What's covered in this post
- Collection Of The Best Funny Travel Books You Have To Read
- Awful Air Travel Activity Book, Andy Robbins
- Would You Rather Book For Kids: The Book of Silly Scenarios, Challenging Choices, and Hilarious Situations the Whole Family Will Love, Sunny Panda
- Missions Accomplished: And some funny business along the way, Tim Jenkins
- The Sex Lives of Cannibals, J. Maarten Troost
- A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, Bill Bryson
- Neither Here Nor There: Travels In Europe, Bill Bryson
- Last Chance to See, Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine
- The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson
- The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
- Hokkaido Highway Blues, Will Ferguson
- The Wrong Way Home, Peter Moore
- The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia, Paul Theroux
- Lonely Planet Signspotting: Absurd & Amusing Signs from Around the World, Doug Lansky
- The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World, Lonely Planet
- Round Ireland with a Fridge, Tony Hawks
- Final thoughts about Funny Travel Books
Collection Of The Best Funny Travel Books You Have To Read
One of the best things to do besides actually travelling is to read travel books, especially funny travel books!
They bring you around the world, let you experience a trip through someone else’s eyes and makes you laugh.
On long flights or layovers or at the departure lounge, reading not only helps to while away the time, it exposes you to new cultures in the comfort of an armchair.
And of course, it is not restricted to just travellers, but to anyone who wants to learn more about our world, the casual readers and just about anyone in between.
We specifically love reading those that are satirical in nature, admire writers who are not afraid of poking fun at themselves.
These books bring about optimism and joy and thus, we are rounding up the funniest travel books for your reading pleasure!
So in no particular order, please find below, *drum roll*, a collection of our favourite travel humour.
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Awful Air Travel Activity Book, Andy Robbins
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Instead of filling up books with just words, this cute book by Andy Robbins comes with word puzzles, connect the dots and colouring pages!
That is a whole lot of fun to keep you occupied as you wait for your flight or when you can’t sleep next to the snoring passenger beside you.
No matter what activity you choose to do in this book, you are guaranteed a hilarious time!
Would You Rather Book For Kids: The Book of Silly Scenarios, Challenging Choices, and Hilarious Situations the Whole Family Will Love, Sunny Panda
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Do you want a ton of laughs together with your family? Look no further as this book is filled with lots of ‘would you rather’ questions plus surprising situations to play out.
This will be great for game nights, hanging out with friends at the bar or any party!
Have the kids read out the different scenarios and let them discuss and debate. It makes for an excellent educational tool!
Missions Accomplished: And some funny business along the way, Tim Jenkins
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Tim Jenkins the author has traversed the world extensively and during his time on the road, collected hundreds of travel stories that deserves to be retold.
And hence Missions Accomplished was born, filled with amusing short stories (50 to be exact).
If you are like him, a travelling professional, you will find familiarity in his stories.
Even if you are not, you will find great insight to what life is like on the road in the most hysterical ways!
The Sex Lives of Cannibals, J. Maarten Troost
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This one made the list as it has one of those funny book names. Just kidding.
The master of self irony, Maarten Troost is an underrated writer who should rank up there with Bryson for the best funny travel books.
Join his adventures as he spends 2 years in Kiribati with his girlfriend, the place he describes as ‘end of the world’, where the food is unpalatable and the place is sprinkled with Hepatitis A, B and C.
Strap in for a wild ride in this oldie goldie.
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, Bill Bryson
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This is a number on best seller for good reason: it will tickle all your funny bones and more.
Follow Bill Bryson, the acclaimed travel writer known for his wit, on his walk on the Appalachian Trail.
In this classic, he recounts his journey, complete with stories of hilarious characters, his walking buddy Stephen Klatz, and and a couple of bears.
While the humour is top notch, it almost serves just like a travel guide too.
Be warned, you might not be able to put this down once you start reading!
Neither Here Nor There: Travels In Europe, Bill Bryson
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Another classic by Bill Bryson, as he attempts to retrace his backpacking journey through Europe during the seventies twenty years later.
Imaginative writing and dry humour combines to make this one of the most important items you should pack in your bags.
Bill reminds us that despite all the gloom and doom surrounding us, there is warmth and sunshine elsewhere.
He is a brave traveler and his descriptions are on point.
Make this top of your list my friends.
Last Chance to See, Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine
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A New York Times bestseller, Douglas Adams teams up with zoologist Mark Carwardine to go in search of exotic and endangered animals around the world.
The writing is on point and filled with marvelous and exciting adventures. These guys are seriously funny, but at the same time, they delivered a strong message about the plight of the animals.
Although this book was written over 25 years ago, the details are more relevant than ever today.
Don’t miss out this eye opener!
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson
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What happens when a man turns 100 years old and decides he doesn’t give a damn about the celebration?
He goes out the window and heads for an adventure for the ages.
This book combines what the protagonist Allan experiences in the present along with the stories he encounters in his youth.
Perfectly written and creativeness rolled into one. There’s really no reason to miss this one.
Take note this is part 1 of The Hundred year Old Man series.
The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
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It shouldn’t come as a surprise that another book by Douglas Adams makes it to the list. He is a travel writing genius.
5 different books that brings you on a roller coaster ride, as Arthur Dent goes on a quest to bypass the intergalactic bypass.
So many people have heard of this story, since it was remade into movies, video games and a TV series, but there doesn’t seem to be many who have actually read the series.
Be prepared to be thrilled and entertained thoroughly on this journey!
Hokkaido Highway Blues, Will Ferguson
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Based on Will’s adventure hitchhiking across Japan, this is one of the funniest and eye opening look at the Land of the Rising Sun.
Will is an excellent observer, and combined with his free wheeling style of writing, this is an original that must make it to your book shelves.
While he may come across to some as disrespectful, you will need to read the entire book to really understand his method and in the process, learn more about the Japanese culture than anything else you can find.
The Wrong Way Home, Peter Moore
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Written by the Australian travel writer Peter Moore, The Wrong Way Home expertly marries dry humour with travel entertainment.
We love it for how he is able to capture different cultures and human behaviour in a rather strange but light way.
Follow him as he journeys through the Middle East, passing Europe and finding his way back home.
This is one of those books that you cannot wait to finish as you want to know the ending!
The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia, Paul Theroux
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Although this book has been published since over 30 years ago, it doesn’t fail to entertain even the most modern traveller.
Paul takes us through an odyssey of train travel where he recounts his adventures; experience the great Orient Express through his eyes.
We consider him to be one of the best travel writers out there, and this classic is where you should get started to understand his works.
Lonely Planet Signspotting: Absurd & Amusing Signs from Around the World, Doug Lansky
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Surely at one point in time you have seen an amusing sign somewhere?
We sure did, and this Lonely Planet production is a great compilation of the funniest ones in the world!
We can’t imagine coming across these signs on our travels, since we as tourists often have to rely on them to get around.
No matter which is your favourite sign, this book is sure to keep you laughing out loud!
We got to warn you though, this is not for you if you are easily offended!
The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World, Lonely Planet
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Sorry folks, this is not a funny book. But it is an amazing one that we felt had to be shared with our readers.
Lonely Planet produces high quality content, and this is no exception.
Filled with beautiful photos of all the countries in the world (according to the United Nations), this pictorial is essential to all travellers who wants to know more about world travel.
It is mind blowing, and the pictures themselves are worth the price tag.
Round Ireland with a Fridge, Tony Hawks
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Helmed by the hilarious British comedian Tony Hawks, not the skateboarder, this book is an unbelievable tale of how he hitchhiked across Ireland, with a fridge!
You are guaranteed laughs at every flip of the book, as Tony bumbles across the Emerald Isle, encountering all sorts of curious characters.
One of the sentences that left a deep impression was this: “One guy, seeing that I was hungry, insisted on buying me a huge lunch and when I thanked him for his kindness, he simply said, ‘Pass it on.'”
While the book might tickle you to no end, the lessons you learn from it are priceless too.
Final thoughts about Funny Travel Books
There are literally more than a million books out there, and sometimes it is hard to decide which ones to start with.
Hopefully in this short article, we have introduced to you a diverse selection of funny travel books to take you on your imaginary journeys.
As we read and discover more, we will definitely add to this list, so come back here once in a while to check it out, or better yet, sign up for our newsletter (down below and get a free ebook!) where we update you on what’s going on with our site.
Although there are only 15 books here, we are confident they will keep you screaming with joy!
What are your favourite funny travel books? And who are your favourite travel writers? Leave a comment down below!
Also don’t forget to use the free 1 month Kindle trial or 1 month Prime Trial if you prefer to read digital copies of these funny travel books!
For more travel inspiration, make sure to read these other articles:
- 19 Travel Bucket List places
- 50 Family Trip Quotes
- Travel packing checklist
- List of 21 free things you can do in any city
- Travel Destinations Guide
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