About

Learn about The Fairytale Traveler travel blog, what the “fairytale travel” travel style is, and about its founder & Editor in Chief, Christa Thompson. 

The Fairytale Traveler is a popular travel and lifestyle blog in its 10th year that focuses on travel, travel tips, life, budgeting, motherhood, products, reviews, gadgets, gift guides, films, music, live shows, and books. 

Inspired by the greatest stories ever told, The Fairytale Traveler travel blog publishes content curated for the fantasy, folklore, and mythology enthusiast as well as the practical “fancy-ish” mom.

Continue reading to learn more about The Fairytale Traveler.

Christa Thompson, Founder & Editor in Chief

Nice to meet you! I’m Christa, here’s a big virtual high-five, and what the heck, here’s a hug. I’m a big hugger! I’m also a huge geek. I think there’s a Comic-Con in my brain…at the very least there’s a unicorn.

I absolutely LOVE TV, film, mythology, and the obscure. In fact, it wasn’t a love of reading which started my obsession with geekdom, it was a love of great movies and amazing television that led me to the greatest literary works of all time.

I’m a complete product of the ’80s and 90s (the best decades ever to grow up in period), and I’ve always been a nostalgic person so, digging through old books and comics has become a favorite hobby of mine. 

Another favorite hobby I have is traveling! Building a travel & lifestyle blog inspired by books, film, TV, and mythology was a pretty obvious choice for me, and one which suited being a single mom to an intrepid little boy.

Why I Started Blogging

I’ve traveled since I was a child. There was nothing more exciting to me than hopping on a plane and going on an adventure.

When we stopped traveling I missed it sorely. I would actually pretend to travel in my backyard.

At twenty-three I had the opportunity to study abroad at the University of Cambridge in England. I’m no miss smarty pants, but I learned a thing or two about Darwin, the Romantics, and Ancient Egypt.

My biggest takeaway, however, was wanderlust. I could never quite shake it.

Some say it’s a genetic thing, something congenital which drives a person to explore. Whatever it is, it’s here to stay. So, when blogging began to change the landscape of digital media, I knew I had to be a part of it.

Launching a blog as a single mom wasn’t easy but I knew I wanted more out of life than just a 9-5 job. I found myself at a crossroads with a degree in Hospitality and Travel Tourism and a Certification in Surgical Technology.

I had just paid off my car and I knew if I was going to do something crazy well, I had better do it while my living expenses were minimal.

I did a bit of reflecting and decided life is too short and this world is far too interesting to sit in an operating room all day just to end up too exhausted to play with my little boy. 

So, I abandoned my medical ventures and decided to make it my life’s work to travel and enrich my son’s life with culture, amazing adventures, magic, and possibility. Ten years later, we’ve done some pretty epic stuff. 

About The Fairytale Traveler Travel Blog

The Fairytale Traveler travel blog is a niche, creative, whimsical, and fantastic approach to trip planning inspired by mythology, folklore, and literature that highlights historical places, places with a fairytale or ‘magical’ aesthetic, fantasy film locations, literary trails, and places shrouded in folklore and mythology. 

Alongside its niche of magical adventures, The Fairytale Traveler also features travel and lifestyle content for the practical mom with style.

Owned and operated by Fearless 13 Publishing, LLC, The Fairytale Traveler is managed by a small publishing team of Editor-in-Chief, Christa Thompson, Publishing Coordinator, Harjot Singh, SEO Manager, Tushar Savkar, and an occasional intern.

We work together to bring travel & lifestyle content to our US, UK, AU, EU, and IRE markets.

“Fairytale travel” offers travel ideas for solo travel, family travel, couples travel, adventure travel, and luxury travel while exploring the greatest stories ever told. There is something for every type of traveler whether you’re looking for personal growth, family enrichment, a romantic setting, or adventure.

It’s more than a trip, it’s a legend of your own.

Fairytale travel is a travel style for those seeking to have extraordinary stories to share, stories that will captivate the people they share them with and inspire a sense of adventure.

Our travel experiences, research, and expert interviews have allowed us to share destinations, accommodations, places of interest, historic places, and unique experiences where the memory of fascinating tales and legends are remembered.

Ever wonder what a real pirate treasure chest looks like? Maybe you’ve always dreamt of sleeping in an actual castle from medieval times or perhaps hiking to ancient megaliths known in fairy lore as passages to the otherworld. 

From Vikings to Robin Hood, creepy places to castle hotels, and every Grimm fairy tale in between, we are taking an unbelievable adventure around the world in search of magical, legendary, and historic places, princesses and pirate ships included.

Travel Style – Fairytale Travel

Whether you’re looking for a fairytale travel experience that takes you to the places tied to your favorite stories, books, or films, a luxury fairytale travel retreat that leaves you feeling like actual royalty, a fairytale travel outdoor adventure filled with hiking and breathtaking landscapes, or fairytale travel to historic places, there’s something for just about everyone here.

Here are some examples of fairytale travel adventures you can find on this blog:

The Brothers Grimm: Explore the historic places of the Brothers Grimm on a magical fairytale travel adventure. The Black Forest of Germany where ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ went to Grandmother’s house and where ‘Hansel and Gretel’ defeated an evil witch is a good place to start.

Classic Disney Fairytale Adaptations: Did you know that ten different castles inspired Disney Land’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’s Castle’? How about the real castle in Germany which claims its ties to the famous fairy tale? Many of the classic Disney movies we grew up on were adapted from fairy tales from around the world.

Uncover the real “Snow White Village” in Germany, find Pinocchio in Italy, and the legend of Mulan in China. You can even explore an African Safari like The Lion King.

Love Frozen? Take a trip to Norway and see the places that inspired the most profitable animated movie of all time, Frozen.

These travel ideas are peak fairytale travel adventures.

American Folklore, Cool History, Classic Literature and Legends: America is filled with folklore and legends that have inspired the greatest American tales ever told. From the moonshine folklore in the Appalachian Mountains to the compelling tales of the “wild, wild west”, America is filled with fairytale travel adventures!

Trace the Pirates of the Caribbean along the eastern seaboard, visit historic hotels where Bonnie and Clyde once stayed, you can even relive the Legend of Sleepy Hollow in Sleepy Hollow, NY. From coast to coast, to the mountain peaks, America is teeming with cool history and folklore just waiting to be explored.

Norse Mythology and Vikings: Dig deep into the roots of modern-day blockbusters like The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, hit T.V. series like Game of Thrones, Vikings, and comic book legends like the Marvel Universe characters Thor and Loki and you will find that it is all inspired by Norse Mythology.

From the “Poetic Edda” of the Volsunga Saga in Iceland, across the U.K. and Scandanavia, where stones over 1,000 years old are carved in Sigurd the Dragon Slayer’s name, the legends of Norse Mythology are rich in legacy and echo in modern-day tales.

Celtic Mythology, Irish Myths, and Lore: Celtic Pagans were among the last to be converted to Christianity as Ireland, England and Scotland were so hard to physically reach many years ago. This preserved Celtic Mythology, Irish Myths, and lore leaving a trail of sacred sites and mystery in Ireland and the UK. Some date back further than the pyramids! 

Game of Thrones and Fantasy Film Tourism: Game of Thrones fans will love to explore Game of Thrones film locations in Northern Ireland, Iceland, Croatia, Malta, and Spain. 

Fans of the hit series, The Vampire Diaries, and The Walking Dead, can geek out at their film locations in Georgia.

Medieval Places: Most of our fairy tale legends are based on the medieval period. Knights in shining armor and flawless princesses took center stage in medieval times.

European castles with gargoyle flare are reminders of the way things were when knights battled dragons and queens tried witches at fiery stakes.

If you’re looking for a medieval fairytale travel adventure then explore Europe’s medieval castles and villages. From castle hotels to museums and every torture device between, there are endless places to be discovered.

Fairy Sites and Mythical Creatures: In later Irish and English folklore, sacred megalithic sites are thought by some to be the entrances to the “Other World” where fairies live and no one ever grows old. Some megalithic sites in northern Europe are even thought of as tombs of giants!

There are traces of mythical creatures all over the world, even in places we have yet to explore. Whether you’re looking for elves in Iceland or sea monsters in Cyprus, take a fairytale travel trip to real places that are magical and breathtaking, and where legends are very much still alive today.

In Closing

If you’re looking for a fascinating way to travel that will leave you with the best travel stories no matter who you’re traveling with, live on the geekier side of life, love gadgets, adventure, and entertainment, then you’re in the right place. Fairytale travel is an adventure to be had by all.

I hope you find the inspiration you’re looking for!