Travel Writing Memoirs

Named one of Time Magazine International's 30 most important people of 2005, Maud Fontenoy presents us with a terrific, entertaining adventure story on the high seas as she challenges the Pacific Ocean - a feat no woman before her ever accomplished. Already the first woman to row alone across the North Atlantic, Maud raised the bar to defy the elements, the daunting solitude, and the circling sharks of the South Pacific on her second solo voyage.

Danger lurks on every voyage - what the cruise lines don't want you to know - how to be safe on your cruise. Crew with criminal backgrounds, drug dealers and mules carrying drugs on the ship, crime at the ports of the Caribbean and the biggest danger of all - fire on cruise ships. Learn about the one small item you should bring that fits in your pocket. Read this book before booking a cruise.

Michael Katakis' Traveller is a collection of "travel letters and journals" from his amazing journeys around the globe. You will find his writing personal, like a series of letters from a friend. And along the way, you will meet many different characters, from places as diverse as Fez, Crete, and Gallipoli.

With a destination loosely defined as the rest of the world, Mary and her husband Tom leave family, friends and successful careers for a multi-year sailing voyage. As the voyage takes her farther and farther from her traditional support systems, her world becomes more and more defined by forces outside her control. Mary's travels through often uncharted island communities, provides a compelling metaphor for a journey of self-discovery.

Have you been putting off that trip of a lifetime hoping for a special someone to accompany you? Do you find yourself getting bored with the same old girls' weekends? Are you hesitant to step out of your comfort zone, plan a solo vacation, and just go? From pastries in Vienna to becoming a tourist in your own town and all points in between, this travel memoir and guidebook will inspire you to seek romance and adventure on your own terms. You will also get practical advice on how to stay safe while traveling single, create a budget, prepare and pack efficiently, and more.

With teenage children and in-laws in tow, the Fleetwood family embarks on their three-month family vacation just days after the tragic loss of their beloved dachshund, Coco. When two miniature dachshunds in smart winter coats are spotted in Moscow, it’s game on! A riotous, often hilarious dachshund-spotting competition for the lovable long-bodied dog ensues across 15 countries. Filled with love, laughter, and sadness at times, Destination Dachshund offers a unique twist on the travel memoir with remembrance for those who have been loved and lost.

Lost in time for generations, the story of a 19th-century English gentleman in British India - a family mystery of love found and loyalties abandoned, finally brought to light. In 1841, 20-year-old Nigel Halleck set out for Calcutta as a clerk in the East India Company. He went on to serve in the colonial administration for eight years before abruptly leaving the company under a cloud and disappearing in the mountain kingdom of Nepal, never to be heard from again.

A child who never quite fit in, Rebecca Dana worshipped at the altar of Truman Capote and Nora Ephron, dreaming of one day ditching Pittsburgh and moving to New York, her Jerusalem. After graduating from college, she made her way to the city to begin her destiny. For a time, life turned out exactly as she’d planned: glamorous parties; beautiful people; the perfect job, apartment, and man. But when it all came crashing down, she found herself catapulted into another world....

Mungo Park was an explorer of the real kind. In 1795, only aged 24, he left Gambia for the uncharted interior of Africa, in a journey that would be filled with tragedy, heroism, and adventure. Park was the first European to ever reach the river Niger and the legendary city of Timbuctoo, thus resolving, once and for all, a century-old geographic debate. He travelled with local guides and later entirely alone, through warring kingdoms, robberies, imprisonment, and extreme duress. By the time he returned to Gambia, he had long been given up for dead.

When civil war broke out in Spain in 1936, Orwell, like many other European socialists, was quick to join the fight against fascism. And so, in December that year, he found himself in Catalonia with a 40-year-old rifle, no helmet, uniform, maps or tools, and a platoon of near children under his command.

Sky-Hitching to Heaven, Experiencing the Fun Side of God is an entertaining book that includes thirty amazing experiences in which God intervened in unexpected ways. Mary Gordon has lived a life filled with thrills. Whether “sky-hitching” across the country, whitewater canoeing, hiking, primitive camping, or cooking exotic multi-course meals, she sees God involved in the everyday and the extraordinary aspects of life. There’s even a chapter involving a shopping miracle. In 1977 Mary sky-hitched from mid-Ohio to Spokane, Washington.

Like many of us, YES! Magazine cofounder Sarah van Gelder was alarmed about the state of American society. The deep divides, racial violence, climate change, economic insecurity, and inequality - is our society coming unraveled? Has anyone got answers? She confided her fears to a friend, who said, "If the universe could deploy the one small person that is you, what would it have you do?" Her answer surprised them both: "I'd go out traveling and see for myself."

When the world went into lockdown in early 2020 novelist Anthony McDonald found himself separated from his Spanish partner by 2,000 miles of sea. This is the story, told in real time, of how he made his way to Tenerife on the day lockdown began there, and of the months that followed. A highly personal view of the Canary Islands, including accounts of time spent on other islands of this beautiful archipelago.

An idyllic holiday in the Italian Alps... After a typical tour of Italy, Noor heads north to spend a nice, quiet winter with her Grandma. It’s going to be great. She’ll go for walks and enjoy the fresh mountain air, read by the wood-burning stove and under no circumstances use the chamber pot under the bed. At least, that was the plan. She didn’t plan on running out of money. Or riding on the back of a bicycle, in traffic, with no helmet on. Oh, and there was that one time a giant pig tried to force his way into the kitchen. And there’s so much she’s forgotten about her childhood ...

It was supposed to be a stress-free holiday... A chance to see Israel's beauty and Petra's magnificence on a normal, safe group tour. That’s what Noor thought she was signing up for… but no one told her about passport officers on a power trip. Or about grumpy bus drivers leaving tourists behind. And then, that important detail about border crossing the travel agent forgot to mention. Will this adventure be more than Noor can handle? ★ This is a light-hearted memoir of an inexperienced traveller on a typical tour of Israel and Jordan. If you enjoy travel tales about friendly locals and...

Lost luggage and a missed train, but who cares? We’re in Spain! Six years ago Noor promised her grandma she would return to Italy, but this time she’s not coming alone. With her fiancé Andy, they’ll celebrate Christmas in Spain, shiver through Switzerland, Austria, Prague and put on costumes for the Carnevale in Venice. And of course, spend time with family and friends in Italy. It will be a magical adventure in a winter wonderland. Well, except for an unwelcome visit from ‘Mr. Flu’ and Venice flooding, but with Andy by her side they’ll have a happy holiday. Most of the time. ...

Written and read by best-selling Australian author and much-loved actor William McInnes, this is a story about our love affair with holidays. It's about going away and staying at home. It's about the relaxing times you had as a kid, escapes you have with your children and the stories you hear from your friends. It can be about a romantic sunset, the spare seat at breakfast being taken by an attractive stranger, a miraculous airline upgrade....

Had Tolkien not spent nearly 18 months convalescing in the East Riding of Yorkshire, then he would probably not have survived the Great War. This modest publication, which contains a number of previously unpublished details about the author’s stay in the area, attempts to guide you around the corners of East Yorkshire that have a Tolkien connection. His stay recuperating at Brooklands Hospital in Hull gave him time to develop his writings, but it is the fragile and atmospheric coast of Holderness where he was billeted that helped to inspire him.

A couple of quiet weeks sailing the River Severn was the intention. Somehow things got out of hand—a year later, I had reached Romania and was still going. Equipped with his cheerful optimism and a pith helmet, this Australian Odysseus in a dinghy travels from the borders of North Wales to the Black Sea—4,900 kilometres over salt and fresh water, under sail, at the oars, or at the end of a tow-rope—through 12 countries, 282 locks and numerous trials and adventures, including an encounter with Balkan pirates.

For those looking to teach English in Japan or are already there, this series offers hard-won lessons of how to land with a running start and set yourself up for success.