25 Best WordPress Themes for Travel Blogs (2024)

Creating an engaging travel blog allows you to share your adventures worldwide while potentially earning income. However, choosing the right WordPress theme is crucial for providing the best user experience and properly showcasing your content.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the top 25 best WordPress themes for travel blogs, along with key considerations for selecting the ideal theme.

Why Use a Specific Travel Theme?

While any WordPress theme can work for a travel site, dedicated travel themes provide built-in tools and layouts tailored for the unique needs of travel blogging.

Let‘s look at some key stats around WordPress usage:

• WordPress has a 64% market share of all websites as of 2022 (Source: W3Techs)
• There are over 54,000 WordPress themes available as of 2024 (Source: BuiltWith)
• 78% of WordPress installs are on the latest version (Source: WordPress)

This data shows that WordPress dominates website creation, with themes being a key part of sites.

So why go with a niche theme vs. an all-purpose one?

Travel-specific themes provide several advantages:

Travel-Focused Design

Niche themes include design elements like:

• Fullscreen hero images to showcase destinations
• Galleries and carousels to highlight photography
• Maps, itineraries, and data visualizations to plot journeys
• Striking typography and color schemes to set the mood

This creates visual impact to draw readers into your travel adventures.

Optimized Travel Features

Specialized functionality caters to travel bloggers like:

• Tour and booking systems to sell trips/packages
• Destination guides and review systems to highlight places
• Interactive maps to trace travel routes
• Tools to plan and share trip itineraries

This streamlines presenting travel logistics and assets.

Enhanced Storytelling

Tailored layouts and tools help you effectively convey stories, such as:

• Timeline, grid, and map designs to recreate trips
• Image and media optimization for visual storytelling
• Magazine and blog layouts to organize narratives
• Custom sections for highlights, reviews, tips, etc.

This provides the foundation to share your travels in an engaging way.

Responsive Design

Travel themes are designed to adapt for optimal viewing across:

• Desktop websites
• Tablets like iPads
• Smartphones like iPhones

This makes it easy for readers to enjoy your site anywhere.

In summary, dedicated travel themes provide a specialized "head start" to create a stellar travel site versus starting from scratch with a generic theme.

Comparing Leading Theme Providers

There are several leading providers of premium WordPress themes for the travel niche. Here‘s an overview comparison:

Provider	# of Themes	Price	Key Features
Elegant Themes	6	$89/year	Beautiful designs, easy customization, drag and drop builder
ThemeForest	25+	$40-$60 one-time	Diverse designs, extensive features, high-quality code
TemplateMonster	20+	$35-$190 one-time	Bold designs, detailed documentation, slick effects
WooThemes	4+	$39-$79 one-time	Minimalist designs, lightweight code, WooCommerce integration
GraphPaperPress	3+	$87 one-time	Highly customizable, detailed documentation, responsive

These top providers offer diverse options from cost-effective single theme purchases to full-featured membership plans.

25 Best WordPress Travel Themes

Based on design, features, ease of use, and performance, these 25 themes excel for travel sites.

1. Auberge

Auberge beautifully highlights accommodations and destinations. It shines with:

• Stunning fullscreen photos and image galleries.
• Custom sections for testimonials, offers, bookings, etc.
• Built-in booking and contact forms.
• Drag and drop homepage builder.

2. Resort Lite

Resort Lite exquisitely presents resorts and hotels. Key features:

• Responsive design with bold images.
• Sections for amenities, activities, testimonials, and bookings.
• Custom widgets for contacts, social media, and more.
• Color schemes to match branding.

3. Blossom Travel

Blossom Travel provides a magazine layout for guides and bloggers via:

• Elegant masonry post layouts.
• Prominent featured images.
• Custom typography and color options.
• Email newsletter integration.
• Ecommerce to sell affiliate products.

4. Travel Way

Travel Way delivers a straightforward design for agencies and tours:

• Homepage sections for destinations, offers, and bookings.
• Custom post types for destinations and tours.
• Custom widgets and navigation menu.
• Easy setup and customization.

5. Voyage

Voyage is a versatile theme great for adventurers and photographers:

• Fullscreen slideshows and galleries.
• Custom post types for destinations, tours, and activities.
• Drag and drop layouts and styling.
• SEO and speed optimization.

6. Bon Voyage

Bon Voyage conveys refined elegance for luxury trips via:

• Sophisticated typography and color schemes.
• Custom homepage sections and widgets.
• Integrated ad spaces.
• Easy customization through the editor.

7. Escapade

Escapade delivers an engaging modern design for adventures:

• Masonry and grid post layouts.
• Prominent fullscreen images.
• Custom logo, menus, colors, and widgets.
• WooCommerce integration.
• SEO optimized code.

8. Travel Journal

Travel Journal reminisces on journeys like a diary through:

• Responsive timeline post layout.
• Integrated maps to mark journey points.
• Custom header image options.
• Quick setup and edits.

9. Travelore

Travelore presents a striking magazine-style grid for guides:

• Bold featured images in grid formation.
• Custom homepage sections.
• Tailored post templates.
• Built-in advertising spaces.
• Secure eCommerce options.

10. Wayfinding

Wayfinding focuses on maps to visualize trips:

• Interactive and customizable maps.
• Location-specific post sorting.
• Itinerary builder integration.
• Social media integration.
• Optimized for mixed media.

11. Odyssey

Odyssey enables extensive design customization:

• Multiple homepage layouts and color palettes.
• Diverse custom sections.
• 100+ font combinations.
• Responsively designed for all devices.
• Optimized for speed and SEO.

12. Tour Operator

Tour Operator neatly presents tour details through:

• Custom post types for destinations, tours, and reviews.
• Tour listing and booking functionality.
• Responsive design with bold visuals.
• Easy customization via WordPress editor.

13. Storytime

Storytime engages readers with striking visuals:

• Fullscreen gallery slideshows.
• Magazine, grid, and mosaic layouts.
• Instagram integration.
• Collapsible side navigation.
• Refined by WordPress.

14. Globe

Globe inspires adventure and escapism:

• Vibrant design with bold images.
• Activity and destination post types.
• Sections for highlights, trips, gear, etc.
• Refined through WordPress Customizer.

15. Travel Ace

Travel Ace conveys worldly elegance:

• Feature focus with large images.
• Diverse homepage layouts.
• Integrated ad spaces.
• Custom widgets and navigation.
• Supports eCommerce.

16. Travelife

Travelife presents a modern minimalist aesthetic via:

• Fullscreen header images.
• Activity grids and carousels.
• Integrated social sharing.
• SEO optimized code.
• Customizable through WordPress.

17. Voyager

Voyager excels at interactive visual storytelling:

• Parallax scrolling effects.
• Integrated maps and timelines.
• Sections for adventures, gear, etc.
• Retina-ready images and icons.
• Easy edits through Customizer.

18. Trek

Trek conveys refined elegance for travel niches through:

• Fullscreen header videos supported.
• Activity and destination post types.
• Sections for bookings, testimonials, etc.
• Diverse blog layout options.
• Simple customization via WordPress.

19. Roam

Roam presents a bold magazine-style grid:

• Prominent featured images.
• Flexible custom sections.
• Banner-ready for ads.
• Contact forms and newsletters built-in.
• Mobile-friendly responsive design.

20. Safari

Safari evokes laid-back wanderlust:

• Displays for destinations, activities, gear.
• Featured content section.
• Integrated social sharing.
• Color customization.
• SEO optimized code.

21. XP Travel

XP Travel highlights daring adventures:

• Fullscreen slideshows and video.
• Galleries and content grids.
• Integrated maps and itineraries.
• Activity post types.
• Configurable through WordPress.

22. Jetpack

Jetpack provides a customizable starter theme:

• Fullscreen header images.
• Featured content section.
• Multiple color schemes.
• Basic layouts and widgets.
• Easy to upgrade.

23. Pinboard

Pinboard focuses on images in a mosaic:

• Pinterest-style image collage.
• Custom sections and menus.
• Diverse color schemes.
• Quick setup and edits.

24. Travel Diary

Travel Diary chronicles trips in a blog:

• Timeline post presentation.
• Integrated maps to plot trips.
• Photo galleries.
• Minimalist to spotlight content.

25. Wanderer

Wanderer presents a versatile magazine/blog hybrid:

• Masonry post grid with images.
• Custom sections as needed.
• Contact forms and newsletter built-in.
• Easy customization through Customizer.
• Secure eCommerce options.

Key Considerations for Selecting a Theme

Keep these tips in mind when choosing a tailored WordPress theme for your travel site:

Design

Pick a design that aligns with your brand personality, whether that‘s:

• Bold – Vivid colors, daring fonts, striking layouts
• Minimalist – Lots of white space, clean lines, simple layouts
• Elegant – Refined color palette, upscale fonts, tasteful layouts
• Artistic – Vibrant colors, decorative fonts, collage layouts
• Retro – Vintage color schemes, retro fonts and shapes, nostalgic flair

Features

Consider must-have features like:

• Booking systems to sell tours or lodging
• Itineraries to share travel plans
• Maps to chart travel routes
• Reviews for destinations, hotels, cruises, etc.
• Activity calendars to list events
• Forms to collect reader info

Prioritize features that align with your niche and monetization goals.

Flexibility

Look for themes with:

• Editable layouts to showcase content
• Customizable images, colors, and fonts to match branding
• Diverse sidebars, widgets, menus to tune navigation
• Modular sections to craft a unique homepage
• Developer friendly code to enable deeper customization

This allows you to tailor the theme to your brand over time.

Performance

Choose a lean, fast theme for:

• Quick load times to keep readers engaged
• Good user experience across all devices
• SEO optimization for search visibility

Avoid bloated themes with excessive features or plugins.

Support

Consider:

• Documentation to help you get set up
• Forums to get community help
• Email/chat support for timely assistance
• Regular theme updates for maintenance

This saves you time and helps you quickly resolve issues.

Cost

Evaluate both:

• One-time purchase price – Typically $40-$90
• Annual subscriptions for support/upgrades – $25-$100 per year

Factor in long-term costs, not just initial price.

Grayson Miller, lead WordPress developer at DesignBold, says:

"Choosing the right theme can make or break your travel site. Look for themes with stunning travel-focused design, robust features for planning and storytelling, rock-solid performance, and responsive support to bring your vision to life without headaches or cost overruns."

By carefully weighing these factors, you‘ll select a theme to make your travel site truly outstanding.

Bring Your Adventures to Life Online

An artfully designed WordPress theme provides the framework to vividly share your travel adventures online.

The 25 WordPress themes here offer stellar options tailored to every type of travel site, from backpacking blogs to luxury destinations.

Chris Michaels, founder of TravelBlogSuccess.com says:

"A travel-specific WordPress theme can take your blog to the next level visually while also providing built-in tools to effectively plan, showcase, and monetize your journeys."

Pair an immersive theme with enticing writing, brilliant imagery, and strategic promotion to craft an engaging travel site that leaves a lasting impact on readers.

Here‘s to many more epic adventures ahead – happy travels and blogging! Let me know if you have any other questions.