The Benefits Of Reading Travel Books
More Than Just Planning A Trip
We only tend to read travel books when we are thinking of planning a trip away. This is usually because we want to know more about the place of our intended visit to feel that we are more prepared for the journey ahead. This offers us any benefits including the following:
- We can learn much about the culture of a country, its geography, its people and its history. We can see images of the beautiful buildings and the history around them. We can learn about their culture past and present and its location in relation to surrounding countries. We can build up our knowledge which better prepares us for the holiday which makes us appreciate the country more that we are visiting thus making the holiday more enjoyable as you become more respectful of their norms and traditions making you feel that have a good start of the background of the country.
- Many travel books reveal the best transport to take and average cost whether it be by bus, train, pleasure boat and such so you can be more aware of the average price which you can cater for financially and ensure that you are not being overcharged.
- Some people worry about certain things when they are about to embark on a journey to a foreign country or, a place in their own country they have not visited before. Reading a travel guide can ease any anxieties by knowing many things about the place before you visit. Where to hire a car or, where are the nearest restaurants, bars, beaches etc.
- Reading books about other people’s travels may inspire you to want to visit other places if their experience whether real-life or fiction made you believe that the country sounded magical.
- Travel broadens the mind and the more travel books that you read the more knowledge that you gain.
- Like reading many titles, travel books make you more intelligent as you have learnt more than before you read the book.
Apart from lots of practical points you can learn before your holiday reading travel books can be positive for your health and well-being in a number of ways.
- Looking and/or reading about a country or another person’s experience in vivid detail captures a stunning, exotic, happy, fun-loving, romantic experience that is filled with love and laughter which warms your heart and your mind making you feel good. If you are bored you can take yourself off to the place in the books and experience it just by flicking the pages over. You can feel just as good as the character being portrayed in the novel or the beauty of the scenery can take your mind to that place in an instant.
- Travel books can give you hope that one day you will travel there making you feel more positive about your future. You can plan in your head how and when you will do it which will bring you happiness knowing that you have a plan and you too will get to experience the country the way the character has. When we plan things, we build up more confidence which makes us mentally stronger and we feel more energised.
- People who feel alone and isolated may feel that they have experienced a country without ever going to it. Reading about a far-away place and the person’s experience of it makes some people feel that they too have just experienced it through their eyes and make them feel less lonely. If the novel is about a family experience the reader feels involved too, like they are on the holiday with the family seeing and doing what they are doing making them feel less alone.
- Reading about another place and travel experience relaxes the reader as they can take themselves away from their own life for a while and forget about their own hectic or lonely life. Taking time out to relax is very good for our well-being and gives us time to de-stress.
10 Inspiring Travel Books
- Venice by Jan Morris 1983 Faber & Faber. Exploring the people of Venice, the city and its lagoon that the city sits on.
- The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George 2015 Abacus. A floating bookshop owned by a 50-year old man and his travellers on his barge boat whilst travelling through France. A romantic travel book.
- The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux 2008 Penguin. Travelling from London, Europe and Asia via a train Theroux captivates the scene, the culture and experience of his journey.
- The Beach by Alex Garland 1996 Viking. On his adventure through Thailand, a UK backpacker searches for a hidden paradise. Adventure book.
- A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke 2005 Black Swan. A comedy novel of fiction of an Englishman working in Paris and the cultural differences.
- Dubai & Abu Dhabi by Lonely Planet 2024. A guidebook for you discover the best places to visit.
- Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad 2024 Penguin. An account of the authors ten years in Japan told with humour.
- Liquid Faith Scotland’s Sacred and Supernatural Waters by Ian Bradley 2026 Birlinn. A journey to discover the legends, rituals and superstitions of the 12000 mile coastline.
- Paddy From Peru by Mirelle Radley 2026 HarperCollins. The incredible true story of one plucky dog who crossed the world to find his forever home.
- DK Top 10 New York City by DK Travel 2025. The top 10 lists of New York must-sees and must dos. A pocket guide with a laminated pull-out map.