Whether you’re a beginner or a long-time traveler, it’s natural to look for ways to enrich your experience and make the most of every vacation. Thus, a previous post highlights the secrets of authentic travel, which include valuing cultural diversity, exploring sustainable tourism, and investing in outdoor activities, creative events, and learning opportunities during your travels.
However, another way to embrace authenticity, freedom, and adventure as a traveler is to try backpacking. The American Hiking Society reports that this outdoor activity continues to gain popularity in the United States, with 10.3 million reported to have gone backpacking in 2021.
As this subcategory of hiking involves venturing into remote areas and off-the-beaten-path destinations, the organization also offers accessible backpacking resources on its website to help you maximize safety and enjoyment on your planned trips.
Beyond gaining knowledge and skills through informative resources, it also helps to draw inspiration from expert backpackers who can inspire you to try new things and gain more fulfillment in your travels. These stories and insights are available through audiobooks, as explained below.
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Why audiobooks are suitable for travelers
Listening to audiobooks has always been associated with travel. Audiobooks can be downloaded so easily to electronic devices and allow listeners more freedom as a hands-free activity. Since backpackers have to carry all their travel essentials throughout the journey, audiobooks are the more lightweight option that they can enjoy while going on hikes and expeditions.
Instead of visiting bookstores, you can also easily access travel audiobooks on Everand. This digital library hosts the most talked-about titles, such as Nowhere for Very Long by Brianna Madia and new releases like Barefoot Britain by Anna McNuff.
Upon subscribing to the platform, you can also take advantage of offline listening and sync your library across devices so you don’t lose progress as you move from one destination to another. The next section recommends the best audiobooks to inspire your next backpacking adventure.
3 Best Travel Audiobooks to Inspire You
A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko
Credit: National Geographic on Youtube
An epic account of a 750-mile odyssey through America’s most magnificent and iconic national park, A Walk in The Park will surely make you look forward to exploring the cliffs and ledges of the immense Grand Canyon.
Written and narrated by Kevin Fedarko, this book serves not just as an inspiration to survive what the experts deem as one of the toughest hikes in the world. Rather, this memoir can also be a wake-up call for beginner and long-time backpackers alike to protect one of America’s greatest natural treasures.
In Search of Perfumes by Dominique Roques
Credit: Talks at Google on YouTube
As mentioned earlier, aligning your travel with sustainability goals and principles can lead to authentic and fulfilling experiences. For instance, explorer and author Dominique Roques embarks on an adventure to search for natural ingredients that can help make the perfume-making process more sustainable.
Whether or not perfumery is one of your interests, In Search of Perfumes: A Lifetime Journey to the Source of Nature’s Scents is a nine-hour history, memoir, and travelogue that will remind you what it means to travel with a purpose and embrace local communities along the way.
World Travel by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever
Credit: CastleLight Productions on YouTube
Lastly, it’s impossible to talk about authentic travel adventures without mentioning the late Anthony Bourdain. In World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, which he co-wrote with Laurie Woolever, the American chef, television host, and travel documentarian takes you through his relentlessly curious journey from New York to Borneo, Paris, Shanghai, and beyond.
With his sharp and entertaining commentary, listening to this 12-hour guide will teach you how to appreciate every place you visit, no matter how hidden or unpopular it may be.
Concluding…
Overall, these travel audiobook recommendations remind you that backpacking isn’t just an outdoor activity that will physically challenge you. It should also move you to immerse yourself in both urban and rural localities and ultimately find meaning throughout your travels.