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Top 10 Favorite Travel Movies To Stir Your Wanderlust

Posted On: 06/18/2018

Top 10 Movies About Traveling Have you ever been inspired to travel somewhere after watching a movie? After you read our recommendations, you’ll be ready to pack up and get a town car service to the airport! Below we have listed our top ten all-time favorite travel movies. We can watch these films dozens of times, and never get sick of them.

Once we watch any of these films, we get the immediate urge to buy a ticket, pack-up and explore the world! Getting to watch these great travel films through the years, it has become an inspiration to our own bucket list of travel goals.

So are you ready for a little bit of motivation to push you into a traveling adventure of your own?! Sit back, relax, fill up a bowl of popcorn, grab your favorite drink and watch a couple of these fantastic films with a friend.

It’s the next best thing to actually traveling!

Just remember, while we all love the thrill from watching a good movie, it can never replicate the amazing experiences of real world travel. When you are ready for your traveling adventure, WSL can even help you out with transportation from our town car service!

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

This is the perfect movie to motivate someone who is craving for something more out of life. The main character Walter (played by Ben Stiller) plays an anonymous photo editor at LIFE Magazine, where he lives a pretty boring life. When he realizes that his job is in jeopardy, he decides to embark on a journey of a lifetime. One of the most important lessons that you will get from watching this movie is that life is full of surprises and you don’t know what happens next. Remember to never stop believing in yourself and all dreams are possible, no matter what challenges you are facing.

Eat Pray Love

Have you ever wanted a complete life-change or reconnect with your true inner-self? If so, you have to watch Eat Pray Love! Liz Gilbert (played by Julia Roberts) takes a yearlong leave from her job, traveling to Italy, India and Bali in hopes of rediscovering herself. What is unique and different about this film is the spirituality approach that it takes. The journey to discovering and connecting with your inner-self is key. In order to understand and explore your own identity, you need to set time aside for yourself, and get away from the everyday distractions.

Into The Wild

Into The Wild is based on a true-story of Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch), a recent college grad who decides to hitchhike to Alaska. Through this journey, he encounters all kinds of people, each with their own unique stories. When he gets to Alaska, he arrives into the wilderness living on his own. The important message in this movie is that, with any experience in life, there is good and bad. These experiences are what makes each of us who we are, but it is vital to not completely get in over your head (like the main character).

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

A comedy classic starring two of the greats, Steve Martin and John Candy, that is sure to get you laughing! This is the story of an overland road trip from New York City to Chicago. What makes this movie so great, in addition to the comedy, is that it is so relatable. Whether by planes, trains or automobiles we have all gone through similar shenanigans when traveling cross-country. You can relate if you have you ever stayed at cheap motel, almost fell asleep behind the wheel, or sat next to someone that has made you extremely uncomfortable. This is definitely a fun and good heartfelt comedy that is worth watching!

Lost In Translation

A movie based on two travelers, Bob and Charlotte (played by Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson) that are visiting Tokyo at the same time. They meet each other and form a unique bond and friendship as they experience bewilderment and amusement together in an unfamiliar city. What’s amazing about this film is that it looks like nothing is happening throughout the film, yet at the same time everything is happening. It is as if nothing and everything are one in the same. It brings you to one of those “a-ha!” moments, that life is just about opposites, you can’t have one without the other. In emptiness we see fulfillment, and in fulfillment there is emptiness.

Thelma and Louise

We couldn’t think of a better movie that displays the true definition of a best friend than Thelma and Louise. Played by actresses Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, Thelma and Louise show the true test of friendship - ride or die! These two friends realized how caged up they were before in their lives, and together they chose to become free and fearless. You will find plenty of action in this movie with some great comedic moments, as these two are on the run protecting and defending each other.

The Bucket List

A great reminder to live your life to the fullest, The Bucket List is one of those films that each of us should watch at some point in our life. Two legendary actors, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, play the roles of two terminally ill men (Edward and Carter) leaving their deathbeds to complete a to-do list before they die. Touching, emotional, majestic and a little comedic, this film teaches us the most important thing in life – relationships. If you don’t already have a bucket list of your own, this film is sure to get you started!

A Map For Saturday

A Map for Saturday is hands-down the best documentary on traveling and backpacking! This film follows Scott Erikson, as he quits his comfortable 9am-5pm job to travel around the world for a year, living just out of his backpack. In this documentary you will get a pretty good picture of what it is like to wander around the world for a long period of time. Witness the excitement, adventure, bliss, fear, and heartbreak of the backpacking life. All of these emotions that travellers feel and share but can’t fully show or explain to their loved ones back home. This documentary also shows that anyone can travel inexpensively if they truly want to.

Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet is based on a true story of Heinrich Harrer (played by Brad Pitt) and is set in 1939. This Austrian hiker had a goal to conquer the Himalayan Mountains but ends up getting captured and sent to a prison camp. He ends up escaping the prison camp and finding his way into the sacred Tibetan city of Lhasa. In Tibet, Heinrich ends of befriending the young Dalai Lama as the Chinese attempt to invade the city. Coming from two entirely different worlds, the two men end up learning from each other and becoming great friends. This is a great movie that shows how traveling can transform your life, as the Austrian’s outlook on life slowly changes after facing new challenges and experiences.

The Motorcycle Diaries

This film is based on the true story of two medical students fulfilling a five-month motorcycle trip. Through this trip, they set out to use their medical teachings and volunteer for secluded refugees along the Amazon River. This film is based on the personal journals of latin American activist, Che Guevara. The Motorcycle Diaries displays adventure, independence and personal discovery in the traveling experience of the two medical students. This scenic movie about one of the most influential people to have lived is definitely worth watching!

Start Your Journey!

When it comes to traveling, movies will never give the actual experience justice! So we highly recommend for you to give these films a watch, in hopes that it inspires you to explore the world a little more! Remember, WSL will always be there and ready to assist you at the start of your journey with our town car service!

"The world is a book and those who do no travel, read only a page."

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