Farewell armchair travel, it’s time to pack your bags again.

For the globetrotter

Time to dust off that passport. Lonely Planet has scoured every corner of the globe to produce its Best in Travel 2022. It ranks the must-visit countries from Norway to Mauritius; cities from Gyeongju in South Korea to Florence in Italy; and regions from the Westfjords in Iceland to the Scenic Rim in our very own state of Queensland.

For the Australian explorer

Alternatively, bust across some borders and explore your own backyard through Lonely Planet’s Australia’s Best Trips. It features 38 amazing road trips, from the two-day whizz around to two-week adventures. It even includes suggestions for great places to stretch your legs and irresistible detours.

Marcia Langton’s Welcome to Country is a guidebook for people wanting to see Australia through the eyes of its traditional owners. The second edition of this book details indigenous languages and customs, history, native title, the Stolen Generations, and the Black Lives Matter movement. There’s also a comprehensive listing of indigenous owned- or operated-tourism experiences across Australia.

For the swimmer

Set yourself a challenge of taking a dip in every one of the 60 places featured in Places We Swim by Dillon Seitchik-Reardon and Caroline Clements. Wash away all your cares at Australia’s best beaches, pools, lakes, and waterfalls.

For Sydneysiders or visitors to the Emerald City there’s their follow-up Places We Swim Sydney, a book that takes you well beyond bodysurfing at Bondi and into neighbourhood pools and hidden bushland swimming holes.

For the walker

Don your sneakers and enjoy the delights of discovering places on foot. For the ultimate in bucket-list inspiration there’s Barry Stone’s 1001 Walks: You Must Experience Before You Die. It guides you to put one foot in front of the other on everything from a 90m stroll over the Ponte Vecchio in Florence to months-long cross-country expeditions such as the 24,000km Trans-Canada Trail.

If wandering the neighbourhoods of the Big Apple is more your speed look out for the May release of Walk With Me: New York. Photographer Susan Kaufman celebrates the beauty of its townhouses, parks, and streetscapes in her forthcoming book.

For the adventure-lover

Adventure travellers can get all the inspo they need to tackle some mountain climbing through the May release of Mick Conefrey’s book about George Mallory’s first attempt to summit Mount Everest. Titled Everest 1922: The Epic Story of the First Attempt on the World’s Highest Mountain it tells the tale of the expedition before the better known one in 1924 that ended his life.

For the train-lover

Trainspotters get on board Tim Richards’ Heading South, a 7000km trip from far north Queensland to Western Australia. Along the way he encounters floods, cancellations, and the joy of meeting random strangers.

For the nomad

Yearning for a nomadic life? Alex Waite’s Vanlifers: Beautiful Conversions for Life on the Road could be just what you need to make it a reality.