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10 Travel Books to Satisfy Your Wanderlust

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While you wait for your next literal escape, take a literary one. Whether you’re looking for a long read or something visual, here are 10 genre–spanning travel books that will get you excited to start planning your 2021 journeys.

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By Alexis Ramlall
January 7, 2021

Destination inspiration

The cover of “Hidden Places: An Inspired Traveller’s Guide” by Sarah Baxter

  1. Hidden Places: An Inspired Traveller’s Guide by Sarah Baxter, $26 —

    Travel journalist Sarah Baxter transports you to the Mayan underworld, the oldest active synagogue in Europe and 23 more wondrous and obscure places in this illustrated book. Each destination, from the Nazca Lines in Peru to Iceland’s Álfaborg – a.k.a the City of the Elves – is paired with hand–drawn artwork by Amy Grimes, sure to inspire an addition to your bucket list.

The cover of “Remote Places to Stay: The Most Unique Hotels at the End of the World” by Debbie Pappyn & David De Vleeschauwer

  2. Remote Places to Stay: The Most Unique Hotels at the End of the World by Debbie Pappyn & David De Vleeschauwer, $70 —

    Looking to get off the grid? Craving a sandy desert view, or do you prefer a rugged coastline? Dream about your next far–off vacation with this book featuring artful photographs of 22 of the most unique and secluded places to stay around the world, including Canada’s own Fogo Island Inn and Mongolia’s Jalman Meadows Wilderness Ger Camp.

The cover of “Off Grid Life: Your Ideal Home in the Middle of Nowhere” by Foster Huntington

  3. Off Grid Life: Your Ideal Home in the Middle of Nowhere by Foster Huntington, $35 —

    Ever thought of leaving everything behind to live in a van and travel across the country? You’re not alone. Foster Huntington has written four books on this “new American Dream,” including 2017’s Van Life. His latest is a compilation of 250 stunning photographs of unconventional homes in the most enviable of places – treehouses in quiet forests, yurts surrounded by fields of wildflowers – and interviews with those who have picked up and taken off to live out their dreams.

The cover of “Accidentally Wes Anderson” by Wally Koval

  4. Accidentally Wes Anderson by Wally Koval, foreword by Wes Anderson, $44 —

    What began as Wally Koval’s personal travel bucket list via Instagram has become a collection of unique destinations that capture the imagined worlds of legendary filmmaker Wes Anderson. Travel to 200 locations that all look as though they’ve been plucked from Moonrise Kingdom or The Grand Budapest Hotel, such as striped bungalows in Portugal, viewfinders in Iceland and the coral Roberts Cottages in Oceanside, California.

Travel memoirs

The cover of “The Only Gaijin in the Village: A Year Living in Rural Japan” by Iain Maloney

  5. The Only Gaijin in the Village: A Year Living in Rural Japan by Iain Maloney, $23 —

    Originally from Scotland, Iain Maloney tells the story of his move to rural Japan with his Japanese wife and his attempts to fit in as a “gaijin” (“foreigner” in Japanese). Maloney navigates culture shock, new hobbies and watchful neighbours, revealing in the process a rarely seen side of Japan.

The cover of “All the Way to the Tigers: A Memoir” by Mary Morris

  6. All the Way to the Tigers: A Memoir by Mary Morris, $36 —

    When travel writer Mary Morris suffers an ice–skating injury, her life is derailed – and so are her travels. While recovering, she decides that once she is able to walk again, she’ll go “all the way to the tigers,” a nod to Death in Venice, which she read while sofa–bound. This multilayered memoir details her travels to India post–recovery, and what she learns about herself along the way.

The cover of “La Traversée des écrivains : la Gaspésie par monts et par mots” by Geneviève Lefebvre

  7. La Traversée des écrivains : la Gaspésie par monts et par mots, $35 —

    In the fall of 2019, author and journalist Geneviève Lefebvre invited 10 writers to participate in the “Traversée de la Gaspésie” (“Crossing the Gaspé Peninsula”) and write about their experiences on the multi–day trek through the mountains on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The result is this collection of boundary–pushing tales of epic journeys to experience the beauty of Gaspésie.

Travel photography and illustration

The cover of “Gregory Halpern: Let the Sun Beheaded Be” by Gregory Halpern

  8. Gregory Halpern: Let the Sun Beheaded Be by Gregory Halpern, $49 —

    The latest book from American photographer Gregory Halpern focuses on the Guadeloupe Islands. In addition to lush landscapes, his images touch on everything from the archipelago’s colonial past to the poet Aimé Césaire, whose writing inspired the title of the book.

The cover of “Uani” by Violaine Leroy

  9. Uani by Violaine Leroy, $25 —

    French author and illustrator Violaine Leroy combines her two skills in this beautiful picture book that follows a curious young woman’s mountain explorations in a faraway country. Leroy’s words and illustrations are a reminder of the joys of discovering new cultures, traditions and rituals.

The cover of “Ernst Haas: New York in Color, 1952-1962”, foreword by Phillip Prodger & Alex Haas

  10. Ernst Haas: New York in Color, 1952–1962, foreword by Phillip Prodger & Alex Haas, $60 —

    This collection of newly–discovered photographs of 1950s New York from Ernst Haas offers a portrait of the world–renowned photographer at the height of his career – all the while capturing his signature depth, energy and resonant depictions of big–city life.