Where are you based?
St. Paul, Minnesota
What topics and places do you cover?
I focus on experiential travel writing, deep-dive service journalism, and editing special projects. While I consider myself a generalist, I am especially interested in up-and-coming and off-the-beaten-path destinations; adventure travel and expedition cruising; local and traditional foods and culture; heirloom and artisan crafts; and transformative wellness offerings. My core outlets prioritize luxury and boutique accommodations, cruise lines, trip advisors, and travel outfitters, and they're keen to showcase locally led, under-the-radar experiences.
Family travel has been a big focus of mine in recent years. I have a 2.5-year-old son that I take all over the world because I love seeing it anew through his eyes. Our next big adventure starts this fall: a three-month, six-continent RTW trip, which I'll be documenting across multiple platforms for Condé Nast Traveler.
I also test travel gear and travel-adjacent products for CNT, New York Magazine's The Strategist, and Buy Side from WSJ.
What outlets do you usually pitch (and write for)?
I'm a longtime contributing editor at Condé Nast Traveler, where I cover everything from toddler-friendly safaris to Omani road trips, and the former editor-at-large for AFAR, where I still edit/write/wrangle the occasional feature or special project. I just edited TIME Magazine's World's Greatest Places 2024 list and Oprah Daily's first big hotel special, The Hotel O-Wards 2024. Previous projects include editing T Wanderlust, a hotel- and city-centric travel newsletter, for T: The New York Times Magazine, and launching The Urbanist, a pop-up travel blog for New York Magazine.
My copywriting and content marketing experience spans a range of industries and topics, from hospitality to personal finance. Past and present clients include Airbnb, Microsoft, Chase, American Express, Capital One, DoorDash, TikTok, Prudential, Expedia, TripAdvisor, United Airlines, Target, LG, Etsy, Illy, Food Network, Oceania Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Royal Caribbean, and Ralph Lauren.
What are your professional pet peeves?
Spray-and-pray email blasts (though I get why y'all do it and am fine to just delete what's irrelevant), unrealistic demands for confirmed assignments (please be transparent about this so that I can let you know up front that my outlets never guarantee coverage in advance of travel), and eleventh-hour flight bookings.
In your past professional life, you were …
Special Projects Editor at Bon Appétit, Strategist Editor at New York Magazine, and Editor-at-Large for Time Out New York. Also a black belt in Taekwondo and a theater nerd (my favorite role was the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland).
Where would you like to return to?
I will always go back to Turkey, Japan, and Australia. In the U.S., nowhere beats New Orleans for city, Texas for country, Kauai for island, and Montana for mountains. Big soft spot for the Northwoods of Minnesota, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and all things Wisconsin, too.
What's on your bucket list?
OMG, so many places. I'd love to explore more of the 'stans, especially Kazakhstan, after having such a fantastic experience with Intrepid in Uzbekistan. Bolivia. Bhutan. All over the Balkans. Armenia and Azerbaijan. Lebanon. Greece. Romania. Patagonia. Brazil. Côte d'Ivoire. Kansas City. Okinawa. Djibouti. Eritrea. Yukon. Gabon. Madagascar. Iraq. Maine. Ukraine. But my No. 1 pick is probably the one place I'll never be able to go because it's nigh impossible for a Googleable journalist to get a tourist visa: Iran.
Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …
Both funny and harrowing: I was on a wellness assignment at JOALI Being in the Maldives, trying Watsu for the first time. For the uninitiated, Watsu is a form of underwater shiatsu that involves a lot of manhandling by strangers and 360-degree swishing in a heated pool. My vertigo got the best of me and I had to make a quick and messy exit. (TMI: I vomited into my swimsuit before I could reach the bathroom.) The far-too-kind therapist later told me that Watsu is a powerful form of hydrotherapy and everybody reacts differently; some bodies (mine) feel compelled to “purge” themselves after a session. It was a very diplomatic way to reframe a mortifying experience.
What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?
My inbox is always open to fresh, thoughtful, personalized pitches. I'm often working on half a dozen projects at a time, so you never know what might stick. Let's chat!
How best should people contact you?
Find my email address on my TravMedia profile here and follow me on Instagram at @ashleahalpern.
