Destination Story
The best story about a place that captures its essence and reveals its attractions, making the reader want to go there

Adventure Travel
The best story of high adventure, danger, or physical challenge

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

Women’s Travel
The best account by a woman of an encounter or experience on the road

Bad Trip
The best account of when things go wrong, or the shadow side of a culture or individual

Travel and Transformation
The best story about the inner journey or pilgrimage, whether religious, mystical, psychological, or emotional

Travel and Food
The best story where food or drink plays a role in introducing the traveler to a foreign culture or new friends

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

Culture and Ideas
The best story or essay about how art, history, currents events, fashion, or music affected a traveler or a trip

Family Travel
The best story about traveling with family of all generations—grandparents, parents, children, cousins, siblings—or journeying to discover roots

Love Story: The best account of love or romance on the road

Cruise Story: The best account of a trip on the water in any vessel, from the smallest kayak to the largest ship

Most Unforgettable Character: The story that best captures how one individual or group of people affected a traveler in a meaningful way

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 Shopping: The best account of a shopping, bargaining, or haggling experience in a market, bazaar, outlet, or mall, anywhere in the world

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

Elder Travel: The best story from a traveler 65 years of age or older

Young Traveler: The best story from a young person (aged 18-25) taking time off to travel between high school and college, or during breaks

Animal Encounter: The best account of meeting snakes, elephants, rhinos, gorillas, birds, or other creatures

Men’s Travel: The best account by a man of a testosterone-fueled encounter or experience on the road