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• 15 Travel Documentaries That Tell Inspiring & Compelling Tales Of Wanderers

“The impulse to travel is one of the hopeful symptoms of life.” – Agnes Repplier

How true. For a die-hard traveler, every bend in the road is a new opportunity vying to be explored. The visceral feeling to flee to a new spot and finding the divine sense of joy in ticking a new destination on the map on your bedroom wall, can only be felt by the hopeless traveler.

Unadulterated and unhampered, travel documentaries showcase the chronicles of travelers and focus on their share of perilous and euphoric moments. Whether it is a planned excursion to a beach or an instinctive venture to a remote location, if you are seeking inspiration for your next travel, travel films can act as the fodder for your famished nomadic soul.

Here I bring you a list of best travel documentaries that will push you out of your boring couch (read; routine) and compel you to move out and travel the world.

Top 15 Travel Documentaries From Around The World

Here is a list of the best  travel documentaries from around the world , read on what these contain and add these to your list of must watch films & documentaries.

• Around The World In 80 Days (1989)-  Excitement Of Venturing
• Baraka (1992)-  A Kaleidoscopic Retreat
• Sahara With Michael Palin (2002)-  Explore The Hidden Gems
• A Map For Saturday (2007)-  A Solo Traveler’s Love
• Antarctica-  A Year On Ice (2013)
• K2- Siren Of The Himalayas (2012)
• Sacred Planet (2004)-  Know The Mesmerizing Places
• 180 Degree South (2010)-  An Epic Tour
• Encounters At The End Of The World (2007)-  All About Fascination
• The Maidentrip (2013)-  A Great Watch
• Hit The Road-  India (2013)
• The Edge Of Never (2013)-  About A Group Of Skiers
• Austin To Boston (2014)-  A Musical Documentary
• Life In A Day (2011)-  An Insight To Amazing Things
• Frozen Planet (2011)-  Fall For The Ice

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1. Around the World in 80 Days (1989)- Excitement Of Venturing

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Runtime: 7 episodes of 52 minutes each IMDb Rating: 8.8 Genre: Globetrotting Filming Locations: 17 countries across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia

Synopsis: Around the World in 80 Days is a 7 part BBC travel series written and presented by actor-comedian, Michael Palin, based on the famous adventure novel by Jules Verne with the same name. Similar to the novel, Palin accepts the challenge to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days and closely follows the road and sea route, as taken by the protagonist in the novel.

The 80 days adventurous voyage showcases the excitement of venturing into new lands and filming exotic locations through numerous gridlocks. Considered as one of the best travel documentaries ever, the series broadcasted in 7 episodes follows Michael Palin’s travel and exploration across 17 countries. He takes you across Europe, Africa, Asia and North America through nearly every possible means of transport, except for the aircraft. This is no doubt one of the must watch  best travel documentary.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: The novel was published in 1873 when there was no air travel and Michael Palin and his crew replicate the same sea and land route. From crossing the English Channel, passing through the Alps, traversing through the arid regions of the Middle East, entering Bombay on a dhow to voyaging through the South China Sea and finally arriving in the United States, Michael Palin shares his adventures of traveling the world in eighty days.

Do you really need more reasons?

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2. Baraka (1992)- A Kaleidoscopic Retreat

Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes IMDb Rating: 8.6 Genre: Nature and philosophy Filming Locations: 150 locations in 23 countries

Synopsis: Baraka, also known as among some of the best travel documentaries ever is non-narrative documentary is a kaleidoscopic retreat into the different hymns of nature and its impact on various cultures. From the cacophonic chants of hundreds of monks huddled together for a cosmic yajna to the frenzied thumping of the whole village, the documentary highlights the phenomena of nature and how it forms the core of various cultures.

Baraka ventures its viewers into the hidden realms of the nature while focusing on the man’s prowess to destroy his countless blessings.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: Baraka is a satirical take on the unabashed human nature with cinematic brilliance featuring the most spectacular pictures, on one hand, would enrich your love for nature and the perils of industrialization and destruction of nature, on the other, move you deeply. Should definitely add this to the best travel documentary series.

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3. Sahara with Michael Palin (2002)- Explore The Hidden Gems

Runtime: 4 episodes of 50 minutes each IMDb Rating: 8.1 Genre: Exploration Filming Locations: 10 countries in Northern and Western Africa

Synopsis: The travel documentary is a colorful account of the various cultures and regions dotting the beautiful Sahara desert. From the arid beaches in Morocco, refugee camps in Algeria, to the mysterious deserts of Timbuktu and spectacular starlit nights in Nigeria, this 4 episode feature also considered as one of the best travel documentaries of all time dwells deep into the seductive African odyssey.

Apart from exploring the various hidden gems of the great desert, the feature also includes Palin’s rendezvous with numerous Muslim scholars, tribes and refugees to highlight the various religious and cultural beliefs which the people of the desert abide by.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: The documentary not only highlights the vastness of the isolated desert locations but also beautifully highlights the various prevalent cultural influences in Africa and practices such as polygamy and female genital mutilation.

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4. A Map for Saturday (2007)- A Solo Traveler’s Love

Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.9 Genre: Backpacking and Solo Travel Filming Locations: Australia, Thailand, India, London, Brazil and Nepal

Synopsis: Every day is like a Saturday when you are on a long travel around the world. Solo traveling is not only about meandering through unknown lanes of a forbidden place. But it is also a great way to delve deep inside one’s own existence. The story brings out the chronicles of trekkers on four different continents. The documentary also includes interviews from other backpackers and highlights how the road can form unbreakable bonds.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: A Map for Saturday is a beautiful insight into the life of a backpacker. A must watch for people who believe that there is more to life than the confined walls of their office or workstation. It also highlights that if the intent to travel is immense, nothing can deter you in your quest. Looking for best online travel documentaries? Try watching A Map for Saturday! It is one of the best travel documentary  that you should definitely add to your list.

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5. Antarctica: A Year on Ice (2013)

Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.6 Genre: Expedition Filming Locations: Antarctica

Synopsis: How is it like living on the coldest place on earth for a year? The harsh climatic conditions make Antarctica almost inhabitable and an enigma for the world. This visual masterpiece highlights the inhabitable features of the continent and traverses the viewers through the lives of technicians and scientists living in isolation on the continent, braving the unforgiving winters. If you are a nature lover, you will appreciate its opulence even in its bitter hardness.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: Traveling is not just about pristine beaches, romantic lanes, and verdant valleys. Living in a place where the sun doesn’t shine for months and when it does, it forgets to set, is something that you ought to experience. Ever heard of Survival of the Fittest? You ought to witness one of the best travel documentaries of all time. Get up, close and personal with it here!

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6. K2: Siren of the Himalayas (2012)

Runtime: 1 hour 15 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.3 Genre: Mountaineering Filming Locations: Mount K2

Synopsis: K2: Siren of the Himalayas is a multilingual travel film shot in English, German, and Nepalese. The travel documentary forays into the dangerous world of high altitude mountaineering and follow a group of mountaineering experts as they venture on this epic journey to mark Duke of Abruzzi’s 1909 expedition. This  best travel documentary is a peep into the mountaineering group as they try to scale the perilous Mount K2 and meander their way through its deathly cliffs, braving the hideous climate.

The spectacularly captured snow-covered mountains pitted against the vast expanse of the blue sky and the exclusive footage from the world’s second highest, yet most challenging peak will leave you out of breath.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: If you want to know why mountaineering is considered as a rewarding activity, then you must watch it.

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7. Sacred Planet (2004)- Know The Mesmerizing Places

Runtime: 40 minutes IMDb Rating: 6.3 Genre: Biodiversity Filming Locations: Malaysia, Sarawak, Mulu

Synopsis: The earth is a queer place and this documentary encapsulates the beauty of the most mesmerizing places, people and wildlife on the planet in straight 40 minutes. Narrated by Robert Redford Jr., this Walt Disney production will take you up on an enchanting roller coaster ride starting from the ancient ruins of Thailand, canyons of Arizona, deserted lands of Namibia to underwater mysteries of Borneo, white sand beaches of New Zealand and many such exceptional places that our good old earth houses. Sacred Planet is one of the best travel documentary films you have seen in awhile.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: The awe-inspiring odyssey not only takes you deep into the magical realms of the earth but also makes you take a stand for preserving our beautiful planet and its biodiversity.

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8. 180 Degree South (2010)- An Epic Tour

Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.7 Genre: Drama, Sport Filming Locations: Chile, Mexico, California, Columbia, Equador, Peru, Pacific, California

Synopsis: 180 Degree South is an assimilation of the memorable journey undertaken by Jeff while recreating the epic tour pulled off by Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins during their road trip in 1968. Jeff’s journey was more adventurous as he chose to surf, sail, and climb before finally making it to Chile.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: Watch it for exciting adventures, gritty traveling, and the proper technique devised before pulling off such endeavors.

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9. Encounters at the End of the World (2007)- All About Fascination

Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.8 Genre: Documentary Filming Locations: Antarctica

Synopsis: Encounters at the End of the World is a further investigation of McMurdo Station in Antarctica. In the documentary, the filmmaker travels all the way to explore the hidden riches and beauty of the pole, and take a peep into the lifestyle of everyone surviving there. While people at the research station had exciting tales to narrate, the plight of living beings there left the director moved.

A powerful travel film, Encounters at the End of the World features some amazing shots taken by the filmmaker.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: The extreme conditions at the poles, lovely escapades, and exciting tale of survivors make this travel documentary a must-watch.

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10. The Maidentrip (2013)- A Great Watch

Runtime: 1 hour 22 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.6 Genre: Adventure, Biography Filming Locations: Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Ecuador, Panama, French Polynesia

Synopsis: One of the best travel documentary series ever, The Trip is a remarkable journey of a 14-year-old who sets to sail around the world and is a great watch. Laura Dekker’s a year and a half journey takes her to St. Martins, Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Australia, and the Cape of Good Hope before getting back to St. Martins. The youngest person ever to sail around the world, Dekker is a true inspiration for all the aspiring travelers.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: Dekker captured the world in her lens, presenting the beautiful places along with all her experiences thus making it an incredible story.

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11. Hit the Road: India (2013)

Runtime: 1 hour 20 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.8 Genre: Documentary, Sport Filming Locations: India, Armenia

Synopsis: Recognised by Lonely Planet as one of the best travel documentaries of 2012, this film is a story of two friends participating in rickshaw rally from Chennai to Mumbai spanning for 12 days covering over 2000 km.

The uniqueness of the movie lies in the way both the guys pull off this trip, battling adverse climatic conditions in the difficult terrains. Rickshaw being one of the lightest motor driven vehicles in India turns out to be cost effective and an easy drive. Yes, they had to suffer plenty of breakdowns along the way.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: 2 guys racing through the coast and ghats in southern India driving one of the lightest vehicles make it a rally worth a watch.

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12. The Edge of Never (2009)- About A Group Of Skiers

Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.3 Genre: Documentary Filming Locations: USA, Canada, France

Synopsis: Shot in the snow clad mountains in the North America region, this travel documentary is about a group of skiers who scale treacherous mountains in the pursuit of accomplishing what was left incomplete by the mentor’s father, who died skiing in Chamonix, France. Full of adventure, thrill, and surreal landscapes, this documentary is for extreme travelers.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: Skiers challenging the biggest and extreme mountains in the world.

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13. Austin to Boston (2014)- A Musical Documentary

Runtime: 1 hour 12 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.2 Genre: Documentary, Music Filming Locations: USA

Synopsis: The film is a musical documentary, that narrates an exciting tale of a group of bands on the move. They travel thousands of miles from Austin to Boston, and en route live memorable moments. The journey has everything from traveling places, to pulling off adventures, to making memories, and also surviving through the hardships.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: The journey of musical bands spanning over 2 weeks and covering 3000 miles, performing at places, looks like a dream journey. Highly recommended for all the music lovers who travel!

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14. Life in a Day (2011)- An Insight To Amazing Things

Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes IMDb Rating: 7.7 Genre: Drama Filming Locations: Multiple locations across Earth

Synopsis: This travel film is a jukebox of thousand of hours from the lives of as many people on July 24th, 2010. The submitted videos containing beautiful and personal moments that people lead every day gives an insight into amazing things happening around us and how we choose not to acknowledge and celebrate them. This best travel documentary inspires everyone to be more thankful for things around and cherish beautiful moments.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: The assimilation of thousands of video clips containing precious moments from the lives of people make you realize what a beautiful life you have been leading all this while.

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15. Frozen Planet (2011)- Fall For The Ice

Runtime: 1 hour IMDb Rating: 9 Genre: Documentary Filming Locations: Arctic, Antarctica, Greenland, Russia, Norway, USA, Canada

Synopsis: Primarily focussed on the life and environment in the Arctic and Antarctica, Frozen Planet highlights how the climatic change is affecting the earth and its inhabitants. The winner of 4 Emmy award winner TV show has critically put forward the challenges faced by the polar animals like bears and wolves for their survival. Striking the right chord with a grave environmental issue, this mini-series is a must – watch.

What makes it an interesting read for travel lovers: The engrossing narrative, spectacular locales, and enchanting music are all that it takes to charm a discerning traveler. A perfect set-up for travel-lovers!

For those with an insatiable hunger for exploration and action, documentaries are a way to discover what explorers around the world are living and experiencing. The thrill of venturing into the unknown – exclusively shot, felt, and expressed by real people – has an impact on the mind of the viewers that cannot be measured.

Further Read: 20 Best Travel Movies That Will Ignite The Wanderlust In You

With list of best travel documentaries live the adventures of world’s finest explorers and yes, don’t forget to share your favorites from (or outside of) the list!

Frequently Asked Questions About Travel Documentaries

Is it feasible to travel during Covid-19?

As the travel industry is opening up slowly, yes traveling is feasible abroad and across India during Covid-19. But make sure you follow the given guidelines and precautionary measures for Covid. Also, remember to read the latest updates for Covid before making any travel plans.

What are the top 5 best travel films?

Other than the above-mentioned list of 15 best travel documentaries and films, here are 5 best travel films that you should definitely watch: The Way, Lion, On The Road, Captain Fantastic, Into The Wild.

Where can you watch the travel films?

You can watch the travel films on various OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Sony Liv, Hotstar, Airtel Tv, and many others. Apart from these platforms you can simply search the films online and find the links on google.

Which are the top locations for film shooting?

Although there are many locations for film shooting, here are the top 8 places for film shooting: Monument Valley, London, Prague, New Zealand, Cape Town, Greystone Mansion, Morocco

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Travel reports – all reports and travel articles at a glance

by Sascha Tegtmeyer

Travel writing is my way of sharing my experiences with the world. When I visit a new travel destination, I can't help but write a detailed report about it. With my travel reports I would like to inspire you to experience a place from home before you decide whether you might want to travel there. Information, inspiration and ideas – that’s what I want to convey to you with my travel stories.

My travel reports at a glance

Below I have listed my travel reports from around the world for you. Europe, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean in particular occur naturally. My hotel experience reports are also included in the list.

Traveling the world for my travel reports

I like to travel around the world and write for you about my experiences, which may inspire you and give you useful tips on how you can make your vacation even more beautiful and unforgettable. I have already visited many countries and holiday destinations in Europe, such as Mallorca, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife and the Spanish mainland, Portugal with Lisbon and Madeira, Germany with the Baltic Sea coast, Egypt as a popular sun destination in North Africa, the USA on the American one continent and many other beautiful places in the world.

But there are also many dream travel destinations that I haven't seen yet but would definitely like to get to know! South Africa, Australia, Costa Rica, Cuba and the fascinating destinations in South America such as Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Chile are just a few of them. I'm sure you know the feeling: when you discover an amazing new place, you want to share it with others and tell them about it. That's how I feel when I write my travel reports from all over the world.

Travel reports Thailand

Thailand is a dream country for everyone who loves sun, sand, sea and adventure. We explored this wonderful country for four weeks in November 2015 and would like to tell you about our experiences and tips in this blog post. Our itinerary took us from Khao Lak via Phuket to Koh Phangan, Koh Samui and Koh Lipe. We not only enjoyed the beautiful beaches and islands, but also got to know the fascinating culture, the delicious cuisine and the friendly people.

We also visited some of the best diving spots in the world and marveled at the colorful underwater world of Thailand. We can only recommend you, Thailand Discover for yourself – there is so much to see and experience! In our travel reports you will find out everything you need to know to make your own Thailand dream come true!

Canary Islands travel reports

The Canary Islands are a popular travel destination for us at Just Wanderlust. We have experienced many exciting adventures on these beautiful islands. On Lanzarote (travel reports) we explored the fascinating volcanic landscape Gran Canaria (travel reports) we enjoyed the diverse nature and culture and on Tenerife we ​​marveled at the majestic Teide. The Canary Islands are an ideal place, especially in winter, for everyone who is looking for sun, beach and sea and doesn't want to fly for a long time. In our travel reports you will find out everything you need to know about the Canary Islands: tips, sights, activities and much more. Join us on our journey through the Canary Islands and let yourself be inspired!

Travel reports Mallorca

Mallorca is more than just a popular travel destination for Germans - it is an island full of beauty, culture and adventure! We have Mallorca have visited many times and are always amazed by the diversity and charm of this Balearic island. In this blog post we would like to share with you our personal experiences and recommendations for Mallorca.

You will find out which places you should definitely see, which activities you can try out and which culinary highlights await you. Mallorca has something to offer for every taste - whether you prefer to relax on the beach, hike through the mountains or explore the historic cities. Let Mallorca enchant you and follow us on our journey!

Travelogues Portugal

Portugal (travelogues) is one of our favorite destinations in Europe. We have traveled there several times and have discovered something new each time. Whether it's the charming city of Lisbon with its historic districts, colorful trams and lively nightlife, or the beautiful island of Madeira with its lush nature, spectacular views and delicious cuisine - Portugal has something to suit every taste.

In our travel reports we would like to share with you our experiences and tips for an unforgettable trip to Portugal. We'll tell you what to see, do and eat in Lisbon and Madeira, how to get around and where to stay. We'll also give you an outlook on our next trip to Portugal, which is already in the pipeline. Are you ready to be enchanted by this fascinating country?

Travel reports Indonesia

Indonesia is a fascinating travel destination that has a lot to offer. Whether you want to discover the cultural treasures of Bali, explore the untouched nature of Lombok or enjoy the beautiful beaches of the Gili Islands, you will find something for every taste here. We at Just Wanderlust went on an exciting tour through this diverse country and also explored the underwater world. In the articles we tell you about our experiences and give you tips on how you can plan your own trip to Indonesia.

Travel Report Egypt

If you like diving, Egypt is a dream destination for you. The country on the Red Sea not only offers fantastic beaches and plenty of sun, but also a fascinating underwater world with colorful corals, exotic fish and exciting wrecks. We are passionate divers and have traveled to Egypt six times. In our article from the land of the pharaohs we would like to share our experiences and tips for a successful diving holiday Egypt split. You will find out which diving areas there are, what you should pay attention to and how to find the best offers. We will also show you some photos and videos from our dives that are guaranteed to inspire you. Get inspired by our Egypt travel report!

Travel Reports USA

We are very passionate about the United States of America and want to see and experience as much of this diverse country as possible. So far we have only made one trip to Florida, the Sunshine State in the south. It was a great experience, but it only made us more curious about the other regions. That's why we're already planning our next trip to America and look forward to hearing more from you soon US trip reports showcase. We want to take you on our adventures and give you tips and inspiration for your own travels. Whether you prefer to explore the vibrant metropolises, the breathtaking national parks or the picturesque coasts, you will find everything you need to know here.

Travel reports Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is not only a popular travel destination, but also our home. We at Just Wanderlust live right on the beach and sea and know the most beautiful corners and insider tips in the region. In our Baltic Sea travel reports Find out everything you need to know for an unforgettable holiday on the German coast. We'll tell you the best beaches, sights, activities and accommodations for every taste and budget. We also give you practical tips on getting there, the weather, safety and sustainability. Whether you are planning a relaxing beach holiday, an active sports holiday or a cultural city trip – with our Baltic Sea travel reports you are well prepared!

About the author

I'm just a curious beach kid in the world.

Hello, I am  Sascha Tobias Tegtmeyer from Hamburg – and a real beach child with heart and soul! Sea fan, travel lover and always up for an adventure. On my travel blog Just-Wanderlust.com and the social media channels of Strandkind Travels, I combine my love of traveling and nature with a passion for water sports such as stand-up paddling, diving and surfing. I am a journalist, author and blogger - and I am naturally curious when I get to know new travel destinations and then write about them in detail. As a technology fan, when I'm traveling with my family or alone, I'm always happy to bring a few travel gadgets with me for testing purposes. My favorite travel countries, which I also prefer to write about in my travel blog: USA, Thailand and Maldives.

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Let your mind wander – who would want to do that now? ☺️🏝️☀️⛵️ #tinyhousevacation #TinyHouseDream #BeachHouseLove #SmallHomeBigLife #BeachhouseVibes #TinyHouseMovement #BeachHouseStyle #MinimalistLiving #TinyHouseOnTheBeach #BeachhouseFlair #CompactLiving #BeachHouseLife #TinyHouseDesign #BeachhouseDecor #LifeOnLittleFoot #BeachHouseDream #TinyHouseAdventures #BeachhouseChic #SustainableLiving #BeachhouseTimeout #TinyHouseCommunity #BeachhouseEssentials #SmallSpaceBigIdeas #beachhousefeeling #TinyHouseLifestyle #BeachhouseRetreat #EcoTinyHouse #BeachhouseInspiration #TinyHouseOnWheels #BeachhouseLuxury #TinyHouseVacation

Isn't seclusion the real luxury? 🥰🏝️☀️⛵️ #tinyhousevacation #TinyHouseDream #BeachHouseLove #SmallHomeBigLife #BeachhouseVibes #TinyHouseMovement #BeachHouseStyle #MinimalistLiving #TinyHouseOnTheBeach #BeachhouseFlair #CompactLiving #BeachHouseLife #TinyHouseDesign #BeachhouseDecor #LifeOnLittleFoot #BeachHouseDream #TinyHouseAdventures #BeachhouseChic #SustainableLiving #BeachhouseTimeout #TinyHouseCommunity #BeachhouseEssentials #SmallSpaceBigIdeas #beachhousefeeling #TinyHouseLifestyle #BeachhouseRetreat #EcoTinyHouse #BeachhouseInspiration #TinyHouseOnWheels #BeachhouseLuxury #TinyHouseVacation

My latest design looks like your nice choice for a summer vacation on the Mediterranean, doesn't it? I just wanted to use my AI designs to see how my followers liked it. I started doing this because I noticed that these pictures really made me want to go on vacation and architecture - and I realized that my AI designs were more popular than many of my real, self-shot photos. That's why I think to myself: Okay, then we can carry on with this a little bit. I'm still thinking about starting my own Beachhouse Instagram channel. In the end it doesn't matter - the important thing is that you see a picture, feel inspired by it and see yourself sitting on the beach, in front of your own little hut, away from all the stress. That would be nice, right? #tinyhousevacation #TinyHouseDream #BeachHouseLove #SmallHomeBigLife #BeachhouseVibes #TinyHouseMovement #BeachHouseStyle #MinimalistLiving #TinyHouseOnTheBeach #BeachhouseFlair #CompactLiving #BeachHouseLife #TinyHouseDesign #BeachhouseDecor #LifeOnLittleFoot #BeachHouseDream #TinyHouseAdventures #BeachhouseChic #SustainableLiving #BeachhouseTimeout #TinyHouseCommunity #BeachhouseEssentials #SmallSpaceBigIdeas #beachhousefeeling #TinyHouseLifestyle #BeachhouseRetreat #EcoTinyHouse #BeachhouseInspiration #TinyHouseOnWheels #BeachhouseLuxury #TinyHouseVacation

Small hut, great holiday fun – what more could you want? Imagine waking up in this beautiful seaside home with the sound of the waves and the warm sun tickling your face. The bright blue pool and shimmering sea invite you to take a refreshing swim, and the cozy terrace is the perfect place to enjoy the sunrise with a cup of coffee. This picturesque retreat offers you the perfect mix of tranquility and adventure - the ideal place to recharge and create unforgettable memories. #TinyHouseDream #BeachHouseLove #SmallHomeBigLife #BeachhouseVibes #TinyHouseMovement #BeachHouseStyle #MinimalistLiving #TinyHouseOnTheBeach #BeachhouseFlair #CompactLiving #BeachHouseLife #TinyHouseDesign #BeachhouseDecor #LifeOnLittleFoot #BeachHouseDream #TinyHouseAdventures #BeachhouseChic #SustainableLiving #BeachhouseTimeout #TinyHouseCommunity #BeachhouseEssentials #SmallSpaceBigIdeas #beachhousefeeling #TinyHouseLifestyle #BeachhouseRetreat #EcoTinyHouse #BeachhouseInspiration #TinyHouseOnWheels #BeachhouseLuxury #TinyHouseVacation

My design today: Traditional beach house - from the living room directly to the pool 🥰🏝️ Who would like to be there as much as me? #TinyHouseDream #BeachHouseLove #SmallHomeBigLife #BeachhouseVibes #TinyHouseMovement #BeachHouseStyle #MinimalistLiving #TinyHouseOnTheBeach #BeachhouseFlair #CompactLiving #BeachHouseLife #TinyHouseDesign #BeachhouseDecor #LifeOnLittleFoot #BeachHouseDream #TinyHouseAdventures #BeachhouseChic #SustainableLiving #BeachhouseTimeout #TinyHouseCommunity #BeachhouseEssentials #SmallSpaceBigIdeas #beachhousefeeling #TinyHouseLifestyle #BeachhouseRetreat #EcoTinyHouse #BeachhouseInspiration #TinyHouseOnWheels #BeachhouseLuxury #TinyHouseVacation

Has anyone booked their summer vacation for this year yet? #TinyHouseDream #BeachHouseLove #SmallHomeBigLife #BeachhouseVibes #TinyHouseMovement #BeachHouseStyle #MinimalistLiving #TinyHouseOnTheBeach #BeachhouseFlair #CompactLiving #BeachHouseLife #TinyHouseDesign #BeachhouseDecor #LifeOnLittleFoot #BeachHouseDream #TinyHouseAdventures #BeachhouseChic #SustainableLiving #BeachhouseTimeout #TinyHouseCommunity #BeachhouseEssentials #SmallSpaceBigIdeas #beachhousefeeling #TinyHouseLifestyle #BeachhouseRetreat #EcoTinyHouse #BeachhouseInspiration #TinyHouseOnWheels #BeachhouseLuxury #TinyHouseVacation

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Travel reports help readers get an impression of the travel destination before their vacation, my conclusion.

Travel reports from people who have already traveled all over the world are often very exciting and provide valuable information about the potential travel destination before a vacation. It is interesting to read which countries you have visited, in which environment you may live there permanently or which experiences you have brought with you from your trip. In addition, there are of course some travel reports that are only exciting because the author managed to get himself into trouble - as long as nothing bad has happened to the author, these posts should be particularly entertaining. I've also gotten myself into trouble on a regular basis while traveling.

Do you read travel reports regularly before your vacation - or maybe even write some yourself? Share your experiences in the comments.

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Matador Original Series

25 recommended travel and reportage photography sites.

THE INTERNET is the largest photo gallery in the world. Below are some of our favorite photography sites for finding inspiring travel imagery, the best photojournalism in the world, and a whole lot more…

100eyes , edited by New Orleans-based photographer, teacher, and editor Andy Levin, shows imagery connected to the rights of the underclass, and the relationship between a changing environment and the economically challenged.

2. BBC In Pictures

The global news in pictures every day from “Auntie Beeb”; it also has a Your Pictures section for budding snappers.

Curated by Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey, burn aims to provide a platform for emerging photographers both online and in print.

4. Contact Editions

Contact is an online space where lovers and collectors of photography can find and support the work they love, providing a funding platform for both established and emerging travel photographers.

5. Denver Post Captured

Captured , The original Denver Post photo blog, offers the best of travel photography and photojournalism from across the globe.

Browse this archive — or relevant sections of it — to find a dizzying array of images spanning the beginning of photography to the present day.

7. I Love Photo Blogs

ILovePhotoblogs.com attempts to capture as many great photographers as possible in one location.

8. Indoblitz

IndoBlitz.com is a travel photography blog dedicated to showing images from photographers all around the world

9. iN-PUBLiC

iN-PUBLiC was set up in 2000. Its aim is to promote street photography and to continue to explore its possibilities as a noncommercial collective. They also publish a pic of the month.

10. Lens (New York Times)

Lens is the photojournalism blog of The New York Times and one of our favorite photography sites, presenting the finest and most interesting visual and multimedia reporting — photographs, videos, and slideshows. A showcase for NYTimes photographers, it also seeks to highlight the best work of other newspapers, magazines, and news and picture agencies.

11. Magnum In Motion

Founded in New York, in 2004, Magnum In Motion is the multimedia digital studio of Magnum Photos. You can find profiles of travel photographers, vivid photo essays, and more. They have also started running a daily photo blog over at Slate .

12. Masters Of Photography

Not the sexiest looking of the photography sites out there, but a fantastic archive of works my maestros like Ansel Adams, Sebastiao Salgado and Margaret Bourke-White.

13. National Geographic

This NatGeo page offers a range of visual stimulation, from Photo Contests and Galleries to Tips, Pics Of The Week and links to other photography sites.

14. PDN’s Photo Of The Day

This daily selection by the editors of Photo District News displays photographs from a variety of sources.

15. Photo Eye

This online photo store lists around 15,000 photography books and has an online gallery including work by Steve McCurry, Robert Capa, and Imogen Cunningham. Check out their blog too.

16. The Photo Review

Publishing since 1976, Photo Review covers photography events throughout the US. Features reviews, portfolios, interviews, new books, and exhibitions.

17. Reuters

This Reuters page presents slideshows of their best photos from any given 24 hours.

18. Time Magazine

Time Magazine publishes an inspiring Photo of The Week as well as great photo essays .

19. Travel Photographers Network

Travel Photographers Network (TPN) is a great community resource for photographers who want to improve their skills and photographic knowledge. You have to pay to be a member but you can browse the galleries for free.

20. Treehugger

This is the place where Treehugger put their lovely image galleries, all playable as slideshows.

VII Photo Agency was created in 2001 by some of the world’s leading photojournalists and gives readers unprecedented intimate access and insight to the work of their erudite roster, which includes heavyweights like Marcus Bleasdale, James Nachtwey and Ed Kashi.

22. VervePhoto

Photographer and photo editor Geoffrey Hiller created Verve to feature photos and interviews by the finest young image makers today. It’s not only a reminder of the power of the still image, but a great resource to discover new photo agencies, publications, and inspiring multimedia projects.

23. Wall Street Journal Photo Of The Day

The images behind stories making news worldwide.

24. World Photography Organisation

The World Photography Organisation (WPO) supports professional, amateur, and student photography and lends a global platform for the photographic industry to communicate, converge and showcase current trends in Photojournalism, Fine Art, and Commercial Photography

25.World Press Photo

World Press Photo runs an annual contest and exhibitions and aims to stimulate photojournalism through educational programs. Their multimedia library has slideshows and videos and more.

* From pro travel photographers to someone just getting started with a DSLR, the MatadorU travel photography course was created to serve a variety of students.

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Travel reportage

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Alfie Ianni

Photo gallery », about me + contact », my instagram ».

I’m Alfie (from Italy). Welcome to my website. I love traveling, exploring new cultures and good Food. Here you can have a look at some of the photos I took (Mostly Travel and street Reportage). You can also follow my Instagram, that's where I will post daily when on a trip. Sometimes I also write some posts on various other blogs.

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DEEP ACCESS: 5 TIPS FOR REPORTAGE SHOOTING

Reportage photography is about access. As Lou Klein, the Art Director at Time-Life Books when I was just starting, and who was very influential for me, said, “it’s all about being in the right place at the right time.” Nothing about technique, camera work, style, because it was accepted that you’d already mastered the craft of photography, otherwise you wouldn’t have been given the job. No, the practical matter that determines whether or not you’ll succeed at being a reportage photographer is access. Reportage photography is, after all, exactly about reporting, usually in a storytelling kind of way, which means staying on the case for some time and building up a sequence of images that cover the subject.  Access to that subject is the key. I have space here for only five tips, but as you can imagine, there are many more.

BECOME INVISIBLE

A tough challenge? Maybe not as difficult as you might have thought, because visibility has a lot to do with who’s doing the looking, and as any accomplished street photographer will tell you, there are ways of behaving and moving that render you uninteresting and part of the street furniture. You do want to be uninteresting! There’s a show-off style of photography that we’ve probably all seen, especially at big events, which tries to draw attention with a bit of swagger, heavy-duty equipment that looks highly professional, a big lens or two, usually a multi-pocket jacket in a combat style, and the overall aim is to say, ‘look at me, I’m the big famous guy, so don’t get in my way’. I really do see this a lot, and apart from being psychologically suspect, gets you absolutely nowhere in either street photography or any kind of situation when you want to capture normal life as it goes on.

This is why it’s absolutely important to know at the start what kind of access you need. There’s a clear difference between getting a backstage pass at a rock concert so as to gain access to a restricted area, and getting access to ordinary people’s unguarded moments. Maybe the most misunderstood photographer’s access is this latter — being allowed to shoot natural life going on around you — and there are just two ways of doing it. One of them is that you’ve already become thoroughly accepted (more on this below, #5), the other is this one, not being noticed because you blend in. Arguably the greatest photographer at this kind of shooting was Henri Cartier-Bresson. As Adrian Hamilton, a colleague of his, wrote when working on portrait assignments for Vogue , “Most off the subjects were surprised that he didn’t ask them to sit or stand this way or that. ‘Just talk to Adrian,’ he’d say…’I’ll just stay in the background’. Which is what he did, almost invisible…” Cartier-Bresson himself wrote, “When the subject is in any way uneasy, the personality goes away where the camera can’t reach it.”

Street school lesson, Getsemani, Cartagena, Colombia

Here are seven ways of deflecting attention away from yourself, and you’ll see that they’re a mixture of appearance and behaviour:

• Dress boringly
• Keep the camera out of sight
• Move around the margins, not in the middle
• Either keep moving or sit down
• If you have a friend, take pictures of them
• Do what other people are doing
• Don’t make unnecessary eye contact

THE PERMISSION AVENUE

Yes, it’s not just a way or a route. Asking permission before you shoot is a broad avenue, direct and visible, and once you’re on it there’s no turning back. This is a basic reportage photographer’s dilemma. If you’re granted permission, from anyone, whether a stall-holder in a picturesque market to the command of a naval base, then it’s all plain sailing. But if you’re refused, that’s it. You’ve closed off any alternatives, any sideways approaches or back-door entrances. If it’s a personally granted permission, such as asking to take a portrait of someone you only just saw, then you have to use your judgment, and it better be good. You could perhaps try the invisibility method just described and go for it quickly. Or you might think that the only way to do it properly will require at least a bit of co-operation on the part of the person, and ask. That’s what happened here, a Tibetan man with such a strong face that I really wanted to take his portrait. We spent some time talking through a translator, and then when I judged the moment was right, asked if I could take his portrait.

Tibetan man, Benzilan, northern Yunnan

A second example of a fully worked-out, official method was an assignment from the Smithsonian magazine to shoot a story on a rare archaeological dig at Stonehenge. Here, at Britain’s most visited monument, all access is very strictly controlled, so there was no alternative. For me, though, it was relatively straightforward, as we were working in tandem with BBC Television, and the broad permissions had already been worked out over a period of time. Nevertheless, it did mean having to do everything by the book, not stepping out of line, and even attending a meaningless press photo-call. In a situation like this, you simply have to follow the procedure.

Excavations at Stonehenge, with lighting, and below as used

In informal situations though, there’s often a choice between asking of it’s OK to shoot, or shooting anyway and deal with the consequences afterward. For what happens afterward in situations where you probably wouldn’t have been given permission, read on…

ASK FORGIVENESS

Peter Hessler, in his book Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory, wrote, “In China, much of life involves skirting regulations, and one of the basic truths is that forgiveness comes easier than permission.” The all-embracing chain of command that has managed every aspect of life for 70 years has made sure that the many, many officials do what they’re told to do, and personal initiative is frowned on. At the same time, this jars with normal community relations where people generally have to get along. The problem with permission is that it means approval, and that works for the future, whereas simply quietly letting someone get away with doing what would have been refused doesn’t signify approval. So yes, this is highly relevant if you’re shooting in a situation where you know the rules are going to stop you — or at least have a suspicion that they might. And this isn’t about China, incidentally. It may be famous for this approach to skirting through life’s obstacles, but the permission-forgiveness trade-off is one to consider everywhere.

It doesn’t always work. There are some transgressions that will get you into serious trouble. If you see a sign that says something like ‘military area, do not use a camera’, don’t push your luck. But if the sign says ‘no tripods’, or worse still ‘apply to the Archaeological Survey of India 15 days in advance for permission to use a tripod’, you might try your luck. Don’t take this as my encouragement for anyone to break the law, which would be wrong, but the reality of being a reportage photographer is you do come up against restrictions that may seem petty and pointless. Objectively they may even be petty and pointless.

Here’s an example, but from Mexico, where I was surprised to find that the same restrictions as in India were enforced in Mayan archaeological sites in Yucatan. I’ve always assumed that the tripod ban is to prevent damage to monuments from spiked feet (even though most tripods these days have rubber feet). But it may also have something to do with preventing professional photographers from exploiting national treasures, and a tripod was always a signifier of a professional. Whatever. It doesn’t though. make much sense in an archaeological zone that is half forest and a couple of square kilometres in size, as here, in Labná. I was using a 4×5-inch camera, and even though it was a model called a Sinar Handy, 4x5s are not intended for hand-held shooting. My answer was a small tripod that fitted in the bag, and being prepared to shoot from ground level or from any convenient fragment of wall. Not ideal, but a working method, and given the size of the area, I decided to shoot for as long as possible before someone came along and told me to stop using the tripod. Which they did eventually, at which point I apologised and packed up.

CONNECTIONS

Special access to events and occasions that are either off the normal radar or are heavily subscribed usually means invoking some kind of privilege. That’s a word and an idea that rankles with many people, because it sounds unfair and a bit like queue-jumping, but really, it’s the way that things work at all levels. We all have our network of friends, for instance, and within that loose group we do things for each other. Tapping in somehow to a much wider network is one of the most effective ways of opening doors to restricted or difficult things to photograph. The Chinese guanxi is probably the world’s most highly developed system of relationship and networking, but the principle can be applied anywhere, and it’s a worldwide phenomenon, just that it’s easier in some cultures than in others. The practical issue for a reportage photographer, as we’re normally shooting stories away from our home base, is how to tap into a different set of networks.

Here are two examples, from different cultures, both on-the-spot efforts. In the first, I was shooting a book on Tuscany, and was in the area of Siena at the time of the annual Palio, which is a no-holds-barred horse race dating back to the Middle Ages in which jockeys ride without saddles and there are few rules apart from winning. In fact, it’s an expression of the strong rivalry between the contrade , the wards or districts of this ancient city, and a very crowded event. One thing to understand about the Sienese is that the Palio is their own private city race, not a tourist spectacle. Television crew from Rome? Go find your own viewpoint! So, how to get a good camera position? Enter the author commissioned for the book, Lorenza di Medici, Italian television personality with a wine estate close to the city, Badia a Coltibuono, and with very powerful local connections. Front row seats at the Palio are more like gold nuggets than gold dust, but one of them fell my way. That’s a connection in action.

The Palio di Siena, from the front row

A second example is from China. I was leading a photography workshop at the boutique hotel designed and run by friends of mine, The Bivou in the village of Shuhe in Yunnan. Hwee Ling, one of the partners, had spent much time cultivating the friendship of the local Yi community, who have villages high on Jade Dragon Mountain, as guests do treks up there. Her main contact, a teacher, mentioned that there would be a large and traditional funeral for an elder, and from this we gently negotiated over a couple of days to be able to attend. This was a great privilege, and needless to say there was no-one else from outside this ethnic community apart from my small group.

Yi women waiting for others to arrive at a traditional funeral, Yunnan

It’s important to remember, when you’re getting access this special way, that these are favours being called upon, and somehow those favours get called in, otherwise a connection network can’t function properly. To put it crudely, there’s no free lunch. If you’re lucky, it may simply be in someone’s interest for you to shoot the story — they may want publicity — but just keep in mind that people, maybe more than one and maybe someone you don’t meet, are making an effort that gets you into a special place. That deserves reciprocity.

This became a popular term during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, where the military solution to dealing as positively as possible with the nuisance of combat photographers was to draw them in and put them with a unit rather than having them wandering around on their own. There was certainly an element of control in this, but it also produced some remarkably good photography, such as the late Tim Hetherington’s book Infidel and film Restrepo . In a less dramatic way, embedding yourself with a community you want to photograph means settling in, building trust, and eventually becoming a sort of honorary member of the group. It takes time, inevitably, but it really does pay off, and for access to ordinary life you end up getting the best of both worlds — natural behaviour, actions, expressions but without having to be surreptitious. My first direct experience of this was a three-month assignment for Time-Life to shoot a book on an ethnic minority in the highlands of the Thai-Burmese border. This was a time before mass tourism, and the real issue was acceptance. The writer, Fred Grunfeld, and I were working with three different anthropologists, none of whom got on with each other, which didn’t help, but we eventually corralled them into making the introductions and getting us embedded in one village. I learned a valuable lesson, that part of the process means not taking photographs. Frustrating, obviously, for a photographer, but good sense if you think about it. One thing that few photographers think about is what you look like when you use a camera. It hides your face, and not in a nice way. It’s a plain truth that if you want to build trust among a group of people, you have to look them in the eye — a lot — and engage with them live a normal person. When you shoot, you’re no longer another person, so to get to the point where your subjects don’t mind this, they have to know you and accept you. I didn’t use the camera for the first two weeks! After that, I could do whatever I liked, and people would make suggestions and take me along to anything that they thought might be remotely interesting for me.

Akha girls, Thai- Burmese border

In a 40 year career, internationally renowned photographer and author Michael Freeman has focused on documentary travel reportage, and has been published in all major publications worldwide, including Time-Life, GEO and a 30-year relationship with the Smithsonian magazine. He is also the world’s top author of photography books, drawing on his long experience. In total, he has published 133 books, with 4 million copies sold, including 66 on the craft of photography, published in 27 languages. With an MA in Geography from Oxford University, Freeman went first into advertising before launching his career in editorial photography with a journey up the Amazon.

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Why Travel Writing Matters

An excerpt from “The Elasticity of Place”

In the Fall 2017 issue of The Chattahoochee Review

By Rolf Potts

First of all, what is travel writing? And why is travel writing important right now?

Travel writing is important because it humanizes distant places. Unlike standard journalism, it doesn’t pretend to detached objectivity, and it doesn’t follow the panic-driven war/disaster tropes of the twenty-four hour news cycle. Instead, it uses a personal lens to delve into the nuanced realities of daily life away from home, finding human commonalities as it explores cultural differences.

Much travel writing doesn’t live up to that ideal, of course. Some travel writing inevitably veers into self-absorption or dumb generalizations when it encounters other cultures. And much of what is characterized as “travel writing” these days is essentially consumer information for vacationers — where to go, how to get there, what to see and do and buy when you get there. That’s fine, I suppose — most travelers benefit from authoritative guidance and tips — but the best travel writing is a tentative inquiry into other places, one that seeks understanding and insight while being of aware of its own limited point-of-view. Like all good literature, its nuanced specifics speak to universal themes.

But backing up to the big-picture level for a moment, one could ask the question: What isn’t travel writing? Indeed, one of the most enduring human narratives — one that predates literacy — is the story of the wanderer who leaves home, encounters the challenges of the unknown, and returns to tell the tale. From the Epic of Gilgamesh to the imaginative fictions set in Oz, Narnia, or Westeros, travel has always been a literary mechanism that incites struggle and learning and change.

As for fact-based travel writing, many of the tropes we still associate with the genre go back at least to Herodotus’s Histories , which used on-the-ground inquiry and reportage in an effort to make (admittedly imperfect) sense of Near Eastern cultures for a Greek audience. For more than two thousand years — from Zhang Qian and Ibn Battuta to the far-flung wanderers of the British Empire — the implied task of travel writing was to describe the customs and idiosyncrasies of faraway people and places. Travel writing was a key source of information about the outside world, and it influenced not just exploration, science, and commerce — it also influenced the history of ideas and literature. It’s easy to see the influence of travel writing on Don Quixote or Robinson Crusoe , but its DNA can also be found in The Faerie Queene and The Tempest and the King James translation of the Bible (which contains evocations of Eden that mirror John Layfield’s descriptions of Dominica).

By the nineteenth century, as railroads and steamships and telegrams were shrinking the world and making it more knowable, the mission of travel writing slowly began to shift into a more personal direction. Over time, scientific description of distant cultures was less essential than the author’s first-person account of traveling within those cultures. Alexander Kinglake, Mark Twain, and Isabella Bird popularized this narrative approach near the end of the nineteenth century — and by the end of the twentieth century the most popular travel books blended first-person reportage with a memoiristic evocation of the traveler’s inner life.

Literary travel writing still resides in the overlap of reportage and memoir, and some of the most memorable travel writing (think Jan Morris , Pico Iyer , Orhan Pamuk) isn’t about the act of physical motion so much as the task of making sense of a single place, or reflecting on the complexity of human experience amid a world in flux. In a time when academic disciplines are hyper-specialized and foreign correspondents fixate on wars and crises, travel writers are allowed to digress, to take things slow, and use a variety of interpretive lenses. A good travel book doesn’t just mix reportage and memoir; it might blend geography with gastronomy, history with humor, sociology with spirituality. At its best, it’s about a perceptive author using a mix of narrative strategies to make sense of both a place and of herself as the person experiencing that place.

Travel writing used to be more of a colonizing genre: A representative of the dominant world culture would go off to a distant and exotic land, and then come back to report how fascination the place was for its difference. So even if its importance has slowly become more of a personal response to a place or culture, this response may still contain a strong element of cultural judgment. This may come across as a positive judgment, say, when a travel writer only has positive things to say about a culture they describe as charming, while they take a surface view of the people they describe. Have you ever worried in your own work that you were guilty of writing about a place before you knew it well enough? How do travel writers get around the fact that they are essentially visitors, but claim some kind of authority over a place by writing about it?

I think every travel writer worries about trying to depict a place without knowing it properly. I know I do — and I’d be suspicious of any travel writer who didn’t struggle with this process.

This issue has, in fact, become somewhat of an in-joke among travel writers over the years. When D.H. Lawrence visited Florence in 1921, Norman Douglas poked fun at him for the fact that he was “vehemently and exhaustively describing the temperament of the people” within a few days of arriving there. Two decades later, when George Orwell reviewed Henry Miller’s Colossus of Maroussi , he quipped that it bore “all the normal stigmata of the travel book, the fake intensities, the tendency to discover the ‘soul’ of a town after spending two hours in it.” The best anecdote in this regard comes from nineteenth-century philosopher Herbert Spencer, who wrote about a French traveler who was ready to write a book about England three weeks into his visit. Three months later, the Frenchman decided he wasn’t ready yet — and after three years he determined that he had no authority whatsoever to write a book about England.

Of course nobody ever knows a place “well enough” to write about it with ironclad authority. This includes historians, anthropologists, and the people living there. Orhan Pamuk’s book about his hometown, Istanbul , has been hailed as a masterpiece, but I’d imagine his own neighbors might take issue with his sour, sentimental, cerebral take on their city. Pamuk, a novelist and academic, tends to view his city through the lens of art and literature, whereas a Turkish butcher or banker or beautician might view the city in a completely different way. My 1999 take on Istanbul, “ Turkish Knockout ,” which recounts getting drugged and robbed in the city’s well-visited Sultanahmet district, is inseparable from the fact that I was utterly ignorant of the city when I arrived there. On reading it, one doesn’t learn much about Istanbul in the socio-historical sense, but it does evoke what one part of the city was like for a certain overconfident American tourist.

A lot of my early travel writing explored the tentative, liminal space we occupy as travelers. “Turkish Knockout” appears in my 2008 book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There , alongside more lighthearted tales like “ Storming The Beach ,” which is set in Thailand, and “ Tantric Sex For Dilettantes ,” which is set in India. These humor stories are less focused on the essential nature of Thailand or India than in unpacking the overwrought fantasies we project onto these places. Both stories end with a realization of my own boneheaded naiveté — and while other stories in the book go further to depict the local people I connected with as a traveler, I always tried to make it clear that my perspective was less than perfect. As a writer I am not speaking for these places so much as I am recounting the ephemeral experiences of one specific middle-class American male in certain corners of these places, visiting at certain times of the year, in a certain moment in history. I might bring in research — history, literature, reportage — to help make sense of my experiences (as most travel writers do), but I make no claim to be authoritative.

The implicit acknowledgment that a traveler is always operating from a specific personal-cultural point-of-view has always been central to travel writing. Herodotus’s Histories purport to describe other lands and cultures, for instance, but the author continually reminds the reader of his own reportorial doubts and limitations. Moreover, it’s clear that he is describing the customs and routines of non-Greek cultures (their gender relations, culinary practices, toilet protocols) with a Greek sensibility, for a Greek audience. In this way Histories reveals as much or more about ancient Greece as it does the places it describes. So, for as long as it has been around, travel writing invariably uses one cultural point-of-view to make sense of another, and any account (ancient or modern, colonial or postcolonial) that pretends to objectivity is clearly blind to the inevitability of its own biases and preconceptions.

It’s interesting to consider that the notion of “journalistic objectivity” arose in the nineteenth century, around the same time that (in countries like Britain) some forms of travel writing were being used as a literal pretext for colonizing other cultures. I don’t want to dismiss journalistic objectivity with too broad a brush — the idea was to promote more ethical, empirical reporting — but when you travel to distant lands and omit the “I” from the account of what you saw, it implies an objective authority that doesn’t exist in the real world. Part of the push to make foreign reportage more objective was pegged to the excesses of Romantic-era travel writing — which proved that impressionistic reverie could be just as unreliable as subjective fact-gathering when trying to depict other places. So that’s the tricky ground a travel writer must navigate — including enough of the “I” to orient the reader with her subjectivity, while being disciplined enough to move beyond the “I” and report meaningfully about people who in the places she is visiting.

In the twenty-first century we no longer need travel writing to teach us about other places — especially when the people who live in those places are documenting their lives in real-time, with videos, social-media posts, and personal essays of their own. But travel writing was never really about pure reportage; it has always existed in the vicarious tension of what a writer from one culture experiences (and attempts to comprehend) when visiting another. Admitting to confusion and discomfort and naïve excitement isn’t just what makes travel writing entertaining and relatable to the home audience; the very authority of a travel narrative (unlike the big-picture sweep of narrative history or social science) lies in the self-declared limitations of its own first-person perspective.

Aside from the issues we’ve already discussed, what should aspiring travel writers of the next generation keep in mind?

I think the core task of travel writing — going slow, experiencing, listening, seeking nuance, reflecting — hasn’t changed much, and won’t change all that much in the future. Often travel writing is a matter of getting past your preconceptions and being thoughtful and honest about what you experience. This naturally applies to getting past crude cultural stereotypes, but it also means avoiding performative sensitivity and the over-idealization of other cultures. And, as I’ve suggested before, narrative point-of-view counts: Remind the reader not just of what’s being experienced and reported, but also of who is experiencing and reporting it.

The full text of this literary round-table, which also includes insights from  Eddy L. Harris and Alden Jones , can be found in the Fall 2017 issue of the Chattahoochee Review .

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Come with us on truly... The Journey of a Lifetime along the world’s longest railway. See how the landscape and culture changes as you head West to East. See Moscow, Siberia, China and more. Our Trans-Siberian Railway tours are all customizable and can be adjusted to fit any budget. Our most popular packages are listed below. Please click on the tour details to learn more or contact us for more information about our Trans Siberian rail tours using the form on the page. Feel free to also schedule a call with one of our Russian travel specialists. Many travelers have found this to be the best way to together, create an unforgettable customized tour for you.

Trans-Siberian by Imperial Russia Train

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Trans-Siberian 3 in 1

This is our shortest version of our Trans Siberian railroad tours but it covers some of the most interesting cities. The trip begins in Moscow, the capital of Russia, then continues on to Yekaterinburg, located in the Ural Mountains and at the edge of Siberia. The tour ends on the shores of Lake Baikal.

• Schedule Tour can be started on any day
• Route Moscow - Yekaterinburg - Irkutsk
• Languages English-speaking guide is guaranteed. Other languages are on request.
• Accommodation The following hotel options are available: 3 stars
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Great Russia by Train

This tour will take you along the full route of the Trans-Siberian railway to 3 of Russia's most interesting cities - Moscow with stunning Red Square, the Kremlin and Cathedrals, Irkutsk located in the heart of Siberia and home to the great Lake Baikal and Vladivostok - the King of the East with its harbor of the Golden Horn and Amursky Bay on the Pacific Ocean.

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Trans-Sib - four cities

On this great Eurasian journey from West to East you will cover the entire route of the Trans-Siberian Railway, visiting four major cities along the way: Russia's capital Moscow, Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains, Irkutsk including incredible Lake Baikal, and finally Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, at the very edge of Russia.

• Route Moscow - Yekaterinburg - Irkutsk - Vladivostok

Highlights on the Trans-Sib

This tour is a great choice for seeing the highlights of Russia, Mongolia and China. From Golden-Domed Moscow you will continue on to Irkutsk and visit beautiful Lake Baikal. Mongolia will greet you with its endless steppes and the Gobi Desert. Finally, you will reach China and visit the magnificent Great Wall, Ming Tombs and Forbidden city.

• Schedule Tour can be started on any Monday
• Route Moscow - Irkutsk - Ulan Bator - Beijing

The Great Journey - East to West

This trip lasts for 2 weeks and passes through 6 fascinating cities. Starting in Vladivostok with its harbour of the Golden Horn and passing through the Buddhist city of Ulan-Ude, then to Irkutsk - home of magnificent Lake Baikal and onto Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg - very dynamic Siberian cities, and finally ending in golden-domed Moscow.

• Route Vladivostok - Ulan-Ude - Irkutsk - Novosibirsk - Yekaterinburg - Moscow

5 stars - East to West

This tour covers the highlights of the Trans-Siberian Railway - including all 5 major cities along its route. You will admire cultural masterpieces in Beijing, learn about nomadic life in Mongolia, see amazing Lake Baikal in Irkutsk, learn about the fate of the Last Tsar in Yekaterinburg, and visit Russia's energetic capital Moscow.

• Schedule Tour can be started on any Thursday.
• Route Beijing - Ulaanbaatar - Irkutsk - Yekaterinburg - Moscow

Trans-Sib through Russia - Mongolia - China

This exciting Trans-Siberian tour takes you to three countries - Russia, Mongolia and China. From Moscow you will proceed to the Siberian cities of Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk, close to Lake Baikal. Then you will cross Mongolia with its endless steppes and the Goby Desert, and finally arrive in China with the Great Wall and more.

• Schedule Tour can be started on any Saturday
• Route Moscow - Yekaterinburg - Novosibirsk - Irkutsk - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing

Journey of a Lifetime

The tour is a great opportunity to visit three countries on one trip. You will be delighted with the capital of Russia, see the border of Europe and Asia in Yekaterinburg, admire beautiful nature in Krasnoyarsk, see the world's largest lake Baikal, steppes of Mongolia and China's cultural heritage.

• Route Moscow - Yekaterinburg - Krasnoyarsk - Irkutsk - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing

My wife & I have just completed the Journey of a Lifetime 16 day 15 night Trip as organised by Express to Russia. We also had a tour of St Petersburg & Moscow as well. The planning & execution of both trips was well above our expectations. The guides we had in all of our destinations were exceptional & the meet & greet & return to the stations went as smooth as clockwork. We had one minor hitch but that was through no fault of Express to Russia..a quick email from our Ipad had the problem resolved immediately We did have some misgivings at the start about doing the booking online ourselves but Elena was wonderful & answered all of our questions promptly & to our satisfaction. We felt comfortable with the whole process.The train trip is wonderful with Mongolia being a "special " place for us! We highly recommend Elena & her company. I am happy to answer any questions any body may wish to ask.

Thank you so very much for organizing our trip. Everything went wonderfully, and we really enjoyed our time in Russia. Moscow was beautiful, Lake Baikal was very cold, yet very fun to swim in, and the DPR Koreans that I met and made friends with in Vladivostok was beyond priceless. The guides you got for us did an exceptional job, and the drivers helped us out a lot as well. The hotels you got for us were great, and the room you got for us in the Vladivostok really made the long stay comfortable. The trains were also very enjoyable as was the Russian hospitality, although we really weren´t expecting people to be so generous or helpful. Overall, the trip was wonderful, and you arranged it magnificently. You really went out of your way to accommodate my schedule and help me with my schoolwork, so I really appreciate it; I couldn´t have done it without you. So once again, thank you for all of your efforts, and hopefully in the future you will be able to help us out again. Take care, and thank you for everything.

The Trans-Siberian Express is the longest train journey in the world. The route takes you from ancient Russian cities through deep forests and breathtaking mountains to Siberian outposts and into Asia. You will visit Buddhist temples , Lake Baikal , the Ural Mountains , Vladivostok or Beijing . Express to Russia is a specialist in travel for individuals and small groups along the route. We will make sure that you have an unforgettable journey on this incredible adventure. Choose basic packages below or contact us to arrange your own custom travel.

Our Russian tours are offered as land only where you arrange your own airfare and we meet you at the airport and handle everything else. You can easily book the discount tickets yourself through our own discount internet ticket office . Please browse our discount air tickets section to learn more.

Trans-Siberian Train

The main route of the Trans-Siberian Railway begins in Moscow and heads east to Vladivostok passing through Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Ulan Ude, Chita, Blagoveshchensk and Khabarovsk. The length of the route is 9259 km or 5753 miles. The train travels through 7 time zones and takes 8 days to complete without making overnight stops. The Trans-Siberian splits off into a few other fascinating directions as well:

Trans-Mongolian Train

The Trans-Mongolian Line was built from 1940 to 1956 between Ulan-Ude at Lake Baikal’s eastern shore and the Chinese capital Beijing. From Ulan-Ude the tracks go south towards Mongolia, crossing the great Gobi Desert and finally ending up in Beijing. This route is a mere 7867 kilometers long (Moscow - Beijing).

Trans-Manchurian Train

The Trans-Manchurian Line runs on the same route as the Trans-Siberian as far as Tarskaya, which is a few hundred miles east of Baikal. From Tarskaya, the line runs southeast into China near Zabaikalsk and makes its way down to Beijing. This route is a 9001 kilometres long (Moscow - Beijing).

Click to learn more about the history of the Trans-Siberian Railway .

Frequently Asked Questions From Our Travelers

Where does the trans-siberian railway start and where does it end.

The Trans-Siberian Railway starts in Moscow and extends all the way to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean. This route connects the European part of Russia, the Ural region, Siberia and the Russian Far East.

Are Beijing and Ulan Bator stops along the Trans-Siberian railway?

Beijing and Ulan Bator are parts of Trans-Mongolian railway - an offshoot of the main Trans-Siberian Railway. There are many options to arrange your travel: to visit Ulan Bator and or follow the Trans-Siberian railway to or from Vladivostok. 

Can I use the hop-on hop-off principle when traveling by Trans-Siberian train?

Unfortunately, that is not possible. Train tickets in Russia are not open, so you will need a separate ticket with a particular date for each leg of your trip - for example, you may go all the way from Moscow to Vladivostok, but you will only be able to leave the train for short stops at the railway stations. In case if you would like to explore different cities on the way, you will need separate tickets, for example Moscow – Yekaterinburg, Yekaterinburg – Irkutsk, Irkutsk - Vladivostok. We offer carefully planned private tours that will allow you to visit several cities on your way.

Are there showers aboard Trans-Siberian trains?

Most of the Trans-Siberian trains do not have showers, and there are two WCs per each carriage. Please consider it while planning your trip. We recommend to choose shorter distances (that is, to plan more overnight stops in the cities along the way) to avoid the inconvenience of not showering. Another option is to choose the trip on board a more luxurious train which has all the on-board amenities that one might need.

Are meals included on the board of Trans-Siberian express train?

When traveling with RZD regular trains meals are not included. You can easily buy your meals in the restaurant car.  Another option is to buy local specialties from “babushkas” (grandmothers, or simply Russian old ladies) on the short train stops along the way. This is a very authentic way of getting your meals.

What is the most comfortable way to travel on the Trans-Siberian railroad?

There are luxurious trains on the Trans-Siberian railway that are quite different from regular RZD trains and can be described as 5* hotels on wheels. We offer this type of accommodation on the Imperial Russia train where you can enjoy a full board menu, a shower and a comfortable compartment.

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Russia Travel Advisory

Travel advisory september 5, 2023, russia - level 4: do not travel.

Updated to remove COVID-specific information and the kidnapping risk indicator as well as updates to security risks.

Do not travel to Russia due to the unpredictable consequences of the  unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces , the potential for  harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials , the  arbitrary enforcement of local law ,  limited flights into and out of Russia , the  Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia , and the possibility of  terrorism .  U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately.  Exercise increased caution due to  the risk of wrongful detentions.

The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Russia is severely limited, particularly in areas far from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, due to Russian government limitations on travel for embassy personnel and staffing, and the ongoing suspension of operations, including consular services, at U.S. consulates.

There have been numerous reports of drone attacks, explosions, and fires in areas in Western and Southern Russia, particularly near the Russian border with Ukraine, as well as in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the event of an emergency, U.S. citizens should follow instructions from local authorities and seek shelter immediately.

In September 2022, the Russian government mobilized citizens to the armed forces in support of its invasion of Ukraine. Russia may refuse to acknowledge dual nationals’ U.S. citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, subject them to mobilization, prevent their departure from Russia, and/or conscript them. 

U.S. citizens should note that U.S. credit and debit cards no longer work in Russia, and options to electronically transfer funds from the United States are extremely limited due to sanctions imposed on Russian banks. There are reports of cash shortages within Russia.

Commercial flight options are extremely limited and are often unavailable on short notice. If you wish to depart Russia, you should make independent arrangements as soon as possible. The U.S. Embassy has severe limitations on its ability to assist U.S. citizens to depart the country and transportation options may suddenly become even more limited. Click  here  for Information for U.S. Citizens Seeking to Depart Russia.

U.S. Embassy personnel are generally not permitted to travel on Russian air carriers due to safety concerns.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgraded the air safety rating for Russia from Category 1 to Category 2 on April 21, 2022, due to Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport noncompliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) prohibiting U.S. aviation operations into, out of, within, or over those areas of the Moscow Flight Information Region (FIR), the Samara FIR (UWWW) and the Rostov-na-Donu (URRV) FIR within 160NM of the boundaries of the Dnipro (UKDV) Flight Information Regions. For more information, U.S. citizens should consult the  Federal Aviation Administration’s Prohibitions, Restrictions, and Notices .

The right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are not consistently protected in Russia. U.S. citizens should avoid all political or social protests and not photograph security personnel at these events. Russian authorities have arrested U.S. citizens who have participated in demonstrations and there are numerous reports Russian nationals have been detained for social media activity. 

Country Summary:

U.S. citizens, including former and current U.S. government and military personnel and private citizens engaged in business who are visiting or residing in Russia, have been interrogated without cause and threatened by Russian officials, and may become victims of harassment, mistreatment, and extortion. 

Russian security services may fail to notify the U.S. Embassy of the detention of a U.S. citizen and unreasonably delay U.S. consular assistance. Russian security services are increasing the arbitrary enforcement of local laws to target foreign and international organizations they consider “undesirable.”

Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on spurious charges, singled out U.S. citizens in Russia for detention and harassment, denied them fair and transparent treatment, and convicted them in secret trials or without presenting credible evidence. Furthermore, Russian authorities arbitrarily enforce local laws against U.S. citizen religious workers and have opened questionable criminal investigations against U.S. citizens engaged in religious activity. U.S. citizens should avoid travel to Russia to perform work for or volunteer with non-governmental organizations or religious organizations.

There have been multiple security incidents in southwestern Russia related to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. The Russian government declared martial law in Russia’s regions bordering Ukraine (Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Rostov, Krasnodar) on October 20, 2022. The martial law regime allows the rapid introduction of restrictive measures such as curfew, seizure of private property, restriction of entry/exit and freedom of movement, internment of foreigners, forced relocation of local residents, and restrictions on public gatherings. U.S. citizens should avoid all travel to these areas.

Recent legislation has expanded the ability of Russian authorities to detain, question, and arrest individuals suspected of acting against Russia’s interests, including posts on personal social media accounts, engaging with foreign and international entities, discrediting the Russian state or military, as well as advocating for the rights of LGBTQI+ persons.

Terrorist groups, both transnational and local terrorist organizations, and individuals inspired by extremist ideology continue plotting possible attacks in Russia. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs and systems, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas. Travel to the North Caucasus (including Chechnya and Mt. Elbrus) is prohibited for U.S. government employees and strongly discouraged for U.S. citizens.

The international community, including the United States and Ukraine, does not recognize Russia’s purported annexation of Crimea as well as four other Ukrainian oblasts – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya – that Russia has purported to annex more recently. There is extensive Russian Federation military presence in these areas. Russia staged its further invasion of Ukraine, in part, from occupied Crimea, and Russia is likely to take further military actions in Crimea, and the four other Ukrainian oblasts are the subject of intensive fighting. There are continuing abuses against foreigners and the local population by the occupation authorities in these regions, particularly against those who are seen as challenging Russia’s authority.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv continues to provide consular services to U.S. citizens in Crimea as well as four other Ukrainian oblasts partially occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya, although the ongoing conflict severely restricts the Embassy’s ability to provide services in these areas.

Read the  country information page  for additional information on travel to Russia.

If you decide to travel to Russia:

• Familiarize yourself with the information on  what the U.S. government can and cannot do to assist you in a crisis overseas .
• Have a contingency plan in place that does not rely on U.S. government assistance. Review the  Traveler’s Checklist .
• Monitor local and international media for breaking events and adjust your contingency plans based on the new information.
• Ensure travel documents are valid and easily accessible.
• Visit our website for  Travel to High-Risk Areas .
• Enroll in the  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)  to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Follow the Department of State on  Facebook  and  Twitter .
• Review the  Country Security Report  for Russia.
• Visit the CDC page for the latest  Travel Health Information  related to your travel.

Travel Advisory Levels

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