Welcome to another exciting LUXE Global interview blog featuring Julia Stella, a digital creator specializing in luxury travel, known as @iamjuliastella on Instagram. Julia has established herself as a prominent figure in the travel industry, captivating audiences with her exquisite taste and impeccable attention to detail.
In this interview, we delve into Julia's journey as a luxury travel blogger and gain insights into her daily work routine, top European destinations for a memorable summer vacation, her upcoming trips, and her bucket list countries.
Furthermore, Julia generously shares her advice for aspiring travel bloggers and content creators. So, let's embark on this captivating conversation with Julia Stella, as she takes us on a journey through the world of luxury travel.
How did you become a luxury travel blogger and get to where you are today?
I have always been a dreamer and wanted to travel the world since childhood. When I grew up, I started exploring different countries and felt connected to Europe and Asia. When traveling, I always took many photos and one day my husband asked me "Would you like to try posting them on Instagram?" I never thought of becoming a blogger and didn't even have IG account. I decided to give it a try and after few posts I noticed people’s interest, so I continued. Since I was a fan of luxury travel before and loved to stay in luxury hotels, it was clear that luxury travel would become my niche. I started my blog in 2020 just for fun and curiosity and suddenly started collaborating with the best hotels in the world.
Tell us why you love what you do.
I love being a luxury travel blogger because it is what I always loved to do, travel, and share my experience and also because I meet a lot of interesting people around the world.
What does your daily work routine look like?
When I collaborate with the hotel, my daily routine looks like this: I wake up early in the morning, do makeup and style my hair, and choose different outfits for shooting with breakfast in the room. When breakfast arrives, I never eat it, first I have to prepare the content, and since I am a perfectionist, it will take some time until I am satisfied with the photos and videos. I usually take pictures in different outfits with the same breakfast and create different content. I would say it takes me about 20-40 minutes to shoot. After I finish shooting, I enjoy breakfast, I try to order only those dishes that can be eaten cold. After breakfast, I can go to the pool or explore the hotel to take other pictures and videos, but it always depends on the hotel program, because sometimes hotels like to give me different experiences and then I follow the plan and show in my stories how I spend the day at the hotel. So, basically, I would say that my daily routine at the hotel starts with filming and ends with it. I love showing real experiences when I travel rather than creating only instagrammable content.
My daily routine at home looks like this: I check all the content I created during my last trip and choose the best one for my social network and the hotels' social media. I edit photos and videos, I post, and write blog articles on my website www.atravelgirl.com, I also choose photos for my online shop with prints, but it takes much longer for editing since they must be perfect not only online, but also on paper. I reply to emails and plan my next trips too.
Focusing on Summer in Europe this month, what are some of your top destinations in Europe that you recommend for a memorable summer vacation, and why?
Personally, I think that a memorable summer vacation can be spent almost anywhere in Europe, but my favourites will be Italy, especially Tuscany, Sardinia, South Tyrol and Sicily, South of France, such as Cote D'azur and Corsica, and Switzerland.
What are some lesser-known hidden gems in Europe that you believe offer an extraordinary luxury travel experience in the summer, away from the more popular tourist destinations?
This is quite a difficult question, since Europe is so small and popular with tourists from all over the world, and most of the places are already known. If you want to visit more unusual places in Europe with luxury experiences, I would definitely recommend thinking about Switzerland, Tuscany and the French Alps, they are not as crowded as classic Mediterranean destinations, but very beautiful and offer extraordinary luxury experiences. Most of the people visiting Italy stop in Florence when they go to Tuscany, but this region is so unique that it can offer much more than historical cities and actually is my favourite region in Italy. I personally love going to Tuscany countryside, they have amazing luxury hotels in vineyards, it is a very relaxing experience, you can try local wine and food, enjoy a day by the pool and explore this beautiful region by car. If you want to visit Switzerland I would suggest you choose a luxury hotel by the lake or in the Alps, it is an absolutely fantastic experience, Switzerland has many amazing luxury wellness options. It is a perfect way to relieve stress and enjoy nature. There are also lots of Michelin Guide restaurants and golf fields in Switzerland, you will not get bored. The other destination that I would recommend in Europe is the French Alps, excellent service, beautiful views, luxury hotels with outdoor pools and some of the best restaurants in France. It is also a relaxing experience, but you can always make it more fun with sport activities, for example golf and tennis.
Do you have any exciting trips coming up and could you tell us more?
In July and August, I will be in Switzerland and Italy, and from September I will have other exciting trips, which you can see if you follow me.
List the top 3 countries on your bucket list and why?
In Europe, I have only one country on my list, Sweden, since I have already visited other countries in Europe that I wanted to visit. I have Swedish friends and I'm just curious to see this country. The other top 2 countries on my list outside of Europe are Costa Rica and Brazil. I love nature, animals and Bossa Nova, I think these two countries have a lot to offer, and I'm looking forward to exploring them soon! I want to mention one more is South Africa! Same reasons, nature, animals, and culture. However, I have a big bucket list that includes countries on different continents.
Any advice for someone wanting to become a travel blogger and content creator?
Be ready to have many competitors, especially in the travel niche. There are always coming new faces and it can be challenging sometimes. I don't think it is a good idea to quit your job and start from zero, in my opinion, is too risky, as it is not very easy to start earning at the beginning, to many bloggers it takes years before they start to have regular income from their blog. Instagram is changing all the time, so you have to be flexible and creative. Be ready to hear "No" from hotels and brands, not everyone would like to collaborate with you, it is normal, just accept it and continue. I recommend always to take 1 month off from social networks to rest and enjoy your offline life, there are many creators who do not do this and experience emotional burnout. If your goal is to become a popular blogger, just believe in yourself and be passionate about what you share with the audience, if you are honest and authentic your people will find you.
