By Brianna Rothman

Some people use the extra room in their suitcase for shoes. Some save it for a souvenir shopping spree. Others (bless them) insist on packing full-size toiletries.

And then there are the readers.

The ones standing over an open suitcase at 11pm, genuinely debating whether four books is reasonable for a seven-day trip. (It is. Absolutely it is.)

Here’s the thing about traveling with a great book: it doesn’t just fill the hours between takeoff and landing. It deepens the whole experience. The right story can make you feel more present, more curious, more alive to where you are — and sometimes, it makes you fall completely in love with a place you haven’t even visited yet.

That’s the magic we’re after.

Below are five of the best travel books to tuck into your carry-on right now, each one paired with a destination so beautifully matched that you’ll be Googling flights by chapter three. Consider this your summer reading list and your travel wish list — rolled into one.

1. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry — Pair It with Croatia

Why you need it: Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One relationship that’s clearly more complicated than either of them wants to admit.

Emily Henry has a way of writing about travel that makes you feel the warmth of the sun through the page — and People We Meet on Vacation is her most wanderlust-inducing work yet. It’s the kind of book you start on the plane and finish poolside, slightly sunburned and emotionally invested in people who don’t exist.

Why Croatia: Charming coastal towns. Long dinners by the water. The kind of slow, golden evenings that feel like they belong in a novel — because they do. Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, with its terracotta rooftops and impossibly blue Adriatic, is the perfect backdrop for a story about summer memories and the people who make them unforgettable. If you’ve ever wanted your own vacation storyline, Croatia is where it happens.

This one is for the couples looking to reconnect, the best friends who travel together every year, and anyone who believes the best trips leave a little piece of your heart behind.

2. The Guest List by Lucy Foley — Pair It with Ireland

Why you need it: A glamorous wedding on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. Stunning scenery. Family drama. And one very unfortunate murder.

Dark, atmospheric, and completely impossible to put down, The Guest List is the kind of thriller that makes airport delays feel like a gift. Lucy Foley writes with such a vivid sense of place that you’ll swear you can feel the sea wind and smell the peat smoke. It’s moody. It’s magnificent. And it will keep you guessing until the very last page.

Why Ireland: Because the dramatic, windswept landscapes of the Irish coast are practically tailor-made for this book. The Cliffs of Moher, the wild beauty of Connemara, the quiet magic of coastal villages — Ireland has an atmosphere unlike anywhere else on earth. It feels ancient and alive all at once. (Pro tip: maybe skip the isolated island wedding part. Just a thought.)

This one is for the solo traveler who wants to disappear into a story, the group of girlfriends who love a good mystery, and anyone who’s ever been deeply intrigued by a destination they couldn’t quite explain.

3. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith — Pair It with the Amalfi Coast

Why you need it: A psychological thriller following Tom Ripley, a man obsessed with the glamorous lifestyle of a wealthy American living in Italy. It’s tense. It’s seductive. It’s the kind of book that makes you question everyone around you — including yourself.

Patricia Highsmith set this story in 1950s Italy for a reason: no place on earth makes obsession feel more understandable. The light is golden, the food is extraordinary, and the lifestyle is so beautiful it almost justifies everything Ripley does. Almost.

Why the Amalfi Coast: The setting of The Talented Mr. Ripley is so quintessentially Italian that you’ll be craving pasta, a cliffside hotel, and a one-way plane ticket before you even finish the first act. Positano. Ravello. The winding coastal road with the sea glittering below — the Amalfi Coast is one of those places that doesn’t feel entirely real until you’re standing in it. This book will make you feel like you’re already there.

This one is for the couple celebrating a milestone anniversary, the luxury traveler who wants something with an edge, and anyone who has ever looked at a photo of the Italian coast and felt their whole chest ache.

4. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah — Pair It with Alaska

Why you need it: A gripping, emotional story about a family seeking a fresh start in the wild, unforgiving beauty of Alaska — only to discover that survival takes many forms. Kristin Hannah writes with a depth that leaves you changed, and this book is no exception.

Fair warning: you will cry. You will also immediately want to book a trip to somewhere vast and wild and breathtaking, because that’s what The Great Alone does. It makes you want to feel small in the best possible way.

Why Alaska: Whether you’re cruising through Glacier Bay, spotting wildlife from a wilderness lodge, or watching the Northern Lights from somewhere impossibly remote, Alaska is the kind of destination that recalibrates everything. It’s raw. It’s magnificent. It’s the rare place on earth where the landscape feels like a character in its own right — which makes the pairing with this novel almost too perfect. Alaska doesn’t just belong on your travel bucket list. It belongs at the top.

This one is for the adventurous family, the couple looking for something extraordinary, and the traveler who wants a trip that stays with them long after they’re home.

5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid — Pair It with Palm Springs

Why you need it: A reclusive Hollywood icon finally tells the story behind her fame, her marriages, her scandals, and her secrets. Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote one of the most compelling, cinematic, can’t-put-it-down novels of the last decade — and if you somehow haven’t read it yet, your travel plans just got a lot more interesting.

This is a book about glamour and ambition and love in all its complicated forms. It’s the kind of story that makes you want to order a glass of something expensive and watch the sun set somewhere spectacular.

Why Palm Springs: With its retro-modern architecture, its mid-century Hollywood history, and its effortless sense of style, Palm Springs is the perfect backdrop for a book you’ll have trouble putting down. There’s something about the desert light — golden and cinematic — that feels straight out of an old Hollywood film reel. Rooftop pools, vintage boutiques, long lunches that stretch into early evenings: Palm Springs is, in every sense, a place made for this book.

This one is for the girls’ trip that deserves a stunning backdrop, the couple who loves a little glamour, and the solo traveler who wants to feel like the main character for a long weekend.

Your Books Are Packed. Is Your Trip?

Here’s the secret truth about a great travel reading list: it doesn’t just make your vacation better. It makes you want a vacation in the first place.

If you’ve made it through these five pairings and you’re now deep in a Google rabbit hole about Croatian coastlines or Amalfi cliffside hotels or the Northern Lights in Alaska — that’s not an accident. That’s wanderlust doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.

The books are the beginning of the story. The trip is where you actually live it.

If your beach bag is already full of novels but your travel calendar is looking suspiciously empty, that’s exactly the kind of problem I love to solve. At Travel Plans with Bri, I design intentional, elevated travel experiences for families, couples, and groups who want meaningful trips — without the stress of planning every detail themselves.

All you have to do is arrive.

[Ready to turn your reading list into a real itinerary? Let’s start planning. →]

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Bri Rothman is a travel advisor and the founder of Travel Plans with Bri, based in Cumberland, Maine. She specializes in designing beautifully planned, stress-free travel for families, couples, and milestone moments — from Disney to the Dalmatian Coast.