Travel Magazines for Down-to-Earth Adventurers

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"The established travel magazines still see travel as sightseeing," he explains. "We see it as something you are in the thick of—participant travel. Travel, in a sense, is a quest; it's a spiritual ride. Out on the road, away from the clutter of home, you find out things about who you are and come back with a different perspective."

Big World taps into the same spirit but puts more emphasis on traveling cheap. In spite of its magazine format, this quarterly has the feisty feel of a zine: black-and-white graphics, snapshot-style photos, and first-person accounts from places like Laos, Bosnia, and Mobile, Alabama. Adventure travel and way-off-the-beaten-path destinations characterize the articles, along with gritty social commentary and political analysis. Tips on how to score bargains in airfare, train tickets, and accommodations fill several pages.

Editor Jim Fortney, 31, says the idea for Big World came to him just outside Taos on a cross-country car trip when he realized that he and his friends never looked at travel magazines, even though they loved to travel. "There was a need for a magazine that helped travelers to use their own eyes, to experience other places the way people who live there do," he says. So he returned to Pennsylvania, quit his job on a small-town newspaper, and launched Big World three years ago. "It's for people who travel the world independently on a low budget" he adds. "I'm surprised how many people do this—not just young people but folks in their 40s and 50s." The magazine now has 5,000 subscribers—enough to pay for itself but not to give Fortney a salary, so he does freelance writing to stay in business.

Three other engaging alternative travel magazines are even more tightly targeted. Aiming directly at the Generation X audience, Blue takes us on strenuous adventures in thoughtful, well-written articles. The over-the-top graphics, however, might test the patience of anyone who isn't post-literate. Transitions Abroad, a bimonthly guide to opportunities for working and studying overseas, includes articles about adapting to other cultures as well as profiles of various destinations. Out & About, a handsomely designed newsletter that appears 10 times a year, caters to gay and lesbian travelers with useful info and opinionated commentary.

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