11 Travel Books That’ll Fuel Your Wanderlust

While you do your bit and stay at home for the greater good, your travel plans will cease to exist and even though that sounds like the worst thing imaginable (okay it is), we’re here for you 🤗

You may not be able to jump on a plane/train/bus and explore the world, but you can put the kettle on, get cosy in your favourite chair and open up a new book. There are so many great travel reads out there, that’ll allow you to travel the world and have adventures from the comfort of your own home. It may not be as good as the real thing, but it's a good way to feed your wanderlust for the rest of your self isolating days. Here’s a few of our favourites:

A book that defined an entire generation of wanderers and adventure-seekers, On The Road is the quintessential novel for those with itchy feet and a need to explore. Starting in the East Coast (Massachusetts) and sprawling across the USA to San Francisco and everything in-between, Kerouac’s poetic prose brims with the buzz of adventure and the keen eye of curiosity. A life-changing (or at least horizon broadening) book for travellers of all ages.

A fascinating true story of Thomas McFadden: a British drug-smuggler who found himself banged up abroad in Bolivia’s most notorious prison - San Pedro. Thomas famously made a living by giving tourists behind-the-scenes tours of the prison (at one point the tours were featured in Lonely Planet guides). ‘Marching Powder’ gives the reader a rare insight into the city of La Paz,  South American culture and the bizarre goings on inside the prison walls, where prisoners buy their own cells and bring their wives and children to live inside with them. This book is not for the faint hearted, but one thing is for sure, it’s a real page-turner! 

You’ve probably not heard of – oh wait. No, you’ll definitely have heard of Bill Bryson. Given the current self-isolation, we thought we’d keep it local and opt for ‘Notes from a Small Island’, a book written about our beloved Great Britain, by the famous US travel writer, just before he moved back to the States. Bryson goes to every corner of the island, visiting Scotland, England and Wales, and naturally, does so with his usual wit.

Nothing depicts adventure more than heading out into the great unknown, with only your backpack for company. For Strayed, she decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (or PCT for those in the know),  a journey that took her 2,650 miles from the border of Mexico, through California into Oregon and then into Washington State. It is a journey of freedom, self-discovery and overcoming grief with a little bit of help from the great outdoors. If you’re looking to step out of your comfort zone and find adventure, this is the book to inspire you. 

How many times have you been sitting alone on a beach, hiking up a mountain, or settling down for the night in a tent miles from civilisation and had only your own thoughts to keep you company? Travel time is perfect thinking time (kinda like quarantine) and this brilliantly researched and detailed book is a fantastic exploration of how travel can broaden the mind.

An anthology from Lonely Planet, ‘The Kindness of Strangers’ consists of 26 inspiring tales of human interaction, connections and, well… kindness around the world, all in the context of travel. The idea behind this collection of tails is to remind us that humans are inherently kind, and to encourage us to put that at the forefront of our own minds when we travel and connect with one another. 

This is a prison break story at its finest. The slightly inventive autobiography of Henri Charriere, a man sentenced to life imprisonment in French Guiana, in the 1930’s, for a crime he did not commit, is a captivating tale of perseverance and resilience. From the nine escape attempts and the two years spent in solitary confinement to the moment he finally escapes, this is the ultimate story of survival.

One for the cyclists amongst you, Sayarer takes us on a journey through Israel and Palestine 10 years after breaking a world record for cycling around the world. As you’d expect from such a route, his trip, and the book, involve a lot of human interaction as well as a huge focus on cycling. He speaks to everyone from Palestinian hip-hop artists to people from the kibbutz community and Palestinian cycling clubs determined to keep on riding. Due to be released here in the UK mid April, you won’t have to wait long. 

Not all of us have a natural affinity for adventure, but love can make a person do crazy things, and that’s exactly what this lovely book is all about. After meeting a handsome Argentinian man with a dream to set off exploring the world on his humble sailboat, Torre has to face a hard decision: watch the man she’s in love with sail away forever, or head off into the unknown with him. This book is all about facing your fears and is proof that some risks are worth taking 🥰

Any book written by Levison Wood makes for a good read, but one of our favourites is ‘Walking the Nile’. Trekking through rainforests, deserts, cities and war zones, Levison, takes the reader on a whirl-wind of an adventure to some of the most remote parts of the world. Having walked over  4,250 miles this book is much more than exploration, it’s a journey of stamina, self reflection and pain.

‘Pants of Perspective’ sees McNuff take on a 3,000 km running adventure through the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand. As much as this book is about adventure and people’s ability to push themselves to their limits , it’s essentially a love story, a love of a country and a love of running. This story has the potential to awaken the spirit of adventure in even the most hardened of couch-lovers. 

Set in hot and steamy Puerto Rico, Rum Diary is a tantalising journey through Paul Kemp’s struggles as he tries to balance his job as a journalist and his heart which gets stolen by Chenault, who just so happens to be the fiancee of a less than savoury local businessman. Diving and dining on fresh lobsters, slugging rum by the bottle and dancing the night away - Rum Diary is a riveting read that sizzles with Caribbean 

Looking for more ways to get your travel fix while in self-isolation, we’ve got you covered. If reading isn’t your jam, don’t fret we have #TravelFromHome, the TV edition, for all your boxset needs.