Category Descriptions
Adventure Travel
The best story of high adventure, danger, or physical challenge
Animal Encounter
The best account of meeting snakes, elephants, rhinos, gorillas, birds, or other creatures
Bad Trip
The best account of when things go wrong, or the shadow side of a culture or individual
Cruise Story
The best account of a trip on the water in any vessel, from the smallest kayak to the largest ship
Culture and Ideas
The best story or essay about how art, history, currents events, fashion, or music affected a traveler or a trip
Destination Story
The best story about a place that captures its essence and reveals its attractions, making the reader want to go there
Doing Good or the Kindness of Strangers
The most inspiring tale of aid, comfort, philanthropy, or caring for others in faraway places, or of being the recipient of a stranger’s largesse
Elder Travel
The best story from a traveler 65 years of age or older
Family Travel
The best story about traveling with family of all generations grandparents, parents, children, cousins, siblings or journeying to discover roots
Funny Travel
The funniest account of a misadventure or an essay about how the world can make us laugh at ourselves and those around us
Love Story
The best account of love or romance on the road
Men’s Travel
The best account by a man of a testosterone-fueled encounter or experience on the road
Most Unforgettable Character
The story that best captures how one individual or group of people affected a traveler in a meaningful way
Travel and the Environment
The best story about ecology, development, or environmental issues as they affect travel
Travel and Food
The best story where food or drink plays a role in introducing the traveler to a foreign culture or new friends
Travel and Healing
The best story about visits with shamans, healers, holy men and women, or holy sites in search of a cure for illness or psychological malady
Travel Memoir
The best story that draws heavily on the writer’s past to make a point or reveal the lessons of a lifetime
Travel and Shopping
The best account of a shopping, bargaining, or haggling experience in a market, bazaar, outlet, or mall, anywhere in the world
Travel and Sports
The best account of a sports activity while traveling, such as climbing, rafting, sailing, trekking, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, skiing, baseball, Frisbee, polo, basketball
Travel and Transformation
The best story about the inner journey or pilgrimage, whether religious, mystical, psychological, or emotional
Women’s Travel
The best account by a woman of an encounter or experience on the road