The 10 Best Travel Movies You Must Watch
I know you all might be expecting just travel-genre movies when you read the title that says, “best travel movies”. But I went further to take the honor of compiling a very small list of what I feel is the best 10 travel movies according to me.
And these for sure are the 10 movies you could watch before, while and after travel and it will be guaranteed to make you smile and kill your boredom (that is if you do have any).
I have compiled movies that come under the travel genre, movies that highlight a certain country’s beauty making you want to visit that country. And Movies that generally inspire you to finally make the decision of traveling to that one place you have always wanted to.
Maybe you are on a long flight hoping to kill your time. Maybe you just reached that hotel that you booked, and want to watch a movie tucked into bed with your partner. Or maybe you are a solo traveler and you love to watch something while eating (I really enjoy doing that).
Whatever it is that you are feeling today, these ten best movies will definitely make you happy, kill your boredom, spark that fire within you to travel to that one place you have always wanted to and will at the end of the day, make you smile and give your life a bit more meaning than it already has (that’s the most important thing, right?).
All right I have kept on talking for long enough, let’s not waste any more time. Let me show you the ten movies that I think are going to create a spark within you. And yes, they are the best 10 travel movies, according to me. Oh also, I have got something special for you in this post so keep an eye out!
[p.s: – none of these are arranged in any sort of any ranking, all of them are pretty great and unique in their own ways.]
1. Your Name
If this ain’t out of the box, then I don’t know what is. That was exactly my reaction after watching this movie. I was mindblown with the way Makoto Shinkai directed this amazing animated movie. Yes, I know what you are thinking, an animated movie? Is he serious?
That too a Japanese anime before travel? How is that under the best travel movies? Well, read through and you will find your answer.
This movie portrays the Japanese culture and beauty so well that you almost feel that you are in the movie. You feel the want to go to this amazing country that possesses so many traditions and cultures. But it’s not just the traditions and cultures that inspired me to put this movie in my bucket list.
It is the fact that it showed us how Japan amazingly balances its modernism with its traditions.
The movie showcases Tokyo (one of the best contemporary cities of all time) and a village that still upholds ancient cultures. It has time travel, gender swap, romance, comedy and so much more but none in the way you could ever think of.
Do watch this movie if you are confused about where to travel next because after watching this movie, you would definitely want to travel to Japan. And yes, this was the movie that made me add Japan to my bucket list.
If you ever felt so inspired by this movie that you wanted to head out to the actual places in it, check out this amazing post that we found. This would help you make your decision and also show you the actual places in this movie, in Japan.
2. Little miss sunshine
I told you that I had travel genre movies coming up. If you are a person who loves to laugh and amuses sarcasm, yep go ahead and watch this one. Even the trailer of the movie will make you laugh till its end let alone the movie. It is a road trip movie from Mexico to California.
And the journey of the hoovers family in their yellow Volkswagen bus T2 is so interesting and lively that you wouldn’t want to ever miss this movie.
The family consists of 6 people. The father dreams of being a motivational speaker. The mother is a secret smoker. The daughter, dreams of being in a beauty pageant. The son, a teen takes a vow of silence. Uncle Frank is gay. And the grandfather, well he is a playboy (I told you that the movie would make you laugh).
So now that you have almost got an idea of the characters, you might be wondering how the movie wrapped these 6 characters who have such different ideas. Their travel is to help the 7-year old Olivia attend her beauty pageant contest and conquer her dreams. And whatever happens next in their travel, well that’s something you have to watch and experience.
3. Into the wild
If you are an adventure lover waiting for that right moment to be inspired, this is for you. This revolves around the story of a student who graduates and then realizes the spark in him to find himself. He gives up his savings account and his possessions and travels to Alaska to explore the world and himself.
The best part about the movie is the fact that it is based on a true story and this really inspires us to find what we are and what we want with our lives. Be it a nerve-catching adventure or a calm peaceful family life, you got to find what you want with life.
Christopher McCandless (the lead role) travels through the wild and meets with a lot of experiences and people that shape his life. He finds an abandoned bus which he renames as “The Magic Bus”. It’s almost like that story we all read, of Robinson Crusoe.
But if I tell you that the story and the plot are very similar, I would be mistaken. Not everyone will have the guts to pause their conventional, pre-scheduled life and make that silent decision of theirs a reality.
McCandless does it which is why this movie ain’t just about his travels or adventures but a huge inspiration as well to the people who are living in a world that they are not completely content in.
4. Coco
Yup, Another Animated movie. Even though it revolves around the life of a young boy in Mexico who dreams to be a musician, it speaks a lot to the people who are confused about how to be firm on what they want to do.
The reason I listed this movie under the best travel movies is because the basic plot of the whole movie is Miguel’s (our main character) journey to the land of the dead. (Pretty cool right?) But it’s not like you think.
The way they depicted the land of the dead and the happenings after one’s death, is pretty creative if you ask me. A whole different beautiful land for the dead. And they get to visit their relatives on the living side, just once a year.
Due to a mistake Miguel does (not specifying coz I don’t want to be a spoiler), he loses his physical body and travels to the land of the dead. And here begins the adventure of our 12-year old hero.
This movie also speaks about the close bond a family has and it definitely reminds you how important family is. Even though it is an animated movie, I watched it with my entire family and surprisingly my parents loved it. Hence, I suggest it as a movie an entire family can watch together smiling throughout.
Oh and just one more thing, the songs in the movie are great and Miguel is an amazing musician, just like his grandfather 😉.
5. Fault in our stars
Despite being a romantic-tragedy film, it still talks about something great we all forget in our busy lives. To capture the moment. And that is exactly why I mentioned this movie in my ‘best travel movies’ list. I’m not going to break down the entire movie’s plot for you, but it ends in a tragedy.
So if you are a person who watches movies only for happiness, then this is not for you.
It’s about two teens affected with cancer who do not let anything get into their small world of happiness. They try so hard to remain happy with whatever time they have than being sad about what happened. Their love story is brilliantly depicted but what’s even more interesting is their trip to Amsterdam.
Yes, Amsterdam, the cultural capital. They plan a sudden trip to Amsterdam to fulfill the wish of Hazel (the actress) to meet her most favorite author. And they do travel despite their cancer struck lives and this exactly is what inspired me in that movie.
They somehow were able to keep everything away for happiness. And the way they captured the moment, is just too brilliantly directed and displayed which is why this movie became a huge success.
6. Moana
By now you must have understood my love for animated movies and animes. But the love for it ain’t the only reason for putting up this movie in the list of ‘the best travel movies’.
Okay, to start off with, Dwayne Johnson has a brilliant funny role in this movie and he has nailed it. But this ain’t the main reason for the success of the movie. The whole movie talks about the connection of Moana’s (the main character) village with the ocean.
The whole village comprised of voyagers who started to forget voyaging because of a disastrous event that happened decades ago (again, not spoiling it for you).
It talks about how Moana sets out to the ocean, joins forces with Maui, a demigod (Dwayne Johnson), and restores balance to her world. It also has amazing songs just like we would expect out of Disney. Moana shows us that our hearts always points us in the right direction, be it traveling or being the chief of a village.
She displays that it is our heart that we ought to listen to and not the expectations that circle around us. It is a brilliantly directed movie that is equally funny and meaningful. If you are a person who loves the water a lot, you could definitely relate a lot to this movie.
7. Mr. Bean’s holiday
I have read a lot of lists that speak about some good travel-genre movies, but I have never found this name on any of them. And to be honest it surprises me a lot.
Mr. Bean, as you all know was one of the best among the tv shows. I used to watch it a lot and even now it makes me laugh. It was so comical and taught us so many silent concepts that we often tend to not think of. Mainly it showed us how to love ourselves a lot.
In this movie, Bean embarks on a beautiful journey to Cannes as a result of luckily winning the lottery. It takes us through his entire journey and it really is something that you all must watch. It is a completely funny movie that is guaranteed to make you smile and laugh throughout.
The plot of the movie is brilliant and Rowan Atkinson, as usual, has taken his role to another level. It surely is a travel movie that a family can watch together. And even without having a lot of dialogues, the mere talent of Atkinson ranks this movie to one among the best comedy films of all time.
Also, he discovers his true love in this movie, and this is a big reason for all of you to go watch it. After all, who wouldn’t want to know who his true love is? Kids of all ages, adults, and even old aged people will laugh innocently to this movie and that is the sheer brilliance of the concept.
8. Crazy Rich Asians
An American romantic film that is starred completely by Asians. It mainly shows just New York and Singapore, but its brilliant depiction of both these places is why it earned its spot in ‘the best travel movies’ list.
The story revolves around a Chinese-American professor who travels to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s family. And the adventures untwine on her reaching Singapore. The story and the direction are brilliant and are based on the famous romantic comedy novel which has the same name.
It showcases Singapore really well and if you have Singapore in your bucket list, then yeah this is a must-watch. The film is endearing, funny, and very very charming indeed. And it has really met the expectations of the fans of the novel. It has also set marks for revolutionizing the place of Asians in the Hollywood industry.
One of the biggest good news for the fans of this film is that a sequel for the same is also being planned by the Warner Bros.
9. The secret life of Walter Mitty
All of us are daydreamers. All of us are people who want to do something different in life. This is exactly what this movie displays. A funny, sarcastic, and inspiring travel movie that is a must-watch for all travel lovers. It shows us the amazing adventure Walter and his co-worker takes when they are about to lose their jobs.
And this adventure is a thriller above anything we could ever imagine. Even though it has a lot of fiction, one of the main things Walter faces is the hardship to be a hero. It has romance, action, travel, a lot of comedy, sarcasm, and an amazing journey. This is exactly why I added this movie to my list of ‘the best travel movies’.
10. Vacation
Another road trip, comedy-travel movie that you just must watch. There are these amazing comedy movies whose trailers are enough to make you laugh and this is one of those. The trailer itself is brilliantly made that you will not avoid the movie after laughing at it.
The story is about the Griswold family and their adventure in their crazy car. Even though the car looks crazy, it is one of the best comical elements in the movie. Mr. Griswold liked it a lot, but the family really hated it (and the reasons are pretty understandable).
They take a road trip from Chicago to Walley World to relive the memories they had as a family (even though Mr. Griswold’s initial intention was to ‘spice things up’ with his wife and reconnect with his sons). Despite Mr. Griswold being a very funny pilot, it is the sarcastic 12-year-old Kevin, his son, who lights up the movie, to be honest.
So here goes our special something for you!
After reading through, you might have felt incredibly moved to watch the movies but you just don’t know the right medium to. Most of the best ones are paid and the ones that are not are very hard to figure out, right? Well, we have got good news for you.
Go ahead and watch your favorite movies from this free website click to watch. It is verified and safe to watch from, we ourselves have watched a lot from this site. Though if you get disturbed by the ads that appear, try downloading an ad blocker extension such as uBlock for Chrome. If this really helped you, comment below and let us know too.
So, you must have understood by now that this list does not just comprise of the movies under the travel-genre but also of the movies that have personally made me smile during my travels. I have watched some of them on a flight, train, and even in a car (everyone else was sleeping ofc).
The one common thing that I noticed for all these movies is that they have managed to make me smile. Even though most of them are funny, they really are very meaningful as well. So, if you are a travel lover, a digital nomad, or a person who is traveling right now in search of the best movies to watch, this is for you.
