Top 30 Books That Will Make You Want to Travel the World(2025)

If you’re dreaming of your next adventure or just need an escape from routine, these travel books will fire up your wanderlust. Each one includes a Goodreads rating, ideal time to read, and average reading time to help you plan your literary journeys as well as your real ones.

1. Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer

⭐ Rating: 4.00/5
🕒 Read Time: ~6.5 hours
📅 When to Read: On a solo trip or camping in nature
🧭 A gripping real-life adventure into the wild unknown of Alaska.

2. Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert

⭐ Rating: 3.60/5
🕒 Read Time: ~9.5 hours
📅 When to Read: After a breakup or life reset
🌍 A journey through Italy, India, and Bali in search of pleasure, devotion, and balance.

3. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

⭐ Rating: 3.88/5
🕒 Read Time: ~4 hours
📅 When to Read: Before making a big life decision
🔮 A fable about following your dreams and listening to your heart.

4. Vagabonding – Rolf Potts

⭐ Rating: 4.07/5
🕒 Read Time: ~6 hours
📅 When to Read: While planning long-term travel
✈️ The bible for every independent traveler seeking a deeper journey.

5. The Beach – Alex Garland

⭐ Rating: 3.86/5
🕒 Read Time: ~8 hours
📅 When to Read: While backpacking through Southeast Asia
☠️ A suspenseful tale of paradise lost in Thailand.

6. On the Road – Jack Kerouac

⭐ Rating: 3.63/5
🕒 Read Time: ~10 hours
📅 When to Read: On a long road trip
🚗 The ultimate Beat Generation story of freedom and youthful rebellion.

7. Wild – Cheryl Strayed

⭐ Rating: 4.04/5
🕒 Read Time: ~11 hours
📅 When to Read: During a time of personal growth
🎒 A brutally honest memoir of hiking 1,100 miles alone.

8. The Art of Travel – Alain de Botton

⭐ Rating: 3.69/5
🕒 Read Time: ~7 hours
📅 When to Read: Before or during slow travel
🧠 A philosophical take on the reasons we travel.

9. Travels with Charley – John Steinbeck

⭐ Rating: 3.96/5
🕒 Read Time: ~8 hours
📅 When to Read: On a U.S. road trip
🐶 An endearing journey across America with a poodle as co-pilot.

10. In Patagonia – Bruce Chatwin

⭐ Rating: 3.95/5
🕒 Read Time: ~6 hours
📅 When to Read: While traveling South America
🌄 A poetic exploration of Patagonia’s landscapes and legends.

11. A Year in Provence – Peter Mayle

⭐ Rating: 3.93/5
🕒 Read Time: ~7 hours
📅 When to Read: During a vacation or weekend at home
🍷 A delightful, slow-living read filled with wine, food, and French charm.

12. The Geography of Bliss – Eric Weiner

⭐ Rating: 3.91/5
🕒 Read Time: ~9 hours
📅 When to Read: When rethinking your definition of happiness
😊 A global journey through the world’s happiest—and saddest—places.

13. Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts

⭐ Rating: 4.29/5
🕒 Read Time: ~25 hours
📅 When to Read: On a long international flight or retreat
🏙️ A rich, intense story of crime, redemption, and India’s underworld.

14. Seven Years in Tibet – Heinrich Harrer

⭐ Rating: 4.11/5
🕒 Read Time: ~7.5 hours
📅 When to Read: When craving something spiritual and remote
🕉️ A true account of survival and friendship with the Dalai Lama.

15. The Great Railway Bazaar – Paul Theroux

⭐ Rating: 3.84/5
🕒 Read Time: ~10 hours
📅 When to Read: While traveling by train
🚉 A colorful account of a four-month train journey across Asia.

16. Tracks – Robyn Davidson

⭐ Rating: 4.05/5
🕒 Read Time: ~8 hours
📅 When to Read: When feeling brave or lost
🐪 An awe-inspiring tale of trekking solo across the Australian desert.

17. Under the Tuscan Sun – Frances Mayes

⭐ Rating: 3.78/5
🕒 Read Time: ~8 hours
📅 When to Read: On a lazy weekend or Italian getaway
🍋 A romantic and sensory-filled escape to the hills of Tuscany.

18. How Not to Travel the World – Lauren Juliff

⭐ Rating: 3.95/5
🕒 Read Time: ~7 hours
📅 When to Read: If you’re scared to travel solo
😂 A funny, chaotic memoir that proves travel changes everything.

19. Around the World in 80 Trains – Monisha Rajesh

⭐ Rating: 4.19/5
🕒 Read Time: ~9 hours
📅 When to Read: Before train journeys or rail passes
🌏 A train-lover’s dream — circling the globe one rail at a time.

20. Love with a Chance of Drowning – Torre DeRoche

⭐ Rating: 3.87/5
🕒 Read Time: ~7.5 hours
📅 When to Read: If you love romance and fear the ocean
⛵ A romantic, daring journey across the Pacific in search of love and courage

21. A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson

⭐ Rating: 4.06/5
🕒 Read Time: ~8 hours
📅 When to Read: During hiking season or weekend getaways
🌲 A humorous and informative hike along the Appalachian Trail.

22. The Lost City of Z – David Grann

⭐ Rating: 4.06/5
🕒 Read Time: ~7.5 hours
📅 When to Read: If you love mysteries and Amazonian lore
🌳 A thrilling real-life jungle expedition in search of a lost civilization.

23. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway

⭐ Rating: 3.82/5
🕒 Read Time: ~6 hours
📅 When to Read: On a European tour or solo café visit
🍷 Set in 1920s Paris and Spain — a literary portrait of the lost generation.

24. Tales of a Female Nomad – Rita Golden Gelman

⭐ Rating: 3.97/5
🕒 Read Time: ~7 hours
📅 When to Read: Before traveling solo or slow traveling
👣 The inspiring memoir of a woman who left everything to travel the world in her 40s.

25. Motorcycle Diaries – Ernesto “Che” Guevara

⭐ Rating: 3.84/5
🕒 Read Time: ~6.5 hours
📅 When to Read: On an adventure through Latin America
🏍️ A young Che Guevara’s road trip across South America that shaped his worldview.

26. An Idiot Abroad – Karl Pilkington

⭐ Rating: 3.88/5
🕒 Read Time: ~5 hours
📅 When to Read: When you want a hilarious and cynical take on travel
😂 The reluctant traveler’s laugh-out-loud experiences around the globe.

27. Blue Highways – William Least Heat-Moon

⭐ Rating: 4.07/5
🕒 Read Time: ~10 hours
📅 When to Read: Before exploring off-the-beaten paths in the U.S.
🛣️ A deep, poetic journey through small-town America on backroads.

28. Dark Star Safari – Paul Theroux

⭐ Rating: 3.98/5
🕒 Read Time: ~11 hours
📅 When to Read: If you’re traveling through Africa or want perspective
🚐 A raw overland journey from Cairo to Cape Town, full of harsh truths.

29. Neither Here Nor There – Bill Bryson

⭐ Rating: 3.94/5
🕒 Read Time: ~7 hours
📅 When to Read: On a European backpacking trip
🇪🇺 A hilarious travel memoir as Bryson revisits his youthful travels across Europe.

30. Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel (Annual Series)

⭐ Rating: 4.35/5
🕒 Read Time: ~5 hours (depends on volume)
📅 When to Read: Start of the year or trip-planning season
🌐 A beautifully curated, visual guide to the best destinations each year.

🌟 Bonus Tip: How to Choose the Right Travel Book for You

• Need motivation? → Try Vagabonding or Eat, Pray, Love

• Love thrillers? → Read The Beach or Lost City of Z

• Feeling stuck? → Start Wild or Tales of a Female Nomad

• Want humor? → Go for Neither Here Nor There or An Idiot Abroad

• Slow travel vibes? → A Year in Provence or Blue Highways

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💬 Which book is calling your name? Got a favorite that should be on this list? Share in the comments!