Don't forget as you're doing your travel writing, you should be able to get certain things comped for you, like a hotel, special event or performance, or even a meal. While this doesn't necessarily pay you by the magazine, this is a type of income that can make the article much more rewarding.

I was a travel writer for the state of Indiana for a few years, and would often get to travel to different parts of the state for an overnight trip. I only ever made $25 or so from the article (state government doesn't pay much), but the value of that "vacation" was often worth a few hundred dollars.

Still, as the others have pointed out, $1 per word is a great rate, and you should take it when you get it. Otherwise, $150 - $200 for a 750 word article is not out of the question.