The settings in these books will take you places, minus the expensive airfare! Travel to faraway locations – if only in the pages of a book.
I love it when I feel like I’m right there with the character. And it’s even better if the setting is somewhere I’d love to travel to one day. Also, it’s fascinating to join a character as they wander around a dynamic city or picturesque countryside.
This booklist of “books that take you places” will do just that. Travel around the world and back again with these settings and true stories!
I’ve included novels that’ll provide a vicarious vacation, like The Paris Hours by Alex George and Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. And you’ll discover nonfiction reads to inspire your wanderlust, including Turn Right at Macchu Picchu by Mark Adams and Ten Years a Nomad by Matthew Kepnes.
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Fiction Books that Take You Places
1. The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani
Setting: Italy, France, Scotland
Description: In The Good Left Undone, Adriana Trigiani takes the reader on an epic journey that follows a family through three generations and three countries. Facing the end of her life, Matelda, the Cabrelli family’s matriarch, has one last wish. She’s determined to share her mother’s love story with her family, especially her daughter and granddaughter.
My Thoughts: I’m so excited to share this new release with you! Adriana Trigiani is a fantastic writer. Her book, The Shoemaker’s Wife, inspired me as I wrote Until Next Sunday.
2. The Vacationers by Emma Straub
Setting: Mallorca, Spain
Description: Pack your bags if you’re looking for a vicarious vacation. The Vacationers follows a family’s two-week trip to the beautiful island of Mallorca off the coast of Spain. Franny and Jim are celebrating their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Joining them is Sylvia, fresh out of high school (and my favorite character). Also accompanying them on this trip are all the tensions, pain, and drama they couldn’t leave at home in Manhattan.
My Thoughts: I read The Vacationers about two summers ago and enjoyed it. Before reading this book, I’d never heard of Mallorca. But after reading it, I wanted to go!
3. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Setting: Maui, Hawaii
Description: Read this if you have ever wished for a free trip to Hawaii! The Unhoneymooners, a romantic comedy, has a fun premise. Olive has always been envious of her twin sister Ami’s good luck. However, that dynamic changes when everyone at Ami’s wedding has food poisoning except for Olive and the best man, Ethan. Despite Olive considering Ethan her nemesis, she agrees to go with him on the free honeymoon to Hawaii. Pretending to be newlyweds for ten days in Hawaii leads to some unexpected feelings.
My Thoughts: I haven’t read it, but I have some predictions (ahem, pretty sure Olive and Ethan get together in Hawaii). And yet, I still want to go along for the trip and be joyfully entertained!
4. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Setting: Palm Springs, California
Description: When you can’t plan a week-long getaway in real life, this book is the next best alternative. Poppy and Alex have been best friends since sharing a ride home in college despite having little in common. They’ve taken a weeklong vacation every summer for the past ten years. However, two years ago, they ruined everything. Saddened, Poppy convinces Alex to take one last trip with her.
My Thoughts: I haven’t read this book yet. But I have a theory about what “ruined everything” on their last trip. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Uh-huh. And now, I want to join them on their one last trip to Palm Springs to find out what happens.
5. The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams
Setting: The Bahamas and London
Description: Pack your bags for a trip to the Bahamas in 1941. We’ll be traveling with the recently widowed Leonora “Lulu” Randolph. Working for a New York society magazine, Lulu enters the social circle of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Edward, and Wallis, after they’ve left the British monarchy five years earlier. As she mingles within a background of espionage, financial scandals, and racial tensions, Lulu meets and falls in love with Benedict Thorpe, a scientist. However, Benedict vanishes soon after the murder of Nassau’s wealthiest man. Lulu travels to London to uncover answers about Benedict’s family history.
My Thoughts: If you’re a fan of historical novels, British royalty, and intrigue, add this book to your “want to read” shelf. I’m interested in finding out what secrets Benedict is hiding.
6. The Paris Hours by Alex George
Setting: Paris, France
Description: Spend a single day in Paris in 1927. The Paris Hours follows the lives of four ordinary people with extraordinary stories. Camille has a secret. When tasked with destroying her employer’s notebooks, she burned all but one. Souren, an Armenian refugee, performs unlikely puppet shows for children. Artist Guillaume is lovesick, in debt, and about to receive an unexpected visitor. And Jean-Paul is a journalist with a personal story too painful to share. These four characters’ paths are all about to cross one fateful day.
My Thoughts: There’s so much to like about this book. Set in Paris- check. Interesting characters – check. Clever plot – check. And good reviews – check.
7. My Very Best Friend by Cathy Lamb
Setting: Scotland
Description: Tour the Scottish countryside and quaint villages with the quirky character of Charlotte Mackintosh. Despite leaving Scotland decades ago, her best friend, Bridget’s unsettling disappearance, leads Charlotte back to her childhood home. While there, Charlotte must sell her late father’s cottage. Reunited with Bridget’s brother, Toran, Charlotte again joins the community she left behind after tragedy struck so many years ago.
My Thoughts: I read this book about a year ago and loved it! This book has eccentric characters and a touching backstory written with heart and humor. Plus, it was fun imagining myself beside Charlotte as she frequented Scottish pubs and wandered about the beautiful countryside.
8. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Setting: Spain, North Africa, and Egypt
Description: Ever wish you could go on a treasure hunt? Written twenty-five years, Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece is more popular today than when it was first published. Its success lies in the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy. Santiago’s dream of discovering a treasure leads him on the journey of a lifetime. Along the way, he discovers far more than the monetary riches he seeks.
My Thoughts: A phenomenal book! I recently read it after it had been on my wishlist since I watched Paulo Coelho’s interview with Oprah several years ago. It’s full of wisdom, quotable lines, and a thought-provoking plot. Plus, I enjoyed the adventure of Santiago’s journey to find the mysterious treasure.
9. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
Setting: London, Peru, Philadelphia, Tahiti, and Amsterdam
Description: Of all the fiction books that take you places, this novel circles the globe! The story begins in London with Henry Whittaker as a poor boy in England. However, after Henry gains his riches in Peru in the South American quinine trade, he establishes himself as the wealthiest man in Philadelphia. The story then shifts to Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma. When Alma falls in love with Ambrose Pike, a botanical artist, they embark on a journey to Tahiti and beyond.
My Thoughts: Elizabeth Gilbert is best known for Eat, Pray, Love, another book that takes you places. In The Signature of Things, Gilbert offers a historical fiction novel. Read it if you like a combination of science, travel, and history.
10. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
Setting: Taiwan
Description: Follow the main character, Leigh Chen Sanders, as she meanders through the streets of Taiwan. Leigh is sure that when her mother took her own life, she turned into a bird. This belief motivates Leigh, who is half white and half Asian, to travel to Taiwan and meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. In Taiwan, Leigh creates a new relationship with her grandparents, learns family secrets, and searches for her mother’s ghost, the bird.
My Thoughts: This book promises to immerse the reader in Taiwanese culture as the heart-breaking storyline moves through Taipei. This book seems powerful and moving.
11. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
Setting: Havana, Cuba
Description: Have you ever dreamed of what it would be like to visit Havana, Cuba, especially in the 1950s? If so, you’ll enjoy Next Year in Havana. In 2017, freelance writer Marisol Ferrera traveled to Cuba to scatter her grandmother’s ashes. After a few days, she became immersed in the sultry climate and culture. Marisol’s grandmother Elisa Perez, was once part of Cuba’s high society. At nineteen, Elisa embarked on an affair with a passionate revolutionary. Now Marisol is uncovering lessons and secrets from her grandmother’s past.
My Thoughts: I’m buying this book and putting it into my beach bag!
Best Travel Nonfiction Books That Take You Places
1. A Year in the World: Journeys of A Passionate Traveller by Frances Mayes
Setting: Spain, Portugal, France, the British Isles, Turkey, Greece, the South of Italy, and North Africa
Description: From her beloved home in Tuscany, author Frances Mayes embarks on trips worldwide. Follow along as Frances takes you into the culture, cuisine, and adventure of the places she visits. She offers insightful commentary about each location’s art, architecture, history, landscape, foods, and social traditions.
My Thoughts: Do you think I can get away with packing myself into Frances Mayes’s luggage and joining her on her travels? No? Then reading this book will have to be the next best thing.
2. Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams
Setting: Machu Picchu, Peru
Description: Read this if hiking to Machu Picchu is on your bucket list. In Turn Right at Machu Picchu, Mark Adams retraces Hiram Bingham III’s path in 1911, when he “discovered” Machu Picchu. Although credited for finding the great archeological site, Bingham earned a shady reputation for stealing priceless artifacts. In this book, Mark Adams, an unlikely traveler who never slept in a tent before this trip, recounts his adventure to Machu Picchu.
My Thoughts: From the charming title to the intriguing premise, I’m more likely to read this book than plan a hike to Machu Picchu. However, after reading it, I may add Machu Picchu to my bucket list.
3. The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell
Setting: Denmark
Description: Do you ever wonder why the happiest country is Denmark? And if so, what’s their secret? These are the questions Helen Russell ventures to answer in The Year of Living Danishly. As the title suggests, Helen lived Danishly for a year. She learned critical insights into what the Danes do well for happiness and what they need to improve.
My Thoughts: I’m moving to Denmark. My oldest son will be happy because he can finally visit the original Legoland in Billund. But, seriously, this book seems like a fun and fascinating read. And you don’t have to live in Denmark to live Danishly and, perhaps, live happier.
4. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Setting: Australia
Description: Say, “G’day mate,” to a vicarious vacation in Australia! Bill Bryson is your guide to Australia’s wild, frequently dangerous, awe-inspiring countryside. Bryson writes with humor, curiosity, and a sense of wonder. Plus, he backs it all up with interesting facts and observations.
My Thoughts: Almost twenty years ago, I read Bill Bryson’s book, A Walk in the Woods, about his experience hiking the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. I loved that book! It nearly inspired me to want to take on the same hike. But then, I came to my senses. Will Bill Bryson’s latest book about Australia inspire me to plan a trip to “the land down under”? It just may!
5. Ten Years a Nomad by Matthew Kepnes
Setting: The entire world, including Thailand plus 90 countries
Description: Ever wonder what it would be like to ditch all the conventions of society and travel the world? Matt Kepnes did just that – for ten years! On a trip to Thailand in 2005, Matt met with a group of travelers who inspired him to take a different path in his life, which circled the globe. He intended to be gone for a year. He didn’t return home for a decade—tag along with Matt Kepnes to the far corners of the Earth in Ten Years a Nomad.
My Thoughts: If you have wanderlust, check out Matt Kepnes’s fantastic travel website, Nomadic Matt. And if you’re serious about circling the globe but aren’t sure you have the budget for it, Matt wrote another helpful book, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day. Since I’ve come down with a severe case of wanderlust after writing this list of books that take you places, I might need to buy it so I can afford it all!
6. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
Setting: Around the world, including Iceland, Bhutan, Moldova, and Qatar
Description: Of all the books that take you places, this travel memoir takes you to the happiest places on Earth. Want to go? Yes? Eric Weiner longed for the same thing! As a former foreign correspondent for NPR, Eric spent his career reporting “unhappy” news from more than three dozen countries. Looking for a positive change, he discovered what makes some places happier than others. In The Geography of Bliss, Weiner shares his experiences and thoughts on these sunnier, joyful destinations.
My Thoughts: Do I want to visit (or perhaps move to) the happiest locations worldwide? Of course! This book looks like a fun, uplifting read. And now I’m curious about where to find these “happiest places.”
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Final Thoughts on Books that Take You Places
Welcome home! Did you enjoy your trip? I hope you had a fantastic adventure traveling around the globe within the pages of a book. And hopefully, you found a book or two to satisfy your wanderlust. This book list of books that take you places had some great selections. The fiction books offered intriguing stories in exciting locations. And the nonfiction books featured shared some fascinating insights about traveling to foreign lands. Did any of these books inspire you to make travel plans?
