11 Travel YouTube Channels We Actually Watch (and Inspire Our Trips)
When we aren’t travelling, we’re either writing about travelling or thinking about travelling. Honestly, some days it feels like we’ve circumnavigated the globe without ever leaving the sofa.
Over more than a decade of travelling together, our style has evolved. We now seek out a wider variety of destinations, chasing those nerdy corners that make each trip feel like an adventure. A couple of years ago — stuck in lockdown and searching for “nice things” online — we stumbled into the world of travel vloggers. Since then, we’ve added a touch of luxury (because you have to treat yourself), explored new ways to get around (hello, cruises), and even started rethinking how we pack.
This list brings together some of our favourite YouTubers and content creators — the ones we actually watch. From big names in travel to channels that are just plain fun, we tune into at least one of these every day… even when we’re on the road.
Trek Trendy — Luxury travel inspiration
Why we love them: Everyone has a first, and Trek Trendy (aka Will) was one of ours. His video on The Residence — Etihad’s luxury apartment in the sky — opened the door to the aspirational world of high-end travel. Will’s practical, down-to-earth and refreshingly honest. We also love that he often brings his mum and dad (along with partner Millie) along for the ride. Pop on your ‘Tims’, crack open the caviar and settle in for some first-class viewing.
What they’re great for: Luxury and aspirational travel on planes, trains and cruise ships. We get a peek inside some of the best rooms and seats in the business, delivered with charm and a few fun asides.
Nerdy Rating: 8️⃣ - Trek Trendy balances facts and tips with slick photography.
Best video to start with ▶️ — Will spends 24 hours in Ethiad’s The Residence
Jeb Brooks — The experienced traveller
Why we love them: Suzanne and Jeb Brooks (GreenerGrass.com) traverse the globe by plane, train, ship and bus — and document every step of the way. Jeb’s signature “trip reports” take us from the airport or station right through to their destination, with clear-eyed commentary and genuine enthusiasm. We also love that they don’t take themselves too seriously, letting us in on their flubs with regular blooper reels.
What they’re great for: If Trek Trendy is the luxury traveller, then Jeb and Suzanne are the flip side of the coin. Sure, they like to sample the fancy stuff, but they’ll also happily cross the US by bus. Good, honest reporting and a real love of the journey itself.
Nerdy Rating: 9️⃣ — Their lifelong passion for aviation and train travel shines through, along with loads of fun facts about the places they visit.
Best video to start with ▶️— A great intro to their style is their journey across the USA via Amtrak sleeper trains.
Jet Lag: The Game — Game show experience
Why we love them: Think Race Around the World meets Taskmaster. Jet Lag takes travel and gamifies it, which sits squarely at the nerdy heart of our passions.
What they’re great for: One of the breakout projects from Wendover Productions (who also do Half As Interesting), creator Sam Denby and co-hosts Adam Chase and Ben Doyle have turned the world into their playing field. They’ve played tag, hide and seek, state-based Connect Four, capture the flag and more. Episodes drop a week earlier on Nebula (also founded by Denby), where subscriptions help fund their globe-trotting antics.
Nerdy Rating: 8️⃣ - It’s undeniably fun, but the game theory beneath it is genuinely thrilling.
Best video to start with ▶️— By the third season, they quite literally hit the ground running with a massive game of tag across Europe. Start there and you’ll be hooked soon enough.
Bill and Lisa’s Food and Travels — Gentle vibes
Why we love them: It’s rare to find people online who just radiate genuine joy. Bill and Lisa simply love three things — food, travel, and each other’s company. Splitting their time between their US home, Europe, Las Vegas, Hawaii and beyond, they explore the world one bite at a time. Sometimes their adult kids join in too. Honestly, it’s the closest we’ve come to seeing a mirror on YouTube.
What they’re great for: Wholesome food adventures and good vibes — perfect viewing when you want something warm, friendly and real.
Nerdy Rating: 7️⃣ - It’s more about their reactions than deep dives, but their shared “food language” makes every video feel like a conversation with friends.
Best video to start with ▶️— Bill and Lisa take one of their frequent trips to London.
Mammoth Club — Deep-dish Disney and theme park geekery
Why we love them: In many ways, Mammoth Club (aka Molly, Alan and Max) represent everything we love — Disney, travel, food, beer and nerdy details. There are plenty of Disney and theme park vloggers out there, but these three stand out. They do their research, model inclusive practices and dig deep into the geeky corners of the parks. It’s brilliant to see them explore parks around the world, but we especially love it when they turn a visit into a “Winner Picks Dinner” showdown or try to ride everything in a single day.
What they’re great for: Riding along through park adventures, checking out the latest attractions and soaking up all the delicious, nerdy details.
Nerdy Rating: 🔟 — They speak with authority about food, beer and pop culture lore. Hey Mammoth Club, sounds like you Travel While Nerdy!
Best video to start with ▶️— Anywhere, really, but we’ve picked a gem where Molly goes land by land through Disneyland, sharing hidden details, ride backstories and Disney history.
Dennis Bunnik Travels — Dennis Bunnik Travels
Why we love them: In a lot of ways, Dennis Bunnik is the Australian Jeb Brooks — except almost exclusively for planes. His trip reports cover the whole experience, timing his travels from check-in and bag drop off through to his arrival out the other end. It’s largely business and first class travel, with some key premium economy as well. As he flies out of Australia, his opinions are really key to our own travels.
What they’re great for: Knowing a plane inside and out, a little bit of history of the carrier and truly getting a sense of the whole experience of flying with an airline.
Nerdy Rating: 8️⃣ — Bunnik’s plane reports are coupled with a collection of ‘how stuff works’ moments, along with entire videos on airline infrastructure. As with some of the others on this list, his love of aviation is evident in every
Best video to start with ▶️— To be honest, we just picked one of the most recent ones we watched here. You really can’t go too wrong.
Walk with Me Tim — The hotel inspector
Why we love them: Despite the name, this channel isn’t about hikes or gentle seaside strolls. Tim explores hotels around the world — from the most expensive stays in London to the worst-rated motels in Los Angeles. We’ve especially enjoyed seeing hotels in places we’d never really thought about before, like Saudi Arabia’s cliff-hanging villas, the remote Arctic town of Svalbard, or a £3,214 (AUD$6,658) per night floating villa in the Maldives.
What they’re great for: For one thing, finding out whether a hotel has mattress encasements. (Tim has thoughts on that.) But that’s what makes his channel so good — he dives into the small details so you don’t have to, and finds out whether those hefty price tags are really worth it.
Nerdy Rating: 7️⃣ — Tim’s meticulous approach and real-time commentary make it feel like you’ve got your own personal hotel inspector in your pocket.
Best video to start with ▶️— Few hotels are more unique than this underwater villa in the Maldives, which costs over US $15,000 (AUD $23,000!) for a single night.
Robbie Knox — Have pint, will travel
Why we love them: Knox launched his channel to share tales from his broadcasting career, but he’s built a loyal following on his own terms. Whether he’s attempting a pub crawl inside Harrods or splurging £700 on Christmas crackers, there’s always an air of “what’s this like then?” to his adventures. We love how he often shares the spotlight with fellow creators like Bambino Becky, StuntPegg and Holiday Expert (also well worth a watch - see below!), but without a shred of pretense. Knox is just as likely to whisk us off to a luxury ski resort as he is to poke around regional UK towns in his “good or rubbish?” series.
What they’re great for: Knox says he makes videos “to fill the time before the sweet release of death” — and honestly, we watch them between our own trips to plot interesting detours. It’s laidback, often boozy travel content with opinions worth hanging around for.
Nerdy Rating: 7️⃣ — Knox knows his stuff and approaches everything with a genuine sense of curiosity, but keeps it refreshingly frank and easygoing.
Best video to start with ▶️— We first watched Knox attempt to drink in as many countries as he could in one day — and suddenly found ourselves with a new aspiration.
Safiya Nygaard — Viral Goth Queen of YouTube
Why we love them: Safiya Nygaard needs little introduction. With over 10 million subscribers (and counting), she’s built a channel on curiosity, humour and a touch of chaos. We love watching her try her hand at candle carving, exploring Asian 7-Elevens, testing viral TikTok products, or pulling an all-nighter in Tokyo. Together with husband Tyler, she’s made being a curious Goth both relatable and iconic.
What they’re great for: Perfect for anyone who loves “what if” content, science-ish experiments, social media meta-commentary and a dash of lifestyle travel.
Nerdy Rating: 🔟 — Safiya melts hundreds of things together just to see what happens. This is exactly our kind of nerdy.
Best video to start with ▶️— It’s hard to pick just one, but here’s a favourite: Saf and Tyler visiting the Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik, Iceland. This video actually inspired a part of our next big trip.
Maurice Moves — Pack like a pro
Why we love them: As you might’ve guessed, we travel a fair bit — so we’re always looking to streamline our packing. There’s a special kind of superhero feeling when you get a two-week trip down to one small bag. Maurice does some great work on one-bag travel, but he’s not just about packing; he’s built a whole philosophy around optimising the things we use and do every single day.
What they’re great for: Getting us to actually think about what we carry. If you’ve ever found yourself asking, “Why am I bringing this?” then you’re already halfway there. Maurice’s approach has even inspired us to create our own shareable packing list.
Nerdy Rating: 🔟 — From his beautifully laid-out videos to knolling his everyday carry (EDC) items, Maurice embodies the kind of nerdy precision that makes us want to up our game.
Best video to start with ▶️— How to travel with just one bag (& zero sacrifices) is the perfect entry point, whether you’re heading off for a weekend or a multi-week adventure.
Emma Cruises, Views and Queues & Cruise with Ben and David — Ahoy there, cruisers
Why we love them: Yes, it’s a bit of a cheat grouping two channels together — but without them, we probably wouldn’t be cruising today. They’re among the most popular cruise YouTubers, each with a different style. Emma Cruises gives sharp, no-fuss trip reports and advocates for Mercy Ships. Views and Queues bring pure holiday joy, sharing their adventures as a couple who just genuinely love being at sea. Cruise with Ben and David offer big, detailed ship tours and honest reviews.
What they’re great for: Emma focuses on budget travel, primarily in the UK and Europe but also in the US. Brian and Kerry on Views and Queues do mostly Royal Caribbean and Disney Cruises out of Florida. Ben and David try it all — from luxury stays to inaugural voyages. All of them can be counted on for frank and honest opinions on the rooms, the service, the food and amenities, and whether they’re worth sailing on (again).
Nerdy Rating: 🔟 — While their levels of cruise geekery vary, they all share a passion for detail. Tens, tens, tens across the board!
Best videos to start with ▶️Here’s three videos we’ve handpicked, one from each channel. Just click on the arrows to scroll through them. (Views and Queues doesn’t allow embedding their videos on other sites so visit their channel here).
Final thoughts
Finding good travel YouTubers isn’t just about planning a holiday or getting some inspiration — it’s also a great way to feel connected to home while you’re on the road. Unlike some streaming services, YouTube usually isn’t geo-locked, so it’s easy to get a little dose of something familiar no matter where you are in the world.
Got a favourite we didn’t pick? Or a recommendation for a new like and subscribe? Let us know on our socials — chances are, we’ll end up watching them too.
