Ten of the Best Travel Books of 2024
It’s that time of year! As the months turn colder, we inevitably begin spending more time indoors, and for those of us without immediate travel plans—or for those who spend their days traveling with a book in their hands—this also means we’ll be reading more this time of year.
This year, our list of ten of the best travel books published in 2024 is a little different: each book on this list helps us to see the world from a different perspective, challenging us to travel with responsibility, to discover the amazing world right outside your doorstep or even to travel through time.
So, with your curiosity thoroughly piqued, let’s get to the books.
travel…with purpose
The Intrepid List, Intrepid Travel
Cover of The Intrepid List, Intrepid Travel’s first book. (Photo Credit: Hardie Grant Publishing)
Far more than a bucket list or travel guide, The Intrepid List is B-Corp-certified tour operator Intrepid Travel’s inspiration guide on how to travel more responsibly and get more out of your trips than a few Instagram-worthy photos. The beautiful book features full-page images and explanations of 100 incredible experiences to have across the globe, from visiting Vienna’s unique Globenmuseum cataloguing centuries of exploration to experiencing Georgia’s UNESCO-designated polyphonic form of music-making that’s as mysterious as it is ancient.
travel…solo
Wander Woman: How to Reclaim Your Space, Find Your Voice, and Travel the World, Solo, Beth Santos
Cover of “Wander Woman” by Beth Santos. (Photo Credit: Balance, Hachette Book Group)
Solo travel is a growing trend, but women are especially hesitant to travel on their own, most often citing personal safety risks. For anyone who’s wondered what it’s like to travel solo, and how to do so safely and confidently, Beth Santos’s Wander Woman is the book for you.
Written by Wanderful’s own founder, Wander Woman is a compassionate guide and exploration into the world of solo travel for women, taking deep dives into important topics like how to balance different gender norms while traveling abroad, your responsibility as a traveler and what to do with that fear of traveling alone you wear like a backpack. It’s more than a guide: it’s a powerful call to adventure.
travel…to the top of the world
Everest, Inc.: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World, Will Cockrell
Cover of “Everest, Inc.: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World” by Will Cockrell. (Photo Credit: Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster)
Ever wonder how climbing Mount Everest ever became an adrenaline junkie’s greatest life goal? Well, here’s the book for you! Will Cockrell’s Everest, Inc. is the true story of how climbing Mount Everest became a booming adventure business dominated by British and American companies, and the host of characters, from Himalayan Sherpas to wealthy businessmen, who made it what it is today, with the top five tour operators all Sherpa-owned. It’s a great piece of reporting and an in-depth look at just one part of the world’s travel story.
travel…through time
The Missing Thread, Daisy Dunn
Cover of “The Missing Thread” by Daisy Dunn. (Photo Credit: Penguin Random House)
While we can’t literally travel through time (yet), some books can help us imagine the past as if it were right in front of us. Daisy Dunn’s The Missing Thread: A Women’s History of the Ancient World, weaves together the real stories of women who actually lived, worked and schemed throughout ancient history, from Cleopatra to lesser-known women like Olympias.
Readers will learn, perhaps for the first time, that women have been transforming the world since time immemorial. After all, there are always two sides to every story. History lovers will especially love this book.
travel…into the heart of a city
LOST IN AUSTIN: The Evolution of an American City, Alex Hannaford
Cover of Alex Hannaford’s “Lost in Austin.” (Photo Credit: Dey Street/HarperCollinsPublishers)
Travel to the heart of Austin, Texas in Alex Hannaford’s LOST IN AUSTIN: The Evolution of An American City. While not a travel book, Hannaford’s reporting on how his hometown has changed over recent decades is a welcome insight into what many Americans are feeling about their own beloved cities—and how the destinations they’ve come to love around the nation just aren’t the same as they used to be. Growing pains, commercialization and big tech have all impacted the city’s growth and trajectory, and not all for good. If you love digging into what makes the identity of a city truly unique, and the ways in which that identity can be threatened, this one’s the book for you.
travel…to the borders of the world
A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders, Jonn Elledge
Cover of “A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders” by Jonn Elledge. (Photo Credit: The Experiment Publishing)
Borders might be getting a bad rap these days, but they have changed constantly through the centuries—and how did they even get decided, anyway? In John Elledge’s entertaining and accessible A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders, readers learn why Europe is considered its own continent and not a peninsula of Asia (hint: the Greeks) and how modern-day events, like the war in Ukraine, are also connected to borders. It’s a great, insightful and timely read that puts our modern borders into context and shows how history does, in fact, still impact today.
Gideon Defoe, author of An Atlas of Extinct Countries, called it “By turns surprising, funny, bleak, ridiculous, or all four of those at once.”
travel…with writers
Globetrotting: Writers Walk the World, edited by Duncan Minshull
Cover of “Globetrotting: Writers Walk the World” edited by Duncan Minshull. (Photo Credit: Notting Hill Editions)
Let’s be real: we’ve loved reading the travel accounts of writers for centuries, and this hasn’t changed one bit. In Globetrotting: Writers Walk the World, a new anthology edited by Duncan Minshull, readers can learn about Mark Twain’s experience visiting Geneva, Edith Wharton on Fez and even Charles Darwin on Mauritius. Readers, writers, history lovers and travel lovers will surely find something to enjoy in this book.
travel…around your hometown
Local, Alastair Humphreys
Cover of “Local” by Alastair Humphreys. (Photo Credit: Eye Books Ltd.)
It may at first seem strange to have a book on this list that’s the exact opposite of what we typically think when we think of travel (leaving home), but that’s the magic of it! Alastair Humphreys’ Local is an exploration of the places called home, all fueled by the author’s single question: “Could I make exploring my backyard as fulfilling as traveling the world?” It’s a fascinating look into one man’s search for discovery, and it might just inspire you to go and discover the world you’ve never noticed that exists right down the road.
travel…with responsibility
The New Tourist: Waking Up to the Power and Perils of Travel, Paige McClanahan
Cover of “The New Tourist” by Paige McClanahan. (Photo Credit: Scribner, an imprint of Simon and Schuster)
Paige McClanahan’s The New Tourist: Waking Up to the Power and Perils of Travel chronicles the influence the travel industry has on the world, and the dangers of its running unchecked across the globe. From how Iceland went from unknown to bucket list-worthy in just two decades to the overtourism battles we’ve been seeing across the globe, McClanahan paints a broad picture of the power of travel to unite us all—and what happens when growth gets out of hand. Travelers who are conscious of their role in the travel cycle, and those who’d like to learn more about the industry got to be the way it is today, this is the book for you. You might just look at the world a little differently after reading it.
travel…into Travel
Why We Travel, Ash Bhardwaj
Cover of “Why We Travel” by Ash Bhardwaj. (Photo Credit: Bedford Square Publishers)
While a lot of books discuss where and how to travel, Ash Bhardwaj’s Why We Travel takes a more insightful approach, with each chapter discussing a particular reason for why someone might travel, such as for curiosity or empathy or wisdom. Psychological, anecdotal and thoroughly enjoyable, this book is a great read for those curious about why we think travel is such a valuable commodity, over and above most material possessions.
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