Whether you’re looking for inspiration or a blueprint on how to make life on the road happen, you’ll find what you’re looking for in our list of best overland books.
While the world is changing at an incredibly fast pace, learning from those who came before us is still a great place to start when considering overland travels. Online content is great for keeping up to date with the latest happenings, but the in-depth stories for inspiration and practical knowledge are many times still found in longer-form books.
Whether read physically on paper or through digital means like Kindle, books about overland travel are well worth your time. From true classics to the latest releases, our best overland book list has it all.
I’ve been lucky enough to know and work with a vast majority of the authors of these books, and I can attest to not only the quality of the writing but also the impressive characters behind these titles. These books are the next best thing to sharing a campfire in some remote corner of the planet with these legends.
Our list was compiled from personal experience and through recommendations from the preeminent overland travelers and industry professionals of our time. While we surely missed a few quality reads, we also included a large majority of the books you should be reading about overland travel. Let’s dive into the best overland books out there.
GearJunkie’s 15 Best Overland Book Picks
‘Vehicle-Dependent Expedition Guide’ by Tom Sheppard and Jonathan Hanson
The VDEG ($80) is a 620-page softcover tome of knowledge that is now in its fifth edition, released in December 2021. There is likely no better single source for all the skills you’ll need for an overland adventure than this resource.
“An expedition can be a half-day exploring a hill track near home, two weeks off-road in Turkey or the Pyrenees, a major journey in Africa, or a development, aid or research project in a remote area. The demands are often surprisingly similar. Work or pure adventure, every expedition needs planning, selection, training and reliability as its ethos.
“To forty years’ expeditioning experience has been added a cumulative five years’ concentrated research to produce and later revise this book — shipping, equipment, clothing, fuels, oil, communications, vehicles, driver training and navigation are dealt with, distilled and summarised.” — Tom Sheppard
This book regularly sells out, and each edition has historically sold for more than the original asking price on the used market only a few years after its release.
Read ‘Vehicle-Dependent Expedition Guide’‘Jupiter’s Travels: Four Years Around the World on a Triumph’ by Ted Simon
Read ‘Jupiter’s Travels’‘First Overland: London—Singapore by Land Rover’ by Tim Slessor
Read ‘First Overland’‘Overlanders’ Handbook: Worldwide Route & Planning Guide’ by Chris Scott
Read ‘Overlanders’ Handbook’‘The Book of Independence: Around the World in 10 Years’ by Pablo Rey
Read ‘The Book of Independence’‘The Road Chose Me Volume 2: Three Years and 54,000 Miles Around Africa’ by Dan Grec
Read ‘The Road Chose Me Volume 2’‘Travel the Planet Overland’ by Graeme and Luisa Bell
Read ‘Travel the Planet Overland’‘Revolutionary Ride: On the Road in Search of the Real Iran’ by Lois Pryce
Read ‘Revolutionary Ride’‘Distant Suns: Adventure in the Vastness of Africa & South America’ by Sam Manicom
Read ‘Distant Suns’‘I Can. I Will. Women Overlanding the World’ by Sunny Eaton, Laurie Holloway, and Karin Balsley
Read ‘I Can. I Will. Women Overlanding the World’‘Overlanding in the Southeastern United States’ by Izzy Sanchez
Read ‘Overlanding in the Southeastern United States’‘The Essential Guide to Overland Travel in the United States and Canada’ by TeriAnn Wakeman
Read ‘The Essential Guide to Overland Travel’‘Who Needs a Road?’ by Harold Stephens and Albert Podell
Read ‘Who Needs a Road?’‘The Man Who Cycled the World’ by Mark Beaumont
Read ‘The Man Who Cycled the World’‘Camel Trophy: The Definitive History’ by Nick Dimbleby
Read ‘Camel Trophy’12 Honorable Mentions: Overland Books
- Lone Rider: The First British Woman to Motorcycle Around the World by Elspeth Beard
- Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World by Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman
- The Longest Road: Overland in Search of America, from Key West to the Arctic Ocean by Philip Caputo
- Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Roadtrip by Jim Rogers
- On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads by Tim Cope
- Uneasy Rider: Travels Through a Mid-Life Crisis by Mike Carter
- Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck
- Crossing the Congo: Over Land and Water in a Hard Place by Mike Martin
- Timeless on the Silk Road: An Odyssey From London to Hanoi by Heather Ellis
- The Butterfly Route by Michelle Lamphere
- Strangers Like Angels by Alec Forman
- Ureka: Finding the Line Between Desire and Contentment. Then Riding It. by Graham Field