My Darling Passport
My Darling Passport is a travel and lifestyle blog that chronicles colorful adventures, fashion finds and latest must-haves. I focus on creating travel guides, sharing vacation tips, writing hotel and product reviews and sharing my current obsessions in the lifestyle space. I hope you find some inspiration here!
I’m Caitlin, the girl behind My Darling Passport. I live in New York City and am an alumna of Fordham University and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. I absolutely love exploring faraway lands and sharing my experiences, photographs and advice with readers.
My love of traveling started at a young age. In high school my parents decided to take a trip to Chile to visit a family friend, and I asked to plan the trip! I spent hours online researching the best itineraries, finding the most charming hotels and looking up local restaurants. That desire to explore and craft the perfect vacation has never left. In college I studied abroad in Seville, Spain, an experience that further shaped me as a traveler and as a planner.
I started My Darling Passport in 2017 with the goal of marrying my love of journalism with my love of travel. I hope My Darling Passport inspires you to book that trip and have an adventure. I believe there is nothing more rewarding or enriching than leaving the comfort of your home and experiencing a new land, a new culture, a new cuisine. I hope My Darling Passport educates and informs you. I pour everything I have learned on past trips into my travel guides, I add secrets and first-hand tips to my Instagram guides and I carefully research my hotel and destination reviews. I hope My Darling Passport encourages you to connect and share your own stories and your own travel advice.
Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. My Darling Passport is part of several affiliate advertising programs. If you click and/or make a purchase through certain links on this site or any related social media platforms, I may make a commission from it. Sponsored posts will always be disclosed and all images are property of My Darling Passport unless noted.
Frequently Asked Questions
I use a Sony a7R II. The two lenses I alternate between are 50mm and 28mm. This blog post goes into depth about my gear, and I share recommendations for a beginner.
I edit my photos in Adobe Lightroom, using the desktop version. I really rely on Lightroom to take my photos “to the next level” and recommend that any blogger or photography get a subscription to the desktop version. There is also a mobile version but I find the functionality to be better on desktop.
My biggest piece of advice is to just START! Analysis paralysis is a real thing, and if you get stuck on how to start you never will. The beginning will be bumpy but learning as you grow is key. Watch YouTube tutorials, join Facebook groups for bloggers and make connections with others in your industry. This blog post has lots of advice on starting a blog.
Travel has always been incredibly important to me. I spent a summer in high school in England, and studied abroad in Spain in college, and found those experiences to be extremely transformative. I also found myself seeking out unique spots and “best things to do” while on my travels, and then giving that advice and my recommendations to friends and family. I love turning people onto great destinations and experiences, and knew I wanted to do that for a larger audience, so I started a blog and Instagram. It was a huge learning curve but I stuck with it and have grown it over the years.
I have a traditional 9-5 in addition to my blog. I went to college and graduate school and working in a traditional corporate setting was important to me. I’ve learned a lot from working in the corporate world that has helped me to be successful in the blogging world. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to successfully manage doing both throughout the years.
My background is in journalism and television news. I went to undergrad at Fordham University where I majored in Communications and History. I interned each semester at different news organizations- WFUV Radio, NBC, CBS and ABC. After college I got my master’s degree at Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism. I worked at NBC for a few years, before pivoting into PR and growing my blog.
The main ways I make money from my blog are through brand collaborations (a brand will pay me to promote their product/service on one of my platforms), freelance writing (I’m a freelance travel writer for other media organizations) and affiliate marketing (when someone makes a purchase through a link I provide I make a small commission, at no extra expense to them).
It’s not easy to grow a following on Instagram, but with persistence and dedication it’s possible! My biggest tips are to create high quality content (buy a real camera and learn how to use it, get Lightroom to edit and provide value in your image and captions) and engage a lot (commenting, liking and DMing others in your industry and people who may be interested in your content). It will take a lot of time- patience and hard work are key here.
Ollie is my three year old Mini Australian Shepherd. I take her on trips as much as I can. You’ll see her make frequent appearances in photos!