Our 5 favourite travel books

Reading and travelling go hand-in-hand – whether you’re engrossed in a beach page-turner, or learning more about your favoured destination – there are plenty of adventures to disappear into.

With such a broad range of travel books out there, it can be hard knowing which to read or where to start. As huge travel advocates ourselves, we wanted to provide a reference point to start your journey.

Limiting ourselves to a top 5 was extremely difficult. As such we’ve aimed to pick a range of differing styles – designed to both inspire and be enjoyable reads whilst you’re away!

If you’re travelling with Freebird club, you could even buy one for the trip and gift it to your host. Alternatively, if you are hosting, why not start a travel book collection for your guests.

1. In a Sunburned Country – Bill Bryson  

No travel reading list would be complete without a Bill Bryson entry. The most well-travelled of folk has written a litany of books, but we’ve chosen his love-letter to Australia.

A varied journey across the country-cum-contintent, Bryson describes in wonderful detail the places he visits and people he meets – not to mention his connections with wildlife – leaving you with a very definite feeling about what Australia is… and whether or not it’s for you!

Even though it’s nearly 25 years old, the refreshing thing about Bryson’s style (and perhaps a commentary on life) is that the core of what he’s written remains accurate, informative, and as fresh today as it did when it was written.

2. Around the world in 80 trains – Monisha Rajesh
 

In her previous book, ‘Around India in 80 Trains’, the train-loving Rajesh enjoyed a locomotive experience around her ancestral India. In this broader entry, she expands her horizons ,(literally) exploring if the romantic way of global slow-travel is still viable in this day and age, sharing the experience with her fiance.

Although she doesn’t technically travel around ‘the world’ (she starts in Europe and much of the book occurs in Asia) it is an engrossing read about the joy of travelling long distances via a means that allows conversation and bonding with like-minded souls to help create a community in its own right.

3. Taste: My Life Through Food – Stanley Tucci
 

One of the most savoured parts of travelling is the food. A local delicacy can change your world and broaden your horizons.

In his food-documentary ‘Searching for Italy’, Stanley Tucci explores his Italian heritage and showcases his love of all Italian cuisine. In ‘Taste…’ he continues this journey in delicious detail, cooking up a real treat of a read that encompasses favourite (and least favourite) dishes, family stories and tales from filming that come together in a glorious concoction that will surely prove the ‘sauce’ of inspiration for your next Italian adventure.

4. Atlas of Georgraphical Curiosities – Vitali Vitaliev 

If you’re looking for something slightly different for your next adventure, you should start your investigation here. This book of wonders contains 59 entries of some of the weird and wonderful peculiarities that define where we live.

From countries that don’t actually exist, to others that change allegiances depending up which law they prefer, via other quirks of geography, Vitali Vitaliev has collated some of the best oddities in the world – which at the very least will offer some conversation at your next dinner party, and may prompt a different direction for your next adventure.

5. Hidden Places – Sarah Baxter

Along similar lines as the ‘Atlas’ above, travel journalist Sarah Baxter delves into some of the more obscure places around the world to bring us this selection of 25 secluded and secret places.

A guide that showcases the bittersweet (the English village that was evacuated for the war effort and now stands deserted) the wonderous (a mini Atlantis) and more, it is beautifully illustrated by Amy Grimes.

Presenting you with a semi-bucket list (some of the locations are unreachable), it will at the very least perhaps inspire you to do some discovering off the beaten track of your own.

6. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
 

Yes this is number 6. But an honourable mention is surely required. We couldn’t have a travel guide without the greatest travel book of all.

Adams’ book certainly transcends time (and space) as the hapless Arthur Dent travels across the galaxy after the destruction of Earth, supported and guided by a cast of miscreants, aliens and general vagabonds. As witty and intelligent today as it was when it came out. Just make sure to avoid the Vogan poetry.