Funny Female Travel Writers
Sloane Crosley – How Did You Get This Number
“When you are a tourist, you step into a kind of sitcom version of life. The language is simple. The clothes are clean. The locals find your errors charming.”
Vibe: Neurotic New Yorker tries to be breezy abroad. She is not breezy. Travel meets therapy meets cocktails.
Where to read more:
How Did You Get This Number (start with the essays “Take a Stab at It” and “Off the Back of a Truck”)
Also check out I Was Told There’d Be Cake (more domestic but same voice)
Erma Bombeck - When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home
“My idea of camping is staying in a hotel that doesn't put chocolates on the pillow.”
Vibe: Suburban mom humor meets chaotic vacation life.
Where to read more:
When You Look Like Your Passport Photo...
Her syndicated columns (also available in anthologies)
Martha Gellhorn – Travels with Myself and Another
“I am overcome with fear, not because of the leeches or the bandits or the food poisoning, but because I can’t stand one more minute of this trip.”
Vibe: Gruff, bold, and often hilarious in her misery—this is travel writing for people who hate group tours and love sharp edges.
Where to read more:
Travels with Myself and Another (don’t miss the China chapter)
Laurie Notaro – I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies)
“If you need me, I’ll be in the hotel bathroom trying to wash my underwear in the sink with hand lotion because I forgot soap. Again.”
Vibe: Think Lucy Ricardo, if she had a passport and no filter. Notaro’s travel stories are full of spectacular meltdowns and bad decisions.
Where to read more:
I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies)
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club