GET TO KNOW GORDON TRAVELS
GET TO KNOW
GORDON TRAVELS
I Find the Stories Nobody Else Is Looking For.
Always somewhere off the beaten path.
I Find the Stories Nobody Else Is Looking For.
Always somewhere off the beaten path.
Who Am I?
I’m Gordon — and I’ve been wandering since I was a kid.
I don’t make travel content about destinations. I make it about people. The baker keeping a 300-year-old wood-fired oven burning. The sculptor fighting to preserve a dying trade nobody else is documenting. The fishing village 20 minutes from the tourist strip that feels like it belongs to a different century.
I come from Malta — one of the smallest countries in the world, with more history per square kilometre than almost anywhere else. Growing up there taught me to look closely. To find what’s underneath. That instinct goes with me everywhere I travel.
Who Am I?
I’m Gordon — and I’ve been wandering since I was a kid.
I don’t make travel content about destinations. I make it about people. The baker keeping a 300-year-old wood-fired oven burning. The sculptor fighting to preserve a dying trade nobody else is documenting. The fishing village 20 minutes from the tourist strip that feels like it belongs to a different century.
I come from Malta — one of the smallest countries in the world, with more history per square kilometre than almost anywhere else. Growing up there taught me to look closely. To find what’s underneath. That instinct goes with me everywhere I travel.
How it started
In 1993, I took my first ever flight. I was in the window seat, watching Malta shrink below the clouds, and I didn’t want to look away.
That was it. That was the moment.
In 2001 I moved to Perthshire, Scotland to work as an apprentice chef. I was alone, away from my family, surrounded by people from places I’d never heard of. I had a Canon IXUS 2 compact camera and I photographed everything — the markets, the kitchens, the landscapes, the people I met on days off. There was no social media. No one was watching. I just didn’t want to forget any of it.
As cameras got smaller and video got better, photos stopped feeling like enough. I wanted to remember the sound of things. The way a place moved. I started making short travel edits for myself — rough cuts, no audience, just a record.
I had no idea that would eventually become this.
How it started
In 1993, I took my first ever flight. I was in the window seat, watching Malta shrink below the clouds, and I didn’t want to look away.
That was it. That was the moment.
In 2001 I moved to Perthshire, Scotland to work as an apprentice chef. I was alone, away from my family, surrounded by people from places I’d never heard of. I had a Canon IXUS 2 compact camera and I photographed everything — the markets, the kitchens, the landscapes, the people I met on days off. There was no social media. No one was watching. I just didn’t want to forget any of it.
As cameras got smaller and video got better, photos stopped feeling like enough. I wanted to remember the sound of things. The way a place moved. I started making short travel edits for myself — rough cuts, no audience, just a record.
I had no idea that would eventually become this.
The Journey
In October 2019, I went to Latvia and made my first proper travel vlogs. When I got back to Malta, I watched them back and thought: this is what I want to do.
So I started. Not with a plan or a strategy — just a camera and a decision to show up.
I focused first on Malta. The island I’d grown up in and somehow never properly documented. The chapels no one visits. The craftspeople keeping old trades alive. The food that tells the whole history of the Mediterranean in one bite. I made over 250 videos before I even thought of myself as a creator.
Then Latvia again. Tunisia. Poland. Scotland. Vietnam. Ha Long Bay at 5am before any other boat arrived. A lantern maker in a Hoi An back alley who’d been at it for 35 years with no apprentice. A fisherman in Malta who knew the name of every family in every village along the south coast.
By April 2025, my content had been watched more than 3 million times. That number still surprises me. What doesn’t surprise me is why — because I’m not making content about places. I’m making it about people. And people recognise people.
The Journey
In October 2019, I went to Latvia and made my first proper travel vlogs. When I got back to Malta, I watched them back and thought: this is what I want to do.
So I started. Not with a plan or a strategy — just a camera and a decision to show up.
I focused first on Malta. The island I’d grown up in and somehow never properly documented. The chapels no one visits. The craftspeople keeping old trades alive. The food that tells the whole history of the Mediterranean in one bite. I made over 250 videos before I even thought of myself as a creator.
Then Latvia again. Tunisia. Poland. Scotland. Vietnam. Ha Long Bay at 5am before any other boat arrived. A lantern maker in a Hoi An back alley who’d been at it for 35 years with no apprentice. A fisherman in Malta who knew the name of every family in every village along the south coast.
By April 2025, my content had been watched more than 3 million times. That number still surprises me. What doesn’t surprise me is why — because I’m not making content about places. I’m making it about people. And people recognise people.
For Reno
My passion for travel was partly inspired by my late father, Reno.
He travelled widely. He came back with stories. He was my biggest supporter when I decided to chase this dream — even before there was anything to support.
Every trip I take, I take with him somewhere in it.
For Reno
My passion for travel was partly inspired by my late father, Reno.
He travelled widely. He came back with stories. He was my biggest supporter when I decided to chase this dream — even before there was anything to support.
Every trip I take, I take with him somewhere in it.
What I Believe
I believe travel is only worth doing if you slow down enough to actually see where you are.
The tourist version of any place is always a simplified one. The real version — the one with texture and contradiction and history — is always slightly harder to find. That’s the version I’m after.
I make content because I want to show people that the world is more interesting than the highlight reel. That the baker and the sculptor and the fisherman are as worth knowing as any landmark. That a tiny island in the Mediterranean has more stories in it than most people would spend a lifetime finding.
I’m still finding them.
What I Believe
I believe travel is only worth doing if you slow down enough to actually see where you are.
The tourist version of any place is always a simplified one. The real version — the one with texture and contradiction and history — is always slightly harder to find. That’s the version I’m after.
I make content because I want to show people that the world is more interesting than the highlight reel. That the baker and the sculptor and the fisherman are as worth knowing as any landmark. That a tiny island in the Mediterranean has more stories in it than most people would spend a lifetime finding.
I’m still finding them.
Favourite Places (so far)
25+ countries in and I still get asked the same question: which one was your favourite?
Honest answer: the favourite is always the last one I was in. But if I had to pick places that changed something in me — Spain for its warmth, Scotland for making me independent, Latvia for being where this all started, Tunisia for catching me completely off guard, and always Malta for reminding me that the most interesting place on earth is the one you think you already know.
Favourite Places (so far)
25+ countries in and I still get asked the same question: which one was your favourite?
Honest answer: the favourite is always the last one I was in. But if I had to pick places that changed something in me — Spain for its warmth, Scotland for making me independent, Latvia for being where this all started, Tunisia for catching me completely off guard, and always Malta for reminding me that the most interesting place on earth is the one you think you already know.
Curiosities - The Questions I Get Asked
You’ve already read the formal part of my story, but here are some fun and quirky curiosities people often ask me — and my honest answers!
Haggis in Scotland. Creamier than expected — with swede and whiskey sauce, it was genuinely good. I’d order it again.
Yes — in the middle of Tunis, Tunisia. No Google Maps, narrow streets everywhere. It wasn’t my finest navigation moment. It was also one of the best afternoons of the trip.
A tiny rope. It sounds odd, but it’s come in useful more times than I can count — hanging laundry, tying things down, improvising in ways I won’t go into.
Sunset. Partly because I’m usually still editing at 2am and not awake for sunrise. Partly because nothing beats the golden hour light. Mostly both.
Window, always. I film the view and quietly pretend I’m the pilot.
Once, in Rome. The train from Termini was delayed by over an hour. We arrived as the gate was literally closing — my luggage handle broke, I went to the wrong terminal, and that was that. Worth it? Yes, actually.
I was trying to film in vlogging mode and pose for a photo with football legend Patrice Evra at the same time. Security was confused. Patrice was confused. I smiled and kept moving. I got the shot. That’s what matters.
Constantly — in Spain, Italy, and even in Malta. A TV presenter once told me I looked Spanish on air. My face seems to fit everywhere until I start talking.
Beaches. I grew up on an island surrounded by sea. It feels like home no matter which coast I’m on.
Cooking. I was a chef in my 20s. Cooking is storytelling — you take ingredients with a history and turn them into something people remember. I just swapped the kitchen for a camera.
FOR BRANDS — LET'S WORK TOGETHER
If you're a brand looking to reach an audience of independent, culturally curious travellers — the kind of people who actually act on recommendations — I'd like to talk. I offer sponsored content, destination campaigns, product integrations and long-term ambassadorships. My content has driven 380K+ views for a single local brand campaign. My Facebook engagement rate is 77%, significantly above the industry average. I only work with brands I'd use myself. That's not a disclaimer — it's why the partnerships work.
New videos every week — people, food, hidden places, and the occasional very bad navigation decision.
Curiosities - The Questions I Get Asked!
You’ve already read the formal part of my story, but here are some fun and quirky curiosities people often ask me — and my honest answers!
Haggis in Scotland. Creamier than expected, and with swede and whiskey sauce, it made an unexpectedly good dish. I’ll crave again if I’m in Scotland again.
Yes — in the middle of Tunis, Tunisia. No Google Maps, narrow streets everywhere. It wasn’t my finest navigation moment. It was also one of the best afternoons of the trip.
A tiny rope. It sounds odd, but it’s come in useful more times than I can count — hanging laundry, tying things down, improvising in ways I won’t go into.
Sunset. Partly because I’m usually still editing at 2am and not awake for sunrise. Partly because nothing beats the golden hour light. Mostly both.
Window, always. I film the view and quietly pretend I’m the pilot.
Once, in Rome. The train from Termini was delayed by over an hour. We arrived as the gate was literally closing — my luggage handle broke, I went to the wrong terminal, and that was that. Worth it? Yes, actually.
I was trying to film in vlogging mode and pose for a photo with football legend Patrice Evra at the same time. Security was confused. Patrice was confused. I smiled and kept moving. I got the shot. That’s what matters.
Constantly — in Spain, Italy, and even in Malta. A TV presenter once told me I looked Spanish on air. My face seems to fit everywhere until I start talking.
Beaches. I grew up on an island surrounded by sea. It feels like home no matter which coast I’m on.
Cooking. I was a chef in my 20s. Cooking is storytelling — you take ingredients with a history and turn them into something people remember. I just swapped the kitchen for a camera.
For Brands - Let's Work Together
If you're a brand looking to reach an audience of independent, culturally curious travellers — the kind of people who actually act on recommendations — I'd like to talk. I offer sponsored content, destination campaigns, product integrations and long-term ambassadorships. My content has driven 380K+ views for a single local brand campaign. My Facebook engagement rate is 77%, significantly above the industry average. I only work with brands I'd use myself. That's not a disclaimer — it's why the partnerships work.
Subscribe to My YouTube Channel
Keep the Stories Coming
New videos every week — people, food, hidden places, and the occasional very bad navigation decision.
FOLLOW MY JOURNEY
Who is Gordon Travels?
Hi, I’m Gordon, and I got my first taste for traveling when I was 11 years old. On my own, at 16 years of age and after 23+ something countries later, my wanderlust has only grown and the list of countries I want to visit longer. After living in Scotland and Spain and returning home, I started creating content in Malta, where I am currently based, but creating content worldwide is next. Follow my explorations as I wander, eat, chatter and make my way around the world.
Get Inspired!
- Meeting Malta’s Strongman, Tony Farrugia | Raw Uncut Interview & Feats of Strength
- $14 Ftira Pizza Cooked in a 300 Year Old Traditional Wood Oven 🇲🇹
- STOP Missing Out on Malta’s Most Breathtaking Views!
- I Met the Maltese Sculptor Who Is Fighting To Preserve A Dying Trade 🇲🇹
- The MOST Camera Friendly People | Malta Chapel Hunt in Siggiewi (PART 1) 🇲🇹
Gordon Travels © Copyright 2026