4 YouTubers to Cure Your Travel Bug in 2020
Nicolette Petra
Another weekend is upon us and you feel like you’re coming down with something. Itchy feet? A full tank of petrol? Too many open tabs of menus for cafes in your area? You’ve got the travel bug - and you got it bad.
Sure, you visited the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley in the winter break and you’ve tried the whole day trip thing but the grams just aren’t the same as *real* travel. And now with uni back on, you’re Sydney-bound (or at the very least home-bound) for the foreseeable future with an unscratchable itch to be taking off, touching road, and feeling culture-shock. Not a vibe.
Here are a couple of YouTube channels to quench your thirst for travel.
Literally Anywhere But Australia (From an Australian’s Perspective)
For a familiar yet far-from-home feel, go for Sorelle Amore. Sorlle is an Australian YouTuber heavily into photography and travel, so you can bet her travel vlogs are aesthetic af. Sure, she’s got a few Sydney-based videos, but with Sorelle’s videos you can travel quite literally anywhere from your bedroom (and pick up a few photog and modelling tips along the way). For a snowy getaway, watch her Iceland vlogs. For something tropical, go to Costa Rica or the Bahamas. And go to Beijing or Mongolia for eagle hunters and nomadic travels. She’s been everywhere so you don’t have to!
Europe (Especially France)
Forget the OTT Instagram-highlight-reel style travel vlog. Damon Dominique, a French-based American YouTuber will show you Europe unfiltered. Visit the Netherlands and talk with the locals about sex, drugs and all things taboo. Walk through Parisian streets, go to the flea markets, and have dinner on the Seine. Sit in French parks and watch Damon in his Red Wine series as he delivers one-on-one interviews with his twenty-something year old friends about life, career and ambition, all while slipping in the (very) occasional joke about his exes and sipping (you guessed it) red wine. Today’s vlog title, People told me Milan was the ugly, so I went on a solo trip to see for myself, says it all - this is travel but with brutal honesty.
CALIFORNIA
After more of a Sex and the City sorta trip? Follow Katy Bellotte, a once-New Yorker turned LA resident which means you get the best of both worlds - watch Katy’s older videos to get the fast-paced city 21st century Carrie Bradshaw/The Bold Type life, packed with dating successes and fiascoes, corporate living, and big sis chats, or watch her more recent videos for a laid-back, beachy LA vibe. Alternatively, fulfil your road-trip-with-friends-through-the-US-in-an-RV fantasy with her recent East to West Coast vlog series. Katy’s channel is also perfect if you love journaling, scrapbooking, freelance work, and sneaking a peek at someone’s not-so secret open diary; hers comes in the form of a podcast, Thick & Thin - a personal favourite.
NEW YORK
If you’re into New York and The Office, then your humour is probably more on par with Kelly Stamps. Having recently shot to social media fame, Kelly has the driest of dry humour, the know-how of a New Yorker, and she’ll take you to the best tiramisu joints in the city while teaching you how to remain both bougie and unbothered - necessary qualities to possess in 2020. Who knows, you might even pick up a few nifty adsense tricks and take up YouTubing as a side hustle.