TRAVEL INTERVIEW WITH MATT LONG OF LANDLOPERS

Matt Long is the adventurous American behind the highly popular travel blog LandLopers. Recently I caught up with Matt to uncover his favorite travels and the secrets to success of his website. Find out Matt’s 3 favorite places in the world, his preferred type of vacations and where he’s off to next…

1. Matt, you refer to yourself as a wanderer and adventurer at heart. How/when did you catch the travel bug?

I’ve always had the travel bug for as long as I can remember. I have always wanted to see and explore as much of the world as possible. Genetic I guess.

Bateaux Mouches, Notre Dame, Paris France

2. How long have you been traveling? When did you take your first trip abroad?

My first trip overseas was when I was 17. I was part of a summer student exchange in Paris. It was a wonderful experience and to this day Paris remains my favorite city.

3. Where have you traveled so far?

Well rather than list every city and country, I will just say that I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see a great deal of the world.

Reclining Buddha at Wat Po, Bangkok Thailand

We’re active people, so we usually like to have a good mix of sightseeing and experiential activities. As good as it sounds sometimes, we’re not lazy beach fans. We both work full time, so our trips are usually a week in length, although we have been known to take two weeks if it’s a special trip.

5. Have you done any long-term world travels? If so, when, where and how long?

No, not really. The closest I came was 6 weeks backpacking around England and Scotland after I graduated from college.

6. You mention that you’re a working professional with a lot of business travel under your belt. What’s your profession? How much business travel does that entail ? How long have you been doing it?

I am in charge of government affairs for a small nonprofit association. I tend to travel for work about ten times a year, all within the United States. I’ve been in the profession for ten years.

Bahamas

7. What are you 3 favorite travel destinations and why?

Well that’s a dicey question, because certain destinations are favorites for different reasons. But…

1. Paris – there’s just something about the City of Lights that I love. It truly has captured my heart and I love everything about it.

2. Thailand – I think it’s a combination of the people, food and sights that make Thailand a great place. There’s a welcoming, relaxed spirit that just puts me at ease.

3. The Caribbean  – I haven’t explored as much of the Caribbean as I would like, but what I have seen, I love. I really enjoy water activities and the Caribbean is one of the best areas in the world to enjoy these experiences.

Matt in Galapagos at the Darwin Research Center

8. On Landlopers the main photo shows you with some giant turtles. Where is that?
Please tell us about the place.

That was taken in the Galapagos at the Darwin Research Center to be exact. Our trip to the Galapagos is probably my favorite trip. It was completely different from any other travel experience I have had and I loved learning while exploring. Visiting the Galapagos is a life-changing experience, one that everyone should try to do at least once.

9. How/ why did you come up with the idea to have a travel blog?

Well, LandLopers just celebrated its first birthday. I started in early 2010 as a creative outlet. I love travel, obviously, and helping my friends travel more often and without spending a fortune and decided to start a site along these guiding principles.

Vitava, Prague

10 Landlopers has been online just one year, but in that time you’ve been able to amass a following of 1250+ FB fans, 15,000 visitors/ month on your site, and get placed on the ‘Top 100 Travel Blogs’ list as well as other recognition. Congratulations! How did you achieve this great success and popularity? Was it amazing SEO, website and internet skills? Social media attention? Great content?

Ha, if I knew I could probably make a fortune. My best answer is who knows; the internet is wildly unpredictable. Rather, I like to think that people can relate to my experiences and the tips I provide. I write for the average person, not super luxury or backpackers, but instead for the majority of people out there who want to maximize their vacation time.

Dome of the Rock

No, I’m definitely not a nomad. We both have good jobs, a nice home and three dogs and frankly we enjoy our life. We enjoying having friends and family nearby and there is nothing better than coming home after a trip. So for us, shorter trips are a necessity, but we definitely make them work for us.

12. Would you like to make LandLopers and travel blogging your main profession? Or do you prefer to keep it as a passionate sideline?

Well, if there were a way to make it a permanent job, I probably would, but that’s not really feasible. Very few people can monetize their site to the level where it provides their entire income. So, for the moment, it is a passionate sideline.

Kangaroo

13. What are your travel plans for 2011?

Well, it’s a busy year no doubt. Forgetting work travel, I was in Lanai earlier this year and have confirmed plans to visit Jordan, New Zealand and Australia. That’s quite a bit of travel for me and I’m excited for the new adventures.

That is a lot of travel for 2011 Matt!
Thanks so much for taking time to tell us about your travels and LandLopers. Happy trails! Lash
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Matthew Long
Editor-in-Chief
LandLopers.com

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*( all photos in this interview from Matt Long/ LandLopers.com)
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