15 Travel Books That Will Inspire You to See the World
Updated: Sep. 05, 2023Seeing the sights in person is always best, but experiencing a new place with a travel book is a great escape too
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The travel books that will transport you to a happy place
In a perfect world, we’d all get to take an epic vacation whenever we felt like it. But in the real world of hectic jobs, nonstop child care and other adulting responsibilities, jet-setting falls lower on the priority list. Sigh. This is exactly why travel books are so magical.
Soaking in the sights and smells of a new locale is dreamy, and travel books help us live vicariously through someone else’s experience. From armchair-adventure memoirs to escapist beach reads, great travel books temporarily transport us whenever we can squeeze in time for another chapter—on the commuter bus, over a lunch break or in the bathtub.
Wondering what the best books are to grab if you’re craving adventure or tropical vibes? We’ve rounded up 15 of the best travel books to suit this exact purpose. They will whisk you away, as will titles from new and favorite authors.
Psst … once you’re through with these, satisfy your Emily Henry fix, get tips for reading all the Elin Hilderbrand books in order and find out where to find books like TheSummer I Turned Pretty.
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When you pine for an outdoorsy vacation
The Unlikely Thru-Hiker by Derick Lugo
Setting: The Appalachian Trail (from Georgia to Maine)
It doesn’t require a passport or a plane ticket, but the Appalachian Trail is a big change of scenery. It’s also not for the faint of heart. In Derick Lugo’s 2019 debut memoir, The Unlikely Thru-Hiker, he describes his long walk in the woods in vivid detail—and with heartwarming humor.
Before his foray into one of America’s great wildernesses, Lugo had never gone camping. He had never really hiked either. And that’s what makes this travel book such a perfect, immersive escape. Discover the iconic trek through a beginner’s eyes, and don’t be surprised if his tale inspires you to hit your own trails this summer.
If you want to live in France
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
Setting: Provence, Southern France
Perhaps one of the most beloved travel books since its 2010 debut, A Year in Provence delivers what it promises: a welcome escape to sunny, lavender-filled, Mediterranean-hugging southern France. There, steeped in the daily wonders of Provençal life, author Peter Mayle describes his experience of moving into a 200-year-old French farmhouse in a small village. This witty, easy summer read is a book that even Julia Child would have approved of.
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If you’re dying to visit India
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Setting: Bombay, India
Welcome to India! It doesn’t take a memoir or travelogue to make an immersive travel book. Sujata Massey’s imaginative mystery series set in 1920s Bombay will make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time to witness India in the final chapters of the British Raj. In the first installment, The Widows of Malabar Hill (2018), female lawyer extraordinaire Perveen Mistry fights back against crimes against women. Massey’s perspective gives readers behind-the-scenes glimpses of daily life for women in both Muslim and Hindu households.
When you’re wistful for a Roman holiday
Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr
Setting: Rome, Italy
Anthony Doerr’s 2007 Four Seasons in Rome will whisk you away to Italy’s ancient capital in an instant. During his sojourn at a writing studio in Rome, Doerr drank deeply from Rome’s culture, food and daily life. He plumbed the depths of the city’s history and spent days traipsing up and down its countless alleys and streets. He visited temples and attended a vigil for Pope John Paul II. He befriended his neighborhood storekeepers and bakers. He immersed himself this way for an entire year, then wrote one of the best books all about it so you could experience it too.
If you want to hike the Himalayas
High by Erika Fatland
Setting: The Himalayas (Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal and China)
Not everyone is up for remote lands with peaks and plateaus at dizzyingly high altitudes. Thanks to Erika Fatland’s High, your mind can go where your body doesn’t. Her well-researched and recorded travels through the Himalayas unveil a patchwork of subcultures, languages and religions. This travel book is a virtual getaway to cloud-piercing towns shrouded in thin, cold air and intriguing encounters with Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and shamanic faiths—all part and parcel of the lives of the Himalayan highlanders.
When an Aussie adventure isn’t in the budget
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Setting: Australia
Bill Bryson has written stacks of nonfiction books, but his droll, sharply observant travelogue through Australia is perhaps his most vivid. The so-called Land of Oz roars to life in Bryson’s descriptions of traveling through its wild array of landscapes—bustling urban centers, scalding-hot mining country, scorching barren desert and wild, roiling coastlines. In a Sunburned Country (2000) is chock-full of exciting tidbits about the history and culture Down Under, as well as sidesplitting and terrifying encounters with locals and wildlife. Sure, he wrote a legendary Appalachian Trail memoir too—A Walk in the Woods—but we’ve already got that destination covered for you.
If you dream of exploring Egypt
Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
Setting: Cairo, Egypt
Nobel Prize–winning author Naguib Mahfouz’s 2011 start to his Cairo Trilogy, Palace Walk, places readers in the middle of 20th-century Egypt. They’re swept into the drama of a middle-class family with struggles and tensions that mirror the greater turbulence of Egypt under the thumb of British rule. The father, al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, rules his house with an iron fist. A vivid exploration of complex Cairo, plus reflections on how each family member deals with the controlling household and government, makes this a moving historical fiction work that is also one of the great travel books about northern Africa.
When you’re craving an Italian escape
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
Setting: Positano, Italy
It’s no secret that Rebecca Serle’s 2022 captivating read, One Italian Summer, is dripping with European charm. Pair this book with an Aperol spritz or Italian soda for full effect. Part mother-daughter book, part fantasy book (with a bit of romance sprinkled in), the story takes place at the Hotel Poseidon, perched on Italy’s Amalfi coast. A woman grieving her mother arrives at the door with a head full of questions. Is she happy? Does she even love her husband? What’s the meaning of life? As the summer unfolds, the magic of Positano—and knowledge about her mother’s past life—transforms her forever.
If you long for a peaceful Japanese getaway
Autumn Light by Pico Iyer
Setting: Japan
At first glance, a book called Autumn Light doesn’t seem like the right fit for any summertime reading you may have planned. But the season you read this book doesn’t matter a bit. There’s so much going on below the surface, especially if you’re craving the tranquility of a trip to Japan. Pico Iyer’s 2019 memoir describes his return to Japan to attend to and process a loved one’s death. He steps back into ordinary Japanese life and gently, graciously invites his readers along. You’ll find yourself reflecting on age, life, death and the poetry of daily rituals. It’s a quiet book but also a beautiful, transportive mental journey to somewhere far away.
When you can’t decide where you want to go
Shape of a Boy by Kate Wickers
Setting: The world (including Mexico, Jordan, Borneo, Sri Lanka and more)
Sometimes a travel book, like travel itself, is more about the journey than the destination. That’s the case with Shape of a Boy, the 2022 memoir by British travel journalist Kate Wickers. Reading this book is like jet-setting with a trusted friend—with her three boys and husband along for good measure. Each chapter starts off with a new location on their round-the-world trip, describing their experiences and the lessons they learned there. It’s a delightful smattering of stories sure to spark wanderlust for just about anywhere in the world.
If you want to spend summer in the Loire Valley
A Perfect Vintage by Chelsea Fagan
Setting: Loire Valley, central France
Chelsea Fagan’s first novel, A Perfect Vintage, debuts on June 6, just days before the summer solstice. Fagan lives in France, which gives her a leg up on delectable descriptions of French food and the sun-soaked land of France’s Loire Valley. The perfect setting aside, the book details a summer in the life of Lea Mortimer, a successful 30-something woman who’s too busy and independent to worry about relationships or starting a family.
She’s been summoned by work to France to help transform an old French estate into a perfect boutique hotel. All’s well until Lea begins to develop feelings for the considerably younger son of her new boss. It’s a deliciously self-aware, beautifully set story of a modern woman struggling to have it all: money, deep friendships … and maybe even love.
If you want a whirlwind trip around the globe
Wanderlust by Elle Everhart
Setting: All over the world
Picture this: You’re stuck in the office for the summer, plotting your next move up the corporate ladder. On a whim, you call in to the local radio station when they’re running a once-in-a-lifetime travel sweepstake. And you win. The trouble is that you’re sent packing with someone else, and he happens to be a guy you met at a bar just once. That’s how Dylan and her almost-fling, Jack, travel together through Marrakech, Tokyo, Sydney and more. Elle Everhart’s July 2023 debut novel, Wanderlust, is a perfect summer read—plenty of sexy enemies-to-lovers tension and enough immersive travel descriptions to feel like you got a whirlwind vacation too.
If you’d love a rugged adventure across Asia
Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road by Kate Harris
Setting: Turkey to China, with plenty of stops in between
Modern explorer Kate Harris is a pro at wrangling remote, edge-of-the-world destinations into riveting armchair travel reading. In other words, this travel book might inspire and awe you even if it doesn’t compel you to plan your own harebrained 10-month bike trip across Asia. The lush descriptions of her natural surroundings and sometimes bemusing, sometimes touching encounters with ordinary people along the way make Lands of Lost Borders come to life in full force.
If you’re having Caribbean dreams
Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass
Setting: Tobago
Island life doesn’t get much more romantic than this. Sarah Dass’s 2021 novel is technically a young adult book, but Where the Rhythm Takes You offers tropical escapism for readers of all ages. Reyna’s family owns Plumeria, a beachside resort in Tobago. It’s a perfect paradise for guests, but ever since her best friend and first love left the island, Reyna dreams of escaping into the real world too. Only now that she’s poised for departure, her flame is back—this time as a Grammy-nominated superstar. What will he think of his sheltered island friend now? Will his presence be enough to make her stay a little longer? Crack this spine on a hot summer day to fully soak up the distinct island vibes.
When a Greek vacation is all you think about
The Second Chance Hotel by Sierra Godfrey
Setting: The fictional Greek island of Astori
After getting fired from her corporate job and skipping out on her best friend’s wedding, Amelia Lang needs a major life do-over. She’s well aware of it, but she didn’t expect it to come in the form of inheriting a hotel on a small Greek island. She also didn’t expect to be physically attracted to one of the guests. The Second Chance Hotel (September 2023) is a lighthearted romance at heart. It’s also a great travel book, thanks to its incredible descriptions of Greek island living, from the sun-ripened olives to the delicious gulps of sea air.
