Travel writing is a literary genre related to the essay and to the guidebook. It is characterized by a narrator, usually though not exclusively identified with the real-life author, who moves about through some selected piece of geography whilst providing commentary, either about the scenes he sees during his travels or on some other topic suggested by a triggering experience.

Travel writing resembles the essay in that the author and the narrator can often be assumed to be the same person; it resembles the guidebook in that the geography presented in much travel writing is confirmable in the real world. These resemblances are not necessarily true for any kind of fiction.

Some well-known and -regarded travel writers include:

• Julian Barnes
• Ibn Batutta
• Bill Bryson
• Bruce Chatwin
• Juan Goytisolo
• Doug Lansky
• Frances Mayes
• Peter Mayle
• Quim Monzó
• Jonathan Raban
• Laurence Stern
• Paul Theroux
• Alexis de Tocqueville
• Mark Twain
• Carrió de la Vega
• Evelyn Waugh