Cyprus has found its way onto National Geographic’s reading list, and this time the essential holiday packing begins with a novel. 

A seven-night escape to Larnaca inspired by Elif Shafak’s The Island of Missing Trees has been included among seven literary retreats recommended by National Geographic Traveller UK for 2026. 

Under the rather lovely title “Fig trees and vine leaves”, the Cyprus retreat appears alongside literary journeys to Provence, Yorkshire, Zermatt, Svalbard, the Nile and Morocco. 

At its heart is Shafak’s 2021 novel, which moves between Cyprus and London and follows the love story of Greek Cypriot Kostas and Turkish Cypriot Defne. Their lives are shaped by the island’s division, loss and inherited memories, while one of the book’s most memorable narrators is not a person at all, but a fig tree that has witnessed far more than anyone realises. 

The retreat brings that story back to the island. Guests stay at the Josephine Boutique Hotel in central Larnaca, close to Finikoudes beach, with a rooftop swimming pool for anyone who prefers to read with a sea view and perhaps something cold beside them. 

There is no demand to sit silently with a book from breakfast until bedtime. Instead, days are deliberately unhurried, leaving guests free to read beside the pool, wander through Larnaca or head to the beach. National Geographic also points to optional excursions including a guided walk through the Old Town, a boat trip and a visit to an archaeological park. 

The books return to centre stage in the evenings, when guests gather over dinner to discuss The Island of Missing Trees. Another evening, called “A Book I Love”, invites each traveller to bring a personal favourite into the conversation, which could either produce thoughtful literary discoveries or a very polite argument over somebody’s taste in novels. 

Most participants travel alone and single occupancy is standard, although friends or couples may request twin rooms. The remaining 2026 departure is advertised for October 5, with the seven-night package priced from £1,695 per person. According to the holiday listing, the price includes a room for sole use, daily breakfast, three dinners with wine and water, ATOL-protected flights and airport transfers. 

The Cyprus mention arrives as the traditional beach holiday is being quietly rewritten. Travellers are still packing swimsuits, sunglasses and far too many clothes, but an increasing number are also choosing destinations around the books they want to read. 

Expedia Group’s Unpack ’26 research found that 91 per cent of travellers were interested in holidays centred on reading, relaxation and time with loved ones. The study covered 24,000 adults across 18 countries, while Pinterest searches for “book club retreat ideas” rose by 265 per cent and reading-related terms in Vrbo reviews nearly tripled. 

“It’s not new to take a stack of books on holiday,” Expedia Group vice-president Melanie Fish said, describing readaways as retreats “where the real adventures unfold on the page”. 

The appetite has continued into the summer. A later Expedia update reported that online conversation around “Beach Readaways” had risen 213 per cent year on year, while mentions of reading-related terms in Vrbo guest reviews were up 285 per cent. 

Elsewhere on National Geographic’s list, Provence offers three nights at a 16th-century château, complete with destination-inspired novels, long rosé lunches and a visit to a local antiques market. The retreat runs from August 27 to 30 and was listed from £1,800 per person. 

Yorkshire provides the appropriately windswept setting for a journey into the world of the Brontë sisters, including private access to the Brontë Parsonage Museum’s library and a talk with historian Lucy Worsley. The July departure featured in National Geographic’s original March selection has already taken place. 

For readers whose shelves lean towards fantasy, Zermatt offers a BookTok-inspired tour linked to Sarah J Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses. The seven-night journey, designed for travellers aged between 18 and 35, also visits Lucerne, Lausanne and Glacier 3000, with departures advertised through October.

Those with a considerably larger budget can follow Philip Pullman’s armoured bears into Svalbard on an expedition cruise costing from £9,750, or step into an Agatha Christie novel aboard Egypt’s historic Steam Ship Sudan. Christie travelled on the vessel in 1933, helping inspire Death on the Nile, although today’s guests are promised the wood panelling, period elegance and Nile scenery without the murders.

Finally, a women-only retreat in the Moroccan seaside town of Asilah mixes books with local food, artisan visits, tile-making and a murder mystery dinner.