15 Best Coffee Table Travel Books to Inspire Wanderlust

Another Lonely Planet stand out book for travel inspiration is the Travel Atlas: The Ultimate Atlas for Globetrotters. This book includes detailed maps of every country around the world with zoomed in views of the most popular destinations and regions.

You’ll also have access to popular itineraries from two days to two weeks for exploring these areas, as well as detailed write-ups on some of the most remarkable places around the world. This makes the book a go-to resource for planning a trip, from city highlights to transport hubs to beautiful photos. Set your wanderlust free with this coffee table book for travelers.

For avid travelers, bucket lists are common. The places you’ve been and the things you’ve done to the hundreds or thousands of items still left on the list. The Bucket List: 1,000 Adventures Big & Small will not only help you build an extensive bucket list of your own, but it will allow you peruse once-in-a-lifetime adventures across all 7 continents.

In this travel book you’ll find the top bucket list adventures for beaches, museums, mountains, inns, islands, restaurants, monuments, music & dance, extreme sports, wildlife encounters, and more! It’s a perfect gift for digital nomads, adventurous retirees, or those going on sabbatical or gap year to help them start planning their next trip.

Published by National Geographic, this travel book features Destinations of a Lifetime: 225 of the World’s Most Amazing Places. You’ll find hundreds of breathtaking photos from National Geographic’s own world-class photographers of the best places around the world – both natural and man-made!

Be wowed by scenic islands, thriving rain forests, cobblestone streets, white sand beaches, innovative architecture, and more. In addition to stunning photographs, you’ll also find detailed information including where to stay, what to do, when to go, where to eat, and more to help you make the most of visiting these amazing destinations on your own!

If you’re looking to dive deeply into exploring the United States, this travel coffee table book is for you. 50 States, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do takes you on a journey through all 50 states and 10 Canadian Provinces focused on the best travel experiences in each state.

This American travel book will help you visit the best locations in each of the 50 states from the obvious to the unexpected. Explore national parks, battlefields, dude ranches, swamp tours, dinosaur trails, and more! It also offers a section on Canada and it’s provinces and territories.

Another amazing travel book by National Geographic is 100 Drives, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to Do, What to See. This book about traveling focuses on epic road trips across the United States and Canada. It’s filled with expert tips, thousands of sights and roadside attractions, and more to help you hit the road!

If road tripping is your passion, don’t miss out on this amazing information packed travel book for your coffee table. You’ll be able to travel famous routes like Route 66, the Canadian Icefields Parkway, Hawaii’s Oahu Circle Island Drive, and more – all from your couch!

Are you a nature lover? If so, this travel book is for you! 100 Parks, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do will take you through 5,000 ideas of amazing things to do in national, state, and city parks throughout the United States and Canada. Each entry offers detailed advice, fun facts, and expert National Geographic tips for hiking, camping, biking, and beyond.

You’ll also find top 10 lists that cover the best destinations for panoramic views, beaches, monuments, river trips, and more! Start planning your adventures through our national parks with this inspirational coffee table book for travelers.

Another bucket list building travel book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (Deluxe Edition): The World as You’ve Never Seen It Before takes you on a visual journey through the most incredible places in the world! It’s frequently listed as one of the best gift books and best travel books of the year due to its incredible images and writing.

At 544 pages, you’ll find 1,000 beautiful photos that will create some serious wanderlust. From mist over the Great Wall of China to the sun set on the coast of Donegal, you’ll learn so much about the world and add a number of things to your own bucket list. It’s the perfect gift for travelers!

Trying to find the best places on earth? Look no further. Lonely Planet has done it again with The Ultimate Travel List: The 500 Best Places on the Planet…Ranked. This is the second edition of this best seller and offers 500 entries, including 200+ new entries, over 320 pages to create a must-have coffee table book for armchair travelers and explorers alike.

Dive into the world’s most notable UNESCO World Heritage sites, beaches, iconic cities, and mesmerizing sites. From the Galapagos Islands to Victoria Falls, you’ll be impressed at the diversity and beauty in the world from this beautiful travel-inspired book.

Another one of the best books about travel is the Ultimate Journeys for Two: Extraordinary Destinations on Every Continent. This unique travel book was compiled by a couple who are known as “The World’s Longest Honeymooners”. They take you on an adventure across all seven continents and focus on adventures for two.

Browse through this book by types of destination, like beaches, deserts, or mountains, and discover one-of-a-kind journeys that you will make you want to book a flight with your significant other. It’s a perfect engagement gift for travelers or an anniversary gift for adventurers.

This National Geographic book offers you 1,000 Perfect Weekends: Great Getaways Around the Globe. You’ll find fun-packed travel guides to experience adventure in as little as 36 to 72 hours. These weekend long trips cover over 40 countries around the world listed by theme and interest. Choose from romantic getaways, mountain retreats, traveling with pets, and more!

To sweeten the deal, this traveler’s guide book offers over 50 top 10 lists. These come from first-person accounts from travelers who visited each location. Add this long list of weekend adventures to your travel book collection to cover almost 20 years worth of weekends. It can be said that this book is the world’s best weekend bucket list!

Looking to uncover some of the best destinations in the world? Check out Journeys of a Lifetime, Second Edition: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips. This travel book offers beautiful photography, full-color maps, and practical travel tips including how to get places, when to visit, and how to make the most of your trip.

You’ll learn about exciting adventures like climbing Mount Fuji, exploring the Mekong River, and cruising through Antarctica. These once-in-a-lifetime journeys will help you build your travel bucket list one place at a time… or should I say, 500 places at a time?!

While many of the best books for travelers cover popular travel destinations, Atlas Obscura, 2nd Edition: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders offers off the beaten path destinations. You’ll find unique wonders like a large baobob tree that features a pub inside and a baby-jumping festival. It’s full of the bizarre, quirky, and unusual places and events around the world.

This Atlas Obscura edition also offers two new features: Twelve city guides for Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cairo, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Moscow, New York City, Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo and a foldout map featuring the ultimate around-the-world road trip. These options take you through the most popular cities but keep you finding hidden gems in them.

Continue finding off the beaten path adventures with National Geographic Rarely Seen: Photographs of the Extraordinary. This is one of the best books about traveling for the more unusual sights. You’ll be able to admire things most people never get to see with their own eyes, including natural wonders, once-in-a-lifetime moments, and little-seen objects from across the globe!

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn about the bizarre and beautiful through this 400 page coffee table book on travel. It also makes for a perfect travel book gift as it’s unlikely the travelers in your life have seen most of these amazing sights!