Travel Writing
Jane Wooldridge is a winner of the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year award, travel journalism’s highest honor. She is contributing editor for cruises for Travel+Leisure Magazine, the country’s top publication for affluent travel, and blogs occasionally at Five Stars to Under the Stars. She is also co-author of the 2011 National Geographic book, The 100 Best Affordable Vacations. Jane’s work has appeared in newspapers, magazines and websites throughout the English-speaking world, including the South China Morning Post, the Sydney Observer, The Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, the Oregonian, AAA Westways and Budget Travel Online. For a decade she was the Travel Editor at the Miami Herald Media Company and a contributor to the McClatchy-Tribune wire. Whether she’s choosing stories for publication or writing herself, Jane sees her role as a knowledgeable advisor who seeks to fairly evaluate experiences for the traveler for whom they are intended – not according to personal preferences or promotional hype. Specialties include cruises, Florida, Latin America, Asia and adventure travel.
Click here to read travel stories by Jane
Travel Photography
Jane Wooldridge’s evocative writing is accompanied byher eye-catching photography from destinations spanning the globe.
Click here to see samples of Jane’s photographic work
Broadcast Journalism
Jane Wooldridge is a popular TV guest who has appeared on The Today Show, The Travel Channel, My 33 (Miami), NBC-6 (Miami) and many radio shows, including Peter Greenberg Worldwide. She is host of Travel on Demand, broadcast on MiamiHerald.com and on Comcast’s “On Demand’’ channel in South Florida.
Live Events
Jane Wooldridge led creation of The Travel Experience, an innovative consumer expo featuring interactive experiences enabling show goers to test out hotel beds and airline seats, race to pack a carry-on suitcase, sample recipes from faraway places, practice digital photography skills, experience in mini exercise classes and spa treatements, and converse with experts on travel experiences from safaris to hip hotels. In her role as the Miami Herald’s Business Editor, she has created consumer events on real estate purchases and the local economy. She has organized programming for professional meetings, serving as program chair for the Travel Editors Council and professional development co-chair for the 2009 international convention of the Society of American Travel Writers.
Public Speaking
Professional organizations and travel companies often turn to Jane Wooldridge as a panelist and speakerxbecause of her humor and focused, articulate delivery. She has appeared at seminars arranged by the Society of American Travel Writers, the Travel Editors Council, Travel Classics Conference, Walt Disney World, Alaska Travel Industry Association, the University of Miami, Hyatt hotels and Ritz-Carlton. She speaks at community events including Rotary meetings, author chats at Books & Books and The Miami Book Fair.
Wanderlust
When she’s not traveling for business, Jane Wooldridge travels for herself. Her journeys — solo, with friends and with husband Stetson Glines and his three sons — have spanned six continents and 100+ countries, in styles ranging from Five Stars to Under the Stars. An unlikely adventurer from a family of nontravelers, her first solo trip abroad came at 26, when she journey alone to Hong Kong and learned firsthand the true rule of Asian capitalism: Everything is negotiable. She has driven cross-country alone (Miami to Seattle, 28 days, 4997 miles). Despite security procedures, she still loves to fly, believing the momentary headaches of negotiating airports is more than rewarded by the joy of her destination. Favorite places include Ubud, Bali; Mali’s Dogon Country; London; Portland, Ore.; and Virginia’s Skyline Drive. Her best trip ever: A three-week trip to South Africa. The first two weeks were spent on a $900 backpacker camping trip; the last week was spent at luxury resorts priced around $900 per day.