and traveling to all ends of the earth. National Geographic is most well known for its award-winning travel photojournalism.

Wanderlust Magazine

Wanderlust is an award-winning British travel magazine with a focus on unique and enriching travel experiences. You’ll find trip inspiration, ideas, tips, reviews, competitions, and celebrity interviews.

Cruise Travel

Edited for people who are interested in learning about or taking a cruise vacation. Content includes features on cruise ships, ports-of-call, cruise itineraries, cruise guidelines, cruise/tour combinations, sea/air packages, travel products, related shore facilities, and activities.

Cruising World

Cruise World is another magazine focused specifically on cruise travel. If you’re a frequent cruiser or looking to plan a cruise, this is an excellent option.

National Parks Magazine

If you enjoy nature and visiting national parks, then you won’t want to miss National Parks Magazine. As you would expect, you’ll find travel photos and plenty of information about the most epic parks in the United States.

Caribbean Living

Caribbean Living is a luxury lifestyle magazine that exclusively covers Caribbean islands. If you frequently travel to Caribbean destinations or have a home on one of the islands, this is an excellent choice for you. Each issue is packed with interesting and insightful stories, as well as beautiful pictures.

Food & Travel

Food & Travel magazine combines two of our favorite topics. Wherever you’re going, food is likely to be an important part of your trip. If you enjoy trying food from every destination you visit, you’ll appreciate the content that you’ll find in this magazine.

The indispensable magazine for today’s yachtsman, providing power and sailing enthusiasts authoritative evaluations of new boats, gear, and equipment. Coverage of cruising, traveling, and racing destinations.

Destination

Destination is another niche-specific publication that focuses specifically on Caribbean destinations. You’ll learn about places to stay, things to do, and towns that you might not have been aware of. They also cover style and culture as well as food and drink.

Global Traveler

Global Traveler is a travel magazine that provides information, inspiration, and stories related to locations all around the world. If you’re looking for a good overall travel magazine to provide ideas and keep you up-to-date, this is an excellent option.

Geographical

Founded in 1935, Geographic is one of the oldest British travel magazines. Geographical brings the rich diversity of the world’s culture, wildlife, and places into its readers’ living rooms. The magazine is informative, authoritative, and educational, covering a wide range of subject areas all illustrated with superb high-quality photography.

Outside Magazine

For 35 years OUTSIDE magazine has been the intelligent person’s guide to the always exhilarating world outside. Award-winning writers, great stories of adventure, tips on the latest gear, where & when to go for active travelers.

American Road

Explore America’s back roads with American Road magazine. Whether you travel in an RV, on a Harley, or in a minivan, you’ll find road trips, maps, diners, motels, and roadside attractions in every issue. This is an excellent resource for anyone planning a road trip.

RV Magazine

RV magazine covers travel from the perspective of those who travel in the comfort of an RV. You’ll find general travel information as well as some tips and details that are especially relevant for RV travel. You’ll also find trailer and mobile home reviews, articles about gear and products for RV travel, safety and maintenance tips, info about RV parks, and more.

Outdoor Photographer

Outdoor Photographer is a landscape and nature photography magazine, but it’s an excellent read for travelers who enjoy photography. You’ll find articles (and of course, amazing photos) featuring destinations around the world, including the iconic as well as the unknown. You’ll learn a lot about some of the best photography destinations you can put into your upcoming travel plans.

Online Travel Magazines

All of the publications listed above still produce a printed travel magazine. Of course, many publications have gone exclusively to digital versions because of the costs related to printing and shipping. In this section, we’ll cover online travel magazines that are excellent options (much more than just a blog) for reading on your tablet or computer.

Budget Travel

Budget Travel (now digital-only) helps savvy consumers get the most out of every day, every destination, and every dollar. This used to be a popular print-based magazine (and one of my personal favorites), but now the content is only available digitally. You’ll find details about locations all around the world, so it’s a great overall option.

If you enjoy beaches and island travel, this award-winning and spectacularly visual travel magazine is a highlight that you won’t want to miss. ISLANDS (now digital-only) focuses on places we all dream about: islands around the world.

Wander is a digital-only travel magazine with a unique focus on wellness. If you’re interested in wellness tourism, this is the best resource for you.

Pathfinders Travel

Pathfinders Travel (digital-only) is the leading leisure travel publication for the Black travel enthusiast. Its affluent, educated and sophisticated readers have a thirst for information on family, romantic, and weekend destinations.

Backpacker (digital-only) is the leading outdoor adventure magazine, dedicated to helping readers enjoy everything nature has to offer. Every issue is packed with hands-on information on how to buy the best gear, how to build strength and endurance, how to find great hikes close to home, and how to enjoy the outdoor experience.

National Park Trips

From the editors of Outside magazine, National Park Trips (digital-only) is an outstanding resource for information and inspiration related to America’s national park system. You’ll find travel guides, information for road trips, and of course, plenty of stunning photos from your favorite parks.

Cabin Life (digital-only) covers cabins, cottages, lake homes, and lodges. Get ideas, information, and inspiration for your vacation home with the award-winning Cabin Life magazine. If you have a getaway or dream of having one, Cabin Life magazine is for you.

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• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

The best independent travel magazines

What's the concept? Renegade sets out to give an honest impression of the world, to inspire people to travel, of course, but also to go back to the reason we travel in the first place – to attempt to understand a place by seeing it first hand. We also wanted to bring the traditional sense of literary travel writing to the fore, and bring it up to date.

What motivated you to make it? We were seeing so much excellent work going unnoticed and we wanted Renegade to become a platform on which these stories could be published. We're also constantly inspired by the ever-growing market for independent magazines. It's exciting to live in a time when, thanks to the internet, print is an unknown again and there are plenty of people out there doing wonderful things with it.

Who works on it and what are their backgrounds? Amy Sohanpaul and I edit Renegade together. Amy has been editing another travel magazine for the best part of a decade and used to work in book publishing. I left university in 2009, and have been writing, editing and working in magazine publishing ever since. The magazine's art director is Pieter Stander, who's worked with us numerous times before.

Tell us about the feature you're most proud of It's difficult to pick, but two seem to have stood out: the first is Barnaby Rogerson's essay about the current state of travel writing. The second is a piece we commissioned by LA-based poet/translator David Shook who wrote about his journey to Equatorial Guinea to find Marcelo Ensema Nsang, a poet whose work he'd become mildly obsessed with. We even got to publish one of Marcelo's poems for the first time.

Can you recommend any other travel publications (print or online) that we should read? We've been following Boat since their first issue on Sarajevo. The concept is incredibly fresh. Another Escape is also great. And though not strictly travel, there are a few surf/skate magazines out there which instil a sense of wanderlust, especially Acid . And online there's Sidetracked , a magazine about exploration and expeditions (see below). Freddie Reynolds

Sidetracked

What's the concept? Sidetracked is an adventure travel brand that captures and presents the experience of some of the most breathtaking adventures taking place throughout the world. The stories are told by the men and women who undertake them, accompanied by incredible photography or video. Sidetracked started as a website but recently moved into print with a premium quality bi-annual journal, and we're looking at additional digital channels too.

What motivated you to make it? I've been a freelance graphic designer for 12 years, working mainly on promotional and ecommerce websites. Three years ago I decided to combine my passion and training for good design and typography with my other interests – in particular, being engrossed in adventure, expeditions and exploration. The website has grown rapidly to become a great resource for adventure travel inspiration and the move into print has been a long-term ambition for me.

Who works on it and what are their backgrounds? I look after the website production and design side of things and deal with the writers and photographers. We have two editors; Jamie Bunchuk, an explorer and writer with a couple of expeditions under his belt, and Andrew Mazibrada, a lawyer, author and freelance writer. Martin Hartley, a leading expedition and adventure photographer, has recently joined the team as director of photography, and National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Alastair Humphreys has also been involved in the project.

Tell us about the feature you're most proud of That's incredibly difficult! The piece by Kenton Cool on the risks as well as the rewards of high-altitude adventure is an extraordinary and humbling story. For the website, I'd say The Land That Never Melts (a pulking expedition on Baffin Island), Sitka to Hoonah (an Alaskan kayak adventure) and 125 days in Amazonia (an expedition to cross Brazil from north to south).

Can you recommend any other travel publications (print or online) that we should read? My favourite printed publications would include Boat Magazine, Another Escape and The Ride Journal – all stunning and great reads. I enjoy browsing through Exposure online and 12hrs.net and regularly check out Outside Online as well as the National Geographic Adventure blog too. John Summerton

The American Guide

What's the concept? Before The American Guide, there was The American Guide Series – an Encyclopedia Americana of tour books and pamphlets published on every state during the Great Depression era of the 1930s and early 1940s. It was a public works project paid for by the US government in which out-of-work artists, writers, photographers and editors across the country were put to work in their hometowns and states to create America's first great self-portrait. Today, The American Guide is a revival of this unique spirit of service to document the country. The goal is to make a state-by-state record of America, documenting people and places, both pretty and hard.

What motivated you to make it? Six years ago we came across a copy of one of the original American Guide series books still in print and used it to explore modern-day New York City. We read about feuding gangs in Chinatown, the Coney Island boardwalk, and an old sailors' home on Staten Island. We loved that it was written, not by travel pros parachuting in to find the best hotel, but by New Yorkers who crawled the sidewalks talking to line cooks and kids playing stickball. It seemed like a missed opportunity that nothing similar existed in the present day. And with the astonishingly talented community of regional photographers and writers on Tumblr, we realized there was an opportunity to create a sort of crowdsourced, 21st-century version of the original series. Six years later, we almost have a complete set of the original American Guide series.

Who works on it and what are their backgrounds? Tom McNamara and I are the creators and co-editors. We grew up in Minnesota and Florida respectively and both spent several years as producers and journalists at the Public Broadcasting Service. These days, we work at two different natural history museums. But as we said, the local guides are really what make The American Guide so special. There's an architect, a librarian, a skateboarder, a teacher, and a hotel maintenance man among their number.

Tell us about the feature you're most proud of For the past two Novembers we've hosted American Guide Week on Tumblr — a throwback to the original American Guide Week that took place in 1941. It's when we turn The American Guide over to our 165,000-strong Tumblr community and ask everybody to tag images and words about where they live. We then feature their dispatches on the site.

Can you recommend any other travel publications (print or online) that we should read? Drawn the Road Again is absolutely one of our favourites and features amazing illustrations, while Atlas Obscura is indispensable on our road trips. We also like This Belongs In a Museum , which features some cool spots we'd probably never find on our own. Erin Chapman

What's the concept? Boat Magazine is a nomadic travel and culture magazine that focuses on a different city for each issue . We physically move our studio to the new city, bringing a few writers and photographers with us, and work with locals to find and tell the stories that don't normally make the news. Because we spend a few weeks in each city we work really hard to get under the skin of the place and talk more about the root of some of these issues, or at least another side to them.

What motivated you to make it? Being American, and someone who's lived abroad and travelled all over the globe, I get frustrated with traditional coverage of the rest of the world. A lot of the time it seems to be recycled and usually focuses on stories where a catchy or shocking headline can be gleaned. You can't get to the bottom of another culture in 48 hours, so the coverage doesn't seem authentic to me. I know these places have incredible, inspiring stories and people that really deserve to make the news and so that's what Boat tries to do.

Who works on it and what are their backgrounds? We keep the core team tiny and nimble so that our overheads stay low – it's the only way we can keep going. I edit the magazine and go to each city and our design team is based in London. Otherwise, the small team of contributors for each city is picked based on their work and specialty. We've had Pulitzer Prize-winning writers, world-renowned photographers, illustrators, translators, poets, painters, filmmakers, even a musician came to Sarajevo with us to learn about the music and instruments in Bosnia.

Tell us about the feature you're most proud of The feature I'm always the most excited to get back is the introduction to each issue. We always ask a local, well-known writer to introduce their city. I can't pick a favourite as they've all been amazing but some come quickly to mind. Nick Hornby's introduction to our London issue, without having read any of the other articles, perfectly summed up what all the other stories seemed positioned around: a city of incredible diversity and rapid, constant change and yet, still very much Charles Dickens' city. Our next issue (Issue 7 – Lima, Peru) is introduced by Rafo Leon, a fantastic writer who is astoundingly knowledgeable about his city and country and very poetic in writing about it.

Can you recommend any other travel publications (print or online) that we should read? The Travel Almanac and Zoetrop: All-Story which isn't strictly a travel magazine, but always has great stories and writing from around the world. VNA is a magazine about street art around the world and so naturally touches on the culture of the cities these artists work in. Erin Spens

Jungles in Paris

What's the concept? We're a travel website that goes for quality over quantity – we only release one new story every week, prioritising film-making and photography. We try to provide a genuine, albeit brief, immersion into a foreign place. We never spotlight a destination. Travel trends don't interest us. Instead, we take on "micro-subjects" in the categories of craft, culture, geography, and wildlife. When choosing subjects we gravitate towards things that are timeless. Or at least they seem so at first glance, for the reality is that many of these amazing places are in danger of disappearing as the world gets more crowded and connected. In celebrating them we hope to increase the chances they might somehow be safeguarded.

Who works on it and what are their backgrounds? The founders are my brother Oliver Hartman and me. We both live in New York and collaborate on almost everything: but to break it down, I do more of the writing/editing/trip organising, while Oliver's focus is more on the technical and filmmaking side.

What motivated you to make it? As a travel writer, I wanted to spend more time on subjects that had nothing to do with new five-star hotels, celebrity chefs, new cruise destinations, spa treatments, and the like. These topics seem to dominate travel writing nowadays. I enjoy them, but only up to a point. My brother has a film production company here in New York, which does commercial work. Both of us really enjoy what we do. But we also wanted to take the knowledge and expertise we'd built up and apply it to something more exploratory and meaningful.

Tell us about the feature you're most proud of The short film we shot with a boat-maker named Boniface in Zambia. These dugout canoes, called makoros , are a big part of life in parts of southern Africa, but you don't see them made out of wood that much anymore. It was the perfect Jungles subject – tradition, craft, local knowledge, these beautiful and mighty rivers – and Boniface was the perfect storyteller to help us capture it.

Can you recommend any other travel publications (print or online) that we should read? Roads & Kingdoms and Nowhere magazine (tablet-only) are two of our favorites. Darrell Hartman

Yonder Journal

What's the concept? Yonder Journal promotes the exploration of "outsider" America. We publish impressionistic guidebooks.

What motivated you to make it? We'd spent years of unsuccessfully/successfully (it really all depends on how you look at it) hustling brand content for various clients, most of whom were wonderful, but all of whom were consistently sub-flush in the money and imagination departments. Two years ago we decided to self-publish, on the internet, and in print. We were already making the stories, we were already doing the work, we were already finding the people, so we bought a URL and created an Instagram account, and here we are.

Who works on it and what are their backgrounds? We are Emiliano Granado, a commercial and editorial photographer living in Brooklyn, New York, and Daniel Wakefield Pasley, a documentarian living in Portland, Oregon. We started working together about five years ago producing brand content, and it was immediately clear that we both wanted to document (and publish) an anthropological study of outsider America.

Tell us about the feature you're most proud of We're proud that we haven't given up. And the guides are bona fide helpful.

Can you recommend any other travel publications (print or online) that we should read? Is Vice a travel publication? Monocle? Emiliano Granado and Daniel Wakefield Pasley

We Are Here

What's the concept? The idea is to travel to a different city or district each issue and focus the whole magazine on it. It's very lo-fi and an attempt to move past the clichés that dominate most travel magazines. I also wanted to feature local voices, as a lot of travel magazines parachute a journalist in (often on a paid-for junket) and the content is by-the-numbers – how can you expect to understand a place without having lived there?

What motivated you to make it? I love travel literature and magazines, but there was no travel magazine that I wanted to buy.

Who works on it and what are their backgrounds? I do most of it – the design, photography, and commissioning. And when I am on the ground, will meet as many people as possible, explain the concept and get local writers to pitch ideas. The latest issue (focusing on Kathmandu) was written mainly by local writers, so it goes beyond the clichéd 'Shangri-La/hippies/trekking" narrative that most magazines focus on.

Tell us about the feature you're most proud of In the first issue, I was surprised that the article How To Write About Dubai passed the censors in the UAE. It is basically a satirical article advising travel writers how to capture the city – it was written after a spate of poorly researched pieces were printed in the British press.

Can you recommend any other travel publications (print or online) that we should read? There are a few newish publications I like from The Travel Almanac to Ling , a really cool in-flight magazine from Spain. I also love Freunde Von Freunden , a website that interviews creatives in their studios or apartments around the world. It might not be a conventional travel journal, but I also love Wilder Quarterly, which is a slightly trippy nature magazine from the US. Conor Purcell

What's the concept? Cereal is a quarterly travel and lifestyle publication that takes great inspiration from classic books. You can see this influence in our design, structure, editorial voice and approach, and even in our logo – the thin lines between each letter of "Cereal" are meant to emulate the lines of books on a shelf. We love and appreciate the sense of gravitas that comes with considered, beautiful printed titles and wanted this to come to life when creating Cereal.

What motivated you to make it? What motivated me to start the magazine, at the risk of sounding trite, is passion: a passion for travel, a passion for writing, and a passion for great visuals. Cereal allowed me to combine all three, and is my dream job come to life.

Who works on it and what are their backgrounds? We currently have three full time members of staff: Rich Stapleton (creative director), Robbie Lawrence (features editor) and me (publisher and editor). We've also recently hired a part-time advertising manager (Abby Witherick), and work with a team of both local and international contributors to bring each volume to life. We all come from varied backgrounds. I have a background in luxury fashion and beauty marketing (I worked in this industry for about five years in New York) and moved to England to get a MA in English Literature. After graduation I did some freelance writing jobs, then worked full time for a local magazine before setting up Cereal.

Tell us about the feature you're most proud of The feature that I'm the most proud of is one that we're currently working on. We are doing a travel chapter (as our magazine is divided into destination-specific chapters) on Vancouver, which is my hometown, and there is a series of features in this chapter that are some of my favourites to date.

Can you recommend any other travel publications (print or online) that we should read? My go to travel publication is National Geographic – it is my favourite magazine. I also love getting tips on cities from Monocle. Rosa Park

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The Best Travel Magazines To Inspire Your Next Adventure

Stuck at home? Perhaps you’re suffering from those post-trip blues? Unsure of where you want to go? Not to worry, here are the best travel magazines in the UK to inspire your next adventure…

I’ve always found magazines to be a great source of inspiration. Although, I do know what you’re thinking… Why buy travel magazines when plenty of content is available online? This may be true. However, searching the internet can sometimes lead to an overwhelming bombardment of repetitive information. When was the last time you stumbled across a truly unique article offering something of actual value? Buying a travel magazine gets you an extremely well-thought-out, original, and beautifully curated companion. Additionally, it’s a welcome change to have something physical to read instead of staring at a screen!

The Best Travel Magazines In The UK

National geographic traveller.

• Format: Print/Digital
• Published: 10 issues per year
• Shelf Price: £5.25 (single physical copy)

National Geographic Traveller is one of the most popular travel magazines. It’s also my go-to publication when I’m seeking inspiration. The magazine was launched in the UK in December 2010 and has won multiple awards. It is the right choice for many different types of world explorers, especially those looking for jaw-dropping photography and inspirational travel writing.

If learning about culture and discovering some of the most spectacular corners of the globe interests you, then National Geographic Traveller will satisfy your curiosity. The magazine tends to have a very nature-focused theme and heavily encourages sustainable travel, which I’m sure you’ll agree is something we should all be incorporating into our adventures, near and far.

As you’d expect from a highly regarded travel magazine such as National Geographic, the pages are full of beautiful landscapes from remote destinations, thought-provoking features, and practical advice on immersing yourself in the journey of a lifetime at a slower pace. Learn about the places and people within while dreaming up your next big trip.

• Published: 6 issues per year
• Shelf Price: £6.45 (single physical copy)

Taking the road less travelled is what Wanderlust magazine is all about. The publication was established in 1993 and has grown to become one of the UK’s leading independent travel magazines. Wanderlust has won numerous well-deserved awards and never fails to impress even the most hard-to-please traveller (like myself). This magazine is an excellent option for those hoping to experience the world through the eyes of impartial travel writers and expert photographers.

Wanderlust delivers the side of the story that many others tend to forget. It amplifies the voice of the communities it covers and reminds us of the importance of responsible, conscious, green travel. The magazine is a gold mine of off-the-beaten-track experiences and slow travel inspiration. With Wanderlust, you won’t have much trouble discovering the next exciting destination to add to your travel bucket list.

Each issue is jam-packed with inspirational stories, trip planners, advice, news, reviews and interviews. What’s more, the presentation of the magazine is beautiful. Wanderlust will help you discover and dig deeper into some of the most fascinating cultures… and places you’ve probably never thought about before. With its incredible travel photography and beautifully written articles, you can’t go wrong with Wanderlust magazine.

Condé Nast Traveller

• Shelf Price: £5.99 (single physical copy)

Condé Nast Traveller is the best choice for those with more stylish (and expensive) tastes. Everything about this publication screams luxury. Even the adverts feature products from some of the most prestigious designer labels in the world. Yet another of the country’s best, award-winning travel magazines. Perfect for scoping out the most desirable, super exotic destinations imaginable. Condé Nast Traveller was first published in the UK in 1997 and has been a source of high-end travel inspiration ever since.

For many of us (myself included), the expense of luxury travel isn’t justifiable. However, after reading Condé Nast Traveller, to say that you may be a little tempted is an understatement. Targeted towards wealthy travellers, the magazine gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to see the world in style. A peek at how the other half lives.

Read about classy restaurants, the best places to shop, luxurious accommodations, and with the help of the magazine’s impressive photography, imagine yourself in some far-off land. Even if it’s just for a moment, it’s worth it. If using your imagination doesn’t quite do it for you, Condé Nast Traveller might encourage you to splash out, treat yourself and begin exploring the expensive world of luxury travel.

• Format: Print
• Published: 4 issues per year
• Annual Subscription: £11.96 (to cover postage)

As international travel resumes its pre-pandemic fervour, the UK’s premier independent travel magazine,  Escapism , has reemerged with a refreshed outlook and a commitment to providing readers with unparalleled travel experiences. Embarking on a bold new chapter, Escapism has unveiled a compelling proposition: a complimentary print subscription delivered straight to the doorsteps of eagerly awaiting readers across the UK.

Initially, I approached this subscription with a tinge of scepticism. However, my doubts were swiftly dispelled upon receiving the first issue. Escapism effortlessly rivals its premium counterparts, showcasing a wealth of features, insightful reviews, comprehensive guides, and captivating stories penned by its award-winning travel writers – all at no cost to the subscriber (other than postage).

True to its name, Escapism embodies the very essence of its title, transporting its readers in the blink of an eye, or in this case, the turn of a page.

Get yourself online and request your subscription today!

So, that’s my list of the best travel magazines in the UK. I hope that you found this blog post helpful. In case I didn’t make it obvious, each title mentioned has its distinct strength and style. Personally, National Geographic is my couch and coffee escape. Although, I do still occasionally find myself reaching for one of the others on the shelf. They all provide a different type of value.

Which travel magazine is your favourite? Have I missed any titles that should be included? Let me know in the comments below!

Not quite what you’re looking for? Here are more magazines you may be interested in: The Best Outdoor Magazines To Inspire Your Next Adventure The Best Cycling Magazines To Inspire Your Next Adventure

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Looking for a free magazine that can be mailed to me in the US of England travel

Sorry, I’m unaware of any free England travel magazines that can sent to the US. However, if you join the Wanderlust magazine mailing list on their website, they send a free digital version of each issue shortly after release. I’m unsure if this is available for US residents, but it could be worth a try!

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Travel | February 22, 2022

In the Florida Keys, a Century-Old Bridge Reopens as a Tropical High Line

A portion of the Seven Mile Bridge, an engineering marvel completed in 1909, has been transformed into a linear park

Tony Perrottet

Contributing writer

A century ago, a journey to the Florida Keys felt like an adventure plucked from the pages of Jules Verne. In January of 1912, the tail end of the Gilded Age, travelers could flee the northeastern winter by heading to New York's Penn Station and purchasing a luxury sleeping compartment on the Havana Special train. Leaving at 10:05 p.m. nightly, the locomotive whistled down the Atlantic coast in a mere 36 hours to balmy Miami, while passengers dined on Floridian seafood and succulent fruit. Around dawn on the second day, the same train continued south for 156 miles into America's most tropical region on the new "Key West Extension"—a single line of rail track that soared above the mangrove swamps and coral specks of the Keys, the wild archipelago that carves a delicate arc through the turquoise shallows for 150 miles south of Miami, between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. By 10 a.m., it was chugging at 15 miles per hour across the most famous and spectacular of the Extension's 40-plus spans, popularly known as the Seven Mile Bridge. As the name suggests, it crossed seven miles of open ocean, supported by concrete pylons embedded in the golden, shifting sands.

Travelers gazed in awe at the sparkling emerald water through windows on both sides of the carriage. It was as if they were flying: In the shallows some 18 feet below, they might spot dolphins, sharks, turtles or the four-feet-long tarpon prized by game fishermen. The famous writer and Keys fan John Dos Passos later called the trip, in a letter to his friend Ernest Hemingway, "a dream journey.” And while many travelers stayed in Key West—even before the building of the railway, it was Florida's largest city, a thriving port of 20,000 souls—others would hop directly onto a steamer bound for Havana.

The brilliantly engineered railway, commonly referred to by contemporaries as "the Eighth Wonder of the World," was the brainchild of one of America's lesser-known robber barons, Henry Flagler . Although less notorious today than titans like Andrew Carnegie or J. P. Morgan, Flagler was once a household name as a co-founder of Standard Oil with John D. Rockefeller. He was one of the world's richest men by the 1880s, but instead of resting on his laurels, he embarked on a risky second career in his mid-50s building railways and luxury hotels in Florida—then the last frontier of U.S. travel—that transformed lonely stretches of sand, including Palm Beach, into thriving metropolises. (His Palm Beach mansion remains as a museum; downtown Miami's 12th Street, where he founded the city's first hotel, is now Flagler Street/) His Florida East Coast Railroad (FEC) opened up the state to the rest of the U.S. in the 1890s. But Flagler was already 75 years old in 1905 when he approved the wildly ambitious Key West Extension linking Miami to the Keys, a series of coral clumps dismissed by one contemporary writer as "worthless, chaotic fragments … [that] have been aptly called the sweepings and debris which the Creator hurled out to see when he had finished shaping Florida," cites author Les Standiford in his classic account Last Train to Paradise .

For the next seven years, Flagler pumped over $27 million (a then-fantastical sum) into a railway project that many engineers considered impossible. According to Standiford, some thought that he wanted to impress his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan, who was 37 years his junior. Others thought that he was competing with his former partner, Rockefeller, who had by then become more famous. Quite possibly, Standiford suggests, the visionary project was a grasp at immortality. By creating a legacy, Flagler thought his place would be secured in the history books—while (not incidentally) producing a tidy profit for him along the way. Flagler's larger dream was to turn Key West into a trade gateway to the Panama Canal then being built, bringing U.S. goods to Latin America and returning with cigars, sugar, fish and fruit.

Then again, Flagler may simply have been driven by the era's desire to conquer nature, like the mountaineer George Mallory, who notoriously explained his own mad (and fatal) passion for summiting Mount Everest in 1923: "Because it's there." The Upper and Middle Keys had only a few fishing settlements, and residents even in the bustling port of Key West traveled just as they had when it was a pirate outpost generations before—by boat.

The magnate proved any naysayers wrong on January 21, 1912, when the first train rolled from Miami into Key West, carrying the jubilant Flagler and his wife in their private luxury carriage complete with a copper roof, elegant dining room and Victorian-style velvet-and-mahogany lounge. Standiford posits that it was as significant a leap forward for U.S. transport as driving the “golden spike” in Utah in 1869 to open the Transcontinental Railroad. Flagler was 82 years old and with failing eyesight when he stepped onto the newly constructed 1,700-foot pier in Key West harbor, built so that passengers could stroll onto the steamers bound for Havana. A crowd of 10,000 greeted him as a hero, with brass bands and local schoolchildren singing his praises. “I can hear the children but I cannot see them,” he confided to his chief of railroad operations, Joseph Parrott. He also whispered: “Now I can die happy. My dream is fulfilled.”

And yet, opening with great fanfare three months before the sinking of the Titanic , the train became a similar example of man's hubris. It enjoyed 23 years of operation, including a golden age during Prohibition, when thirsty Americans flocked to Cuba. But on Labor Day weekend, 1935, a Category 5 hurricane smashed into the Middle Keys—still the most powerful storm to ever reach U.S. shores—and the iron rail tracks were tossed from their coral beds like strings of spaghetti. More than 400 people were killed in the storm. Even so, Flagler's dream did not so much disappear as metamorphize. The rails were soon paved over for cars, and by 1982 most of the extension’s antique bridges closed and were replaced by modern bridges, which collectively are known as Highway 1, the lifeline of the Keys.

Anyone who drives the stretch from Miami to Key West is bound to be mystified by the ghostly remains of the old railway. Rusting bridges loom in eerie grandeur, like a capitalist Stonehenge.

While most of these relics have been off-limits for decades, one 2.2 mile section of the Seven Mile Bridge from Marathon to Pigeon Key, about two-thirds of the way along the route at Mile Marker 45, continued to hold a beloved place in the hearts of Key residents. They used it for walking, biking, rollerblading, fishing and sunset-watching, despite its looming dangers. "Old Seven," as it became fondly known, was closed in 2016 for an ambitious $77 million restoration that would have impressed Flagler. On January 12, it reopened as a "linear park"—which seized my imagination as a sort of "tropical High Line," a Floridian answer to the elevated rail-to-trail on Manhattan's West Side located a short distance from my New York apartment, which qualifies as one of America's most pedestrian-friendly historical sites.

"With the bridge open, the public is able to enjoy one of the most unique marine environments in the whole world," Bernard Spinrad, the president of the community group Friends of Old Seven, told me by email, not long after the ribbon cutting. "The entire community … and the many thousands of visitors to the Keys will benefit enormously from the bridge’s ‘coming back to life’ … forever."

A few days after the bridge’s reopening, I decided to see whether I could recapture the Gilded Age travelers' sense of wonder by following the route myself, from Miami to Old Seven and onward to the end of the line, Key West. I wanted to see how much of the Floridian magic remained.

I started off in the Miami hotel most evocative of the Flagler era, the Biltmore in Coral Gables , where many travelers from the north would stop over for a taste of over-the-top Southern luxury, dining in the Italianate atrium beneath bird-filled palm trees and swimming in what was once America's largest hotel pool, surrounded by ancient Roman statues. It was one of a string of majestic hotels created across the state in the wake of Flagler's railroad projects, which arrived in Miami in 1896 and transformed it from a malarial fishing village to a thriving port and tourist destination. "If it weren't for the train, we could never have established this hotel," said the Biltmore's historian, Candy Kakouris.

Of the 882 charted Florida Keys—the name comes from the Spanish cayo , meaning “islet”—only 30 are inhabited, mostly those linked by Highway 1. The others are tiny outcrops of reef barely above sea level, and poetic clumps of mangrove, quite a contrast from the brash metropolis of Miami, whose beachfronts lined with pastel Art Deco architecture, upscale cafes and swaying palm trees have made it one of America's most popular urban destinations.

About two and half hours after leaving Miami, past the cheesy dolphin parks and strip malls of Key Largo, I pulled in to Marathon, the gateway for Old Seven. The largest settlement on the Middle Keys covers 13 reef-fringed islands and was named after a rail worker's remark in 1908: "Building this railroad has been a regular marathon." There, the beachfront Isla Bella Resort was decorated with famous prints of Florida birds by the pioneering artist—and regular Keys visitor in the 1830s— John James Audubon . (Despite his love of winged creatures, Audubon liked to shoot his subjects; he sometimes left with thousands of dead birds packed in his luggage to study for his paintings.) Early the next morning, I strolled out the hotel front door to a new walkway that runs beneath the modern highway as the access point to the restored bridge.

Stepping onto Old Seven, I was enveloped in sunshine and slapped with fresh salt air. The bridge runs arrow-straight across the water, 16 to 18 feet above the waves, depending on the tides, with freshly paved bike and pedestrian lanes and newly reinforced handrails. It is more minimalist than New York's beloved High Line, but nature takes up the visual slack with its astonishing palette: the winter skies are a piercing blue, the water below fluorescent green. The ocean horizon sparkling on both sides of the bridge hypnotizes and recaptures the sense of flying through space. Seabirds soar overhead, and at one point I spotted a diamond-shaped stingray drifting across the coral-encrusted shallows. On calmer days, visitors report turtles (five species can be seen in the Keys, including the enormous loggerheads—named after the sailor's mistaken cry when they spotted their shells in the waves, "Log Ahead!") and an array of sharks (lemon, blacktip and nurse). One of the most cherished wildlife sightings is the spotted eagle ray, which can leap from the water to reveal a wingspan of nine feet and a whip tail.

The reverie threatened to end abruptly after 2.2 miles at a wire fence: In 1982, a steel swing bridge that opened and closed to allow marine traffic was removed, creating a 253-foot gap and cutting all access to the other five-odd miles of Old Seven. Instead, a wooden gangway now descends to the Keys' most serene and otherworldly venue: Pigeon Key.

A slice of 1912 lost in the tropics, Pigeon Key was used as a workers' camp during the bridge's construction, with some 400 men based here, most of them recruited in industrial cities of the northeast. Back then, life on Pigeon Island was far from idyllic; as was common in the Gilded Age, laborers were underpaid, overworked and lived in crowded conditions. Earlier in the railway construction project, stories had spread through the U.S. that some of Flagler's men had even tried to flee into the swamps but were caught and used as unpaid convicts, causing such a public outcry in 1907 that a New York court tried to charge his FEC railway company with violating post-Civil War rules banning slave labor. The charges were dropped, and Flagler, bristling at accusations of acting like a heartless robber baron, improved conditions, but the six-day work week on the Keys remained grueling.

The litany of disasters piled up from day one, so much so that the railway was initially referred to as "Flagler's Folly." His 3,000 workers were tormented by Florida's summer heat and mosquito plagues, and quit in droves. Although they managed to dodge the much-feared yellow fever plagues, laborers suffered from dehydration, exhaustion, construction injuries and sometimes rattlesnake bites. Despite early scandals, Flagler by most accounts tried to make life bearable: "Camps are clean," wrote a visiting journalist from the Chicago Tribune , "food good, pure ice and water supplied to each camp, no liquor sold in or near." Head nets were even distributed for the bugs. But nothing could control Florida's elements. Camps along the Key West Extension route were hit by hurricanes three out of seven years, the first drowning at least 125 workers who were bunking in houseboats. Construction costs ballooned as engineers imported steel from Philadelphia, hydraulic concrete from Germany and gravel from Chesapeake Bay. Much of the route was not even properly charted: Surveyors were shocked to find an entire mile-long stretch of water that had never appeared on maps.

Crossing such expanses pushed the limits of technology. The Seven Mile Bridge was the most daunting part of the entire route, described by one contemporary writer cited by Standiford as “a matter of launching a railroad straight at the blank horizon of the Atlantic.” If Flagler was tempted to give up, he never let on. Starting in April 1909, a 32-year-old civil engineer named William Krome took on the Herculean task of crossing the expanse (which was actually 6.8 miles).

Construction required the round-the-clock work crews based on Pigeon Key to build 746 colossal bridge supports literally in the middle of the ocean. They were in four separate sections due to the varying depths, each one involving different engineering challenges, using barges laden with steam-driven machinery that had to be constantly fed with coal and water, and creating infernal industrial scenes, particularly after dark. After iron pilings were driven down through sand and mud to the bedrock—in some cases, 28 feet below sea level—workers created underwater concrete pedestals assisted by divers in metal helmets with air pumped from above. Iron support spans were then barged one by one from the mainland and secured to the pylons with more concrete, until a "Gibraltar strong" (to use one vivid newspaper term from the time) chain had been created upon which to affix the rail tracks. Despite a hurricane hitting in October, the work was miraculously completed on the bridge by the end of 1909. A total of 25,000 tons of steel had been used.

Today, Pigeon Key’s eight vintage wooden cottages, which are mostly used as offices and classrooms, still cluster beneath swaying palm trees, their porches picked over by ibises and roofs guarded by pelicans.

When I met Kelly McKinnon, one the island's four full-time resident staff and executive director of the Pigeon Key Foundation, the nonprofit that oversees the repair of tropical wear and tear and damage from 2017’s Hurricane Irma, at the foot of the access bridge, he assures me, "It's not always so sleepy here." The reopening of Old Seven in January brought a flood of eager locals from around the Keys who had impatiently awaited the work's completion. The small ribbon-cutting ceremony turned into a Keys party: "People were excited. It was like New Year's Eve." And visitation to the historic islet is going to climb rapidly, McKinnon predicts. Pigeon Key had 216,000 annual visitors when the bridge closed in 2016. The five-acre island played host to everything from concerts to TED talks to fun runs. During its five-year hiatus, only a fraction of that number were able to visit on three daily ferries from Marathon. But in 2022, McKinnon expects numbers to dwarf the old figure. "Old Seven is a big economic engine. It brings people from all over the country, it's recognized all over the world. And Pigeon Island is used by the entire Keys community," said McKinnon. Its unique setting strikes old maritime chords. "If you're going to have an event on a tiny island, whatever it might be, it's pretty cool!”

Saving Old Seven was a communal effort. A decade ago, it seemed probable that the bridge would simply be allowed to decay, its walkway too dangerous to traverse. But restoration was pushed by a network of history-loving Key locals in the group SOS ("Save Old Seven"), which morphed into Friends of Old Seven. The result in 2016 was a creative joint-funding project, with the restoration cost provided by the Florida Department of Transportation, Monroe County and the city of Marathon. Although the bridge's basic structure was intact, it was a painstaking engineering job. Old Seven’s paving had to be mechanically raised by hydraulic jacks in ten-foot sections—a total of roughly 1,100 times—to cut out the original supporting steel girders and replace them with fresh "I-beams" manufactured on site, along with new metal panels and rivets, using a total of 2,586,190 pounds of steel. The bridge joints were repaired, and new decking and aluminum pedestrian handrails were added for the walkway, with three layers of anti-rust paint applied. Surprisingly, given how harsh the environment is, the original concrete pylons, McKinnon said, “only needed a scrape.”

From Pigeon Key, I walked back to Marathon, then continued driving the 44 miles south to Mile 0 of U.S. Highway 1, Key West, the end point of American road trips. Today, the former pirate outpost has 25,000 year-round residents, scarcely more than when Flagler arrived. But filled with antique mansions garlanded with tropical foliage, it has one of America’s most energetic party towns. Resisting the happy hour crowds by the pool in the Havana Cabana Hotel, I made the pilgrimage to the Gilded Age version of Mile 0, the waterfront terminus where the celebration for Flagler's first train was held that sunny January morning in 1912. The compact, ornate wooden structure, once part of the last rail station, is painted a tasteful lemon, and nearby is a bronze statue of the elderly rail magnate sitting with a cane on a bench. The station has been converted into a fine "Sail to Rails Museum" recounting Key West's storybook history, but it is almost entirely ignored by the crowds heading to the marina's nautical-themed seafood restaurants and yachts offering sunset cruises.

Flagler’s hoped-for explosion of freight traffic never materialized, and even the stream of travelers escaping to Havana during Prohibition could not provide the revenue the FEC needed. It was already in dire financial straits when, on Labor Day, 1935, winds began accelerating across the Keys. Standiford records that one former resident pithily observed: "We saw pretty quickly that this was going to be a son-of-a-bitch."

Hemingway, then the most renowned Key West resident—his mansion is today a beloved tourist attraction—secured his fishing boat, the Pilar , and hunkered down. But as fate would have it, the hurricane landed further north on Matecumbe Key, where residents lived in fragile fishing shacks and some 600 veterans hired as laborers huddled in canvas tents. It escalated to a Category 5 super-storm, with winds of 200 miles per hour—an almost unimaginable force that sent seas surging over the land, reduced visibility to near-zero and turned debris into deadly missiles. As one survivor reported, "I saw bodies with tree stumps smashed through their chests, heads blown off, twisted arms and legs, torn off by flying timber that cut like flying knives." A rescue train arrived for residents, but its carriages were knocked over by a deadly 17-foot tidal wave, drowning the passengers and sweeping any who escaped out to sea.

When the storm eased, Hemingway was one of many who joined the search parties. He carried food to distribute, but found "nothing but dead men to eat the grub." Trees were stripped of leaves, he reported, the earth was covered with sand, and dead crayfish and morays were strewn about. ("The whole bottom of the sea blew over it.") Bodies were recovered from 30 feet up in tree branches. Men were found whose faces were stripped to the bone by blasting sands. Entire buildings had vanished. And Flagler's dream evaporated with them. The railway sold its right-of-way for a paltry $640,000, a fraction of Flagler's investment, and in 1938 the steel tracks were paved over for cars.

On my last night in Key West, I visited the final monument on the trail: Casa Marina , which in 1922 was the last of Flagler's palatial hotels to open its doors. Located on the island's southeastern beach, it is surging with activity, although few of the visitors notice another statue of Flagler in the splendid lobby, or realize that the hotel’s exterior was designed with Spanish arches that echo one of his bridges, the Long Key Viaduct.

I strolled down to the century-old hotel's water sports office—Barefoot Billy's—and signed up for a jet ski tour. Speeding around the turquoise waters, I passed an exhausting array of snorkelers, swimmers, para-gliders, sailors and water-skiers. Throngs were gathered at Mallory Square to watch the stunning sunset, one of Key West's daily tourist rituals.

Floridian nature at its wildest defeated Flagler, but his obsession has allowed the world to enjoy the Keys today. Perhaps that is memorial enough.

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Tony Perrottet | READ MORE

Tony Perrottet is a contributing writer for Smithsonian magazine, a regular contributor to the New York Times and WSJ Magazine , and the author of six books including ¡Cuba Libre!: Che, Fidel and the Improbable Revolution that Changed World History , The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games and Napoleon's Privates: 2500 Years of History Unzipped . Follow him on Instagram @TonyPerrottet .

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The HISTORY Channel Launches Series Of Travel Experiences To Historical Sights Around The World

Travel lovers are likely over the moon about the world reopening , and so is HISTORY Travel ™. The partnership of A&E Networks, The HISTORY Channel and Academic Travel Abroad, is a rollout of a series of travel experiences to a range of destinations all over the world. Every trip is designed by world-class historians and local experts so you get insight into each destination’s history. 

“Jazz in New Orleans” will be one of the first of many of the tour experiences and it’s taking place March 20-24, 2023. That trip is a journey into New Orleans’ rich musical history through monumental sites. For instance, travelers will have a customized walking tour to Louis Armstrong Park’s Congo Square, get a behind-the-scenes view of the Jazz Museum, and experience an exclusive cooking demonstration on Algiers Island. Historian Dina M. Bennett will be guiding this tour and she’s the director of curatorial affairs at the American Jazz Museum.

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Railroads & Locomotives History Travel: One thousand issues of ‘Trains’ Magazine unravel a legacy

Travel: One thousand issues of ‘Trains’ Magazine unravel a legacy

| Last updated on January 15, 2024

Seeing an industry through iconic images

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One thousand issues

One thousand issues of Trains Magazine have put tens of thousands of railroad photographs in the public eye. The most memorable of these images do far more than portray a locomotive or a train in motion. They preserve a moment of railroading and capture the spirit of a place, a railroad, and time. Our perceptions of railroading are shaped by our experiences and by the shared words and images of others.

Some of the most iconic images in the pages of Trains are those that stir a fascination for the journey. Railroads are about motion — not just the movement of trains between stations, but the movement of people and material across the landscape and across the decades.

Long-time Editor David P. Morgan had a keen eye for effective photographs and put into print some of the best known railroad images from the 20th century. Many skilled and intuitive photographers saw their work illustrating the pages of the magazine. This helped shape the way we saw railroads and the places they served.

Richard Steinheimer’s photos of Western railroading conveyed the majesty of Donner Pass, the sinuosity of the Tehachapis, and the mystique of Milwaukee Road’s Pacific extension. Jim Shaughnessy preserved the identities of railroads in the East during the key transition from steam to diesel and the rapidly unfolding amalgamations of the 1960s and 1970s, which in just a few years swept away most of the classic names in the region’s railroads. John Gruber distilled elements of Midwestern railroads with his photo essays, including the image reproduced here from his 1966 article on the Belt Railway of Chicago.

Mel Patrick preserved elements of railroading and railroad landscape so perfectly as to defy description. William D. Middleton traveled across the nation and around the globe. His focus on electric railroads included more than trains and wires, but an era of railroading on the cusp of greatness that remained unfulfilled. Phil Hastings was master of the craft who, in close collaboration with Morgan in the 1950s, put pictures on paper that captivated the generation mourning the loss of steam and preserved a period of railroading now long past.

In the 1980s and 1990s, color photographs by Ben Bachman, Gary Benson, and Steve Schmollinger helped redefine how we saw railroading with magnificent images of ordinary trains in their environment. Growing up in New England, I was especially fascinated by Bachman’s two-part article portraying railroads of the Connecticut River Valley in New Hampshire and Vermont. His evocative article on the rails along the Salish Sea is featured in this issue.

Scott Hartley delineated the unusual from the ordinary in my native New England, while taking memorable forays South and West. Where John Gruber put the telephoto in the pages of Trains , Scott should be credited for the successful application of the wide-angle lens to color railroad images.

Among the greats of contemporary photographers are the Danneman brothers, former Art Director Mike and current Trains Art Director Tom. They shaped this magazine’s visual content and set high standards for photography for decades.

Blair Kooistra is a photographic savant who, from a young age, graced the pages of the magazine with his photos of the Milwaukee Road in the Bitterroots and since has created railroad memories from across the West.

In the digital age, railroad photography has become much easier to produce, quicker to master, certainly more versatile and more readily available, but only occasionally results in images with better staying power than the classics from the age of film. Yet Trains continues to print memorable photographs and provide a venue for those skilled with the use of a lens.

Eric William’s cover photo on February 2023 Trains offers a stunning image that defies most railroad photography conventions and is among the best to appear in recent years. His article focused on Norfolk Southern’s SD40E diesels, but his photographs capture the essence of the former Pennsylvania Railroad’s Main Line west of Altoona, Pa. Scott Lothes is another digital imaging master who has produced colorful essays showings us railroads in Japan, the Pacific Northwest, and the upper Mississippi River valley.

So many photographs, so many places, and too many photographers to even begin to credit all of them: month after month for more than 80 years their individual visions have swept us up on virtual journeys around the world and on railroads of all descriptions.

I wrote this essay without going through the 1,000 issues one by one, but simply recalling from memory the photographs and the photographers who made them. Each and every one of us that has taken the journey with Trains will have their own recollection of images that stayed with them, and that in itself proves the power of the individual photographs.

Check out the Trains Magazine archives .

2 thoughts on “ Travel: One thousand issues of ‘Trains’ Magazine unravel a legacy ”

The death of our educational system is clearly illustrated in the limited vocabulary used to cover a wide space of time. The word “iconic “ is repeated as though it is the way to express landmarks of time. I’m thankful the word “ubiquitous “ didn’t creep into the article, as it has been abused in a similar fashion.

I agree that “iconic” is a grossly overused word, along with “classic” and “vintage” – especially when I go to a vintage/antique store and all they have is the Chinese or Southeast Asia-made junk designed to look “vintage.”

However, “iconic” is used only once here. I’m quite sure Mr. Solomon had a fine education and this article in no way reflects the mortality of our education system.

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