15 Most Beautiful Travel Puzzles in 2023 to Inspire Your Next Trip

15 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 most of them are Ravensburger, because they make the best puzzles out there. Every piece is unique and they fit together perfectly. 

I’ve included a couple other highly rated brands with beautiful imagery, but as a friend of mine 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 →

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. Plus if you look really closely in the puzzle, there’s a small fence in the distance where we once sat to watch sunset. It brings back nice memories.

See More: 11 Things You Can’t Miss in Big Sur

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2. Northern Lights, 1000 Piece, Heye →

When we visited Iceland during the winter, we chased the Northern Lights every night. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it and were amazed to see the lights dance through the sky. This Northern Lights puzzle makes me want to go chase them again.

See More: How to Catch and Photograph the Northern Lights

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3. London Jigsaw Puzzle, 1000 PC, Cloudberries →

This is the most recent puzzle I completed. Cloudberries make sustainably sourced puzzles, and I love their simple, clean designs. This London puzzle is more abstract and a nice change of pace from the other photo puzzles.

I found the quality to be comparable to Heye and Clementoni, which are in my top 5 when it comes to quality. There were only a few pieces that interchangeably fit in the wrong area. Overall, the pieces were thick and fit nicely together, I didn’t have issues with glare, and it was a fun puzzle to complete.

Also, they’re a smaller company if you like to support small businesses. ;)

See More: How to Spend the Perfect Weekend in London Itinerary

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4. Golden Gate Sunrise, 1000 PC, Ravensburger →

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities to visit, and the Golden Gate bridge is an iconic part of it. Funny enough, in the dozens of times I visited, the bridge is always hiding under Karl the Fog. Here’s to hoping the next time I visit, I’ll have this view.

See More: 101 Fun Things to Do in San Francisco

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5. Santorini Puzzle, 1000-Piece, Clementoni →

All the travel puzzles I’ve seen are from their High-Quality Collection, so I can only speak to this collection. I have to say that the quality did not disappoint and was comparable to my other Ravensburger puzzles.

See More: Best Sunset in Oia Santorini Greece

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6. 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 be fewer pieces (Nautilus Puzzle’s largest ones are just over 600 pieces) so it’s a fun, short puzzle to get done in one session. 

See More: Your Complete List of 400+ US National Parks

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7. Tokyo Neon, 1000 PCS, Noir Puzzles →

Noir puzzles is a higher-end puzzle brand from Buffalo Games. Not only can you feel the difference in weight and thickness of the puzzle pieces when comparing quality, but it’s beautifully packaged to become home decor.

See More: 15+ Coolest Things to Do in Tokyo Japan

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8. Yosemite Climber’s Delight, 1000 PC, Ravensburger →

Yosemite National Park will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s the first national park I visited as an adult, and every time I visit I’m in awe. absolute awe at the sheer size of the rocks around us.

This is one of my favorite travel puzzles I’ve worked on recently because of the color gradient.

See More: 17 Breathtaking Things to do in Yosemite National Park

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9. Paris Balcony, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger →

No travel list is complete without including the city of love, which is why this makes our list of best travel puzzles.

Paris is one of those popular cities that we have been in no rush to visit, but if we do, we’re going to find this balcony view of the Eiffel Tower.

See More: 11 Best Things to Do in Paris France

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10. Brooklyn Bridge, 1000 PC, Ravensburger →

One of NYC’s most notable landmarks is the Brooklyn Bridge. This puzzle captures it during sunset framed from a vantage point of a boat.

See More: The Ultimate NYC Bucket List

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11. 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

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12. Map of the World, 1500 PC, Ravensburger →

If you visit our home, you’ll find numerous maps in different rooms. We’re even looking to add a big one over our bed. I haven’t framed any of my puzzles, but I imagine this world map puzzle would be the first one I’d frame.

Right now, it’s neatly boxed up in sections for easy reassembly.

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13. World Map, 2000 PC, Ravensburger →

Can’t get enough maps in our house. Here’s a 2000 piece puzzle if 1500 wasn’t challenging enough.

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14. 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 for a while.

Disclaimer: Ravensburger sent us this puzzle after we sent them this post.

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15. The Waterhole, 18000 PC, Ravensburger →

Challenge accepted! This massive 18,000 puzzle is currently spread across my living room, and it is the first puzzle that I’ve completed at this scale. The pieces come divided in four bags for four quadrants, and sorting out the edges of the first quadrant took me a little over one hour. That was also me sorting as fast as possible and missing a handful of edges in the process.

UPDATE: The entire thing took me 222 hours to complete.

Have you been on a safari before? We’ve only done one in Pilanesberg National Park, but we eventually need to make it to Kruger.

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16. 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.

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More US Destination Travel Puzzles

Since we prioritize local content, we put US destinations first and then international.

• Central Park Paradise, 1000 Piece, Springbok (also available in 500 Pc)
• Manhattan Lights, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Greater New York, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• New York Taxi, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger (currently unavailable)
• View from the Brooklyn Bridge, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Times Square, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• NYC Christmas, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• New York City Skyline, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger (currently unavailable)
• West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, 1000 Piece, Springbok
• Painted Ladies, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger (currently unavailable)
• San Francisco Doodle Town, 1000 Pc, Cobble Hill
• Yosemite Valley, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Mount Rushmore Doodle Town, 1000 Pc, Cobble Hill
• Rocky Mountain High, 2000 Piece, Cobble Hill (currently unavailable)
• Road Trip USA, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• National Parks of the US, 2000, Cobble Hill
• State Flower Stamps, 1000 Piece, White Mountain
• Hitting the Road, 1000 Piece, Cobble Hill
• Vintage American Postcards, 1000 Pc, Cobble Hill

See More: Your Essential List of the Best Travel Books

More International Destination Travel Puzzles

• Greetings from Canada, 1000 Piece, Cobble Hill
• Venetian Dreams, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Sunset Over Rialto in Venice, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Sempione Venice Italy, 1000 Piece, Springbok
• Positano Italy, 1000 Piece, Springbok
• Waters of Venice, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger
• Cinque Terre, 1000 Piece, Buffalo Games (also 2000 Piece)
• Dinner in Positano, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Grandiose Greece, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Portuguese Windows, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger (currently unavailable)
• A Paris Stroll, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger
• Paris Sunset, 1000 Piece, Springbok
• An Evening in Paris, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger (currently unavailable)
• Vintage Paris, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger
• Picturesque Notre Dame, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger
• London at Night, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Neuschwanstein Daydream, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Fall at Neuschwanstein Castle, 1500 Piece, Ravensburger (currently unavailable)
• Neuschwanstein Castle, 2000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Bicycles in Amsterdam, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Amsterdam, 1000 Piece, Cobble Hill
• Canal Tour of Amsterdam, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger (currently unavailable)
• Beautiful Places of Europe, 3000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Rio de Janeiro, 1000 Piece, Clementoni
• Antique World Map, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Political World Map, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Antique Map, 3000 Piece, Ravensburger (currently unavailable)
• World Wonders Panorama Map, 2000 Piece, Ravensburger
• 99 Beautiful Places on Earth, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger (currently unavailable)
• Doors of the World, 1000 Piece, Ravensburger
• Antique World Map, 1000 Piece, Educa
• Neon World Map, 1000 Piece, Educa

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.

Here’s what you’re looking for:

1. Pieces – Here we look at individual pieces and their size, shape, and thickness. Do the pieces bend easily or do you see puzzle lift (where the image peels off)?
2. Piece Fit – do the pieces fit well together. Do they click together in a satisfying way or do you feel like you’re jamming them together?
3. Image and Artwork – the quality of image reproduction and if it has a variety of options.
4. Box – This doesn’t have to do with the actual puzzle but often the puzzle box. Nice, sturdy boxes help in terms of storage.
5. 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 just okay, 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 shaped, 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.