These are the most beautiful travel puzzles to inspire you before your next trip!
You may not know this about me, but I spend too much time holed up at home working on jigsaw puzzles when I’m not traveling. During quarantine, I thought it was the perfect time to stock up on puzzles; from what I’ve seen, many people thought the same thing!
I’ve even talked about hosting a puzzle party, perfect for us introverts.
This post may contain affiliate links, where we receive a small commission on sales of the products that are linked at no additional cost to you. All opinions are always our own. Read our full disclosure for more info. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Local Adventurer possible.
Last Updated: July 21, 2025
9 Most Beautiful Travel Puzzles to Work on When You Can’t Travel
As you’ll see, all the puzzles are 1000 pieces to 32,000 pieces, and many are Ravensburger because they make the best puzzles out there. Every piece is unique, and they fit together perfectly.
I’ve included a couple of other highly rated brands with beautiful imagery, but as a friend says, ‘Ravensburger or nothing!’ I’m not gonna lie. It will ruin other puzzles for you. None of the others will feel as satisfying, so if you don’t want to drop all your cash on puzzles, don’t do Ravensburger first.
1. Big Sur Sunset, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger →
Update: Currently unavailable but we’re hoping it’ll be back!
I worked on this puzzle while watching my grandma during her last days. Seeing it now brings back some bittersweet memories.
Big Sur is, dare I say, the most beautiful spot in the US. I love the rugged coastline and blue waters. If you look closely in the puzzle, there’s a small fence in the distance where we once sat to watch sunset. It brings back lovely memories.
See More: 11 Things You Can’t Miss in Big Sur
2. Northern Lights, 1000 Piece, Heye →
We chased the Northern Lights every night when visiting Iceland in winter. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse and were amazed to see the lights dance through the sky. This Northern Lights puzzle makes me want to chase them again.
See More: How to Catch and Photograph the Northern Lights
3. London Map Puzzle, 1000-Pc, Xplorer Maps →
This is the current puzzle I’m working on! I’ll let you know how I like it once I’m finished. The artist behind the maps, Chris, loved drawing maps as a kid and now travels the world illustrating maps.
See More: How to Spend the Perfect Weekend in London Itinerary
4. Winter in Yosemite, 240 PC, Nautilus Puzzles →
If you couldn’t tell by now, we love our National Parks. This puzzle features one of our faves and is also a wooden puzzle, giving it a unique feel and texture. Wooden puzzles tend to have fewer pieces (Nautilus Puzzle’s largest ones are just over 600 pieces), so it’s a fun, short puzzle to complete in one session.
See More: Your Complete List of 400+ US National Parks
5. Glacier National Park Puzzle, 1000 Pc, XPlorer Maps →
This Glacier National Park puzzle from Xplorer Maps was a great way to reminisce about a trip to one of our favorite national parks. When I return, I’ll be SO familiar with the geography!
For the most part, the pieces were unique and of good quality. I had a couple of instances where a piece appeared to fit in the wrong place.
See More: 9 Incredible Things to Do in Glacier National Park
6. Cinque Terre Viewpoint, 1500 PC, Ravensburger →
Cinque Terre is truly a magical place. We walked along the trails between each of these small towns, and I ended up taking photos at this same viewpoint.
See More: Our Cinque Terre Guide
7. Hamnoy Lofoten, 3000 PC, Ravensburger →
Hamnoy is one of the most picturesque fishing villages in the Lofoten Islands, Norway. It’s definitely on my travel wishlist, but this puzzle will have to hold me over. Plus, it’s a 3000-piece puzzle that will keep you occupied.
Disclaimer: Ravensburger sent us this puzzle after we sent them this post.
8. The Waterhole, 18000 PC, Ravensburger →
Challenge accepted! This massive 18,000 puzzle is currently spread across my living room and is the first puzzle I completed at this scale. The pieces were divided into four bags for four quadrants, and sorting out the first quadrant’s edges took me over one hour. I also sorted as fast as possible and missed a handful of edges.
UPDATE: The entire thing took me 222 hours to complete.
Have you been on a safari before? We’ve done a safari at Pilanesberg National Park and finally one at Kruger National Park this year!
9. Eiffel Tower, 216 PC, Ravensburger →
Have you ever tried a 3D Puzzle. I’ve never been a huge fan of them, but I’m open to trying another one especially since it’s by Ravensburger (I promise it’s not sponsored…. yet haha).
There are two editions: night and day. The one at night includes 3 LED lights, so that it can light up different colors. I’m waiting to finish the second quadrant of my 18000 piece puzzle before I can work on this one.
Disclaimer: Ravensburger sent us this puzzle after we sent them this post.
More US Destination Travel Puzzles
Since we prioritize local content, we put US destinations first and then international.
- Flowers in New York, 300 Piece, Ravensburger
- Boston Waterfront, 1000 Piece, White Mountain
- Central Park Paradise, 1000 Piece, Springbok (also available in 500 Pc)
- Financial District New York, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
- Old Grist Mill West Virginia, 1000 Piece, White Mountain
- Brooklyn Bridge, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger
- Top of the Rock View of Manhattan, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger
- West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, 1000 Piece, Springbok
- Santa Monica Pier, 300 Pc, Blanc
- Rocky Mountain High, 2000 Piece, Cobble Hill (currently unavailable)
- National Parks of the US, 2000, Cobble Hill
- Vintage American Postcards, 1000 Pc, Cobble Hill
More International Destination Travel Puzzles
- Bora Bora Blue, 500 Piece, Blanc
- Positano, 500 Piece, Ravensburger
- Spring in Paris, 500 Piece, Ravensburger
- Amsterdam, 1000 Piece, Cobble Hill
- Antique World Map, 1000 Piece, Educa
- Bicycles in Amsterdam, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
- Cappadocia Hot Air Balloons, 1000 Piece, Blanc
- Cinque Terre, 1000 Piece, Buffalo Games (also 2000 Piece)
- Grandiose Greece, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
- London Skyline, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
- Neon World Map, 1000 Piece, Educa
- Paris Sunset, 1000 Piece, Springbok
- Tower Bridge of London, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
- A Paris Stroll, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger
- Neuschwanstein Castle, 2000 Piece, Ravensburger
Not Travel Related but Recently Enjoyed
- Cats at Work, 1000 Piece, eeBoo
- Doodle Rainbow, 1000 Piece, Heye
- Gradient, 1000 Piece, Cloudberries
Essential Tips – How to Complete at Puzzle Quickly
- Sort out all the edge pieces and put the edge together first.
- Sort all the colors and patterns and group them first before doing more of the puzzle. This is the most efficient way but also very boring, so instead, I do the following:
- Pick a color or pattern that takes up the least of the puzzle and sort them out. It helps to do these first, so you have fewer pieces to look through for larger areas. Then repeat.
- In the end, I like to sort the pieces by shape.
- Lighting Matters: The best light is natural light, so it helps to work near a nice big window during daylight. Sometimes puzzles will have a glare, which makes it difficult to see the pieces. During the night, I like to use this ring light (we use this for our videos) and point it at the wall so that the light reflects back onto the puzzle.
What are the Best Quality Puzzles? What Company Makes the Best Puzzles
I’ve tried a majority of the puzzle brands out there, and as I mentioned before, Ravensburger, by far, has the best quality, with every piece being unique. Their “soft-click technology” makes it extra satisfying. The one con for them is that their puzzles have a lot of puzzle dust.
Here’s what you’re looking for:
- Pieces – Look at the size, shape, and thickness of individual pieces. Do they bend easily, or do you see puzzle lift (where the image peels off)?
- Piece Fit – do the pieces fit well together? Is it satisfying when they click together, or do you feel like you’re jamming them together?
- Image and Artwork – the quality of image reproduction and variety of options.
- Box – This doesn’t have to do with the actual puzzle but often the puzzle box. Nice, sturdy boxes help in terms of storage.
- Extras – the extra things they include can also be taken into consideration.
So far, I’ve enjoyed the quality of puzzles in this order:
Ravensburger > Clementoni > Cloudberries > Heye > eeBoo
Springbok and Buffalo Games were medium quality, and Ceaco was by far the worst quality. Here’s a great puzzle brand comparison. I don’t necessarily agree with the order, but it will have to do until I take photos to show you side-by-side comparisons.
Below are some pieces of a Springbok puzzle. They are supposed to be irregular shapes, but clearly these were not cut properly. I made a whole pile of them.
Why are Puzzles Good for Adults? What are the Benefits?
Puzzles have a lot of benefits for adults. Here are just a few:
- Better Memory – Solving puzzles helps our brain built new connections and reinforce existing ones, which improves mental health and speed. Jigsaw puzzles in particular are great for short-term memory.
- Better Problem Solving – whether it’s for your job or for your next escape room, creative problem solving is something we all do a lot. Puzzles can help us develop those skills.
- Better Visual and Spacial Reasoning – since we have to figure out how smaller pieces fit into a larger picture, this helps us with our visual and spacial reasoning, like driving a car, using a map, or packing a box.
- Better Attention to Detail – this is important in helping you finish a puzzle, so it helps you improve that ability in other parts of your life as well.
What is a Good Size Puzzle for Adults? What are Adult Puzzles?
If you’re brand new to puzzles, start with a 300-500 piece puzzles since it’s less time consuming and it gives you the small wins that can motivate you for more complex puzzles.
1000 piece puzzles are pretty standard for people who want a project or to do them over a few days as you’ll see by the list we made here. Once you get really good at those, you can step up to 2-3 thousand pieces. I just ordered my first 18,000 piece puzzle and can’t wait to try that.
How Do You Keep Unfinished Puzzles?
Unless you can dedicate an entire day, most puzzles will take multiple.
I like to do puzzles on the floor and have a large foldable Korean tea table that I use and store under my bed. I couldn’t find any sold online, but you can pick them up at a large Korean grocery store like H-Mart.
There are also puzzle mats, sorting trays, and specifically built puzzle tables.
What Do I Do with a Finished Puzzle?
There are a few things you can do with a finished puzzle. I typically take photos and box them up again for future me.
- Glue It and Hang It. You can use puzzle glue or this puzzle sticker to lock everything in place. Afterwards, you can frame it.
- Pay it Forward or Lend it Out. Now that you’ve enjoyed it, pass it on to a friend who you know will appreciate it. We have a few friends that we swap puzzles with. If it’s one you really like, you can lend it out.
- Box Them Up: All the 1000 Piece Ravensburger puzzles can be put back into the box in fourths. Eventually, if I want to do the puzzle again, I’ll take the whole thing apart.
- Save it for Future You: I have yet to repeat a puzzle, but I’m hoping once enough time passes, I’ll forget many of the details and it will be just as interesting the next time around. If you want to challenge yourself more, you can time yourself and try to beat your own time.
What are Puzzles Made Of?
Original puzzles used to be made out of wood, but most puzzles are made out of paperboard since it’s the easiest and cheapest to mass-produce.
A photo is typically glued onto the cardboard before it is cut. Nicer puzzles use higher quality cardboard that feel nicer to the touch and is also less prone to the photo peeling off or not fitting well with each other.
Have you done any of these travel puzzles? Which travel puzzles should we check out next?
Did you enjoy this post? Pin it for later
SEE MORE GIFT GUIDES FOR
⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡
“Discovery consists not of seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes” – M. Proust
Esther + Jacob
Esther and Jacob are the founders of Local Adventurer, one of the top 5 travel blogs in the US. They believe that adventure can be found near and far and hope to inspire others to explore locally. They explore a new city in depth every year and currently base themselves in Las Vegas.
Follow on Instagram (E + J), YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest.