The countdown to Christmas is on.

Those who purchase gifts for travellers may want to consider adding one of these five beautiful books to their lists.

Learn how you can leave your job and travel the world with this book.

A Year Off, A Story About Traveling the World – and How to Make It Happen For You by Alexandra and David Brown 

Alexandra and David Brown had only been dating a couple of months when they quit their corporate jobs and travelled around the world for a year. In A Year Off ($24.95, Raincoast Books, Chronicle Books), the couple, who are now married, offer tips on how you, too, can leave your normal life behind and explore the world, information on what to pack, how to plan your route and other travel advice. There are also essays from each of the authors and beautiful photographs of the places they visited, people they saw and the food they ate.

You don’t need to travel far to discover some beautiful travel destinations.

110 Nature Hot Spots in Ontario: The Best Parks, Conservation Areas and Wild Places

While there are some stunning destinations throughout the world, there are also some pretty fantastic places right in our own backyards. This book, as the title suggests, offers 110 amazing places to visit in Ontario divided into regions. Each double page spread offers beautiful photographs and quick points as to why it’s hot including Huckleberry Rock, which offers some of the oldest rock in the world.

110 Nature Hot Spots by Firefly Books costs $29.95.

Learn why these experiences were worth waiting for.

Lonely Planet’s The Best Moment of Your Life, 100 life-changing travel experiences 

The Best Moment of Your Life ($23.61, Raincoast Books) features 100 experiences – from listening to Nelson Mandela‘s first speech as a free man to skating on a glass lake in Sweden – that offered a life-changing moment to the person experiencing it. Each double page spread offers a several beautiful photographs, information about how the contributor got where he was going and what she saw, travel information as well as a take away – the reason the moment was the best.

“I realized that every decision I’d ever made, even the spectacularly bad ones, had led to that moment of a lifetime,” writes Jurriaan Teulings in his piece titled Shooting Star Below the Arctic Circle.

As the editor notes at the beginning of the book, each moment was worth waiting for.

This beautiful book offers a look at some of the amazing locations on Earth.

Natural Wonders of the World 

The pure scoop of some of the selections in DK’s Natural Wonders of the World ($65, DK) is mind-boggling. In the Giant Forest, for example, the person at the base of the tree looks miniature as does the helicopter flying alongside the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Some of our planet’s most amazing landmarks are featured in this beautiful book, which offers information in small bites along with glorious photographs, artwork and 3D terrain models, which provides information about what lies beneath what we see and explains how some of these amazing locations came to be including Hang Son Doong, a recently discovered limestone cave in Vietnam, which is so big it has its own micro-climate, which includes winds and clouds.

Find out the best places to go at the best time

Where to Go When the World’s Best Destinations 

Those who love to travel always seem to be planning their next trip – whether its a week-long stay at an exotic location or a three-day getaway close to home.

In DK Eyewitness Travel Where to Go When ($25, DK Eyewitness Travel), those who travel will discover the best time to visit some of the world’s best destinations and what to do once they get there. Each month features a beautiful locale complete with photos, information to help you get around, a week’s worth of suggestions of what to do while you are there and the dos and don’ts of the area. April is the best time to see the cherry blossoms in Japan, while you should head to Kruger National Park in June.

This Christmas, help your traveller find new places to visit or be inspired to travel yourself.

Happy holidays!

Copies of these books were provided by DK, Firefly Books and Raincoast Books
for an honest review. The opinions are my own.