Travel books have a unique ability to transport us somewhere else entirely. Whether you’re dreaming about your next adventure, reminiscing about a favorite destination, or simply looking for inspiration for future travels, a great book can immerse you in another culture, landscape, and way of life without leaving your couch.
These travel-inspired books will take you everywhere from bustling cities in India and to remote villages in Botswana, to deserts, mountains, and jungles around the world. Some are memoirs, some are novels, and others are true stories, but all of them left me with a stronger sense of wanderlust and a desire to experience these places for myself.
If you’re looking for a little travel inspiration between trips, add one of these books to your reading list!
1. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson - Australia
Bill Bryson is one of the world’s most beloved travel writers, and In a Sunburned Country is among his funniest books and my favorite. In it, Bryson embarks on a journey across Australia, a country he describes as “home to more things that can kill you than anywhere else on Earth”.
While he visits some of Australia’s major cities, the real adventure begins when he ventures into tiny outback towns and remote corners of the country.
As always, Bryson’s trademark humor and curiosity make this an entertaining read that will leave you wanting to book a trip Down Under.
If you love Bill Bryson’s writing style, be sure to check out A Walk in the Woods (about the Appalacian trail in the U.S.) and Notes from a Small Island (about the U.K.)
2. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - Botswana
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is a charming and delightful armchair read that will transport you to Botswana, a laid-back African nation just north of South Africa. McCall Smith, born in Zimbabwe and a former professor at the University of Botswana, wrote this first novel that has now expanded into a 27-book series as well as a TV series.
The novel’s leading lady is the voluptuous Mma Ramotswe, who opens her dream business to start Botswana’s first and only ladies’ detective agency. She uses her wit, perseverance, and instinct to find missing husbands, track rebellious daughters, expose con men, and ultimately unveil a darker mystery shrouded in witchcraft.
3. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Colombia
Love in the Time of Cholera takes place in a coastal Colombian city, potentially Cartagena, at the turn of the 20th century.
The novel starts by introducing the life and struggles of Dr. Juvenal Urbino, before he’s killed and the attention shifts to his beautiful widow, Fermina Daza. Rewind 50 years and another character comes into play, Florentino Ariza, which unravels a long-lost love story between him and Fermina Daza.
In true Gabriel Garcia Marquez “magic realism” fashion, this novel transcends across time, and shows a transformation of character and setting. In the end, the theme remains: whether it’s love or cholera, the plague is here to stay.
If you love this book, I also highly recommend One Hundred Years of Solitude, another one of my favorites by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
4. The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell - Denmark
I recently re-read this book and loved it just as much as the first time. In The Year of Living Danishly Helen Russell writes about her experience moving from London to Denmark when her husband lands a job with Lego at their global headquarters. Her memoir is full of witty comments and hilarious cultural experiences as she navigates her new life a country regularly labeled one of the ‘happiest countries in the world.’
Russell maintains her sense of humor throughout a transition that was a difficult learning experience combined with culture shock. Throughout her journey, readers learn about Danish workplace practices, personal priorities, societal norms, interior design, and politics. The recurring theme in her book is her research on why Danish lifestyles contribute to high levels of happiness.
5. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts - India
Shantaram is the first book about India that I recommend to travelers headed to the sub-continent.
The main character, Lin, is loosely based on the author himself, who escaped from prison in Australia before fleeing to Mumbai, India. There, he moves into a hut in the slums and becomes a local doctor, makes friends with other misfits and runaways, and starts working with the Mumbai mafia. Ultimately, he falls in love with India and the people of Mumbai.
This novel is well-loved because of how it tackles real-life calamities and experiences like love, regret, joy, humility, and starting over. They’re all things we experience on the road, and can often by felt more acutely when we’re far from home and in foreign places like India.
If you love Shantaram, there’s a sequel too, called The Mountain Shadow.
6. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata - Japan
Convenience Store Woman is a quirky novel that provides an interesting look into Japanese work culture and stifling societal pressures. In the novel, Keiko Furukura feels like a social outcast until she walks into a convenience store at 18 and feels ‘reborn’ (honestly, who doesn’t when walking into their first convenience store in Japan?). Her life then revolves around her role as a convenience store worker, much to the dismay of her traditional house-wife sisters.
The story fast-forwards to when Keiko is 36, and she tries to conform to the expectations of others by finding a boyfriend and joining social clubs. She starts to consider however, whether being a misfit in your own special place is better than trying to please everyone around you.
If you love translated Japanese fiction, check out this list of my favorite Japanese books translated into English!
7. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer - Nepal
1996 is remembered as one of the deadliest seasons in Mount Everest’s climbing history. In Into Thin Air, journalist Jon Krakauer recounts the harrowing events surrounding the disaster from a firsthand perspective, having been part of one of the expedition teams that lost four climbers on the mountain.
Krakauer’s words encompass the beauty of Nepal, the hustle of Kathmandu, the pristine Khumbu region, the courageous Sherpa people. He discusses the allure of summiting Mt. Everest and other mountains in the Himalayas, but also the dangers.
On the fateful days surrounding the freak storm that blew over Everest, he describes the movements of himself and of the other climbers who became trapped on the mountain during their descent from the summit. This gripping tale showcases the dangerous, and often deadly, obsession with summiting Everest.
8. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Spain (Barcelona)
The Shadow of the Wind is a travel book that is every bibliophile’s dream, since it’s a book about even more books in a mysterious bookstore in Barcelona. I’m talking the dusty, cobwebby, floor-to-ceiling kind of bookstore, called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books…*swoon*!
The bookstore is home to long-lost and out-of-print gems including the novel’s namesake, The Shadow of the Wind by a Julian Carax, that is discovered by a 10-year-old boy, Daniel. He soon discovers that sinister people want to destroy all of Carax’s novels. Daniel’s adventures take him through the grungy back alleys of post-war Barcelona, while Carax’s book (the book within the book) transport Daniel to pre-war, aristocratic Barcelona.
The Shadow of the Wind is one of four books in the Cermetery of Forgotten Books series.
9. The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Shafak - Turkey (Istanbul)
Armchair travel to Istanbul through the Architect’s Apprentice, which is about the life of a boy and his elephant finding their place in bustling Ottoman empire.
The story begins in India, where Jahan helps birth a small white elephant, Chota. When the elephant is promised as a gift to Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman empire, Chota and Jahan set sail for Istanbul.
After they arrive, Jahan becomes the sultan’s elephant tamer, then becomes an apprentice to the Royal Architect, Sinan. The characters of Sinan and the Sultans are all based on the actual people who ruled in the 16th century Ottoman empire. An underlying theme of the novel is an appreciation for architecture, and how, like life itself, it can be built up and torn down.
Elif Shafak is a brilliant British-Turkish author who’s other books like the Forty Rules of Love and The Island of Missing Trees have earned her an international following.
10. On the Road by Jack Kerouac - USA
On the Road highlights the American “Beatnik” movement of the 1950’s, which centers around individual liberation. The movement is characterized by the rejection of a society considered too materialistic and conformist.
The novel is based on the author’s own vagabond adventures, and follows the mischief of two young men who want to experience life to its fullest.
Sal and Dean hitchhike around the U.S., spending time in San Francisco, Denver, New York City, New Orleans, and even down in Mexico during a whirlwind of reckless, drug-fueled years. The characters experience heartbreak, loneliness, and frustration but never lose sight of how rich the world is in adventure – especially when their lives are “ever so on the road.”
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