Find Travel Inspiration on Film: The 4 Best Travel Movies of All Time

best travel movies

Movies are a form of escapism like no other. And when the movie in question is deliberately designed to sweep you off your feet to somewhere new, it’s almost as if you’re traveling already.

Sometimes, that means highlighting the magic of discovering a new place. Other times, it means pointing out the harsh reality of being far from home.

Either way, the best travel movies will take you on an adventure of mind and soul. Here are four of our favorites.

1. Roman Holiday

Do we really need to say more than Audrey Hepburn and Rome? Okay, Gregory Peck’s pretty decent, too.

Roman Holiday is a quirky, comical black-and-white love story with the aura of a fairy tale. Hepburn is a princess in town for a goodwill tour, while Peck is an American journalist who misses his big interview with HRH before helping a seemingly-drunk young woman who spends the night in his apartment.

He pieces two and two together, of course, and the movie turns into a delightfully fun romp in which he plays tour guide to a princess who wants to enjoy a bit of freedom.

2. Thelma and Louise

If you want a film that epitomizes the tradition of the American road trip, you can’t do much better than Thelma and Louise.

What sets the film apart from similar road trip pictures is that the heroes are working-class girlfriends from a small Arkansas town. They get away for the weekend only for flirtations to go awry, leading to a man’s murder.

From there, they’re on the run, and this is where the film really shines. A lesser movie would get caught up in the shots of the road and the sunset, but Thelma and Louise shows its heart.

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3. Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

At this point, Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is considered required viewing, as it rightly should be.

The film follows Guy Pearce, Hugo Weaving, and Terence Stamp as two drag performers and a trans woman, respectively, who take a road trip across the Australian desert to perform in a drag show in Alice Springs, Australia.

Their many stops along the way — and the shocked reactions they get in the course of their travels — show the film for the funny, heartwarming gem that it is.

And while you may not have your own Priscilla, you may well be inspired to visit Australia for the first time. We can hardly blame you.

4. Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation is more modern than many of the films on this list, but it nonetheless deserves its title as a classic.

The film explores the budding friendship between two Americans (Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson) who are adrift in their hotel until they cut loose and start exploring Tokyo together.

It’s almost like a tourism ad for Tokyo (albeit in the adept hands of Sofia Coppola). But more than that, it’s a deeply moving and melancholy portrait of loneliness, even in a city filled with millions.

It’s a movie that (like all the movies on this list) you’ll want to settle into. And if your Internet or TV isn’t working, it tends to kill the mood. Instead of spending the whole movie wondering, “Why isn’t my siptv working?” work out the kinks (and pick your movie) beforehand.

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Best Travel Movies, Best Places to Travel

You’ve got the best travel movies, we’ve got the best places to travel. It’s a match made in heaven.

Check out our blog for more destinations, travel hacks, and trends you should be following, like these five luxury vacation ideas.