The Travelista

About Me

The Travelista is an award-winning UK blog about luxury travel and stylish living. Created by Jess Gibson in March 2013, The Travelista is now regarded as one of the most influential and established travel blogs in The UK. With a loyal and engaged audience of travel and style lovers, the blog has consecutively been listed as a Top 10 Luxury Travel Blog by Vuelio between 2015-2018.

Packed with city guides, stylish hotel reviews and travel shortlists, The Travelista aims to inspire your own trips and arm you with honest and trusted recommendations.  The recent re-design welcomes a new ‘stylish living’ theme to the blog, so as well as Jess’ worldwide adventures, you can also expect to see more content about her life at home in Yorkshire.

Featured in: The 30 Best Travel Instagram Accounts to Follow in 2018 by the Evening Standard

Listed in: The Top 10 Luxury Travel Blog by Vuelio from 2015-2018

Winner of: Highly Commended Travel Blog at the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2014

Editor's Letter

Hi guys! Welcome to The Travelista. My name is Jess Gibson and I am the Founder and Editor of The Travelista. I’m 28 years old and live in Leeds with my boyfriend Scott. After graduating with a 2.1 in Media, Communications and Cultural Studies, I started my career as an Editorial Assistant and later moved into various Digital Content roles. I created The Travelista in March 2013 and ran it alongside my full time job for 4 years. In July 2016 I made the leap to become a full time blogger and have never looked back.

As a blogger and content creator I wear many hats, but The Travelista was born from a passion for writing and travel. Creating The Travelista has transformed my life in ways I could have never imagined and it continues to evolve every day. The Travelista is an intrinsic part of my identity and I am so honoured that I get to share my life with a community of people who love travel just as much as me.

Thank you for taking the time to find out a little bit about me. I hope you enjoy this corner of the Internet and that my blog inspires you to dream big and travel in style.

Jess x

Comments

  1. Oh wow, Jess! I am so impressed by the amount of travelling you do. It was great meeting you yesterday and I am glad I’ve discovered your blog. Your trip to Tanzania sounds lie our dream holiday!

  4. Dear Jess,

    I really liked your story and how you ended up putting your dream together with this blog. Its people like you who give inspiration to others for making it big. I think most of us are too scared to leave our 9-5 jobs and just go for it!

    You have to have this believe in your self and only then you can make it big, like you did. I really have all the respect for you as an individual and would like to see you succeed more.

    Best of luck!

    Cheers,
    Zeb

  5. Hi TheTravelista!! I am so hopeful more now than ever that writing and traveling for living, both things that I love, is possible because of your blogging adventures. I know you have many people asking you for help, but if you can point me in the right direction to start with this particular field I would be so grateful! Thank you in advance. You are awesome!

    • Hi Nina, Thanks so much for your sweet comment. I do write and travel for a living, but it’s not all glamorous press trips. Lots of hours are spent in the office, chained to a desk like any other job. I don’t mean to send out an unrealistic message that people can travel around the world and get paid for it, even if that’s how it looks sometimes. If you want to get into travel writing, setting up a blog is the best place to start. It allows you to publish your work immediately and get your name out there. Try to build a following and a community and once you have this set up it demonstrates a pro active side to you and a passion for travel writing. If you go into any content / copywriting / journalistic job in the travel industry, an established travel blog would put you in great stead. Wishing you all the best in your career and your ventures 🙂 Can’t wait to see what you create!

      Jess x

    • So glad to hear you enjoy my blog – it’s comment’s like yours that make it all worthwhile. Thanks so much and hope you keep on reading 🙂

      Jess, The Travelista x

  10. It does inspire me! I’m a very visual person (the curse of having a short attention span) so all the bright beautiful photos really got my attention!

    Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. It can be so daunting first starting out!

    I would definitely love to keep in touch, please let me know if you’re ever in Sydney!

    Chrissy x

  11. Jess, you are pretty much living my dream life!

    As an aspiring travel writer/blogger I’m ecstatic I’ve come across your blog 🙂 I’m currently in the process of saving and planning a RTW trip and hope to long term travel for as long as possible.

    Can’t wait to follow your journey!

    Chrissy
    Sydney, Australia
    x

    • Hi Chrissy! Thank you for your lovely comment. I’m so glad you like my blog and hope it inspires you for your RTW trip. I’ve just checked out your blog and think its a great start. I read you worry you don’t have enough blog worthy material but remember travel blogging can include past present and future travels – you could even include dream destinations! Believe in yourself and have confidence In your writing because it’s great! Keep up the good work. let’s stay in touch 🙂

      Jess, The Travelista x

  13. Hello. Thank you for following my Blog. Yours is top-notch; very informative. Thanks again. Ray.

    • Thanks for your comment Ray! Your blog is great too, I love your photos of Pulteney Bridge in Bath. My sister goes to University there, what a wonderful city! I shall be looking out for more. 🙂 Jess – The Travelista x

Follow on Instagram

  • This mama doesn’t get many chances to be self indulgent anymore, so just let me have this moment ok 😂💁🏼‍♀️ This afternoon I took a trip in to Leeds for a @nudebynature make up masterclass in Boots hosted by the amazing @clintdowdell.makeup. I am no beauty expert, so I picked up some great make up tips, learned so much about the brand and got a full makeover (which was SUCH a treat to say most days I don’t even get to pee in private let alone do my make up). Thanks to @harlequinnlegrotesque for giving me my glow back ✨ #thathighlightthough #nudebynaturexboots #pressevent
  • That little tush! 🐼 Our sweet boy is now 5 months corrected and 8 months old, getting ready to be on the move. Most parents seem to wish their baby would ‘stop growing so fast’ and ‘stay little’, but that’s definitely not the case for me. I can’t relate to that kind of thing at all. I don’t want to slow down time. I want to be as far away from our time in NICU as possible. Seeing Theo get bigger and thrive is my biggest joy and main purpose right now. Our next weigh day is this Wednesday! 🤞🏼 Thanks so much to @uniquequilts for Theo’s beautiful play mat #25Weeker #MicroPreemie
  • Practising copying faces 😮😄😬 So it turns out being a Mum is basically just acting, dancing and singing neurotically all day to try and get smiles out of your baby. Current funny bone tickler is watching me leap frog across the room 🐸 My neighbours definitely think I’ve lost the plot. Anyone else? #21WeeksCorrected
  • The reality behind this photo is not predictable. It is a new Mum who was separated from her baby from the moment he was born. A new Mum who had to wait +4 months before she could bring her baby home. A new Mum who has been left with anxiety, post natal depression and post traumatic stress disorder. Behind this photo is a baby who was born 15 weeks early, and had to fight for every breath. A baby who has overcome a life threatening bowel disease with 3 surgeries (and has the tummy scars to prove it). A baby who defied all of the odds and ‘worst case scenarios’ we were given by doctors. Today, you would never guess our story if you saw us on the street. My introduction to motherhood has not been conventional, but it has taught me so much about what is important. Theo and I were the only two people who spent every single 109 of those days together in hospital, and because of that we have the strongest bond. On days like today when I didn’t even make it out of the house (and feel like I didn’t achieve much), I just need to remind myself how far we’ve come. Theo, you are my greatest achievement yet 🌟🌳 (Shot by @korm87)
  • Sunday afternoon feels 😴💕 This kid got lucky with Daddy’s lashes and Mummy’s lips. We’ve had a bit of a tough week with Theo. He caught a cold which has put him off his feeds and spiked my anxiety. Then he gave me the cold 🤧 For a preemie mum obsessed with her baby’s weight gain, this has been an extra stress but we think he’s on the mend now 9 days in 🤞🏼🍼 We’ve also been busy planning our first family mini break to Whitby in September, booking via @cottagescom. We’ve found a gorgeous little coastal cottage in the town centre of Whitby which will be our base for exploring the coast. We’ve been told to bring the baby carrier as Whitby is full of cobbles (not ideal for prams but we will take our @babyzenuk). Does anyone else have any tips for Whitby or advice for going on a mini break with a baby? I am a travel blogger but this is brand new territory for me! 👶🏻🌊 #20WeeksCorrected
  • (AD - Gifted) I’m finally getting more confident with getting out and about independently with my boy, so I took him out for a spin in our new travel pram. The @babyzenuk YOYO+ is so lightweight and compact that it packs into a bag that you can wear over your shoulder (no seriously! Swipe for proof). It converts from newborn cot to seated pram, which we think Theo is nearly ready for. We won’t be going abroad with Theo just yet, but when we do the pram will fit in the overhead lockers, meaning we can whizz him through the airport with ease. But for the moment it’s proving to be a great city pram and is ideal for our UK weekends away 🌟👶🏻 Shot by @korm87 #babyzenyoyo

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