Travel Books - The Ultimate List of Awesome Books to Take Travelling

One of our favourite things about travelling is that we suddenly find time to read. Whether we are hitching, camping or backpacking around the world we often manage to read two or even three travel books a week. Check out the list below and if you think we’ve missed any real gems then please do let us know in the comments box at the bottom of the page. Many of these books are best read when you're actually in the country they are set in; for example, reading Shantaram in India is a really fantastic experience and you will get a lot more out of the book.

On the Road

I have read "On The Road" 5 times. It is a book I will keep coming back to throughout my life--it is a pure pleasure to read and its language fills me with joy and light. In the words of Jack Kerouac: "...the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww'". #jackkerouac #jackkerouacontheroad

A post shared by Russell Cordell Staker (@russellstaker) on Mar 14, 2017 at 6:58pm PDT

Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel should be compulsory reading for all nomads, backpackers and folks who want to live off the grid. In ‘On The Road’ discover 1950′s underground America as Kerouac hitches backwards forwards across the states in search of Jazz, drugs, sex and the meaning of life.

Shantaram

Brilliant read 🙌🏼 India is quickly climbing up my list of places I must see 🇮🇳 #Shantaram #Bombay #Mumbai #India #travel

A post shared by S t e p h a n i e H a r p e r (@stephanieshae) on Apr 20, 2017 at 7:25pm PDT

The book follows the possibly true, possibly exaggerated, story of an escaped Australian convict who finds his way to India where he falls in love, works for gangsters, fights the Russians in Afghanistan, gets imprisoned in Bombay, becomes a professional forger and an amateur doctor and experiences life in an Indian slum. The book is extremely well written and paints an accurate, although somewhat rosy, picture of life in India.

The Motorcycle Diaries

Happy birthday to revolutionary Che Guevara! Ernesto “Che” Guevara was portrayed onscreen in our 2004 film #TheMotorcycleDiaries.

A post shared by Focus Features (@focusfeatures) on Jun 14, 2017 at 5:38pm PDT

A travel classic, these are the diaries of Che Guevara in which he travels around South America by motorbike. Still one of the best travel guide books for those interested in exploring South America on your own motorbike!

The Kite Runner

Hello all!! Day 29 of #juneglee17 is fave read of June! I loved the two Throne of Glass books I read this month, but this book was the one that surprised me the most with how much I loved it! It is such a heartbreaking and emotional story that everyone should read once in their lives! - - - - #bookworm #booknerd #booknerdigans #bookaddict #bookaddiction #bookaholic #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramfeature #bookish #bookishfeatures #bibliophile #igbooks #igreads #instabook #instaread #read #reading #reader #book #books #booklover #booklove #thekiterunner #khaledhosseini #historicalfiction #contemporary

A post shared by Alexis (@hooked_to_books) on Jun 29, 2017 at 8:31pm PDT

A fascinating, sometimes painful, read about Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The story follows the fate of two young boys, one of whom is able to escape to America whilst the other, of the Hazara minority group, is forced to stay behind. A great book to read if you are interested in travelling around Central Asia.

Heart of Darkness

Two books I've recently read referred to racism as "the heart of darkness" (what has increased my curiosity towards Conrad's classic, have you read it?) : TGOST by Arundhati Roy and A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, by Adam Rutherford. . Rutherford tells that Mark Twain wrote in 1869 that "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Yet Francis Galton (brilliant scientist, awful racist) explored the world, as the young men of privileged class used to in the 19th century, traveling to Turkey, Middle East, Egypt, Namibia... And he maintained and reinforced a very strong hierarchical views of the peoples of the world. . 150 years later we still continue to hear that travel, education, and reading kill bigotry. Can you really assume that someone who has traveled the world, has lots of degrees and is "well-read" is more tolerant than someone who hasn't attended a prestigious university, is no regular reader and has never put a foot in a foreign country? Isn't that a classist prejudice itself? And what is more worrying: as Rutherford implies, probably false. History (and the present), is too full of people who read a lot, traveled a lot, and thought terrible things. . . . Dos de los libros que he leído recientemente se refieren al racismo como "el corazón de las tinieblas", lo cual ha incrementado mi curiosidad en este clásico: El dios de las cosas pequeñas (Arundhati Roy) y Breve historia de todos los que han vivido (Adam Rutherford). . Cuenta Rutherford que Mark Twain escribió en 1869 que "viajar es fatal para el prejuicio, la intolerancia, y la estrechez de miras". Y sin embargo, Francis Galton (gran científico...y racista) había explorado el mundo, como los jóvenes de extracción privilegiada solían hacer en el S.XIX (Turquía, Oriente Medio, Egipto, Namibia...)pero mantuvo y reforzó un sentido muy profundo de las jerarquías de los pueblos del mundo. . 150 años después seguimos oyendo que viajar, los estudios y la lectura acaban con todo prejuicio. ¿No es esto en sí un prejuicio clasista?

A post shared by Rachel 📚 (@booksandrachel) on Jun 29, 2017 at 12:41pm PDT

At the peak of European Imperialism, steamboat captain Charles Marlow travels deep into the African Congo on his way to relieve the elusive Mr Kurtz, an ivory trader renowned for his fearsome reputation. On his journey into the unknown Marlow takes a terrifying trip into his own subconscious, overwhelmed by his menacing, perilous and horrifying surroundings. The ultimate travel guide to a forgotten part of Africa.

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