Travel Magazines to Read — and What Makes Each One Different

Before booking a trip, the first thing most of us do is look for inspiration.

Wanderlust tends to strike when we least expect it — scrolling through photos online or flicking through a magazine at a friend’s house. And when it does, a good travel magazine is the perfect place to start dreaming and planning.

Inspiration comes from plenty of places. Inflight magazines, many of them now digital, are a surprisingly good source of new destinations and local tips for the places an airline flies to. Respected news publishers such as The Guardian and CNN run their own travel sections, too. But specialist travel magazines are made for travelers first: they bring tips, trip ideas, new hotel and restaurant openings, and destination news together in one place.

And once a magazine has sparked an idea, planning tools can take it from there — from AI travel planners that build a day-by-day itinerary to collaborative apps like Wanderlog, where you can plan the trip together with friends.

And people still read them. In the US, Travel + Leisure has a circulation of around 956,000 and Condé Nast Traveler more than 712,000, according to audited 2024 figures — and Travel + Leisure says its magazine reaches an estimated 4.8 million readers. In the UK, National Geographic Traveller averages 74,715 copies an issue across print and digital, according to its latest ABC audit.

There’s no single best travel magazine, because each one is made for a different kind of traveler. Some are built around photography and reporting, some around luxury hotels, some around adventure, one around what’s on in the city this week — and one around the people who live in the places we visit.

Here are seven travel magazines worth reading, and what makes each of them different.

What We Looked For

We looked for titles with a clear point of view, strong original reporting and photography, and something a reader can’t get from a search engine: first-hand experience, expert knowledge or the voices of people who actually live in the places they write about. We’ve included big international names, specialist independents, a global city guide and one magazine built around locals rather than visitors.

1. National Geographic Traveller (UK)

National Geographic has a long reputation for world-class photography and serious reporting, and its UK travel title carries that into trip-planning.

National Geographic Traveller (UK) is published under license by London-based APL Media, and is the UK’s most subscribed-to travel magazine. It’s printed ten times a year, with an average circulation of around 75,000 copies per issue across print and digital, according to its most recent ABC audit. It has won Best Consumer Holiday Magazine at the British Travel Awards several times.

Regular features include My Travels, in which well-known names talk about the journeys they remember best, Great Little Place, where readers and staff share favorite haunts, and The Report, looking ahead to the trends shaping travel. Alongside the main magazine, the team publishes dedicated guides to themes such as adventure and winter sports, and to destinations from Costa Rica to Sardinia.

The magazine is available by subscription and on newsstands, and digitally through apps such as Pocketmags and Readly. Follow the team on Instagram at @natgeotraveluk.

Why read it: it has the reporting depth and photography of the National Geographic name, but written for British travelers and planning trips from the UK — plus themed guides you can keep.

2. Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler is one of the best-known names in luxury travel. First published in 1987, it’s based in New York and owned by Condé Nast, part of Advance Publications. A separate British edition, Condé Nast Traveller, is edited in London.

The US magazine is published eight times a year and has a total circulation of more than 700,000, and it has won 25 National Magazine Awards. It covers destinations, hotels and restaurants with a polished, high-end eye.

The magazine is also known for its annual lists, which many travelers use as a planning shortlist:

• Readers’ Choice Awards — the hotels, cities, cruise lines and airlines readers vote the best in the world
• Gold List — the editors’ pick of the world’s best hotels
• Hot List — the best new hotels, restaurants and experiences of the year

Subscriptions are sold on its website at cntraveler.com, often with introductory offers for new readers.

Why read it: a polished luxury lens on the world, and annual lists that work as a ready-made shortlist when you’re choosing a hotel or a city.

3. Wanderlust

For travelers who prefer the road less traveled, Wanderlust is a favorite. It was founded in 1993 by Paul Morrison and Lyn Hughes, and remains independent — one of the longest-running travel magazines in the UK. It’s now led by editor in chief Georgios Kipouros.

The magazine focuses on lesser-visited destinations, wildlife, culture, the outdoors and responsible travel, with practical advice alongside the storytelling. It’s published six times a year as double issues, with a circulation of around 77,000. Each year Wanderlust also runs its Reader Travel Awards and World Guide Awards, celebrating the places, operators and guides that readers rate most highly.

Membership comes in three tiers through the Wanderlust Club:

Why read it: it’s independent and has been since 1993, and it goes where the others rarely do — lesser-visited places, wildlife and responsible travel, with practical advice for planning it yourself.

4. Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure is one of America’s biggest travel magazines, with a print circulation of more than 950,000 and around 4.8 million readers, according to its media kit. It’s published by People Inc. — formerly Dotdash Meredith — under a long-term license from Travel + Leisure Co., the travel company that owns the brand.

It’s printed 11 times a year and covers everything from weekend city breaks to cruises and road trips, with a strong focus on hotels and resorts. Its best-known annual features are the World’s Best Awards, voted by readers, and the T+L 500, a list of the world’s top 500 hotels.

Print subscriptions are widely available for about $20 a year through magazine retailers. Separately, Travel + Leisure Co. runs a paid travel club, Travel + Leisure GO, offering members discounts on hotels, resorts and cruises.

Why read it: breadth. From weekend breaks to cruises and road trips, it covers more kinds of travel than any title here, with a big, well-known hotel ranking behind it.

5. Tatler Travel

Tatler is Britain’s society and luxury magazine, published by Condé Nast, and a title that traces its name back to 1709. Its travel coverage is aimed squarely at readers who want the very best — and it’s written with the magazine’s famously sharp wit.

The centerpiece is the annual Tatler Travel Guide, published at the start of each year and built around The 101 Best Hotels in the World. What sets it apart is that the editors choose every hotel from first-hand experience, from city landmarks to remote island hideaways. The guide is organized into themed sections — Talk of the Town, for instance, spotlights the world’s best urban hotels — and also includes the Tatler Travel Awards.

Tatler’s travel stories appear in the monthly magazine and online at tatler.com/travel. If you’re choosing somewhere to celebrate a milestone, it’s one of the most reliable shortlists there is.

Why read it: it’s the most selective of them all. Just 101 hotels, every one stayed in by the editors, written with Tatler’s wit — ideal when a trip has to be special.

6. Time Out

Time Out started life in London in 1968, when founder Tony Elliott printed a single folded sheet of listings for the city’s music, theater and underground events. It has since grown into a global city guide, now mainly digital, covering 333 cities in 59 countries — and it also runs the Time Out Market food halls, the first of which opened in Lisbon in 2014.

What makes Time Out different is where you’ll find it. In many cities, English-language travel magazines are hard to come by, but Time Out has local editions and websites in places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Istanbul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Porto, Mexico City and Sydney, many of them produced by licensed local partners who know the city well.

Its guides are simple and easy to scan rather than in-depth: the best restaurants and bars right now, the best things to do this weekend, where to see live music, which exhibitions have just opened. You won’t get long reportage, but for finding out what’s actually happening in a city while you’re there, it’s always worth checking — and it’s free to read at timeout.com.

Why read it: it’s the one to open once you’ve arrived. Time Out tells you what’s on in a city this week — events, openings, restaurants and nights out — in dozens of places where no other English-language travel magazine exists.

7. Locals Insider

Locals Insider is a travel magazine that explores places through the people who know them best. Instead of visitors’ first impressions, it tells the stories of the people who live in cities around the world — artists, designers, founders and business owners — and asks them what they do, what inspires them and which places they love.

A few examples:

• Vyacheslav Gnedchik, a soloist with the Hungarian National Ballet, shares his favorite cafés, baths and hidden spots in Budapest.
• Ashley Scott Müller, a sculptor and Thierry Mugler collector, takes readers through her Berlin of vintage shops and galleries.
• Di Wu Munk, founder of the art workshop studio Dots & Lines, shares her favorite Asian restaurants in Calgary.

The magazine also covers the essentials that make a trip run smoothly. It compares eSIMs and the best deals on them, reviews VPNs for travelers, shares the best hiking apps from a hiking expert and explains how to fight jet lag, from a fitness instructor. It even looks at the apps that keep us entertained on the road, from dating apps to gaming apps.

Locals Insider is published online in English, Danish, Polish and Russian, and is free to read. Follow along on Instagram at @locals_insider.

Why read it: it’s the only title here told from the inside. You see a city through the eyes of a ballet dancer, a sculptor or a café owner who lives there — and get the practical travel tech to go with it, free and in four languages.

Travel Magazines Compared

Print or Digital: Which Is Better?

It depends on how you like to read. Print magazines are made to be kept: the photography looks better on paper, and a stack of back issues becomes a library of trip ideas. They’re also a pleasure on a long flight with no Wi-Fi.

Digital editions are cheaper, arrive the moment they’re published and are searchable — useful when you’re planning a specific trip and want every article on one destination. Many magazines now offer both, and several give subscribers access to their full archive.

How to Read Travel Magazines for Less

You don’t need to pay full price for every title:

• Take up introductory offers. Most magazines offer cut-price trial issues for new subscribers.
• Use a magazine app. Services such as Readly and Pocketmags bundle many titles into one subscription.
• Check your library. Many libraries lend digital magazines free with a library card.
• Read free travel magazines online. Titles like Time Out and Locals Insider are free to read, and most print magazines publish much of their content on their websites.

Which Travel Magazine Should You Read?

• For stunning photography and serious reporting: National Geographic Traveller
• For luxury hotels and the famous awards lists: Condé Nast Traveler or Tatler Travel
• For adventure and off-the-beaten-path trips: Wanderlust
• For all-round trip ideas and hotel picks: Travel + Leisure
• For what’s on in the city once you’ve arrived: Time Out
• For the places locals love, and practical travel tech: Locals Insider

Start Reading and Start Planning

There’s no shortage of great travel writing — whether that’s in print, on your phone or in a magazine app. Each of these titles sees the world differently, so pick one or two that match the way you like to travel, and let them do the dreaming for you. For more inspiration, explore our travel insights and luxury travel guides.

Good Travel Magazines We Recommend

• National Geographic Traveller (UK) — photography and in-depth reporting · 10 issues a year · nationalgeographic.com/travel
• Condé Nast Traveler — luxury travel and awards lists · 8 issues a year · cntraveler.com
• Wanderlust — adventure and responsible travel · 6 issues a year · wanderlustmagazine.com
• Travel + Leisure — hotels, resorts and trip ideas · 11 issues a year · travelandleisure.com
• Tatler Travel — the 101 best hotels in the world · annual guide · tatler.com/travel
• Time Out — events, restaurants and nights out in 333 cities · free online · timeout.com
• Locals Insider — places through the eyes of locals · free online · localsinsider.com