The best collection of books to inspire and help any traveller.

Here is a list of some of my favourite travel and adventure books that are great to read before, during, and after any vacation or backpacking trip. Happy reading!

1. The Alchemist 

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a novel about following your dreams and desires. Considered to be one of the most-read books in recent history, the story follows a young shepherd boy from Spain to Egypt. The reader watches him follow his heart, create his own path, and learns about love and the meaning of life. This magical book is filled with wonderful and inspirational moments that will mesmerize any of its readers. 

2. How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Third Edition: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter

 How to Travel the World on $50 a Day by Matt Kepnes is the perfect book for a rookie looking for some introductory tips to the travel world. The book will teach you about frequent-flyer clubs, youth hostels, cheap airlines ticket sites, and much more elementary information. This comprehensive guide is the perfect start for any traveller who is also on a strict budget! Learn to spend less money on trivial purchases and more time on fun adventures.

3. Land of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road

Lands of Lost Borders by Kate Harris is a travelogue and memoir of her journey by bicycle along the Silk Road. The novel focuses on her exploration of history (and her future) as she travels through freezing and scorching temperatures.  Harris’ passion, curiosity, and love for mountainous landscapes are completely contagious sparking the desires of her readers to find their own bikes and travel along the Silk Road.

4. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: Revised Second Edition

1,000 places guaranteed to give travellers the shivers and spark their excitement to see the world. The books often focuses on higher-end travel locations such as castles, restaurants, cathedrals, and opera houses, but will also explore sacred ruins, wildlife preserves, hilltop villages, snack shacks, festivals, reefs, and hidden islands. An ideal book for a beginner traveller who doesn’t know where to quite start on their travel journey.

5. The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country

The year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell is a great book that will win over any traveller. Helen elegantly describes the Danish culture and its beautiful landscapes; quickly describing why the country was named the happiest place on Earth. Overall, the book looks at where the Danes get it right, where they get it wrong, and how we might just benefit from living a little more Danishly ourselves. 

6. Destinations of a Lifetime: 225 of the World’s Most Amazing Places

National Geographic takes its readers on a photographic tour of the world’s most spectacular destinations. The perfect book to inspire travellers to see the world’s wonders and the hundreds of the most breathtaking locales on their next trip. With the perfect blend of natural and human-made locations, the book illustrates vivid images taken by the organization’s world-class photographers. A quite comprehensive guide that every globetrotter should own and proudly display on top of their coffee table for future travel endeavours.

7. The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner is a New York Times-bestselling humorous travel memoir. Weiner spent a decade as a foreign correspondent reporting from regions such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Indonesia. The book analyses what truly makes humans happy and how even in the most jarring locations people can find happiness.

8. Gulliver’s Travels

A literary classic, this more than 250-year-old book has been a well-loved classic for many generations. The story explores Lemuel Gulliver’s travels in the strange countries of Lilliput and Brobdingnag. Throughout the book, there is a progression from the familiar, jaunty adventure to more serious satire and criticism. A perfect blend that will allow any reader to become entangled in its plot.

9. Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time

This book recounts Mark Adams’s tale of roughing it through Peru in search of Inca ruins and ancient cities while following archaeologist Hiram Bingham’s original route. A well-written travel adventure with a light, and often humorous touch that is a must-read for any travel or book lovers alike.

10. The 4-Hour Workweek:  Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss forgets about the old concept of retirement and the regular life plans. The book focuses on the importance of not waiting and every reason why not to; especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book contains the perfect outline for you.

11. The Sun Is a Compass: My 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds 

The perfect book for fans of Cheryl Strayed, the gripping story of a biologist’s human-powered journey from the Pacific Northwest to the Arctic to rediscover her love of birds, nature, and adventure. Caroline Van Hemert’s memoir is a beautiful and thoughtful exposition on her love of the Alaskan wilderness and the 4,000-mile journey she and her spouse shared over a span of six months. 

12. How to Stay Alive in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter and Self-Preservation Anywhere 

How to Stay Alive in the Woods is a practical, readable and indispensable guide for anyone venturing into the wilderness. This is the perfect book that should be in every survival kit for adventurous travellers. The book is broken down into four essential sections; Sustenance, Warmth, Orientation, and Safety. Each section gives enlightening tips that teach many important life-saving facts. The book reveals how to catch game, what plants to eat, how to build shelters, make clothing, and help signals. Clearly making the guide a real lifesaver for everyone.

13. The Bucket List: 1000 Adventures Big & Small

With 1,000 adventures for all ages, it’s never too soon or too late to begin the things you’ve only dreamed of doing. So many adventures await, from the sane and sensible to the more daring. Short and simple entries introduce the possibilities, some of which you won’t even need to leave home to accomplish. Enlightening and inspirational, the wide variety of experiences makes this a fun book to browse over and over again. 

14. DANCING WITH DEATH: An Epic and Inspiring Travel Adventure

Dancing with Death by Jean-Philippe Soule is an unforgettable escapade of ultimate danger and discovery. This thrilling book of real-life adventure explores being charged by a bull shark, kayaking a narrow canal guarded by crocodiles, living in fear of bandits, nearly drowning and suffering from malaria. Not one of these events deters the author and his companion from completing their expedition and sharing their tale. 

15. The Natural Navigator: The Rediscovered Art of Letting Nature Be Your Guide

The Natural Navigator by Tristan Gooley is a fantastic guide to help you use natural cues to orient yourself. The book is able to go even beyond this by helping anyone enjoy the wonders of the outdoors. This is especially if you don’t have any prior navigational skills. Tristan Gooley blends natural science, myth, folklore, and the history of travel to introduce you to the rare and ancient art of finding your way using nature’s own signposts.

16. Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel

The guide explores the world of vagabonding! Vagabonding a lifestyle that is dedicated to taking time off from your normal life from six weeks to two years. This lifestyle allows travellers to discover and experience the world on their own terms. Rolf Potts demonstrates that anyone armed with an independent spirit can achieve their dreams of extended overseas travel. Not just a plan of action, vagabonding is an outlook on life that emphasizes creativity, discovery, and spirit.

17. A Year in Provence

In this witty and warm-hearted account, Peter Mayle tells us what it is like to materialize a long-awaited dream. He moves into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the country of the Lubéron with his wife and two dogs. A well-written tale with each chapter broken down by months, allowing any reader to feel like they are truly living in France alongside its author. Fully transporting us into all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life.

18. A Month in Siena

A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar is a dazzling evocation of an extraordinary place and its effect on the writer’s life. It is an immersion in painting, a consideration of grief, and a profoundly moving contemplation of the relationship between art and the human condition. A perfect little book about grief, history, travel, art, family, and relationships. 

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I hope that you enjoy some of these books and feel free to leave a comment down below recommending any other amazing travel books and writers.

Safe travels,

Carina

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