4 of the Best Literary Travel Magazines to Read in 2025

Start with Granta. This quarterly magazine features written travel pieces that push beyond clichés and covering a broad range of places. A washington feature in its latest issue highlights regional voices, while reviews of new travel titles provide a sense of direction and gives color to reading lists. If you want a solid opener for 2025, Granta gives you a crisp sense of what’s possible when narrative and place collide; heres why it matters for readers who want depth.

The Paris Review offers long-form, written travel pieces that read like conversations with locals and covering a broad range of destinations–coast roads, hidden towns, and vibrant neighborhoods. It is known for thoughtful editing and reviews of new travel titles, and it frequently includes pieces about motorcycle rides and boating experiences that show how pace shapes perception.

The Believer blends culture with travel writing in a way that feels immediate. It regularly features covering quirky itineraries and dream-like portraits, with washington pieces appearing alongside other cities in reviews of local spots. It speaks to readers who want parents to share recommendations, offering practical tips about where to eat and stay for weekend trips. The color of its voice invites you to imagine a next read.

The New Yorker closes the list with concise pieces that blend literary craft and cultural reporting. It frequently runs travel-related essays and features that covering global scenes and small towns, delivering surprise twists and thoughtful observations. Dreamy prose makes it a strong pick for long flights or a quiet afternoon on the couch, because wants for depth and almost timeless reads that you will revisit.

Practical guide for selecting travel-lit mags in 2025

Choose well-known magazines that publish credible, well-edited articles and provide clear safety notes; check their organization, read their submitting guidelines, and compare sample pieces below to gauge tone and reliability.

Evaluate content breadth by looking for a lively balance of lore-rich travel features and practical reportage, with transparent attribution and fact-checking; credible magazines publish lore alongside articles that explain context and sources, and they expose challenges faced by travelers rather than gloss over them. Study how they present sources and corrections to measure accountability.

Assess the editorial team: a organization with documented editors, a note on safety, and a clear policy on submitting to them; theyre explicit about rights, compensation, and how they handle reprints, which matters for long-term relationships with writers.

Check regional focus to match your interests. australian coverage often highlights coastal reporting with practical examples and local safety practices; mexicos coverage can reveal ground-level realities, local voices, and trade perspectives from guides and hosts.

Look for submission guidance and note how they encourage new voices; magazines that provide clear submitting guidelines below show how they handle pitches, rights, and compensation, helping you plan your outreach–whether you’re a seasoned writer or just submitting a first piece.

To compare options quickly, build a simple scorecard: check coffee note and a note on safety, verify the presence of a well-known brand, consider the Technologie powering the online issue, and read articles from regions like mexicos or australian to judge tone and depth.

For diverse voices, explore journeywoman and other independent platforms; theyre often lively in tone and encourages submitting from writers of varied backgrounds and career stages, including celebrity profiles, but with a critical eye on sourcing.

The Paris Review: Core travel pieces to start with in 2025

Begin with this recommendation: these Paris Review travel pieces earn your attention through crisp observation and deliberate pacing. depending on your traveling pace, read the print version for long-form profiles and tour notes, and reach for the online journal when you want fresh voices. these pieces cover a high variety of areas, from kansas to coastal cities, and they pair precise detail with a lifestyle lens. the work often appears with a clean cover line and in-flight-read qualities, similar to what you might find in westjet publications.

These core pieces are: profiles that map a city through a writer’s eyes; tour notes that trace a day from dawn to dusk; in-flight-style essays that distill mood; and expert perspectives that add context, like micro-essays that spotlight craft.

The Paris Review organizes these into sections that maintain a literary cadence while earning practical insight for readers who travel for work or leisure.

In this version, you get a focused core set rather than a sprawling catalog. These items help you build a reading habit that scales with your trips, from a weekend in a new city to broader explorations.

To build a solid reading habit, choose pieces across areas you cover: metropolitan profiles, coastal tour notes, and a few lifestyle essays. Read them in print for depth, then scan the online journal for fresh voices.

This approach helps readers earn new perspectives and expand their network of writers and ideas, reinforcing the magazine’s product identity and lifestyle focus for thoughtful travel writing.

The Paris Review: How to access sample issues and digital editions

Start with the free sample issues on the Paris Review site to judge the magazine’s voice and how it handles ideas. It’s a true test of whether the writing fits your reading habits and career goals.

In these samples you’ll encounter fiction, essays, and poetry that showcase concise words, daring structure, and voices from markets around the world. You’ll notice a smart balance between breaking new talent and established names, with editorial choices that feel true. Photos accompany pieces occasionally, adding atmosphere to the reading experience.

Access sample issues: open parisreview.org, head to the Issues or Archive section, and click a sample issue labeled free or preview. Read in your browser or download a lightweight PDF if offered, so you can study the layout and pacing and map out what you want to return to over time.

Digital editions: The Paris Review offers digital formats in addition to print. To get started, search for The Paris Review in your preferred store–Apple Books, Kindle, or Google Play Books–and install the app. You can receive access to individual issues or maintain a library of back issues, depending on your plan. Joining the official subscription gives you continuous updates and easy access on multiple devices, ideal for exploring ideas from afar, even if you’re based in europe.

Smart tips for getting the most from reading: set a daily or weekly rhythm, keep a list of favorite pieces, and receive ideas to shape your own writing. Look for breaking concepts and world-building, including pieces that echo westworld-style narratives. Use print editions when you want a tactile connection or to study layout and photos more closely; use digital editions for on‑the‑go reading, especially if you’re traveling or outside your daily routine. You’ll notice almost seamless cross‑device syncing and the way the magazine protects writers’ rights while you dive into wildlife, outdoor scenes, and daily life through the best photos and words.

Granta: Travel-theme issues to seek out

Begin with Granta’s latest travel-themed issue, which gathers five standout essays from those mapping roads and overseas routes; the cover signals movement and curiosity.

In addition, the issue offers sections dedicated to different angles–sailing narratives, street-market encounters, and insider perspectives from locals–creating a common thread of safety and observation.

It also broadens the genre, presenting a mix of reportage and lyric fragments, with exclusive access for subscribers and a highlighted market of voices from distant regions.

Sign up for the morning newsletter to get exclusive access to new pieces as they publish; the tallies of personalities help you see who moves through places and why.

A nast note appears in a few pages, where writers experiment with form while keeping readers oriented to travel as place and feeling.

The Believer: Notable travel essays and style

Begin with the europe across lively destinations feature, a full page photo spread that pairs a discerning voice with sharp photography.

1. europe across lively destinations, featuring a full page spread, pairs crisp prose with photography. The narrator maps urban energy and quiet corners, moving from a harbour at dawn to a cobblestoned square, and returns with notes on wine culture in nearby cellars. The piece, typically concise and image-forward, leans on manuscripts tucked in margins to reveal the writer’s method.

   Key traits: featuring precise observation, a balance of leisure and context, and photography that invites you to linger over a map and sunset.

2. the canadian coast and parks vignette anchors the issue in nature and daily life. A discerning voice follows wildlife glimpses near shorelines and in parks, then shifts to a quick walk through a harbour market and a small cafe that sells local fruit tarts. The cadence stays lively, with short sentences, and occasional manuscripts that reveal the writer’s craft.

3. Exotic markets and mobility: a motorcycle ride through markets and squares offers an upbeat rhythm. The writer blends sensory detail–caramel, leather, spice–with practical tips on shopping and transit via airways. The photography frames vendors and shoppers in motion, while captions provide context about origin stories and craft techniques.

4. Wine and leisure in lesser-known destinations appears as a two-part feature: a cellar crawl and a cafe bench review. We see percent-level detail about winery histories, grape varieties, and the way light falls on glass. The tone stays friendly and informed, guiding readers who want ideas without crowds.

Tin House: How to subscribe and what to expect in 2025

Subscribe now through tinhouse.com/subscribe to lock in a 2025 lineup of travel essays and literary reporting. Choose print, digital, or a bundled option with flexible renewal terms and gift subscriptions for fellow readers.

The editorial team in washington steers a broader education program that pairs thoughtful travel pieces with strong analysis and cultural context.

Readers will find a variety of voices from contributors across communities around the world. Previous issues showed Tin House can blend memoir, reportage, and critique; in 2025, another slate of pieces will move beyond geography to explore why places matter, including escapes, desert landscapes, and the planet we share.

Some pieces reference routes and outlets like desertusa to ground field notes in concrete landscapes.

Every issue highlights topics that connect craft with place, with a focus on sustainability and education. Expect coverage of urban escapes, desert portraits, and cross-cultural encounters that illuminate human stories, all framed by analysis and thoughtful narration.

In editorial conversations, Tin House sits alongside matador and other outlets, yet its voice remains distinctly intimate and readable, with a cadence that suits readers who carry a book to the subway and a notebook to the desert.

Every mile on a road trip becomes a prompt for reflection, a chance to connect with communities everywhere. Readers can earn early access to exclusive Q&As and events by staying engaged on Tin House’s site.

We’re glad to see Tin House continuing to support writers who travel with curiosity and care, and its 2025 program promises pieces that balance education with sustainability.

Its cadence fits busy reading times between flights and quiet evenings at home, offering a steady stream of stories that feel both intimate and planet-wide. The publication’s approach often references peers like matador, yet Tin House keeps a distinctive voice within a global conversation.