Unique Memoirs About Travel for Different Types of Travelers

Updated February 10th, 2021

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It seems anyone who reads and travels has heard of Eat, Pray, Love and Wild. I enjoyed and recommend reading both of those books, but there are so many more travel memoirs out there. I put together a list of lesser-known travel memoirs that will appeal to different types of travelers. These are unique travel memoirs that have a range of topics, from specific countries to unheard of experiences to un-stereotypical traveling companions. Regardless of your traveling style, you will have your interest piqued by one of these unique memoirs about travel.

Check out 10 of the Best Books About Travel & Self Discovery for more of my travel memoir recommendations.

#1: The Worrier’s Guide to the End of the World

Recommended For: Worriers who need a relatable travel memoir to push them out of their comfort zones to explore.  

You think traveling is only for the brave? I will tell you a little secret, it’s not! This book will inspire any worrier or traveler with anxiety! Make sure to read Torre DeRoche’s first book Love with a Chance of Drowning before The Worrier’s Guide to the End of the World.  As I worrier I completely identified with so many of DeRoche’s concerns, heartbreaks and doubts as she does long distance walks around the world. 

#2: Have Mother Will Travel

Recommended For: Mothers and daughters who love to travel together. 

Whether you are looking for a good read for your mother-daughter book club or are lucky enough to travel with your own mother or daughter you will root for Claire and Mia Fontaine as they take off on a mother-daughter travel challenge in Have Mother Will Travel. I travel with my own mother several times a year, so the joys and the annoyances Mia felt, along with all the travel experiences, kept me engaged in this memoir.

#3: Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum

Recommended For: People who are inspired by those who are making the world a better place. 

Find Me Unafraid is an uplifting memoir, that is both a love story between a couple and a love story to Kiberia, the largest slum in Africa. Jessica Posner, a middle-class American, spends a semester abroad working in Kenya. She meets Kennedy Odede who grow up living on the streets of Kiberia. Together they find a way to begin transforming Kiberia.

#4: Not Afraid of the Fall: 114 Days Through 38 Cities in 15 Countries

Recommended For: People who want to quit their job and travel the world temporarily. 

I debated whether or not to include Not Afraid of the Fall on my list. The book rubbed me the wrong way in some aspects. It annoyed me how much the travelers were trying to save money, yet spent so much on alcohol. At some points it felt like all they did was drink and they barely explored all the places they visited.

Even though the book was told in a really simple diary format, there was something about the writing that kept me interested. The characters were likable and any traveler can relate to the friendships made and the mishaps that happen on the road. While it wasn’t my travel style, there doesn’t need to be a “right” way of traveling and there are many travelers out there that would like to quit their job, take a budget trip around the world and try the local drinks around the way. 

#5: The Lunatic Express

Recommended For: Those who are interested in transportation and like taking risks around the world, or at least reading about them! 

The Lunatic Express is just as crazy as it sounds. For some reason Carl Hoffman sets off on the most dangerous types of transportation around the world. From buses in South America to airplanes in Afghanistan, Hoffman explains what makes each mode of transport historically dangerous, while recounting his own experience.

This book didn’t immediately draw me in, but I did find it enlightening to read. When I started reading I expected all these harrowing tales. Even though I wouldn’t want to do a journey full of these different types of transportation, it was unexpected what he gained and came to understand through this experiment. It opened my eyes a tad more to the experiences people around the world face and the privileges I have in my life.

#6: Open Mic Night in Moscow

Recommended For: Those who like to travel to and read about off-the beaten path destinations. 

When I first heard about Open Mic Night in Moscow, I thought bummer someone beat me to writing a memoir about life in Moscow! If you are curious about life in the countries of the former Soviet Union, this is the book for you! Audrey Murray writes about her travels through Russia and the ‘stan’ countries, such as Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

As much as I enjoy a book about Paris or New York City, I love reading about places that are so unknown to the western world. Murray is a stand-up comedian and incorporated so much humor into the retelling of her adventurous, yet often trying and challenging trip.

#7: The Voluntourist: A Six-Country Tale of Love, Loss, Fatherhood, Fate, and Singing Bon Jovi in Bethlehem

Recommended For: Travelers who want to do some good when visiting new places. 

In The Voluntourist Ken Budd shares his volunteering experiences for a variety of deserving causes in several countries. I really enjoyed how he described his own emotional journey and relationships with other volunteers and felt inspired from hearing about the details of the different projects he was involved with.

#8: What I was Doing While You Were Breeding

Recommended For: Solo female travelers who want to go against society’s expectations and have a little fun abroad. 

There’s a lot of great travel memoirs, but this one wins for best title. Let’s be honest I started reading What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding because of the title. Even the employee at the book store where I purchased the book commented on the title. In today’s modern society there still can be a great deal of pressure to “settle down” and find a spouse and build a home. Kristin Newman goes against the grain and has solo adventures around the world instead. If you are looking for travel memoirs by women this is a great pick. 

#9: Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village

Recommended For: Individuals interested in volunteering in Africa through the Peace Corps. 

I consider myself pretty adventurous and open to living in new environments, but I don’t know if I could live in a small village in Cote d’Ivoire, Africa for two years. In Nine Hills to Nambonkaha Sarah Erman shares her experience volunteering with the Peace Corps in Nambonkaha, a village without electricity and threatened by poverty and AIDS. She shares how she helps the village, but also how the village changes her and what she learns from the experience.

#10: The Geography of Bliss: One Grumps Search for the Happiest Places in the World

Recommended For: Readers interested in the study of happiness and its role in people’s lives in different countries around the world. 

Eric Weiner searches for happiness around the world in The Geography of Bliss. He visits the countries that are ranked the happiest and tries to figure out what makes the people so happy. Weiner uses research, conversations with locals and his own observations to analyze citizens happiness levels. My favorite chapter was surprisingly his visit to one of the most un-happy countries in the world.

Let me know in the comments below which memoirs about travel you are going to add to your reading list! 

More Books to Read

TRAVEL

• 10 of the Best Books About Travel & Self-Discovery

NYC BASED

• Historical Fiction Novels
• Chick Lit Set in New York City
• Children’s Books About NYC

EUROPE BASED

• Books about Scandinavia
• Books about Iceland & Finland

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