30 Best Travel Books to Read Before You Go

I’ve read 200+ travel books since 2018. Some genuinely transformed how I experienced places. Some were beach-read fluff that taught me nothing. Here are the 30 that actually matter.

The TL;DR — start here

If you only read 3: “In Patagonia” by Bruce Chatwin (essential travel writing), “The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner (happiness across cultures), “A Year in Provence” by Peter Mayle (the classic).

The 30 essential travel books

For inspiration (read before deciding where to go)

1. In Patagonia — Bruce Chatwin
The book that made Patagonia famous. Chatwin’s wandering literary style invented modern travel writing.

2. The Geography of Bliss — Eric Weiner
Weiner visits the world’s happiest (and unhappiest) countries. Sharper than its title suggests.

3. Vagabonding — Rolf Potts
The philosophy of long-term travel. Required reading before any 3+ month trip.

4. The Art of Travel — Alain de Botton
Philosophy of why we travel, what we hope for, why we’re often disappointed.

5. Dark Star Safari — Paul Theroux
Theroux travels Africa from Cairo to Cape Town. Brutally honest about colonialism, tourism, and African reality.

For specific destinations

6. Eat Pray Love — Elizabeth Gilbert (Italy/India/Bali)
Yes, the famous one. Whatever you think of Gilbert, the book accurately captures the spiritual restlessness that draws Americans to those places.

7. A Year in Provence — Peter Mayle (France)
The book that started “expats writing about renovating their French farmhouse.” Still the best.

8. Under the Tuscan Sun — Frances Mayes (Italy)
Same genre but Tuscany. The book is far better than the movie.

9. The Drifters — James Michener (Spain/Morocco/Africa)
1971 novel about 6 young travelers crossing 1960s Spain, Portugal, Morocco. Still feels relevant.

10. Notes from a Small Island — Bill Bryson (UK)
Bryson’s farewell tour of Britain before moving back to America. Hilarious and accurate.

11. The Snow Leopard — Peter Matthiessen (Nepal/Himalaya)
Spiritual journey through the Himalayas. Read before Nepal/Tibet.

12. Shantaram — Gregory David Roberts (India)
Massive novel about an Australian fugitive in 1980s Bombay. Read before Mumbai.

13. Maximum City — Suketu Mehta (India)
Mumbai through the lens of immigrants, gangsters, Bollywood. More accurate than Shantaram.

14. Out of Africa — Karen Blixen (Kenya)
Blixen’s memoir of running a coffee plantation in colonial Kenya. The romanticization is dated but the writing endures.

15. A Pilgrimage to Eternity — Timothy Egan (Italy/Europe)
Egan walks Italy’s Via Francigena pilgrimage route. History + reflection.

For Asia specifically

16. Norwegian Wood — Haruki Murakami (Japan)
Not a travel book, but reading it before Japan changes how you experience Tokyo.

17. The Beach — Alex Garland (Thailand)
The novel that defined backpacker Thailand in the 90s. Avoid the parts of Thailand it depicts.

18. Asian Java Jungle — Donald Tayler (Indonesia)
The book that captures what Bali was before Instagram tourism.

19. The River of Lost Footsteps — Thant Myint-U (Myanmar)
History of Burma/Myanmar from a Burmese-American historian. Essential before any Myanmar visit.

20. The Roads to Sata — Alan Booth (Japan)
Englishman walks 2,000 miles across Japan in 1977. The Japan tourists don’t see.

For Latin America

21. The Motorcycle Diaries — Che Guevara (Latin America)
Young Che’s journey across South America before he became Che. The continent through a young revolutionary’s eyes.

22. The Old Patagonian Express — Paul Theroux (Argentina)
Train journey from Boston to Patagonia. Better than In Patagonia in some ways.

23. Maps of Imagination — Peter Turchi (Various)
Not a travel book but a writer’s guide to mapping experience. Changes how you think about places.

24. Savages — Joe Kane (Amazon)
Indigenous resistance to oil companies in the Amazon. Read before any Ecuador trip.

For Africa

25. The Bang-Bang Club — Greg Marinovich (South Africa)
Four photographers covering apartheid’s violent end. Essential before South Africa.

26. King Leopold’s Ghost — Adam Hochschild (Congo)
The horrors of Belgian Congo. Required for understanding African history.

For the Middle East

27. From Beirut to Jerusalem — Thomas Friedman (Israel/Lebanon)
Friedman’s reporting from the Middle East in the 80s. Still relevant for context.

28. The Caliph’s House — Tahir Shah (Morocco)
Shah moves his family to Casablanca. Real Morocco, not tourist Morocco.

For wanderers + philosophy

29. Walking — Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau’s essay on the philosophy of walking. Read before any hiking trip.

30. Songlines — Bruce Chatwin (Australia)
Chatwin’s exploration of Australian Aboriginal songlines and what they reveal about human migration. Read before any Australia outback trip.

Books that AREN’T worth reading (despite hype)

• 1,000 Places to See Before You Die — bucket-list checklist, not actual travel writing
• Wild — Cheryl Strayed — overpromoted, more about Strayed than the PCT
• Lonely Planet country guides — useful for logistics but no soul
• Most “year abroad” memoirs from 2010s onward — repetitive formula

FAQs

What’s the best travel book to read before a trip?

Depends on destination and goals. For general travel philosophy: ‘Vagabonding’ by Rolf Potts or ‘The Art of Travel’ by Alain de Botton. For specific destinations: ‘A Year in Provence’ (France), ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ (Italy), ‘In Patagonia’ (Patagonia), ‘Shantaram’ (India), ‘Norwegian Wood’ (Japan).

How do I find good travel books for specific destinations?

Goodreads’ “Travel Memoir” lists, the New York Times “By the Book” interviews of travel writers, and local bookstore travel sections. The Strand in NYC, Powell’s in Portland, City Lights in SF, and Foyles in London all have curated travel sections.

Should I read fiction or non-fiction about places?

Both. Fiction (Shantaram for India, Norwegian Wood for Japan, The Beach for Thailand) captures the emotional reality of places. Non-fiction (Dark Star Safari for Africa, Maximum City for Mumbai) captures the political/historical reality. The best preparation combines both.

How long before a trip should I read travel books?

Start 2-3 months out. Reading too close to departure means you’re trying to absorb information rather than building context. Reading too far ahead means you’ll have forgotten specifics. 2-3 months gives you time to read 2-3 books per destination at a comfortable pace.

What’s the single best travel book ever written?

Subjective, but ‘In Patagonia’ by Bruce Chatwin (1977) consistently ranks #1 on critics’ lists for its invention of modern travel writing. For pure pleasure: ‘A Year in Provence’ (Peter Mayle). For travel philosophy: ‘Vagabonding’ (Rolf Potts).