Hi friends, and thanks for stopping by to read Lights, Camera, Wanderlust: The Movies That Inspired My Travels.
Today’s article features movies that made me want to see the world. And more movies that give me inspiration to keep travelling and discovering new places.
There are plenty of lists online featuring movies that inspire wanderlust. You’ll find some familiar classics here because they’re impossible to ignore. But I’ve also included a few lesser-known favourites that have stayed with me over the years.
There are countless lists of movies that inspire travel. I’ve read many of these articles, and I often wonder how many of the writers actually watched the films. This isn’t a list of movies with pretty scenery — these are films that made me want to experience a place, culture, or journey for myself.
Some travel movies inspire our first adventures. Others remind us why we travel in the first place. Even after years of travelling, and now living as a nomad, I still discover films that leave me itching to pack a bag.
A Town Like Alice
Some movies make us want to visit a place. Others become tied to a chapter of our lives. For me, A Town Like Alice was both. I watched it while staying with my aunt and uncle in London in 1981 after travelling solo through Scotland and before heading to Spain to work as an au pair. Forty-five years later, Australia is still on my dream list.
There are two A Town Like Alice versions, both I watched in London because they came on TV within the week. The first is a movie that was filmed in 1956, based on Nevil Shute’s novel by the same name.
The movie is about a group of women and children who were taken hostage by the Japanese during World War II in Malaya, now known as Malaysia. The Japanese soldiers didn’t know what to do with them, and kept marching them all over the country, but all prisoner camps refused to take them and they’d walk to another one. Many women and children died. The heroine of the story, Jean, ends up taking care of a baby after his mother died.
During their march around the country they meet two Australian prisoners of war who were driving trucks and transporting supplies for the Japanese army. One of them, Joe, helped bring the women food and soap. Until he was caught and sentenced to death by beating, which the women were forced to watch.
After the war and Jean’s return to England she is contacted by the attorney handling her uncle’s estate and has inherited a fair amount of money. She returns to the village in Malaya where the villagers helped the women. She wants to thank them for their kindness and builds a well. During this time she discovers that Joe did not die following the beating. She goes to Alice Springs, Australia to look for him.
Meanwhile, Joe has gone to England to find her after meeting the pilot who flew the group of women to Singapore at the end of the war. He thought Jean was married, but the pilot says she was the only single woman in the group.
The movie is about 2 hours long, and those poor women are still prisoners in Malaysia when the movie only has about 10 minutes to go!
The 1981 mini series did a better job of following the book, but then it had more time to expand the story. The landscapes of Australia have stayed with me.
The movie can be seen on various streaming services, including for free on YouTube. Better yet, the mini series can be seen on YouTube, but last I checked only two episodes were uploaded. I managed to watch the last of the series on Brollie TV, an Australian channel online. But it’s no longer there! Keep checking.
A Town Like Alice gets the first spot because it’s pretty much the origin movie of my wanderlust.
The Way
I’ve talked about The Way on other posts here, mostly because I’ve walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, which is the main location of the movie.
Martin Sheen stars as Tom, a man who goes to St. Jean Pied de Port to collect his son’s remains after he died in a freak accident on his first day of the Camino. Tom decides to complete the walk in his son’s memory.
The Way shows up on a lot of streaming services, almost always on Amazon Prime. It rotates in and out of all the paid streaming networks, as do many movies on this list.
And yes, like so many other pilgrims, I watched the movie and decided to walk the Camino.
Roman Holiday
Roman Holiday is the original “I want to zip around Rome on a Vespa” movie.
Filmed around Rome in 1953 it’s a classic romantic holiday starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Sometimes it shows up on TV, but it can be found on most streaming services, unfortunately almost always as a pay per view.
Princess Ann wants to experience life as a nobody and makes an escape from her royal chaperones. As she stays one jump ahead of the people trying to find her, the viewers are treated to the beauty of Rome.
I have been to Rome, but not recently. And, yes, I definitely want to zip around town on a Vespa when I return!
Under the Tuscan Sun
Classic reinvention through travel sums up Under the Tuscan Sun in a nutshell.
One of my regular housesitting clients has the Disney channel and I’ve watched Under the Tuscan Sun there. This movie is also on other streaming services, unfortunately almost always as a pay per view. And if you guessed that’s because Disney owns the rights to this movie – you’d be correct.
A writer from San Francisco, Frances, is depressed after finding out her husband is having an affair and wants a divorce. Her pregnant friend had booked a gay tour of Tuscany but is unable to go, and gives her ticket to Frances. While on a bus stop, Frances spots a dilapidated villa for sale, hops off the bus, and makes an impulsive offer on the place. And starts a new life in Italy.
Ah, yes, that’s me you hear sighing. If only it was that easy in real life!
Viewers enjoy Tuscany during the bus tour and then life in the small town including the olive orchard that Frances is getting back into shape.
Nope, never been to the Tuscany region of Italy, but I wouldn’t mind seeing this beautiful part of the country one day. Maybe on a bus tour. Hmmm…
Eat Pray Love
There’s a reason why every writer includes Eat Pray Love on their list of movies that inspire travel.
Liz leaves her unhappy marriage and career to take a one year journey of self discover to heal and find balance.
Let’s start with Italy (Eat) where she learns the language, enjoys the delicious Italian food, and discovers the joy of living in the moment.
Next is India (Pray) where she stays at an ashram to work through her inner turmoil, and learns the power of meditation and spiritual devotion.
Finally, in Bali (Love) she seeks inner peace with the help of a medicine man and unexpectedly finds romantic love with a Brazilian businessman.
Needless to say, all three locations have some pretty stunning scenery. If I had to pick one to visit, I think I’d go with Bali.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a good fit for me because it’s about later in life reinvention.
A group of unrelated British seniors see an ad about an independent living hotel in India that appeals to all of them for one reason or another. Getting out of cold, damp Britain being a primary reason. Upon arrival in India, they discover the hotel owner’s vision was bigger than the actuality of the current state of the hotel, but they all make the best of it and settle into their new lives.
The movie is shot in Jaipur and Udaipur, India as well as London.
And I’m so envious. I want to find a place like this to live! A decent hotel in a foreign country where I can keep my costs down. I’d want others my own age to live there and a common language. One thing I’d want that the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is missing – is a swimming pool!
It seems my quest is to search the world seeking such a place…
Mamma Mia
Pure escapism! Everyone who watches Mama Mia wants to visit a Greek island. Torquoise seas, stunning cliffs, beautiful beaches… Sailing around the Greek islands would be amazing!
Alas, the hotel that Meryl Streep’s character, Donna, is fixing up is all a Hollywood movie set and it’s impossible to stay there. The shooting locations around the islands are very real, though.
The church where the wedding takes place is real, on the Greek island of Skopelos. 200 steps to get up there, only to discover the church is much smaller than the sound stage used in the movie.
If you don’t want to visit a Greek island after watching this movie – you are probably immune to wanderlust!
Ironically, when I was in Costa Rica, I met a woman who lives on a small Greek island called Lesvos. It’s actually closer to Turkey than Greece, just an hour ferry ride away. It’s on my radar. Stay tuned!
The Descendants
Once again, a movie that is owned by Disney. The Descendants can be viewed on the Disney channel or on a pay per view basis on other streaming networks. It occasionally comes on TV, and the last time I watched most of it was on a flight from Los Angeles to Vancouver in May, 2026.
This is not a Hawaii vacation movie. It’s very dramatic with George Clooney’s character, Matt King, dealing with a comatose wife after a boating accident, a rebellious teenage daughter, and a younger daughter who knows no boundaries. He’s also dealing with a property on the island of Kauai held in trust for him and his cousins, and whether it should be sold to a developer. And yes, the beautiful scenery on Kauai is a huge part of why this movie works. It shows landscapes, culture, and a different side of the islands.
Also, George Clooney wandering around Hawaii is not exactly a hardship for viewers!
Yes, I’ve been to Hawaii several times and I love it there. Kauai especially. It’s one of my favorite islands.
Wild
I have the novel, Wild, on my Kindle, and have watched the movie starring Reese Witherspoon a couple of times. And in case you’re wondering, Disney owns the rights to this movie too. It can be purchased on demand from other streaming networks.
This is the autobiography of Cheryl Strayed who hikes 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone to heal from tragedy after a divorce and her mother passing away.
She spirals into destructive behavior, impulsively buys a book about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and decides to walk it to heal. Yes, a rash decision to hike from the Mohave Desert to the Washington border even though she has no previous hiking experience and makes a lot of bad decisions when purchasing supplies. She obviously had an excellent salesman at REI!
Wild is a great companion to The Way.
I’m intrigued, but not entirely sold on walking the Pacific Crest Trail. A little too much wilderness for me, but maybe with a companion I’ll consider walking part of it.
Nomadland
Oh yes, a movie called Nomadland feels particularly relevant to me now! I have the book on Kindle and if you guessed Disney owns the rights to Nomadland, too, you’d be correct. Someone in Disney’s movie rights and licensing department has done a good job with movies I enjoy watching. But never fear. It can be purchased on demand from other streaming networks.
The movie features Frances, a senior widow, who loses her job after the gypsum factory shuts down, essentially turning Empire, Nevada into a ghost town. She converts a van into her new home and travels around taking seasonal and temporary jobs with Amazon, campgrounds, and even a beet processing facility.
This is the reality for many low income senior woman.
Real life nomads even have cameo appearances in the movie, including some whose stories are featured in the book.
I’ve turned my car into my home and travel around taking housesitting gigs.
Lonely Planet
I’ve seen the movie Lonely Planet twice – on Amazon Prime and Netflix, so it appears to be circling the streaming channels.
Famous writer, Katherine, travels to a writer’s retreat in Morocco. In the movie it’s referred to as a casbah and appears to be a lovely mountain resort, complete with a swimming pool. She is looking for a quiet writing spot and the hotelier recommends the day trip to a village because no one else has booked the tour and she’ll have the car all to herself. Except Owen hops in at the last minute. He’s a financier accompanying his girlfriend, a new novelist.
To make a long story short, they form a bond taking excursions together and eventually their relationship turns romantic. Her laptop is stolen – which holds her latest novel that’s not backed up anywhere – and that leads to a sudden separation.
The movie features stunning scenery around Morocco, and has piqued my interest. A woman I met while walking the Camino de Santiago was interested in travelling there. I was open to it, but it didn’t happen. I’ve also read more about Morocco in a book I recently purchased called Exit Stage Left: A Guide to Retiring in Europe for Savvy Liberal Women With More Style Than Money. (Affiliate link with Amazon. If you click and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission for the referral.) This book is helping me make a decision where I can become an expat when my nomad days end.
After Words
I’ve watched the movie After Words on Amazon Prime and I believe it circles in and out of other streaming channels. I actually owned this DVD before becoming a nomad.
This movie comes with a warning about a sensitive topic. Jane is depressed after getting laid off from her librarian job and decides to visit Costa Rica to die.
She meets Juan, a charismatic tour guide who has a reputation for being a gigolo and putting his daughter through private school from the money he receives from his female clients. He guides Jane through stunning rain forests, beaches, and other scenic tourist spots, introducing her to the Costa Rica way of life – pura vida.
To sum it up: a woman travels to Costa Rica for one reason and ends up rediscovering life.
Costa Rica was part of my Great South American Adventure.
My Life in Ruins
One of the DVDs in my pre-nomad collection was My Life in Ruins. Georgia (played by Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame) is a Greek-American college professor of classical history who loses her teaching job and takes a temporary job as a bus tour guide in Athens.
It’s a chaotic trip with run down hotels, a broken down bus, and quirky and disinterested passengers, but the bus takes us around Greece where we see many historic sites of tourist interest plus the stunning coastline.
Here’s a teaser:
Everywhere that I housesit with streaming platforms, I look for this movie. Unfortunately I’ve never found it for free on any of the networks. It is available for purchase just about everywhere.
Honorable mentions
I have a few movies that I’m including as honorable mentions. These are movies that have some excellent scenery photography, but the subject matter of the movie itself doesn’t make it all that tempting to travel there. We have wacky silliness, we have a thriller, we have chase scenes, and we have another depressed woman on a quest to rediscover herself.
Fast Five
Fast Five is part of the Fast & Furious movie franchise, and if the title wasn’t a big clue – it’s #5 in the series. It’s filmed mainly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, though I believe some of the filming was done in Puerto Rico.
The Rio footage is fun, but it’s really an action movie that happens to use Rio as a backdrop. It doesn’t create the same feeling as “I need to go there.”
You can catch Fast Five all over the place. It rotates for free on pretty much every streaming network and on regular TV.
And no, I have not been to Rio, but I will! On my next South American adventure, because there’s another Wonder of the World – the Christ the Redeemer Statue – in Rio. Gotta knock another Wonder of my list!
National Lampoon’s European Vacation
It’s a funny movie, but it’s more “chaotic family travel disaster” than wanderlust. OK, the interior scenes were shot in a California soundstage, but the exterior shots – the travel in England, France, and Italy – were shot on location in those countries. Did you know that the Germany scenes were actually shot in Italy?
It’s funny, it’s silly, it’s stupid, it’s campy, but the European scenery makes you forgive all of that. Is it a travel movie? Technically, yes. Is it a good advertisement for European travel? That’s debatable.
National Lampoon’s European Vacation makes the rounds of airing for free on most of the streaming channels or it can be purchased on all of them. This movie often shows up on regular TV channels too.
Yes, I have been to all the countries on their European vacation, with less disastrous results.
Transsiberian
OK, now you might be thinking that Transsiberian is an interesting choice. It’s more like a dangerous train journey than a movie that makes me dream of travel.
The movie is about drug smugglers and corrupt Russian police and a missionary American couple who get tangled up in the intrigue.
Even if the movie makes the journey look considerably more dangerous than your average rail vacation, the Trans-Siberian Railway is still an intriguing travel fantasy, with stops in many picturesque villages.
Transsiberian cycles through all the streaming networks. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it on TV. In my past life before I became a nomad, the movie was part of my DVD collection. And I’m still waiting to board the Trans-Siberian.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
I’m including Where’d You Go Bernadette? even though Antarctica only really arrives toward the end of the movie, but those scenes are spectacular. It’s too much of a final act rather than the heart of the movie.
Bernadette is a former architect, giving up her career to become a housewife and mother. She kind of enjoys stirring the pot when it comes to school and neighborhood community events. She goes missing just before the family’s Antarctic cruise, but she still makes her way there and boards the ship. Her husband and daughter head that way too, boarding a different ship to search for her.
I watched Where’d You Go Bernadette? on Amazon Prime but it cycles through the streaming networks, sometimes for free, others pay to view.
Even before I watched the movie I’ve dreamed of going to Antarctica. But cruises that go on sale for $10,000 are still way out of my budget. Let’s not even talk about their regular prices when they’re not on sale! What’s a low income senior woman got to do to make this dream come true?
The movies that inspired my travels
I’ve been fortunate enough to visit many of the places that first captured my imagination on the big screen. I walked the Camino after watching The Way. I’ve wandered the streets of Rome and seen the Coliseum, explored England, and embraced life as a nomad.
But one dream remains. More than forty-five years after watching A Town Like Alice, Australia is still waiting.
How about you? What movies have you watched that inspired wanderlust?
Published by Cheryl @ The Lifestyle Digs on October 1, 2026.
