My journal has seen some better days. It’s also seen several countries, thousands of airline miles, hundreds of hotel rooms, and some water damage. But I never leave the house without it. True to the former name of this blog, paper, ink, and passports, I love writing about my travels. There’s something so calming about putting pen to paper about an adventure you just had.
When I was nineteen, I left on a seven week European adventure. Before going, one of my close friends gave me a gorgeous, hardcover sketchbook. She pasted some large photos of places in Italy and wrote me a lovely little note. That book was carted all over Europe, from the ruins of Rome to the cathedrals of northern Italy, through the Alps on the train, to the beaches of Spain, to the Eiffel Tower, and to the islands in Greece. I wrote about my adventures, sketched out what I was seeing, and tucked ticket stubs and watercolours into the pages. The next year, I bought another one for Turkey. It got the same treatment. and so on: Spain, Ireland, Scotland.
When I started working on the boat, I bought some composition notebooks to write in. I covered the outsides with funky tape and stickers. If I traveled in between work, I got another notebook for that trip. My favourites are the ones with built in pockets for things like boarding passes, ticket stubs, receipts, etc. I’ve got so many journals that I have an entire shelf for them in my room. And, just before coming to New Zealand, I bought three more small, flexible moleskine notebooks. I had some washi tape left over from last Christmas (yeah…) and I decorated the outside of the notebooks with passport stamp tape and airplanes. I’m a big dork, I know. But they’re lifesavers. So what do I put in my journal – besides the obvious day to day life?
your itinerary. flights, trains, buses, car rental info
This doesn’t need to be the first page, but it should be there somewhere. I write down my flight information – numbers, dates, and times – as well as my passport number so that when it comes time to fill out the immigration form I’m not fumbling for my passport or boarding pass. If you’ve got a car rental or bus/train reservations, this is where that should go. As your trip goes on and you move around, you might find that you have multiple pages like this. I know I do!
your address/hostel name and important phone numbers
A hotel address and phone number is useful to have in writing, and not just for the immigration forms either. If you’re in a cab in a foreign city, just being able to show the driver the address can be a hell of a lot easier than either trying to pronounce it or pull it up on your phone.
things you want to do/restaurants/bars you want to try
I like to explore the food scene of a city, and while I was researching for my trip I came across a lot of little “hidden gems” in Wellington. I started making a list originally for job purposes but it quickly became a “where I should eat” list. as I went to these places, I marked them off … and of course I am still adding more as I find them.
places of interest
A little research can go a long way. Before I left the states, I had a list of tourist attractions I wanted to check out in and around Wellington. Those went right near the front of my journal, but I’ve also added pages further on in my journal. As I prepare to leave Wellington, I’ve got an entire new list for the Northland 🙂
inspiring photos
Whatever will inspire you. I have some postcards that I found in Juneau, Alaska, that now go everywhere with me. Like I mentioned above, my friend back in college pasted some photos of Italy inside the journal she gave me. It was thoughtful, and I really like going back to that journal to look at the images alone (my writing back then was….. eh.)
travel quotes
Travel quotes are totally overused… but there are some quotes that just resonate with certain people. My favourite quotes are the ones about being wild, about being free, about being outdoors, and about tackling the unknown adventures. My travel quotes page sets the stage for my adventures in the upcoming pages. and I’ll let you in on a little secret: each of my journals begins with different quotes.
“you were once wild here. don’t let them tame you” // isadora duncan
maps. hand drawn or printed.
Maps are great. I love maps (so much I have one tattooed on me). I like drawing them too, so if you ever need directions somewhere, I’ll probably draw you a map. It stands to reason then, that I’m a sucker for a hand-drawn map in my journal. They’re not pretty – they’re sketched hastily actually – but rather then pulling out my phone and using google maps to get around, I can just refer to my journal. Also handy for adding new places as you go.
quick references, names of people you meet, contact information
Sometimes, I don’t have time to write down a detailed account of my day, and sometimes I’m just not in the mood. But if I don’t write *something* down, I know I’ll forget where I was and what I did. That was pretty much how my week on Christian’s boat went: I just didn’t feel like writing about my days, but we were at a different anchorage every night and that certainly gets a little fuzzy after a few days. It was easy for me to jot down a quick note about what we did and where we were, without going into detail – which I did later. Names of people you meet and contact information is also nice to have in writing. A little note about how you met is also a memory jog if you ever need to refer to it.
expenses/budget information
Ahhhhh the dreaded money. You see why I left it for last. No one wants to deal with the money aspect of traveling but it’s there. Some people use a budgeting app, but having my expenses on paper is far easier for me. Some apps require wifi to run and I don’t want to deal with that. Plus, I can add a little note on the side.
do you keep a travel journal? what do you put in it? share your inspiration in the comments below!
for inspiration, visit these super stellar sites:
the 80 most inspiring travel quotes of all time