Everyone wants to know: why does a photo or video go viral? One answer is that content becomes popular when it stirs a powerful emotional reaction, whether happiness (cats and babies) or outrage.
We were curious to find out what kinds of travel photography elicit that sharing impulse and, specifically, which T+L images have been pinned the most. Serene shots of pools are clearly inspiring, whatever the season. T+L fans have been pinning photos of natural swimming holes across the U.S., as well as an oceanside pool at Sydney's Bondi Beach and one overlooking the coast of southern Italy.
Indeed, people are swarming travelandleisure.com in search of that most irresistible color--blue--in all its incarnations. It turns up again and again, from a frequently pinned photo depicting the power of Niagara Falls to one of Caribbean skies that melt into the ocean.
We've gathered all of your favorite travel photos in one place--enjoy! And happy pinning.
--Gabrielle Blitz
See All of the Most Pinned Travel Photos
The Champagne Bar at La Sirenuse. From: Amalfi Coast >
Photo: David Cicconi
People-watching at Bondi Beach. From: 101 Places Every Traveler Should Know >
Photo: Troy House
This pool on the island of Maui features the world’s first water elevator—swimmers are lifted to the surface in a sealed chamber. From: World’s Coolest Pools >
Photo courtesy of Grand Wailea
Water streams across the sunburnt rock face of the Grand Canyon's south rim, collecting in a pool 100 feet below. From: America's Best Swimming Holes >
Photo: iStock
From Key Largo to Key West, this overseas highway strings the islands together like beads. From: America's Most Scenic Roads >
Photo: M. Timothy O'Keefe / Alamy
Blue Springs State Park, 40 minutes from Orlando, is favorite winter escape for scuba divers, snorkelers, and manatees alike. From: Best Warm-Weather Family Adventures >
Photo: M. Timothy O'Keefe / Alamy
Smoothed by centuries of flowing water, this 60-foot boulder shoots bathers into the frigid Carolina mountain waters like they have buttered backsides. From: America's Best Swimming Holes >
Photo: George and Monserrate Schwartz/Alamy