When I started looking for fun and inspirational travel books for my children, I couldn’t believe that there are so many. Here are 15 of The Best Travel Books for Children, I’ve researched and found on Amazon.
From destination guides to inspirational travel stories, and from interactive atlases to all kinds of activity books to keep them entertained and kindle the wanderlust in them.
Travel Books for Children
There are some things that can inspire and spark the travel bug in a child that can last their lifetime. Here are some travel books that aim at that and more!
The Travel Book: Mind-Blowing Stuff on Every Country in the World
This brand new edition of the bestselling kids’ version of Lonely Planet’s popular The Travel Book takes the reader through a world tour through 200 countries. It is perfect for kids aged 8 years and up as every single country gets its’ own dedicated page. Loaded with thousands of amazing facts on how people live, wildlife, mouthwatering food, festivals, and a wide range of other quirky insights on every page. With a mix of photography and beautiful illustrations bring each land to life.
How Airports Work
As a kid, I always wondered where did the luggage go after check-in? What actually happened in the control tower and how did they manage to get the planes to land at the right time.
How Airports Work is the follow-up to How Cities Work, this interactive, lift-the-flap book explores the earliest airports through to today’s giant hubs and what airports could like in the future. Kids are taken behind the scenes to uncover the hidden secrets of the airport. Packed with amazing facts and illustrations, it will surprise both adults and children, ensuring they never look at air travel the same way again.
Adventures Around the Globe
For kids aged 3 and up, this special edition sticker book takes the readers on a non-stop tour of the continents, adding fun and humor along the way. Find out fun facts, decorate sticker scenes, add color and patterns to some iconic sights, and solve puzzles as you travel across the world. There’s also a fold-out surprise – a 3D model of the globe to make, decorate and track your globe-trotting adventure. Perfect for keeping young entertained while on the
City Trails (Lonely Planet Kids)- The Series
Marco and Amelia, Lonely Planet’s explorers, take our little ones off the tourist trail and guide them on a journey they’ll never forget through different cities across the world. Their books are perfect for anyone who has been to these cities, plans to go there or is just interested in finding out more about the cities! Discover London, Paris, Toyoko and many more cities’ best-kept secrets, amazing stories and loads of other cool stuff from the comfort of your own home, or while out and about in the city.
London
Follow 19 fantastic themed trails to reveal London’s best-kept secrets in City Trails: London. Find out how an old parrot hit the headlines, where you can purchase a tin of panic, what the weirdest item ever left on a bus was and lots more!
Paris
Similar to London, there are 19 fantastic themed trails to reveal Paris’s best-kept secrets in City Trails: Paris. Find out where you can ride a dodo, how to paint the Eiffel Tower, where the city keeps its historic underpants and lots more!
It’s Paris like you’ve never seen it before!
Tokyo
Here’s a book about Tokyo that’s seriously streetwise. City Trails: Tokyo features colorful-themed trails, from history and culture to food and nature, that reveal amazing facts and intriguing tales that kids won’t find on the tourist routes or inside the average guidebook. It will show them where to bathe in chocolate, climb Japan’s tallest tower, meet a giant robot, and lots more!
Singapore
In City Trails: Singapore, y
City Trail also covers New York City, Rome, Sydney, Washington DC, and Barcelona.
Travel Books That Don’t Seem Like Travel Books
At first, they may not look like books about travel but by the time you turn that last page and close the book, your kid would have been bitten by the travel bug – Wanderlust!
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of the World
With all things, National Geographic, their Little Kids First Big Book of the World is just outstanding. It introduces young travelers to the wider world by exploring landscapes, weather, animals, languages, capital cities and more! With more than 100 photos that are paired with maps and basic facts of each continent. It encourages kids to play with activities such as creating a mini-rainforest or singing a simple song in Spanish.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Long Haul is part of the series from Diary of a Wimpy Kid and a #1 bestseller on Amazon. The Long Haul is about a family road trip that involves a broken-down car, hungry seagulls and lots of other crazies! Basically fun for the whole family! There’s also an audio version to keep the kids entertained during your family road trip this summer!
Related Post >>> The Ultimate Road Trip Playlist for Families
The Alchemist
This is one of my favorite books ever! Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of worldly treasure (who doesn’t really?). Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells about his quest that leads him to riches that far more satisfying than he ever imagined. Santiago’s journey will teach us about the wisdom of listening to our hearts, recognizing opportunities and most importantly to follow our dreams!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sail down the Mississippi with Huck Finn and the runaway slave, Jim. Mark Twain’s beloved tale, with its folksy language, creates an indelible image of antebellum America with its sleepy river towns, con men, family feuds, and a variety of colorful characters. Truly a classic for any age.
The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid
The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World?s Most Adventurous Kid is a thrilling expedition to 100 of the most surprising, mysterious, and weird-but-true places on earth.
For curious kids, this is the chance to embark on the journey of a lifetime and see how far away countries have more in common than you might expect! Hopscotch from country to country in a chain of connecting attractions: Explore Mexico?s glittering cave of crystals, then visit the world’s largest cave in Vietnam. Peer over a 355-foot waterfall in Zambia, then learns how Antarctica’s Blood Falls got their mysterious color. Or see mysterious mummies in Japan and France, then majestic ice caves in both Argentina and Austria.
Travel Activity Books
Activity books are a great way to keep the kids entertained when traveling. Think about long hours waiting at the airport, sitting in the car, or getting bored at a table in the restaurant. We always carry activity books when we travel with kids.
Kids’ Travel Journal
Taking a trip? Going on vacation? Great! Kids can use this journal to keep a record of everything!
- Plan their trip and packing list.
- Write what happened on the way there and back.
- Write down what they did.
- Sketch what they saw.
- Rate each day.
- Paste in photos, tickets, maps, postcards, and more.
- Keep more stuff in the back pocket.
The journal also includes:
- Puzzles and games.
- Maps of the world, North America, and Europe.
- Helpful words and phrases in other languages.
- Fun world facts.
- Full-color photos and illustrations.
- Acid-free archival paper preserves your journaling. Makes a great keepsake!
- Elastic band attached to back cover keeps your place or keeps the journal closed.
Travel Activity Pad
Whether you’re in a car, train, boat or plane, long journeys will pass by in a flash with this fun-packed pad. Includes over 200 tear-out pages packed with pen-and-paper puzzles to keep the whole family entertained, wherever you happen to be!
You Rule!: A Practical Guide to Creating Your Own Kingdom
Who doesn’t want to be King, Queen or Supreme Leader of their own country? This innovative and fun book shows you how to design a completely new nation from scratch. Design your flag, choose your borders, create the laws and attract loyal (hopefully) citizens. You will get to create, organize, govern and judge! Includes fun projects to complete, bold full-color illustrations and fascinating facts about the world’s micronations. For rulers aged 8 years and up
Travel Books for Children 2019
I hope you enjoyed my choice of 15 of The Best Travel Books for Children. Let me know which was your favorite and if I should add to this list for 2020 in the comments section below.
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I wish I had your site when my children were younger – you have reviewed some of my most favorite classics, i.e ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ by Mark Twain. Also, some of the newly written ones like ‘ How airports work’ is an awesome way to educate a young mind about travelling. Travelling with kids can be made much less stressful with one of the books on your list. I will be sharing your page among my friends who travel and, do still have, young children as this information will be very useful for them. Thank you.
Hi Ilaisaane,
Glad you like the post. Huckleberry Finn was 1 of my favourite books growing up. I cant count the number of times I’ve read that imagining I was him!
Appreciate the shares!
This is exactly what I am looking for. We are setting up a small section in the library to focus on travel knowledge for the kids and I was wondering what type of books would be a good fit. We are looking for something that can teach them about different places, become more street wise and also instill some appreciation for other people’s culture.
I personally like the title ‘How Airport Works’ as I’ve also been fascinated by airplanes since young. I’m sure it’s a fun book to read and will surely be educative for the kids.
I have not seen most of these books but one thing I will agree with you is that these books are the best for our kids being a father you have given me enough ideas of the book to buy for, my kids, to read while we are traveling the choices of the books is great.
Hi Tarun!
This is such a creative idea! I love travelling, and when I was a kid I used to borrow my dad’s encyclopedia, find the pages about different countries and daydream about the images. Small, often black and white pictures of statues and landscapes.
These children’s books blew my mind. They are sure to make any kid dream about travelling the world and discovering all these exciting places. I can only think of how happy I would have been to have such books 30 years ago 🙂
Thank you for the great ideas!
Vicky
Hi Vicky,
Its still not too late! Some of the books like the Travel Guide and the City Trails series works for adults as well!
They had information about places I had already been to and yet blew my mind!
You should get them!
This is really wonderful. The childhood stage in one’s life is the one full of memories when one gets to the adult age. Kids require more attention and care and I like the fact here that touches this aspect. Most books listed here give an insight into what to unravel when they got to their place of adventure. Most especially instagram like the book how airport work very well because as a kid I always wonder they check, scan then but now I know. Thank you for this helpful information.
Hi TArun Thanks for this very informative review. I must be honest I did not know that Lonely Planet had a children series, these are so great, will be getting these for my kids. The Alchemist is also one of my favorite travel books, actually read it while we were travelling Morocco, was magical. My kids are going to love your recommendations. Thanks
Hi Abbas,
Yeah me too when I found out about it. But really my girls love the series and they keep reading it even after the trip.
Thank you for sharing what you believe are the best travel books for children.
I was just discussing with my best friend and co-teacher the other day how we can make learning more fun for our students especially in the subject of Geography. We believe that learning about other people’s culture and the history of their country is as equally important as having knowledge of our very own. That way, we are able to understand better why people are exactly the way they are.
I’m sure you agree with me that one does not necessarily have to personally try out other cultures in order to have a basic idea of what makes think and act the way they do. And this is where travel books come to the rescue. Since we’re from Asia, we know most of the places, lifestyle practices and foods that are traditional to Japan and Singapore.
So what I’m most interested in among these travel books on your list are City Trails London and Paris. I’m pretty sure my students will have a great time painting the Eiffel Tower and knowing more about this tourist destination. Little Kids First Book of the World sounds like a great one too. Me and my friend are going to check them out.
Hi Alice,
your students will love the City Trail series!
I agree once can learn about other cultures from books, youtube, and other medias but nothing beats actually being there though!