About Amateur Traveler
The Amateur Traveler podcast and blog are the creation of Chris Christensen.
Why should you trust me?
I have been a travel blogger and podcast since 2005. I have won awards from the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) and was named the “Best Independent Travel Journalist” by Travel+Leisure Magazine in their 2014 Social Media in Travel + Tourism Awards.
More About Amateur Traveler
- Working with the Amateur Traveler
- Amateur Traveler Media Kit
- How to Pitch an Episode for the Amateur Traveler Podcast
- Guest Post Guidelines for the Amateur Traveler blog
- Articles About Amateur Traveler
- The Amateur Traveler Manifesto
More About Chris Christensen
When did the Amateur Traveler start?
The first Amateur Traveler podcast episode went out July 2nd of 2005. It did not expand into a full blog with videos, and travel photography until April of 2007.
Who should read the Amateur Traveler blog?
We try and create content that helps you do travel planning. That might be information for people starting to travel like our Travel 101 content or it might be articles on how to travel, how to save money or where to go.
Who should listen to the Amateur Traveler podcast?
The Amateur Traveler audio podcast is about travel destinations. It helps you decide where to go next. So the show is intended for travelers. We create the show targeting a North American traveler who only has 1-2 weeks of vacation, although it gets listened to by people in other countries as well.
The show usually features an interview with a destination expert or with a traveler who has been to the destination recently. The show intends to motivate people to travel. The Amateur Traveler media kit has quotes from people who have in fact been motivated by Amateur Traveler to do just that.
Chris Christensen at Meteora, Greece
Why did you create the podcast?
The podcast content predates the other blog content. I am a podcast junky and listen to around 70-90 podcasts. I knew I wanted to do a podcast before I knew what the podcast would be about. Then on Memorial Day in 2005, we had friends over for a BBQ and all the best stories were travel stories. It was then that the idea for the podcast and website was created.
What is your background?
When I started Amateur Traveler I was working full-time as an EVP of Engineering and Operations for a Silicon Valley company that ran online communities. I still make a living in technology as a director of engineering at American Express.
Growing up we did a lot of traveling for vacation, usually pulling a small trailer between various national parks. The success of a vacation for the Christensens was measured with an odometer. Those childhood experiences are one of the reasons I still have such a love for national parks.
I enjoy learning new languages before I travel and have studied German, French, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Turkish, Russian, Swahili and Greek. I find the language to be a great window into a culture. For instance, in Swahili, the language uses the same word for guest and stranger. In Chinese the character for good is a woman with a baby. Although I have studied a number of languages I am only fluent in English and that only when properly caffeinated.
Do you make any money off of things you advertise on Amateur Traveler?
Not always, but I should. Let’s just assume that every link is an affiliate link and leave it at that. I don’t recommend products that I don’t like, so don’t ask me to.
For instance, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
