Hey! Interested in more content from Voyage Scribe? Want to get free travel-inspired writing prompts every month? Then sign up for the Voyage Scribe newsletterand get ready for some inspiration coming your way!
Welcome back! Interested in journals designed for writers who travel? Check out there Voyage Scribe journals here !
While the world fights to stop the spread of COVID-19, borders are closed, cities are on lockdown and people are in quarantine. If you had to cancel your travel plans, you can do the next best thing to traveling in real life: travel through books.
Here’s a list of some of my favorite books that never fail to transport me to distant lands and times. Perhaps one day I will get to travel to them all, and you will too, but for now we just have books.
I organized this list by regions of the world, so pick a place, pick a book and travel through reading!
This article contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commission at no extra cost to you.
Hemingway, a Nobel Prize winning writer, was an American expatriate living in Europe. The main character of this book was too. In fact, much of this novel seems to be drawn from Hemingway’s real life.
The Sun Also Rises transports you into the world of the American and British expatriate community in 1920’s Paris, as well as to Spain’s bullfighting scene. It is the story of the Lost Generation, “the age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love and vanishing illiusions.”
This is among my favorite historical fiction books, telling the imagined story of Vermeer’s model in one of his most famous paintings.
I read this book a years ago, and at the time I had no idea I’d one day be living in the Netherlands. During my time living there, I thought of this book a lot, as it was perhaps my first introduction to the country. And seeing this famous painting in the Hague will be so much more awe-inspiring if you read this book first.
This classic so perfectly captures the moody landscape that you won’t even have to travel to the vast lands of bogs and rocky hills in the Yorkshire Moors. But if you ever do, you’ll be reminded of the vivid imagery in this book.
An older book, this memoir is still one of the most popular books that come to mind about travel. It tells the writer’s experience living in southern France for a year, and you’ll probably have a laugh reading it.
This book will take you on a journey through time and place, but what captivated me most was 1960’s Italy, which most of the book was set in.
“A story of flawed yet fascinating people navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams,” it’s also highly critically acclaimed for how beautifully written it is.
The imagery in this book is breathtaking, and I just recently read it during COVID lockdown. It was the perfect book to escape my reality into another, worse reality, which made the state of the world today seem not that bad.
Although the setting was gorgeously written in this book, Saint-Malo is not a place I would have liked to traveled to in WWII. It was, however, a gripping fictional visit!
Perhaps one of the most famous books about travel, Kerouac wrote On the Road while he himself was traveling. While the main character in the book is a guy called Sal, this is a mostly autobiographical account of Kerouac’s journey across the U.S.
If you’ve never read anything from the Beat Generation (one of my personal favorites), this is a great place to start. And now is a great time to start. Go on this journey across the country in the form of this beautiful book.
This well-known travel writer did something unique with this book. Instead of writing about the places with glamorous things to offer to bring tourists in, this book focuses on the small towns across America most people just pass through without exploring.
Maybe you’ll be inspired to visit places you’ve never thought to visit before once lockdowns are over after reading Blue Highways.
Back in the day when I was too young to solo travel the world, reading books was the only way to do that. And one of my favorites were the Anne of Green Gablesbooks.
Thanks to Anne’s vivid imagination, the reader is transported deep into her world on Prince Edward Island in Canada. To be honest, I have yet to visit Anne’s beloved island. But it’s on my list, and it will go on yours after reading these books!
Where the Crawdads Singdoesn’t really involve traveling, but it’ll have you craving a trip to southern U.S. The gorgeous imagery painted in this book is enough to make you forget you’re stuck at home.
The story takes place in North Carolina, and it’s a mystery, coming-of-age story and a poetic painting of the natural world of the marshland.
This Nobel Prize winning writer loved the city this book is set in, Cartagena, so much that he requested that his ashes lie there. On a tour of Cartagena, my guide recommended this book for when we went home and wanted to travel back to Cartagena, because it transports you to this charming city so vividly.
Love in the Time of Cholera is a love story that will also make you fall in love with Garcia Marquez’s Cartagena.
While set in a fictional town, One Hundred Years of Solitude will still have you craving to visit Colombia. It’s perhaps Garcia Marquez’s most famous books, and the magical realism of it will make your journey even more enchanting.
Machu Picchu is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world. No one’s traveling to it now, as it was shut down amongst the COVID-19 outbreak. But once it reopens and you get the chance to travel there, this book will convince you to do more than just snap a pic for Instagram of the iconic mountain.
So, this book was not at all what I was expecting, but it was still a good one. A non-fiction book, it explores both the colonial search for this mythological city, while also documenting the modern-day effort by its citizens to save its ancient texts from al Qaeda’s destruction.
Despite everything, Book Smugglers of Timbuktu made me want to visit the city so many had tried to find in the past. Even though I know what to expect after reading this book, I want to see for myself the place that has worn so many myths.
This book starts off in Spain, but the main character, Santiago, travels to Egypt on a quest to find himself. It’s one of the most popular books involving travel, and certainly Coelho’s most popular book.
The Alchemistis not a long book, but it is packed with lessons about life that will change the way you look at life. That’s something travel does well, but when you can’t travel, reading this book instead will do the trick.
This beautiful true story is about Greg Mortenson and his experience building schools for girls in Pakistan villages after one village’s kindness saved him following his failed attempt to climb K2.
Three Cups of Tea will not only leave you wanting to explore this beautiful region of the world and meet its beautiful people, but will also leave you feeling inspired to do good in the world.
This is an anthology of 14 stories from various award-winning writers exploring the darker side of Singapore. Most are enamored by the luxury and beauty of Singapore, but these stories will show what many tourists don’t see.
This is actually in a series of anthologies, Akashic Noir. They have anthologies for other places worldwide with short stories showing the darker side of places you might visit. So feel free to explore and explore the dark side of multiple cities around the world.
You know that famous author who wrote 1984 and Animal Farm? Well, did you know he lived in Burma (Myanmar)? He did, and this is his first novel, which was set there.
Burmese Days is not as famous as the two aforementioned books, but it transports the reader into 1920’s British Burma, exploring the corruption of the system.
Another famous travel book, In a Sunburned Country is famous for good reason. Bryson gives his account of traveling Australia, and he writes about it in such a way that you’ll have trouble putting down the book.
Books Set Across Multiple Places:
Can’t decide which region of the world to “visit?” These are the books letting you travel to multiple areas of the world in one go!
One of the most famous contemporary books about travel, you may have heard of this one.
Eat, Pray, Love will take you on a journey to three countries starting with an “i”: Italy, India and Indonesia. A journey to three countries- not the mention the spiritual one the author takes- in one book? This will satisfy your travel urges until you can travel again.
Most of us associate traveling as a hobby or passion. But for many, traveling not only is a way to escape threats of death, but is also in itself a threat of death. The Map of Salt and Stars is one of the best refugee books I’ve read, and the writing is hauntingly beautiful.
You won’t finish this book wanting to undertake this journey from Syria, but you will leave it seeing the world differently. Once the quarantines and lockdowns are over, you’ll really appreciate the privilege you have to travel in a new light.
This award-winning book takes the reader on a journey from Cambridge to Seattle to India to Thailand through eight short stories. The beautifully crafted prose explores its characters and the world around them, showing readers how different people experience different places.
Sometimes adventures are best taken from the comfort and safety of your home. This collection of 19 stories will let you do just that. And you might actually be grateful to be safe at home instead.
For any literary-loving travelers, this book from newly Nobel Prize winning, Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk is a must-read. It’s not a book to binge-read, but rather to digest slowly the thoughts and stories of Tokarczuk, who is a traveler herself.
For me, this was the perfect book to pick up while I was in COVID lockdown and missed traveling.
Books About Travel in Fictional Worlds:
Unlike all the other books on this list, we can travel to those places once country lock downs are over. But some places we can only ever travel to in books.
I’ve heard of this book for years but only recently read it. I’m not usually a fan of reading comedy, but I loved joining the characters on their travels across the galaxy.
Here’s one of my favorite excerpts:
“More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit, etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally ‘lost.’ What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.”
This is a ridiculous statement from a ridiculous book, but… is it wrong? Most long-term backpackers can agree to the luxury a towel can symbolize.
Do you have any other books that inspired you to travel or that you loved “traveling” with from the comfort of your home? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!
Want to try writing your own book using travel as inspiration? Check out my free resources!
I love how you’ve organised it by region! Lots of my favourites included there, especially Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I can’t wait to get to Colombia one day.
I was traveling in Colombia when all the crazy COVID-19 stuff happened and I had to go home early, but at least I can still travel there by book 😉 I hope you make it there one day! From the very little I saw, it’s an amazing country!
I’ve read a few of these books and they were great. I’m always looking for new book suggestions. Thanks for your recommendations. I’m going to be a few of these on my reading list.
Great ideas here! I love that you included Anthony Doerr in your reading suggestions. One of my faves.
I believe I’m like a lot of writers and bloggers who got stuck in a year of no travel or much outside inspiration. I appreciate your helpful ideas here.
I love how you’ve organised it by region! Lots of my favourites included there, especially Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I can’t wait to get to Colombia one day.
I was traveling in Colombia when all the crazy COVID-19 stuff happened and I had to go home early, but at least I can still travel there by book 😉 I hope you make it there one day! From the very little I saw, it’s an amazing country!
I think I would read the Map of Salt and Stars! All of these books are great recommendations, though. A very timely post!
Thank you! The Map of Salt and Stars is a great book; I highly recommend it!!
Bill Bryson was my introduction to travel writing. SO GOOD! Great list. I’ll have to explore some of these titles.
I love that you included Where the Crawdad’s Sing on this list! The marshland imagery is incredible.
Next on my list is Blue Highways as I think exploring small towns is going to top my list once we’re able to safely travel again.
Thank you for sharing this great list!
Where the Crawdads Sing was one of my favorite books that I read last year!
And that sounds like an awesome adventure! I’d love to do the same on a road trip one day 🙂
Love how these are categorised! Adding them to my list
I hope you enjoy any that you decide to read 🙂
I love Where the Craw Dads Sing! Such a great list of recommendations
I’ve read a few of these books and they were great. I’m always looking for new book suggestions. Thanks for your recommendations. I’m going to be a few of these on my reading list.
Great ideas here! I love that you included Anthony Doerr in your reading suggestions. One of my faves.
I believe I’m like a lot of writers and bloggers who got stuck in a year of no travel or much outside inspiration. I appreciate your helpful ideas here.