Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips by National Geographic Society

Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips Reviews

• 
  Allison

  It's a really lovely coffee table sized book full of the little blurbs & gorgeous photos that I connect with anything by National Geographic. I like the organization of it - with the colored tabs on the sides - as well as the chosen categories. Definitely trips for everyone. A great starting point for a "must travel" list.
• 
  Natalie all_books_great_and_small

  EXPLORE THE BEST OF THE WORLD.
  There's over 120 brand new destinations within this book and there is something for everyone inside it. So weather you love hiking, train journeys, stargazing or fishing, flowers, food, culture or history, there's something for everyone to explore in this book.
  I have seen so many breath taking pictures within this book that if I could I'd hop on a plane and travel far and wide to see them all. The trouble is there's so many I don't know which I'd pick first! The information detailed within this book is both factual and enjoyable to read. Even my 5 year old daughter has been fascinated looking at all the different places around the world.
  The book lists highlights of each location and historical information as well as information in relation to the best times to travel/visit locations, how long they take, any planning info you need e.g such as contacting local tourist boards, if you should book well in advance etc. Inside information such as how often locals use that route, cultural info, what to do in/out of season etc. And websites to check out.
  I truly reccomend this book to anyone. It's a book to treasure for life that feeds food to the mind and widens your horizons to what there is around us in the world and many ideas of beautiful locations to explore that you wouldn't normally think of. A real treasure trove of travel.
• 
  Nancy

  Who am I kidding? You don't really "read" a book like this. You leave it sitting on a corner of your desk at work for months on end, and when you're bored or having an especially bad day, you flip through it and plan your next vacation. If you're anal like I am, you try to find a helpful website for the trips you like and bookmark it in Pinterest for future planning/day dreaming. Yeah, that's what I did and I loved it.
  
  But seriously, it's 500 trips. 500! That's a lot. And the library is now threatening to send me to collections and call my mom and maybe burn down my house unless I return this book, despite the fact that I work for them.... sigh..... So, I guess it's time to return the book and just buy my own copy next time I feel the urge to look at the beautiful pictures.
  
  Yeah......
• 
  Overbooked ✎

  Excellent resource for planning your bucket list.
• 
  Debra Schoenberger

  This six pound reference book is a veritable guide to pretty much anyplace you want to explore and how you want to do it.  Not everyone travels the same way or wants to do the same thing so this book breaks down trips and destinations into sections that will appeal to different travelers.
  
  Each page highlights a destination with a brief (not exhaustive) summary, advice about when to go, how long, when to plan, inside information and a list of websites to visit for more information.  There is also a small map with tidbits of information on the side panel.  Naturally, photographs fill the book.
  
  Here are a few examples of different types of trips:
  
  Are you a foodie?  Chapter 6 teases you with different foodie tours
  
  Kentucky Bourbon Trail (page 249)
  
  Blue Mountain Coffee (page 254
  
  Thailand Cuisine Tour (page 259)
  
  Love trains?  Chapter 3 provides information for the train lover - whether luxurious or spartan.
  
  Mexico, EL Chepe (page 113)
  
  Vietnam, The Reunification Express (page 119)
  
  India, The Palace on wheels (page 125)
  
  Intrepid Hiker?  Chapter 4 - Put on your hiking books and follow some of these trails (both city and wilderness trips)!
  
  Vermont, the Appalachian Trail (149)
  
  Utah, Paria Canyon (153)
  
  Hawai'i, The Kalalau Trail (page 157)
  
  As a world traveler and photographer, I've been to many of the places I read about in the book.  Because there are so many destinations featured in this guide, there isn't really a lot of information per subject.  That's where you have fun doing your own research!  I've already tagged a few pages of destinations I would like to visit!
  
  I highly recommend this guide for any intrepid (or non-intrepid) explorer who wants to explore places both far flung or closer to home.
• 
  Janet

  A wonderful book to dream with--of where you've been and where you'd like to go. Amazingly I have been on many of the domestic trips described. Hopefully I wil be fortunate enough to spend the next 40 years visiting and experiencing some of the international places and adventures. I'll try to remember to return to this book to make plans--it's nicely organized by journeys across water, by road, by rail, on foot, in search of culture,in gourmet heaven, into the action, up and away and in their footsteps (pilgrimages for readers, dreamers, and history fans).
• 
  Roberta

  If this book doesn’t light a flame under your wanderlust, you are reading the wrong book!
  While it included some places and activities that did not appeal to me — aggressive adventures, for example — it did include many fascinating locations and activities.
  It even made me want to return to most of the places that I have already visited!
  Keep in mind that it is a coffee-table style of travel book, so if that type of reading does not appeal to you then you might be better off reading a book set in one of the many locations described in the pages of this delightful book.
• 
  Ashley

  Interesting way to lay out travel and I got a few new ideas from it!
• 
  Andrew Brennan

  Something I learned in this book is that The middle East is a very old and interesting tourist atraction, because it is filled with lots of beautiful architecture.
• 
  Kathleen Garber

  This beautiful full colour book takes you on a tour of 500 trips you can take around the world, separated by type of trip and including photos, places you don’t want to miss, tips specific to that area and where to find more information.
  
  The categories are: Across Water, By Road, By Rail, On Foot, In Search of Culture, In Gourmet Heaven, Into the Action, Up and Away and In Their Footsteps.
  
  The first few are obvious. Into the Action are for those who want hands-on adventure (Dogsledding in Alaska, Heli-Hiking in British Columbia, White Water rafting in West Virginia or riding Dune Buggies in Oregon), Up and Away includes flights and bird’s eye views and In Their Footsteps has you following where people from history went such as Cabot Trail (where explorer John Cabot landed in Nova Scotia), following the route taken by Lewis and Clark in the US or visiting the three homes of one of Chile’s important writers/political figures Pablo Neruda.)
  
  For each entry, you will find info, when to go, how long, planning, inside information, websites, highlights and full-colour photographs.
  
  Dribbled throughout the book are also lists such as:
  Top 10 Steam Train Tips
  Top 10 City Bike Tours
  Top 10 Skywatching Destinations
  Top 10 Jetboat Adventures
  and much more
  
  If you are a traveller this book is for you. If you love learning about notable parts of the world, this book is for you. This is definitely more for a traveller though.
• 
  Grace

  I love, love, LOVE this book. I've had it for years, and it's as fun to read on any rainy day as it is to read when planning a trip. I'm constantly dog-earing another page to add to my list of travel destinations. Half the fun is looking at the photographs, collected over the years by Nat Geo's finest. The format, divided into modes of travel (By Train, On Foot) makes what could be a very overwhelming coffee table book accessible. The Top 10 lists are also great fun (Where else would you find a list of the world's "Top 10 Funiculars and Cable Cars"?). Journeys of a Lifetime is a key read for any aspiring world traveler, and for anyone who wants an adventure without stepping out of their hobbit hole.
• 
  Amerynth

  "Journeys of a Lifetime" which gives short vignettes on interesting travel ideas is a really beautiful book. The pictures are gorgeous and the short trip descriptions are nice.
  
  I didn't love the way the book was organized -- by type of travel rather than location -- as it makes things more difficult to find if you're traveling to an area. (Do a lot of people say, I want to take a trip by train.... I'll look for someplace to go?) I expected more itineraries rather than brief descriptions, too.
  
  The book is nice for armchair expeditions, though it won't help much in the planning department.
• 
  Molly

  Unless you are extremely lucky, extremely rich, or both, this book is a way to vicariously see places you are not likely to visit in person. It's National Geographic, so, of course the pictures are awesome. I was pleasantly surprised that I had visited some of the places mentioned, but not shocked to find that many I'd never heard of! There are minimal travel details included for each journey, but if you actually intend to take one of the trips a more in depth guide would be essential.
• 
  Laura

  An excellent "coffee table book". There is a trip in here for everyone who wants to travel local and internationally; by boat, plane, or foot; adventure-themed or food-themed. Very fun. The only thing I wish they could have done was given more detailed information about each trip. Logically I know that book would be 3x the size as this one, and this book is not light already-but that is what I thought was missing, more detail.
• 
  Dee Renee Chesnut

  Before reading this book I would have never imagined there is The Great Pub Crawl in Australia where the designated driver is the pilot who flies you from pub to pub. It sounded like great fun. This is perfect gift for an armchair traveler or for the person in charge of vacation itineraries. Websites are given for each trip for more research.
• 
  Ron

  WOW, WOW & WOW!!!
  If this book doesn't wake up the travel and adventure bug in you... nothing will.
  So many great trips, so little time.
  Nicely split up into chapters.. by water, by road, by rail & by foot. Even has the best elevator trips.
  A much better book than "1,000 places to see before you die".
• 
  E. Ce Miller

  This is a great coffee table book--I often will flip through it in a spare moment here and there...it's like taking a mini-vacation. It's also great in assisting with off-beat trip planning. This is definitely a book for travelers, not tourists.
• 
  Pam

  Amazing book, full of inspirational ideas for trips. Great photography, as always for NG. I will buy this book, just to flip through & dream.
• 
  Aimee

  Wonder if the publishers considered such alternate titles like, "Oh, The Places You'll Never Go" or "Dare to Dream".
• 
  Carol

  This is an awesome coffee table book! I like the website references for more info on trips they recommend.
• 
  Ellie Dynek

  An eclectic and fascinating collection of journey that can make someone's life an enriching experience and provide them with adventures and memories to remember for years to come.