Travel Book Recommendations from Real Travelers (+Movies!)

The Island of Sea Women

Author: Lisa See
Genre: Fiction
Location(s) Featured: Jeju, South Korea
Recommended By: Tara from Travel with TMc
More About the Blogger: Tara is the Canadian blogger and points and miles consultant behind Travel with TMc where she gives travel tips, teaches Canadians how to fly for less than their grocery bill, and shares part-time life on the road in her campervan. She also has a podcast where she digs into real life stories with travellers from around the world.

Here’s what Tara said: After having lived on Jeju-do in South Korea, I’ve been drawn to learn more about this island, its people, and their history. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See is a fictional account of two girls from Jeju, whose lives are intricately woven together despite growing up in very different worlds. The book spans decades of friendship, loss, and life as haenyeo (female free divers) living through Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 40s through to present day. The author’s exquisite ability to gently draw readers in so close that they are nearly living the story, is unparalleled. Carve out your weekend for this book. You’re not going to be able to put it down until the last page.

Note from Jen: I loved this book, too (and really anything by Lisa See). I included this one on my list of Books Set in South Korea.

Into the Wild

Author: Jon Krakauer
Genre: Nonfiction, Self-Discovery and Change
Location(s) Featured: Alaska
Recommended By: Raffa Murgia
More About the Creator: Raffa is a travel content creator, storyteller, and marketer at TourRadar. He was born in Italy and has lived in the US, Australia, and Spain. He’s currently based in Austria.

Here’s what Raffa said: For me, the book that really left a mark is Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Even though the ending is tragic, it keeps carving deeper into you each time you think about it… reminding us what really matters in life and what it means to truly exist.

Note from Jen: Into the Wild is included on my list of Travel Books That Are Also Movies…so you can both read this and watch this!

Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park

Author: Conor Knighton
Genre: Nonfiction
Location(s) Featured: National Parks, United States
Recommended By: Erin Burke from Flying Off the Bookshelf
More About the Blogger: Erin is a travel writer, Disney enthusiast, and major bookworm who believes travel and reading are the best ways to connect with, understand, and love the world.

Here’s what Erin said: Before reading this book I liked National Parks fine. I enjoyed visiting them when I happened to be close by, but I didn’t go out of my way to travel to them. But after reading this book, I’ve made traveling to every major USA National Park (eventually!) one of my goals. 

In this book, Knighton spends a year traveling to every major National Park. But this isn’t a standard travel memoir telling the story in a linear fashion. Instead, he groups his travels by theme, so each chapter focuses on a different aspect that some national parks share such as sunrise or trees or ice. Some he groups by even more abstract concepts like forgiveness or diversity.

Knighton is both reflective and surprisingly funny. And he makes some of the National Parks that might get overlooked by most travelers shine and turns them into must-visit destinations. I’ve already checked off several National Parks since reading this book, and I’m looking forward to even more and have started planning more trips around them!

Note from Jen: Erin has a whole list of books about National Parks on her blog you should definitely check out.

Travel as a Political Act & Between East and West

Authors: Rick Steves and Anne Applebaum
Genre: Nonfiction
Location(s) Featured: All over!
Recommended By: Kimberly Kephart from Kimberly Kephart Travels
More About the Blogger: Kimberly Kephart is a travel writer and blogger at kimberlykepharttravels.com, where she shares solo travel guides, hiking itineraries, and stories about finding confidence and connection through travel.

Here’s what Kimberly said: Two books share the top spot for me: Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves and Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe by Anne Applebaum. Both shaped how I think about travel—not just as movement, but as a way to understand cultures, histories, and the stories people carry. Steves reminds me that travel can be a tool for empathy and change, while Applebaum’s journey through Europe’s shifting borderlands gave me a deeper awareness of resilience, identity, and memory. Together, they’ve inspired me to approach my own travels with curiosity, responsibility, and respect.

Caribe: A Caribbean Cookbook with History

Author: Keshia Sakarah
Genre: Cookbook
Location(s) Featured: The Caribbean
Recommended By: Hema from Hello Hema and The Moreish Podcast
More About the Blogger: Hema is a podcaster, and food & travel content creator based in Toronto, Ontario (Canada). 

Here’s what Hema said: The food of a place gives you a glimpse into their history and culture, and in Keshia Sakarah’s debut cookbook Caribe: A Caribbean Cookbook with History she gives you a peek into the region through the lens of food. 

As she describes, for example, the history and significance of Haiti’s Soup Joumou, I can picture myself sitting around a table at a gathering of family & friends on January 1st, a hearty bowl of soup in front of me, listening to the stories of the past. It’s the kind of experience I crave when I travel.

Note from Jen: I agree that food is a huge part of a culture! Check out my list of books and movies from around the world about food and cooking for more fun ideas of books and movies.

The Museum of Whales You Will Never See: Travels Among the collectors of Iceland

Author: A. Kendra Greene
Genre: Nonfiction
Location(s) Featured: Iceland
Recommended By: Karen Warren, WorldWideWriter
More About the Blogger: Karen is a long-time traveler and writer who can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog.

Here’s what Karen said: Before I travelled to Iceland I read The Museum of Whales You Will Never See by A. Kendra Greene. This is a lively description of some of the country’s many small (and often idiosyncratic) museums. Imagine a Sea Monster Museum, a Museum of Sorcery, or a private collection of household items that no-one had got round to throwing away…

This book inspired me to visit some of Iceland’s small museums for myself. They were a great introduction to the country and its people: a nation that had lived through hard times and that had seen massive social change in recent decades. And a culture that was just as quirky as its museums!

The Holiday

Release Year: 2006
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Location(s) Featured: The Cotswolds, England & Los Angeles, California, United States
Recommended By: Jennifer Wallace from Solo Travel Jen
More About the Blogger: Jen is a writer and creator who loves helping women over 50 say YES to travel.

Here’s what Jennifer said: Under the Tuscan Sun, The Holiday, and Chocolat have all inspired real life journeys for me. I was 33 when The Holiday came out and knew after watching that I wanted a winter moment in the Cotswolds one day. This year, at 51, I finally made it happen. My €110 a night inn was everything I hoped for: wallpaper, soft fabrics, fireplaces around every corner, and the kindest staff. Each morning, I was so grateful for my prepared meal in the quiet cozy breakfast room. I watched them add short logs to the fire and rekindled my love of writing there on a velvet banquette. I attended a Cheltenham horse race, played darts at a tiny pub in Winchcombe, and watched lambs frolic in late afternoon sun on the way to Burford. I took hot bubble baths and put myself to bed early each night. The peace and quiet joy of that trip remains with me even eight months later. While those movies all featured love interests with a leading man, my winter retreat to the Cotswolds was an absolute love affair with self-care.

Note from Jen: The Holiday is one of my all-time favorite movies and I included it on my list of travel movies for the holidays, because it also inspired me to want to travel to the Cotswolds! (Even if Kate Winslet’s cottage isn’t real.)