100 Travel Documentaries to Watch
A curated MovieDB guide to 100 titles selected for clear search intent, audience interest, and data quality. Browse story summaries, ratings, trailers, and where to watch in your country.
Rank 1TV Series
Globe Trekker
Globe Trekker is an adventure tourism television series produced by Pilot Productions. The British series was inspired by the Lonely Planet travelbooks and began airing in 1994. Globe Trekker is broadcast in over 40 countries across six continents. Each episode features a host, called a traveller, who travels with a camera crew to a country—often, a relatively exotic locale—and experiences the sights, sounds, and culture that the location has to offer. Special episodes feature in-depth city, beach, dive, shopping, history, festival, and food guides. The show often goes far beyond popular tourist destinations in order to give viewers a more authentic look at local culture. Presenters usually participate in different aspects of regional life, such as attending a traditional wedding or visiting a mining community. They address the viewer directly, acting as tourists-turned-tour guides, but are also filmed interacting with locals and discovering interesting locations in unrehearsed sequences. Globe Trekker also sometimes includes brief interviews with backpackers who share tips on independent travel in that particular country.
Runner-up picks
2TV Series
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Bourdain travels across the globe to uncover little-known areas of the world and celebrate diverse cultures by exploring food and dining rituals. Known for his curiosity, candor, and acerbic wit, Bourdain takes viewers off the beaten path of tourist destinations – including some war-torn parts of the world – and meets with a variety of local citizens to offer a window into their lifestyles, and occasionally communes with an internationally lauded chef on his journeys.
3TV Series
Who Do You Think You Are?
From roots in the Deep South to the slums of New Jersey, "Who Do You Think You Are?" follows the journeys of some of the most well-known names in American popular culture. Watch as celebrities discover unknown details about themselves and their families while researching their ancestry with the help of historians and genealogical experts.
More rankings
4TV SeriesFood Unwrapped
2012★ 7.5
5TV SeriesSomebody Feed Phil
2018★ 7.2
6TV SeriesAn Idiot Abroad
2010★ 7.7
7TV SeriesBizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
2007★ 8.1
8TV SeriesUgly Delicious
2018★ 6.9
9TV SeriesTravel Man: 48 Hours in...
2015★ 6.4
10TV SeriesRick Steves' Europe
2000★ 8.6
11TV SeriesWho Do You Think You Are?
2009★ 10.0
12TV SeriesBarefoot Around the World
2007★ 8.0
13TV SeriesWorld Inside Out
2010★ 8.5
14TV SeriesMysteries at the Monument
2013★ 8.3
15MovieIn Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis
2022★ 6.7
16TV SeriesTucci in Italy
2025★ 7.6
17TV SeriesI'll come sleep at your house
2005★ 7.7
18TV SeriesThe Mind of a Chef
2012★ 8.5
19TV SeriesGordon Ramsay: Uncharted
2019★ 7.4
20TV SeriesDown to Earth with Zac Efron
2020★ 7.7
21TV SeriesLong Way Round
2004★ 8.2
22TV SeriesBalls Deep
2016★ 8.0
23TV SeriesBizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations
2015★ 8.0
24TV SeriesDepartures
2008★ 8.1
25TV SeriesTraveler
2019★ 8.2
26TV SeriesStanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
2021★ 7.3
27TV SeriesGreat Continental Railway Journeys
2012★ 8.5
28TV SeriesLes Routes de l'impossible
2007★ 8.3
29TV SeriesMichael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days
1989★ 7.5
30TV SeriesMadventures
2002★ 8.2
31MovieWomen & the Wind
2025★ 6.2
32TV SeriesFishing with John
1991★ 7.6
33TV SeriesTeam Bachstad
2012★ 7.5
34TV SeriesSusan Calman's Grand Day Out
2021★ 7.7
35TV SeriesWheeler Dealers: World Tour
2024★ 7.5
36TV SeriesRoadfood: Discovering America One Dish at a Time
2021★ 5.3
37MovieThe River Runner
2021★ 6.2
38TV SeriesStreet Food: Latin America
2020★ 7.1
39TV SeriesRestaurants at the End of the World
2023★ 9.5
40TV SeriesBooze Traveler
2014★ 7.5
41MovieAmerican Animals
2018★ 6.7
42TV SeriesAn Optimist’s Guide to the Planet
2024★ 7.3
43TV SeriesGaycation
2016★ 5.5
44TV SeriesThe Real Marigold Hotel
2016★ 7.5
45TV SeriesFloortje To The End Of The World
2014★ 8.0
46TV SeriesStreet Food: Asia
2019★ 7.6
47MovieExpedition Happiness
2017★ 6.5
48TV SeriesExtraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig
2021★ 6.0
49TV SeriesJung Hae In's Travel Log
2019★ 8.0
50MovieBlood Road
2017★ 5.7
51TV SeriesCruising with Jane McDonald
2017★ 8.5
52TV SeriesGhost Brothers
2016★ 7.0
53TV SeriesRoss Kemp: Extreme World
2011★ 8.0
54TV SeriesDark Tourist
2018★ 6.7
55TV SeriesThe Neistat Brothers
2010★ 7.5
56TV SeriesPole to Pole
1992★ 7.9
57TV SeriesThe Pacific: In The Wake of Captain Cook
2018★ 7.0
58TV SeriesSalt Fat Acid Heat
2018★ 7.9
59TV SeriesHK2NY: Hong Kong to New York - Backpacking Documentary Series
2014★ 10.0
60TV SeriesThe Moaning of Life
2013★ 7.6
61TV SeriesSex Around the World
2011★ 4.3
62TV SeriesBilly Connolly's Tracks Across America
2016★ 7.6
63MovieEducating Julie
1984★ 5.2
64TV SeriesCharley Boorman's Extreme Frontiers
2011★ 4.3
65TV SeriesA Cook's Tour
2002★ 8.7
66TV SeriesAsian Provocateur
2015★ 8.0
67TV SeriesRachael Ray's Tasty Travels
2005★ 7.7
69TV SeriesCharley Boorman: Sydney to Tokyo By Any Means
2009★ 5.8
70MovieUnknown: Cosmic Time Machine
2023★ 7.4
71TV SeriesExpedition with Steve Backshall
2019★ 7.1
72TV SeriesStreet Food: USA
2022★ 6.9
73TV SeriesSearching for Soul Food
2023★ 6.0
74TV SeriesGordon's Great Escape
2010★ 7.8
75TV SeriesHimalaya with Michael Palin
2004★ 8.2
76TV SeriesKill Arman
2009★ 8.3
77MovieRailway Station
1980★ 4.7
78TV SeriesMichael Palin's New Europe
2007★ 7.6
79TV SeriesRob and Rylan's Grand Tour
2024★ 8.0
80TV SeriesOrlando Bloom: To the Edge
2024★ 7.3
81TV SeriesJoanna Lumley's Trans-Siberian Adventure
2015★ 5.8
82TV SeriesMichael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime
2020★ 8.0
83TV SeriesFull Circle with Michael Palin
1997★ 7.7
84TV SeriesStephen Fry in Central America
2015★ 7.8
85MovieLove Flesh
2013★ 6.5
87TV SeriesJoanna Lumley's Japan
2016★ 6.3
88TV SeriesDescending
2012★ 8.7
89MovieRoadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
2021★ 7.0
90TV SeriesPaul Merton in China
2007★ 8.0
92TV SeriesDo You Speak American?
2005★ 7.8
93MovieUnbranded
2015★ 7.0
94TV SeriesI'll Have What Phil's Having
2015★ 6.0
95TV SeriesWilderness with Simon Reeve
2024★ 7.8
96TV SeriesThe Mekong River with Sue Perkins
2014★ 7.6
97TV SeriesIndian Ocean with Simon Reeve
2012★ 7.3
98TV SeriesSue Perkins: Perfectly Legal
2022★ 4.4
99TV SeriesSahara with Michael Palin
2002★ 7.6
100TV SeriesJapan with Sue Perkins
2019★ 9.2
About this list
A curated MovieDB guide to 100 titles selected for clear search intent, audience interest, and data quality. Browse story summaries, ratings, trailers, and where to watch in your country.
- Type
- Curated
- Count
- 97 titles
