Best Travel Books
The books we love!

Here are some of our favorite travel-related books; The Best Travel Books!

Every year, newspapers and magazines review “beach reads” - great paperbacks to take with you on summer vacation.

But you don’t have to go on vacation to experience a great read.

Books can enrich our lives anytime by exposing us to new ideas and wild adventures and enthusiastic adventuresses.

Associate Editor Cam Usher has a floor to ceiling bookshelf of foreign country references and travel guides. Her coffee table always has at least one beautiful hardback full of colored pictures about China, Italy, or Stonehenge.

Best Travel Books

They’re everywhere, and we love them for it.

Don’t be put off by that bumper sticker that says “so many books, so little time."

Here’s my advice: if it's really difficult for you to find time to read, try books on tape. They’ve seen me serenely entertained through long drives, grid-locked traffic, and demanding, dull, monotonous housework.

Grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine, settle into your favorite nook, and get ready to meet - in both fiction and non-fiction - some of our favorites.

Best Travel Books

Hidden Places by Sarah Baxter

An inspired traveller's guide to hidden places. This is a book about 25 lesser-known travel destinations, from the neolithic site of Skara Brae on the island of Orkney in Scotland to Curio Bay in New Zealand, taking in countries like Italy, Austria, Canada, the USA and Belize, to name but a few.

This book uncovers a selection of hidden spots, some you may have heard of, some maybe not. Some are hidden by their location - they are hard to get to. Others are actually physically concealed.

All the images are artwork by Amy Grimes. Sit back and prepare to travel to the least well-known destinations on Earth! Order from Amazon HERE!

Following Nellie Bly by Rosemary J Brown

The cover of the book 'Following Nellie Bly'

"Following Nellie Bly: Her Record-Breaking Race Around the World" by Rosemary J Brown

In the Footsteps of Nellie Bly - Rosemary J Brown follows in the footsteps of intrepid journalist and adventurer, Nellie Bly, who in 1889 raced through a 'man's world' in 72 days -- alone and literally with the clothes on her back -- to shatter the fictional record set by Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days.

CLICK HERE to read about Rosemary's journey 125 years later, traveling alone with one single bag on the same route!

Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart

Book Cover of 'Driving Over Lemons' - blossom trees on a hill with blue sky

Driving Over Lemons - An Optimist in Andalucia by Chris Stewart. "An idyllic life in a remote, sunny part of Europe is a fantasy normally punctured by harsh realities, and abandoned. Chris is made of sterner stuff. Driving Over Lemons is a wonderful account of his Andalucian adventure."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND THE BEST PRICE TO BUY THIS GREAT BOOK!

Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene

The cover of Graham Greene's book 'Travels with my Aunt'

Travels with my Aunt is a hilarious and thoughtful novel by Graham Greene. Henry's aunt Augusta persuades retired bank manager Henry to travel with her to Istanbul and Paraguay. Discover this classic now! Read our full review here.

Best Travel Books

A Travel Checklist by Keith and Tina Paul

A Travel Checklist for the Most Important Things You Need to Know Before Traveling Domestically or Abroad - Former Californians Keith and Tina Paul say they were “born with wanderlust in our veins.” Now retired in the Andean World Heritage city of Cuenca, Ecuador, they travel five to six months of the year.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO BUY

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway by Heidi Eliason

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway

Depressed with her climb up the corporate ladder and struggling with “middle-age” insecurities, Heidi Eliason took a daring leap of faith in herself. At age 45 she sold her house, bought a motorhome, quit her job and embarked on an adventure that would change her life in ways she never imagined.

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW

Why We Left - a compilation by 27 women

Why We Left, an Anthology of American Women Expats

Janet Blaser has compiled and edited amazing first-person stories of women who have emigrated from the US to Mexico.

While their reasons for making this adventurous move are diverse, they all share a predilection for personal reflection, and a willingness to reach farther than they ever imagined to achieve the life they want.

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW

Best Travel books

Squeaky Wheels by Suzanne Kamata

SQUEAKY WHEELS - Travels with my Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair

Author Suzanne Kamata and her daughter Lilia’s story of travel through Japan, the US. and France presents a powerful message of empowerment for people with disabilities who want to travel. As one reviewer so aptly noted, Squeaky Wheels is “a wonderful example of a parent letting go of expectations for her daughter while giving her wings to fly.”

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW

Only In India by Jill Dobbe

Only in India – Adventures of an International Educator

in her travel memoir, Only in India, Jill reveals an enlightening and colorful tale of a year as principal of an Indian International school in Gurgaon, India.

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW

Best Travel Books

Rick Steves’ Travel As A Political Act

Mark Twain wrote in 1869, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”

Rick Steves, in his book, Travel As a Political Act, echoes Twain’s sentiments as he presents an in-depth view of conclusions he’s deduced from his decades as a travel celebrity and writer. He has taken this opportunity to ask uncomfortable questions that Americans need to hear, ponder, and consider.

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW

30 Days in Quito

Ever wonder what it would be like to pick up one day and move abroad?

In the summer of 2013, Kris Loomis and her husband sold all their worldly possessions and, along with their three-legged cat, Triplet, did just that. They left their comfy life behind and moved to Ecuador!

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW

Going Gypsy: One Couple’s Adventure from Empty Nest to No Nest At All

Going Gypsy is a thoughtful and thought-provoking memoir of one couple whose first adventure was to marry young and raise three children.

As their last child moved away to attend college in another city, David and Veronica, married for 30 years, found themselves asking the universal empty-nest question, Now what?

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW

Book cover 'Smashing through the roadblocks'

Smashing Through The Roadblocks in the Highways of Your Mind—How to Unlock the Secrets of the Power of Attraction.

Attract adventure or anything else that you decide will enhance or enlighten or excite your life!

Law of Attraction coach Stephanie Slavin reminds us that we can have—and we deserve to have—good things and abundance in our lives.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO BUY

Best Travel Books

Art Improv 101: How to Create a Personal Art Journal

A how-to art journaling guide by a retired graphic designer and chronic art journal addict that includes dozens of technique illustrations.

Learn secrets of watercolor techniques, shading with pencils and pens, tools of the "trade" and tips for drawing faces, trees, and other objects.

Combine your thoughts, look inward, officially doodle, have fun & observe your life.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Expats in Ecuador: Life in Cuenca

In which the authors tell all about retiring to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Cuenca.

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW

Legal Tender : True Tales of a Brothel Madam

Legal Tender Laraine Russo Harper relates her experiences as a former brothel madam and puts a human face on the women who sell sexual services and the men who buy them.

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW

The Outlander Series

Diana Gabaldon's WWII Heroine, Claire Randall

On her second honeymoon, WWII British nurse Claire Randall steps through a circle of stones and is transported to 18th century Scotland, on the eve of the Battle of Culloden.

CLICK HERE to READ OUR FULL REVIEW