spiritual travel books

10 Books that Will Spark Your Desire for Sacred Travel

Pilgrimage has long been a topic explored by writers from around the world, from historians to novelists and from poets to travel writers. These writers all explored the figure of the pilgrim, providing insight into the art of pilgrimage and what it means to travel.

We’ve put together a list of 10 books are a great example of this. Despite being from radically different genres, they all discuss pilgrimage in one way or another and will spark your desire to embark on your own sacred journey.

10. On the Road

Jack Kerouac’s classic coming-of-age novel is truly an ode to the young pilgrim. The novel, which was first published in 1957, follows the adventures of Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise, two young men who crash with artists and poets as they make their way through America on a shoe-string budget.

Funny at times, dark at others, this classic novel is a must-read for anyone who wants to an insight into the mind and soul of a generation of artists and poets. It’s one of those books that inspires anyone who reads it (but especially younger readers) to start experiencing the world with an open heart and an open mind.

9. Sacred Travels: 275 Places to Find Joy, Seek Solace, and Learn to Live More Fully

Self-help author and sustainable living blogger Meera Lester provides a guide to, as the title suggests, 275 sacred spots around the globe. It is organized into ten chapters by emotion or value – Chapter 1: Love, Compassion, Devotion; Chapter 2: Health, Healing, Wholeness, and so on.

The book neatly summarizes the sacred importance of each place, suggests an activity or meditation a pilgrim can perform when visiting and shares a “deeper look” fact about the site. A good book to dip into and discover places far and very near that are worth seeking out on a future sacred adventure.

Another book in a similar vein: National Geographic’s Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations.

8. The Journey of Ibn Fattouma

This 1983 novel written by Egyptian Nobel Prize-winning author Nagib Mahfouz, describes the incredible journey of a man who leaves his hometown in search of the perfect city. While he travels from his corrupt home-town towards the Gebel, the perfect land, Qindil Muhammad al-Inadi (also known as Ibn Fattouma), begins to see the world with new eyes.

Happiness, violence, beauty, lust, and war guide his way towards Gebel, and as the Qindil’s journey continues, the reader can’t stop but ask if perfection lies at the end destination, or is found within the imperfection of the road.

7. The Spiritual Quest And the Way of Yoga: The Goal, The Journey and The Milestones

In this book, Swami Adiswarananda takes us on an inner spiritual journey that is, in terms of yoga, not a choice but rather “a vital necessity for our total well-being”.

“The spiritual quest, from the point of view of yoga, is an inward journey – a journey through the layers of our mind, through the wilderness of temptations, desires, and delusions. The journey has its peaks and valleys, hopes and despairs. […] Yoga is raising the blaze of Self-awareness”.

A must for anyone interested in Yoga and the journey within.

6.  Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia

After going through a rough divorce, 31-year-old Elizabeth Gilbert decides to leave her comfortable life behind and embark on a journey of self discovery. As she falls in love with the places she sees, she starts to reconnect with herself, relearning what it means to be happy.

While this book has become popular and even has inspired a movie, it is sometimes criticised as shallow. However, Eat, Prey, Love is still worth recommending as it has been loved by many.

This 2006 memoir takes readers on a fantastic journey of self-discovery, and inspires women to step out of their comfort zone and find themselves.

5. Shamanic Voices: A Survey of Visionary Narratives

Originally published in 1979, this book by Joan Halifax allows shamans to share their own authentic voice and tell us about themselves and the work they do.

The anthropologist, and now American Zen Buddhist Roshi, Joan Halifax, collected the words of shamans – either from living people or “hard-to-get primary sources” to create a work that explores the universe of the shaman from his initiation to his transformation, the medicine he uses and the dreaming state he enters.

These “technicians of the sacred and masters of ecstasy” are “familiar with cosmic as well as physical geography; the ways of plants, animals, and the elements are known to them”. With this excellent book, that’s still very much relevant today, their ways become more tangible and even more intriguing to us.

First published in 1954, Walden is a classic book by American writer Henry David Thoreau that explores his time living in a cabin in the wilderness of Massachusetts. The book is an ode to the simple life, as well as a declaration of independence, a travelogue about a voyage of spiritual discovery, and a survivalist manual for self-reliance in nature.

Walden is an exquisite example of true nature of pilgrimage, which states that every journey is as much about finding yourself as it is about exploring a new place.

3. Hidden Journey: A Spiritual Awakening

Andrew Harvey is an an accomplished religious scholar and author, whose books have been on the New York Times bestseller list.

In this brilliant book, published originally in 1991, Andrew recounts his own journey of spiritual awakening, which began when he was 25 and decided to abandon a brilliant career at Oxford to return to his native India. A rationalist atheist, he raised every possible argument against the existence of another reality and watched each dissolve in the face of extraordinary mystical experiences. This book is the story of his spiritual transformation.

2. On Looking: Eleven walks with expert eyes

In this 2013 book, American author Alexandra Horowitz starts with the premise that most of us go through our lives unaware of the beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis. To counteract this, she decided to explore her New York neighbourhood accompanied by 11 different experts. On each walk, she sees her neighbourhood through the eyes of the eleven experts, which range from geologists to typographists to her two-year old, and begins to see the beauty that surrounds her.

This masterpiece explores the concept of the every-day pilgrimage, urging readers to become explorers in their own neighbourhoods, and giving them the tools necessary to see the world through new eyes.

1. The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred

Author Phil Cousineau is a regular tour leader for Sacred Earth Journeys and his “long conversations” and daily discussions on travel, spirituality, and culture continually inspire all who journey with him. Those same insights and wisdom are ever-present in this work, described by Deepak Chopra as “a classic”.

“I am convinced that pilgrimage is still a bona finde spirit-renewing ritual. But I also believe in pilgrimage as a powerful metaphor for any journey with the purpose of finding something that matters deeply to the traveler. With a deepening of focus, keen preparation, attention to the path below our feet, and respect for the destination at hand, it is possible to transform even the most ordinary journey into a sacred journey, a pilgrimage.”~ Phil Cousineau, from The Art of Pilgrimage

A new edition with a forward by Huston Smith was released in 2012. Read more  here .

Join Author Phil Cousineau in Paris

Become truly immersed in Parisian culture reserve your spot our 2018 journey:  Passion for Paris with Phil Cousineau : An 8-Day Adventure in the City of Light and Lights with Special Guest Host Mort Rosenblum. This is an incredible opportunity to visit Paris with 2 prolific authors whose combined knowledge of the City of Lights is astonishing. The thoughtfully designed itinerary takes in all the above destinations and more! Not to be missed!

Sign up to our Newsletter

Matador Original Series

10 Spiritual and Philosophical Books to Take Traveling‏

Some say that the best books to take on your travels are light, easy reads that don’t require much brain power.

While it’s definitely easier to concentrate on the latest crime thriller while waiting for a train, there is also a place in your backpack for more meditative or reflective books that can stimulate the inner journey.

1. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainance By Robert M. Pirsig

This 1974 book became a bestseller in its day and has remained a cult classic. Pirsig gives an account of a 17 day motorcycle trip across America, interspersed with reflections on Western philosophy and Zen Buddhism.

Because of the sense of movement and adventure in the book, as well as deeper reflections, I recently found it an especially good read while enjoying slow afternoons in Southeast Asia.

2. The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches By Matsuo Basho

Basho was a brilliant haiku poet from 17th century Japan. He spent his time wandering around meeting locals, seeking enlightenment, and having a good time.

Even though his books are hundreds of years old, his detailed and often hilarious tales of adventures provide inspiration for, and often outdo, any modern traveler.

3. Walden By Henry David Thoreau

This classic of American literature has inspired many to live a simpler life, or head out into the wilderness to commune with nature. Thoreau wrote the book after he decided to ditch civilization for awhile and build a hut near Concord where he experimented in living simply.

His reflections on nature, society and simplicity resonate with many travelers who enjoy the less complicated lifestyle of backpacking.

4. Tao Te Ching By Lao Tzu

In this classic text of Taoist spirituality, Lao Tzo presents 81 segments of philosophical explorations. It contains insights into human relationships, leadership, and how to coexist with nature.

The Tao Te Ching is great to travel with, as its short aphorisms are grounded in the present, challenging our perceptions and encouraging a sense of mindfulness about how we interact with new cultures and environments.

5. The Art of Travel By Alain De Botton

This recent work by the prolific English writer deals with some deeper philosophical issues of travel. Drawing on the ideas of previous travelers and explorers, De Botton investigates concepts such as anticipation, the exotic, and possession of beauty.

It might sound dense, but he’s able to write about philosophical issues in a way that is easy to digest, especially during quiet moments on a train or a flight.

6. Siddhartha By Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse ’s short novel describes an Indian boy’s spiritual journey and is renowned for its allegorical exploration of Buddhist ideas and teachings.

An underlying message is the importance of experience for spiritual and personal growth. check sp of book title and author name.

7. Moby Dick By Herman Melville

Despite its hefty size, this modern classic is worth including in your backpack. A legendary story about inner travel accompanying outward adventures, the colorful characters are memorable and may well be reflected in those you meet on your own trip.

8. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Supposedly one the twentieth century’s most significant books of spiritual inspiration, and a classic of 1960’s counter culture. With links to the Ba’hai faith, as well as Christian mysticism, Kahlil ’s beautiful prose covers diverse topics and issues of the human condition.

9.The Chronicles of Narnia By C.S. Lewis

This classic is addictive to read, and the perfect thing to absorb you during the down times of travel. While having a gripping narrative, C.S. Lewis also delivers insights into Christian spirituality.

10. Book of Haikus By Jack Kerouac

The famous beat generation traveler experimented extensively with the haiku form. Like his predecessors, including Basho, Kerourac added playfulness as well as a spiritual astuteness to his poetry, often in the context of travel.

Why take Kerouac’s haiku in your backpack? Because they’re short and palatable to read.

Also, by describing in detail a moment or place in time, haikus encourage us to do the same within our new surroundings.

Trending Now

21 zion national park cabins to make your desert dreams come true, 17 of the coolest airbnbs near disney world, orlando, the 11 best airbnbs in buenos aires, 13 epic airbnbs in montreal for a bachelorette weekend, these colorado airbnbs are cannabis-friendly and perfect for travelers, discover matador, adventure travel, train travel, national parks, beaches and islands, ski and snow.

10 Best Books About Holy Travel: Guide for Spiritual Trips

By: Author Values Bus Tour

Posted on Last updated: July 25, 2023

Holy travel has been a crucial part of spiritual journeys for people across various faiths for centuries. Books about religious travel can offer readers more profound insights into the significance, history, and cultural aspects of visiting sacred sites across the globe. A compelling book about holy travel can be invaluable for anyone seeking to embark on a spiritual journey or learn about these fascinating destinations.

Books in this genre range from personal accounts of spiritual experiences to comprehensive guides on significant pilgrimage routes. They often cover historical backgrounds important sites, practical tips for excursionists, and in-depth analyses of the symbolism inherent in sacred places. These books can inspire your holy journey and provide valuable information to help you make the most of your experience.

When choosing a book about holy travel , it’s crucial to consider the author’s expertise and perspective, the relevance to your spiritual interests and faith, and the quality of writing and presentation. Some books may focus on specific religious traditions, while others may take a universal approach to spiritual exploration. Additionally, finding a book that resonates with you and aligns with your beliefs and values is crucial.

In this roundup, we’ve selected some of the best books about holy travel, highlighting key features and insights from each. Regardless of your spiritual inclinations or travel experience, this collection aims to help you find the perfect companion for your journey into the world of sacred destinations .

Table of Contents

Best Books on Holy Travel

Discover the best book most inspiring collection of books on holy travel in the list below.

The Holy Land Devotional: Inspirational Reflections from the Land Where Jesus Walked

The Holy Land Devotional is an excellent choice for those seeking to deepen their understanding of the Bible through reflections on the geography of Jesus’ homeland.

• Rich and detailed insights
• Beautiful illustrations and photographs
• Thought-provoking questions and prayers
• Not an extensive travel guide
• Focuses primarily on the geography
• More suited for devoted readers rather than casual seekers

Authored by a passionate and knowledgeable writer, this book offers a unique perspective on the Bible by emphasizing the importance of geography in its historical context. Readers will appreciate the insights that enable them to delve deeper into biblical stories and connect with the holy lands.

What distinguishes this devotional from other books about holy travel is its blend of stunning visuals and well-written prose. Vivid photographs and illustrations transport the reader to the unique locations described in the biblical text. Moreover, the author invites readers into a personal journey with thought-provoking questions and prayers, making it a rich devotional and genuine spiritual experience.

Ultimately, The Holy Land Devotional is perfect for those who already have some foundational understanding of the Bible and are looking to enrich their spiritual journey by exploring the significance of geography in the scriptures. While it may not be a comprehensive travel guide, it is an enlightening and valuable resource for all seeking a deeper connection to the holy lands .

Fodor’s Essential Israel (Full-color Travel Guide)

This comprehensive guidebook is perfect for excursionists seeking an in-depth exploration of Israel’s rich history and sacred sites.

• Informative and well-organized content
• It covers both famous attractions and lesser-known gems
• Includes information on local customs and culture
• No fold-out map included
• Some buyers reported an unpleasant odor
• It may not be entirely focused on religious sites

Packing a wealth of information within its 512 pages, Fodor’s Essential Israel is an invaluable resource for excursionists aiming to discover the wonders of this ancient land. The guide book’s well-organized content makes navigating easy, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable journey.

Beyond the crucial destinations, the book delves into hidden treasures and lesser-known destinations, offering a fuller perspective on Israel’s diverse landscape. Along with comprehensive site information, the guide provides insight into local customs, culture, and history, allowing travelers to engage more deeply with their surroundings.

Despite its many merits, some readers may find the lack of a fold-out map disappointing. Additionally, a few buyers have reported an unpleasant odor from the back cover the book. Although this, Fodor’s Essential Israel remains a top choice and indispensable companion for those planning a meaningful trip or adventure in the Holy Land .

See Related : Medjugorje Pilgrimage Tour: What to Expect

The Holy Land for Christian Travelers: An Illustrated Guide to Israel

This book is a must-have for those seeking an informative and insightful journey through the Holy Land .

• A comprehensive and illustrated guide
• Focuses on authentic and relevant Christian sites
• Well-organized and easy to follow
• The small print may be complex for some readers
• It may not cover every area desired by travelers
• Limited to the Christian perspective

The Holy Land for Christian Travelers: An Illustrated Guide to Israel offers a thorough and visually engaging exploration of significant sites in Israel, specifically catering to the Christian traveler . Insightful details about each location’s history, geographical aspects, and cultural context create an enriching and educational experience for readers.

What sets this guide apart is its focus on clarifying the authenticity and relevance of a range of Christian sites. This discernment enables travelers to make the most of their visit, ensuring the time spent in Israel is valuable and transformative. The book is structured in a logical and accessible way, making it a user-friendly resource for planning a trip to the Holy Land .

Despite its many strengths, there are a few drawbacks to consider. The print is relatively small and may challenge readers with vision difficulties. Additionally, while the author covers many significant Christian locations, some readers may find that specific historical sites of interest are not included. Lastly, the book may not adequately address the perspectives and interests of non-Christian travelers. In closing, The Holy Land for Christian Travelers: An Illustrated Guide to Israel is a well-rounded resource for Christians venturing to explore Israel’s rich history and sacred sites.

See Related: Best Christian Travel Tours for Singles in 2023

Journey with Jesus to Israel: A Holy Land Travel Experience That Will Knock Your Sandals Off!

This book is an excellent choice for those seeking a comprehensive and engaging guide to holy travel in Israel.

• Rich in a historical and biblical context
• In-depth coverage of key sites
• Journaling sections for personal reflections
• Physical dimensions may be slightly bulky for travel
• Published in 2013, potential for outdated information
• Some readers may prefer a condensed guide

The 4.9-star-rated book “Journey with Jesus to Israel” offers readers an absorbing activity as they explore the Holy Land. The detailed guide covers binding sites to visit and provides historical and biblical context to enrich one’s understanding of each destination. This feature makes the book an excellent companion for those looking to delve deep into the nation’s rich religious history.

One of the book’s unique features is the inclusion of journaling sections, which allow readers to record their thoughts and personal reflections as they journey through Israel . This element encourages a more personal connection and contemplation, making the experience all the more memorable and spiritually fulfilling.

While the book is comprehensive and engaging, its dimensions (5.98 x 0.54 x 9.02 inches) and weight (12.2 ounces) may be somewhat cumbersome for those who prefer to travel light. Moreover, as the book was published in 2013, there may be a possibility that certain information is outdated. Nonetheless, “Journey with Jesus to Israel” is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to explore the Holy Land in a meaningful and well-informed manner.

See Related: The Best Time of Day to Travel by Bus: A Guide for Savvy Travelers

Israel Travel Guide 2023

If one is seeking a basic introduction to the Holy Land, the Israel Travel Guide 2023 offers a simple yet informative overview despite some drawbacks.

• A recent publication (2023)
• Concise at 164 pages
• Focuses on must-try experiences
• Self-published with limited resources
• No maps, photos, or graphics
• Poor organization and presentation

Although freshly published, the Israel Travel Guide 2023 may be considered a simple introduction for those looking to explore the Holy Land . The book provides a concise guide to the best places to visit and things to do across Israel, focusing specifically on must-try experiences to make the most of one’s trip.

Alternatively, the book is self-published with limited resources, which might not appeal to those seeking a comprehensive and highly detailed travel guide. The absence of maps, photos, or graphics might make it difficult for some readers to visualize and plan their journey effectively. Besides, the book’s organization and presentation of information could be improved to facilitate a better understanding of the content.

Ultimately, the Israel Travel Guide 2023 may be suitable for readers looking for a basic overview of the most crucial aspects of exploring Israel. Potential adventurers should also consider pairing this guide with supplementary other travel guides and resources to obtain more in-depth information and visuals, ultimately enhancing their Holy Land experience.

Israel for the Christian Traveler

This book is an excellent resource for any Christian traveler looking to enrich their spiritual journey to the Holy Land.

• Comprehensive guide for Christian travelers
• In-depth historical context
• Includes two fold-out maps
• Some readers found it not as expected
• May not cater to travelers of other faiths
• Optimized for trips with a spiritual focus

Israel for the Christian Traveler is a carefully crafted and informative travel guide specifically tailored for those who wish to explore Israel through the lens of the Christian faith. The author, Joan Peace, a biblical scholar, has taken great care in providing insightful historical context and visual overviews of binding sites within the Holy Land.

Including two fold-out maps makes navigating the many sacred sites a breeze, ensuring pilgrims don’t miss out on any spiritually significant stops during their journey. The book is also geared toward helping travelers understand the culture, customs, and general must-knows while navigating Israel. Readers have praised the lovely photographs and detailed information in the book.

While the majority of reviews are positive, a few found the book not as expected, possibly due to reading its Christian-focused context as a limitation. But, for those looking for a travel guide with a spiritual concentration, Israel for the Christian Traveler is a top choice that many have found both practical and inspiring.

See Related: Best Catholic Pilgrimages to the Holy Land

Matt Miller in the Colonies: Book One: Journeyman

Discover the thrilling world of time travel and colonial life in the captivating novel, “Matt Miller in the Colonies: Book One: Journeyman.”

• Engaging storyline with well-developed characters
• A refreshing combination of science fiction and historical fiction
• The first book in a highly-rated series
• Some readers may find the present-day portion less appealing
• Lack of advanced features such as X-Ray on Kindle
• Publication date not recent may impact relevance

Join protagonist Matt Miller, a scientist transported back to 1762, in this unique time-travel adventure where history and science come together. As Miller adapts to his new surroundings, he encounters complex challenges and engaging characters that capture the reader’s attention and drive the narrative forward.

This novel stands out for its unique blend of genres, combining the excitement of time travel narratives with a vivid glimpse of life in colonial America. The storyline is rich in detail and features well-rounded characters, ensuring a highly engaging reading experience for science fiction and historical fiction fans.

Though some readers may find the intermittent present-day portions of the story less engaging than the main historical narrative, the overall quality of the writing and the captivating storyline make “Matt Miller in the Colonies: Book One: Journeyman” a worthwhile read for anyone interested in time travel, colonial life, or simply an engaging, well-crafted story.

See Related: How to Plan a Greece Itinerary to Maximize Your Trip

Lonely Planet Pocket Jerusalem & Tel Aviv 2 (Pocket Guide)

This compact guide is ideal for excursionists seeking insightful information on Jerusalem and Tel Aviv’s sacred sites .

• Up-to-date and comprehensive content
• Compact and easy to carry
• Written in English by trusted publisher Lonely Planet
• Limited restaurant suggestions
• No Italian version is available
• Some users may prefer a digital format

The Lonely Planet Pocket Jerusalem & Tel Aviv 2 (Pocket Guide) offers a wealth of knowledge for excursionists eager to explore these two crucial cities. With its compact size and 192 pages of valuable insights, this guide becomes a handy companion on every journey.

As a publication from Lonely Planet, one can trust the quality and reliability of the information provided. This second edition, released on August 2, 2022, ensures readers have access to the latest and most pertinent advice. Though predominantly catering to English-speaking travelers, this book describes Jerusalem and Tel Aviv’s major attractions .

Despite its many strengths, the guide has some minor drawbacks. Some readers were disappointed with the limited restaurant suggestions and the unavailability of an Italian version. Besides, while the compact format might be ideal for some, others might prefer a digital alternative for ease of use and accessibility. Despite this, the Lonely Planet Pocket Jerusalem & Tel Aviv 2 remains invaluable for excursionists seeking an enriching and informed journey through these historic cities.

Fodor’s Best Road Trips in the USA

This comprehensive travel guide offers readers insightful tips most travel guides and suggestions for experiencing 50 unforgettable road trips across the United States.

• Extensive coverage of 50 diverse road trips
• Full-color images for visual inspiration
• Potential lack of detail for certain states
• Not spiral-bound, which could be a drawback for some users
• It does not precisely target places of spiritual significance

The “Fodor’s Best Road Trips in the USA” travel guide allows readers to explore the nation in depth through various road trips. Each trip is detailed with engaging descriptions, vivid photography, and insider tips to help travelers make the most of their journey.

Although the book covers road trips in all 50 states , some readers may find it lacking details for specific areas. It also does not explicitly focus on holy or spiritual travel destinations, which may be a factor for those seeking a more focused guide. Nonetheless, it provides a great starting point for anyone looking to embark on an unforgettable journey across the United States.

The well-organized format of this travel guide makes it an accessible source of information for any road trip enthusiast. But, some users may prefer a spiral-bound structure for more straightforward navigation while on the go. Regardless, “Fodor’s Best Road Trips in the USA” is a valuable resource and a trusty companion for any traveler looking to embark on a memorable and visually enriching adventure across the country.

Fodor’s Essential Egypt (Full-color Travel Guide)

Fodor’s Essential Egypt is a highly recommended guidebook for exploring Egypt’s rich history and culture.

• Up-to-date and comprehensive information
• Lightweight and portable
• Visually appealing with photos and maps
• Limited focus on off-the-beaten-path locations
• Focus mainly on tourist hotspots
• It may not be extensive enough for the most adventurous travelers

Published in December 2022, Fodor’s Essential Egypt provides readers with current and comprehensive information on Egypt’s most fascinating destinations. This guide is written in an engaging style and offers valuable insights into navigating Cairo, its bustling airport, and other popular locations.

Readers have praised the guidebook for its usefulness in planning their trips and its up-to-date information on Egypt. Numerous colorful photos and detailed maps complement the text, allowing travelers to visualize their journeys and plan accordingly. But, it should be noted that adventurous travelers looking to explore lesser-known regions might find the coverage slightly limited.

Overall, Fodor’s Essential Egypt is an excellent choice for anyone exploring Egypt’s rich history, culture, and crucial visit destinations. With its easy-to-read format, engaging writing style, and visually appealing design, this guidebook will help travelers make the most of their Egyptian adventure.

See Related: Best Christian Travel Agents

Experiencing the Land of the Book

If someone is eager to deepen their knowledge about Israel’s sacred sites, “Experiencing the Land of the Book” is an excellent choice.

• Comprehensive information about Israel’s holy sites
• High-quality color photographs
• Inspires spiritual growth and understanding
• May not delve deeply into Jewish-specific topics
• Size and weight could be cumbersome for travel
• Paper quality might not be suitable for everyone’s taste

“Experiencing the Land of the Book” by Dr. Charlie Dyer transports readers on a life-changing journey through Israel, exploring the region’s most sacred sites. The author’s expertise shines through each detailed description, as he has led over a hundred trips to this captivating and holy land guide himself.

The book is an excellent pre-trip resource, featuring vivid, high-resolution color photographs that give readers a panoramic view of each location. It can also be used as a post-trip guide, allowing travelers to relive their experiences by revisiting the descriptive insights shared in the book.

While providing an invaluable wealth of information, the book doesn’t narrowly focus on Jewish-specific topics, catering to a broader spiritual audience. Although the paperback’s size and weight may not be ideal for lightweight travel, its informative content and stunning imagery make it a must-have for anyone interested in the Holy Land’s cultural, historical, and spiritual treasures.

Fodor’s Essential Israel: with the West Bank and Petra (Full-color Travel Guide)

Fodor’s Essential Israel is a worthwhile purchase for those seeking an insightful guide to holy travel in Israel, the West Bank, and Petra.

• Comprehensive coverage of a range of sacred sites
• Full-color and visually engaging
• In-depth information on different regions
• The page count may be overwhelming for some
• Limited to the English language
• The paperback edition might lack durability

This detailed travel guide provides a thorough exploration tour of Israel and its surrounding regions, ensuring readers know the range of holy sites awaiting them. With an engaging narrative and eye-catching visuals, the book offers prime guidance for those eager to embark on their spiritual journey.

The full-color design found in Fodor’s Essential Israel enhances the reading experience. It adds vibrancy to the guide, immersing travelers in the world of Israel’s sacred locations. The organization of the content includes separate sections for each region, making it easier to navigate and plan the most optimal travel itinerary.

Alternatively, the book’s significant length of 528 pages might prove daunting to some readers, while the exclusive English language availability could be a drawback for non-English speakers. Additionally, the paperback format, while lightweight, may not offer the durability that a hardcover edition could provide for avid travelers.

The Lands of the Bible Today: Experience 44 Places in Scripture and Photos

An ideal book for those wanting to explore the holy lands through stunning visuals and insightful information.

• Rich, dynamic photography
• Informative descriptions of 44 biblical locations
• Convenient, compact size
• Small size may make it difficult to read for some
• Limited in-depth historical context
• Not a comprehensive travel guide

This captivating book contains vivid images and succinct descriptions of 44 holy sites across the lands of the Bible. With this book puts its visually stunning photographs and fascinating facts, readers can better appreciate these sacred places.

The book’s compact size makes it a convenient companion for those planning a trip to these locations or simply a good read for those looking to learn more about these scriptural places abundant in historical significance. But, the small size can make it difficult for some to read the text.

While useful book is not intended to be a comprehensive travel guide, “The Lands of the Bible Today” is an excellent primer for those interested in these locations. A must-have for anyone seeking inspiration and a greater understanding of the biblical significance and the historical and religious significance of the holy lands.

See Related: Holy Places in the World to Visit

Buying Guide

When searching for the best books about holy travel, it’s crucial to consider a few features to ensure you make an informed decision.

Subject Matter

Choose a book that focuses on the specific destination or religious pilgrimage you’re interested in. This will ensure you receive accurate and relevant information tailored to your travel goals.

Level of Detail

Consider the level of detail provided in the book. Some guide books may offer a more comprehensive, in-depth guide, while others might only provide a brief overview of the range of pilgrimage sites. Choose a book according to your needs and the level of knowledge you wish to gain.

Author’s Expertise

The author’s expertise and background are crucial when determining the reliability of the information provided. Look for authors with firsthand experience with the pilgrimage sites or who have extensively studied the religious and historical context.

Travel Logistics

A helpful book should also provide practical travel advice, such as accommodation, transportation options, and local customs. This will make your journey smoother and ensure you’re well-prepared for your holy travel adventure.

Reviews and Recommendations

Take advantage of reviews and recommendations from other travelers who have read the book. This will provide insight into the book’s quality, usefulness, and accuracy, helping you avoid potential disappointments and make the best choice for your needs.

Related Resources:

• Holy Places in the World to Visit
• How to Travel to the Holy Land [Step-by-Step Guide]
• Best Holy Land Tours in the World

Related Posts

• Track MDT Buses in Real-Time with the MDT Bus Tracker App
• Bus from NYC to Providence: A Convenient Travel Guide
• 33 Top Tourist Attractions in Italy
• How to Take the Bus from San Antonio to Houston
• How to Take the Bus from Orlando to Tampa: Your Travel Guide
• How to Book the Cheapest Greyhound Bus Tickets
• How to Play Ride the Bus [Step-by-Step Guide]
• GRTC Bus Schedule: Plan Your Commute with Ease

Spiritual travels are more than ordinary trips

Lori Erickson is one of America’s top writers specializing in spiritual travels.

If you want to take a trip that’s more than an ordinary vacation, follow her lead as she journeys to holy sites near and far.

On this site you’ll find suggestions for itineraries plus a potpourri of history, information, and travel tips. You can:

• browse topics via the search box or click on Spiritual Sites Around the World .
• subscribe to Lori Erickson’s newsletter .
• buy her books Every Step Is Home (an exploration of sacred sites and experiences in the United States), The Soul of the Family Tree (a book about tracing her Scandinavian roots and the life lessons of genealogy), Near the Exit (which is about places that have helped her come to terms with mortality) and Holy Rover (a memoir told through trips to a dozen holy sites around the world).

Whether you want to take an armchair pilgrimage, or one that requires a suitcase, Lori is an invaluable guide on journeys that can challenge, deepen, and change you.

Starting from scratch? Not sure what a pilgrimage is? Here’s some helpful background: 

• What is a pilgrimage?
• Why spiritual travels are growing in popularity
• Top 10 reasons to go on a pilgrimage

Featured Destinations:

Hawai’i’s Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park

Lourdes: The World’s Most Famous Healing Shrine

Alabama’s Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament

The Transcendentalist Trail in Concord, Massachusetts 

An Icelandic Pilgrimage: Searching for Scandinavian Roots

16 Best Spiritual Books to Help Nourish Your Heart and Soul

Glean inspiration or start an awakening through words of wisdom and holistic mindfulness.

We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

Finding inspiration to enrich our soul is a never-ending journey, but these books can help get you started.

What Matters Most by Renita J. Weems

“Dr. Weems walks the reader through a re-reading of the woman in Songs of Solomon, who has long been written off as lovesick and silly,” says Rev. Neichelle R. Guidry, Ph.D. , the dean of the Sisters Chapel and director of the WISDOM Center at Spelman College in Atlanta. “Through a Womanist lens, however, this woman is self-possessed and deeply attuned to her agency. This was the first book that I read post-divorce, and it prompted me to define my desires, intentions and visions for my life for the first time. I recommend this for anyone who's looking to use their faith as a vehicle for personal expansion and healing.”

A Psalm for the Wild-Built By Becky Chambers

“Becky Chambers creates a post-apocalyptic fantasy world that is filled, not with terror, but with beautiful transformation,” says Rev. Eileen Casey-Campbell, Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua, New York . “This short novel conveys the process of being called to something larger than oneself better than anything I’ve ever read.”

The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel

“One book that really comes to mind, particularly post pandemic, is a brief little symphony of a book called The Sabbath ,” says Rabbi Steve Leder , the author of For You When I Am Gone and The Beauty of What Remains . “This book is about the sanctity of time versus the material and in the book, Heschel talks about the architecture of time, how our greatest cathedrals are moments in time. Every time I read it, I feel like why should I ever try to write or say anything as long as I live because this guy said it all? I can't do better than that. The Sabbath is, on the surface, about the concept of the Sabbath, but it's ultimately about the significance and holiness of time and not allowing our pursuit of the material to rob us of something far more precious. I think it's a very beautiful, powerful and important book, and it's only like 100 pages. If you can crack the first paragraph, you can grasp the entire book. People give up when they don't understand the first paragraph, but you just have to hang in there and read it five times.”

The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone

“This is a quintessential text for the library of any person of faith studying liberation theory through a theological lens and for conversations surrounding race and religion in America,” says Ekemini Uwan, a public theologian, co-author of Truth's Table: Black Women's Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation and co-host of the podcast Truth's Table . “Theologian James Cone makes a poignant connection between the crucifixion of Jesus and the white church’s active participation in the lynching of Black people throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Calling upon the voices of Langston Hughes, Fannie Lou Hamer, Billie Holiday and Dr. Martin Luther King, Cone insightfully traverses the Black American landscape and touches on social history, cultural movements and rich theology.”

Wholehearted by Koshin Paley Ellison

“Koshin is a Zen priest, and in this book (as well as everything he's written, including Awake at the Bedside and Untangled ), he blends personal stories and Zen wisdom to help the reader identify some of their core values,” says Rabbi Seth Wax , Jewish Chaplain at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. “Each chapter also includes a short contemplation. It's lovely, sweet and deep.”

Spilling the Light by Theresa I. Soto

“I return to this book of meditations by my colleague, Rev. Soto, over and over,” says Rev. Casey-Campbell. “Deep threads of compassion run through every line, convincing me even at my most doubtful moments that I (and all the world with me) am so worthy of loving and being loved.”

Man's Search for Meaning by Vikto E. Frankl

“Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning — of course, if he wrote it today, he would probably choose a different title because it applies to all of us — is really about finding meaning within and despite suffering,” says Rabbi Leder. “When people are suffering, it's one of those times when they're drawn to religious or spiritual perspectives. Why? Or, given that it did, how? What are my choices? How do I live? How do I fit this into the context of having been a good person and yet, suffering? There are many books that deal with what we call theodicy which is ‘God and the problem of evil,’ but this is much more about human beings and the problem of evil. His basic point is that once if you're able to find some meaning in your suffering, it ceases to become only suffering.”

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

“While this isn't an explicitly theological book, poet Fanonne Jeffers beautifully honors the hard and sacred work of unearthing the stories within our lineages, reckoning with the traumas in our bloodlines, and actualizing our own authentic paths in light of them,” says Rev. Guidry. “This book is for anyone who needs a reminder to respect the particularity of their personal journey and tap into their power to self-actualize. Reading this book was a spiritual encounter that piqued my curiosity, broke and warmed my heart, and led me into deep reflection and contemplation.”

Parable of the Talents and Parable of the Sower by N.K Jemisin

“Octavia Butler’s work is foundational to my spirituality,” says Rev. Casey-Campbell. “Her main character’s mantra in this series, ‘The only lasting truth is change; God is change,’ is one I’ve always carried with me. She is truly the mother of Afro-futurism, braiding hope and resilience into every story.”

Becoming Wise By Elizabeth Gilbert

“In this book, Tippett, host of the podcast On Being , shares insights from interviews she has conducted with thinkers, activists and change-makers,” says Rabbi Wax. “They are moving and thought-provoking.”

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

“The pandemic prompted many people to renegotiate their relationship to work, myself included,” says Rev. Guidry. “Hershey is adamant that our acculturation within a capitalist and white supremacist context has driven us to grind our way into chronic disembodiment and disillusionment. Her remedy? Taking our rest. Entering into our sacred ‘Dream Space.’ Entering into deep community, intimacy, softness and imagination. With beautiful personal stories and theology interwoven, this book feels like a soothing balm to anyone who desires recovery from spiritual, mental and physical exhaustion.”

Poems and Songs by Leonard Cohen

“This might sound a little bit unusual, but I often turn to poetry,” says Rabbi Leder. “I have a little volume of Leonard Cohen poetry that I carry with me when I travel. I always have it with me and if I have two or three minutes, I'll read a poem. It's like this tiny little volume of thought, comfort, challenge and truth.”

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

“This book, by an indigenous environmental scientist, offers a vision of spirituality that is rooted in place and deeply connected to the web of life,” says Rev. Casey-Campbell. “She is both gentle and fierce in calling humans to live into their relatedness to all else.”

Judaism's Ten Best Ideas by Arthur Green

“It’s a very accessible guide to some of the key concepts in Jewish spiritual life,” says Rabbi Wax. “It’s not about proselytizing at all — we don’t really do that as Jews! — but rather, some of the basic ideas of the tradition that might be useful to spiritual seekers.”

Where Do We Go from Here by Martin Luther King Jr.

“Published in 1967, this book is the slain civil rights leader and systematic theologian’s final work,” says Christina Edmondson, Ph.D., a higher education instructor, mental health therapist, co-author of Truth's Table: Black Women's Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation and co-host of the podcast Truth's Table . “Advocating for the mass employment of non-violent activism and the strategic and unified use of the ballot, King offers a blueprint for the necessary future resistance against racism in America and beyond. King’s deep understanding of poverty, militarism and American racism is on full display as he speaks to the strengths and concerns of the responses to injustice prevalent in his day that still serve us well over five decades later. A consistently timely, sobering, inspirational, and practical work with prophetic power for today’s chaotic political culture.”

Being Human by Leon R. Kass (editor)

“It's an edited anthology of both religious and secular writings about the human condition,” says Rabbi Leder. “It's so comprehensive and there's nothing kitsch about it — this is deep, thoughtful material.”

Kaitlyn Phoenix is a deputy editor in the Hearst Health Newsroom, where she reports, writes and edits research-backed health content for Good Housekeeping , Prevention and Woman's Day . She has more than 10 years of experience talking to top medical professionals and poring over studies to figure out the science of how our bodies work. Beyond that, Kaitlyn turns what she learns into engaging and easy-to-read stories about medical conditions, nutrition, exercise, sleep and mental health. She also holds a B.S. in magazine journalism from Syracuse University.

@media(max-width: 64rem){.css-o9j0dn:before{margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-right:0.625rem;color:#ffffff;width:1.25rem;bottom:-0.2rem;height:1.25rem;content:'_';display:inline-block;position:relative;line-height:1;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}} All the Best Books to Read Next

Best Short Story Collections That Keep You Reading

6 Best Taylor Swift Books for Kids of All Ages

Whoopi Goldberg Shares Personal Book Announcement

Savannah Guthrie Shares Career News with JBH

How to Read the 'Percy Jackson' Books in Order

'Today' Star Savannah Guthrie Reveals New Project

Must-Read Books Before the End of 2023

Turn Up the Heat With These Steamy Romance Books

The Best New Cookbooks That Make Great Gifts

The Most-Anticipated Books of 2024 (So Far!)

GH+ Reads Review: 'Midnight Is the Darkest Hour'

The Spiritual Gifts of Travel

Edited by James O’Reilly and Sean O’Reilly

“Readers will be refreshed and renewed by tales of travel… The book tells of personal transformations inspired by travel and shows how journeys alter the inner landscape.” — ForeWord Magazine People travel for countless reasons, but no matter the destination or duration, our journeys often share a common result: they change us. The Spiritual Gifts of Travel: The Best of Travelers’ Tales inspires and reminds readers of the power and importance of discovery through travel. A compilation of the best spiritual travel stories taken from the award-winning Travelers’ Tales series—plus a few unpublished gems—the accounts in The Spiritual Gifts of Travel relate true tales of personal transformation inspired by one of life’s wisest teachers.

From all corners of the world, and from all types of travelers, the stories in The Spiritual Gifts of Travel combine to create a roadmap of spiritual experience. In Buenos Aires, a man observing a simple religious ritual encounters the surprising, complex nature of humanity. In Ireland, an author hikes the Kerry Way with his brother and heals old family wounds. On a Greek island, a mysterious crone pays an author a late-night visit and leaves her with an invaluable message.

In The Spiritual Gifts of Travel readers will:

• Relive Leo W. Banks’s inexplicable encounter with the Good Spirit on a Navajo reservation
• Have their hearts broken and made whole again while cradling a dying child in Calcutta with Alison Wright
• Investigate the strange Wandjina legend of the rai with James G. Cowan in Australia
• Listen with David Yeadon as a Native American sage sings a song of eternity he will never forget
• Join Phil Cousineau in restoring his faith in life while visiting the fabled ruins of Angkor Wat…and much more.

Authors in the collection also include Jan Morris, Kim Chernin, Marianne Dresser, James D. Houston, Richard Halliburton, Dennis Covington, Laurie Gough, Mikkel Aaland, Donald W. George, Andrew Harvey, and many more.

About the Editors

James O’Reilly , president and co-publisher of Travelers’ Tales, wrote mystery serials before becoming a travel writer in the early 1980’s. He’s visited more than forty countries and co-edited many Travelers’ Tales books, winning eight awards for excellence. James lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sean Joseph O’Reilly is the editor of many award-winning travel books, including The Road Within, Testosterone Planet, The Ultimate Journey, Pilgrimage, and The Spiritual Gifts of Travel. An active member of the Society of American Travel Writers, he is also the author of the shocking and controversial new book How to Manage Your DICK: Redirect Sexual Energy and Discover Your More Enlightened, Evolved Self. He lives with his wife Brenda and their six children in Arizona.

About Travelers’ Tales

Founded in 1993, Travelers’ Tales publishes the best in travel writing from world-famous authors and new and emerging writers. Our goal is to inspire and enlighten readers through true stories by travelers who have explored the depths of their experiences. The series includes: country and regional guides; books which explore the themes of women’s travel, spirituality, food, humor, and adventure; travel advice books; Footsteps: The Soul of Travel, a series of single-author travel narratives; and Travelers’ Tales Classics, a series which introduces out-of-print favorites of travel literature to a new audience. The Spiritual Gifts of Travel: The Best of Travelers’ Tales is the latest Travelers’ Tales title to focus on spirituality.

The Spiritual Gifts of Travel: The Best of Travelers’ Tales Edited by James O’Reilly and Sean O’Reilly Travelers’ Tales, March 2002 $16.95, trade paperback, 232 pages, 5 1/8″ x 8″ ISBN: 1-885211-69-4

15 Spiritual Books to Change the Way You See Everything

From fiction to primers on religious practices, spiritual books can help us understand the world better—and ourselves.

Our editors handpick the products that we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.

Reading books about spirituality can open your heart to things you've always felt, or expand your thinking to include ideas you never dared to explore. Oprah has long talked about the impact of books by such thought leaders as Eckhart Tolle, Martha Beck, Brené Brown, Elizabeth Lesser, Mark Nepo, and so many others that have helped her through crises, guided her through transitions, and sometimes...blown her mind. Are you living with purpose? Are you cultivating empathy and connection? Can you sit with stillness? Can you process and move on from trauma, into strength? And can you even nourish your sense of the numinous, i.e. connect more deeply with the divinity within and around you? These are some of the essential questions these titles explore and provide pathways to.

Each of the recent offerings we highlight here—from memoir to literary fiction to poetry to romance novels—illuminates something about how individuals and communities conceive of and get proximity to the spiritual. That might entail praying in churches or temples or mosques with others, or it might mean being in nature. For scientists, the sublime might be found in conducting research leading to a breakthrough. And for others, it might mean letting the traditions of their childhood lead them to love when all else seems lost. So take some time to delve into these books on spirituality, to discover the numinous in your life and how you can access it. These books will surprise you, making you change the way you think about everything— politics, humanity, nature, music, pop culture, and even (perhaps especially) yourself.

The Dial Press Untamed , by Glennon Doyle

A #1 New York Times bestseller, a Reese’s Book Club pick, and named one of the best books of the year by O magazine, Untamed is an uplifting book that has spread like wildfire, resonating with people all over the world. Its message helps women find their emotional and spiritual independence and purpose. Doyle urges readers to locate their inner voices and to nourish them, to break free of those who tell us what we "should" be doing or the identity they think we "should" have—to become "untamed." To assist readers in that quest, Doyle shares her own story of overcoming addiction, crushing work and family demands, and decades of cultural conditioning. Part memoir and part call to action, Doyle explores topics like motherhood, divorce, blended families, queerness, and falling in love. A true manifesto!

Avery The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World , by his Holiness the Dalai lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams

This tender book is written by Nobel Peace Prize laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, along with Douglas Abrams. It tells the story of how these two spiritual leaders—both having endured decades of exile and oppression— found a way to be full of joy. At the core is the friendship between them, full of loving teasing, laughing until they burst into tears, and the exchange of intimate stories and their own spiritual practices. Throughout we can see how many commonalities there are between the two men and their work: between Buddhism and Catholicism; their shared struggles for freedom in Tibet and South Africa. We walk away from this volume filled with joy, and being reminded how extraordinary these two humans are.

A Girlhood: Letter to My Transgender Daughter , by Carolyn Hays

Out in September, Hays’s (Carolyn Hays is a pseudonym) intimate memoir is a an ode to her daughter amid a world of injustice. Its impetus was an anonymous complaint that brought the Department of Children and Families to their door, and ultimately led the family to move out of the Bible Belt. The reason for the complaint? That their daughter was transgender and being raised as such. Spirituality and religion are at the book's core, as Hays questions the Catholic conception of the omnipotence of God, explores queer history in and out of the Catholic Church (particularly St. Joan of Arc), and how Christianity has been used to discriminate against transgender people and other groups. Hays here presents a different view of God—as a being of pure love that would never consider her daughter a mistake, but instead, a gift.

Convergent Books This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us , by Cole Arthur Riley

This New York Times bestseller by the creator of Black Liturgies offers a multigenerational reflection on three generations of the author's family. Arthur Riley's quest to discover the “necessary rituals” connecting us to a sense of belonging, dignity, liberation, and faith prompts her to plumb the stories of her grandmother and father to reveal an affirming spirituality rooted in kindness, love, and deep holiness.

Grove Press Freshwater , by Akwaeke Emezi

Now a prolific writer (they've published seven books in four years), Nigerian Tamil Emezi burst onto the literary scene with this gorgeous debut novel, following Ada, who was born "with one foot on the other side.” This other side is a world filled with gods and benevolent monsters, a mesmerizing tapestry of Igbo ontology. Emezi bases the saga on their own story of being a transgender ogbanje , which is an Igbo spirit born into a human body.

Vintage Blue Nights , by Joan Didion

Joan Didion was many things—a literary icon, a groundbreaking reporter and essayist, a style maven, and an incisive social and political commentator. And few write about grief as compellingly as Didion. And she had plenty of material to work with. Just days before Christmas 2003, Didion and her husband John Gregory Dunne’s daughter, Quintana Roo, became seriously ill. She was put in an induced coma on life support. Just days later, Dunne suddenly died of a massive coronary. While grieving her husband, Didion's daughter endured brain surgery. Quintana Roo died a year and a half after her father. Blue Night s is written from depths of grief, and reverberates with pain, bravery, and love.

On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World , by Danya Ruttenberg

Available for preorder now, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg's book explores the Jewish concept of teshuva , or repentance, in the context of the current world we live in. Ruttenberg explores the various harms and violence that humans commit against one another, from the interpersonal to the systemic, and poses the question of how amends and repair can be made—and whether in some cases, repentance is even possible. According to the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides, teshuva consists of five steps: naming and owning harm; starting to change/transformation; restitution and accepting consequences; apology; and making different choices. Fundamentally, teshuva is much different than dominant Christian concepts of forgiveness, which focus more on “letting it go” than on achieving actual resolution for the victim and changed behavior for perpetrators. Teshuva gives us more tools to address things like hurt within our personal relationships, sexual violence, police brutality, and global human rights violations.

Picador Gilead , by Marilynne Robinson

An Oprah's Book Club Pick and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Gilead is a novel and fictional autobiography of Reverend John Ames, an elderly, white Congregationalist pastor in the small, secluded, fictional town of Gilead, Iowa. He’s dying of a heart condition and telling the story of his life. It’s a multigenerational tale, exploring Ames’s grandfather’s past as a radical abolitionist engaging in guerrilla warfare against Confederates, who thought his right side was holy and had the ability to communicate directly with God. Ames himself spends this book recounting his loves and losses, his father’s crisis of faith, and his own theological struggles. Ames’s story is ultimately one of Christianity in America, how it can bind and divide, and how it can lead to incredible acts of bravery and incredible acts of violence.

Little, Brown Spark Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit , by Lyanda Lynn Haupt

Often, spirituality is how humans explain the things around us that science has not yet explained. In the same vein, science is often the practice of delving further into nature and the world around us, things that humans have long considered connected to the sacred. Rooted is a book that connects the scientific and the spiritual, bringing readers to a more holistic understanding of this natural world we inhabit. Readers will find themselves looking to connect to the earth in many ways, like walking barefoot in the woods, changing our conception of and relationships to trees and animals, and even altering our language to reflect deeper connections to nature. Science upholds what many of the poets, artists, mystics, and earth-based cultures have said for millennia: We are all rooted in this earth, and both science and spirit can help us imagine that rootedness in new ways.

Shambhala The Rumi Collection , edited by Kabir Helminski

Poetry has long been a way for humans to connect with spirituality, to that world full of things we cannot see or prove, but that we feel powerful. Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic, has written some of the most lyrical, beautiful poems about spirituality and mysticism—especially how it relates to humans’ experience of love. “Wherever you go, you are with me still, you who are my eyes and my brightness; if you will, draw me to drunkenness, if you will, transport me to annihilation” is one of his most resonant verses. Most say that nothing can compare to reading Rumi in Persian, but the English translations are still achingly poignant. For a deep dive into Rumi’s collection, check out this book that separates his poems by theme—who knows, they might come in handy for love letter inspiration later.

NYU Press Muslim Cool: Race, Religion, and Hip Hop in the United States , by Su'ad Abdul Khabeer

What is “Muslim cool”? Simply put, it’s a new conception of what it means to be an American Muslim—with all the different political philosophies, fashion, relationships to state power, and class conflicts that come with that. Through the lens of hip-hop and the performance of Blackness, readers see that Muslim cool is a way that both young Black and non-Black Muslims understand, challenge, and are sometimes confused by the Islamaphobia that exists in the U.S., as well as the anti-Blackness that pervades non-Black Muslim communities. Su'ad Abdul Khabeer shows how Muslims of all ethnicities use Blackness to understand their place in America, but that Black and Muslim don’t have to be lines of division. This is a form of critical Muslim self-making that builds on interconnections and intersections.

William Morrow & Company Bring on the Blessings , by Beverly Jenkins

Bestselling romance author Beverly Jenkins dives into the healing power of spirituality with this tale of Bernadine Brown, a woman with plenty of money—$275 million, to be exact—to burn after she divorces her cheating husband. Lost and hurt, Bernadine goes back to her roots in the church and asks God to give her a purpose. That purpose leads her to buy (yes, you heard that right) the entire town of Henry Adams, one of the last surviving townships founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. Mayor Trent July cares deeply about his town and its debt and foreclosure crisis, and originally butts heads with Bernadine, who has a lot of ideas about what Henry Adams and its residents need. But she learns to compromise, and Trent learns to love her vision, strength, and heart. Can these two work together to revive a town in trouble?

Convergent Books Truth's Table: Black Women's Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation , by Ekemini Uwan, Christina Edmondson, and Michelle Higgins

In their literary debut, Truth’s Table podcast cohosts Christina Edmondson, Michelle Higgins, and Ekemini Uwan present stories by and for Black women who seek to examine theology, politics, race, culture, and gender through a Christian lens. After all, who better to broach these questions than these three women; an activist, a theologian, and a psychologist. For Black women seeking deeper theological understanding, spiritual formation, and political education, Truth’s Table is a fascinating collection of essays and stories about dating, religion, and pop culture that will help guide you into a freer, more liberating and loving iteration of your faith.

HarperOne Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice , by Rabbi Wayne D. Dosick, Ph.D

Living Judaism is both a guide for practicing Jews and those looking to learn more about Jewish life and beliefs. Judaism is a religion with intricate practices revolving around every part of daily life, all with fascinating theological beliefs and traditions behind those practices. Exploring sacred spirituality, Dosick, author of the acclaimed Golden Rules, Dancing with God , and When Life Hurts , introduces readers to the rich world of Judaism and all it entails.

Akashic Books Native Believer , by Ali Eteraz

Ali Eteraz’s (a pen name that means “noble protest”) provocative debut novel follows M., a Philadelphia man who is Muslim by birth but doesn’t hold to any of the beliefs. He wants nothing more than to live a life without care and raise his kids as Americans with just a period, no question mark or preface. But when he’s fired for owning a copy of the Quran, his life spirals out of control. He descends—or ascends, depending on your reading—to the world of pornographers, punks, and wrestlers, and converts to Islam as he grapples with the realization of exactly where he stands in America as a second-generation immigrant and Muslim. A darkly funny novel with an even darker ending, Native Believer offers questions—but no answers—about what it means to be Muslim in America.

These New Novels Make the Perfect Backyard Reads

Books that Will Put You to Sleep

The Other Secret Life of Lara Love Hardin

The Best Quotes from Oprah’s 104th Book Club Pick

The Coming-of-Age Books Everyone Should Read

Pain Doesn’t Make Us Stronger

How One Sentence Can Save Your Life

Riveting Nonfiction—and Memoirs!—You Need to Read

7 Feel-Good Novels We All Desperately Need

A Visual Tour of Oprah’s Latest Book Club Pick

All 104 Books in Oprah’s Book Club

100 Must-Read Travel Books

Rebecca Hussey

Rebecca holds a PhD in English and is a professor at Norwalk Community College in Connecticut. She teaches courses in composition, literature, and the arts. When she’s not reading or grading papers, she’s hanging out with her husband and son and/or riding her bike and/or buying books. She can't get enough of reading and writing about books, so she writes the bookish newsletter "Reading Indie," focusing on small press books and translations. Newsletter: Reading Indie Twitter: @ofbooksandbikes

View All posts by Rebecca Hussey

Real travel is awesome when we can manage it, but sometimes we just have to travel from our armchairs, right? When armchair travel is the most we can do, it’s good to have many reading options from which to choose. So I put together a list of 100 of the best travel books that will take you around the world without requiring any more effort than lifting your hand to turn the pages.

I did my best to organize these by geographical region, although sometimes that’s tricky since there are many ways to divide up the regions of the world. And I had to include a large category of “various locations” since some travel books really do take you everywhere. Within the geographical region, the books are organized chronologically.

I hope you will find some books on this list that pique your interest and can help you find adventures from the safety of your own home. Or maybe they will inspire you to go on a journey, or prepare you for an upcoming trip. Maybe you will read one of these on an airplane. Whatever the case, if travel is something that interests you, I hope this list helps you find new books to love.

Best Travel Books Set In Europe

Mary Wollstonecraft, Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796)

“ Originally published in 1796, Mary Wollstonecraft’s account of her trip to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, is compelling both in its picture of countries rarely visited in Regency times and insights into Mary’s personal life. ”

Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879)

“ Ever hopeful of encountering the adventure he yearned for and raising much needed finance at the start of his writing career, Stevenson embarked on the120 mile, 12 day trek and recorded his experiences in this journal.”

Edith Wharton, A Motor-Flight Through France (1908)

“ Shedding the turn-of-the-century social confines she felt existed for women in America, Edith Wharton set out in the newly invented ‘motor-car’ to explore the cities and countryside of France.”

D.H. Lawrence, Sea and Sardinia (1921)

“ Written after the First World War when he was living in Sicily, Sea and Sardinia records Lawrence’s journey to Sardinia and back in January 1921. It reveals his response to a new landscape and people and his ability to transmute the spirit of place into literary art.”

George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London (1933)

“ This unusual fictional account – in good part autobiographical – narrates without self-pity and often with humor the adventures of a penniless British writer among the down-and-out of two great cities. ”

Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1941)

“ Written on the brink of World War II, Rebecca West’s classic examination of the history, people, and politics of Yugoslavia illuminates a region that is still a focus of international concern .”

Mary McCarthy, The Stones of Florence (1956)

“ Mary McCarthy offers a unique history of Florence, from its inception to the dominant role it came to play in the world of art, architecture, and Italian culture, that captures the brilliant Florentine spirit and revisits the legendary figures Dante, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and others who exemplify it so iconically.”

Jan Morris, The World of Venice (1960)

“ Often hailed as one of the best travel books ever written, Venice is neither a guide nor a history book, but a beautifully written immersion in Venetian life and character, set against the background of the city’s past. ”

Patrick Leigh Fermor, A Time of Gifts (1977)

“ In 1933, at the age of 18, Patrick Leigh Fermor set out on an extraordinary journey by foot – from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople. A Time of Gifts is the first volume in a trilogy recounting the trip, and takes the reader with him as far as Hungary.”

Tété-Michel Kpomassie, An African in Greenland (1981)

“ Tété-Michel Kpomassie was a teenager in Togo when he discovered a book about Greenland—and knew that he must go there. Working his way north over nearly a decade, Kpomassie finally arrived in the country of his dreams. ”

Peter Mayle, A Year in Provence (1989)

“ In this witty and warm-hearted account, Peter Mayle tells what it is like to realize a long-cherished dream and actually move into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the remote country of the Lubéron with his wife and two large dogs. ”

Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun (1996)

“ Frances Mayes—widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer—opens the door to a wondrous new world when she buys and restores an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. ”

Adam Gopnik, Paris to the Moon (2000)

“ Paris. The name alone conjures images of chestnut-lined boulevards, sidewalk cafés, breathtaking façades around every corner–in short, an exquisite romanticism that has captured the American imagination for as long as there have been Americans.”

Lori Tharps , Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain (2008)

“ Magazine writer and editor Lori Tharps was born and raised in the comfortable but mostly White suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was often the only person of color in her school and neighborhood. At an early age, Lori decided that her destiny would be discovered in Spain. ”

Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor, Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story (2009)

“ Between 1998 and 2000, Sue and Ann travel throughout Greece and France. Sue, coming to grips with aging, caught in a creative vacuum, longing to reconnect with her grown daughter, struggles to enlarge a vision of swarming bees into a novel. Ann, just graduated from college, heartbroken and benumbed by the classic question about what to do with her life, grapples with a painful depression. ”

André Aciman, Alibis: Essays on Elsewhere (2011)

“ From beautiful and moving pieces about the memory evoked by the scent of lavender; to meditations on cities like Barcelona, Rome, Paris, and New York; to his sheer ability to unearth life secrets from an ordinary street corner,  Alibis  reminds the reader that Aciman is a master of the personal essay. ”

Sarah Moss, Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland (2012)

“ Novelist Sarah Moss had a childhood dream of moving to Iceland, sustained by a wild summer there when she was nineteen. In 2009, she saw an advertisement for a job at the University of Iceland and applied on a whim, despite having two young children and a comfortable life in an English cathedral city.”

Robert Macfarlane, The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot (2012)

“ In this exquisitely written book, Robert Macfarlane sets off from his Cambridge, England, home to follow the ancient tracks, holloways, drove roads, and sea paths that crisscross both the British landscape and its waters and territories beyond. ”

Best Travel Books Set In  Latin America

Zora Neale Hurston, Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica (1938)

“ Based on Zora Neale Hurston’s personal experience in Haiti and Jamaica, where she participated as an initiate rather than just an observer of voodoo practices during her visits in the 1930s, this travelogue into a dark world paints a vividly authentic picture of ceremonies and customs and superstitions of great cultural interest. ”

Sybille Bedford, A Visit to Don Otavio (1953)

“ In the mid-1940s, Sybille Bedford set off from Grand Central Station for Mexico, accompanied by her friend E., a hamper of food and drink (Virginia ham, cherries, watercress, a flute of bread, Portuguese rosé), books, a writing board, and paper. Her resulting travelogue captures the rich and violent beauty of the country as it was then. ”

V.S. Naipaul, The Middle Passage , (1962)

“ In 1960 the government of Trinidad invited V. S. Naipaul to revisit his native country and record his impressions. In this classic of modern travel writing he has created a deft and remarkably prescient portrait of Trinidad and four adjacent Caribbean societies–countries haunted by the legacies of slavery and colonialism .”

Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia (1977)

“ An exhilarating look at a place that still retains the exotic mystery of a far-off, unseen land, Bruce Chatwin’s exquisite account of his journey through Patagonia teems with evocative descriptions, remarkable bits of history, and unforgettable anecdotes.”

Paul Theroux, The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas (1979)

“ Beginning his journey in Boston, where he boarded the subway commuter train, and catching trains of all kinds on the way, Paul Theroux tells of his voyage from ice-bound Massachusetts and Illinois to the arid plateau of Argentina’s most southerly tip. ”

Salman Rushdie, The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey (1987)

“ In this brilliantly focused and haunting portrait of the people, the politics, the land, and the poetry of Nicaragua, Salman Rushdie brings to the forefront the palpable human facts of a country in the midst of a revolution. ”

Mary Morris, Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone (1987)

“ Traveling from the highland desert of northern Mexico to the steaming jungles of Honduras, from the seashore of the Caribbean to the exquisite highlands of Guatemala, Mary Morris, a celebrated writer of both fiction and nonfiction, confronts the realities of place, poverty, machismo, and selfhood. ”

Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place (1988)

“ Lyrical, sardonic, and forthright, A Small Place magnifies our vision of one small place with Swiftian wit and precision. Jamaica Kincaid’s expansive essay candidly appraises the ten-by-twelve-mile island in the British West Indies where she grew up, and makes palpable the impact of European colonization and tourism. ”

Isabel Allende, My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile (2003)

“ Isabel Allende evokes the magnificent landscapes of her country; a charming, idiosyncratic Chilean people with a violent history and an indomitable spirit, and the politics, religion, myth, and magic of her homeland that she carries with her even today. ”

Best Travel Books Set In  North America

Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789)

“ Widely admired for its vivid accounts of the slave trade, Olaudah Equiano’s autobiography — the first slave narrative to attract a significant readership — reveals many aspects of the eighteenth-century Western world through the experiences of one individual. ”

Isabella Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains (1879)

“ Bird was born in 1831 in Cheshire, England, and became one of a distinguished group of female travellers famous in the nineteenth century–a time when it was considered that a lady’s place should be confined to the home. Isabella travelled and explored the world extensively and became a notable writer and natural historian.”

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley in Search of America (1962)

“ In September 1960, John Steinbeck embarked on a journey across America. He felt that he might have lost touch with the country, with its speech, the smell of its grass and trees, its color and quality of light, the pulse of its people.”

Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire (1968)

“ This is a rare view of a quest to experience nature in its purest form — the silence, the struggle, the overwhelming beauty. But this is also the gripping, anguished cry of a man of character who challenges the growing exploitation of the wilderness by oil and mining interests, as well as by the tourist industry. ”

Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (1974)

“ A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, the book becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions of how to live. ”

Edmund White, States of Desire: Travels in Gay America (1980)

“ In this city-by-city description of the way homosexual men lived in the late seventies, Edmund White gives us a picture of Gay America that will surprise gay and straight readers alike.”

William Least Heat-Moon, Blue Highways: A Journey into America (1982)

“ William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity … His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.”

Gretel Ehrlich, The Solace of Open Spaces (1984)

“ Poet and filmmaker Gretel Ehrlich went to Wyoming in 1975 to make the first in a series of documentaries when her partner died. Ehrlich stayed on and found she couldn’t leave. The Solace of Open Spaces is a chronicle of her first years on “the planet of Wyoming,” a personal journey into a place, a feeling, and a way of life. ”

Jonathan Raban, Bad Land: An American Romance (1985)

“ In towns named Terry, Calypso, and Ismay (which changed its name to Joe, Montana, in an effort to attract football fans), and in the landscape in between, Raban unearths a vanished episode of American history, with its own ruins, its own heroes and heroines, its own hopeful myths and bitter memories. ”

Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild (1996)

“ In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. ”

Jenny Diski, Stranger on a Train: Daydreaming and Smoking Around America with Interruptions (2002)

“ Using two cross-country trips on Amtrak as her narrative vehicles, British writer Jenny Diski connects the humming rails, taking her into the heart of America with the track-like scars leading back to her own past. ”

Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost (2005)

“ A Field Guide to Getting Lost draws on emblematic moments and relationships in Solnit’s own life to explore the issues of wandering, being lost, and the uses of the unknown. The result is a distinctive, stimulating, and poignant voyage of discovery. ”

Sarah Vowell, Assassination Vacation (2005)

“ With Assassination Vacation, [Vowell] takes us on a road trip like no other—a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cultural advantage. ”

Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (2012)

“ At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life.”

Suzanne Roberts, Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail (2012)

“ It was 1993, Suzanne Roberts had just finished college, and when her friend suggested they hike California’s John Muir Trail, the adventure sounded like the perfect distraction from a difficult home life and thoughts about the future. But she never imagined that the twenty-eight-day hike would change her life. ”

Gloria Steinem, My Life on the Road (2015)

“ Gloria Steinem—writer, activist, organizer, and one of the most inspiring leaders in the world—now tells a story she has never told before, a candid account of how her early years led her to live an on-the-road kind of life, traveling, listening to people, learning, and creating change. ”

Best Travel Books Set In  Asia

Matsuo Bashō, The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1689)

“ In later life Basho turned to Zen Buddhism, and the travel sketched in this volume reflect his attempts to cast off earthly attachments and reach out to spiritual fulfillment. The sketches are written in the ‘haibun’ style–a linking of verse and prose. ”

Alexandra David-Néel, My Journey to Lhasa (1927)

“ In order to penetrate Tibet and reach Lhasa, she used her fluency of Tibetan dialects and culture, disguised herself as a beggar with yak hair extensions and inked skin and tackled some of the roughest terrain and climate in the World.”

Eric Newby, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush (1958)

“ No mountaineer, Newby set out with a friend to explore the formidable peaks of the Nuristan Mountains in northeast Afghanistan. His witty, unorthodox report is packed with incidents both ghastly and ecstatic as he takes us where few Western feet have trod.”

Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard (1978)

“ When Matthiessen went to Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and, possibly, to glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard, he undertook his five-week trek as winter snows were sweeping into the high passes. This is a radiant and deeply moving account of a ‘true pilgrimage, a journey of the heart.'”

Michael Ondaatje, Running in the Family (1982)

“ In the late 1970s Ondaatje returned to his native island of Sri Lanka. As he records his journey through the drug-like heat and intoxicating fragrances of that ‘pendant off the ear of India,’ Ondaatje simultaneously retraces the baroque mythology of his Dutch-Ceylonese family. ”

Vikram Seth, From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkian and Tibet (1983)

“ After two years as a postgraduate student at Nanjing University in China, Vikram Seth hitch-hiked back to his home in New Delhi, via Tibet. From Heaven Lake is the story of his remarkable journey and his encounters with nomadic Muslims, Chinese officials, Buddhists and others. ”

Christina Dodwell, Traveller in China (1985)

“ Christina Dodwell s wanderlust, combined with her inventive and unorthodox methods of travel and her unquenchable curiosity about people, make her the ideal guide to the remoter parts of China’s vast territory. ”

Pico Iyer, Video Night in Kathmandu (1988)

“ Why did Dire Straits blast out over Hiroshima, Bruce Springsteen over Bali and Madonna over all? The author was eager to learn where East meets West, how pop culture and imperialism penetrated through the world’s most ancient civilisations. Then, the truths he began to uncover were more startling, subtle, and more complex than he ever anticipated. ”

Pankaj Mishra, Butter Chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in Small Town India (1995)

“ From a convent-educated beauty pageant aspirant to small shopkeepers planning their vacation in London, Pankaj Mishra paints a vivid picture of a people rushing headlong to their tryst with modernity. ”

Andrew Pham, Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam (1999)

“ Catfish and Mandala is the story of an American odyssey—a solo bicycle voyage around the Pacific Rim to Vietnam—made by a young Vietnamese-American man in pursuit of both his adopted homeland and his forsaken fatherland.”

Ma Jian, Red Dust: A Path Through China (2001)

“ In 1983, at the age of thirty, dissident artist Ma Jian finds himself divorced by his wife, separated from his daughter, betrayed by his girlfriend, facing arrest for ‘Spiritual Pollution,’ and severely disillusioned with the confines of life in Beijing. So with little more than a change of clothes and two bars of soap, Ma takes off to immerse himself in the remotest parts of China. ”

Suketu Mehta , Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found (2004)

“ The book combines elements of memoir, travel writing as well as socio-political analysis of the history and people of Mumbai. Mehta writes as a person who is at one level outsider to this magnificent city and on the other hand is the one who is born here and has lived his childhood in the city then known as Bombay. ”

Faith Adiele, Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun (2004)

“ Reluctantly leaving behind Pop Tarts and pop culture to battle flying rats, hissing cobras, forest fires, and decomposing corpses, Faith Adiele shows readers in this personal narrative, with accompanying journal entries, that the path to faith is full of conflicts for even the most devout. ”

Barbara Demick, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (2009)

“ Award-winning journalist Barbara Demick follows the lives of six North Korean citizens over fifteen years–a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and a devastating famine that killed one-fifth of the population. ”

Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers (2012)

“ In this brilliant, breathtaking book by Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human through the dramatic story of families striving toward a better life in Annawadi, a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport. ”

Best Travel Books Set In  Africa

Mary Kingsley, Travels in West Africa (1897)

“ Upon her sudden freedom from family obligations, a sheltered Victorian spinster traded her stifling middle-class existence for an incredible expedition in the Congo. ”

Beryl Markham, West with the Night (1942)

“[Markham’s] successes and her failures—and her deep, lifelong love of the ‘soul of Africa’—are all chronicled here with wrenching honesty and agile wit. Hailed by National Geographic as one of the greatest adventure books of all time, West with the Night is the sweeping account of a fearless and dedicated woman. ”

Maya Angelou, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986)

“ Once again, the poet casts her spell as she resumes one of the greatest personal narratives of our time. In this continuation, Angelou relates how she joins a “colony” of Black American expatriates in Ghana–only to discover no one ever goes home again. ”

Eddy L. Harris, Native Stranger: A Black American’s Journey into the Heart of Africa (1992)

“ Recounting his journey into the heart of Africa, an African American describes his encounters with beggars and bureaucrats, his visit to Soweto, a night in a Liberian jail cell, and more. ”

Philip Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families (1998)

“ Philip Gourevitch’s haunting work is an anatomy of the killings in Rwanda, a vivid history of the genocide’s background, and an unforgettable account of what it means to survive in its aftermath. ”

Colleen McElroy, Over the Lip of the World: Among the Storytellers of Madagascar (1999)

“ McElroy’s tale of an African American woman’s travels among the people of Madagascar is told with wit, insight, and humor. Throughout it she interweaves English translations of Malagasy stories of heroism and morality, royalty and commoners, love and revenge, and the magic of tricksters and shapechangers. ”

Charlayne Hunter-Gault, New News Out of Africa: Uncovering Africa’s Renaissance (2006)

“ In New News Out of Africa , this eminent reporter offers a fresh and surprisingly optimistic assessment of modern Africa, revealing that there is more to the continent than the bad news of disease, disaster, and despair.”

Noo Saro-Wiwa, Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria (2012)

“ She finds [Nigeria] as exasperating as ever, and frequently despairs at the corruption and inefficiency she encounters. But she also discovers that it is far more beautiful and varied than she had ever imagined, with its captivating thick tropical rainforest and ancient palaces and monuments.”

Best Travel Books Set In The  South Pacific

Robyn Davidson, Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback (1980)

“ Robyn Davidson’s opens the memoir of her perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company with the following words: ‘I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know you have conned yourself into doing something difficult and there’s no going back.'”

Dea Birkett, Serpent in Paradise (1997)

“ Acclaimed British travel writer and journalist Dea Birkett, obsessed like many with the island’s image as a secluded Eden and its connection to the mysterious and intriguing Bounty legend, traveled across the Pacific on a cargo ship and became one of the very few outsiders permitted to land on Pitcairn. ”

Bill Bryson, In a Sunburned Country (2000)

“ Despite the fact that Australia harbors more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else, including sharks, crocodiles, snakes, even riptides and deserts, Bill Bryson adores the place, and he takes his readers on a rollicking ride far beyond that beaten tourist path. ”

Kira Salak, Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua, New Guinea (2001)

“ Traveling by dugout canoe and on foot, confronting the dangers and wonders of a largely untouched world, [Salak] became the first woman to traverse this remote country and write about it. ”

Best Travel Books Set In The  Middle East/North Africa

Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters (1716)

“ Her lively letters offer insights into the paradoxical freedoms conferred on Muslim women by the veil, the value of experimental work by Turkish doctors on inoculation, and the beauty of Arab poetry and culture. ”

Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana (1937)

“ In 1933 the delightfully eccentric Robert Byron set out on a journey through the Middle East via Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad and Teheran to Oxiana -the country of the Oxus, the ancient name for the river Amu Darya which forms part of the border between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. ”

Isabelle Eberhardt, The Nomad: The Diaries of Isabelle Eberhardt (1987, written in late 19th century)

“ Eberhardt’s journal chronicles the daring adventures of a late 19th- century European woman who traveled the Sahara desert disguised as an Arab man and adopted Islam.”

Sara Suleri, Meatless Days (1989)

“ In this finely wrought memoir of life in postcolonial Pakistan, Suleri intertwines the violent history of Pakistan’s independence with her own most intimate memories—of her Welsh mother; of her Pakistani father, prominent political journalist Z.A. Suleri; of her tenacious grandmother Dadi and five siblings; and of her own passage to the West. ”

Amitav Ghosh, In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler’s Tale (1993)

“ Interspersing his quest with accounts of his stay in ‘Masr’ and the people he met, Ghosh weaves together a narrative packed with exuberant detail, exposing ties that have bound together India and Egypt, and Hindus and Muslims and Jews, from the Crusades to Operation Desert Storm.”

Rory Stewart, The Places in Between (2004)

“ In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan–surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers … Along the way Stewart met heroes and rogues, tribal elders and teenage soldiers, Taliban commanders and foreign-aid workers. ”

Colin Thubron, Shadow of the Silk Road (2007)

“ Making his way by local bus, truck, car, donkey cart, and camel, Colin Thubron covered some seven thousand miles in eight months out of the heart of China into the mountains of Central Asia, across northern Afghanistan and the plains of Iran into Kurdish Turkey and explored an ancient world in modern ferment. ”

Gertrude Bell, A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert (2015, written in early 20th century)

“ This is the epic story of Bell’s life, told through her letters, military dispatches, diary entries, and other writings. It offers a unique and intimate look behind the public mask of a woman who shaped nations. ”

Lynsey Addario, It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War (2015)

“ Lynsey Addario was just finding her way as a young photographer when September 11 changed the world. One of the few photojournalists with experience in Afghanistan, she gets the call to return and cover the American invasion.”

Best Travel Books Set In  Arctic/Antarctic

Ernest Shackleton, South: The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition, 1914-1917 (1919)

“ In an epic struggle of man versus the elements, Shackleton leads his team on a harrowing quest for survival over some of the most unforgiving terrain in the world.”

Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams (2001)

“ Lopez offers a thorough examination of this obscure world-its terrain, its wildlife, its history of Eskimo natives and intrepid explorers who have arrived on their icy shores. But what turns this marvelous work of natural history into a breathtaking study of profound originality is his unique meditation on how the landscape can shape our imagination, desires, and dreams. ”

Sara Wheeler, Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica (1996)

“ Terra Incognita is a meditation on the landscape, myths and history of one of the remotest parts of the globe, as well as an encounter with the international temporary residents of the region – living in close confinement despite the surrounding acres of white space – and the mechanics of day-to-day life in extraordinary conditions. ”

Gretchen Legler, On the Ice: An Intimate Portrait of Life at McMurdo Station, Antarctica (2005)

“ Sent to Antarctica as an observer by the National Science Foundation, Gretchen Legler arrives at McMurdo Station in midwinter, a time of -70 degree temperatures and months of near-total darkness. ”

Various Locations

Ibn Battuta, The Travels of Ibn Battuta , (14th century)

“ Ibn Battutah—ethnographer, bigrapher, anecdotal historian and occasional botanist—was just 21 when he set out in 1325 from his native Tangier on a pilgramage to Mecca. He did not return to Morocco for another 29 years, traveling instead through more than 40 countries on the modern map, covering 75,000 miles and getting as far north as the Volga, as far east as China, and as far south as Tanzania. ”

Martha Gellhorn, Travels With Myself and Another (1979): “ Out of a lifetime of travelling, Martha Gellhorn has selected her ‘best horror journeys.’ She bumps through rain-sodden, war-torn China to meet Chiang Kai-Shek, floats listlessly in search of u-boats in the wartime Caribbean and visits a dissident writer in the Soviet Union against her better judgment.”

Barbara Savage, Miles from Nowhere: A Round-The World Bicycle Adventure (1983)

“ This is the story of Barbara and Larry Savage’s sometimes dangerous, often zany, but ultimately rewarding 23,000 miles global bicycle odyssey, which took them through 25 countries in two years.”

Elaine Lee, editor, Go Girl!: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure (1997)

“Globe-trotting attorney Lee assembled 52 travel pieces presenting the uncommon perspective of black women, mostly African Americans. Assembled under the headings ‘Back to Africa,’ ‘Sistren Travelin’,’ and ‘Trippin’ All Over the World,’ many initially appeared in popular women’s or travel magazines.”

Cheryl J. Fish, editor, A Stranger in the Village: Two Centuries of African-American Travel Writing (1999)

“ Dispatches, diaries, memoirs, and letters by African-American travelers in search of home, justice, and adventure-from the Wild West to Australia. ”

Caryl Phillips, The Atlantic Sound (2000)

“ Liverpool, England; Accra, Ghana; Charleston, South Carolina. These were the points of the triangle forming the major route of the transatlantic slave trade. And these are the cities that acclaimed author Caryl Phillips explores–physically, historically, psychologically–in this wide-ranging meditation on the legacy of slavery. ”

Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel (2002)

“ Any Baedeker will tell us where we ought to travel, but only Alain de Botton will tell us how and why … de Botton considers the pleasures of anticipation; the allure of the exotic, and the value of noticing everything from a seascape in Barbados to the takeoffs at Heathrow.”

Geoff Dyer, Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It (2003)

“ As he travels from Amsterdam to Cambodia, Rome to Indonesia, Libya to Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert, Dyer flounders about in a sea of grievances, with fleeting moments of transcendental calm his only reward for living in a perpetual state of motion. ”

Susan Orlean, My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who’s Been Everywhere (2004)

“ In this irresistible collection of adventures far and near, Orlean conducts a tour of the world via its subcultures, from the heart of the African music scene in Paris to the World Taxidermy Championships in Springfield, Illinois–and even into her own apartment, where she imagines a very famous houseguest taking advantage of her hospitality. ”

Ryszard Kapuściński , Travels with Herodotus (2004)

“J ust out of university in 1955, Kapuscinski told his editor that he’d like to go abroad. Dreaming no farther than Czechoslovakia, the young reporter found himself sent to India. Wide-eyed and captivated, he would discover in those days his life’s work—to understand and describe the world in its remotest reaches, in all its multiplicity.”

Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love (2006)

“ Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. ”

Tahir Shah, Travels with Myself (2011)

“ Travels with Myself is a collection of selected writings by Tahir Shah, acclaimed Anglo-Afghan author and champion of the intrepid. Written over twenty years, the many pieces form an eclectic treasury of stories from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and beyond.

Elisabeth Eaves, Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Five Continents (2011)

“ Spanning 15 years of travel, beginning when she is a sophomore in college, Wanderlust documents Elisabeth Eaves’s insatiable hunger for the rush of the unfamiliar and the experience of encountering new people and cultures. ”

Paula Young Lee, Deer Hunting in Paris: A Memoir of God, Guns, and Game Meat (2013)

“ What happens when a Korean-American preacher’s kid refuses to get married, travels the world, and quits being vegetarian? She meets her polar opposite on an online dating site while sitting at a café in Paris, France and ends up in Paris, Maine, learning how to hunt. ”

Emily Raboteau, Searching for Zion: The Quest for Home in the African Diaspora (2013)

“ On her ten-year journey back in time and around the globe, through the Bush years and into the age of Obama, Raboteau wanders to Jamaica, Ethiopia, Ghana, and the American South to explore the complex and contradictory perspectives of Black Zionists. ”

Amanda Epe, A Fly Girl: Travel Tales of an Exotic British Airways Cabin Crew (2014)

“ A Fly Girl gives insight to the highs and lows in the world of a former BA cabin crew, in an intriguing travel writing memoir. In the global landscape the memoirist meticulously documents personal adventures, social structures and political history throughout her daring and exciting expeditions.”

Robert Moor, On Trails: An Exploration (2016)

“ Throughout, Moor reveals how this single topic—the oft-overlooked trail—sheds new light on a wealth of age-old questions: How does order emerge out of chaos? How did animals first crawl forth from the seas and spread across continents?”

What do you think are the best travel books? Check out even more recommendations for travel memoirs here !

You Might Also Like

Fine-Tuned Finances

18 Must-Read Christian Books Everyone Needs in Their Life

Posted: February 17, 2024 | Last updated: February 17, 2024

Looking to enrich your spiritual journey, expand your understanding of divine principles, find solace in uplifting messages, or simply immerse yourself in captivating narratives? Look no further. Here are eighteen compelling Christian books that promise to nourish your soul and invigorate your faith journey. From timeless classics to contemporary gems, each title offers unique insights and inspiration to ignite your passion for spiritual growth and personal transformation. So, which of these literary treasures will resonate with your heart and ignite your spirit?

Confessions by Saint Augustin

Saint Augustine, a renowned theologian and intellectual hailing from North Africa, witnessed the decline of the Roman Empire during his lifetime. In his seminal work, “Confessions,” Augustine navigates the intersections of his earthly experiences and spiritual quest, intertwining personal anecdotes with profound philosophical reflections on faith. Structured like biblical narratives, this monumental opus comprises twelve books chronicling Augustine’s journey of self-discovery and redemption amidst the tumultuous backdrop of the early first millennium’s dark ages.

Forward by David Jeremiah

A valuable resource for individuals grappling with self-discovery and goal attainment, “Forward” is a poignant reflection tool. Drawing parallels to King David’s aspiration to honor God through constructing the Temple on Mount Moriah, the book encourages readers to align their ambitions with divine purpose. Viewing life’s aspirations as offerings to God is a practical lesson for aspiring entrepreneurs and a spiritual guide for nurturing one’s faith journey. This insightful perspective offers a holistic approach to personal and spiritual growth.

The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a courageous Lutheran pastor and staunch opponent of the Nazi regime, played a pivotal role in founding the Confessing Church, a bold resistance movement against Hitler’s efforts to co-opt Protestantism. Released amidst Hitler’s reign in 1937, “The Cost of Discipleship” proved prophetic, ultimately sealing Bonhoeffer’s fate. In a poignant excerpt, he emphasizes the transformative power of “costly grace,” framing it as a divine invitation to follow Jesus and offering solace to the broken-hearted. Bonhoeffer’s thesis on the secularization of Christianity resonates profoundly in today’s tumultuous landscape, offering timeless wisdom for navigating modern challenges.

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen

The parable of the Prodigal Son from The Gospel According to Luke resonates with parents and those longing for connection to their origins, be it spiritual or geographical. Henri Nouwen, a Dutch priest and psychologist, found solace in a French village after a transformative encounter with Rembrandt’s painting of the Prodigal Son. Delving into the narrative’s three characters, Nouwen’s introspective exploration of life’s complexities and triumphs offers invaluable insights for anyone contemplating settling roots. With 7 million copies sold since 1992 , this profound work continues to captivate readers seeking profound reflections on life’s journey.

The Most Reluctant Convert by David C. Downing

Embark on understanding C.S. Lewis’s transformative path before delving into “Mere Christianity.” Through Downing’s narrative in “The Most Reluctant Convert,” gain insight into Lewis’s evolution from atheism to pantheism, theism, and ultimately, embracing Christ. Explore the role of the Inklings, a literary group, in Lewis’s spiritual journey, and discover how mythology played a pivotal role in shaping his Christian beliefs. This exploration offers a fascinating glimpse into a renowned author’s intellectual and spiritual odyssey.

The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel

Once a staunch atheist and legal journalist, Lee Strobel penned “The Case for Christ,” a secular must-read. Despite his skepticism, Strobel embarked on a quest to scrutinize the Bible’s claims firsthand, ultimately experiencing a profound transformation from disbelief to faith. His journey is a compelling testament to the power of inquiry and introspection. Meanwhile, according to Gitnux , the Bible remains the best-selling book globally, boasting over 5 billion copies sold and translated into 700 languages, with remarkable accessibility across diverse cultures and tongues.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

During World War II, amidst Britain’s battle against Hitler’s Germany, C.S. Lewis emerged as a prominent figure, broadcasting radio talks. His renowned book, “Mere Christianity,” delves into various arguments advocating for Christianity. Lewis posits that belief in God manifests in two distinct ways: through rational contemplation of His existence and through inherent moral inclinations. Offering compelling insights, this work transcends religious boundaries, appealing to a broad audience interested in philosophical exploration and ethical inquiry. It is a noteworthy read for individuals of all faith backgrounds.

Prepare yourself for a thought-provoking journey with Bonhoeffer’s unapologetic masterpiece, “The Cost of Discipleship.” Originally titled “Nachfolge” in German, meaning simply “discipleship” or “following,” this seminal work stands as Bonhoeffer’s enduring legacy. Witnessing a diluted form of Christianity prevailing as WWII loomed, Bonhoeffer penned this potent volume to rally disciples across Europe and beyond back to the authentic essence of discipleship. Brace yourself for a profound exploration of faith and commitment that challenges conventional notions of Christian discipleship.

The Gospel Precisely by Matthew W. Bates

In today’s Christian discourse, discussions regarding the essence of the biblical gospel abound. Feeling perplexed about its true meaning? Dive into Matthew Bates’s concise work, “The Gospel Precisely,” to clarify the Bible’s delineation of the gospel. Allow Bates to challenge your assumptions and lead you toward a deeper understanding of truth through this brief yet impactful volume. In navigating its pages, embark on a journey of reorientation towards the fundamental message of the Christian faith.

The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

Upon its release in 1998, this book stirred controversy by challenging the notion that mere religious rituals suffice for faithful discipleship. Contradicting that passive adherence to religious practices equates to genuine Christian discipleship, the author advocates for an active engagement with God’s kingdom, emphasizing the importance of seeking divine union in the present moment. Through the concept of being a “co-conspirator” in realizing the Kingdom of Heaven, “The Divine Conspiracy” disrupts conventional beliefs and prompts even devout Christians to reevaluate their commitment to authentic discipleship.

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller

Timothy Keller’s acclaimed book and accompanying DVD cater to believers and non-believers, focusing on the latter. Keller challenges the perception that Christianity repels individuals due to its perceived rigidity, asserting that this need not be the case. Central to his argument is the assertion that Christianity can coexist harmoniously with other faith traditions and withstand scrutiny regarding suffering and injustice without undermining the existence of God. This thought-provoking work prompts readers to reconsider preconceived notions and critically reflect on faith and doubt.

The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made by Mark Dever

Navigating the Old Testament can pose challenges for many, given its complexity. Mark Dever offers a concise yet invaluable resource in “The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made,” providing a comprehensive overview of each book. This guide is indispensable for individuals seeking clarity and depth in their Bible study endeavors.

God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation by Andreas Kostenberger

Amidst cultural challenges, “God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation” by Andreas Kostenberger provides invaluable insights. This book offers a robust biblical perspective on pertinent issues surrounding marriage and family dynamics, including divorce, homosexuality, birth control, and gender roles.

Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace by Gary and Betsy Ricucci

For couples seeking enduring love and harmony, “Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace” by Gary and Betsy Ricucci offers indispensable guidance. Within its pages, couples will discover timeless biblical principles and practical strategies to cultivate a thriving, God-honoring marriage filled with love and romance.

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis’s beloved Chronicles of Narnia series offers an engaging gateway to the Christian faith for curious individuals and parents seeking to instill spiritual values in their children through captivating storytelling. While Lewis insisted the books weren’t allegorical, he acknowledged the presence of subtle Christian themes throughout. Primarily, the series vividly portrays the timeless struggle between good and evil, resonating with readers by reflecting the complexities of moral battles encountered in everyday life.

The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul

Curious about the concept of “fearing the Lord”? Consider revisiting this insightful resource multiple times throughout your journey as a Christian to gain a deeper understanding and insight into the significance of this aspect of faith.

Heaven by Randy Alcorn

Considering the eternal nature of our existence in heaven, it’s prudent to familiarize ourselves with its aspects. Randy Alcorn addresses numerous common inquiries about heaven, offering insights to paint a biblical portrayal of the eternal realm.

Fall in Love with God’s Word by Brittany Ann

Research reveals many Christians aspire to read their Bibles more but need more time due to busyness or lack of motivation. Author Brittany Ann offers a fresh perspective, emphasizing Scripture’s richness—wisdom, encouragement, and divine connection. Her book guides Christians in enjoying and understanding their Bibles, overcoming obstacles, and fostering consistent reading habits. According to Wordsrated , religious book sales reached $757.7 million in 2022, marking a 7.46% increase from 2021 and a 32.5% increase over the past decade, showcasing the enduring demand for religious literature.

“No Boomers Allowed”: 15 States Where Retirees Are NOT Welcome

If you’re planning a significant change during retirement, it’s crucial to think about the kind of home you desire and the aspects you should steer clear of. “If you’re thinking about making a big move in retirement, it’s important to consider what characteristics you want in your new home and which ones to avoid at all costs,” suggests experts. To assist you, we’ve compiled a catalog of the 15 least favorable states for retirement.

16 UNACCEPTABLE THINGS BOOMERS GOT AWAY WITH IN THEIR YOUTH THAT WOULD SPARK OUTRAGE TODAY

Looking back on the childhood of the boomer generation, it becomes evident that certain things once considered appropriate would never pass today’s standards. The cultural landscape has evolved significantly, leading us to recognize 16 aspects of their upbringing that would be deemed wholly unacceptable today. From unsupervised outdoor adventures to unfiltered television content, the boomer generation got away with various experiences that would undoubtedly raise eyebrows in today’s world. Let’s delve into these intriguing elements of their upbringing and reflect on how far society has come.

STUCK IN THE 60S: 10 THINGS BABY BOOMERS REFUSE TO LET GO OF

Memories of the “good old days” keep us trapped in the past. Baby boomers love to retell tales of how it was “in my day.” At the same time, millennials will tell them to get with the times. Being stuck in a time warp from which they don’t want to snap out of, here are things that baby boomers still think are fantastic. STUCK IN THE 60S: 10 THINGS BABY BOOMERS REFUSE TO LET GO OF

IT’S TIME TO LET GO: 30 OUTDATED BOOMER HOME TRENDS THAT DESPERATELY NEED TO BE SHOWN THE EXIT!

With the advances of social media, home trends, décor, and fads change faster than ever before. While some trends become instant classics, others can be redundant, unsensible, or just downright hideous. In a popular online forum, users shared the home fads they’re tired of seeing. We’ve compiled a list of these most disliked home décor fads, so grab a cup of coffee, and let’s look into these less-than-inspiring home design options!

BOOMERS FED UP: THE NEVER-ENDING SAGA OF MILLENNIAL BLAME FOR FINANCIAL FAILURES – ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Millennials look at their current economic situation with despair. The feeling amongst them is that the boomers are the cause of their woes. Boomers are considered to be a group of individuals who are self-serving, greedy, and short-sighted. But is this the case?

More for You

New York Judge's Letitia James Comment Sparks Backlash

The Only Way You Should Store Peanut Butter, According to SKIPPY

Krispy Kreme introduces Total Solar Eclipse doughnuts: How to order while supplies last

12 Ordering Mistakes You're Making At Subway, According To Employees

All 38 ‘Godzilla' Movies Ranked From Worst to Best

11 weird laws you never knew existed – see how many you’ve broken

Trump sues Truth Social co-founders demanding the two ‘Apprentice’ stars lose shares

How to get rid of stink bugs, according to an entomologist

Eight passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian cruise ship left without them

Arby’s Is Giving Away Free Sandwiches All Month Long

Vladimir Putin humiliated as Russian air force accidentally reveal location of fighter jets

Taylor Swift Joins Jay-Z, Oprah, Rihanna, Tyler Perry & Steven Spielberg On Forbes 2024 Billionaires List

Saturday Morning Shows We Love From The ’70s

20 stupid movies that are actually genius

Carnival Cruise Line makes controversial boarding policy clear

Virtual colonoscopy lets you skip the scope. Here’s what to know about the colorectal cancer screening Mark Cuban says saves time and money

McDonald’s brings beloved breakfast sandwich back to select locations

17 Dog Breeds With the Longest Lifespan

Can You Eat Potatoes with Sprouts?

I'm abrosexual - it took me 30 years to realise

Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Amazon Prime includes:

Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.

• Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
• Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
• A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
• Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
• Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Important:  Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.

Buy new: $20.49 $20.49 FREE delivery: Tuesday, April 9 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon. Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Return this item for free.

Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges

• Go to your orders and start the return
• Select the return method

Buy used: $18.92

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Travel Light: Spiritual Minimalism to Live a More Fulfilled Life Hardcover – July 18, 2023

Purchase options and add-ons

Discover Spiritual Minimalism: the “inside-out” path to getting rid of inner clutter and living a more fulfilled life. Everywhere you look, people in all walks of life are “going minimalist” and getting rid of their possessions. Yet as exciting as it can be to throw out half of your belongings, does it really bring happiness? As Light Watkins says: “If you’re unhappy now, becoming a minimalist isn’t likely to change that… unless you do the inner work to cultivate happiness on the inside.” Light is famous for taking minimalism to the extreme―and now lives his whole life out of a single backpack. In Travel Light , he shares his surprising revelation that being a “spiritual minimalist” means you don’t focus on material objects. What matters more than clearing out your closets is how much trust you have in your inner guidance. “Spiritual Minimalism is not about how much physical stuff you have,” he says. “It’s about how you communicate, incorporate service into your life, exercise, cook, clean, and express your love.” Light shares his unique inside-out approach to minimalism using stories, anecdotes, and vignettes, along with real-world experiments and exercises that you can adapt to your own life. Here you’ll learn how to: • Prioritize and cultivate inner happiness • Make the most important decisions from your heart • Get comfortable in the discomfort • Live as though there are no throwaway moments • Tap in to your curiosity as a gateway to your true path • The “freedom of choicelessness”―decluttering your life decisions You’ll be invited to discover the joy of giving what you want to receive; following your curiosity; and living with a “clutter-free” approach to your choices, values, and life purpose. Implementing the principles of Spiritual Minimalism will get you aligned with your values and lead you to a life-changing adventure!

• Print length 224 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Sounds True
• Publication date July 18, 2023
• Dimensions 5.7 x 0.65 x 7.25 inches
• ISBN-10 1649630565
• ISBN-13 978-1649630568
• See all details

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

"Watkins’s tone is appealingly conversational, and his lucid prose and easy-to-follow meditation exercises help bring the sometimes abstract contours of spiritual minimalism down to earth." ― Publishers Weekly “ Travel Light ultimately serves as a breath-of-fresh-air guide for how to be present in the modern day. Light’s words and stories feel like a good friend that helps bring you back to your most important relationship when things get a little messy―the relationship with your Self.” ― Adriene Mishler, founder of Yoga with Adriene and Find What Feels Good “ Travel Light encourages readers to follow their curiosity, to live authentically to their inner guidance, and to always make decisions from the heart. Then every day becomes a new opportunity to do something that changes the course of the rest of our lives.” ― Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness “Light has lived out of a backpack now for four years. This is not a stunt or a gimmick but the commitment of a serious man to living a life based on the truths of the Inner World and the infallible wisdom of the heart. Travel Light is the best possible portal―and Light Watkins, the most generous and soulful guide―to this experience and this discipline. Can I give Travel Light six stars?” ― Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art “This book is full of simply told, relatable stories that will leave you inspired to start traveling light on your very next trip.” ― Leon Logothetis, author and creator of The Kindness Diaries “Light is a true master at taking complex practices like meditation and minimalism, and not only simplifying them but inspiring you to try them as well. Travel Light is a must-have for every spiritual practitioner.” ― Chip Conley, bestselling author and founder of the Modern Elder Academy “ Travel Light is a concentrated distillate on all things simple whenever your life feels bloated, creaky, and full. Take two pages and call me in the morning.” ― Neil Pasricha, bestselling author of The Book of Awesome “Light’s unique approach to minimalism is so refreshing. This is just the book for showing you how to move through life in a way that truly serves what’s in your heart.” ― Kute Blackson, bestselling author of The Magic of Surrender “After reading and inhaling the message of Travel Light , for the first time in my life I traveled to Europe with a carry-on, inspired by Light’s philosophy and way of living. I found the joy of letting go of excess baggage inwardly and outwardly. Read this book, and then give it away to a friend, and carry it in your heart. It will free your mind and spirit!” ― Agapi Stassinopoulos, bestselling author of Speaking with Spirit “Light is such a great storyteller. You can crack Travel Light open to any page, and before you know it, you will be inspired to give this unique style of minimalism a try.” ― Lewis Howes, author and founder of The School of Greatness “ Travel Light reminds us that our most important possession is our inner guidance. And that when we make room to follow that voice within us, we become aligned with the true abundance of life.” ― Ava DuVernay, award-winning filmmaker “Light is speaking my language in his beautiful new book. Spiritual minimalism is a much-needed antidote to our seemingly endless scramble to get somewhere, to be someone, and to make things happen. Our harried, busy, distracted lives are not only bad for the planet but also bad for us. Thanks, Light, for directing us on a different path.” ― Pam Grout, #1 New York Times bestselling author of E-Squared and nineteen other books “It’s so easy to get hung up on mental clutter. In Travel Light , my friend Light Watkins not only shows you how to declutter your mind but also provides you with step-by-step instructions for connecting with your inner guidance to live a more fulfilled life.” ― Mark Hyman, MD, bestselling author of Young Forever

About the Author

Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sounds True (July 18, 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1649630565
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1649630568
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.6 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.7 x 0.65 x 7.25 inches
• #708 in Spiritual Self-Help (Books)
• #1,276 in Happiness Self-Help
• #2,321 in Personal Transformation Self-Help

About the author

Light watkins.

Light Watkins has been active in the wellness space since 1998, first as a practitioner, and later as an apprentice to his Vedic Meditation teacher, and finally in 2007 as a meditation teacher himself. He became nomadic in 2018 and now travels the world giving talks on happiness, mindfulness, inspiration, and meditation. Light’s book, Bliss More: How to Succeed in Meditation Without Really Trying (Random House) was released in 2018. He writes articles on meditation and happiness, leads sold-out meditation trainings and retreats, produces The Shine—a global pop-up inspirational variety show with a mission to inspire, and Light sends out a popular daily inspirational email each morning called The Daily Dose of Inspiration.

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Start Selling with Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices