There’s never been a better time to be a book girlie. A hobby that once resulted in an embarrassing collection of Edward Cullen posters hanging on your wall or a cringe-worthy era where you were a little too into Harry Potter is now the it-girl activity taking over the world. I mean, Dua Lipa and Callum Turner literally met bonding over her book club pick, Madeline Cash has her own GAP ads, and there’s a new viral book (shoutout Yesteryear and Strangers) dominating the cultural conversation every week. With book culture only growing, it’s no surprise that after infiltrating the fashion industry and pop culture, it’s coming for travel next.
While vacation reads have always been a pillar of the reading community, it’s no longer as simple as grabbing a beach read to throw in your tote or picking up a last-minute book at the airport. Instead of asking what to read on vacation, books are becoming the driving force behind travel in a new way. From reading retreats to destinations inspired by books, literary travel is the trend inspiring readers to plan their dream bookish vacations. Here’s everything you need to know about the literary travel trend, plus my own takeaways after heading to the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar with Avon Books for a bookcation of my own.
What is literary travel?
If you hear “literary travel” and have war flashbacks to your mom dropping you off at an off-brand “Camp Half-Blood” in the summer, don’t worry—these modern book trips are nothing like the day camps of your childhood. One of the trending examples you’ve probably come across is reading retreats, where travelers plan their entire trip around uninterrupted reading time. According to Google Trends, “book retreats” hit an all-time search high at the end of 2025, and searches for “reading weekend” continue to climb, so it’s safe to say travelers are yearning for some time on the page. These trips typically pair a book with a complementary setting, like a cozy fantasy in a cottagecore cabin, an Emily Henry novel on the beach, or a big-city rom-com in NYC.
To go a step further, you can also visit the real-life settings of your favorite novels. Think traveling to the gorgeous Canadian lakeside settings of Carley Fortune’s books, jetting off to the Amalfi Coast to bring One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle to life, or stepping into the world of Jane Austen in Bath, England. There’s nothing more magical than experiencing the same monuments and sites as your favorite characters. Personally, I’m dreaming of roaming the campus of Trinity College in Dublin, sad girl playlist on deck, lamenting life like I’m straight out of Normal People by Sally Rooney.
There doesn’t even have to be an IRL location tied to your favorite reads to design a trip around them. For example, A Court of Thorns and Roses fans say that visiting Zermatt, Switzerland, feels like stepping directly into the fantasy city of Velaris. Can travel provide literal fae magic? Not quite, but you’d be surprised how much the right setting can bring a story to life.
You can also add a literary twist to a vacation you already have on the books (pun intended). Before and during your trip, simply tailor your reading list to your destination. Say you’re headed to Nantucket—grab Elin Hilderbrand’s entire catalog to immerse yourself in coastal grandmother energy. Picking a vacation read that’s perfectly tailored to your trip adds another level of immersion, making it that much more of an escape from reality.
How to plan your own literary trip
Now that you’re desperate to set off on your very own literary travel expedition, you may be wondering how to actually bring these ideas to life. Luckily, if you’re someone who dreads planning trips, plenty of companies have popped up to do just that for you. Forest & Fawn, for example, designs themed trips for the fantasy girlies. Page Break hosts retreats primarily centered on contemporary literary fiction, with a focus on diverse, emerging authors. Book Huddle is another community-focused reading retreat company with rave reviews. Or, if you’re setting your sights internationally, Ladies Who Lit has a lineup of reading retreats that looks like my personal bucket list of dream destinations.
If you’d rather plan your own bookish trip—whether it’s solo or with a group—the first step is deciding on the vibe you want. If relaxation is your priority, a reading retreat-style vacation may be the best option for you. But if you’d rather spend your PTO taking in the sights, snag a ticket to the setting of your favorite novel (or a destination that mimics the locale) and experience your favorite plot points IRL. It really is as simple as that.
Hotels are hopping on the trend too, offering book-specific programming for readers. For example, Scribner’s Lodge in the Catskills has its own book club that culminates in an in-person event with the author at the property. The Bookhouse Hotel in Pennsylvania is literally a book lover’s dream brought to life, with rooms filled with books, retreats, and book-themed events. For my own literary travel trip, I was able to watch a live recording of Avon Books’ The Book Was Hotter podcast, featuring an interview with author Tessa Bailey at Baha Mar’s new podcast studio (more on my experience later).
Whether you choose a reading retreat, a setting-based bookcation, or a book-themed hotel, be sure to leave plenty of time to sit back and soak up the free time. An overstacked itinerary is the ultimate enemy of a reading trip. You need plenty of time to make progress in your current book, after all.
My literary travel experience
Like any bookish girl with a high screen time and a penchant for scrolling, I knew I had to try the literary travel trend for myself after seeing it all over my feed. After a long NYC winter, the beach was calling, and Grand Hyatt Baha Mar was the perfect backdrop for a trip full of themed reads. The book of choice? None other than the quintessential beach read, My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey. While the whole murder aspect was definitely not something I wanted to manifest on my trip, a seaside setting, a spicy romance, and a hot bounty hunter sounded like the perfect escape.
With the location set and my allotted personal item literally brimming with beach reads, I was off to Nassau to see if literary travel would deliver on the ultimate escapism it promised. Here’s what I learned, plus my itinerary if you want to recreate it for your own travels.
A brash bounty hunter and an energetic elementary school teacher become the murder-solving team no one asked for—but they’re stuck together, come hell or high tide, until a killer is found.
Day one: Plenty of reading time and a bookish craft
My first morning there, it only made sense to begin the day with an audiobook walk along Cable Beach. The descriptions of crashing waves and sand between your toes resonate that much more when you’re right there with the character on your own beach walk. After getting my steps in and grabbing the vacation-mandatory iced latte, the next stop for me was crafting bookmarks at The Current, a gallery and art center located on the Baha Mar property. While not every hotel will provide experiences like this, a bookish craft, even with supplies you bring from home, is the perfect early-afternoon activity to keep your hands moving without pulling you too far out of that vacation mindset.
Next up was some pool and beachside reading—AKA what I would argue the majority of your time should look like if you’re opting for a relaxation-focused book trip. I fail to see how anyone couldn’t feel at peace lying in the sun with a piña colada and a great book in hand, and honestly, I was thriving. After appropriately cooking in the sun, with the sunburn to prove it, it was off to dinner and bed to reset for another full day of bookish fun.
Day two: Book-inspired activities and reading-centric discussions
If you’re so obsessed with books that planning an entire vacation around them sounds appealing, chances are, like me, you’ll finish your first book on day one. Thankfully, I brought plenty of other reads to dive into on my trip. When I packed Set Point by Meg Jones, I didn’t expect to have my own US Open arc play out at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, but it turns out I have quite the pickleball potential. Even as someone with virtually no experience holding a racquet, hitting the courts honestly had me feeling exactly like Inés and Chloe in the book.
If hitting balls at people doesn’t sound like your idea of relaxing, my next activity may be more your scene. The day continued with a cooking lesson at Baha Mar’s The Kitchen, inspired by another book in my travel bag, Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly. It was a fun reminder that you can easily tailor your travel itinerary to your chosen book, regardless of the destination you’re visiting.
A sizzling sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance between two rival tennis superstars, taking place during the US Open.
A tempting new romance from USA Today bestselling author Grace Reilly, in which a down-on-his-luck chef and a determined social media maven strike a reluctant deal to bring a beloved restaurant back to life.
Next up was a live taping of The Book Was Hotter with Tessa Bailey at the resort’s on-site podcast studio, which was such a fun fly-on-the-wall experience. I mean, what more could you want on a book-themed trip than to listen in on a conversation with one of your favorite authors, set against a gorgeous Bahamian backdrop? Finally, I was lucky enough to ask Tessa a few questions of my own during the Q&A following the recording. Whether the hotel you’re staying at has bookish programming built in or you set aside time for a mini book club-style discussion with your travel companions, taking time to interact with your book on a deeper level is such a fun part of a literary trip.
After one last dinner, I spent the rest of the evening—in a shocking turn of events—reading. Then I packed up my sandy suitcase and returned home.
My final takeaways
If you’ve ever come home from a vacation feeling like you need another vacation to recover from all the activity, literary travel is the ultimate reset. It’s not just a chance to discover a new place; it’s an intentional opportunity to immerse yourself in a story and read solely for pleasure. Personally, I’m already counting down the days until my next book trip.
Lauren Blue, Associate Editor & Book Club Co-Host
As an Assistant Editor for The Everygirl, Lauren ideates and writes content for every facet of our readers’ lives. Her articles span the topics of must-read books, movies, home tours, travel itineraries—and everything in between. When she isn’t testing the latest TikTok trend, she can be found scouring Goodreads for new releases to feature on the site.
