Reviews

Browse all our travel memoir recommendations

A smart, evocative, far-flung memoir of travel and life by one of America’s great unsung writers.

A richly layered journey through Bolivia that blends travel writing, deep history, and urgent reflections on extraction, identity, and survival

The life story of a surf addict seeking the world’s best breaks, capturing the obsession and beauty of riding waves

A down-to-earth account of a young journalist in Yangon as Myanmar briefly opened its doors to the world.

An honest and heartfelt love letter to Slovenia told with humour, curiosity, and a generous measure of schnapps.

An exploration of some of the world’s most curious, enigmatic and surprising festivals and why they have stood the test of time.

A fascinating blend of travel and history that uncovers Britain’s hidden fingerprints across Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile.

A New York chef eats the world for TV but not everything goes down smoothly

An intimate portrait of an island, chronicling a vanishing way of life, and showing a possible future direction for travel writing

Trekking through Nepal’s Himalayas on a scientific expedition, a middle-aged widower develops a deeper understanding of his own inner landscape

Despite some missteps, Simon Winchester’s travelogue provides an interesting look at South Korea in the throes of change

A lone woman travels Papua New Guinea and chews over the childhood that led her there

A down-to-earth, hopeful walk across the real China – one small-town conversation at a time

A lesson in humility for anyone imagining their own Asian travels to be deserving of ink

French sea-dogs set sail for the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands on a seal-slaughtering adventure

An inspiring account of rural craftsmanship and Tokyo highlife, as an American journalist transplants and restores an ancient home

A highly enjoyable window into a rural Romanian time capsule; witchcraft, horse traps and haystacks

A delightful, double dose of discovery, as a man from Togo follows his ice dreams north.

A poignant adventure of a young Canadian woman enduring hardship and finding romance in The Land of the Thunder Dragon