9 Best Travel Shows and Movies on HBO Max

So you want to watch something travel related and not leave your house? Have a subscription to HBO Max? Here are a few suggestions on the best travel shows and movies on HBO Max so you won’t have to waste time scrolling and looking through the titles at home. We are not able to travel full time, so in our free hours after work, we tend to watch or read a lot of travel related books. Here’s our list. 

NOTE: Some of these shows may not be available on HBO Max when you read this article. As of publishing, these shows were still available. Will update the post as necessary if we still have HBO Max and happen to check if  

Other couch potato travel related posts: 

• Travel shows on Amazon Prime 
• The best travel books to fuel your wanderlust 
• How to read more books every year

Czech It Out (TV show set in the Czech Republic) 

Spoken in Czech, a plus for our little Slovak family, with English subtitles. The 8 part TV series follows a Czech foodie slash actor and his daughter, as they go around the Czech Republic. This series makes it even more relatable for us since the stars of the show can only visit towns and cities on a limited time, which means they are not traveling full time. 

For those of us who work full time, have children,  and travel part time, we want to show the world that this type of travel is indeed doable. We tend to have the comfort of having a home base, a steady income stream coming in, and a routine for our kid whenever he’s not traveling. 

Lukas, the host, is showing the foodie side of the Czech Republic as well as activities, sights, and other interesting areas in the cities and towns that he visits. Of course he does this while he is with his teenage daughter. A bit different than traveling with a toddler, but traveling with children is definitely very rewarding. 

This is one of our favorite travel shows, and we’re lucky that it is available on HBO Max.   

White Lotus (TV show set in Hawaii and Italy)

A purely fictional TV series, the White Lotus is an ensemble show based in a high end resort in Hawaii. The series was filmed at the Four Seasons Maui at Wailea, so all the exterior shots you see on screen are based on an actual hotel. 

The story revolves around the guests and the employees of the White Lotus, with the start of the first episode opening to a death that happened in the hotel, with you trying to figure out who could have died. The series is coming back for another season, set in Italy, filming at the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace. It is an absolutely beautiful hotel, so we can’t wait to see what the second season has on offer. Jennifer Coolidge will be back and is reprising her character in season 2. 

The Flight Attendant (TV show about a flight attendant)

As the name of the TV series suggests, the main character is a flight attendant, so there is no shortage of international and domestic airport, hotel, and even sights throughout the show’s episodes. The first season is mostly a thriller and a mystery, as the main character is dragged into the brutal murder of one of her business class passengers after she sleeps with him in Bangkok. 

The first season is based on a book of the same name, The Flight Attendant, by Chris Bohjalian. Some parts of the first season feel a bit stretched and slow, with some plot holes here and there. Not sure what season 2 has in offer since the entire death of Alex Sokolov is the main arc of the book and the first season, but we’re hopeful season 2 will still show lots of travel! 

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (multiple locations)

HBO seems to be the main distributor of any CNN originals, so Parts Unknown is available to stream on HBO Max. Anthony Bourdain is not your usual travel guide, but he does show a different side to a city or a place based on his connections with the locals and for food. 

Some of the episodes should have a trigger warning, so for those who can be a bit squeamish or get triggered by animal slaughter (which is shown in some of the episodes), please watch the show with someone. It would help if there was a warning before every episode for those who are sensitive, but there’s none. 

Nevertheless, if you still want to travel and “try” the different cuisines of the world without leaving the comfort of your home,  the TV series is definitely worth watching. As they say – you can live vicariously through others! 

Death on the Nile (Movie set in Egypt)

If you’re a fan of mysteries and know of Agatha Christie, the story is one of a few set in a different country! The movie is amazing – showing lots of famous Egyptian temples and making you feel like you are on a river cruise along the Nile. However, there’s murder that happens on board, so another challenge is figuring out who the murderer is before the end of the movie! 

The book is better than the movie, but the movie has the added plus of actually taking you to places visually! Hercule Poirot’s accent is also fun to listen to! 

Whitechapel (TV series set in London) 

An oldie but goodie TV show. The first season follows a series of murders that happened in London where the murderer seems to be imitating the infamous Jack the Ripper, but in the late 2000s.

I personally love the cut scenes where they show various buildings around London and even say streets and squares that are relevant to the story. 

There are 4 seasons of Whitechapel, with only 3 episodes each. Each episode is only around 45 minutes so they are easy to digest and binge. 

The Gilded Age (TV series set in New York) 

An HBO original, written by Julian Fellowes, the mastermind behind Downton Abbey. The story follows a nouveau riche family in New York, based on the Vanderbilt family as they navigate around the old rich society that dominated the city. 

Even though this is a period piece, some of the places they visit in New York still stand. The buildings are still there but instead of one family living in a house the size of a city block, has been divided into condos or apartments instead. Central Park is still there and welcoming people from various places as it stands proud in the middle of the city. 

See our other posts about New York: 

• 3 Day New York City Itinerary (52 WW)
• A budget trip to New York City

TV Shows or Films that Inspire Travel on HBO Max 

Fans of these shows make it a point to visit filming sites, and we do have to admit some of their locations are breathtaking, having been to a few of them. Here are the TV shows or the films that inspire travel available on HBO Max. 

The Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts Series (Wizarding World)

Who doesn’t love the Harry Potter franchise? If you end up going to the UK, people end up booking Harry Potter location tours, which includes Leavesden Studios, where there’s a permanent exhibition at the Universal Lot. Within London, there are plenty of Potter places you can visit, from Leadenhall Market, Platform 9 ¾ in King’s Cross, the Millennium Bridge, Tottenham Court Road, and St Paul’s Cathedral. These are just some of the places you can visit, and our post is not a comprehensive guide to the locations – those are just a quick Google away! 

Make a trip to the various cities and towns that they shot on location and you’ll see the beauty of the UK as well as imagining yourself in the wizarding world of Harry Potter itself. Make it a part of your bucket list to visit locations if you want – anything to get you out of the chair and experience the sights yourself! 

Also, the books are amazing, and when compared with the movies, they are mostly true to the book. However, the Fantastic Beast series does not have an accompanying book series, and mostly rely on the movies to tell the story. 

However, if you do go to the Wizarding World in Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, you can experience the set yourself and get corresponding merchandise as well! 

Check out our Orlando posts here:

• An Orlando New Years Weekend Getaway
• Orlando’s Chocolate Kingdom (Review)

Game of Thrones 

Game of Thrones is a bit different where the cast seem to have shot in different countries. From the old city of Dubrovnik in Croatia, to an island off the Basque region of Spain called Gaztelugatxe, to the Dark Hedges in Ireland, there’s plenty to see and explore if you watch the TV series. 

Aside from looking at the locations, the TV show is highly entertaining with lots of plot twists, action, and drama. There are a lot of character’s to remember though! 

There is a book series that was the premise of the TV series, so if you are a reader and like more detail on the world, then pick them up too! 

Bonus #2: Travel shows previously on HBO Max

Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy 

Stanley Tucci travels to Italy to try and show the unique food that’s available in various regions of Italy. Along the way, he shows how the food has been sourced, unique places, and everything Italian in particular. The host is Italian-American, so he definitely knows what he’s talking about. 

We’ve been drooling at the food and street scenes he had in Italy, it was making us so jealous and miss travel even more. A majority of the episodes had been filmed during the pandemic, so it was kind of great to compare what it was like pre-pandemic on 2 episodes vs post pandemic. Sadly, they took this out of HBO Max, but added it to the list in case it does go back. 

Travel Shows on HBO Max

And there you have it, some travel shows on HBO Max. While this list is not as comprehensive, we hope it may have helped you in your armchair travel and inspired you to visit the sights that these shows were showcasing. 

For you have any other shows that you feel we should add to the list? Feel free to list them in the comments below and we will check them out. We will include them if we feel they are entertaining and informative enough to inspire travel through the show!