Pack Your Bags

This Massive List Of Travel Movies Will Tide You Over Until Your Next Trip

Need a vacation? Just watch one of these transportive picks.

by Sabienna Bowman
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
'Under the Tuscan Sun' is a classic among travel movies.
Allstar/Touchstone

Who hasn't dreamed of leaving their life behind and embarking on a trip around the world? Unfortunately, that's not possible for many people — for a multitude of reasons. Maybe your kids' school schedule dictates how much (or little) you can get away. There's also the not-so-minor matter of money, which you need quite a lot of for extended vacations or international pilgrimages. And that's to say nothing of the various travel restrictions you might face when you go to book your outward-bound journey. Still, sometimes you just need to feed your wanderlust a little. That's why travel movies are a true gift. Thankfully, there's no shortage of movies about people seeking to change their life through the transformative powers of travel and food.

Even when you can't physically book a flight somewhere, you can live vicariously through cinema. One of the most popular examples among modern movies? Elizabeth Gilbert's journey, which she chronicled in her 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love and which Hollywood adapted into a gorgeous film of the same name starring Julia Roberts. In Eat, Pray, Love, Roberts' Liz Gilbert eats her way through Italy, gets in touch with her spiritual side in India, and finally finds a second chance at love after her divorce in Indonesia. If you're not in a position to go on a similar odyssey in real life (and really, who is right now?), then the next best thing is watching even more movies that will help you add destinations to your bucket list.

Whether you want to watch someone scale a mountain, buy a villa in Tuscany, or throw caution to the wind and spend all of their money on a luxurious European vacation, there's a pick on this list for you. While no movie can exactly replicate the life-affirming feelings you get from packing your bags and heading toward the great unknown, the following travel movies will give you major wayfaring vibes. Prepare to fall in love with far-flung locales, fabulous foodie moments, and soul-searching characters. Bonus: You don't have to check any bags or go through customs.

If Eat, Pray, Love Is Your Favorite, Watch These

1. How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)

Long before Liz Gilbert went on a cross-continental soul-searching journey, Stella Payne (Angela Bassett) headed to Jamaica for a well-deserved crash course on the importance of work-life balance and self-love. The combination of gorgeous vistas with the relatable story of a hard-working mom finding joy in travel makes this movie a forever classic. The steamy romance between Stella and Winston (a young Taye Diggs) doesn’t hurt either.

2. Wild (2014)

Like Eat, Pray, Love, Wild (starring Reese Witherspoon) is based on an inspiring memoir. Witherspoon plays a fictionalized version of author Cheryl Strayed, whose life is a mess after her mother's death and the end of her marriage. Despite her lack of experience in the outdoors, she decides to hike the perilous Pacific Crest Trail alone. This decision leads to some harrowing moments, but for the most part, this is a story of soul-searching set against stunning mountain views.

3. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

If you’re looking for another movie that will make you want to pack up and move to Italy, then Under the Tuscan Sun will do the trick. Once again, the story centers on a woman making a drastic life change after a divorce. After her husband cheats on her, Frances (Diane Lane) takes a trip to Italy, where she falls in love with a derelict villa. After purchasing the sprawling home, she moves abroad and finds a new zest for life — along with a second chance at love, of course.

4. Away We Go (2009)

Unlike most movies on this list, Away We Go focuses on a rock-solid couple. But Verona (Maya Rudolph) and Burt (John Krasinski) are searching for a sense of peace and a place to call home. The impending arrival of their baby leads the couple on a cross-country road trip in search of the perfect place to raise their family. In truth, this warmhearted movie is about annihilating the idea of the perfect family, while also showing how rewarding it can be to find a place to put down roots.

5. The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

Are you obsessed with the food scenes in Eat, Pray, Love? Then you need to add The Hundred-Foot Journey to your watchlist immediately. It’s set in France, so the scenery is gorgeous, but it has the added bonus of following two restaurants at war with another. On one side of the street is a famed French restaurant owned by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). On the other is an Indian eatery owned by a recently displaced family from India, run by the self-taught chef Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal). While Mallory tries to chase the family out of business at first, the story quickly becomes about a mutual appreciation for fine cuisine.

6. Last Holiday (2006)

The question at the center of Last Holiday is what would you do if you found out you only had a few weeks to live? For Georgia (the always fabulous Queen Latifah), the answer is to take a luxurious trip to Europe and finally live life to its fullest. Along the way, she tries snowboarding, goes on a shopping spree, and finally allows the world to finally see her most authentic self.

7. Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

A southern woman rebrands herself as a New York City it-girl. Melanie, played by Reese Witherspoon, leads the perfect life in the Big Apple and even has an ideal beau who wants to marry her. But there's one problem: She's still married to her husband in Alabama, whom she's been separated from for the past seven years. And so she journeys back home to get him to sign the divorce papers, but her mission turns into a rediscovery of her country roots.

8. Eat, Pray, Love (2010)

Have you ever wanted to catch a flight and escape it all? Julia Roberts plays Liz Gilbert, a woman who has just ended her unhappy marriage and takes a trip around the world to "find herself." Along the way she discovers adventure, happiness and has a beautiful and eye-opening experience.

9. Girls Trip (2017)

A group of college besties reunite years later to attend a festival in New Orleans. During their wild Crescent City excursion, they each try to hide the stress of their everyday lives. During their adventure, they help each other through their struggles and grow closer as friends. It's a hilarious movie fill with noted comedians like Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish.

10. The Bucket List (2007)

Two men dying from terminal cancer decide to live their last days to the fullest. Together, they escape the hospital to complete their bucket list, which is a to-do of all the things they want to do before they die. Carter and Edward, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, embark on a heartfelt, touching, and inspiring adventure filled with fulfillment and friendship.

Other Transportive Travel Movies For Your Queue

  1. Julie & Julia (2009)
  2. Chef (2014)
  3. Amélie (2001)
  4. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
  5. Falling Inn Love (2019)
  6. Under the Eiffel Tower (2018)
  7. Lion (2016)
  8. Letters to Juliet (2010)
  9. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
  10. Leap Year (2010)
  11. My Life in Ruins (2009)
  12. Today's Special (2009)
  13. Uncorked (2020)
  14. Roman Holiday (1953)
  15. Finding 'Ohana (2021)
  16. Sounds Like Love (2021)
  17. The Namesake (2006)
  18. A Good Year (2006)
  19. Midnight in Paris (2011)
  20. The Holiday (2006)
  21. The Way (2010)
  22. Shirley Valentine (1989)
  23. Edie (2017)
  24. EuroTrip (2004)
  25. A Walk in the Woods (2015)
  26. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
  27. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
  28. Passport to Paris (1999)
  29. Tracks (2013)
  30. Out of Africa (1985)
  31. Monte Carlo (2011)
  32. Into the Wild (2007)
  33. Soul Plane (2004)
  34. Top End Wedding (2019)
  35. Ibiza (2018)
  36. The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)
  37. The Lost City of Z (2016)
  38. The Monuments Men (2014)
  39. Before Sunrise (1995)
  40. Call Me By Your Name (2017)
  41. Thelma & Louise (1991)
  42. P.S. I Love You (2007)
  43. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  44. Sideways (2004)
  45. Blended (2014)
  46. Mamma Mia! (2008)
  47. Sex and the City 2 (2010)
  48. 303 (2018)
  49. Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014)
  50. French Kiss (1995)
  51. To Rome With Love (2012)
  52. On the Road (2012)
  53. The Ramen Girl (2008)
  54. Dirt Music (2019)
  55. Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
  56. Chasing Liberty (2004)
  57. Queen (2013)
  58. The Beach (2000)
  59. Stealing Beauty (1996)
  60. The Sound of Music (1965)
  61. Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019)
  62. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
  63. A Room With a View (1985)
  64. Frida (2002)
  65. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
  66. Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012)
  67. The Spanish Apartment/L’Auberge Espagnole (2002)
  68. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
  69. Roma (2018)
  70. Outsourced (2010)
  71. Holiday in the Wild (2019)
  72. The Wedding Date (2005)
  73. Frankie (2019)
  74. All Roads Lead to Rome (2015)
  75. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
  76. Chocolat (2000)
  77. Australia (2008)
  78. In Bruges (2008)
  79. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
  80. My Summer in Provence/Avis de Mistral (2014)
  81. The Matchmaker (1997)
  82. Le Divorce (2003)
  83. One Week (2008)
  84. Lost in Translation (2003)
  85. The Perfect Wave (2014)
  86. Fool’s Gold (2008)
  87. The Climb (2017)
  88. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
  89. Tea With Mussolini (1999)
  90. East Side Sushi (2014)
  91. Khoobsurat (2014)
  92. And While We Were Here (2012)
  93. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)
  94. Cairo Time (2009)
  95. Shag (1988)

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