When you can’t travel, you have to improvise. Imagination is one way, great storytelling is another. Film is a particularly powerful medium to take your mind all over the world. To satiate the appetite of travellers who are eager to explore, we’ve selected travel films to watch from the comfort of your sofa. Get the popcorn ready and dim the lights.
This Wes Anderson classic follows three brothers on a mission to rediscover the bond that once united them. After the death of their father and a serious accident, Francis (played by Owen Wilson) decides to board the Darjeeling Limited and embark on a train journey through India to experience a spiritual rebirth. He is accompanied by his two brothers (Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman) and the trio are taken on a whirlwind journey to reconciliation. The story is told in Wes Anderson’s trademark style with the colours, tone and cinematography as aesthetically pleasing as ever.
Fun fact: The three brothers are supposedly named after Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, and Jack Nicholson.
Fly to 1952 Latin America with this adaptation of Che Guevara’s memoir, in which he leaves Buenos Aires as a 23 year old medical student with his friend Alberto Granado to embark on an adventure around South America. Their journey, which begins on a motorbike nicknamed ‘La Poderosa’, sees the two protagonists travel over 14,000 kilometers in four months and cross wonderful places such as the Andes, the Chilean coast, the Atacama Desert and the Amazon rainforest, up to Venezuela. This is so much more than a coming of age story, it is a tale of how an epic adventure can change your entire sense of self and ideology.
Fun fact: Che Guevara’s diaries were discovered years after he died and published in 1993.
Based on the book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild tells the true story of Christopher McCandless, a recent graduate who decides to undertake a long journey from Virginia to Alaska. Bringing only the bare minimum, Alex Supertramp, as he calls himself, meets incredible people with incredible stories along the way. This journey shows the most human and raw side of the United States, as well as some of the country’s natural wonders.
Fun fact: Four separate trips to Alaska were needed for the production of the film, in order to cover the different seasons.
We'll send you exclusive offers and sneak peeks of our best deals, plus travel tips and the latest advice on where you can go.
By submitting your email, you consent to receiving automatically-created and personalised communications including deals and offers about our and our selected third parties' products and services (we do not share your data collected here with these third parties). For more info, or if you want to unsubscribe, check our Privacy Policy (or you can unsubscribe by clicking the link in our emails).
Starting from Maratea, a small town in Italy’s Basilicata region, four friends walk to Scanzano Jonico, a town on the opposite coast, to participate in a national music festival. What could have been a short car trip turns into a symbolic journey of self-discovery. This light-hearted Italian comedy will take you on a journey through the picturesque landscapes of Italy and leave you smiling from ear to ear.
Fun fact: This is actor Rocco Papaleo’s debut as a director.
Eat Pray Love brings Elizabeth Gilbert's autobiographical book to the big screen. After a painful divorce, Liz (played by Julia Roberts) decides to go on a solo trip to find herself. From Italy to India to Indonesia, she goes on a journey of self-discovery and starts to understand the beauty of the world, the taste of good food and the feeling of inner peace.
Fun fact: Three Oscar winners were cast for this film – Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, and Viola Davis.
Walter Mitty (played by Ben Stiller) is a shy guy with an unremarkable, routine life. In order to escape the repetitiveness of the everyday, he constantly daydreams about being the strong, confident hero, who impresses his crush and takes on the bully at his job at Life magazine. He is soon thrown into a world where he has to become the man he dreams of being, when he embarks on a journey to find the perfect photo for the final edition of the magazine. From Greenland to Afghanistan, the imagery and beautiful cinematography of this film will take you far away.
Fun fact: Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen were all considered for the role of Walter Mitty.
Wild is a story about suffering, strength and willpower, based on Cheryl Strayed’s autobiographical novel of the same name. After a difficult divorce and the loss of her mother, Cheryl (played by Reese Witherspoon), decides to leave for a trip along the Pacific Crest Trail, a famous path through the woods and mountains of the western United States. The trip, about three months long, will teach her to overcome her limits and to start from scratch, leaving behind the experiences that have marked her life.
Fun fact: Cheryl Strayed picked Reese Witherspoon to play her in the movie.
Tracks tells the story of a young woman, Robyn Davidson (played by Mia Wasikowska), who leaves everything behind to cross the deserts of Western Australia by foot, covering over 2700 kilometers. The only company she has? One dog and four camels. Based on a true story, the film brings to life the encounters, the difficulties and the willpower of someone going on an incredibly ambitious solo journey.
Fun fact: It took 6 months and 12 days for Robyn Davidson to travel from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean.
We'll send you exclusive offers and sneak peeks of our best deals,
plus travel tips and the latest advice on where you can go.
Support and useful information