Our Story
WIGO Trips began as a private newsletter passed between a small group of friends. Most of us had spent years in different industries, but we shared one habit: when we travelled, we would skip the headline attractions and walk in the opposite direction. The newsletter was a way to share what we found there. Eventually it grew larger than we could send by email, and so this magazine was built.
The company is based in Bismarck, North Dakota, an unlikely editorial address that fits us. We are not in a media capital. We work with a small global network of correspondents who file from where they live, not from press trips.
What WIGO Means
Wild, because we are drawn to places that have not been smoothed over for visitors. Intelligent, because we want travel writing to respect both the reader and the place. Global, because curiosity is not a regional thing. Odyssey, because the best trips are the ones that change what you thought you were looking for.
Why We Explore Differently
Most travel media is organised around lists, deals, and superlatives. We are organised around questions. Why is this town here. Who built this strange museum. What does this railway connect, and what did it used to connect. These are slower questions, and they tend to produce slower articles, which is the point.
We do not write about luxury resorts. We do not write about backpacker hostels. We write about the spaces between those two categories, which is most of the world.
How We Choose Places
A place earns coverage if it satisfies at least two of the following: it has a story that has not been told well in English, it can be visited responsibly without overwhelming the local community, and the editorial team has either visited or has a trusted correspondent who has. We do not accept money to feature places. Sponsored content, when we run it, is clearly labelled and never appears in the editorial archive.
Editorial Standards
Every article is fact-checked against at least two independent sources, and where possible, by a local reader. Mistakes happen anyway, and when they do, we correct them visibly. We list opening hours and prices only when we have confirmed them recently. We avoid superlatives that we cannot defend.
Responsible Travel Approach
We try to avoid contributing to overtourism. That means we sometimes choose not to publish about a fragile place, or we publish about it with a clear request that readers visit out of season. We encourage taking the train where the train exists. We encourage staying longer in fewer places. We disclose when an article was supported by a tourism board, which is rare.
Our Mission
To produce a slow, careful, useful travel magazine for curious people. To make the world feel a little larger and a little stranger than the algorithm suggests. To send readers home with one good idea and the address of a bakery they would otherwise never have found.
Travel for people who always want to know what is behind the next corner.
If you would like to write for us, or correct us, or recommend a place we have missed, the contact page is the way in. We read everything.