Where better to find inspiration for your next travel experience than in the pages of a good book (other than the Two’s a Crowd website, of course)? We polled our staff, those who work in the office as well as our tour hosts to find out what books most inspired them to travel. After all, this is a group that unashamedly dreams about travel all day, every day. So whether you’re seeking travel inspiration for next year’s trips or looking for Christmas gift ideas for fellow wanderers, here are our staff picks of the best travel books:
Ken Phaic Than by the old D-generation crew. It’s a very funny book, though as you’d expect from these guys, it’s not really very politically correct. It’s a send up of guidebooks, like those we follow from Lonely Planet.
Gillian My very first travel book was Asia on a Shoestring – $10 a day! This was the late 70s. It was the bible for all one’s basic travel needs, accommodation, food and transport. I still love to hold a travel book but generally after I’ve visited a destination, as whilst travelling you can’t beat the Internet for convenience. Some fun reads include Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, which inspired my own mid life Gap Year, and Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara’s book The Motorcycle Diaries, which I read this year just before travelling to Cuba with Two’s a Crowd.
Bernie The Travel Book by Lonely Planet, which is a big coffee table book that covers all 195 countries in the world. It’s very inspirational to flick through. I also love Secret Marvels of the World, also by Lonely Planet, which visits the more offbeat places and attractions. It is filled with random facts about places you never knew existed and is very humorous.
Adrian. I love a good travel guide, we’ve used Lonely Planet’s Europe guide and the Let’s Go guide for India, though sadly they are no longer available. But one of my absolute favourites is the coffee table book The Traveller’s Atlas by John Man and Chris Schuler. The book was so inspiring, with such amazing photos that we just had to travel to Chamonix in France and take the cable car across the top off the French, Swiss and Italian Alps into La Palud in Italy. Definitely a highlight of my travelling life. All inspired by one coffee table book.
Leonie I enjoy the odd tid bit from Lonely Planet’s travel guides. I find them great for restaurant recommendations and off the beaten track of things to see and do, as well as pointing out the mainstream, must see, travel experiences in any town.
Frances I loved Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts and Marching Powder by Rusty Young – hmm, there seems to be a common theme here, I’m not as dodgy as these guys, I promise. I also love anything by David Attenborough (a definite hero of mine). Also Earth Condensed: The World Atlas by Charles F. Gritzner. Anything by Bill Bryson, for a giggle and any of the incredible coffee table books from Lonely Planet. The Travel Book and One People, Many Journeys spring to mind– if you’re seeking inspiration or a reason to get out in to the world, you’ll find it in these pages.
Elise I was given The Bucket List – 1000 Adventures Big and Small by Kath Stahers as a gift; it’s such an inspiring book. As the name suggests it’s contains 1000 activities and ideas from all over the world. It covers everything from visiting Petra at sunrise to swimming with dolphins in New Zealand and lots in between. My bucket list keeps getting longer and longer!
Thao Ha I love the writings of Pico Iyer – The Global Soul stands out – and anything by Bill Bryson. It’s difficult to choose just one of this books as a favourite, but maybe Notes from a Small Island.
Diane I love anything that whisks you away to another place. I always try to read a novel set in the country I’m travelling through, it always gives me such a thrill to read about a street I’ve walked along, or a café I’ve sat in. Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr, is simply beautiful. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin took me to Pakistan and Afghanistan. As well as taking readers through a foreign landscape it shows what one person can do if they really set their mind on something. And I’ve just picked up Welcome to Country by Marcia Langton, which gives an insight into Indigenous Australia.
