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PNW Travel Inspiration from BIPOC Bloggers

December 1, 2020
Safety comes first at our airport. The next time you visit Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), your experience will look and feel different. Learn more about FlyHealthy@SEA, our action plan to ensure that you can travel safely when the time is right. 

Many of us are battling cabin fever and missing the joys of planning travel adventures. But we’re adjusting to living and traveling in a new normal. In the meantime, Pacific Northwesterners are adventuring outside and safely exploring on nearby staycations.  

Many of us travel with the specific goal of leaving what we know to grow and experience more of the world. The good news is, you can still do a little bit of that without leaving your couch by broadening the circle of experts you turn to for travel and adventure advice. Expand your horizons and your feed with these Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) travel and outdoors influencers in the Pacific Northwest.  

Their photos and words reinforce our love for the PNW, while reigniting our eagerness to discover something new. Below are just some of the travel and outdoors influencers we’re following for advice and inspiration. And slide into our dms with your favorites! 

Andrew Hoge | #AhThatsGood Instagram | Blog 

Andrew is a great source for what to eat and where to go in Seattle. As director of celebrations for the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, he adores travel and creating experiences. Pre-pandemic Andrew was often exploring British Columbia or Maui. These days, his Instagram stories look delicious as he experiments with the dishes of his Guyanese-American heritage.  

Antonio Smith Instagram | Blog  

Antonio lives in Seattle, but he is a world traveler with a soft spot for Japanese and British culture. We enjoy his travel videos from near like Portland, Oregon to far like Quebec, Tokyo and Albania. Don’t miss his next adventure by following #AntonioTravels.  

Berty Mandagie | The Mandagies Instagram | Blog  

Berty is an adventurous commercial photographer that prioritizes the road less traveled around the PNW. His Instagram is a gorgeous image library of the coastline of Oregon and mountains of Washington to hot springs in Idaho. His blog is co-authored with his wife, and filled with outdoor and travel guides for the Pacific Northwest, Montana, and British Columbia.  

Berty Mandagie (TheMandagies.com)
Photo credit: Berty Mandagie (TheMandagies.com)

Carolyn Yuen Marino Hey Pretty Thing Instagram | Blog  

Carolyn calls both Seattle and Hong Kong home and is a high school educator. In our new normal, she is expanding her hobbies in a world that currently feels a little small and sharing that journey with followers. And if you’re seeking wanderlust inspiration for when borders can safely re-open, she has tips on her blog from pretty much everywhere. 

Elizabeth Akinyi Instagram | Blog 

Elizabeth both makes us inhale with whoa and then exhale with a sigh. Whether its local at Chihuly Garden & Glass or abroad like What Wikipedia Can't Tell You About Chaing Mai, we’re here for it.  

Jennifer George | Happy Healthy Traveler | Instagram | Blog 

Jennifer creates content to inspire women to embrace a solo lifestyle through style, self-love, and self-care. She identifies as Filipino and Black on her blog, and we enjoy her posts about celebrating who you are, as you are. 

Jonelli | Stop Drop & Roam | Instagram | Blog 

Jonelli’s content is perfect for young families seeking travel experiences with kids along for the adventure. Originally from Canada, she moved to Washington state in 2003. This family’s adventures focus on Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia, but a recent Instagram post for tips for flying with a family during COVID-19 was spot on.  

Kusum | Passion Purpose Passport | Instagram | Blog 

Kusum has been to over 30 countries and her content is both uplifting and unapologetic. She shares adventures from road trip worthy destinations like Glacier National Park to traveling with her family in Iceland. Her blog post, How You Can Travel the World When You Can’t Leave Home?, is particularly on point with 39 virtual travel experiences to satisfy your wanderlust cravings.  

Liang | Peach in Seattle | Instagram | Blog 

Liang moved to the upper left in 2013 and started her lifestyle blog, Peach in Seattle, as a diary for living in the Pacific Northwest. Her feed sparks joy with the best of eating and adventuring here like wine in Woodinville for those over 21-years-old or oysters in Seattle.   

Mariame Sanoh AvecBongo | Instagram | Blog 

We delight in Mariame’s style and travel content. Originally from Guinea, she now calls Seattle home. Check out her travel recommendations for single travel to how to have a mindful day at home due to COVID-19. 

Mariame Sonah
Photo credit: Mariame Sanoh

Nicole | Treasure Tromp | Instagram  

Nicole shares travel and skincare inspiration from Portland, Oregon. Follow her and tag along with #TravelTromp and #TreasureChomping. Nicole is on the cusp of a whole new type of adventure as a soon-to-be parent.  

Ribicca | Amro Menor | Instagram | Blog 

We love getting lost in Ribicca’s photos from around the PNW. We wish we could follow her around the world based on her feed’s aesthetic, but for now we’ll settle for following her local ideas for the most scenic hikes in Washington state to lavender farms near Seattle

Sahily Pretty in Pigment | Instagram | Blog  

Sahily is a Cuban-American lifestyle blogger in Seattle with a focus on living life colorfully. We love her adventures around the city and travel guides from Lake Chelan to Chicago.  

Sahily
Photo credit: Jenn Haskins

Sam Some Call Me Adventurous | Instagram | Blog  

Sam's blog is a library of her adventures traversing the world and enjoying the beautiful things it has to offer. Her blog has guides from Italy to Japan to Egypt and many destinations in between. And the photography on her Instagram is truly beautiful.  

Sydney Mintle | Sydney Loves Fashion | Instagram | Blog 

Sydney is a global traveler who brings her kids along for the adventure. With a deep love of Passport stamps, Syd and her family explored London, Paris, and Barcelona last year. COVID-19 interrupted plans for Italy in 2020, but she is making the best of it with nearby getaways. She shares helpful tips for how to travel with children to local travel guides like Suncadia.  

Wayne Smith | Instagram 

Wayne is a photographer that shares his travels and outdoor adventures as #latergrams. His feed is gorgeous scenes in wild and beautiful places mixed the occasional cityscape. From Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to Mount Pilchuck, we’re grateful to follow along.  

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