50 Travel-Themed Books That Will Inspire Your Next Adventure

If you're dreaming of an adventure but need a little motivation, we've got you covered. We scoured the library shelves to find the most inspiring travel-themed books (both fiction and nonfiction) to get you ready to pack your bags and embark on your own amazing journey. From unbelievable memoirs to enthralling novels (and a few handy travel guides), these stories will have you reaching for your passport by the last page.

From the late, great Anthony Bourdain comes his 2001 food-inspired travel story "A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines," which was so popular, it became a two-season TV series the following year. Taking readers around the world in search of the elusive "perfect meal," Bourdain travels to places as far away as Cambodia and as close as California while documenting his gastronomical experiences along the way.

A powerful memoir, "A Long Way Home" finds author Saroo Brierly recalling his impoverished childhood in India that abruptly ended when he fell asleep on a train that took him thousands of miles from home. Too young to find his way back, Saroo was later adopted out of the country by an Australian couple. Decades later, still haunted by his past, he returned to India to find his birth family. In 2016, this powerful story inspired the film "Lion," starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman.

A beautifully woven story that crosses continents, "Americanah" details the life of university student Ifemelu, who immigrates to the United States from her home in Nigeria. Beginning in Lagos, the novel explores the concept of home, culture, identity and what it means to be "black" in America.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz invites readers on a journey through the New World in "A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World," where he examines the myths, legends and true stories that make up the fabric of American history. From Columbus' "discovery" of America in 1492 to the pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, Tony investigates the facts behind the legendary stories of our past.

Part travel memoir, part Appalachian Trail guide, author Bill Bryson uses his trademark humor and insight to inform readers about the beauty of this famous hiking route between Georgia and Maine. From encounters with bears to inspiring historical trails, "A Walk in the Woods" is an ode to the great outdoors. In 2015, the book was transformed into a film by the same name, starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte.

In American travel writer William Least Heat-Moon's critically acclaimed travel memoir "Blue Highways: A Journey Into America," he takes readers on a road trip unlike any other. Focusing on the smallest of small towns, including Why, Arizona, and Whynot, Mississippi, Heat-Moon uncovers their histories while introducing us to the interesting people who call these places home.

In Patricia McCairen's travel memoir "Canyon Solitude: A Woman's Solo River Journey Through the Grand Canyon," she shares her experience rafting through the winding and twisting Colorado River as she endures changing land- and waterscapes, overcomes obstacles, takes on new identities (like Babe, the river guide) and comes to discover what it truly means to be a woman on her own in the world.

In this triumphant and moving novel, Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros introduces readers to Lala Reyes, a young girl who travels with her family each year from Chicago to her grandparents' home in Mexico City. This fictional tale spans multiple generations and takes readers on a voyage through America and Mexico in a discovery of family history and the meaning of home.

Vietnamese-American author Andrew X. Pham embarks on a cross-country bike ride following the suicide of his sister in an effort to rediscover his cultural identity in "Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam." While journeying along the coast of Vietnam, where his family escaped as "boat people" during the Vietnam War, Pham reconnects and comes to terms with his lost homeland.

Korean-American author and cultural historian Paula Young Lee invites readers to follow her journeys in "Deer Hunting in Paris: A Memoir of God, Guns and Game Meat." Eventually landing in Paris, Maine, Lee explores hunting and takes an active role in the DIY food culture, which includes chasing after headless chickens and butchering kills, all while learning what it means to self-sustain in a world where convenience reigns supreme.

From acclaimed writer Elizabeth Gilbert comes her mesmerizing midlife-crisis-inspired travel memoir "Eat Pray Love." Realizing the depths of her unhappiness in New York, Elizabeth embarks on an around-the-world adventure to places like Italy, India and Bali, where she rediscovers herself and finds new love in the process. This popular book was turned into a film by the same name starring Julia Roberts in 2010.

Author Kara Richardson Whitely's empowering travel memoir "Gorge: My Journey Up Kilimanjaro at 300 Pounds" recounts her decision to climb Africa's highest mountain at the height of her struggles with obesity and food addiction. Using her climb as a metaphor for her emotional journey, this inspiring story speaks to all of us who have ever struggled to realize our dreams while battling our own inner demons.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and husband-and-wife team Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn comes this informative book that explores the epidemic of female oppression throughout the world. Although not a traditional "travel story," this insightful and empowering exploration invites readers around the world to learn about the programs and people that are working hard to create opportunities for women and girls.

For 20-something journalist Sarah MacDonald, one visit to India was enough. Fate, it seemed, had other plans. More than a decade after leaving the land of chaos, MacDonald begrudgingly returns when her partner is sent there for work and comes precariously close to dying in the process. In her often-humorous memoir, MacDonald comes face to face with her own mortality while learning to love the crazy, contradictory South Asian subcontinent.

Popular travel blogger Matt Kepnes turns his knowledge about budget travel into an extremely helpful how-to book for novice adventurers. Highlighting how to spend less on some of the biggest travel destinations in the world (including Europe and even Walt Disney World), Kepnes teaches readers that having a global experience doesn't mean having limitless resources. All it takes is a little planning, a little creativity and $50 a day.

American poet, novelist and activist Langston Hughes brings readers along for his travels through the United States, Asia, Europe, Cuba and Mexico in his deeply personal memoir "I Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey." Set in the turbulent 1930s, Hughes' lyrical search for identity in a shifting world reveals his personal struggles with depression, racism and cultural understanding.

Another book by American travel author Bill Bryson that made it on our list is "In a Sunburned Country" about his journeys through Australia. Exploring and explaining the geography, politics and history of the land down under, Bryson also infuses each story with his infectious sense of humor, making even deadly tiger snakes and box jellyfish seem whimsical.

Author and mountaineer Jon Krakauer follows the footsteps of American hiker and famed "supertramp" Christopher McCandless in his stunning biography "Into the Wild." Two parts investigative journalism and one part travel guide, the story of Chris' solo journey across the United States to the great wilderness of Alaska, where he would later die after accidentally poisoning himself while foraging, was so profound, it was later turned into a film by the same name starring Emile Hirsch in 2007.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Andrew Sean Greer wrote his unflinchingly funny work of fiction "Less: A Novel" about a struggling writer named Arthur Less whose ex-boyfriend invites him to his wedding (to someone else), sending Arthur on a travel spree around the world. Accepting invitations to even the most menial of literary events, Arthur runs away from his problems, bringing us all along for the highly enjoyable ride.

Using her trips around the world as the backdrop, author Judith Fein teaches readers the important lesson of change in "Life Is a Trip: The Transformative Magic of Travel." Composed of 14 travel stories, Fein explores her own assumptions and habits while exposing herself, and therefore us, to the mind-opening experiences of living life from new perspectives.

Winner of the Man Booker Prize, Yann Martel's sweeping novel "Life of Pi" is the story of the brilliant son of a zookeeper named Pi who loses everyone in a shipwreck, becoming lost at sea on a life raft with a tiger, hyena and zebra. As Pi navigates their safety and survival, he explores the high seas, charting new territory not on a map, but inside his soul. In 2012, this exceptional story was turned into the big-screen fantasy drama by the same name, starring Suraj Sharma.

Although controversy abounds over Laura Ingalls Wilder's use of racism in her "Little House on the Prairie" series of books, these stories remain one of the most in-depth accounts of pioneers in the late 1800s. Detailing her family's search for a permanent homestead on their journeys west, the nine novels explore the landscape of the American Midwest in ways that are insightful, intriguing and educational.

Author and travel blogger Torre deRoche shares her impulsive story of a whirlwind romance that sweeps her off her feet and onto a sailboat in "Love With a Chance of Drowning." Detailing her decision to join her brand-new love interest on a journey around the world by sea, deRoche makes us laugh, cry and occasionally cringe in this can't-put-it-down story of travel, temptation and facing your biggest fears.

Author and journalist Mei-Ling Hopgood takes readers on a cross-continental journey of self-discovery in her memoir "Lucky Girl." Adopted from Taiwan as a baby by American parents, Hopgood knew little of her birth country and even less about her Chinese roots. All that changed when her biological family tracked her down, leading her on a journey back to her first home, where she was forced to contend with her hidden heritage.

Nigerian and Nordic-American writer Faith Adiele breaks boundaries in her memoir-odyssey "Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun." From her decision to leave Harvard to live in the jungles of Thailand where she studies to becomes the first black Buddhist nun in the northern part of the country, Adiele introduces readers to a woman whose courage, determination and fearlessness (even in the face of deadly forest creatures) make for an enthralling adventure.

Poet and author Jack Kerouac's 1957 American road-tripping adventure "On the Road" is a classic and one we couldn't leave off of our list. Inspired by his own road trips with friend and Beat writer Neal Cassady, Kerouac's fictional story is about a writer named Sal Paradise who travels across the U.S. with his friend Dean Moriarty and girlfriend Marylou, exploring the almost-romantic landscapes of America, including jazz bars and roadside diners, between 1947 and 1950.

A powerful memoir written between 1944 and 1951 details Austrian explorer Heinrich Harrer's journey into Tibet before the Chinese Communist takeover. Becoming one of the first European men to not only enter the sacred land of Tibet, but also meet the young Dalai Lama, Harrer's story is as much about travel as it is a record of history. In 1997, a film by the same name, starring Brad Pitt, was released in theaters.

"Sihpromatum," meaning "a blessing that first seems like a curse," is Savannah Grace's intriguing memoir of coming-of-age while being forced to travel the world with her family. Detailing curious experiences like eating roast duck tongue in China or the time her family was stranded in the Gobi Desert, Grace's tale of an unusual childhood brings readers around the world in a fascinating story of loss, love and, as the title suggests, maturation.

Originally published by "Lonely Planet" founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler, this continually updated traveler's bible is considered the No. 1 source for pertinent budget travel info in Southeast Asia. Addressing topics like where to visit (and where to avoid) along with important historical and cultural information and so much more, this handy guide is one that will inspire and inform every adventurer.

A husband and wife faced the troublesome question every hard-working couple has—"Is this all there is to life?"—as they trudged through endless corporate meetings and business trips. Listening to the advice of their elders, the couple decides to take the biggest risk of all and quit their jobs, sell their home and downsize their lives to travel the world with minimal resources. "Take Risks" by Joe Russo highlights the decisions, steps and reality of their seemingly crazy but totally enviable decision.

Facing the dissolution of her marriage at the age of 48, author Rita Golden Gelman sold her possessions and walked away from her upper-class life in Los Angeles to embark on a journey around the world. Living in villages in Mexico, the rainforest in Borneo and amid sea lions on the Galapagos Islands, Gelman rediscovered herself and her own ability to create true happiness.

The first book in a series by author Peter Gethers, "The Cat Who Went to Paris (Norton the Cat)" is the charmingly true story of how Peter, a bonafide not-cat-person, met and fell in love with a little Scottish Fold named Norton, who would go on to travel the world with his human friend. For travelers who are also feline fans, this book won't just inspire journeys abroad, but it will also warm your heart.

New York Times bestselling author Eric Weiner explores happiness in an entirely new way in his ambitious travel book "The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World." True to the title, Weiner's journey took him around the globe, where he sought to answer the "where" and "why" certain places—including Switzerland; Asheville, North Carolina; Bhutan and more—are consistently rated as the happiest places on Earth.

Author Rachel Friedman always did what was expected of her. The self-described "good girl" was fresh out of college when, on a whim, she decided to do something wild and take a trip to Ireland. In "The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends and One Unexpected Adventure," Friedman relives her journey that would turn into a yearlong, global adventure with a new friend and a new attitude about living life in the moment.

Famed travel writer, novelist (and actor Justin Theroux's uncle) Paul Theroux explores Western Europe and Asia by train in his 1975 travelogue, "The Great Railway Bazaar." Using his signature sense of humor and intellect, Paul recounts his adventures on some of the greatest railways in the world, including the Orient Express, the Trans-Siberian Express and more.

No one can evoke the magic of China while pulling at our heartstrings the way author Amy Tan can. In her sweeping novel "The Hundred Secret Senses," Tan takes readers on a journey between America and China as two sisters travel to the past to discover the love they share in the present.

Twenty-six years after his death, Latin American Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara's private journals about his adventures across South America were published in the memoir "The Motorcycle Diaries." Detailing his excursion by motorbike, Guevara shares captivating stories of his experiences in places like the Andes and the Amazon. In 2004, the book was turned into a film by the same name starring Gael García Bernal.

We can't help but love "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series, which includes five books detailing the lives and travels of characters Tibby, Lena, Bridget and Carmen. From jaunts to summer camp, the Greek Isles and more, these girls (and their mystical pair of jeans) have several amazing adventures that will warm any reader's heart. In 2005, a film by the same name, starring Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, Blake Lively and America Ferrera debuted in theaters.

Considered a literary masterpiece, prolific author Ernest Hemingway's 1926 travel novel "The Sun Also Rises" is a look at friendship, travel and life in a post-WWI world. An eclectic cast of characters, including an impotent Jake Barnes and his would-be lover, Lady Brett Ashley, travel from Paris to Spain, drinking, fighting and exploring the world in a new era of freedom.

Former Frugal Traveler columnist for the New York Times, Matt Gross invites readers to put down their itineraries in his debut memoir, "The Turk Who Loved Apples: And Other Tales of Losing My Way Around the World." With the desire to let his travels inspire his next destination, Gross takes us inside his often neurotic world as he searches for new, unusual places, culinary adventures and friendships abroad.

In British author Rachel Joyce's debut novel, we meet Harold Fry, a retired Englishman who lives a monotonous life with his wife, Maureen. Things are suddenly upended when he receives a letter from an old friend named Queenie Hennessy, who informs him she is dying. Determined to see her one last time, Harold embarks on a 627-mile journey across the English countryside on foot, with only the clothes he's wearing, as he ventures into the great unknown.

In 1977, Australian author Robyn Davis embarked on a grueling 1,700-mile journey through the Australian outback — alone, aside from her dog and four camels. "Tracks" is the story of Davis' journey and her incredible, and at times dangerous, encounters in one of the harshest environments on Earth. In 2013, a film by the same name debuted in theaters starring Mia Wasikowska.

Author and illustrator William Pène du Bois penned this classic travel adventure "Twenty-One Balloons" in 1947, later earning the Newbery Medal for excellence. The famed children's novel tells the story of a professor intent on traveling across the Pacific Ocean who accidentally stumbles upon the volcanic island of Krakatoa, where he finds a wealthy community of unique characters, including children who travel by balloons.

Depicting her renovation of an abandoned villa in Tuscany, acclaimed travel writer Frances Mayes introduces readers to the slow-moving beauty of the Italian countryside in "Under the Tuscan Sun." The enchanting memoir takes us from California to Italy, where Mayes shares her love of Italy's food and people throughout this tale of home improvement. In 2003, a film adaptation of the book debuted in theaters starring Diane Lane.

Travel essayist and author Rolf Potts makes a case for backpacking around the world in his self-help book "Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of of Long-Term World Travel." Considered a must-read for travelers and novice adventurers who want to travel abroad long-term, this inspiring book helps prepare readers for a grand adventure while teaching them the art of self-reflection when interacting with new cultures and people.

Film director Andrew Blackwell takes his love of the unusual to new heights in "Visit Sunny Chernobyl: And Other Adventures in the World's Most Polluted Places." Bringing readers to travel destinations where toxic disasters have occurred, Blackwell teaches tourists how to appreciate the world with all its scars and pockmarks while also invoking a sense of responsibility for taking care of our imperfectly beautiful (and at times disgusting) planet.

A memoir from one of history's most amazing women, "West With the Night" comes from English author, pilot, horse trainer and adventurer Beryl Markham, who was the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean from east to west. First published in 1942, the book delves into Markham's childhood in Kenya, leading readers through her life and to her exciting journey across the second-largest body of water in the world.

Part travel memoir, part international dating guide, "What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding" details sitcom writer Kristin Newman's adventures abroad where, admittedly, she enjoys flings with foreign men. The tongue-in-cheek memoir is both funny and informative, bringing readers along on her travels and dalliances in Israel, Finland, the Middle East and more.

A national best-selling memoir and inspiring travelogue from author Cheryl Strayed, "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" details her daunting journey across the famed PCT, beginning in the parched Mojave Desert of California to the Bridge of Gods in Washington. Throughout her 2,663-mile solo hike, Strayed weaves painful memories from the past with an inspiring hope for the future. In 2014, a film by the same name starring Reese Witherspoon debuted in theaters.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alice Steinbach brings readers on her adventures through Europe, where she seeks to discover who she is when there's no one familiar to define her. On her own, Steinbach travels through Paris, England and more, detailing her life lessons and unlikely, illuminating friendships with the people she meets.