It’s impossible not to be influenced by the travel adventures we see online, from video content to essays to photo journals.
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But the most impactful travel media is usually long-form. It digs into a place, a moment, an experience, and more, giving a fuller picture of the stakes and setting. Some are dramatic, like extreme climbing romps like 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible, while others are simply irresistibly interesting, like An Idiot Abroad.
Winter is my favorite time to uncover new travel documentaries and revisit my favorites. This last year, as I was finalizing my winter travel documentary list, I realized something: they’ve proliferated. Greatly.
There are more travel documentaries at your fingertips than ever before, partly thanks to YouTube and the advent of self-directed travel content—but that quantity doesn’t always mean quality.
If you’re looking for crazy, juicy, change-how-you-think travel documentaries, start with my list. From visually striking adventures to dark tourism to great street food, these travel documentaries hit on the angles and themes that drive us away from our homes and into the unknown.
First—what qualifies as a travel documentary?
A travel documentary covers any project that is filmed while following a person on a journey. Usually, that involves unique places, cultures, landscapes, challenges, foods, and beyond.
In short, they run a pretty large gamut—but new places, concepts, and experiences are always part of the story.
For example, travel documentaries can be pretty mundane and well-known, like Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations or Top Gear. They’re watchable, lovable, and just the right amount of unpredictable.
Other travel docs are more cinematic and designed for the big screen, such as nature-based projects like March of the Penguins and human trials like climbing El Capitan in Free Solo.
My picks for the wildest, juiciest travel documentaries are based on the projects that inspired me to travel and keep asking cultural questions. I’ve also included other well-known films from more academic circles that you might not have heard of before.
Some of my favorite travel documentaries are based in the United States, but most are set abroad. Additionally, some are homemade vlog-style documentaries, while others are more traditionally shot. Some are more squarely in the cultural category than travel, but they’ve still encouraged me to get out into the world, so I’ve added them to the list.
Now onto the fun stuff!
10 travel documentaries that will inspire and surprise you
The Act of Killing (2012)
I’m kicking off the list with a documentary that blew my mind—although I should warn you that it’s very intense.
Here’s the short of it: in 1965-66, a period of civil unrest in Indonesia led to a little-known genocide in which thousands were killed and tortured around the country. The many gangsters who led killings were later given positions of power rather than held to justice, as the antagonizing group (the New Order) remained in power.
In the early 2000s, two Western filmmakers began interviewing survivors of this era, along with the gangsters responsible for killing, torturing, and maiming citizens. To get the latter to open up about their crimes, the documentary lets them tell their story in all its gory glory, focusing on one man named Anwar Congo as he goes on a dark, psychological journey into the past. Think: a mass killer gets free rein to retell his stories in fairytale fashion.
Love it or hate it, you will think about this film when you visit Bali.
Street Food (2019-2021)
This Netflix project is as simple and delicious as it sounds. The documentary travels around the world to explore popular street foods, the chefs who create them, and the history that created each dish. The goal is to paint a picture of a country, city, and people using street food as the canvas. The show ran for three seasons, exploring street food in Asia, Latin America, and the USA.
If you’re a foody who wants a little inspiration on what to eat during your next adventure—whether in the country or abroad—this is easy viewing that will make you hungry for things you’ve never tasted.
The Salt of the Earth (2014)
The biographical documentary showcases the life and work of Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado. Upon its release, it was critically acclaimed and nominated for major awards, including Best Documentary at the Academy Awards. It spans a forty-year period in which Salgado captures moments of human and environmental gravitas, leading him to become an eminent photojournalist.
The Salt of the Earth takes you behind the scenes to some of the world’s most stunning corners, which you see through the lens of Salgado’s cameras. Expect plenty of anthropological topics, especially when it comes to remote tribes.
Trainwreck: Poop Cruise (2025)
If you’ve heard of the Netflix documentary titled Poop Cruise, consider this your sign to stream it. The documentary zeroes in on the doomed 2013 Carnival Triumph cruise, an upscale ship that suddenly lost power after an engine fire. Around 4,000 passengers were stranded for five days without electricity… which eventually caused the AC to fail and toilets to clog.
If you love a little schadenfreude (that’s German for enjoying other people’s misfortune), look no further than Poop Cruise. It gives you a front-row seat to the psychological breakdown of passengers and crew on a floating biohazardous ship—which doesn’t end in disaster, thankfully.
Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
Waiting for me to bring up Werner Herzog, documentarian extraordinaire? Herzog contributed to The Act of Killing as a producer but almost took home an Academy Award for his work directing Encounters at the End of the World. It tells the story of the intrepid travelers and professionals who work in Antarctica.
Think of it like a psychological exploration of the people who live and work in Antarctica, along with the continent itself. You’ll explore the daily life of iceberg geologists, seal camp supervisors, divers, penguin scientists, and more.
Life in a Day (2011)
Back in 2010, YouTubers from around the world banded together to submit clips about their daily life—specifically from July 24th, 2010. The result is a 94-minute documentary that includes clips from over 4,500 hours of footage from ordinary people in 192 countries. (That’s only three short of the UN’s 195 recognized nations.)
The final documentary was completed thanks to a range of production companies and creators, including YouTube, LG Electronics, NatGeo, and more. It’s often considered the first social-media movie ever made, and serves as a time capsule for that exact date.
An Idiot Abroad (2010)
This three-series travel documentary explores the world as discovered by Karl Pilkington, who ends up on the screen solely because Ricky Gervais, a British comedian, hand-picks him as his dumbest friend. Karl is shipped around the world in this Sky One comedy where he encounters cultural milieus that throw him for a loop.
Skywalkers: A Love Story (2024)
I’ve already covered Skywalkers: A Love Story in my article about rooftopping, one of the world’s most dangerous can’t-look-away pastimes. Rooftopping involves scaling the world’s largest landmarks, skyscrapers, and hard-to-reach places where daring travelers take photos and pose for the world.
This Netflix documentary zeroes in on the It Couple of Rooftopping, a young Russian duo named Angela Nikolau and Vanya Beerkus as they develop their solo careers and then team up. Eventually, they begin dating before they take on their craziest rooftopping challenge yet: scale the world’s second-tallest skyscraper, Merdeka 118.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
Thinking of visiting Japan? Watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi for a crash course on Japanese values, culture, and—of course—the art of sushi. The film follows Jiro Ono, an elderly sushi master who mans a small Michelin three-star sushi restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station.
It’s an ode to the Japanese dedication to mastering an art, as Jiro is meticulous and exacting when it comes to every detail. It also showcases Jiro’s complex relationship with his sons and, someday, his successors. Sure, it’s just a vignette of one man’s life and can’t summarize Japan as a whole, but it’s a solid start.
Baraka (1992)
I kicked off the list with one of my favorite documentaries, and I’m ending with another. Baraka is a non-narrative documentary that covers daily activities at some of the world’s most famous religious sites—along with some of its most unknown.
There are plenty of other shots mixed in, too, that highlight the ramifications of human development and expansion around the world. It pushes the mundane into a totally new light, and you’ll feel like you’re seeing yourself and your planet for the first time.
The result is a lush, quiet, and elaborate documentary that lets you almost feel the texture of these experiences. As Roger Ebert once said of the film, “If man sends another Voyager to the distant stars and it can carry only one film on board, that film might be Baraka.”
