The Travel Collective
Where writing meets the world
The Spirit of Travel, Year-Round
Don’t you wish you had a group of sidekicks you could travel the world with?
Imagine being part of a band of storytellers who globetrot to the earth’s far corners. When you’re not horseback-riding through Patagonia or taking in the Mediterranean breeze from the bow of a Turkish gulet, you’re scheming, brainstorming, leveling up your travel skills, and publishing stories from your travels—together.
That’s what the Travel Collective is.
Each month, we host virtual summits that enhance your travel knowledge, boost your confidence, and enrich your ability to engage more deeply with the world.
On forums and virtual “travel hour” calls, you can connect with members and find like-minded travelers—whether your interests include eco-tourism, culinary escapades, or LGBTQ-friendly getaways.
All this lays the foundation for a community you want to travel with—the ultimate goal.
Which brings us to the last point: Want to go on group trips without the first-day-of-school jitters? Writing with Jenna Trips are only open to trusted Travel Collective members, so you’re never traveling with strangers.
Whether you’re on a trip or stuck at home, you’re always traveling in spirit—with a pretty cool community having your back. Together, we’ll create a vibrant community whose love of travel and storytelling intertwines, celebrating the diverse narratives that shape our shared experiences.
What to Look Forward To
Membership in a vibrant global travel community
Registration access to all Writing with Jenna Trips
Full access to the Travel Resource Vault and monthly newsletter
Opportunities to publish your work and land paid travel writing and photography gigs with our partners
Quarterly giveaways—including free flights, hotels, and gear!
Within each journey
is a story worth writing.
Travel like a writer, not a tourist.
This is no ordinary vacation—it’s a storyteller’s pilgrimage, and the journey of a lifetime.
Grab your notebook, and let’s go! Each day we'll set out on a new adventure. With inquiry guiding us, we'll write our way through a new place, then turn our notes into rich, relatable tales. Come away from each trip having written a truly authentic story that embodies a place’s complexities and our unique experiences.
We document the places we’ve been—and the transformations we’ve undergone.
We’ll live our inner and outer journeys, moment to moment, and write our stories together. Travel writing isn’t just about cataloging a trip—it's about transforming our experiences and observations into powerful narratives.
These journeys will challenge the headlines you read and push you to be a better writer and a better citizen of the world. You'll learn to write unflinching, honest, compelling, life-changing stories. There’s no substitute for learning out in the world and reporting from the ground. With the world at our fingertips, we’ll find its pulse and share it.
*Writing with Jenna partners with thoroughly vetted tour operators to ensure a smooth and culturally responsible trip.
Who We’ll Meet
First and foremost, we always partner up with our favorite local guides—experts who can lead us deeper into the culture than most, get us behind the scenes, and help us understand a place’s cultural and linguistic nuances. Often, our guides are artists themselves, and it’s fairly common for us to end up in the living room of one of their well-known friends at the end of an evening. We’ll also dine with local chefs, have tea with historians and policymakers, interview designers, and write with local writers—and we’ll do it all with Travel Collective members of all backgrounds.
What We’ll Do
We approach our trips as writers, not tourists, so we’ll begin our mornings with a writing session, then lay out our reporting goals. Then we’ll head into the field! Our days will include thought-provoking discussions with local experts, exciting explorations, and serendipitous discoveries; we’ll jot in our notebooks along the way. Evenings close with reflective exercises, to help us process our experiences and put them into words.
On the Horizon
Turkey
Daydream and journal while cruising the Mediterranean.
Japan
Connect with your inner author along Japan’s pilgrim routes.
Tunisia
Master the travel journal with Tunis’s story keepers.
Patagonia
Ride and write your way through Torres del Paine.
The Arctic Circle
Rewrite the story of The Arctic.
?
Decide where else we go by joining the Travel Collective.
How It Works
1.
Fill out the application—it’s free to apply and takes less than10 minutes!
2.
All applications are thoroughly reviewed by the Writing with Jenna Travel Collective Board within 30 days. Please note that this is a competitive process, as we strive to build a valued collective of people who can demonstrate that they will uphold our community guidelines.
3.
Activate your membership by paying the annual $145 fee. (This fee goes toward the Collective’s programming, operating costs, and scholarship—and when you join a WWJ trip, your annual fee is waived!)
4.
Once your membership is activated, you have full access to the Travel Collective community, resources, and programming!
5.
Join the online discussion groups, connect with new travel buddies, get advice from experts and community members, submit your writing and photography to publications and brands, and sign up for a trip of a lifetime!
**Still have questions? Read our FAQ section here.
What People Are Saying
“Transformational.”
“Jenna’s writing retreat in Turkey was one of the most educational, connected, and transformational experiences I’ve ever had. Jenna’s itinerary struck the right balance of history, culture, food, entertainment, and relaxation necessary for a well-rounded trip—and also provided plenty of subject matter for a range of travel essays. Every detail of our trip was impeccably organized and her network of contacts, from journalists to doctors to diplomats, provided welcomed insights about the culture, history, and social climate of Turkey. I love how Jenna drew from her extensive journalistic experience and acumen to help guide our narratives so that they would truly shine. I would absolutely go on another one of Jenna’s trips and would recommend her writing retreat in Turkey to anyone wanting to venture into an immersive travel writing experience!”
— Stefanie Hoffman
“Life-Changing.”
“Whether you are an experienced travel writer or have aspirations of becoming one, Jenna’s workshops are not to be missed. The course materials are particularly well organized and thoughtfully aligned to each day’s activities. As a leader, Jenna is very personable (heart) and professional (head), and every person she introduced to our group was of an equally high caliber. This is not just a learning experience, but a life experience as well. The daily activities are stellar and thought-provoking, and the highlight of each day is usually when Jenna says, “I have a surprise for you!” Friendships and connections you make here will last long beyond the end of your workshop. I cannot wait to join Jenna on another adventure in travel and writing. My personal experience was truly life-changing, and I’m sure I speak for our whole group when I say we would follow her anywhere.”
— Mona Helen Renney
“Extraordinary.”
“The structure of the workshop, the way the trip was organized, the places we visited, the culinary experiences, the people we met—everything had the ability to transport us to another universe. My heart and soul are full of memories that will make me happy for the next days, months, years… There was time for reflection and contemplation but also opportunities to fully live all the amazing experiences that this trip offers. The writing time helped us process all those emotions that came with the trip, and Jenna guided us through ordering our thoughts into a narrative thread to give them meaning. Thank you, Jenna, for your extraordinary work, coaching, and for this amazing opportunity. Everything that happens to us changes us. This experience is integrated in my soul. ”
— Isela Gomez
