Author: Dale Thomas Vaughn

22 Films That Inspire Us to Travel

I watched my favorite travel film recently and was struck by how much wanderlust it inspired in me. So I decided to ask my colleagues at BootsnAll and AirTreks, and I opened up to our Facebook community for input too. Here’s the list… what did we miss? Comment over on Facebook!

  1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – The story of a regular guy daydreaming of adventures at his routine job who finally gets up the nerve to stop dreaming and start tracking down his intrepid travel muse across continents, oceans, volcano eruptions, helicopter rides, warlords, the Himalayas – all in order to fulfill his purpose, see the world, and thwart the suits who don’t understand the deep value of travel (or his job). This is the secret heartsong of every cubicle-trapped traveler, right? Well, I’ve decided it’s now my favorite film, supplanting the long reign atop my personal favorites by Casablanca.
  2. Moana – I like musicals. The line in this film that gets me every time is… “we are descended from voyagers who found their way across the world… and they call me!” Anyone with a little bit of nomad in their blood will feel the DNA in their hair stand up at that exact moment. That line, and this film make me feel understood.
  3. Midnight in Paris – “There’s no city like this in the world!” A purposefully romanticized version of Paris, which would probably make Hemingway roll his eyes and pour another tumbler of scotch at finding out the film was (loosely) inspired by his classic A Moveable Feast. I dare you to watch this intro scene and not salivate for a freshly baked baguette. I lived in Paris long enough to get past the point of tourist novelty – to feel its ennui and darkness, and this film still makes me forget all of that and sigh longingly for a stroll along the Seine.
  4. Up
    “Don’t put travel off for later. Go now.”
    Madison Hagen, the globetrotting Social Media Maven at AirTreks
  5. “I love the movie French Kiss. It makes me want to visit France and drink wine at a vineyard on the hillside.”
    Gwen Stewart Ainsworth on Facebook
  6. Around the World in 80 Days and Black Orpheus.
    “Those were the first – many since then. I learned about the International Dateline from Around the World and wanted to experience it.”
    Loren Felton on Facebook
  7. Black Orpheus
  8. Sur les Traces de Michel Strogoff
    “This is a documentary actually and I can’t remember the English name, but it definitely pushed me to go into Russia and to visit lake Baikal in Siberia. It is a TV documentary show with several episodes; this one was probably the most memorable to me.”
    Daniel Carmo Silva on Facebook
  9. Macao (1952) with Robert Mitchum & Jane Russell.
    “Two years later I took the night ferry from Hong Kong to Macao to find a dreary little colonial town where the most interesting thing was the Protestant cemetery.”
    W Jones Jordan on Facebook
  10. “I fell in love with Vienna and travel thru Before Sunrise and the series – Before Sunset (Paris) and Before Midnight (Greece) – is a love letter to travel, conversation and connections.”
    Suzanne Wolko on Facebook
  11. Mamma Mia ALWAYS makes me long to see more of Greece – I come away from that movie completely jazzed and ready to book a ticket NOW! The sun, food, gorgeous buildings, beaches… it’s all just so incredibly enticing, like if you go there, life will be perfect. Ah, Greece – you had me at ‘Opa!’”
    Wynne Gavin on Facebook
  12. The Fall
    “One of the most beautifully filmed movies of all time and I would love to visit every location they filmed at.”
    Dani Blanchette on Facebook
  13. The Gods Must Be Crazy 1 and 2
    “…and any movie regarding Africa.”
    Laurentiu Nicolae, Developer Extraordinaire at AirTreks
  14. Belle et Sebastien
    “…made me want to see the Alps.”
    Laurentiu Nicolae, Developer Extraordinaire at AirTreks
  15. “My husband and I love The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the Darjeeling Express.”
    Grace Moss, Travel Support at AirTreks
  16. “I’m really enjoying Planet Earth II on Netflix.”
    Anthy Kapsalis, Travel Support at AirTreks
  17. Kedi made me want to go to Istanbul even more.”
    Kristina Ketelsen, Rate Desk Agent at AirTreks
  18. Life of Pi – Kate Voehl, Product Director at AirTreks
  19. Raiders of the Lost Ark
  20. Lost in Translation
  21. Endless Summer
  22. Baraka – 19-22 are all from David Derrick, our intrepid Director of A
    ir Product
So… what did we miss?

Comment over on Facebook!

Thumbnail Photo by Jake Hills on Unsplash
Cover Photo by Krists Luhaers on Unsplash