The ideal getaway for me includes a boat, an exotic locale filled with mystery and intrigue, and a book—also full of mystery and intrigue. So I was in heaven last fall when I found myself aboard an Exodus Adventure Travels cruise, reading Agatha Christie’s iconic whodunit Death on the Nile while watching the scenery of Upper Egypt drift by as I floated down the world’s longest river.
Even better than a traditional guidebook, Christie’s classic allowed me to immerse myself in Egypt in a vivid way. I would read a few chapters, then literally step into the same geography that influenced the author. The experience created a 360-degree layering of sounds, sights and smells that brought the book to life while creating new memories that were entirely my own stories to tell.
It turns out travel based on books like this is a growing trend. “We have undoubtedly seen a shift away from passive sightseeing toward more meaningful, narrative-led travel,” notes Johnny Prince, co-founder and CEO of the tour operator Timbuktu. “People are looking for context to their trips, and books provide one of the most powerful entry points into understanding a destination.”
For me, reading and travel are practically synonymous, and I always combine my love of literature and exploring the world into one intertwined escape. Read on to discover why you might want to consider letting books shape your next trip—and my advice on how to best do that.
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The rise of literary tourism
There’s now an unofficial name for travel based on literature: bookbound trips. According to Skyscanner’s 2026 trends report, 55% of respondents either have booked or would consider booking a trip inspired by novels, while 33% would consider visiting a location mentioned in one.
Hilton’s 2026 trends report echoes the findings on literary wanderlust. Among Americans surveyed, 68% said reading is one of their most anticipated leisure activities during downtime.
Vacation rental platform Vrbo spotted this 2026 travel trend too, though it nicknamed these trips “readaways.” Whatever you call them, the data is clear: Travelers are all about R&R this year—as in reading and relaxation.
An alternative to literary tours
Unlike traditional literary tours that turn books into rigid itineraries, bookbound travel doesn’t have to dictate an entire trip. I might seek out some specific sites mentioned in what I’m reading, but I also let the story act as a general lens that helps interpret how I see a place. Because of a book, I notice details or sense a mood I might otherwise miss. In turn, the destination I’m visiting rewrites, in a way, how I understand the story I’m reading.
In Death on the Nile, for example, a character remarks to detective Hercule Poirot that looking at the “big and peaceful” pharaohs carved from rock near where their boat is docked “makes one feel that one’s so small—and rather like an insect—and that nothing matters very much really…” That line resonated with me very differently when I read it in Egypt, surrounded by similar otherworldly monuments that have endured for thousands of years, than it would have if I’d read it at home.
Later, during stops between Luxor and Aswan, I better appreciated the world Christie drew inspiration from—surreal sites like the Karnak Temple, where massive columned halls and rows of stately stone sphynxes felt almost imaginary. At the end of the trip, while aboard a felucca, a traditional Nile sailboat, I spotted the book’s opening setting, the opulent Cataract Hotel (now officially known as the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan). From the water, I could practically picture Poirot’s dismay at Jacqueline de Bellefort’s unexpected and very unwelcome arrival.
That same Nile cruise allowed me to dust off the mystery alongside two other books set in Egypt that had been sitting on my towering to-be-read stack: Christopher Bollen’s Havoc, a thriller anchored in a Luxor hotel modeled on the historic Winter Palace Hotel, and his The Lost Americans, unfolding amid the chaos of Cairo.
The point of my trip wasn’t to experience the world of these books, but these books helped me appreciate the world around me.
What makes bookbound getaways so great
Traveling with a good book set in the destination you’re visiting turns an ordinary trip into a truly immersive experience. Here are just a few of the ways bookbound travel adds depth to any getaway:
Solo travel is much more enjoyable
Novels are engaging travel companions, especially on solo trips. One of my first bookbound getaways came shortly after the publication of Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons, a thriller set in Rome about a Harvard symbologist who races through the city’s churches and other sites to stop a deadly ancient plot.
Each night, I’d read a few chapters before bed and add any places mentioned in the story to my itinerary. Like a scavenger hunt, my days became so full of exploration and fun that there was little room for loneliness.
Details hidden in plain sight are easier to discover
On a trip to Cartagena, Colombia, I read Gabriel García Márquez’s romantic epic, Love in the Time of Cholera, and began noticing all the beautiful, lush colonial courtyards behind half-open doors in the historic Old Town—scenes I might have overlooked without the book’s rich portrait of the Caribbean city. As a bonus, I even found the late author’s former house.
And in Rome, with Angels & Demons as my guide, I uncovered entirely new corners of the Italian capital, including Bernini’s masterpiece sculpture The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, tucked away in Cornaro Chapel, inside the easily missed church Santa Maria della Vittoria.
The history of a place becomes more human
I recently went to El Salvador, a country I didn’t know that much about, and read The Weight of All Things by Sandra Benitez while there. The novel follows a boy whose mother is killed in an act of political violence, and through his search for her, it reveals how the country was torn apart by a brutal 12-year civil war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of its citizens, many of them children. The book made the historical reality of that conflict clearer to me.
The setting feels like more than just a backdrop
Some destinations are already postcard-perfect, but a great book can personalize them. Liliana Mascolo, who co-owns and runs the Hotel Poseidon on Italy’s Amalfi Coast with her mother and sister, saw this firsthand when writer Rebecca Serle used the property as a creative touchpoint for One Italian Summer, her novel about love, loss and mother-daughter bonds.
“One Italian Summer was an unexpected surprise in all the best ways,” Mascolo says of meeting fans of the story who didn’t want to “just turn the pages, but step into them” by staying at the hotel. “Over the years, we’ve welcomed countless guests who arrived with the book in hand, asking for team members by name,” eager to meet the very people who made the narrative feel tangible.
You go home with memories of both the trip and the book
“Novels create an emotional connection to a place before you even arrive, and that makes the experience infinitely richer once you’re there,” says Timbuktu Travel’s Prince. “Often, when a destination is tied to a story, you instantly notice more, ask different questions and engage on a much deeper level.”
I’ve noticed something similar myself. When I see certain titles now, I immediately recall where I was when I read them. Chasing the Thrill, the nonfiction account of how millionaire Forrest Fenn hid a treasure chest in the American West and sparked a real-life treasure hunt, always brings me right back to reading it on a summer road trip through Utah, Wyoming and Montana. In my mind’s eye, I can still picture the wide-open skies and expansive mountain views, and I feel that sense of freedom—just from hearing the name.
Book-based travel fits every budget
Bookbound trips can be as wildly luxurious or as simple as you want. “Books have long served as a powerful catalyst for travel inspiration,” explains Jennifer Lew, the vice president of product at TCS World Travel, which designs private jet expeditions based on books for well-traveled, well-read clients. “We help guests go beyond the page by bringing the worlds they’ve read about to life in a way that feels both intentional and deeply considered.”
But even those with far more limited budgets can explore their immediate surroundings with the aid of a good book. My home base of New York City, for example, offers me an endless wealth of bookbound-style trips right outside my door, from Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. There’s usually a book out there for just about every part of the world, even the most unexpected ones.
How to plan a literary trip
There’s really no right or wrong way to plan a literary-focused trip. I usually choose a destination first, then build a reading list across genres set there. Before a trip to Venice years ago, I wanted to understand the city as more than just a haven for tourists, so I devoured Jon Berendt’s The City of Falling Angels, an investigation into the 1996 La Fenice opera house fire. In the process, I learned about Venice’s real-life scandals and eccentric characters.
Other times, it works in reverse: a book inspires the destination choice. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is a novel that opened my eyes to Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, casting the bright Mediterranean city in a completely different light. When I finally visited, what might have been just a curious maze of narrow streets and stone facades took on the air of a shadowy mystery world filled with hidden passageways and mythical, forgotten bookstores. I wandered the neighborhood at night, seeing it as the book showed me how.
Sometimes I’ll mix it up and read one book before I travel to get a sense of place, then save a few others to enjoy while I’m there. Different genres and tones change the trip—even places I’ve visited before.
How to get the most out of literary tourism
There are many paths up the literary mountain, but a bookbound holiday shouldn’t feel like an assignment. With book-based travel, the point isn’t to trace a story step by step on a map or check off locations (though that can be fun too) but to let the stories and destinations inform each other.
I rarely read while exploring. Instead, I alternate—reading before heading out or spending the morning roaming and returning to the book later. Sometimes I even see places first and read about them afterward. This rhythm lets both experiences breathe. When I visited Rome with Angels & Demons, I sought out certain landmarks, but I also wandered far beyond them.
In the end, the book starts the story, and the destination writes the final line.
Where to take your bookish adventure
Here are some book-and-destination pairings to consider for your next big trip:
San Juan, Puerto Rico
What to read: The Rum Diary
Hunter S. Thompson’s The Rum Diary captures the sun-soaked, unruly spirit of San Juan. Parts of the film adaptation were shot at Caribe Hilton, where the novel’s atmosphere comes to life. The hotel is the perfect launchpad to dive into that mid-century Caribbean energy.
Amalfi Coast, Italy
What to read: The Talented Mr. Ripley
Patricia Highsmith captures the allure of the 1950s Mediterranean jet-set lifestyle through the eyes of Tom Ripley, a down-and-out outsider who deviously worms his way into another man’s life. It’s a great read to get lost in on a voyage with SeaDream Yacht Club cruise or a stay in one of the area’s cliffside towns perched high above the sea.
The Mississippi River
What to read: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
When I was younger, I was obsessed with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a book worth revisiting at any age. I grew up near the Mississippi River, but it still would have been a dream to take an adventure like the one Mark Twain wrote about. Today, fans of the classic can do just that with American Cruise Lines, which offers Twain-themed itineraries along the Mississippi that include stops in Hannibal, Missouri, the author’s boyhood home.
Denmark
What to read: Hamlet
Reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet is an experience, but nothing quite compares to stepping into Kronborg Castle, the UNESCO-listed fortress immortalized as Elsinore in the Bard’s masterpiece. To top it off, the story will come to life this August, when world-class actors perform open-air productions of the play in the castle’s courtyard.
Chicago
What to read: The Devil in the White City
Erik Larson’s bestselling nonfiction book The Devil in the White City details two parallel stories: the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and the crimes of H.H. Holmes. Much of the narrative unfolds around Jackson Park and nearby Chicago landmarks. Experiencing those spots—especially the Museum of Science and Industry and the Riverwalk—feels like stepping through the pages of the book itself.
Iceland
What to read: Njál’s Saga
Every fall, I head to the North Atlantic for the Iceland Noir book festival and read novels by the many Icelandic authors represented, from Ragnar Jónasson to Yrsa Sigurðardottir. For something more deeply tied to the country’s landscape and history, pick up Njáls Saga. Written in the 13th century, it unfolds across the south coast, including the lava fields and mountains around Hotel Rangá.
“I always tell guests it’s important to read it twice: once for the story and again to see how women cleverly influenced events behind the scenes,” says Friðrik Pálsson, owner of the property, which curates custom tours to locations where the saga is set, such as Keldur, a collection of turf houses that offer a window into Iceland’s early farming practices and medieval life.
Anywhere on a boat
What to read: American Fantasy
For a meta bookbound experience, cruisers might want to get American Fantasy, a novel by Emma Straub about a woman of a certain age who finds herself on a four-day cruise with a ’90s-era boy band (and all their adoring fans). The literary fiction title taps into another one of this year’s biggest trip trends: nostalgia travel.
India
What to read: The Jungle Book
Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book follows Mowgli, raised among wolves in the forests of Madhya Pradesh in central India. It’s a tale often linked to Pench National Park, and The Oberoi Vindhyavilas Wildlife Resort and The Oberoi Rajgarh Palace offer immersive gateways into that world for young readers and their families.
At The Oberoi Vindhyavilas Wildlife Resort, guests head out on dawn safaris through Bandhavgarh National Park—home to one of the highest densities of Bengal tigers—evoking Mowgli’s encounters with the formidable Shere Khan.
Hawaii
What to read: Lies and Weddings
I visited the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai on Hawaii’s Big Island nearly two decades ago, but if I returned today, I’d bring along Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan’s novel Lies and Weddings. He spent time at the resort while writing the high-drama family saga that’s as thrilling as the Hawaiian lava field landscape surrounding the property.
New York City
What to read: Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune
The Waldorf Astoria in New York is an ideal backdrop for the nonfiction Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune, journalist Anderson Cooper’s personal account of his family, the Vanderbilts, and their legacy, including the real estate empire behind this recently reopened iconic hotel.
Venice, Italy
What to read: The Midnight Train
There’s something magical about train travel and Venice, so pairing the two with Matt Haig’s The Midnight Train—a new time-traveling love story that recalls his bestseller The Midnight Library—feels fitting.
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Sources:
- Johnny Prince, co-founder and CEO of Timbuktu; email interview, April 2026
- Liliana Mascolo, co-owner and operator of Hotel Poseidon; email interview, April 2026
- Jennifer Lew, vice president of product at TCS World Travel; email interview, April 2026
- Friðrik Pálsson, owner of Hotel Rangá; email interview, April 2026
- Skyscanner: “Travel ’26 Trends”
- Skyscanner: “Bookbound, the Literature Trend”
- Hilton: “2026 Trends Report”
- The International: “Hamletscenen”
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