As more and more countries loosen COVID-19 restrictions, it seems everyone is ready to make up for lost travel time. Allianz Partners predicted a 600% jump in American travel to Europe as demand for flight tickets and tourism ventures continue to rise, dubbing the phenomenon as “revenge travel”. However, concerns regarding how safe it is to travel post-pandemic (as well as sky-high flight costs) may mean booking your “revenge travel” flight will have to wait.
In the meantime, reading books about travel can be a good alternative while we wait things out. Better yet, listening to travel audiobooks could be an immersive way to get lost in travel experiences you might not have known to include in your travel bucket list.
And if you do plan the actual travel for your next vacation, listening to a good audiobook is a great way to kill time during a long haul flight or a cross-country road trip.
Whether you plan on listening at home or on car rides, here’s a selection of six audiobooks to inspire your next adventure:
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Wild follows Cheryl Strayed’s solo hike through the Pacific Crest Trail as an attempt to heal from the hardships in her life. It’s an honest and harrowing listen, and Strayed describes her wilderness encounters with great enough detail that even if you haven’t had any hiking experience or have no plans to, you find yourself listening in suspense and rooting for her to complete this hike in one piece. This is the perfect listen for late nights or when you’re home alone, as it really gets you as close as possible to Strayed’s mindset when she embarked on this solo hike.
World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain
From Paris to Tanzania, writer and TV host Anthony Bourdain collates a lifetime worth of travels into this guide, including anecdotes from his friends and family, notably his brother Christopher on what it was like to travel with him. In World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, Bourdain takes us to hidden pockets of his hometown of New York, a tribal longhouse in Borneo, and the stunning desert solitude of Oman’s Empty Quarter — as well as 40 more stops around the globe. This is easily an entertaining and fun listen, packed with Bourdain’s honest insights on some of his favorite places in the world, including what to eat, where to go, how to get there, and what to avoid.
Carsick by John Waters
Road trips can be fun, and more so in foreign countries. However, as previously detailed in a previous post called “Planning a Road Trip in a Foreign Country”, things like international driving permits (IDPs) can be a roadblock if you’re planning to do the driving, so it’s important to do your research beforehand. If you’re driving around the States, however, it helps to be prepared for the unexpected. As John Waters’ Carsick details his hitchhike across America, the narration gets as bizarre as it can get — with the cast of characters he encounters so eccentric and colorful — that it may as well sound like he was on a road trip in a foreign country. Carsick is not a listen you want to have with kids around, but it’s definitely a riot on your own or with a group of friends.
Leave Only Footprints by Conor Knighton
Another road trip recommendation, Conor Knighton’s Leave Only Footprints follows his visit to every national park in the United States. Literally every one of them, from Acadia to Zion. While not the most enticing topic or travel destination to pitch to the kids for a vacation, Knighton insists there’s much to learn from the country’s vibrant trail of national parks, even if you’ve already been to one or two. Speaking to The Washington Post, he describes how “parks are places where people can come together”, and ultimately, the chronicling of his journey to mend a broken heart feels just like that. Leave Only Footprints is filled with fun facts you may not know about, along with little stories from Knighton’s personal life that can make your next trip to a national park near you just that more exciting.
We Came, We Saw, We Left by Charles Wheelan
Nine months, across six continents, with three teenagers. We Came, We Saw, We Left is a thoroughly funny listen. At first glance, this might come across as a tutorial on how to (or how not to) travel cheap, but as you listen to the chronicles of this family who ditched everything they knew to embark on this extreme family vacation slash social experiment, you learn that it’s as much about family as it is about giving out traveling tips. The family’s story flows so well, and is injected with enough humor throughout that you might start wishing this was a movie.
The Meaning of Travel by Dr. Emily Thomas
A little different from the other recommendations, The Meaning of Travel takes a philosophical approach to travel, from the Age of Discovery, to following Thoreau through the wilderness. One of the faster and shorter listens in this list, The Meaning of Travel will get you thinking about the ethics of “doom tourism”, and even the effect of space travel in the span of one sitting. It’s definitely a listen that puts the topic of travel in whole new perspectives, which makes for interesting points of discussions with friends and loved ones as we look at how we plan to travel post-pandemic.
Conclusion
While the pandemic may have deterred us from traveling the way we imagine, it did open the opportunities for us to become arm-chair explorers. All around the world, content is being produced — whether in audiobook format, as a vlog, or as snapshots from friends abroad — so pick a destination and take it all in, right from the comforts of home.
Have a great virtual trip!
Here are our latest blog posts that you may also find useful:
- Santa Barbara Off The Beaten Path
- Grand Canyon Railway Review
- Things To Do in Williams AZ
- Things to Do in Oatman, Arizona
- Recreating Your Favorite Destinations in Your Backyard
