Have you ever dreamed of exploring the farthest reaches of the globe, but found yourself tethered to your living room couch? Well, fret no more, because we’ve got the perfect solution to satisfy your wanderlust and gaming cravings all in one go. Get ready to embark on a thrilling journey without leaving the comfort of your home, as we unveil our top pick of 25 travel-themed board games!
Forget about expensive flights, cramped hotel rooms, and questionable airplane food. With these travel board games, you can have it all – the excitement, the exploration, and the convenience of never having to put on pants (alright, maybe you should put those on when you’re playing with friends).
Get ready, for your armchair adventurers, as we take you on a virtual escapade through our handpicked collection of 25 travel-themed board games
Are you short on time? Check out the editor’s top three travel-themed games by budget.
- Large budget: History of the World (#3)
- Mid budget: Ticket to Ride (#18)
Table of Contents
Save these travel board games
Don’t forget to save these travel-themed board games to Pinterest!
Travel-themed board games for large budgets
#1 Trekking the World
- Players: 2-5
- Age: 10+
- Playtime: 30-60 minutes
- Best for: all travel lovers
Trekking the world is one of the best travel-themed board games for all travel lovers. First of all, because it’s a beautiful board. It consists of a map of the world with some of the major tourist highlights.
The aim of the game is to score the most points by visiting popular destinations and collecting souvenirs.
Everything is related to travel in this game.
Players start out at airports, scores are kept on suitcase sheets, and the tour cards also provide factual information about the destinations. So besides playing a fun game, you can also learn something new about the world in this game.
#2 Carcassonne
- Players: 2-5
- Age: 7+
- Playtime: 45 minutes
- Best for: Travelers who love France
Carcassonne is based on the beautiful fortified and world heritage-listed city of Carcassonne, France. Making it one of the best travel-themed board games for people who love France. But also for people who don’t love France.
I don’t consider myself a Francophile, but I absolutely love Carcassonne (the game, I’ve never been to the city).
The aim of the game is to collect as many points by placing tiles, building, and claiming features, such as fields and cities.
Technically, Carcasonne is not a board game, because it doesn’t come with a board. But because it’s a tile placing game, you create your own board. And the board looks different at the end of each game.
#3 Viticulture essential edition
- Players: 1-6
- Age: 13+
- Playtime: 45-90 minutes
- Best for: People who love wine and Italy
Viticulture is set in pre-modern Tuscany. Each player has a vineyard and the aim of the game is to build a successful winery.
#4 History of the world
- Players: 3-6
- Age: 14+
- Playtime: 2-3 hours
- Best for: Travelers who love history
History of the world comes with a beautifully detailed world map board. As the name already suggests, the game takes players through the history of the world as they are trying to expand their empires. The player with the most points by the end of history wins.
It’s a great game for people who love history and for people who love board games that take hours. Because one game of History of the world may take up to 3 hours to finish.
#5 Concordia
- Players: 2-5
- Age: 12+
- Playtime: 90 minutes
- Best for: People who love Greece, Italy, and other Mediterranean countries
Concordia is a deck-building strategy game with quite a few different expansions to make the game even more exciting.
It comes with a beautiful two-sided board with decorated maps of Italy and the Mediterranean. Which side you’ll play on depends on the number of players.
Each player represents a roman empire that tries to conquer the world, build houses, provide food, and ultimately win the favor of the gods. The player with the most victory points wins the game.
Some of the expansions include:
#6 Imperial settlers
- Players: 1-4
- Age: 10+
- Playtime: 45-90 minutes
- Best for: People who love ancient civilizations and history
Imperial settlers is another one of the great travel board games for people who love ancient civilizations.
Each player represents one of the four great empires (Roman, Japanese, Barbarian, or Egyptian) and tries to build a strong society.
The game is played in five rounds, and the player with the most points wins the game.
#7 Castles of Burgundy
- Players: 2-4
- Age: 12+
- Playtime: 30-90 minutes
- Best for: people who love France
This is another one of the great travel-themed board games for people who love France. Each player represents a French aristocratic family and needs to earn victory points in order to win the game. They can earn points by building castles, trading, exploiting mines, and gathering knowledge.
#8 Caper Europe
- Players: 2
- Age: 10+
- Playtime: 25-35 minutes
- Best for: People who love Europe
Caper is one of the few travel-themed board games that you can only play with 2 players. But that doesn’t make it any less fun!
It’s a game where players have to create the best criminal strategy in Europe. The aim is to gain the most points by getting control of certain locations in Europe, collecting stolen goods, and equipping your thieves with the best gear.
The thrill of playing the bad guy and becoming a criminal mastermind is what makes this such a fun game.
#9 Twilight struggle
- Players: 2
- Age: 13+
- Playtime: 2-3 hours
- Best for: People who love history
Twilight struggle is a board game about the cold war between the US and USSR. It’s a strategy board game where players need to gain control over other countries in the world.
There are a few different ways to win or instantly lose the game. This means that players have to pay attention to various aspects of the game.
It’s a strategy game that requires quite a lot of thinking. But it’s great for people who are fascinated by history and by political decision-making.
#10 Brass
- Players: 2-4
- Age: 14+
- Playtime: 1-2 hours
- Best for: People who love the UK
Brass is one of the best travel-themed board games for people who love England. There are two different editions, Birmingham and Lancashire, but the idea of the two is the same.
It is set in the industrial revolution and the aim of the game is to gain the most victory points. Each player represents an entrepreneur who needs to flourish during the industrial revolution.
#11 Railways of the world
- Players: 2-6
- Age: 13+
- Playtime: Over 2 hours
- Best for: People who love the US and Mexico
Railways of the World is another strategy travel-themed game where players need to build railways in order to collect points.
It’s actually quite comparable to Ticket to ride (#18). But with its own set of rules and different boards of course. The standard game comes with a two-sided board. The map of the US on one side, and the map of Mexico on the other, if you’re playing with two players.
It’s an awesome idea for people who love trains and train travel!
#12 Vikings: invasion of England
- Players: 2-4
- Age: 12+
- Playtime: 1-2 hours
- Best for: People who love the Vikings, England, and history
Vikings is another one of the great travel-themed board games for people who love England and history. The board consists of the map of England, and the aim of the game is to either defend or defeat England (depending on which team you’re in).
It’s a fun and beautifully made strategy game and perfect for people who enjoy war games.
#13 Ancient civilizations of the inner sea
- Players: 1-6
- Age: 14+
- Playtime: 2-5 hours
- Best for: People who love Mediterranean and North African countries
Ancient civilizations of the inner sea is one of the few travel-themed games that you can also play solo.
The aim of the game is to build or conquer as many ancient civilizations, from famous places such as Troy, Egypt, Mycenae, and Rome.
It comes with a beautiful board that covers the Mediterranean.
#14 Istanbul
- Players: 2-5
- Age: 14+
- Playtime: 40-80 minutes
- Best for: People who love Turkey
The game is set in the Istanbul markets and the aim is to make money as a merchant. The game is set up in tiles, instead of a board. But since the tiles kind of make the playground, I still consider it one of the great travel-themed board games.
#15 Santorini
- Players: 2-4
- Age: 8+
- Playtime: 20 minutes
- Best for: People who love Greece or New York City
Santorini is one of the best travel board games for people who love Santorini or New York if you buy the NYC version.
The aim of the game is to build a three-story building on the beautiful island of Santorini. It comes with actual small white and blue building blocks, so by the end of the game, the board resembles Santorini.
#16 Orléans
- Players: 2-4
- Age: 12+
- Playtime: 90-120 minutes
- Best for: People who love France
Orléans is another one of the best travel-themed board games for people who love France. The game is set in medieval Orléans (in France, not New Orleans in Louisiana).
It’s a strategy game where players need to gain economic growth by finding the right followers, such as knights, farmers, scientists, etc.
#17 Alhambra
- Players: 2-6
- Age: 8+
- Playtime: 45-60 minutes
- Best for: People who love Spain
The game is set in 1278 in Granada, Spain. The Alhambra of Granada will be built and each player needs to collect buildings to gain points.
Travel-themed board games for mid budgets
#18 Ticket to ride
- Players: 2-5
- Age: 8+
- Playtime: 30-60 minutes
- Best for: any traveler and people who love trains
I’ve said this a few times before, and I will keep repeating it until I have a new favorite board game.
But Ticket to Ride is one of my absolute favorite board games about travel. And that says a lot because I love board games.
The aim of the game is to collect the most points by building railway connections between cities.
It’s relatively easy to learn and explain, and what I love the most about Ticket to Ride is the various editions they have.
These are some of the different Ticket to Ride variations, but there are more.
The aim of the game is still the same, but the board and the cities between which to build railways will differ.
So depending on which part of the world you love the most, you can find a Ticket to Ride edition for it.
#19 Passport to Culture
- Players: 2-6
- Age: 10+
- Playtime: 60 minutes
- Best for: Any traveler
Passport to Culture is one of the best travel board games for any type of traveler.
The aim of the game is to collect as many stamps as possible by traveling around the world. A goal many travelers can relate to.
#20 Seven wonders
- Players: 3-7
- Age: 10+
- Playtime: 30 minutes
- Best for: people who love ancient cities
Seven Wonders is a strategy game where each player represents one of the 7 ancient cities. Over the course of three ages (or rounds), players need to find a way for their ancient city to survive the next age.
After the third round, the player with the most points (measured by cards and military conflicts) wins.
#21 Monopoly (country-specific editions)
- Players: 2-7
- Age: 7+
- Playtime: 20-180 minutes
- Best for: Any type of traveler
I’ll be honest here. I do not like Monopoly (I actually hate it). Yet, I still think it’s one of the best travel board games. Mostly because you can find Monopoly for literally any country. This makes it a great game to play for travelers who miss traveling.
#22 The world game
- Players: 2-5
- Age: 8+
- Playtime: 20-60 minutes
- Best for: all travelers who love trivia and travel facts
The World Game is a geography trivia board game about travel, where players have to compete with each other by using the facts of their country card against others.
For example, by saying that your country has more neighboring countries than theirs or a larger population. The country with the highest numbers wins.
It includes a beautiful board of the world map with numbers that correspond with the cards, so you can also practice your geography skills.
#23 Bristol 1350
Bristol 1350 is a relatively quick strategy game (especially considering the fact that some of the games on this list take up to 4 hours to complete!).
The game is set in Bristol in 1350 (who would have guessed that). And the black death is spreading around the city. Each player has to try and escape the city in order to survive and win the game.
#24 Lisboa
- Players: 1-4
- Age: 12+
- Playtime: 1-2 hours
- Best for: People who love Portugal
Lisboa is set in Lisbon after the earthquake of 1755.
The aim is to rebuild Lisbon and collect the most point by the last round. The board covers the map of Lisbon, which is why this is one of the great travel-themed board games for people who love Portugal and Lisbon.
#25 Welcome to
- Players: 1-100
- Age: 10+
- Playtime: 25
- Best for: People who love the US
Welcome To is set in The United States in the 1950s. Each player tries to build the best new town in the country.
Technically it’s not a board game, because you use a score sheet and cards. But because the sheets are practically the board you play on, I still included it as one of the great travel board games.
Save these travel board games
Did you save these travel board games to Pinterest yet?
Final note on the travel-themed board games
If you’ve made it all the way to the bottom of the list, I’m assuming you haven’t decided which travel board games you should buy. If that’s the case, check out our top-picks!
- Large budget: History of the world (#3)
- Mid budget: Ticket to Ride (#18)
