Top 20 of the Best Travel Movies of All Time

#20 Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Steve Martin and John Candy kick it off with one of the all time comedy classics. Even watching this as a kid, the name was inspired me to get up and travel.

#19 Airplane

Continuing on down the path of light hearted travel flicks brings us to Airplane (Flying High). I remember watching Leslie Nielsen as a rug rat and thinking he was the funniest thing ever.

#18 Road Trip

Whether you’re a fan of Tom Greene or not, Road Trip will give you a few cheap laughs and provide you with at least a minimal amount of entertainment before you the open road with your buds.

Well, at least it did for me.

#17 Romancing the Stone

I must admit, I’m not a big Michael Douglas fan but with Danny DeVito and the adorable Kathleen Turner coming in through the clutch. This adventure flick is sure to get the Indiana Jones in all of us itching to get out.

#16 National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation

There aren’t many things better then watching Chevy Chase and the Griswolds party it up in Vegas in Vegas Vacation. This is an all time classic will never lose it’s replay value. It’s worth mention that even though it’s not there, I have been to that club with the people dancing in the cages, quite a few times.

#15 Endless Summer

This 1966 Surf, Summer Classic is about two California surfers who are looking for the perfect wave. I admit that I have never seen it but have heard all about it. I will have to watch this sometime in the near future.

#14 Finding Nemo

Pixar and Finding Nemo put the lime light back onto Sydney again only a few years after having the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This is the must see movie if you plan on traveling Down Under in the near future.

Nothing will excite you more then seeing the beautiful Sydney Harbor rendered in glorious CGI.

Sorry, that’s just the geek in me coming out.

#13 March of the Penguins

I’ve always wanted to go to Antarctica and watching March of the Penguins for the first time didn’t help much either.

Now, I want to go even more. In March of the Penguins we watch the Emperor Penguin endure some of the most extreme climate and weather known on the planet.

It truly is an exhilarating movie which is sure to get you ready for your big expedition to Antarctica.

#12 The Beach

I loved this movie up until about the half way point when it got all weird, dark and sinister. When The Beach went down that path it really ruined all that it had going for it.

Regardless, The Beach put Maya Bay and Ko Phi Phi Lee on the radar of backpackers from all around the world. To this day, I still have not been to Maya Bay but it is still on my list of places to travel to and it has been since I first saw the The Beach over ten years ago.

#11 Cast Away

Tom Hanks in Cast Away took us to the stranded on the desert cliche but to the extreme.

I love this movie because I’ve always been drawn to tropical beaches and deserted islands. Despite Chuck Noland’s misfortune of being in a tragic airplane crash and losing his best friend, ‘Wilson‘ this is definitely one of the best inspiration travel movies of all time.

#10 Alive

Unfortunately sometimes with travel comes tragedy as we witnessed in the 1993 movie ‘Alive‘ which is about a Uruguayan rugby team who was in an airplane horrific airplane crash. Sadly, they had to resort to eating the flesh of their fallen team mates to stay alive.

#9 Thelma and Louise

The ultimate Chick Flick and Road Trip Movie.

After a something very terrible happening during a night out at the bar we follow Thelma and Louise (Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon) on a cross country road trip from Oklahoma to Mexico in hopes to get away from it all. This ‘Chick Flick’ will even bring tears to big ole ‘Iron Eyes’ over there.

Hey, I’m not saying I cried.

#8 Wolf Creek

I’ve only watch this movie once, and I’ll never watch it again.

Wolf Creek made this list because it’s about some backpackers backpacking across Australia. The unfortunate backpackers who were on a road trip traveling through Western Australia ran out of luck when their car broke down. They later receive some ‘help’ from Mick Taylor (John Jarratt) who offer to fix their car.

I still have nightmares from John Jarratt’s hideous laugh.

From then on out, the rest of the movie is sure to terrify you and quite possibly change your mind about backpacking across Australia.

Sadly, Wolf Creek is based on a true story.

Which makes it all the more disturbing.

#7 The Fountain

The Fountain isn’t really related to traveling in any direct way.

However I feel that the sense of discovery, freedom, inspiration and spirituality that The Fountain delivers is similar to the sense of discovery, freedom, inspiration and spirituality that traveling delivers.

At least it did for me.

It also reminds me of my wife and I and how much I love her. There are a lot of similarities between us and Tom (Hugh Jackman) and Izzi ((Rachel Weisz).

The Fountain is a must see for any traveler who is looking for some inspiration for their next journey through life.

#6 127 Hours

Another remarkably inspirational story that is 127 Hours. Another movie based on a true story. I love hiking, mountain biking, adventure and being in the outdoors so I can totally relate to this movie.

Sadly real life canyoneer, Aron Ralston’s adventure at Robbers Roost in Utah comes to an abrupt end as he becomes trapped under a bolder and has no other choice but to amputate his right arm in order for him to survive.

127 hours is a great movie that brings out the fighting spirit in all of us.

Never give up.

#5 Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

I remember watching Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark at a very young age and absolutely falling in love with adventure. I can honestly credit most of my activities, hobbies and lifestyle choices to this movie.

Nothing was better then watching Indy running for his life as that huge boulder came tumbling after him.

That music, oh that music – I’ll never forget it.

Classic.

#4 The Darjeeling Limited

I’ve only seen some of The Darjeeling Limited but I will watch it again and all the way through this time. This is another great backpackers flick that will make you want to drop everything at home, grab your backpack and head off to India.

A definite must see for anybody who is traveling to India sometime in the near future.

#3 TransSiberian

Yet another excellent train flick is TransSiberian. I must admit that I didn’t know what to expect when I started watching this movie as I knew nothing about it – I hadn’t even heard of it.

Two hours later, I was totally satisfied with what I just watched.

While you definitely wouldn’t want any of the events that happened to you in the movie, to happen to you on your TransSiberian journey. I do believe that it is a great movie to watch to get you amped for your next TransSiberian journey.

The cinematography is beautiful.

#2 Terminal

Tom Hanks does it yet again as Viktor Navorski who becomes trapped in a terminal and is force to live at JFK International Airport. While I did sleep for a night at Christchurch International Airport it was nowhere near poor Mr. Navorski’s experience at JFK.

#1 Into the Wild

Yet another terrific traveler’s movie that is based on a true story.

There are very few movies that I watch more then once and Into the Wild is not one of them.

I just love this movie, it is one of my all time favorites. I really don’t know how many times I have watched it again and again and thoroughly enjoyed it each and every time.

The soundtrack is something beyond spectacular as well. Eddie Vedder helped make this movie what it is. Without Eddie Vedder’s raw voice and guitar melodies laced through this film, it would not have come close to giving you the experience that it does.

Into the Wild is without a doubt onne of the most beautiful backpacking, hitch hiking, travel, adventure and life stories ever filmed.

I don’t fit into the norm nor into society – I never have and I never will. Most of all I can totally relate to Christopher McCandless philosophy on life.

Thank you Christopher for living the dream and doing what so many of are afraid to do.

Self Portrait of Chris McCandless in Alaska.

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