9 Best Travel Books to Download: Kindle and Audible Picks
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The train has been moving for three hours and the phone has been on one bar for two of them. The next station is a long way off and the only thing left to do is look out of the window. This is the moment a good book earns its place on your phone. These are the best travel books for that moment. Nine of them are below, from adventure stories to practical guides, plus one podcast, so the next long ride goes by faster.
From the road: Sometimes you have to sit on a train or on a plane for a very long time, and then it is just lovely to listen to an e-book or to download a podcast. And you can do that through Amazon.
Quick answer
For a long trip, start with a story that keeps you turning pages: A Walk in the Park or Lost in the Jungle for adventure, Jupiter's Travels if you would rather listen. Still planning? Vagabonding and The Digital Nomad Handbook are the practical ones. All nine are below with a Kindle or Audible button each, and a podcast at the end.
Checked on 5 October 2026: seven of the Kindle pages on amazon.com show a Kindle edition with a Buy now button, and the Audible free-trial terms were read on audible.com.
All nine, with a button each
Vagabonding
Rolf Potts on taking time off for weeks, months or years of travel. Read more
World Travel: An Irreverent Guide
Favorite places, with advice on how to get there, what to eat and what to avoid. Read more
Travels with Charley in Search of America
Steinbeck crosses America with his poodle. There is an Audible edition too. Read more
Lost in the Jungle
Yossi Ghinsberg, alone in the Bolivian Amazon in 1981. Read more
A Walk in the Park
Two friends set out to hike the Grand Canyon end to end. Read more
The Digital Nomad Handbook
Lonely Planet's practical guide to working from anywhere. Read more
For the Love of Europe
100 favorite travel memories from four decades in Europe. Read more
Jupiter's Travels
Ted Simon rides a motorcycle around the world for four years. Read more
Reading on a dedicated screen? Our Kindle Paperwhite vs Colorsoft and Kobo Libra Colour vs Clara Colour comparisons cover the color e-readers.
The 9 Best Travel Books to Download
Seven are Kindle e-books and two are audiobooks. Every button opens the title on Amazon, and none of them needs a Kindle device: the Kindle and Audible apps run on a phone. Each description comes from the publisher's or author's own page, and the "good pick for" lines are our own opinion.
1. Vagabonding: the handbook for taking a long trip
Vagabonding
Rolf Potts wrote Vagabonding for anyone who wants to take time out of normal life, from a few weeks to two years, and see the world on their own terms. His own site describes it as a handbook for extended overseas travel. It is a good pick for the first flight of a longer trip, while you are still deciding how long to go.
Opens on Amazon (Kindle edition).
2. World Travel: Bourdain's favorite places, in his own words
World Travel: An Irreverent Guide
World Travel collects some of Anthony Bourdain's favorite places, in his own words, with advice on how to get there, what to eat, where to stay and, in some cases, what to avoid. Essays by friends, colleagues and family sit alongside his chapters, and each chapter has illustrations by Wesley Allsbrook, according to the publisher. A good pick for dipping into on a train: read the chapter for wherever you are heading next.
Opens on Amazon (Kindle edition).
3. Travels with Charley: the road-trip classic (also on Audible)
In September 1960, John Steinbeck set out across America because he felt he might have lost touch with it, according to the publisher. He traveled with a French poodle named Charley in a pickup truck named Rocinante, through almost forty states. Travels with Charley was his last published book, and it is a good pick for a long ride when you want a slow, thoughtful companion. If you would rather listen, there is also an Audible edition read by Gary Sinise.
Opens on Amazon (Kindle edition).
4. Lost in the Jungle: a true survival story
Lost in the Jungle
Yossi Ghinsberg was 22 when he walked into the Bolivian Amazon in October 1981 with companions and ended up alone. His own site says he spent twenty days in the jungle with no food, no shelter and no rescue coming, and that the story later became the 2017 film Jungle. Lost in the Jungle is a good pick for a night flight, when you want something that holds your attention.
Opens on Amazon (Kindle edition).
5. The Puma Years: a memoir from a Bolivian sanctuary
The Puma Years
Laura Coleman left a corporate career in London to volunteer with an animal welfare charity in Bolivia. She planned to stay three months, deliberately missed her return flight and stayed two years, caring for rescued animals, among them a puma named Wayra. The Puma Years is her memoir of that time, and a good pick if you like travel stories that are about people changing, not only places.
Opens on Amazon (Kindle edition).
6. A Walk in the Park: 750 miles through the Grand Canyon
A Walk in the Park
Kevin Fedarko and his friend, the photographer Pete McBride, set out to walk the Grand Canyon from end to end, a 750-mile route on foot. The author's site says the few experts who knew the trek called it "the toughest hike in the world", and that the ordeal lasted more than a year. A Walk in the Park is a good pick for a long flight if you like adventure with humor in it.
Opens on Amazon (Kindle edition).
7. The Digital Nomad Handbook: for living and working on the road
The Digital Nomad Handbook
Lonely Planet describes The Digital Nomad Handbook as a practical guide for people who want to escape the nine-to-five, live and work on the road and build a flexible work/life balance. It is part of the publisher's Handbook series. A good pick if you are reading this site because you want to become a nomad yourself.
Opens on Amazon (Kindle edition).
8. For the Love of Europe: Rick Steves' favorite memories, to listen to
For the Love of Europe
Rick Steves' For the Love of Europe collects 100 of his favorite travel memories from four decades of travel in Europe, from an all-day walk along an alpine ridge to a sauna full of Finns, according to his travel store. It suits short stories and short sittings, which is why it is a good pick for a train through Europe. Our guide to train and bus travel in Europe covers the practical side.
Opens on Amazon (Audible edition).
9. Jupiter's Travels: four years around the world on a Triumph, to listen to
Jupiter's Travels
Ted Simon's own site calls Jupiter's Travels the best known of his books: a four-year journey around the world on a Triumph motorcycle. He rode the length of Africa, around South America to California, around Australia and then overland from Singapore to Europe through India, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. A good pick for a very long trip, because the route is as long as your journey.
Opens on Amazon (Audible edition).
Which Book for Which Mood
| Book | Format | Trip planning | True adventure | Easy armchair reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Vagabonding | Kindle | Yes | Partly | Partly |
| 2. World Travel | Kindle | Yes | Not really | Yes |
| 3. Travels with Charley | Kindle and Audible | Not really | Partly | Yes |
| 4. Lost in the Jungle | Kindle | Not really | Yes | Partly |
| 5. The Puma Years | Kindle | Not really | Yes | Partly |
| 6. A Walk in the Park | Kindle | Not really | Yes | Partly |
| 7. The Digital Nomad Handbook | Kindle | Yes | Not really | Not really |
| 8. For the Love of Europe | Audible | Partly | Not really | Yes |
| 9. Jupiter's Travels | Audible | Not really | Yes | Yes |
This is our own read on the nine, not a rating. If you only take two, take one adventure story and one book that helps you plan the next trip.
Key takeaways
- Download everything at home on Wi-Fi: books and audiobooks both work offline once they are on your device.
- Take one adventure story and one practical guide. They do different jobs on a long trip.
- You do not need a Kindle device. The Kindle and Audible apps run on a phone.
- Our podcast pick is hosted by the founder of this site.
Download Before You Go
The one rule that matters: download at home, not at the gate. For Kindle books, Amazon's help says you need Wi-Fi to download them, and once a book is on your device you can read it anywhere without Wi-Fi. In the Kindle app, open your Library and tap the book cover to start the download.
For audiobooks, the Audible app lets you download titles and listen offline. Its settings include a Wi-Fi only option for downloads and an auto-download option that fetches a title when you buy it. Before you leave, check that the whole title has finished downloading, then switch the phone to airplane mode and press play to be sure.
Not sure which Kindle to load these books onto? Our Kindle vs Paperwhite comparison shows what the 6 inch and 7 inch models do differently.
Podcasts for the Road
Books are not the only way to fill a long ride. Our podcast pick is a personal one: The Purpose Path Podcast, hosted by our founder, Chenzo. The show describes itself as conversations with people who are actually doing something: building it, creating it, living it. Not the polished version, but the real one, the part where it is hard and you keep going anyway.
Podcast by our founder
The Purpose Path Podcast
Real conversations about why you do what you do, what gets in the way, and how you stay committed when it would be easier to quit. Free to listen, easy to download before a long ride.
Every episode comes back to the same questions: why you do what you do, what gets in the way, and how you stay committed when it would be easier to quit. If you are on the road trying to figure out your own direction, that is good company for a night bus. Not sure where to start? Episode 1 is Chenzo telling his own story, "How I Found My Purpose", and later episodes bring in guests, such as Sandra Tru on embracing the seasons of life.
It is free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube. Download two or three episodes on Wi-Fi before you leave, and the next long ride is covered.
Choosing a reader to load these books on? Kindle Paperwhite vs Kobo Clara BW compares the two on screen size, battery and library books.
FAQ
Can I read Kindle books without internet on a long trip?
Yes. Download the book while you are on Wi-Fi, and Amazon says the content is then stored on your device, so you can read it without a connection. In the Kindle app, open your Library and tap the book cover to start the download.
Can I listen to Audible audiobooks offline?
Yes. The Audible app lets you download titles to listen offline. It also has a setting to download on Wi-Fi only and an auto-download option that fetches a title when you buy it, so set both up before you leave.
Do I need a Kindle device to read these e-books?
No. After you buy a Kindle book, you can read it in the Kindle apps for PC, Mac, iOS and Android, according to Amazon.
Which of these books should I start with on a long flight?
For a story that pulls you along, start with Lost in the Jungle or A Walk in the Park. If you would rather listen, Jupiter's Travels or Travels with Charley on Audible are slower, longer companions. If you are still planning your trip, begin with Vagabonding.
Is there a free Audible trial?
Audible's own page (checked 5 October 2026) lists a 30-day free trial for new customers with one audiobook credit a month, and says you can cancel anytime. It auto-renews after the trial, so set a reminder before it ends.
Affiliate disclosure. This post contains affiliate links. If you click and buy something, this site earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. Book descriptions are based on information from the publishers and authors. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full affiliate disclosure. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
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