22 Books to read for your next cruise travel destination!
So you have booked your next cruise and you want to find some inspiration on your next cruise travel destination. I love reading on holiday and I also love reading books that are relevant to where I am or where I am traveling to. These Cruise Travel Books are the ideal reads to take with you. Whether you’re looking for an enthralling novel to pop in your bag and read in the sun or a real life memoir set in your destination you will find some great cruise travel reads here.
Imagine lying on deck in the port of Valencia Spain reading stories and tales of where you actually are.
Check out these great novels and inspiring books to give you some knowledge and insights on your next cruise destination.
Italy cruise port travel reads
Is Italy on your next cruise destination? Pop one of these books on to your kindle or device to read while you explore the stunning regions of Italy. Whether you are visiting the ports of Livorno, Naples or Civitavecchia grab one of these great books set in beautiful Italy.
Rome
Angels and Demons by Dan brown
Off to Rome on your next cruise? What could be better than a brilliant thriller which is set in the antiquity of Rome! As you read you will be transported through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals and even the most secret vault on earth in this prequel to Dan Brown’s worldwide bestseller;Â The Da Vinci Code.Â
Pompeii
Pompeii by Robert harris
I have visited Pompeii three times and every time I go I am in awe. No visit to Pompeii should be without some research on the history of this doomed city. Where better to enjoy reading about Pompeii than in the beautiful Bay of Naples? Read this fictional story based on events that lead up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ancient Italy.
Book set in NaplesÂ
My brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante
Explore the city of Naples through the eyes of two women. Its story starts with two girls growing up in poverty stricken, violent Naples in the 1950s. Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed.
Italian lakes book
Beneath a Scarlett sky by Mark Sullivan
This novel is based on the true story of Pino Lella, an Italian who, as a teenager towards the end of WW2. He finds himself guiding refugees from the Nazis through snow-bound Alpine passes from the Italian lakes to the safety of Switzerland. The story then take shim back to Milan living a double life as driver to a German general and as a spy for the Italian partisans.
Cinque Terra set novel
Beautiful ruins by Jess WaltersÂ
The story begins on the Italian coast in 1962. A young innkeeper watches in disbelief as a beautiful American girl gets out of a boat and climbs towards his hotel. Later he searches for the woman he last saw in his hotel 50 years before a story of an Italian and his long-lost love.
France destination books for your next vacay!
There are so many stories set in beautiful France here are a few favourites for your next cruise around the French coast.
Paris
Paris for one by Jojo Moyes
Paris for one is a collection of 11 unmissable short stories from the number 1 internationally bestselling author of Me Before You and After You
“Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She’s never even been on a romantic weekend away-to anywhere-before. Travelling abroad isn’t really her thing. But when Nell’s boyfriend fails to show up, she has the chance to prove to everyone-including herself- that she can be independent and intrepid. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed “
St malo
All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr
This beautiful novel is set in St Malo France. It is about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure has been blind since the age of six. Her father builds a perfect miniature of their home neighbourhood so she can memorise it by touch and navigate her way home. But when the Nazis invade, father and daughter flee with a dangerous secret.
True story book London England
A Street cat named Bob by James Bowen.
A street cat named Bob is a book based on a true story set in London. This autobiography by James Bowen is about a cat who saved him from a life in the gutter. James was a busker in London who walked the streets of Covent Garden and took Bob the cat under his wing. This uplifting tale and memoir shows how just how you can change your destiny even if you feel like you are at the bottom of the heap.
Book set in St LuciaÂ
St Lucia skies by Holly green
The perfect light holiday read for the beach of St Lucia. “When Claire takes the job of Guest Relations Manager at the Paradise Palms, one of St Lucia’s most prestigious holiday resorts, she knows she has a huge challenge ahead.Â
Solving guest’s problems and making their holidays absolutely perfect is just the start”
Florida keysÂ
The Road to Key west by Michael Reisig
The Road to Key West is an adventurous novel that cavorts its way through the 1970s Caribbean, from Key West and the Bahamas, to Cuba and Central America. This is perfect for pouring yourself a margarita and sliding into the ‘70s for a while. This is the first book in a series, so there is lots more to be had in these books set in the Florida Keys!
True stories set in New YorkÂ
Confessions of a New York Taxi Driver
Cab driver Eugene Salomon has driven his New York taxi for over 30 years. This collection of stories are collected a remarkable selection of stories are an unforgettable memoir. Eugene has had everyone in the back of his cab including famous stars such as Lauren Bacall, Leonardo di Caprio, John McEnroe, Sean Penn and Dennis Hopper, Simon and Garfunkel, Robin Williams, Norman Mailer, Diane Keaton and, yes, even Kevin Bacon.
Alaska
In to the wild by Jon Krakauer
This is a true story of Chris McCandless. Chris was a young man who, in 1992, walked deep into the Alaskan wilderness to not return. His SOS note and emaciated corpse were found four months later.
Book about living in India
The white tiger by Aravind Adiga
This is a wonderful book full of humour and commentary on the social structure of modern India. The “White Tiger” is the son of a rickshaw puller, born in the heartland of India. He works at a tea-stall, also crushes coal, and dreams of a better life. Growing up in slums is the main protagonist of the book eventually becomes the driver of a wealthy Indian family.
Thailand
The beach by Alex Garland
In 2000, The Beach was adapted into a film directed by Danny Boyle and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Set in Thailand Richard is given a map promising an unknown island with a secluded beach and a new way of life. What Richard finds when he gets there is breathtaking even more extraordinary, more frightening than his wildest dreams.Â
 JapanÂ
Memoirs of a Giesha by Arthur Golden
Arthur Golden paints a vivid and remarkable picture of the mysterious world of the geisha’s. Young girls learn the arts of geisha which are dancing and singing, how to wind the kimono, how to walk and pour tea. Memoirs of a Geisha’ is narrated by a geisha named Sayuri. This book is about the struggles, pain and the tragedy she had to go through physically, emotionally and mentally to become one of the most famous geisha of Gion.
Orlando Parks book!
Harry Potter trilogy by JK Rowling
Ok so this is not set in Orlando I know! But if you are travelling out of Orlando on a cruise you simply have to go to the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! If you are not familiar with Harry Potter which lets face it you must know who he is! You must read the book to really get everything you need out of this extraordinary place!
Valencia
The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown
This international bestseller is set high in the hills above Valencia and is an epic tale of love and loss. In a crumbling house left forgotten since the days of Franco. Emma Temple, London’s leading perfumer visits the place that has been empty for 70 years. She is determined to restore it to its former glory. You will find atmospheric settings, family secrets, war torn stories and the art of creating the perfect perfume.
Barcelona setting for this Novel
The shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Set in heart of the old city of gothic Barcelona there is a hidden ‘Cemetery of Lost Books’, a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. A man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel to the library one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ by Julian Carax. He then embarks upon a journey throughout the years to uncover the truth about the author.
Norway
Boy by roald dahl
Roald Dahl vividly shares his memories in Boy, some are funny some are painful. some are unpleasant but all are true. This is the first part of Roald Dahl’s autobiography, covering his childhood years from birth in 1916. You will hear about school day stories and tales of the family’s annual summer holiday expeditions to Norway where he would live on remote idyllic islands for weeks at a time
Morocco
A caliphs house Morocco by Tahir Shah
 The Caliph’s House is a story of home ownership abroad. It is a hilarious account of renovating a house in Casablanca. See Casablanca and the Caliph’s House through the author’s eyes bringing Morocco into a world full in technicolor.
Hear about Morocco’s superstition’s, rituals, bargaining and many other aspects of life unfamiliar to the western reader.
Crete Island setting for book
The Island by Victoria Hislop
A perfect holiday read set in Crete. Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone’s throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga. Spinalonga is Greece’s former leper colony. There she finds Fotini and at hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life. It is a tale of her great grandmother Eleni and her daughters and a family rent by tragedy, war and passion.Â
Ireland
Songs of Love and War by Santa Montefiore
This is a escapist summer read! The Deverill Chronicles which is set in Ireland from 1910 to the sixties. The first book is Songs of Love and War and is a story of love, belonging, home, and family love. Witness the magic of Ireland’s natural beauty and the legends that still fall on the green land.
