Best Songs About Travel

Image: Couple enjoying a walk in San Francisco, California. (Photo Credit: Adobe/KseniaJoyg)
Image: Couple enjoying a walk in San Francisco, California. (Photo Credit: Adobe/KseniaJoyg)
Rich Thomaselli
by Rich Thomaselli
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Sat March 22, 2025

Who among us hasn’t cranked up the CD player in the car or even on a short flight?

Music is the perfect accompaniment on any trip, but it’s subjective and depends on style and taste. One person’s Mozart is another person’s Guns and Roses.

With that in mind, we present to you a short list of what we believe are great songs about travel:

Leavin’ On A Jet Plane: The Steve Miller Band was able to turn this into a monstrous hit.

New York, New York: As only he can do, Frank Sinatra made this an ode to an entire city.

Running On Empty: A Jackson Browne classic. Hey, if it was good enough for Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, then it’s good enough for us.

Homeward Bound: A classic from Simon and Garfunkel to get you through those last couple of hours before getting home.

On The Road Again: Who hasn’t played this from Willie Nelson before starting a road trip?

Born To Run: Not necessarily a travel song, but this Bruce Springsteen diddy has elements of travel in it.

I’ve Been Everywhere: Johnny Cash covered almost every American city in this song, obscure and otherwise.

Midnight Train To Georgia: When you are growing up, who didn’t want to be as cool as a pip?

Road Trippin’: The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Enough said.

Take It Easy: Again, not exactly a classic traveling song, but Glenn Frey and the boys turned Winslow, Arizona, into a household name.

I’m Gonna Be: Listen to the words from Dexy’s Midnight Runners. This man would walk 500 miles just to be with Eileen.

Roam: The B-52’s hit a home run with this one.

Fly Away: Lenny Kravitz made his whole career with this one song. He had other hits, but is best remembered for this one piece.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia: The Charlie Daniels Band was able to turn Mephistopheles and his one trip into a hit song with this.

I Left My Heart In San Francisco: What Frank Sinatra did for New York, Tony Bennett did with this slowed-down version of his dalliance with San Francisco.

Road To Nowhere: The Talking Heads were in the middle of the best stretch of their careers.


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Rich Thomaselli

Rich Thomaselli

Associate Writer

Editor Associate Writer true 9281 14744 Rich Thomaselli has written for TravelPulse since 2014 and has been a professional journalist for nearly 40 years. His work has appeared in USA Today, the New York Times and New York Yankees publications. He is an 11-time writ

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