13 Best Travel Movies to Spark Your Sense of Adventure

Film, like any art form, has the ability to transport us to a different time and place. One moment you’re sinking into the couch flicking through Netflix movies and the next, you’re transported to Iceland on a skating adventure with Ben Stiller, sipping pints of Belgian beer with Colin Farrell or eat, pray, loving your way through Italy with Julia Roberts. Great cinema is universal and, by its very nature, rooted in wanderlust. The best movies about travel open doorways to new and exciting adventures, planting seeds that quite often sprout late at night when you’re scrolling Skyscanner for cheap flights.

To me, cinema has always been the catalyst for travel. I remember the first time I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, I became totally and entirely enamoured with Petra, desperate to see the stunning city where Indy finally got his hands on the Holy Grail (spoiler alert). But more than that, it gave me a sense of a world much larger than my own. Travel films, at their best, operate beyond the realms of escapism, functioning more as provocation. Through expansive settings, stunning locations and exotic storytelling, the best travel movies capture an air of intrigue and mystery that you simply can’t get at home. The 13 films in this list take that idea in radically different directions, from fleeting romance to moral decay, ecological reverence to existential inquiry.

What characterises all of them, however, is their abject refusal to treat location as a mere backdrop. In each, the setting becomes a character in its own right, shaping plot lines, narrative arcs and presenting unique and interesting challenges. Whether it’s the hyper-colour transit of Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited or the humidity-drenched nostalgia of Lombardy in Call Me By Your Name, these environments do more than just look pretty. They demand something of the people moving through them and, by extension, they demand something of us as audience members.

From the exotic and stylish to the cold and dreary, the best travel movies use location as a means of expanding the artistic world, and these films do it best. So, if you are looking for inspiration for your next adventure, here are the best movies about travel to inspire your sense of wanderlust.

Best Movies About Travel

1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Often mistaken for a feel-good daydream, Ben Stiller’s 2013 adventure flick The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a vivid, hallucinatory exploration of purpose. The story itself centres on Walter, a negative assets manager at Life magazine. A lowly figure who spends his life (quite literally) locked away in the dark, he dreams of doing something dangerous, of stepping outside of his comfort zone and embarking on an adventure of epic proportions.

His daydreams are brought to life constantly, through wild visualisations that blur the line between reality and thought, but fiction and fact collide when Walter is forced to embark on a global journey to track down a missing photograph. That might seem simple, but as the film progresses, Walter realises that what he’s really searching for is proof that dreams don’t always have to stay locked up internally.

Shot across Iceland, Greenland, and Afghanistan (though much of the latter was filmed in Iceland), the film relies heavily on practical locations to evoke a sense of raw, untamed beauty. Cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh’s work is truly breathtaking, with the scenes in Iceland among the best examples of nature as a narrative component ever put to film. Volcanic plains stretch on forever like unfinished thoughts, while the shimmer of the glacial lagoon adds a strange sense of clarity just beyond the surface.

The now-iconic longboarding sequence along Route 1 is perhaps the best example of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’s incredible visual language. Better yet, it was all real. Director Ben Stiller insisted on authenticity, and the result is a sequence that feels real, raw and incredibly powerful.
If you ever feel like life is passing you by, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty offers some form of antidote. It’s the kind of travel movie that reminds us all that it’s never too late to start your next adventure, you just have to be willing to take the first step.

2. Lost in Translation

While it is set in the sprawling urban oasis that is Tokyo, Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation isn’t your typical travel movie. The Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson flick is an earnest and honest exploration of being the outsider in a foreign land. A melancholy ode to travel, Lost in Translation perfectly captures the alienation, the beauty and the quiet, aching disconnection that comes with being nowhere and everywhere at once.

The film focuses on two strangers who, against all odds, form a fleeting connection. What makes Lost in Translation such an interesting take on the travel movie genre is its use of location as a backdrop. Tokyo isn’t just the place where the narrative unfolds, it’s actually the plot device that makes the story possible. Were it set in any other city, I’m not sure if Lost in Translation would have the same emotional impact; it really needs that hyperactive, jarring culture shock to sell the sense of authenticity, and it didn’t come about by accident.

Coppola shot the film on location with a skeleton crew, embracing a guerrilla style of filmmaking that feels entirely fitting with the film’s bare emotional heart. So many of the scenes were captured in real spaces, most notably the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which helped add to the film’s trademark voyeuristic approach.

Bill Murray’s performance is melancholy and slow, but somehow, it all just works. The way he drifts through neon-lit streets and hotel corridors is utterly captivating, and I say that as someone who isn’t a big fan of Murray’s work. In reality, it might be his best performance.

For travellers, Lost in Translation offers a different kind of wanderlust that isn’t as concerned with postcard snaps and artificial romance. If you are the kind of traveller who doesn’t mind the diaspora of travel, Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film is a stunning exploration of what it means to be human and far from home.

3. The Darjeeling Limited

It is no secret that Wes Anderson is a master of mise-en-scéne, but 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited is undoubtedly his travel movie masterpiece. Where the iconic filmmaker’s other hits largely use location as a means of driving the story, this movie makes it the central character. A travel film disguised as a family drama (or perhaps the other way around), The Darjeeling Limited follows three brothers as they attempt to cross India by train following a death in the family.

If you’ve ever seen images of trains in India, you might get a sense of the chaotic nature of this film. Cramped locations and colourful interiors are just part of the sensory overwhelm that flows throughout the travel movie, which again, is rooted in authenticity.

Filmed largely in Rajasthan, with sequences in Jodhpur and Udaipur, the production famously utilised real trains and practical locations. This gave Anderson’s meticulously composed frames a more down-to-earth vibe, with the use of mustard yellows and peacock blues benefitting from some added dust and grit.

What I really love about this travel film is the way it resists romanticising its setting. Across the movie, you see the good and the bad, painting India as a complex country that is not easily summarised in shorthand. The Darjeeling Limited is not the sanitised version of India you see in Bollywood. The film’s turning point, a tragic accident involving local children, is one of the most visceral and powerful cinematic experiences in recent memory, the emotional weight of which forces both the characters and the audience to confront the real price of travel.

4. Call Me By Your Name

The movie that proved Timothée Chalamet had the chops, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name is a masterclass in sensory travel. The audacious, captivating look at Northern Italy will leave you dreaming of bicycling around Lombardy on a Euro summer getaway. And for good reason.

The story centres on the fleeting, transformative romance between Elio and Oliver, played by Chalamet and a pre-cancelled Armie Hammer. Together, the pair explore intimacy in a unique fashion, with the powerful love story unfolding at a slower pace. The whole movie feels like a long afternoon spent drinking rosé in the sun, and the locations play a crucial role in that execution.

Call Me By Your Name is set in the Lombardy region and was filmed in and around Crema, which was a deliberate choice by the production to avoid overly touristic locations. According to press interviews, Guadagnino wanted a lived-in Italy that felt personal. The result is a landscape of sun-drenched villas, overgrown gardens and quiet piazzas where afternoons roll wistfully into evenings.

Every time I watch this movie, I am struck by cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s ability to translate the languid heat of summer on-screen. The use of natural light is extraordinary, giving the whole film a warm, harmonious quality that just works for the story. If you’ve never visited northern Italy, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name might be the next best thing; a travel movie that makes you long for the freedom of youth and the warm embrace of summer.

5. In Bruges

Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges is not Eat, Pray, Love. The 2008 dark comedy is a far stretch from the sun-drenched settings that we typically associate with travel movies, taking place in the dark and dreary setting of Bruges in Belgium. The medieval city sits at the heart of the film, with its winding cobblestone streets and labyrinth of laneways playing host to a brutal exploration of remorse, regret and redemption.

The film follows Ray, a young hitman grappling with guilt after a bungled job and his older, wiser partner. Sent to Bruges by their enigmatic boss for a bit of rest and respite, the odd couple attempt to cure Ray’s remorse and get him back on the hitman horse, but it doesn’t seem to work. The city’s preserved beauty becomes a kind of purgatory for Ray. The Belfry tower looms ominously, the Markt square ripples with rain and the darkened corners of the medieval city seem to hide lurking dangers.

In a weird way, In Bruges acts like an anti-tourism tourism campaign. Amid the existential dread, coarse language and murder, the Belgian city emerges as the shining light, best personified by Colin Farrell’s now-famous line: “It’s like a fairy tale”. When I first travelled to Bruges in 2025, I was shocked by what I saw. While McDonagh’s film paints the city in a darkened hue, in the sun, Bruges is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The streets are lined with flowers and the weathered stone creates a beautiful contrast against the vividness of the sky. If you love history and want to explore a city with a seemingly endless connection to art and culture, Bruges should be top of your list.

6. The Motorcycle Diaries

Based on the real-life travels of a young Ernesto “Che” Guevara, The Motorcycle Diaries is a captivating fusion of history and travel. The film traces Guevara’s famous 14,000-kilometre trek across South America, from Argentina through Chile, Peru and into Venezuela.

Cinematographer Eric Gautier captures South America in rich detail, pairing it with an intricate story of arid deserts, dense jungle, sprawling rivers. Importantly, and as is the case in many great travel films, the real focus is on the people—miners, farmers, patients in a leper colony—whose lives shape Ernesto’s understanding of the world.

The biopic’s format, told through episodic, occasionally meandering recounts, isn’t typical of the traditional travel movie formula, and that’s not the only artistic departure. While many of the regions featured are idyllic and exotic, director Walter Salles refuses to sell them as destinations, instead choosing to reframe them as places of profound meaning and connection. The film definitely takes a few liberties in retelling Guevara’s story, but The Motorcycle Diaries does do an excellent job of positioning travel as a means of growth. Who knows how history would have changed had a young Guevara not strapped up his bike and hit the road?

7. Amélie

Before Amélie, Montmartre was far from the buzzing tourist destination it is today. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s vibrant and whimsical 2001 epic helped to turn the region in Paris’ inner north into a global Mecca of art, culture and food. As far as travel movies go, Amélie may well be the most influential, but it’s also a damn fine film.

The movie centres on the titular Amélie, a young French girl whose small acts of kindness lead her through hidden corners of the city, revealing a Paris that rewards curiosity. And I think that’s why I like it so much. Travel is about being curious and surrendering yourself to a new and adventurous world where anything can happen. Amélie manages to capture that sense of wonder in a way that perhaps no other film ever has, and the visual storytelling complements it. Jeunet’s saturated reds and greens and carefully composed frames create an almost dreamlike environment that ripples with nostalgia.

Amélie was shot almost entirely in the 18th arrondissement and the film transforms generic locations into cultural effigies. In Jeunet’s hands, the Café des Deux Moulins, the Canal Saint-Martin, the steps of Sacré-Cœur become must-visit destinations and a huge reason why I constantly find myself going back to Paris.

8. Into the Wild

Sean Penn’s Into the Wild is perhaps the most unconventional travel film of the modern era. A somewhat true story that challenges the very notion of wanderlust by using adventure to the extreme, the movie is a profound, conflicting and often misunderstood take on freedom

Based on Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild chronicles Christopher McCandless’ real-life journey across the United States and into the Alaskan wilderness. Penn shot on location across multiple states, including South Dakota, California, and Alaska, and did his best to find the exact places McCandless himself travelled. That decision adds to the film’s haunting message

Cinematographer Eric Gautier (again) captures the American landscape in all its contradictory grandeur. The golden plains are contrasted by rugged mountains that dwarf the human figure while wild, flowing rivers are presented in all their dangerous beauty. That dichotomy plays out on-screen as well, with McCandless’ rejection of society and pursuit of self-sufficiency portrayed with both admiration and unease.

Ultimately, Into the Wild is not a story that sparks the kind of wanderlust you need to recreate, but it does pose an interesting question: where is the line between freedom and isolation? More importantly, what are you willing to do to experience adventure?

9. Before Sunrise

The first entry in what I truly believe to be the most underrated trilogy of all-time, Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise proves that not all masterpieces need to rely on spectacle. Set almost entirely over one night in Vienna, the film follows two strangers, Jesse and Céline, who meet on a train and decide to spend the evening together before going their separate ways. Much like Lost in Translation, the plot sees the location become the catalyst.

Across 12 hours, Vienna becomes Jesse and Céline’s playground, as they rapidly adjust to its rhythms and nuances. Events unfold in succession with no defined story arc to get in the way. To me, the whole film feels like an analogy for travel itself and the beauty of spontaneity. Linklater drifts through record stores, trams, cafés and the banks of the Danube at a time when the world is tucked tightly in their beds. As you might expect, the film was shot on location with a lean, almost documentary-style approach, transforming Vienna into a living, breathing backdrop.

For travellers, Before Sunrise acts as a visceral reminder that travel is sometimes better when it is unplanned. When you let yourself be a tourist and just roll with the natural flow of things, you might find something beautiful is waiting just on the other side of the dawn.

10. The Talented Mr Ripley

One of the most beautiful films ever shot, Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley is a sun-drenched study of lust, desire and really great fashion. I remember the first time I saw this movie, I immediately went searching for a patterned knitted polo like Jude Law’s Dickie wears on the beach in Italy. I was never quite able to find one, but I have since made my way to Italy and that is probably a better result.

Shot across the Amalfi Coast, Ischia, Rome, and Venice, The Talented Mr. Ripley follows the titular Tom Ripley, a charismatic con-man played by Matt Damon who quickly finds himself enamoured by the powerful playboy Dickie Greenleaf. Following him and his partner around southern Italy, Tom gets a taste of the high life, spending afternoons on sailing boats, taking Vespa rides through the twisting streets and indulging in remarkable meals at the finest restaurants.

In many ways, The Talented Mr. Ripley is a celebration of the very best of Italy. Dickie himself has travelled there on holiday, so the film plays out almost like a twisted travel guide, showing where to go, what to do and how best to do it. Cinematographer John Seale captures the Mediterranean with an almost tactile richness, with the azure waters, sunlit piazzas and opulent interiors arguably stealing the show from Law and Damon.

11. 180 Degrees South

Sometimes, the best travel films are documentaries and 2010’s 180° South is undoubtedly one of them. The movie chronicles Jeff Johnson’s modern pilgrimage, as he attempts to replicate the 1968 journey of Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins as they travelled from California to Patagonia.

What begins as an adventure narrative gradually unfolds into something more reflective, as Johnson begins to learn more about conservation, simplicity and the evolving nature of exploration. Director Chris Malloy does an amazing job of keeping things natural, reducing the production down to bare bones and letting nature dictate the narrative. And does it ever.

Across the trek, Johnson, Malloy and the crew encounter ferocious storms, delays and logistical challenges, but still the elemental grandeur rises above. Watching Johnson traverse the region’s jagged peaks and rugged expanses is utterly captivating and it makes for one of the best travel documentaries I’ve ever seen.

12. Encounters at the End of the World

Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World is not a normal travel movie. Landing somewhere between scientific experiment and nature documentary, the 2007 film subverts the genre entirely, opting to present something stranger, deeper and unexpectedly moving. It follows the legendary gonzo filmmaker as he makes his way to Antarctica to learn more about the McMurdo Station and the surrounding area.

Encounters at the End of the World was commissioned by the National Science Foundation and as a result, Herzog was given rare access to the region. In return, he captured the landscape as it has never been seen before, replete with vast expanses of intricate white ice tundras that seem to go one forever. But more than that, Herzog turns his lens toward the people drawn to it: scientists, divers and philosophers, transforming the film into something far more interesting.

Herzog’s trademark deadpan narration helps to frame the continent as a place that exists outside normal human understanding. Desolate and confronting, but somehow warming and hopeful, Antarctica emerges as a different kind of travel inspiration. It’s less about tackling the frontier and more about learning to coexist with it.

13. The Way

There are plenty of travel movies that focus on the famous Camino de Santiago walk from the French Pyrenees across northern Spain, but Emilio Estevez’s The Way might be my favourite. It’s a simple film that has its flaws; the pacing is off and the story often feels rushed, but there is an earnestness that makes this all work. Perhaps it’s the father-son dynamic, which is brought to life on-screen by real-life father and son team Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen, but whatever the case, The Way is a real delight.

Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who travels to Spain to retrieve the ashes of his estranged son who passed away while attempting to walk the 800 kilometre trail. When he arrives, Tom suddenly realises the spiritual weight of the walk and decides, somewhat impulsively, to finish his son’s journey. Along the way, he falls in with a loose group of fellow pilgrims, each carrying their own unspoken burdens.

Shot on location across the Camino’s most iconic stretches, from the French Pyrenees through Navarra, La Rioja, and Galicia, the production really embraced the linear approach. Estevez and his crew followed the route in sequence, capturing the physical progression of the journey in real time. Estevez reportedly wrote the film as a gift to his father. In an interview, he explained that Martin had always talked about doing the Camino but would never take enough time off work to actually do it. So, he wrote a movie that allowed them to do it together.

If you have ever wanted to walk the Camino, The Way is a surprisingly accurate depiction of what it’s like on the trail. Days are long and the walking feels endless, but the connection, community and spiritual healing that comes from it are truly something special. Moreover, it’s something that is rarely translated in travel movies.

Why Movies Make Us Want to Travel

Where would we be if it weren’t for travel movies? For most of us, travel inspiration comes from a range of media sources, across magazines, television, newspapers and social media, but there is just something about a good travel movie that makes us feel. Watching Martin Sheen heal himself on the road to Santiago de Compostela or Jesse and Céline fall in love outside the steps of the Vienna National Theatre inspires us in a way that simply can’t be recreated on TikTok.

It’s not the landmarks that stay with us , but rather the way light hits a street at dusk or the way a foreign language can make us feel invisible. These are the details that trigger wanderlust, because they feel attainable in a way glossy travel guides often don’t.

But perhaps the deeper reason films inspire travel is that they reframe what travel means. The best ones position travel as a form of engagement, emphasising the importance of meeting new people, seeing foreign places and learning to be comfortable with yourself. Movies about travel remind us that to heading overseas is an invitation to expand your mind and memory.

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