New guides and travelogues encourage slow-travel aficionados and check-off-every-sight bon vivants to ditch the car and try a different mode of transport, whether bike, train, or electric bus.
The Bikepackers’ Guide to the World
Lonely Planet, Mar.
The precise meaning of bikepacker is in amiable dispute even among the pastime’s staunchest devotees, but typically, a sense of adventure and willingness to bike into remote places are a must. This reference suggests 75 routes to satisfy the most experienced or trepidatious of riders, with advice on training, gear, restaurants and shops along the route, and midtrip repairs.
Electric Vehicle Road Trips: Europe
Lonely Planet, May
With the number of EV charging stations in Europe approaching 400,000, EV enthusiasts can travel anywhere that strikes their fancy, from the island of Crete to Norway’s fjords. This road trip guide for electric vehicles “doesn’t just give you the location of charging stations in grocery store parking lots, but shows you the amazing things you can do” while traveling gas-free, says Piers Pickard, Lonely Planet’s managing director, publishing.
Europe by Train
DK, May
As every backpacker clutching a Eurail pass knows, there’s no better view of Europe than through a train window. This handbook assembles 50 itineraries for railway enthusiasts, whether they’re making a quick hop between capital cities or stepping aboard the luxurious Orient Express.
Living the Van Life
Noami Grevemberg. Simon Element, July
Grevemberg launched the platform Diversify Vanlife in 2019 “as a safe space for Black, Indigenous, Asian, LatinX, and other people of color and underrepresented individuals in the nomadic/road travel community,” per its website. In her book, she documents life on the open road with her husband and German shepherd and discusses budgeting and mechanics, navigating self-doubt, traveling as a person of color, and finding community with other nomads.
Moon USA RV Adventures
Bonnie and Grant Sinclair. Moon, Feb.
RV travel isn’t just the province of retirees and off-grid campers anymore; it’s for anyone who wants to see more of the country while retreating to a familiar bed at night. “It speaks to the dream of not being tethered, in addition to the appeal of the outdoors,” says Grace Fujiomto, Moon editor-in-chief. The husband-and-wife authors, both teachers, detail 25 itineraries and include RV-navigable maps and food and drink recommendations along the way. Practical notes include safety considerations and tips on traveling with four-legged companions.
On Freedom Road
David Goodrich. Pegasus, Feb.
Climate scientist Goodrich traveled the sites of the Underground Railroad by bike, from the Eastern Shore of Maryland where Harriet Tubman was enslaved, through the auction blocks of New Orleans, to Oberlin, Ohio, where freedom seekers took refuge. This view-through-the-handlebars journey tells some of the lesser-known stories of people who escaped enslavement in the South.
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Take the Slow Road: Spain and Portugal
Martin Dorey. Conway, Aug.
The author of The Camper Van Bible and The Camper Van Cookbook adds the Iberian Peninsula to his Take the Slow Road series, after books on caravanning through Scotland, England and Wales, Ireland, and France. Part narrative and part guide, Dorey’s latest encourages readers to ease up on the throttle and appreciate every view along the way.
Tickets Please
John Armstrong. Wordwell, Apr.
Tour guide and postcard collector Armstrong leads readers through 19th-century rural Ireland, which was newly navigable thanks to a recently expanded railway line. Reproductions of Edwardian postcards from the author’s collection capture views of villages and towns train travelers would have seen through the windows during their journeys.
