Distant Lands Travel Bookstore & Outfitter

Pasadena, United States

4.5

Closed now

25 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 800-310-3220
Website:
www.distantlands.com
Address:
20 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA, 91105
Pasadena
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.2 miMemorial Park
0.2 miDel Mar
0.4 miFoothill Transit 187
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Garage, Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes

Today

Today 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Pasadena) 6:07 AM Friday, June 20, 2025

Business hours

Monday 10:30 am – 8:00 pm
Tuesday 10:30 am – 8:00 pm
Wednesday 10:30 am – 8:00 pm
Thursday 10:30 am – 8:00 pm
Friday 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Since 1989, Distant Lands has been serving the needs of travelers, whether they are bound for trekking in Tibet or a weekend in Santa Barbara. An atmosphere conducive to browsing and the love of travel are paramount, as is the depth and breadth of its selection. The aim at Distant Lands is to give the traveler the most complete selection of books, maps and gear in an atmosphere that encourages wanderlust.

In 1995, Distant Lands Travel Outfitters opened, to provide the very best travel accessories, clothing, luggage and travel packs available. Durability, functionality and usefulness to travelers of all descriptions determine the items found at Distant Lands. The result is a one-​stop resource center for the serious traveler.

Today, Distant Lands Travel Bookstore and Outfitters strive to be the best source for travelers, with a knowledgeable staff, informative programs, selection and the willingness to go the extra mile. And now, Eurail passes and tickets issued on the spot!

History

Established in 1989.

Our staff is incredibly knowledgable and well traveled. Whether you need help picking out a map, adapter plug, luggage, book or just need general help with your trip, ask us because we’ve been there. We are passionate about travel and are here to make your travel dreams come true.

Meet the Business Owner

Adrian K.

Business Owner

From an early age, Adrian followed his mother Louanne on her adventures around the globe, from Morocco to Australia, and to many places in between. Drawing on these experiences, Adrian created Distant Lands – A Traveler’s Bookstore, to equip travelers with information and skills to make travel easier and more enjoyable.

Adrian loves helping others discover and explore fascinating places. Some of his favorites include Greece, Japan, Australia and Guadalajara… not to mention beautiful Pasadena!

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«Lovely, caring owners and staff in a tranquil, holistic atmosphere.»

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25 reviews of Distant Lands Travel Bookstore & Outfitter

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Hidden Hills, CA
My boyfriend and I are leaving for an international trip and we were in need of some good walking maps. After googling local book stores, we decided to pop into Distant Lands and check out their inventory. Such a great place! Not only do they have a huge selection of maps, but they also have all sorts of travel books, language guides, suitcases, backpacks, clothing, travel gadgets, etc etc etc. The employees are very helpful and friendly, too. We are traveling to about 20 countries in the next 18 months so we will definitely be back to this store.
Place rating: 5
Pasadena, CA
Love this place. Shopping here is a magical experience you just can’t get online.
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
This place was an awesome find! I love an independent bookstore and this one is awesome. A great travel store, well curated and sells great travel accessories. The ladies were so helpful, showed me great options and let me see and peruse the titles and make my selections. I wish I lived closer, so I can go here often.
Place rating: 5
Altadena, CA
My kids are avid travelers and love to stop by Distant Lands to get gear and books to help them as they journey around the world. The staff is always helpful and they can even help you with travel plans and take the worry out of getting to where you want to visit! They also have guest speakers and community talks about travel and more! Love access to cool data! Love this place!
Place rating: 4
Alhambra, CA
I walked by and wondered inside on my way to Blick Arts. It is nothing like the travel book store in the movie Notting Hills. It is brand new, well organized by country, and smells like new books. There are a good variety of books, for sightseers, foodies, adventurists, and vacation goers. In terms of the countries, it is rather limited to the more popular destinations, France, England, China, India, etc. I enjoyed a great deal browsing thorough the store, especially with the clothing and the décor. It is a bit pricey, but books are expensive nowadays. I would definitely recommend this place to friends or family who are planning to go on an excursion for any occasion.
Place rating: 5
Altadena, CA
Pasadena is lucky to have such a fine travel store here. I have bought all my luggage over the years at Distant Lands. I have also bought numerous products as well and quite a few books. It’s a shame that Amazon has cut into their market so severely. I continue to support them as a loyal customer of many, many years. Their seminar offerings are also invaluable.
Place rating: 5
Altadena, CA
Distant Lands is a must for travel addicts. There are very few stores in LA county like Distant Lands. I stop in every time I’m planning a trip, to pick up travel guides and see whats new in the traveling game. I love that they carry travel clothes and luggage as well. They have a great online store as well,
. Parking is across the street and usually is available (except on weekend nights).
Place rating: 5
Anchorage, AK
This place is what wanderlust’s dream of. You can find all your travel needs in this store right off Raymond to include books, maps, clothing, luggage and travel accessories. They even host events highlighting the travels of other authors, photographers, ect.
Prior to stumbling upon that store, I had talked about purchasing a specific book once my husband and I got home. Ironically enough, there it was, featured in the window of this store. It was like a sign! However walking in, I realized I had even more options to think about along the same lines of the specific book I was wanting to purchase. I promise, that’s not a bad thing! I loved the amount of selection and homely feel of this business.
While my husband and I only spent approximately 32 hours on a layover in the Los Angeles area, we agreed we needed to stay more than a night in the town of Pasadena. We will surely be back to spend some time there again.
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
The cashier and owner were both so nice. I used the Unilocal deal and the cashier had trouble ringing it up because she was new and it was the first time she had seen one. The owner was out at lunch at the time. We both tried to figure it out together but it was confusing. After I left the owner called me so that she could refund the difference from the Unilocal deal. I never write Unilocal reviews but I was impressed with the follow up and the cashier really did try to figure it out at the time too.
Place rating: 5
Claremont, CA
Love this place. You can find any travel book or travel gadget you need and the staff is very helpful. Fun to just check out the new travel clothes and luggage too.
Place rating: 4
Monterey Park, CA
Traveling? Get your travel books here! When we have a trip coming up, we come to Distant Lands to browse the guide books. We usually end up getting a Lonely Planet guide book but they have such a nice selection, it’s nice to flip thru to see which fits your style. They also have maps, language books, gear and travel wear. The staff is knowledgeable & helpful. You can also come here to figure out where in the world you want to go next. It’s a big world, go see it while you can!
Place rating: 5
Palo Alto, CA
We stopped by this store when we decided to be spontaneous and head to Angeles national forest during a planned 3 day trip to Joshua Tree. Ok, so we needed a map fast. We found this cute store on Unilocal and fell in love with the amazing, esoteric collection of books on nothing but travel. If you love to go places and aren’t sure where to start with researching — go here. Books, manuals, old school maps, small limited collection of hiking clothes — got me inspired to go to more places! The owner told us he’s been here for 25 years and takes pride in his store — as he should as it is a unique collection. He was also great with advice — he recommended a wonderful hike at Switzer Falls for us which we really enjoyed, since the park is huge and we didn’t know where to start with a few hours to decide.
Only complaint is the location — parking is tough here and watch the meter on street side spots — 15 minutes and the cops here are not screwing around with ticketing seconds over what you paid for.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
I’m so glad that this store is around even in the age of internet retail. Great curation of upmarket travel items and books. Obviously, some items are probably pricier than purchased online, but the Unilocal deal more than made up for that for me.
Place rating: 4
Beverly Hills, CA
I love this store. It makes you want to travel. The owner (I believe) established common ground, shared tips for travelling to my destination, and suggested the desk in the back for Eurorail tickets.
Unfortunately, one star less because the woman who handles Eurorail tickets was extremely curt and answered my questions in a condescending, «dont you know that already» tone. That gets old REAL fast.
Place rating: 5
Pasadena, CA
9÷22÷2014
Distant Lands is still an amazing travel resource. If they don’t have a guidebook for your trip, your destination doesn’t exist. These people probably stock a Top 10 Destinations in Mars series.
The staff is ridiculously well traveled and eager to share their knowledge.
DL still sponsors travel-​related talks most Monday nights and what a treat! Tonight’s guest shared a truly amazing series of adventures around the world.
The bottom line: DL is yet another Pasadena treasure.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Great service. I love how helpful and knowledgable everyone here is. The person who helped me was Megan and she wrapped my present so beautifully too!
Place rating: 4
Santa Monica, CA
I love books, bookstores, and traveling, so I LOVED this shop! Such a cute little place filled with tons of travel books! I spent over an hour here just browsing all the different books. They also have an in-​house travel agent and a section of the shop stocked with all kinds of traveling gear like backpacks, luggage, etc. Perfect place to pick up a travel guide for your next trip or to help quench your wanderlust if a plane ticket is currently out of reach.
1 star knocked off because the book I wanted to purchase was clearly used but being sold as new. All the other books were in great condition though.
Place rating: 5
Altadena, CA
Good prices, helpful, and wide range products. Ask for Sara, she was awesome.
Place rating: 4
South Pasadena, CA
Good selection of travel books for practically every Countries in the World.
Helpful and Friendly customer service!
Clean and Organize bookstore.
Great location in Old Town Pasadena, parking structure across the street.
Place rating: 4
Pasadena, CA
What a quaint shop for those who love to travel, or the idea of traveling (like myself!) Upon entering Distant Lands, you are transported to another time and place. You’ll feel right at home cruising the aisles, or looking through one of their many travel guides and books whilst sitting on the couch.
Not only do they have amazing books, and travel guides, they also have useful knick-​knacks to take with you on your journey (backpacks, clothing, journals, gifts, ect…)
The only qualm I have about this place is the price. Not quite suitable for college student budgets, but very well frequented by all walks of life.
Place rating: 3
Pasadena, CA
If it weren’t for the fact that you can review and buy travel books and gear cheaply and conveniently on the internet, I’d be in this store more frequently. But it’s perfect for last-​minute travel needs or just to browse and ignite a spark for your next destination.
I do have to mention that last year one of the sales associates recommended an inflatable travel neck pillow that he said was ‘the best’, my husband and I bought two, and they were so weirdly uncomfortable that we could only use them for about 15 minutes of a trip to Europe. And then of course we couldn’t return them. So I wouldn’t recommend the inflatable neck pillow.
Place rating: 3
Greater Los Angeles, CA
Well this is a frufru travel store. Its in the midst of old town Pasadena…
Seriously I dont know what else to call it. This joint is filled with the standard travel books… literally walls and walls and aisles of bookshelves of them. I believe every country, state, and major tourist destination are represented here.
This is half of this joint the other half is pretty much dedicated to really peculiar stupid and interesting travel accoutrements. Everything from luggage to specialty bottles, bags, and attire. This is an interesting place. I think it would be smarter to buy this stuff online, but if you need it right now, they likely have it RIGHT NOW. Plan ahead and save a bunch of $$$.
I was also the recipient of not the friendliest of customer service when I asked a question. Perhaps I didnt look like the traveling type. *shrugs*
Place rating: 5
New York, NY
We had previously visited this store 4 ½ years ago, when it was located elsewhere in the neighborhood. We went there yesterday and literally stayed for about two hours. We were exhausted & practically collapsing from the heat upon arrival — and before we’d barely begun looking around the store, we nearly fell asleep while sitting there. The two terrific guys working at the store were really understanding and let us just sit there for awhile. Eventually we got down to business, and my husband had a lengthy discussion with one of the guys re: some really neat luggage & other items. We bought two very useful and clever items that we’d never seen elsewhere. This store is like the holy grail of travel stores and they’re a dying breed. Plus, the two employees (the owner wasn’t there) were extremely helpful & knowledgable and they were also very friendly.
Place rating: 4
Santa Monica, CA
I’m a travel junkie and so when I discovered a travel bookstore, I was in heaven.
It’s a bit small but it packs a punch. They have a great selection of books for a large variety of destinations.
Place rating: 5
Covina, CA
A superior place to visit for your travel needs, particularly when traveling abroad…
We came here primarily to pick up an AC adapter for a trip to Italy and were pleasantly surprised at the selection of international plugs and adapters. We also picked up a passport/​money purse that straps around your person beneath your outerwear for security…
Some of the more interesting but useful items included a neck pillow that looks something like an earmuff:

Lots of books and travel guides to browse, they even have a nice inviting sitting area where you can lose yourself. I was cracking up at one book: «How to say Ciao in a dozen different languages…» or something to that effect (I think that the inference is the point… lol…)
Anyway, if you’re the type who likes bookstores and outdoorsy stuff, then this is right up your alley…