One of my favorite genres to read is female-written travel memoirs. I don’t know about y’all, but I do get very frustrated that all the popular ones are “Eat, Pray, Love”-style books – women are more than just their romances while traveling! So anyway, I wanted to start a comprehensive guide to the best travel books by women ( and especially ones I could find that are not romance-focused). Personally, I like to read about epic female adventurers, female solo travel, treks through the wilderness, and more.
But, so many female travel memoirs are centered around meeting men abroad, etc, so I’m not excluding them from this list – I’d be leaving out a lot of great books! And everyone has their own preferences for what type of travel writing they want to read, after all. As I find more, I will add them to this guide! And if you’d like to support my blog, please consider purchasing these books via the affiliate links (at no cost to you) – the small commission I make helps me keep my blog and travels going.
I also have a much more comprehensive list of travel memoirs written by women at my Amazon Storefront that I am always updating – the books below are just a small selection of what’s out there!
Table of Contents
Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wiwa
Looking for Transwonderland is a book about the story of Noo Saro-Wiwa, the daughter of slain Nigerian activisit Ken Saro-Wiwa, as she revisits Nigeria as an adult, getting to know the country she always resented having to visit as a child.
Her journeys take her to places like Lagos, Abuja, and Transwonderland, a run-down amusement park in Ibadan. She wrestles with her love-hate relationship with Nigeria but ultimately finds beauty and friendships as she gains a better understanding of the country her father gave his life for.
You can purchase Looking for Transwonderland here.
Man Fast: A Memoir by Natasha Scripture
Man Fast follows Natasha as she makes the decision to fast from dating and finds herself traveling across the globe to find herself and her purpose.
A lot of the book is about her own soul-searching, past failed relationships, and her grief from losing her father that started her on this journey.
Within this though, you experience her travels to destinations such as southern Tanzania, Sicily, and southern India, where her mother is from.
You can find Man Fast for purchase here.
Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities and the Pleasures of Solitude by Stephanie Rosenbloom
This book makes the case for traveling alone and will make you want to start your own solo adventure.
Stephanie shares her own experiences with solo travel as she reflects on her solo trips to Paris, Florence, Istanbul, and New York, and uses them as a jumping point for discussions and scientific studies about solitude and happiness and how time alone can enrich your life.
You can find Alone Time for purchase here.
Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa by Karin Muller
Japanland is documentary filmmaker Karin Muller’s perspective as she spends a year in Japan trying to find wa, or a state of focus, harmony, and strength, as described in her judo classes (she’s a black belt) and tries to immerse herself in Japanese culture.
She spends the first half of the year with a host family outside of Tokyo (which she struggles with, as American vs. Japanese cultures and values clash) and then the second half in a small apartment in Osaka.
You can find Japanland for purchase here.
Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana by Stephanie Elizondo Griest
Fun fact: this was actually the first travel memoir I ever read! I remember picking it up as a recommended book at my local independent bookstore in Austin, BookPeople, because the author was a Texan. So as Texan myself, I very much related to Stephanie’s dreams of escaping Texas and traveling the world. The book is in three parts, as she spends time in different regions of the world on her “Communist bloc tour” in the 90s and early 2000s. She starts off with a year in Moscow, Russia, then about a year in Beijing, China, and later a 2-week trip to Havana, Cuba. Throughout her journeys, her worldview is expanded as she deals with culture shock and her preconceived notions of these countries as an American.
You can purchase Around the Bloc here.
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald
Holy Cow is the story of Sarah’s return to India 11 years after backpacking through the country in her twenties.
In this memoir, she documents what her life is really like for her in India, a country she thought she would never return to and really did not enjoy her first time around.
She does slowly come to love India for all its chaos and beauty, but just keep in mind while you read that this book is her opinion and her Western perspective on life in India and shouldn’t be your only guide to the country.
You can find Holy Cow for purchase here.
Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica by Sara Wheeler
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to spend seven months in Antarctica? Because that’s what Sara Wheeler did and wrote about in Terra Incognita.
This book will truly visualize Antarctica for you, with a combination of travelogue complete with vivid descriptions, explanations of the science occurring at the research stations on the continent, and Antarctic history lessons.
It’s a treat to get to experience Antarctica through the eyes of a female explorer.
You can find Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica for purchase here.
Love With a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche
Torre DeRoche gets unexpectedly swept off her feet by an Argentinean man and pretty much literally sails off into the sunset with him.
And by that I mean she boards a small sailboat (even though she’s scared of deep water) to voyage with him across the Pacific Ocean and be with her dream man or die trying.
This is a story of love, risk-taking, and the adventure of a lifetime.
You can find Love With A Chance of Drowning for purchase here.
Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback by Robyn Davidson
Tracks follows the incredible journey that Davidson took in the late 1970s walking the 1700 miles across the Australian Outback with only some camels and her dog for company. What would still be an impressive feat today was especially incredible considering the time period during which she made her trek.
If you prefer movies to books, they also made a film version of her story in 2013 starring Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver, also titled Tracks.
You can find Tracks for purchase here.
Like I said above, I’ll add more travel books as I find them, and feel free to suggest your favorites in the comments below!
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