Top 6 Travel Documentaries on Netflix

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Netflix has some of the best documentaries and covers a wide spectrum of different topics. Perhaps one of the most interesting is Netflix’s collection of travel documentaries which have been slowly building as time goes on. More often than not, these travel documentaries bleed into other genres too whether it’s cooking or nature.

So, get your suitcases packed as you’re going on a trip around the world with these six top travel documentaries currently streaming on Netflix.

This list covers titles that are available on Netflix US. 

6. Tales by Light Netflix Original Series

2 Seasons Available

Exploring culture, nature and different locations is this inspirational series that’s exclusive to Netflix. It looks through the lens of a photographer and see’s the subjects travel all around the world to get some of the best shots. They travel to both remote and often dangerous locations with the ultimate goal of getting that perfect shot.

5. Departures

3 Seasons Available

Departures is a travel documentary which sees two friends travel around the world looking for an adventure at every turn. It began back in 2008 and they’ve been travelling ever since. They display both the ups and downs of travelling around the world and mostly seek out some of the most remote places in the world.

4. Stephen Fry in America

1 Season Available

This beautifully produced BBC series pits Stephen Fry traveling across the United States to find the weird and the wacky as well as places that you can only find in the US. In the six hour long episodes, he travels to the deep south, Mississippi, the wild west and the Pacific among others. It gives you an American road trip through the lens of one of the smartest person in the world.

3. Human Planet

1 Season Available

The BBC are fantastic at producing high-quality nature documentaries and they usually have David Attenborough voice over the top. Human Planet is slightly different as instead of focussing on Nature, it looks at how humans interact with nature. Traveling all around the world, it finds some truly fascinating people who live in extraordinary circumstances. There are eight hour long episodes in this fantastic series not to be missed.

2. Chef’s Table Netflix Original series

3 Seasons Available + French special

Netflix Original documentary series called Chef’s Table is a cooking documentary at heart but travels around the world to achieve that goal. By traveling to different locations which come with different cultures and cuisines. Each episode takes us to a different country and city and takes us inside some of the best restaurants in each location along with the very best chefs. It’s exceptionally produced and is getting regular yearly updates.

1. An Idiot Abroad

3 Seasons Available

If you’re not familiar with Karl Pilkington, allow us to bring you up to speed. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were two radio presenters on a UK station where Karl was the producer. What Ricky and Stephen quickly found is that Karl was a comedy gold mine and in this TV series, the pair sends Karl on various adventures around the world. The first season sees’s Karl visiting the wonders of the world, the second completing a bucket list and the third traveling around with a dwarf. Karl has a dry, British sense of humor which makes this show unforgettable.

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Founder of What's on Netflix and based in Norwich in the United Kingdom, Kasey has been tracking the comings and goings of the Netflix library for a decade having started the site in 2013. Kasey maintains the what's new library, keeps the coming soon lists up-to-date and writes about new and upcoming Netflix movies, series and games. Contact: kasey@whats-on-netflix.com