This year certainly hasn’t been the year to live out your travel dreams. And with the pandemic forcing most us inside for prolonged periods of time, we’ve had to turn our attention elsewhere to fill our passion for travel. Luckily, we live in a golden age of TV. And some of the best travel TV shows are available for viewing whilst we’re unable to live out our travel desires.
We might not be able to buy that ticket to Europe. But maybe an hour in the evening can get us escaping there just briefly through our screens.
Long before the dastardly pandemic hit, a number of TV shows helped inform some of our travels too. For us, some travel TV shows have served as both inspiration and escapism. So with that in mind, we’ve pulled together our curated list of what we think are the best travel TV shows to help you escape. So read on, and get yourself some inspiration from your couch.
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#1 Somebody Feed Phil
On our full-time travels through 2019, we discovered Somebody Feed Phil, with Phil Rosenthal. Phil has arguably the best job on TV – a fact he appears acutely aware of. Travelling around the world, Phil visits some of the most amazing destinations, trying out various local cuisines.
Whether it’s sampling the delights of Marrakesh, gorging on pastries at Piriquita in Sintra or trying out the new food scene in Cape Town, there is surely something for everyone in this series of which there are now three available on Netflix.
Phil brings a warm sense of humour to each episode. And I’ll challenge you to find anyone who can pull as many different facial expressions to demonstrate ‘delicious’.
#2 Chef’s Table
We have so much gratitude for Chef’s Table. Episode one introduced us to Massimo Bottura, Italian chef extraordinaire. The power of this episode introduced us to Modena. And eventually led us to booking a table at Massimo’s world number one restaurant, Osteria Francescana.
This series details some of the best chefs in the world. What drives them. And what makes them modern day food artists. The series gave us a new appreciation for dining like never before.
Other favourite episodes of ours in the series were with Christina Tosi, the founder of Milk Bar in New York. Jordi Roca’s episode was also a highlight that put Girona on the map for us too!
#3 Street Food
Three recommendations in, and our shows are demonstrating a common theme – food. Jumping from the high end dining of Chef’s Table, Netflix’s Street Food series is from the same producers as Chef’s Table. Instead of meeting high end chefs, we go to the opposite end of the spectrum.
Street food is an important part of just about every culture. It gives you a sense of the people and the machinations of the everyday in a city. This series introduces us to a range of street foods throughout the world and some of the small operators that sit behind them.
Producing high quality street food is a tough business, and you’ll get to meet a range of people who make it work with love and dedication.
Our most favourite episode is based in Osaka, with the amazing Toyo of Izakaya Toyo featuring as the lead chef. We had the opportunity to meet Toyo on our most recent visit, and he is as positive and enchanting as this episode will have you believe. On the same trip, we hopped over to Seoul and sampled some of Yoonsun Cho’s knife cut noodles. Their stories will inspire you. And probably make you want to visit when you can too.
#4 Jack Whitehall Travels with My Father
Moving away from food, if you’re looking for something a little light hearted, look no further than Jack Whitehall’s Travels with My Father. If humour is the measure, this show is definitely one of the best travel TV shows going around. A comedian with a Dad who is just a little uptight, they take a trip to Asia in the first series, Eastern Europe in the second, the States in the third.
The series sees Jack winding up his stuffy old Dad (pretty sure a lot of that is a put on!) as they navigate their way around the world. A very easy watch, and without providing spoilers, keep an eye out for the cameo by Steven Seagal!
#5 Banged Up Abroad
I thought twice about including this series in a list of the best travel TV shows. The show is likely to provide a host of reasons not to travel with stories of travellers whose travels went awry. Told first hand and with supporting re-enactments, these are not stories about losing bags on trains. Most of the stories talk about individuals who found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Drug runners seem to be the common thematic. Some of the featured folks end up in jail for a significant period for making poor choices whilst travelling.
Why would I include this in a list of the best travel TV shows? It’s important to understand different countries, their customs and their laws. And this show definitely provides a different angle on this compared to others.
#6 Scam City
Another show in the category of potentially turning you off travel, but bear with me! Scam City is hosted by Conor Woodman who explores some of the most common scams that travellers fall for around the world.
Not everyone is out to get you, but being aware when travelling of common scams is helpful. Whether it’s ATM withdrawal scams, pick pocketers or taxi drivers pulling a swifty, Scam City is a good watch. Aside from awareness, it’s intriguing to see the thought that goes into some of these quite elaborate scams!
#7 Anything with Michael Palin (maybe not Monty Python for travel though!)
Many have asked where my love for travel has come from. It’s difficult to pinpoint, but Palin’s Around the World in 80 days and Pole to Pole are some of my earlier TV viewing memories. Saturday nights at home with my grandparents, on would come Palin with the stories of a man traversing places I’d never heard of.
Smart, witty, and well travelled, Palin is easy to like. He makes my list of six people to join me at dinner if I had access to anyone.
My most recent viewing (and reading for that matter) of Palin’s was his trip to North Korea. I’ve glimpsed North Korea from across the river in the south, but am yet to visit. Palin’s two part documentary only made it more appealing and a destination I hope to visit one day in the future.
#8 Anything with Anthony Bourdain
Whenever I hear the deep voice of Anthony Bourdain, I’m instantly hooked. Even if I’ve seen an episode, I usually stop what I’m doing and get enraptured in his story telling.
The Layover, No Reservations or Parts Unknown are unequivocally three of the best travel TV shows around. It seems anything Bourdain lent a hand to, just appeals to those with a sense of wanderlust.
Bourdain tells travel stories in a way I can’t even dream. He has an ability to inspire curiosity, encourage understanding and sniff out some cracking food. He is a chef after all.
His three series will take you all over the world, and alone might just be able to get you through 2020.
#9 Anything with Simon Reeve
Rounding out my three top travel hosts, Simon Reeve has a comprehensive volume of travel TV shows. The British Reeve takes viewers on trips around the world. Reeve takes viewers on an in depth look at key areas like Burma, Turkey and Greece. He’s also conducted two series circumnavigating the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn which make for great viewing.
Amongst Reeve’s impressive travel collection, there’s bound to be something to appeal.
#10 Long Way Round and Long Way Down
I’m not one to motorbike, but the two ‘Long Way’ series with Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman are some of the best travel TV show viewing you’ll find.
Hopping on board their motorbikes, Long Way Round takes the two through Europe and across the US (via Russia). Long Way Down takes them down through the length of Africa.
What I love about these series is the focus on planning. I’m a nerd when it comes to mapping out our trips, and you get great insight into what it takes to plan a huge adventure. You’ll see where things go awry, and the emotions they go through as they’re cut off on long, slow days of travel.
#11 From Russia to Iran: Crossing Wild Frontier
Having visited Azerbaijan just prior to discovering this show, I was instantly hooked. Our few days in Baku were a little different to the itinerary that Levison Wood takes viewers through though! Wandering on foot, with the odd bit of transport thrown in, Wood wanders from Russia to Iran. He covers a range of lesser known countries and areas, some a little more dangerous than most of us would like!
It’s a little bit Bear Grylls meets travel adventure as he takes us through Russia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. Sometimes days and weeks would have past as Wood pitches tents, or stays with locals traversing some much lesser known country.
#12 Travel Man
If Our Passion For Travel was much funnier and was a TV show, it would probably be Travel Man. The straight talking, dry Richard Ayoade takes us to cities all over Europe and the US, pairing up with an entertainer for each trip.
Spending 48 hours in each city, he maps out an itinerary that almost anyone can plan for themselves if they like. Complete with costs and comical insights, Richard and his guests aren’t always so kind to some of their cities.
Some of our favourite cities are featured in the show including Porto with Nish Kumar, Venice with Jo Brand and our favourite episode in Helsinki, Finland with the hilarious Paul Rudd.
#13 Expedition Happiness
This documentary is filmed on a mixture of phone camera, drones and handheld footage. It follows the travels of a German couple who renovate a bus to take it on a trip through the Americas.
The couple, Felix and Selima encounter a whole range of issues along the way, as well as some poignant moments that only travel can inspire. You’ll also find the doco has a pretty escapist soundtrack. Selima is better known by her stage name Mogli. Mogli’s songs have long made up the backbone of some of our own road trip adventures.
The perfect escape for those who can’t right now.
#14 Game of Thrones
If you’re a Game of Thrones lover like us, you’ll need no introduction to this series. Maybe you’ll even press play on the whole series again? Whilst Game of Thrones takes place in a range of fictitious towns and cities, many of the scenes are shot in very real places. Many of which we’ve had the pleasure of visiting ourselves – you can read about that here.
Whether it’s Seville (Dorne), Dubrovnik (King’s Landing) or Girona (multiple locations), these are all wonderful cities in their own right, that have a little bit of GOT thrown in for good measure.
#15 Twin
We’ve been lucky enough to visit Norway, however we’ve not yet visited the Lofoten Islands before. They remain on our travel bucket list for another day.
If you want to transport yourself to the scenic islands of Norway, why not do so with this Nordic drama? It follows the story of a couple in a small village who have to hide a deep family secret. I won’t go into too much detail on the story to avoid spoilers, but the story itself is a quality one, magnified by its stunning backdrop.
Game of Thrones fans will rejoice – Kristofer Hivju is the lead character, although in a somewhat different role to how you might otherwise remember him as Tormund!
#16 The Night Manager
A multi-award winning series, the Night Manager follows the story of Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddlestone). A former commando, he plays the role of a luxury hotel night manager who seeks to infiltrate the operations of a known arms dealer played by Hugh Laurie.
Whilst only taking place over six episodes, there’s barely a dull moment in this riveting series. The story plays out in a range of great locations including Egypt, Switzerland and Spain amongst others.
#17 Outlander
For those who like to mix their travel with some fantasy, look no further than Outlander. Based on a series of books, Outlander follows our main character, Claire Randall who travels back in time from post WW2 to two hundred years prior in the Scottish Highlands. An unknown world, she instantly feels at home and falls in love with a brave and handsome Scottish clansman.
Season one of Outlander has put a number of Scottish locations on the top of travellers lists as they re-enact their own Outlander moments.
As well as traversing Scotland, Claire also spends time in France, the Caribbean and the US.
Be warned, the Skye Boat song theme is catchy, and will be well ingrained in your mind by about halfway through season one.
#18 Top of the Lake
In a similar vein to Twin, Top of the Lake is a drama that follows a police officer’s investigation of a 12 year pregnant girl’s disappearance on New Zealand’s south island. The drama itself is riveting, with Elisabeth Moss playing the lead role.
Second to Moss’ character has to be the beauty of Queenstown and Glenorchy where the show was shot. Stunning mountains, aqua marine lakes and endless vistas serve to balance out some of the darkness of the story itself.
#19 Hawaii Five-O
Have you already got that iconic theme song in your head? Hawaii Five-O in an easy to watch series with a serious volume of episodes to get through. As big fans of Hawaii, this one gets our tick for Oahu playing backdrop to a range of stories as the 5-O team track them down.
It is nearly impossible to visit Oahu and not recognise some of the famous scenes where 5-O have shot. If it’s sun and sand you’re craving, 5-O will definitely hit you in the travel feels.
Have we missed any of your favourite shows? There are so many out there, and a range I’m sure we’re yet to discover. We’d love to hear below to keep our TV viewing going!
Love it!!
Thanks Guido! Any good Dutch recommendations per chance?!
BRAVO….. what an impressive comprehensive collection you put together. Thank you. We are very familiar with some such as Chef’s Table stunningly well done and the photography/filming is an added highlight. Anthony Bourdain, we have probably watched every single episode… Although the ones that he did in places we know well for example Hoi An, Viet Nam where we lived, and Granda, Nicaragua where we spent six years, we were disappointed by. But the places we have not yet gotten to and who knows, may never get there, he is a fabulous watch and fascinating character.
Look very forward to checking some of these out as we are always looking for and enjoy programs which feature either food or travel. Touche.
Peta
It’s hard to not watch everything Bourdain does isn’t it? I still need to watch the last series of Parts Unknown. It’s seemingly unavailable here in Oz on subscription services and for purchase. Very odd.
We haven’t been to Sicily yet, but I think even Bourdain was annoyed with the outcome of his episode on that.
Couldn’t agree more on Chef’s Table. There’s a new series about to drop too, and another series of Street Food is now out too.
Any other faves we should add to our list Peta?