Movies that inspire me to travel are among my favorites movies.
Movies often inspire people to do many things, but in particular to travel.
Travel is my life. I’m also a movie buff. Combine both and I’m a happy woman! They leave me feeling like I could move to a far off land forever.
The stunning scenery and romantic characters entice you to leave your living room behind as well as your problems.
And as the movie goes on you start to feel a connection and you’re ready for that adventure.
Here are two of my favorite movies and why….
Under The Tuscan Sun
If you’ve read my blog posts or follow me on social media, you’ve likely heard me talking about the 2003 movie starring Diane Lane- “Under The Tuscan Sun”.
I absolutely love this movie for a few reasons.
Diane Lane’s character, Frances Mayes, a writer (check one for similarities) unwittingly discovers that her husband is cheating on her. (check two!)
She goes through a painful divorce that leaves her depressed and completely disillusioned about life and love (another check box on the eerie similarities).
Unsure of how she will go on or ever want to get out of bed again, she’s pushed into a trip to Tuscany she has no desire to go on. (Okay, that’s not similar in any way, I chose Tuscany as a place to heal after my ordeal.)
I’m sure you’ve seen the movie and know what happens (if you haven’t I highly recommend you watch it! It’s a fantastic movie and will definitely inspire you to travel.)
My other all-time favorite movie that inspired me to travel is….
Eat, Pray, Love
Having lived in Southeast Asia, I felt a geological connection with Julia Roberts’ character, Liz Gilbert.
Her personal struggles with her unhappy marriage, career, and life, in general, were a bit close to home and I could relate with her desire to live life on her own terms, taste food, finally love herself and her imperfections.
Stepping out of her comfort zone (definitely not easy) after her divorce she discovers who she was and what she wanted in life.
She wanted to experience life (as most of us do) and find her happiness. Her self-discovery adventure took her to Italy, India, and Bali.
Bali and Italy had been two places that I had spent considerable amounts of time in and I felt very connected to the cultures AND to the character’s emotions.
The scenery in each of her travel adventures were both familiar and inspirational to me.
I could actually see, feel, smell, and taste my way through that movie.
Those experiences and observations her character experiences opened her eyes and molded her into the person she ultimately became.
Most times when we experience drastic changes or pain in our lives (just like in the movies), we have an awakening or that aha moment.
We wonder why we are living the way we do and why we aren’t out there experiencing life. We ask ourselves, why am I not happy?
Conclusion
We are drawn to people in these movies because it’s safe. Safe to feel what they’re feeling and safe to travel along with them while they’re discovering themselves and new destinations.
These movies not only inspired me to travel but to allow myself to rediscover who I am and encourage me to reach for my dreams because I deserve them!
I’m constantly discovering new movies that inspire me to travel but these two remain my go to when I want comfort or familiarity.
What are your favorite travel movies? Did a movie inspire you to travel? Reply in the comments with the movie that inspired you to travel and tell me where you went!
You are so right, movies often inspire me to add to my “I need to go there list”. I just wish my time and wallet let me get to more of those spots!
Yes, that’s often the issue for a lot of people, Chuck! That’s part of the excitement…figuring out how to get to all those places!
I love travel inspiration in whatever form it comes in but movies are a great way to ignite the love for travel.
I agree! There are so many ways to be inspired to travel. And, yes, traveling is among my favorites!
As a kid I would always see far away places on TV and in the movies and wish I could go there. Luckily I got to visit many of them later. There was an old TV show called “Then Came Bronson” where he traveled around the US on his motorcycle and met all kinds of people. I think that had an impact on me.
I was inspired to travel when I was a kid too. Then as I grew up and before I could really travel whenever I wanted, shows like Hawaii Five-O got me itching to see other places. Thanks for your comments and happy travels to you!
It is always a thrill for me to see places I have visited when watching a movie or to find a new place to add to the list.
I love recognizing the places I’ve been in a movie as well! It’s fun to know that you’ve been there!
After loving the book so much, I was skeptical about an Eat, Pray, Love movie, but I really enjoyed it. I need to watch Under the Tuscan Sun, but I recently got the book, so I want to read it first. My favorite travel movie is Two for the Road with Audrey Hepburn.
Yes, the books often are better than the movie. But both movies do the books justice. I’m so personally connected to the characters that it is more of an emotional connection for me. I’ll have to check out Two for the Road!
The talented mr ripley makes me downright YEARN for Italy every time I watch it.
Ah, yes!! Definitely a great movie!