Brandon Withrow

Just spent a week visiting the beautiful camps of @basecampexplorer in Kenya and seeing the wildlife of the Masai Mara and Mara Naboisho Conservancy. We experienced wildlife up close and learned more about the Maasai people. All of which will be in my story for The Daily Beast. Our extraordinary guide, @safarissteve , made us feel like family. I want to return not only for the animals, but also for the chance to hang with him again. I'll be posting more pics, but this one is my favorite so far and it encapsulates the experience for me. Use only with permission and credit. #basecampexplorerkenya #Masaimara #Kenyasafari #kenya #travelwriter #wildlife #travelphotography #adventure #livetheadventure #lifeofadventure #goseetheworld #wanderlust #outdoors #explore #naturelovers #nature #naturephotography #africa #lion #lionsmane #lions #animals

In continuing my favorite places from #2019, here's Naples, Italy. "Naples is curiously chaotic and, if I’m honest, a bit dilapidated. It certainly has a ‘lived-in’ look. It’s alive, it’s vibrant, it’s a little bit dirty, it’s busy, and I loved it. I felt like this was how Rome would probably have been 2,000 years ago. There’s a real bustle, and it’s down and dirty." – Paul Hollywood #travel #travelwriter #italy #naplesitaly #adventure #adventurewriters #water #city #seetheworld #city #citylife #naples #europe

I'm sitting at ATL after this multi-day journey from Antarctica and I still can't believe I hung out with penguins, even kayaked next to swimming penguins, in Antarctica. Gentoos penguins are incredibly adorable and I wanted to take one home. #penguins #penguin #MyVikingStory #vikingpolaris @vikingcruises #gentooopenguins #birdsofinstagram #antarctica #travelwriter #travel #tourism #travelphotography #adventure #adventurewriters #livetheadventure #lifeofadventure #goseetheworld #wanderlust #outdoors #explore #photography

I’m excited to finally get to do a feature at @coolmaterial about this overnight mushing trip (55 miles) I did last year with @squidacreskennel at Susitna Adventure Lodge. The lodge is run by an incredible couple, mushers Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe, who race in the Iditarod, Kuskokwim, and Yukon Quest and have built an off-the-grid lodge run on solar. Paige took third in the Iditarod last year and fourth this year, winning both the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award for the care of her dogs (2025) and Hilcorp Alaska Most Inspirational Musher Award (2026). Last year, I nominated them for USA Today’s 10Best and they won the top slot. I wanted to understand first hand what it’s like to mush with these incredible dogs who love to run and what drives those who want to preserve this way of travel. (As I was told, there are more dogs than people in Fairbanks.) I almost didn’t do it due to a knee injury, but I’m glad I did. You can see me trying to figure it out in my year end reel. I have other videos from that experience and I might try a short reel about it eventually. #alaska #mushing #dogsledding #iditarod

I had a brief afternoon in Heidelberg, Germany last year and it was barely enough to do more than walk and take photos, so I’m hoping for another chance to go back and get to know the city better. In the meantime, here are a few photos of the city and its crumbling (but being restored) castle. #heidelberg #heidelbergcastle #germany #travel

A blue-footed booby in the Galapagos was a lifer for me. Also, listen to the song I added; it's all about them. #bluefootedboobies #galapagos #birdsofinstagram #bird #birdphotography

Moon over Jasper from Summit Restaurant on top of Whistlers Mountain. I was there in October. It was a stunning view and sunset. #alberta #canada #jaspernationalpark #sunset #mountain @travelalberta

This is my 2025 year in travel wrapped. I gathered a bunch of clips from the year and tried to fit them within a 90-second video. In this you’ll see me running a dog team 55 miles in Alaska, chilling out Costa Rica, paragliding for the first time in Bellevue Washington, exploring prehistoric Galapagos, stomping around four European countries (Switzerland, France, Germany, Netherlands), which included 11+ cities (Basel, Eguisheim, France, Kaysersberg Vignoble, Venningen, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Rüdesheim, Koblenz, Cologne, and Amsterdam), kayaking in Madison, Wisconsin, finding even more things to do in Spokane, enjoying the beauty of Alberta and British Columbia, which included a lot of stops (such as Jasper National Park and Vancouver), and finally, exploring ice caves and going 4x4 in Iceland. It turned out to be a pretty busy year overall and the places I saw were amazing. The thing is, you never know from the posts of travel writers what their lives are really like and what they struggle with between these great trips (and even on them). For many (and sometimes preventable) reasons, I really did not like 2025 as a whole. It’s had more than a few lessons for me. From the start to finish, including injuring my knee badly mid-January, and re-injuring it all year—it’s hard to mush without real balance—the year did not go as I hoped. But when I’m feeling down, I love to escape back into these great moments by watching these videos. The world is an incredibly beautiful place, and I get to meet some wonderful people, and I’m grateful for the moments I get to explore it. There are a few quick cameos in here, like @mindyricewithrow , @_sjwarner , @lizzieloo21 , @denaerae_ , @kate.j.hudson and others. #2025wrapped #travel #adventure #explore

Been in Iceland this last week staying at @hotelranga and it was fantastic. Every visit to this country is magical and I couldn't stop smiling on this buggy adventure with @southcoast_adventure and my co-driver @cassie_gill . We had a few stops along the way to take in the views and for some Icelandic hotdogs. This video is kinda like a buggy adventure ASMR. If you're ever in Iceland, be sure to give it a try. #buggy #tour #iceland #hotelranga #southcoast_adventure

I was just up in Jasper National Park in Canada, and while I was there, I visited the jaw-droppingly beautiful Maligne Lake. The views were stunning. One spot, which you’ll find @eliot.stein writing about this week at BBC Travel is Spirit Island. This is a stunning little spot sacred to the Stoney First Nation, which you can see from a dock or the short viewing path, but you aren’t allowed to step foot on. I took these from various view points. If you ever get a chance to visit, it’s very much worth it. #jaspernationalpark #alberta #spiritisland #indigenous #island @tourismjasper @travelalberta #jasper

Snoqualmie Falls looks like a painting in the morning. Just an absolutely stunning place and worth the stop if you're ever in the area. #snoqualmiefalls #stateofwashington #waterfalls #nature #outdoors

I was recently in the Galapagos archipelago with @lindbladexp . It was a bucket-lister trip that I've wanted to do for a long time. The Galapagos are volcanic islands formed over millennia and the landscape reflects that with beds of lava rock and layered ash. Over time, the islands drift away from the hotspot that formed them on the Nazca plate. Here are some photos that help to capture that history. The following photos are of Santiago Island, known as Darwin's favorite. The last ones are Isabela and Genovesa. #galapagos #galapagosarchipelago #darwin #islands #ecuador #santiagoislandgalapagos #isabela