What Were Your Favourite 2020 Travel Blog Posts On RetiredAndTravelling?
It was a strange year to look back and check out the RetiredAndTravelling favourite 2020 travel blog posts. Understandably, interest in reading travel blogs dropped off somewhat this year from March through May. But people still wanted to read about travels through most of the year for inspiration, if not for planning. Perhaps most rewarding, we saw that the average time on site was great. And exit rates were low. So people read the whole posts. And then moved to other posts on the site.
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, we asked our readers about continuing to publish blog content. And we got a lot of support for publishing new travel content. So we kept writing and photo editing and the RetiredAndTravelling blog content stayed fresh.
So it was fascinating when we looked at our 2020 blog traffic and saw where the interest was. Blog posts about road trips and our travels in the National Parks were highly sought. During those trips, people read about wine tasting and adventures we had.
We published new blog posts as we travelled locally in Ontario, Canada and people followed those travels. One of our highest read blog posts talked about our first day trip to Lake Erie during the pandemic.
Our older travel posts were still popular. With over 500 blog posts published, people found a lot of things of interest to them.
Our Experiences Travelling During The Pandemic Was Of Great Interest
We started our year in 2020 with an amazing cruise for 2 months around South America. As we travelled around South America with Oceania Cruises, the Covid-19 crisis grew. And even though our cruise ship remained free of the virus, we were stranded at sea by Covid-19 and faced challenges returning home. We got some early lessons about how to travel during the pandemic.
After many months of lockdown, we started slowly and explored locally. Our first day trip to Lake Erie during the pandemic drew great interest as people wondered how safe even local travel was.
As we travelled locally during the summer, we reported about our experiences travelling locally. These posts continued to demonstrate the very detailed risk assessment we did every time we chose to travel.
In a year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, we were not surprised that posts about our travels in 2020 were some of the favourite 2020 travel blog posts.
So Many People Headed Out On Road Trips
With international travel so tough in 2020, many people found ways to do day trips and longer road trips. And they looked for input on routes to take and places to see. Our top travel blog post year over year has been our road trip from Toronto to Vancouver. We went one way in the summer and came back a slightly different route when the snow fell along our route.
Many people planned trips through the U.S. during 2020. There was a lot of interest in our 4 week road trip through Utah and Arizona. And our travels along the Maine coast was also popular.
Canadians travelled in British Columbia and the rest of us wanted to travel there. This made our 5 week BC trip from the Okanagan Valley to Vancouver Island one of your favourite 2020 travel blog posts.
People Craved Wide Open Spaces
While city travel dropped off in 2020, people certainly looked to visit wide open spaces. And nowhere was as popular as travel to the National Parks.
Blogs posts on the places we used as bases as we explored the National Parks were well visited. Moab was a great base in Utah.
In Arizona, we used 3 different bases as we moved from north to south. We started in Page and Lake Powell, then stayed in Sedona and finished our Arizona travels in Tucson.
Our exciting adventures were always popular travel blog posts. We had far less of these in 2020. Although our readers loved the playful fun we had when we plunged into a cranberry bog!
But people sure loved our wild jeep adventure in Moab. We explored Antelope Canyon by boat at a much more sedate pace. But it gave us a unique perspective on the land around Lake Powell that interested readers.
The desire to visit wide open spaces was strong in 2020. This was reflected in your favourite 2020 travel blog posts.
Sometimes People Just Wanted Life To Feel Normal
Wine tasting experiences seemed to always be popular blog posts. When we visited Arizona, we found interesting wine tasting venues. The Verde Valley wine region close to Sedona was a great surprise when we visited.
We learned much about Arizona wines on our stay in Sedona. So we then headed for more Arizona wine in the Sonoita and Wilcox wine region on our stay in Tucson.
There are many travel blog posts about the Napa Valley wine region. But in 2020 we found people wanted to read about wine tasting in Temecula in California. It was our first visit to this lovely area but it won’t be our last!
Our New Travel Blog Posts Showcased Local Travel in Ontario
Like most people in 2020, most of our travels remained close to home. We started slowly with days trips along Lake Erie. And then we followed the butter tart path in the Kawartha region. These day trips helped us get comfortable with staying safe on the road.
Early in the fall, we did our first overnight stays. We started with a great 3 day stay on Lake Rosseau at the JW Marriott Rosseau. And added a 3 day stay in Kingston as we explored the Thousand Islands. The short overnight stays added some new challenges for travelling safely. But we loved the chance for an extended change of scenery.
We finished up with a 3 day trip to Northern Ontario with a stay in Sault Ste Marie. Nature put on an amazing show with waterfalls and fall colours. It was a great way to finish our local travels before Ontario went into lockdown again!
Each local trip we made in 2020 was done after a careful assessment of risk versus value. Our readers learned as we learned this year. This made our new local travel some of the favourite 2020 travel blog posts.
Older Posts Were Still At The Top Of The Favourite 2020 Travel Blog Posts
Some of our older blog post content showed up at the top of our blog traffic list every year. People remained fascinated with our travels through the Suez Canal. And this year, our blog post on the artistry at the Kohinoor Museum in Agra, India drew a lot of readers. A great addition to our visit to the Taj Mahal.
Travel to the Caribbean has always drawn a lot of attention. This year the top place of interest was travel to the ABC Islands – Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Our travels in Grand Cayman on our stay at the Grand Cayman Ritz-Carlton was also popular. And our experience snorkelling on the Ocean Atlas statues in Nassau, Bahamas remained as a top blog post again this year.
Some old favourites showed up on the European travel blog post list. Travel along the Douro Valley in Portugal drew readers. And our Azores Islands travels in Portugal sparked continued interest. When Portugal stayed open after much of Europe, the travel blog posts on our 4 weeks in Portugal became popular.
We were surprised with how much interest we got on Northern Ireland. Our short visit to Belfast drew new blog readers. And this led to interest about our visit to the Giants Causeway. This taste test of Northern Ireland certainly added it to our long list of places we wanted to re-visit.
It was always rewarding when we saw that some of our older posts drew high traffic year after year and remained on our list of your favourite 2020 travel blog posts.
But Not All Of Our New Travel Blog Posts Were As Popular
One of our all time favourite trips was our cruise through the Nordic Countries. We cruised along the Norway fjords and saw some of the most amazing spots. From there we headed further north to the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. Each stop was simply stunning.
But blog traffic for these posts was surprisingly just “ok”. While we certainly missed cruising in 2020, we were not yet ready to be back at sea. And maybe the thought of cruising in 2020 was just not of interest to most people? Maybe the timing of these posts missed the early summer period when they may have been better for travel planning? Or perhaps there are just too many blog posts for these destinations? We know this will be popular content that people will find when travel resumes.
Excited To Explore Your Favourite 2020 Travel Blog Posts
Every month we tracked a lot of statistics about blog traffic and reader interests. But it was always fun at year end when we looked back on the travel year. And 2020 was a strange travel year for most. So we were happy when we saw that the RetiredAndTravelling travel blog continued to provide content that interested our readers.
We want to thank our readers for their continued support. Many times we questioned the intense effort it took through 2020 to keep new content flowing. But the feedback from our readers kept us going!
Did this list include your favourite 2020 travel blog posts for RetiredAnd Travelling? Is there a travel area that we covered that fascinated you more?
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I must admit that this year was a bit weird and so untypical for many of us. I preferred to stay home and write a travel book about Morocco instead of spending money on COVID tests who allowed me to travel. But I can feel the need to travel and next year I will definitely find a strategy to do that no matter what. Thank you for your posts and keep traveling. When i will be retired, i want to be like you!
Iulia, I am glad you found something you loved to do to keep you engaged while not travelling this year. It will get easier as time moves on to get back out there. We are so glad we put travelling as a priority and have the time and resources to now do it more. Linda
I’m so glad you still managed to make the best of this year and get creative with your traveling and blog posts. Hopefully soon we’ll all be able to return to travel at will so we will have more content, memories & experiences. And yes, your experience being stranded at sea due to COVID is surely unique!
Chloe, We were happy that people continued to read about travel. It was a strange year for anyone wanting to travel but I know we still wanted to be inspired and share our travel memories. Here’s hoping some of 2021 will be safer! Linda
I love this & what a great way to reflect on an “unusual” year. I have really enjoyed reading your posts about how you keep your travel energy alive during the times when domestic travel is all we have. It has been interesting to see how other countries are coping & what other travellers feel & do to make themselves safe during this time but also continue to follow their passion for discovering new places. I also found your posts on cruising during the start of the pandemic a great way to understand what was happening around the world & the impact it was having. Thanks for sharing & a great round up of the year.
Sue, I am glad to hear that you have enjoyed our new posts this year. We have certainly tried to reflect the strange year it has been for travel. We were happy that people still wanted to read a breadth of posts for planning and for inspiration. Linda
It is awesome you actually look at your analytics with such detail and awareness. I really don’t.
But yea I can imagine road trips being popular during the pandemic. I’ve taken many this year too. It’s the best. You’ve had some awesome adventures too. So glad!
We must admit we are spreadsheet and list addicts. But I firmly believe you can’t manage what you don’t measure. So keeping the travel blog going this year really needed some strong data to support the effort. And we were glad that we kept sharing our travel adventures. And that other travellers like you shared their experiences too on how to travel safely right now. Linda
I find it interesting that people increased interest in road trips and outdoor activities such as camping this past year, but it makes sense because they are more solitary activities. I can’t wait to read about more of your travels during 2021.
Donna, We too were interested to see the results from this strange travel year. We do hope 2021 brings new adventures. Linda
So glad you continued writing posts this year and took everyone on virtual tours to so any places. You guys really tried and had good time despite the pandemic and your local travel was a good idea to break the cabin fever lockdowns can set. You are right, road trips have been the thing for this year and no wonder your road trip posts especial Utah one was so popular! Gonna check out your Azores Islands travels now!
Vaisakhi, We were glad we got a little local travel in between lockdowns. I hope that the Azores posts pique your interest. One of our favourite spots. We would definitely go back. Linda
It is lovely to see so many travel posts from your end, and it covered almost every type of travel. I really want to travel like you when the pandemic gets over. It’s still there, and it’s never ending. 2020 has been so strange for us. Well, keep traveling!
Shreya, Given everything that happened this year, we were pretty happy with the travel we did. But we are still dreaming of some far off travel when things get back to normal. Linda
I have just come across your fun blog, you have a lot of very interesting content. This year has certainly been a very tough year for everyone, my husband and I still managed to do a backpacking trip in SE Asia at the start of the year and a motorhome trip around Italy in September and October. I do hope 2021 will be a much better year for all of us. Warm wishes to you and keep having fun.
Gilda, I am glad you found our travel blog. With over 500 travel blog posts I am sure we have covered something of interest to you. I am missing Italy so badly. It is high on our list when we start travelling again. So great that you got a motorhome trip for 2 months! Linda
I love reading about your road trips! And you’re so lucky that the US is so big that even if international travel is not allowed, you still have plenty to do. In my tiny country Malaysia, we were not even allowed to travel interstate until recently. Looking forward to what you have planned for next year.
Ummi, It has been interesting to see the travel restrictions around the world this year. We were lucky to get in some local travel for a few months. But we still cannot travel to parts of our country Canada. But hope 2021 is better for us all. Linda
A great compilation of the most popular articles. On its basis, you can conclude what the readers are looking for. It has been a difficult year for the whole world. I guess you miss cruises very much. It’s good that you traveled locally. We also traveled a lot locally. Let’s hope that in 2021 it will be possible to travel safely. I hope your travel dreams come true in 2021!
Agnes, We were happy to see some people get out to travel locally in a safe way. I think we all learned from the people who did it correctly. We are missing all kinds of travel. Our travel wish list is full. But will likely shift in order once travel opens up in some parts of the world. Linda
Congrats on the 500 plus blogposts you published this year inspite of the Corona pandemic. I vividly remember your post on getting stranded in the ship, as the pandemic began. As I was reading the post, I thought it were writing about it after getting back home. Then when I realized you were writing it from your ship, I got freaked out. Glad that you reached home safe.
I love that picture of you throwing the cranberries. Heading to that blogpost to read about your cranberries!
Bhushavali, We have had some great travel memories this year despite it being such a strange travel year. We were glad we got some travel in early. And that we were off lockdown long enough for some short local travels. I hope you enjoy the cranberry post. It was a fun reminder from our fall travels. Linda
I regularly read your post and love the detailing you do with each post, along with nice photographs. I liked the cruising post and also tour to Napa Vine Valley, they made me want to travel so much. Though 2020 was a rough year, I hope 2021 is better year and we get to travel more internationally too.
Ramya, I am glad you are enjoying our travel posts. It was indeed a strange year. Here’s hoping some of 2021 may look better. Linda
Sounds like you were able to make this most of this very trying year. It’s good to know people are still consuming travel content even if they can’t travel so much yet. Definitely looking forward to getting back on the road next year.
Paul, We were happy we got away from our small condo a few times this year. But we are sure hoping to escape more in 2021. Linda
Sounds like you guys had a great year. I loved your whole cranberry bog adventure but the Road Trip around BC was perhaps one of my favorite as well. The whole Utah National Parks was a great adventure as well. Love how you mixed it up but did so many fun outdoor adventures. Cant wait to see what 2021 brings!
Eric, We were happy we had some great experiences in 2019 that people loved to read about. And that we got out for local travel in 2020. I must admit we have no specific plans for 2021 but we we see what it brings. Linda
What I most remember about your trip in the year 2020 are the cheese tart and how you like visiting wineries wherever you go. 🙂 I also enjoyed reading all the food you tried and the stunning pictures you made along the way. Almost all the articles mentioned above reflected these things.
Umiko, We do love to travel for new experiences. And food and drink is a good way to enjoy local treats with a view. Linda
Actually, 2020 was an interesting year for us. Instead of travelling all over the planet, we used the time to hike, kayak and explore many of the local parks in Pittsburgh, PA where we live. We had no idea the parks are so beautiful and we discovered some waterfalls and historic ruins. We also learned a lot about the fascinating history of our hometown, explored history first-hand in downtown and visited many historic sites and fell in love with the city all over again.
I am glad you had a chance to discover so much about your local area. I think many of us were surprised at how much we have close by for local trips. And what great outdoor opportunities there are. Linda
Wonderful post. Fun to revisit it with you. We too tried to keep moving, more locally, and ended up having some great experiences. Fingers crossed for 2021. Stay safe and healthy!
It is always interesting to look back to see what people were interested in reading about. Much of it reflected the local travels people found. But there was also some wanderlust there! I am glad you were able to get out locally and we will see what 2021 brings. Linda
This post is so awesome, that after reading it, i went back and split ‘our year in review” post into 2 posts! Its been fantastic to follow your journey this year! You guys are so admirabel the way you seize adventure no matter what!
I am glad you liked this post. We too have split our year end review into two posts – one on 2020 travel and one on what drew traffic in 2020. Linda
Yes, since road trips are the safest way to travel, they were also the most sought after posts. We did about 10 such trips in 2020 and wrote about them!
Carol, It was great that so many people got out for road trips in 2020. Linda
You guys managed to travel so much given the pandemic! I really enjoyed your posts on Ontario, as I’ve only been once to Canada, and just Toronto. So, it was nice to read about places other than known cities.
Lisa, I am glad you enjoyed our blog posts on local travel in Ontario. We sure loved seeing more of the spots close to home. Linda
What a journey we’ve all been on this year, but maybe not one of the journeys we were expecting or wanting! I see a trend, travelling and getting stuck, road trips and wanting things to get back to normal… now we are all just craving travel again!!
Nic, We are all indeed craving to travel. It will feel like forever until vaccinations get travel moving again. But at least we see light. Linda
It is really cool that you managed to continue to travel even in 2020, despite the pandemic and stayed safe! You are also lucky that you live in a place that has so much to explore around by road. You have been actively writing posts too and that’s amazing. I personally remember reading some of your posts and feeling a bit envious that I was stuck at home! I particularly remember reading your post about your road trip through Utah and Arizona and it was really cool!
Medha, We were indeed lucky that we could do a little local travel this post year. Hopefully travel opens up for all of us in 2021. Linda
Great idea of a blog post to reflect on this truly unique year! Your posts on Ontario have increased my knowledge about the number of places to visit and things to do there. I love your style of writing and your pictures. It’s amazing you have been able to travel a lot during this pandemic.:-)
Jan, Thanks for the great feedback on our blog posts. We love sharing our travels. And they are great memories for us too as we write and re-read. Linda
I am so happy to read about your reflection of this year and love the blog posts you have managed to write in 2020. Live everyone else, I just hope that 2021 brings in better cheer for the travel community. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Ketki, It is always interesting to see what people want to read about. We were happy that people were interested in our local travels and some of our great trips from the past. Linda
What a lovely reflection of everything you did this year and more! Like you guys, I’ve been able to do some traveling while also minimizing risks, but it has been very different from what I’m used to. Landscapes and wide open spaces have been crucial. I for one can’t wait for people to be vaccinated so that we can go back to traveling normally next year. As much as I’ve learned to appreciate moving slowly, I really do crave being able to hop on a plane and explore a new city for a few days!
Kevin, We too are missing our quick getaways. And especially missing cities. The wide open spaces have been great and we discovered so many local gems. Linda
What an amazing collection of road trips and favorite blogs in 2020. It’s been out year of road trips too. We went to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, Pinnacles, Capitol Reef, and heading to Utah. I’m looking forward to following your suggestions in Moab.
Jyoti, It sure sounds like you had a great time as you explored the U.S. outdoors this year. I hope you like the Moab area. We loved using it as a base to explore. Linda
Really good, so lovely to read your post.
Thank you so very much ? Linda
Not surprised the posts about your 2020 road trips did so well, Linda. It’s such a fun way of travelling safely during Covid and you certainly chose very interesting routes. Still have to read some of the other posts and looking forward to it.
Stefan, We were glad that people found our blog posts during this year of slow travel. It was interesting to see what drew their attention. But not surprised that road trips in 2019 and 2020 were quite popular. We will see where 2021 takes us! Linda
I’ve definitely gone through the phases of wanting to travel as far away as possible, to travel a lot locally and then to just not leave my house at all! At least we’ve been able to live vicariously through travel blogs!
Zoe, It has been great that we have been able to live vicariously. And to dream about when we can travel again. Linda
Great summary of your 2020 posts and travels! I’m glad you were able to continue traveling despite the pandemic and were able to do it safely! I especially love the road trip posts as that was what consumed most of my travels in 2020 as well. I do hope Canada re-opens to US visitors in the near future, I am ready for some road trips through the country. For now I will have to settle with the US.
Melissa, We expect that we will continue to do road trips in 2021 at least for awhile. Hopefully at some point we too can cross the border. Linda