I read a lot – and by nature I read a lot of travel books. There are so many great travel books out there and many get overlooked. Below are over 20 yours truly has read and would recommend.
But we have to start with the question: what makes a “great” travel book?
Ever since I gave up professional ballet at the age of 19, I have wanted to be a travel writer. I didn’t want to just see the world and share tips – I wanted to write about the world. I took a few classes here and there on the topic. I found I wanted to capture the essence of a place and people, and to share the internal journey one experiences when traveling.
Travel changes you. And the best travel writing doesn’t just tell you about what the author ate or saw or did. The best travel writing tells you how that experience changed them.
The “travel” in good travel writing is both internal and external.
It would be irresponsible to share this post without recognizing that there are some inherent problems with the travel writing industry right now. For starters, everyone like me who is a hobbyist and a dreamer wants to break in so it’s becoming saturated with a million listicles, and real essays and travel writing are getting harder to find.
The thing that strikes me the most, however, is there aren’t a lot of BIPOC voices represented. Many of the successful travel writers are white males, followed by white females. I can understand why this is as I think of the way we organize our world and cultures – that people of color feel less freedom and safety to roam. But it is my hope that this is changing, and also why I treasure that Best American Travel Writing series (see below).
Doing the best I can based on what I have read, below are some of the best books on travel…
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The "Classic" Travel Books to Read
These are the books that appear on most travel book lists. They are all pretty famous in their own right (and most are made into movies, usually without much success as the movies are never as good as the books).
Under the Tuscan Sun
By Frances Mayes
A light and easy read about a couple who tries to make a home and life for themselves in Italy. Full of food, culture and characters.
A Year in Provence
By Peter Mayle
Seeking the seemingly idyllic life of Provence – the sun and water of France – a couple buys a home and begins to restore it. Very similar in concept to Under the Tuscan Sun, with a different set of cultural values and experiences.
On the Road
By Jack Kerouac
This is the quintessential beatnik read, one of the earliest books to glorify the vagabond and roving lifestyle during a particular era of American culture.
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
By Elizabeth Gilbert
Following her divorce, Gilbert lives in three different countries for a time, taking in the most notable elements of the cultures. Along the way, she finds herself and hope again.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
By Cheryl Strayed
This has catapulted to fame with the movie (and even Gilmore Girls). But the book is fantastic. Strayed, dealing with addiction and trauma, takes off on her own to hike the trail.
Into the Wild
By John Krakauer
I hesitate to include this one as it isn’t really about travel, I don’t think, but it is about capturing the life of someone who did travel. A young man goes off on his own to see Alaska in a converted bus. He ends up dead and alone in the Alaskan wilderness. This book is a quasi-journalistic capture of what happened and what it meant.
Lesser Known But Amazing Travel Books to read
This category is full of books you may not have heard of but are absolutely fantastic. This is a list to help you find your next favorite travel book!
The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country
By Helen Russell
This book was impactful for me and I adored it. When her partner gets a job with LEGO, the author leaves behind a high-stress, high-profile journalism job to try out the Danish life for a year. What she experiences is great for everyone to consider.
Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia to Zion Journey Through Every National Park
By Conor Knighton
Knighton embarks on a journey to see every National Park in a year. It is a love story about our parks. The way he stitches together multiple parks into one chapter is interesting and unique.
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
By Bill Bryson
Really, anything by Bill Bryson
I love Bryson, always have. And I am going to make the controversial statement that I think this is his best book. It is funny, warm-hearted, and irreverent yet also inspirational. He recounts what happened to him and his friend when they endeavored to hike the AT.
McCarthy’s Bar: A Journey of Discovery in Ireland
By Pete McCarthy
I mentioned this in one my posts on Ireland but this book cracked me up! McCarthy heads to Ireland, where his family is from, to see if he can find a sense of home and belonging. What he sees and how he sees himself is charming.
We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year
By Charles Wheelan
There are some things in this book that left me with questions I wanted to discuss. This is a really honest and entertaining account of a man who takes his teenage kids around the world in an attempt to live out a dream and bring the family closer.
The Longest Way Home: One Man’s Quest for the Courage to Settle Down
By Andrew McCarthy
McCarthy, yes of the 80s movie fame, is a fantastic writer. In this book, he grapples with what travel offers and his wanderlust against how he struggles to find happiness at home. It is serious but I loved it.
Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback
By Robyn Davidson
This book was an absolute surprise to me and I couldn’t stop once I picked it up. Davidson take her dog and some camels and decides to cross the Australian desert, alone. The adventures, the challenges, the love… all of it still makes my heart twist and grow just to think of.
The Art of Travel
By Alain de Botton
De Botton is one of my favorite writers, and he always brings philosophy, history and art to the table. In this book, he references past travel writers and artists and asks what it means to travel and what we learn. Can travel happen within the very room we are in if we approach things with a fresh perspective?
In Patagonia
By Bruce Chatwin
This book, published in 1977, was a travel writing bestseller before travel writing as a genre was really recognized. Chatwin tells haunting, evocative and beautiful stories from his journey across the tip of South America.
The Best American Travel Writing (pick a year)
This series is critical to the literary genre. This book gives space for under-represented voices and experiences to be heard. And the essays included are always diverse and powerful. I have begun to collect them, I believe in their library merit that much.
Also Consider These Travel Great Books
This is a separate category as I think these are great books, but they do require a certain mood or expectation before picking them up. If you are looking for a particular region, commentary, or parenting, these are fairly specific yet also worth the read.
American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal
By Neil King, Jr
I picked this new book up on a whim and really enjoyed it! Affected by COVID and a major health battle, King decides to walk through the corridor that is the busy East Coast (from D.C. to NYC) on a quest for America and the past.
A Trip of One’s Own: Hope, Heartbreak and Why Traveling Solo Could Change Your Life
By Kate Wills
I loved how this book teases out amazing female adventurers and voices from the past. It is also a fun peek into the life of a travel reporter. I didn’t always love Wills’ perspective, but I did love how different this book was.
The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca
By Tahir Shah
The author buys a home in Casablanca, with the desire to live in a home that brought back memories of love and belonging. But the home is a fixer-upper and the challenges he and his family experience are frustrating and an interesting look into a different culture.
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home
By Tembe Locke
Again, this isn’t about travel perse but it is about how place and moving around the world can help us find ourselves. After Locke loses her husband and is left to raise their young daughter alone, she struggles to find the country she was meant to be in and the family that supports her in the way she needs.
The Longest Road: Overland in Search of America from Key West to the Arctic Ocean
By Phil Caputo
Caputo and his wife take their two dogs and Airstream trailer to see the country. They navigate an America divided and have revealing conversations along the way. The breadth and diversity of America is showcased mightily in this book.
Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting
By Pamela Druckerman
I have a love/hate relationship with this book, to be honest. I read it when my kids were little and the pressure I felt as a parent “doing it wrong” felt unnecessary but I also realized that wasn’t Druckerman’s point. I loved the insight into the culture and the challenge to think differently. (What if our way isn’t the only way?!)
England As You Like It
By Susan Allen Toth
I was surprised when researching this list how few times Toth shows up. I read two of her books while living in London for a summer and find her delightful. As England is trending right now, I think more people should take advantage of her charming takes on the country.
What Travel Books I am Reading Next
The following are books I’ve been meaning to read, based on reviews, but am just now getting around to. So no personal reviews or recommendations (yet).
Got any other recommendations?! Drop them below!
Happy armchair travel!
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