Ashlea Halpern
Verified
(She/Her)
As seen in:
Condé Nast Traveler,
Apple Podcasts,
Medium,
MSN,
MSN Canada,
The New York Times,
Yahoo Life,
Bloomberg News,
Buy Side WSJ,
Forbes,
MSN France
and
Covers:
Under-the-radar destinations; luxury and boutique hotels, cruise lines, and travel outfitters; art, culture, food & drink, shopping, adventure, wellness, entrepreneurship, and toddler/family travel.
✍️ Contributing editor at @cntraveler, @TIME, @afarmedia, and @OprahDaily
🏆 @TravMediaUSA Travel Writer of the Year 2026
💌 ashlea.halpern@gmail.com
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Assistant editor at Magnet Magazine
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, but not for filing real work.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email only. Please don't DM me on social media.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram
Who do you wish followed you?
A small band of puppies.
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I love helping people explore the world.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Not newspaper, but I was the Editor in Chief of my high school yearbook.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
An early cover story on eunuch and transgender culture in America.
When's the best time to pitch you?
When you have a great idea.
What's your favorite drink?
Unsweetened iced tea by day, Vieux Carré by night.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Traveling the world, of course.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New York Times, New York Magazine, Monocle, Apartment Therapy.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Travel writing = dream job. It's pretty awesome, for sure, but no job is as perfect as it appears on social media.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.