• advice article: if your spouse, offspring, or best friend from college were going to the place you're writing about, what would you say? can be focused on a location, can include a roundup section, and definitely has personal experiences in it too.
• destination article: by far the easiest types to write and are always desirable to editors. places you want to share with others are the focus. sometimes confused with the round up, so here are some examples:
  • a destination article could be about maui. a round up could be an article about the islands of hawaii.
  • a destination article might be about coffee production in kenya. a round up article might focus on the specific farms or places to buy coffee in kenya.
  • a destination article would be about disneyworld. a round up article would be about the restaurants at disneyworld.
• how-to article: tells how to build, understand, work through, or do anything better. in travel writing, they tell readers how to get from point a to point b, how to shop for quality junk in the flea markets of paris, how to locate restrooms in any part of the world, or how to apply for a passport when you're leaving next week. usually use sidebars.
• personal experience article: sometimes known as travel essays. you cannot breeze through a location for a personal experience article, you must spend time there to live it and breathe it and feel the dynamics of the place
• round-up article: tells the places to visit, the restaurants not to miss, and the historic stuff to ingest. if you want to reduce the competition from other travel writers, take a special slant with your query and article. dig deeply and discover lesser-known details of a location.

specialty articles:

• adventure: could be slanted to outdoors or adventure magazines. never write adventure in strictly the male gender pronoun. if you're the daring type and can blend in personal experiences with your destinations, then adventure articles are your cup of tea.
• family articles: geared to the parents, grandparents, and caregivers of kids, from babyhood through age 15. can be roundups, personal experience, advice, how-to, and destination pieces.
• food articles: travel and food go together like peanut butter and jelly or cheese and wine. they're hot and marketable. if you can write about the destination and talk about the cuisine, you're well prepared for this genre. your work has to be more than "the food was good," it must trigger salivary glands into action.
  • readers want to know if the bread is crunchy on the outside and springy and doughy inside. they need to know if the szechwan at a certain chinese restaurant will merely warm the mouth or scorch the entire digestive system. they want to "see" the tables and the view and the other customers. they want to know the prices, and sample the menu. they want to know how to get there and insider tips.
• historical: when writing historical articles, triple check the facts. dig a bit more deeply than you would ordinarily do.
• humor: if you have the gift to tickle other people's funny bones and have a knack for recording what you experience when traveling, you can find a lucrative market. make sure your query letter gives a sample of humorous writing—you cannot just say: my article will be really funny. you must write funny.
• men and women's articles: geared to the tastes, interests, and fantasies of each sex. personal experience, advice, how-to, and destination articles can be slanted to these specific markets too.
• specialty articles: any group that wants to know more about where others travel who have the same interest or needs will read specialty articles.