Finding Unlikely Travel Inspiration Online

I'm the kind of nerd who takes out travel books from the library and reads them for fun, but I also pull a lot of inspiration from online sources. While I follow a few travel blogs intermittently, today I'd like to share some of my favourite unlikely online sources for travel inspiration.

Geneva Vanderzeil of A Pair & A Spare is an Australian living in Hong Kong. While she mostly features fashion DIYs, she sometimes shares recommendations from her travels around the world. It's because of her guide to Hanoi that I recently added Vietnam to my (already way too long) must-visit list.

I am obsessed with the Sneak Peek feature on Design Sponge (as are most rational, design-loving humans). Although most of the spaces are in the United States, occasionally they'll feature an international home. Recently, they posted photos of The Efendi Hotel in Acre. Like Vietnam, Israel is a country I'd never given much thought to visiting before, but the airy Ottoman romance and Mediterranean breezes of this port city have me hooked. I'd wake up sandwiched between those white sheets tomorrow if I could.

And finally, Instagram is a huge source of travel inspiration for me. In particular, Mike and Megan Gilger have me wanting to follow them all around the world (would that be creepy?) from Raleigh to New Orleans to Capetown, and Paul Octavious and Hide Obara have me psyched to re-visit Chicago in the spring.

What are your favourite internet sources for travel inspiration? I'm always happy to find new travel distractions.

(Photos from A Pair & A Spare and Design Sponge, respectively.)