The 22 Best Travel Nonfiction Books Ever Written

From death-defying treks across deserts to wry misadventures on foreign trains, these accounts span centuries of wanderlust and reckoning. Where does your favorite journey rank?

1. 1
   Into the Wild

   Jon Krakauer's 1996 account of Christopher McCandless's fatal journey into the Alaskan wilderness.
   1000pts
2. 2
   The Songlines

   Bruce Chatwin's 1987 exploration of Aboriginal Australia's ancient walking paths and oral traditions.
   858pts
3. 3
   Notes from a Small Island

   Bill Bryson's affectionate 1995 farewell tour of Britain before returning to the United States.
   678pts
4. 4
   Tracks

   Robyn Davidson's 1980 memoir of a solo trek across the Australian desert with four camels.
   678pts
5. 5
   Video Night in Kathmandu

   Pico Iyer's 1988 travelogue on Western culture's collision with Asia.
   678pts
6. 6
   Neither Here Nor There

   Bill Bryson's 1991 comic retracing of a youthful backpacking trip across Europe.
   678pts
7. 7
   Wild

   Cheryl Strayed's 2012 memoir of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone after personal loss.
   555pts
8. 8
   The Travels of Marco Polo

   The 13th-century account of Marco Polo's journeys across Asia and the court of Kublai Khan.
   555pts
9. 9
   A Walk in the Woods

   Bill Bryson's 1998 memoir of hiking the Appalachian Trail with his out-of-shape friend Katz.
   555pts
10. 10
    The Motorcycle Diaries

    Che Guevara's journal of a 1952 motorcycle trip across South America that shaped his political awakening.
    555pts
11. 11
    The Road to Oxiana

    Robert Byron's 1937 travelogue of a journey through Persia and Afghanistan, a classic of the genre's prose style.
    555pts
12. 12
    The Great Railway Bazaar

    Paul Theroux's 1975 account of a four-month train journey across Asia.
    396pts
13. 13
    Travels with Charley

    John Steinbeck's 1962 account of a road trip across America with his poodle Charley.
    396pts
14. 14
    Blue Highways

    William Least Heat-Moon's 1982 chronicle of driving America's back roads after losing his job and marriage.
    396pts
15. 15
    In a Sunburned Country

    Bill Bryson's 2000 humorous travelogue exploring the history and oddities of Australia.
    396pts
16. 16
    Full Tilt

    Dervla Murphy's 1965 memoir of cycling solo from Ireland to India.
    396pts
17. 17
    Into Thin Air

    Jon Krakauer's 1997 firsthand account of the deadly 1996 Everest climbing disaster.
    396pts
18. 18
    Eat, Pray, Love

    Elizabeth Gilbert's 2006 memoir of self-discovery through travels in Italy, India, and Indonesia.
    396pts
19. 19
    In Patagonia

    Bruce Chatwin's genre-defining 1977 travelogue through the remote landscapes and legends of Patagonia.
    396pts
20. 20
    West with the Night

    Beryl Markham's 1942 memoir of growing up in colonial Kenya and becoming a pioneering aviator.
    396pts
21. 21
    Arabian Sands

    Wilfred Thesiger's 1959 account of crossing the Empty Quarter desert with Bedouin companions.
    396pts
22. 22
    The Old Patagonian Express

    Paul Theroux's 1979 account of traveling by train from Boston to the tip of South America.
    396pts