I am a very sentimental person. When I am traveling and having a wonderful time, I’m prone to premature waves of nostalgia. Suddenly, I will worry about how I am going to remember this exact moment; this restaurant, this afternoon, who I was with, what I was wearing, the sights, the sounds…and a picture isn’t enough, I need something stronger.
Travel Journaling is a hobby I picked up in an effort to quell my fear of failing to capture my memories before they disappear into the ether. My methods for documenting my travel memories involve a combination of scrapbooking, sketching, and writing. Let’s unpack how I Travel Journal.🧳⬇️
Packing List
What’s in my bag:
Archer and Olive notebooks1 are my preferred brand for my bullet journals (I’m currently working on my 6th A&O A5), and I’m happily using their Traveler’s Notebook size as my travel journal. Measuring at 4.5x8 inches (11x21cm) it is about 2/3 the size of my A5, smaller and lighter for travel. I like working with dot grid paper, especially when sketching buildings, and the 160gsm pages are a great thickness to work with for the mediums I use (watercolor, pencil, water-based markers), with no ghosting or bleed-through.
My pencil case is from Stationery Pal, but can also be found at other retailers2. I’ve road-tested many cases, and this one is my absolute favorite for 2 years running (it’s been to at least 9 countries)! The butterfly-opening style allow me to see several compartments at once, and the 3 separate storage options serve my organizational needs perfectly. It’s exactly the right length to fit my longest instrument, my Tombow Dual Brush Pens (many cases are too short for these), and expands considerably to fit even more stationery. The slotted flap in the middle is excellent for storing favorite/frequently used items (eg. my Pigma Microns can be made quickly available without having to dig through the case). The zipper pouch for smaller items, like my sharpener and binder clips, ensures that the little things don’t get lost.
A diagram of my current system:
What’s in my pencil case within my bag (in order of importance):
Pigma Microns - my go-to instrument for writing and drawing. I don’t go anywhere without them. The 01 and PN tips are my favorite.
Mechanical pencil - For sketching!
Watercolor pencils (aka water soluble pencils) - one of my all-time favorite tools, and extremely underrated in my opinion. Can be used like regular colored pencils, or just add water to spread the pigment like watercolor! Versatile, super-portable, and the Caran d’Ache museum aquarelles I use are so vibrant.
Watercolor brushes - for my watercolor pencils or palette!
Clips - handy for holding stubborn journal pages open.
Eraser- there is a tiny eraser on the end of my pencil, but I prefer this giant Stabilo white eraser. I make big mistakes. :)
Watercolor palette - if I feel I’ll have time to paint properly, I’ll bring one along. Travel size, like my Charvin mini palette, is preferable, and fits into this case!
Washi tape - I usually bring a washi tape I’m not precious about, in case I want my paintings to have a border.
Glue stick - for quickly sticking travel ephemera to a page!
Scissors - checked bag only!! I sometimes bring these, it really depends on the trip.
Ruler - (not pictured) travel sized of course, for sketching and/or my bullet journal spreads!
Unpacking my Travel Journal Methodology
It can be difficult to carve out time to journal while on vacation. Sometimes I just take my supplies de paseo3, (but at least I was prepared)! On occasion I journal on location, but most of my Travel Journaling takes place after I’ve come home.
After I unpack my clothes, I unpack my memories into this journal.
After I unpack my suitcase, I review my collection of scraps from the trip: ticket stubs, fruit stickers, and the like, and determine the best way to save them in my Travel Journal. This ritual is an exercise in mindfulness, of paying attention to and processing my experiences4. After I unpack my clothes, I unpack my memories into this journal. Some entries are full of sketches, others are an arranged around ephemera I gathered on my trip, some have writing, and others none at all! The purpose is to focus on my favorite elements of the trip, or a particular moment/outing, and find a way to capture it on the page. As such, the formats of these pages can vary widely, but they always include the date and the address (or location) — essential elements for the archival properties of the journal!
A few different formats I use to Travel Journal:
Itinerary Highlights
The itinerary format is perhaps the most straightforward approach, and ideal for shorter trips, like this weekend in New Orleans. I sketched a few highlights in chronological order to recap the trip, including a brunch at Brennan’s, and a vintage dress I bought on Magazine Street that I am [still] obsessed with. The famed architecture of New Orleans was of special interest to me, and I squeezed in as many examples as I could. Reference photos I took on vacation were used to later sketch the ornamental iron work of the French Quarter, shotgun houses, the St. Charles streetcar, the beautiful homes of the Garden District, and my hotel room at The Eliza Jane, (a former newspaper office converted into a hotel). A sticker of the Café Du Monde I found at a gift shop was the perfect insert here, and I sketched the beignets I grabbed before heading to the airport. Since this was a group trip, (a cousin reunion), I included the list of attendees!
The Museum Memento
Museum maps, brochures, or tickets are some of my favorite ephemera to work with, and this Musée de l'Orangerie map is a wonderful example as to why. The main attraction, Monet’s Water Lilies, are featured heavily on the museum’s print materials. To complement my free souvenir, I sketched the inside of the museum, and added a written entry to remember this outing on a trip to Paris with my mom.
The Food Journal
I travel to Lima, Peru at least once a year to visit family. Peruvian cuisine is of world renown, and lucky for me, I get to eat both home cooking and restaurant food whenever I go. Food is one of the ways I connect to my culture, and to record this particular trip, I challenged myself to draw at least one item I consumed from each day of the trip, no matter how mundane (eg: popsicle entry, olives on a roll). I chose to chronicle each dish within a different colored shape, and I love the result. This food journal helped me capture a part of traveling I may otherwise forget!
The Junk Journal Method
A popular hobby at the moment, I’ve written about Junk Journaling at length before, and it’s a great way to travel journal! This spread was made using various items from The Postal Museum in London. I composed the museum’s children’s brochure, gift shop wrapping, a real international Royal Mail stamp (yep, this sticker costs £2.805), + some stickers and scrap paper from home into a pleasing arrangement. A very appropriate way of documenting my visit to this particular museum. 💌
The Restaurant Review
One of my favorite ways to Travel Journal, my notebook is comprised largely of these types of entries! (Again, food is a strong cultural touchpoint for me, wherever I travel!) On the left, I’ve drawn my favorite sandwich spot in Peru, and its address. On the right, I drew what I ate, (a butifarra and a fresh papaya juice), and completed the page with a written entry about my outing.
The Shopping Haul
Similar to restaurant entries, I also enjoy drawing storefronts and the items I purchased there (if any). This page details a trip to Choosing Keeping (one of the most beautiful stationery shops in London), and the items I purchased, along with the stickers used in the shop’s packaging! Travel Journaling is perfect for keeping these beautiful paper items that might otherwise be thrown away in just the right place.
The On Location Sketch
Something I’m challenging myself to do more often! These sketches are from the Airbnb in Greece, focusing on specific objects or surroundings, like the beautiful window, or the half-ripe pomegranates in the garden. I tend to wait for “perfect conditions” in order to journal, but sketching en plein air is can be so fun and at times, peaceful. As sketching is largely an exercise in keen visual observation, it makes me very present in my surroundings, and I can recall moments I have sketched very clearly—the perfect antidote for my fear of failing to capture my travel memories. I can hear the cicadas and feel the sun on my my skin now.
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1
Full disclosure, I am an A&O affiliate, but you can trust that these are truly my favorite. You can use code JournalingDan10 for 10% off. :)
2
I am offboarding my am*zon storefront so, if you’re looking for that, I will no longer be providing those links/directing people to that website.
3
Literal translation: on a promenade.
4
This is quoted from my previous post: Why is Everyone Junk Journaling?
5
I had purchased a few stamps to mail postcards from London, and traveled home not realizing I hadn’t used one, which now lives in my junk journal. I did not expressly buy the stamp in order to junk journal! (This is for my dad, who did tell me “postage stamps are not stickers” as a child). Hi Dad. (He subscribes)
