These are the best Pentax lenses for travel photography when you want lightweight versatility, weather-ready reliability, and color-true rendering for streets, interiors, landscapes, food, and night scenes—across APS-C and full-frame K-mount bodies—and here’s what to look for as you buy: prioritize compact size and weight (you’ll carry it all day), WR/AW sealing for drizzle and dust, fast/quiet AF (PLM/DC/modern SDM) for candid moments, close-focus for detail cutaways, filter friendliness (shared 49/58/67/77/82mm threads), balanced focal coverage (one-lens 24–105/28–105-type or a two-lens wide+tele), good flare control and sunstars for backlit travel, consistent color across lenses, and a tactile MF ring with a distance scale for quick zone/hyperfocal work; if you shoot at night, favor f/1.4–f/2.8 primes or zooms with clean corners, and pair lenses with in-body SR, Pixel Shift (for static scenes), and Astrotracer as needed. On full frame, the compact HD PENTAX-D FA 28–105mm f/3.5–5.6 ED DC WR is the carry-everywhere champ—sharp, sealed, punchy contrast—while the HD PENTAX-D FA 24–70mm f/2.8 ED SDM WR adds speed for dim cafés and events; go wider or lighter with the HD PENTAX-D FA 21mm f/2.4 Limited DC WR (sealed, jewel-like rendering) and cover longer walks with the HD PENTAX-D FA 70–210mm f/4 ED SDM WR (sharp, sealed, manageable weight). For ultra-wides in tight alleys and interiors, pack the HD PENTAX-D FA 15–30mm f/2.8 ED SDM WR (tough, bright) or budget a holder for its bulbous front. Prime lovers can travel tiny with the FA Limited trio—31mm f/1.8, 43mm f/1.9, 77mm f/1.8—for characterful files and pocketable kits; add the HD PENTAX-D FA 100mm f/2.8 Macro WR for food, textures, and small product details between vistas. On APS-C, the HD PENTAX-DA 16–85mm f/3.5–5.6 ED DC WR is the do-everything travel zoom—sealed, contrasty, light—while the HD PENTAX-DA 18–135mm f/3.5–5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR trades a bit of wide angle for more reach in a compact barrel; if you want fast coverage, the HD PENTAX-DA★ 16–50mm f/2.8 ED PLM AW brings modern optics and lightning-quick PLM AF, and the HD PENTAX-DA★ 11–18mm f/2.8 ED DC AW handles dramatic cityscapes and night streets. Featherweight tele reach comes from the HD PENTAX-DA 55–300mm f/4.5–6.3 PLM WR RE—famously quick/quiet AF-C in a retractable, sealed body—perfect for distant architecture and casual wildlife. Pocket primes keep you discreet: HD PENTAX-DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited for context, HD PENTAX-DA 40mm f/2.8 Limited (or 40mm XS) for stealthy “normal,” and HD PENTAX-DA 70mm f/2.4 Limited for flattering portraits; the HD PENTAX-DA 15mm f/4 Limited adds cult sunstars and great flare control for skylines. Practical buyer tips: if you hate swapping lenses, pick 28–105 WR (FF) or 16–85/18–135 WR (APS-C) and add one fast prime for nights; if you love small kits, run FA/DA Limited primes that share filters and color; if your trip skews to interiors/landscapes, ensure ultra-wide coverage and plan for filter holders on bulbous fronts; for mixed weather, keep everything WR and carry a screw-in polarizer; and if video is on the menu, test focus breathing (the 70–210/4 and DA★ 16–50 PLM behave well). Whether you’re threading markets at dawn, climbing windy overlooks, or grabbing handheld blue-hour frames, the best Pentax travel lenses combine compact builds, sealed, quiet mechanics, and dependable optics—so you move faster, carry less, and bring home polished images that cut together beautifully.