Best Netflix Travel Shows | Travel Documentaries to Watch

If you’re like most who have that wanderlust feeling, but aren’t able to fulfill it at the moment, the best you can do is to try and fill those cravings with some travel series. Thankfully, this list of the best Netflix travel series will help you choose an adventure from your living room. Maybe they can ignite the adventurer within and give you inspiration for when you can hit the road again.

If one of these Netflix travel shows does grab your attention and makes you want to follow their lead, make sure to remember some of these adventure travel tips so you’re prepared for everything. You can also check out our list for the best wanderlust inducing travel movies streaming on Netflix!

6 Top Travel Shows on Netflix

Netflix is known to have some of the best travel shows available at the moment. The best travel documentaries on Netflix all have their quirks ranging from the obscure to the outright comical. These travel shows will either make you stare in amazement or have you crying with laughter while being taken on a journey.

Street Food

This one is for all the foodies, who love to travel just to eat their way through their trip and taste as many local dishes as possible. One of the best travel documentaries on Netflix, they take you along for the ride as they explore street food from around the world. This traveling show has a stunning combination of interviews with street chefs, exploring their history.

This is all put within the larger picture of how influential street food is in each chef’s homeland. Each season focuses on a specific region/continent, with Asia and Latin America’s street food being showcased in the first two seasons.

Even though you might not be able to travel to try that food right now, nothing is stopping you from taking some notes and taking a world tour in your kitchen.

Dark Tourist

Have you ever heard of dark tourism? For the more obscure travelers, this series takes you to places and experiences that are not exactly conventional. David Farrier takes you on an adventure to explore the darker and lesser-known cultures and parts of the world.

This is one of those Netflix travel documentaries that will take you on tours ranging from the odd to the totally bizarre and creepy. David visits a full-scale Noah’s Ark, a horror house and even tours La Catedral with Pablo Escobar’s former hitman. This might not be to everyone’s taste, but is definitely worth a watch if you want something a little different and to see the weird and wonderful this world has to offer.

If you like to be different then have a look here if you really want to get off the beaten track. You could also try some dark tourism for yourself and visit the town of Prypiat outside of Chernobyl, exploring the time capsule that remains.

Jack Whitehall – Travels With My Father

Imagine traveling with one of your parents for a road trip documentary, with all your contrasting personality traits and quirks for all to see. If that sounds entertaining – this travel series is full of it! Comedian Jack Whitehall takes a trip with his father to various places around the world while getting themselves into a few awkward situations.

For some lighthearted but also occasionally cringe-worthy family travel escapades, this is one of the best shows on Netflix. They approach all their journeys through South East Asia, Europe and West America with very different perspectives. Although through all the bickering, there are some wholesome moments between the two. That is until a third and unusual member joins their trip.

The Kindness Diaries

Just how far could you travel around the world using kindness as a currency? This again is one of the best travel shows on Netflix with the traveler, Leon, traveling around the world and relying on the kindness of strangers for food, shelter and petrol. Leon is not able to accept money at all on his journey. During all these interactions with locals who help, he learns more about them and their stories.

In return for these strangers’ kindness, he pays it forward by helping those who help him realize their dreams. He travels around with a vintage vehicle in each season, first a vintage motorcycle and then a vintage car. This is one of those road trip documentaries that will immerse you in the local culture and show that there are some truly selfless people in this world. Be warned, this is a bit of a tear jerker.

Tales by Light

Tales by Light is something a bit different from National Geographic on Netflix. This is a travel documentary series that you would probably have never seen before. This thought-provoking series takes you on a journey with professional photographers who travel around the world to capture iconic and powerful images.

This series has stunning imagery that will make you stare in wonderment as these photographers push their limits to capture that elusive image. All while this series answers the question on everyone’s mind, what is the meaning behind that image and how did they do it?

Down to Earth With Zac Efron

For a travel series with a focus on sustainability while traveling around the world (yes the irony is not lost) a journey with Zac Efron is surprisingly light-hearted. The series focuses on Zac as he searches the globe, exploring new countries in search of a healthy and sustainable way to live.

Arguably, this series is somewhat more of a journey of self-reflection with travel as a backdrop. This series will take you around the world and show you how countries are attempting to combat climate change.

Best Travel Documentaries – What are you Adding to Your List?

Travel documentaries on Netflix give you a chance to live vicariously through others. They take you on a personal journey and give an in-depth look that you might even miss yourself. At least you can sit back, relax and go on a visual mind journey with those on the screen and take mental notes for the day that you board the plane to start your journey.