Extended Weekend Getaways TV Travel Docs
The series we mention below are great ways to see what goes on behind the travel brochures.
Down to Earth With Zac Efron (2020)
1 Season
Starring: Zac Efron, Darin Olien
In this Netflix original series, star of stage and screen Zac Efron travels the world with wellness expert Darin Olien to explore cultures and communities that found healthy and sustainable ways of living. Among the places they visit are Iceland, Costa Rica, Sardinia, Lima and Iquitos.
Stream Down to Earth With Zac Efron on Netflix.
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (2005-2012)
9 Seasons
Starring: Anthony Bourdain
If travel for you is inextricably tied to food, master chef Anthony Bourdain can satiate that appetite. In this Travel Channel series, you’ll tag along with him as he visits a variety of locations both well-known and obscure.
Bourdain tastes the native foods and cooking and dining customs of the people who live there. Destinations include Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Ghana, Berlin and Egypt as well as many pockets of the United States.
If you enjoy this series, you can also check out Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013-2018.) A similar series, only originally broadcast on CNN and spanning 12 seasons, this one follows Bourdain to other locales like the Congo, Myanmar, Peru and Koreatown in Los Angeles to speak with the locals and discover how their culture and cuisine intertwine.
Stream No Reservations on Hulu, The Roku Channel and Sling TV.
Basic Versus Baller: Travel at Any Cost (2018-2019)
1 Season
Starring: Alex Ayling, Marko Ayling, Arden Rose
For better or worse, your travel budget is one of the biggest influences on any travel experience. This unique and often hilarious travel show tackles that singular factor from top to bottom–literally.
In it, two brothers fondly nicknamed the Vagabrothers travel to various destinations where they play a simple trivia game to see who gets to explore that locale with a “big” budget (like $1,000 per day) and who must work with a much smaller budget (under $100 per day).
As you follow this dynamic duo while they independently explore a particular hotspot in luxury or frugality, you’ll get to see how both you and the other half would live when visiting particularly travel-worthy new places.
Destinations include Genoa, Okinawa, Laos, Lyon and Taipei.
Stream Basic Versus Baller: Travel at Any Cost on Hulu.
Our Planet (2019-2023)
2 Seasons
Starring: David Attenborough
Nary a show or movie out there will captivate and inspire you with the abundant beauty and bounty of the natural world in which we live than this BBC documentary series narrated by renowned and beloved BBC broadcaster David Attenborough.
Each episode is themed around a natural feature such as forests, jungles, freshwater, oceans, ice, deserts, etc. as it appears in all its vast and sundry forms throughout the globe.
If you love exploring the planet’s natural beauty or if you have the desire to experience something particular when you travel, this series was created for you.
Stream Our Planet on Netflix.
Feature Travel Documentary Films
If you’re in the mood for longer-form fare, take a peek at these feature-length travel documentaries.
180 Degrees South (2010)
Rated PG
Starring (as themselves): Jeff Johnson, Yvon Chouinard, Doug Tompkins, Keith Malloy, Makoshe, Timmy O’Neill
In 1968, Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins embarked on an inspiring personal mission to Patagonia, encompassing South America’s southernmost tip where Chile and Argentina both sit divided by the Andes Mountains.
So inspired was Jeff Johnson by this journey that he ventured to emulate it with one of his own. Subtitled, “Conquerors of the Useless,” this self-aware retracing of a historic trek to a mystical place includes surfing, cowboys, treacherous oceans and snow-capped mountains.
When our hero and his heroes cross paths, the whole movie takes an unexpected, and even more inspiring, turn.
Filmed primarily in Chile and Mexico, this delightful yet moving documentary combines an inspiring and engaging road trip, a historical study, an environmental call to action and a personal story of integrity.
Stream 180 Degrees South on Prime Video.
Samsara (2011)
Rated PG-13
Director: Ron Fricke
If music moves you to travel on journeys of the mind and soul, then this movie about the music of the world where humanity and nature intersect will lift you to new heights.
Filmed in 25 countries across five continents over five years, it combines lush settings with the musical traditions of the cultures and communities who live there.
Stream on Apple TV and Prime Video.
A Twofer: Film + Series
Figure it Out on the Hayduke Trail (2019)
Rated 13+
1 Season
Starring: Alex Meier
Travel deals often come in the form of two-for-one offers — and here’s one in the form of an inspiring travel documentary film that’s also a TV series.
If you’re into adventure travel or pressing your own limits, then this movie-cum-show has a recommendation for you: take a hike–on the Hayduke Trail, that is.
Everyone may be familiar with the Appalachian Trail on the East Coast and Pacific Crest Trail on the West Coast, but that’s only made this lesser-known excursion more authentically obscure and untrodden.
The Hayduke trail offers 812 miles of intense backpacking through six national parks in Arizona and Utah, including Zion, Arches, and the Grand Canyon. Discover what this trail has to offer the bold and active traveler in the 90-minute film and 10-episode series.
Stream on Amazon Prime.
