The Wandering Rose team shares our favorite books about travel

Updated April 6, 2020

One upside of staying home so much lately is that we’re reading more than ever. And while we cannot physically travel at present, there is peace in revisiting favorite places and stories and inspiration in discovering new titles and cultures. In that spirit, here are the Wandering Rose Travels team’s favorite travel books.

Please share yours in the comments below. We’d love to discover some new titles.

We plan to add new books regularly, so bookmark and come back often. Happy reading!

The Most Scenic Drives in America

120 Spectacular Road Trips

by the editors of Readers Digest

Cruise America’s most scenic roads from Florida’s Road to Flamingo to Hawaii’s Oahu Coastal Loop to Cape Cod’s Sandy Shores and beyond.

Shattered Air

A True Account of Catastrophe and Courage on Yosemite’s Half Dome

by Bob Madgic

A compelling story about hikers to Half Dome in Yosemite National Park and a fateful lightning strike. I couldn’t put it down.

Into Thin Air

A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

by Jon Krakauer

A journalistic and personal account of the May 1996 Everest disaster, which claimed five lives.

Trail of Feathers

In Search of the Birdmen of Peru

by Tahir Shah

Shah’s motley crews traverse Peru’s land and lore, guided by history and humor.

Nine Lives

Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans

by Dan Baum

Biographies from all walks of life intersect through historic hurricanes in the incomparable Crescent City.

A Pirate Looks at Fifty

by Jimmy Buffett

Enjoy Buffet’s travel journal and life philosophy through three weeks in Central and South America by sea plane.

Destinations of a Lifetime

225 of the World’s Most Amazing Places

by National Geographic

A photographic tour of the world’s most spectacular destinations. Warning: Will cause serious wanderlust.

Dear Bob and Sue

One couple’s journey through the national parks

by Matt and Karen Smith

Matt and Karen Smith are great storytellers, and their dialogue as a seasoned married couple made me laugh out loud.

North Carolina Waterfalls

by Kevin Adams

Explore some of western North Carolina’s 1,000 waterfalls with driving directions, step-by-step trail details, photos and very candid descriptions.

The Old Patagonian Express

By Train Through the Americas

by Paul Theroux

The father of uncomfortable, expansive train journeys rides the rails from Boston to Patagonia with a colorful cast.

Pirate Latitudes

A Novel

by Michael Crichton

Fictitious but historically informed swashbuckling for Spanish gold in 1665.

A Walk in the Woods

Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

by Bill Bryson

An informative and entertaining account of Bryson’s quest to hike the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail.