The 8 Best Travel Bucket List Books You Need to Buy!

Are you planning travel that will take you around the world? Or are you new to the world of travel and just looking for some inspiration? Either way this post of the 8 best travel bucket list books will help you continue with your journey to bucket list travel for you and your kids. 

This is part of our series all about creating and ticking off an amazing travel bucket lists for you and your family. From a detailed list of steps to creating a bucket list, tips to making a travel bucket list that you’re going to be able to stick to, and the inspiration of the most popular travel destinations with tons of ideas to add to your travel bucket list. 

Affiliate disclaimer

What’s in this post?

In this post we cover what we consider to be the 8 best travel books for you to take a look at if you’re planning on creating a travel bucket list, want to learn more about achieving your bucket list or just want some awesome travel ideas from around the globe. We compare the cost of each book, talk about what makes each book great and detail where you can pick your own copy up!

If you’ve already done some research and there’s a particular book you’re interested in you can skip straight there by clicking on that section in the contents below. If not, then scroll down to read about the 8 best travel bucket list books. 

The 8 best travel bucket list books

National Geographic Bucket List Family Travel: Share the World with Your Kids on 50 Adventures of a Lifetime

Publisher: National Geographic

Cost: £18.99 / $22.44 / €34.21

Link to buy: text

What is the book about? 

Written by the popular Bucket List Family who have lived the nomadic travel life and have over 1.5 million subscribers on Youtube following along with their journey. This book provides you with a complete guide to everything on a bucket list when kids are involved. From personal anecdotes, to how to pick a destination, or tips to surviving a long haul flight with kids and even 50 destination itineraries. To top off all the tips you’ll also get 50 destination itineraries making the planning easy!

What’s great about it? 

This book is full of tips and inspiration for traveling with kids and is a really comprehensive guide for how to build and achieve a travel bucket list when you have young kids. What I like about this book is that they start with the basics so it’s great for any level of traveler. 

Where to Go When

Publisher: DK Travel

Cost: £14.49 / $13.36 / €21.10

Link to buy: text

What is the book about? 

This book is for those who don’t know where they want to go but know when you can go. If you’re a teacher or in a job where you can only take time off at a certain time of the year this book will help you with planning and experience or destination inspiration. 

What’s great about it? 

It’s clearly structured by the months of the year so you can see where is best to go when you plan to take your vacation and won’t end up in Thailand in the middle of the rainy season. With maps of the different areas and information like why visit that area and when else you could plan to go it’s a great book for planning your travel. 

The Family Bucket List: 1,000 Trips to Take and Memories to Make All Over the World (Bucket Lists)

Publisher: Universe Publishing

Cost: £19.05 (only available in the UK)

Link to buy: text (UK)

What is the book about? 

This book provides you with 1000 ideas and places to visit with things to do and activities suitable for all different interests and activity levels, whether you’re traveling with young kids or grandparents! 

What’s great about it? 

This book is centered around activities for families so is great if you’re not a super adventurous in your travel right now and are looking for some ideas that are proven to be suitable for families with young kids

Lonely Planet Trip Builder

Publisher: Lonely Planet

Cost: £23.95 / $31.49 / €34.79

Link to buy: text

What is the book about? 

This is a huge book! I’m not exaggerating, it has 620 pages full of practical tips and 865 ideas for your next trip. The book is structured in a clear way with the itineraries classified according to themes like food, adventure, sustainable or family. 

What’s great about it? 

This book has an absolute ton of information for the relatively low price. I like that they’ve included alternative options for some of the most popular routes to add diversions or extensions if you want to experience even more. It also has a themed contents page so whether you’re looking for family friendly travel, short trips or beach vacations you’ll easily be able to find what you’re looking for. 

Go Here Instead

Publisher: 

Cost: £14.07 / $10.99 / €25.47

Link to buy: text

What is the book about? 

This book includes 100 ideas that focus on an alternative option to a well-known destination or experience. This is great if you hate crowds, have already been to some of the main sights or if you just love off the beaten track travel. 

What’s great about it? 

If you’ve seen the main tourist sites or just want to see something a bit different and off the beaten track then this book is perfect for you. You’ll know what it’s the alternative for so you can decide whether to see the main attraction or visit their recommendation which is likely to be way less crowded! 

The Travel Book

Publisher: Lonely Planet

Cost: £28.04 / $28.89 / €49.69

Link to buy: text

What is the book about? 

Split by country this book provides everything you would need to know about traveling to that location. From when to visit, what to do, how to experience the culture and what’s the best food,  this book means that you’ll be able to travel like a local. 

What’s great about it? 

This is just a great all round travel book with so much useful information like the top things to do and see, the best time to visit, and even a random fact about the area! Each area includes a map and helpful facts at the top of the page like the capital and official languages. 

The Best Moment of Your Life

Publisher: Lonely Planet

Cost: £14.99 / $17.69 / €12.10

Link to buy: text

What is the book about? 

This is a book of tales and stories from Lonely Planet travel writers and other faces from the world of travel. It’s written in a diary style from their perspective so it’s more about their experience rather than being packed with facts and information about a destination – great for inspiration though!. 

What’s great about it? 

What better way to get bucket list inspiration than people who have actually done it! You can learn from real life stories including the one thing they took away from their trip that has stayed with them and had the biggest impact. 

The Travel Bucket List

Publisher: DK Travel

Cost: £22.67 / $26.46 / €43.28

Link to buy: text (UK) / text (US)

What is the book about? 

This book includes over 500 places to visit all across the globe, including road trip ideas, destination countries, and even festivals. The chapters are organised by continent so if you know where you want to go it’s easy to navigate. 

What’s great about it? 

Stunning pictures for inspiration for a good range of activities from some that are more adventurous and off the beaten track, to simple activities that you can enjoy at any age and won’t cost a fortune – great for if you’re trying to travel on a budget. 

Summary of the best travel bucket list books

My favourite 3 books for any family on their journey to bucket list travel are National Geographic Bucket List Family Travel, The Travel Bucket List and Where To Go When. 

1. National Geographic Bucket List Family Travel book because it covers everything you’d need to know about a travel bucket list rather than just destinations and I love that it’s geared towards families with young kids which is so relevant for me right now. 
2. The Travel Bucket List book because of the range of destinations and experiences it includes. It’s not just the off the beaten track stuff in far flung destinations but the quietly cool stuff that we can do in our everyday regular cities.
3. Where to Go When book because when we travel it’s usually at a certain time of year, especially if you have kids so it’s handy to be able to see all the best options for a particular month really easily.  

As you can see there are many great books that will make your bucket list planning and travel easier whether you’re adventuring to the far flung places or looking for some things to tick off in your home country. 

Read these next …