travel journaling: what I pack
I always brought a notebook on holidays but never really committed to using it regularly or to its full potential. We recently came back from a week in Budapest and of course, I brought a few essential supplies for journaling.
Here’s a run-through of what I take on vacation and some tips on what to journal about while on your travels. When packing it’s always what not to bring is the toughest decision; it’s easy to try and bring a bit of everything, all your pens, multiple journals, rolls of washi… But some careful & creative choices can help with packing bulk and freeing you to focus on actually journaling.
Choose your journal.
Be honest with yourself, are you really going to use 5 notebooks on your break? A smaller journal, a6 or b6 is ideal. It’s also worth thinking about taking a new or separate journal with you; firstly as it can be a capsule record of your trip; you can keep it as its own thing or transfer the contents to your main journal when you return. Secondly, should you lose it or leave it behind, you’ve not lost that journal and all the work and sentiment attached to it.
Traveler’s Company Passport Notebook
I use my Hobonichi cousin as my daily journal but it’s a5, it’s chunky and it takes up space so I always switch to my passport Traveler’s Notebook when I’m heading away; the clue is in the name. The compact size of the passport TN means I can stick it in my pocket or bag and it’s there if we stop for a coffee or I can keep it on the bedside cabinet for bedtime catch-ups. I usually bring a couple of inserts with me, one for writing and one for collaging and collecting ephemera. I have the kraft paper folder and the canvas insert, both of which provide additional pockets and slots for stickers, pencil boards and extra ephemera.
Choose your pens.
As much as I love them, I can’t bring all my fountain pens and they are not always the most practical to travel with. That said, I generally bring my Kaweco dark olive as it’s my go-to favourite. I also bring a small selection of Sarasa clip gel pens and a pencil should I get the rare urge to sketch. I got a Koh-I-Noor clutch pencil last summer and swapped the graphite lead for coloured ones for a more fun experience.
Sarasa 0.5 vintage gel pens, Koh-I-Noor clutch pencil & Kaweco dark olive fountain pen
Choose your ephemera
This can be a tricky one. I know I always want to bring so many stickers and tip-ins and washi samples but I also know I’m going to be gathering other pieces of ephmera like boarding passes, train tickets, receipts from dinner, business cards from the hotel, maps & flyers etc etc. So I try and minimize what I bring with me and then go a little heavier on what I pick up there. I bring a few loose sticker flakes in the pocket of my TN and I also make use of those expired gift cards or loyalty cards by wrapping a few washi designs around them. This takes up so little space but you have a versatile little reserve of washi as you need it.
Selection of sticker flakes, washi cards and stamped ephemera.
Taking all these supplies on your travels is easy enough but I want them to be accessible and organised. I bring one of Muji’s pouches to keep all my essentials together and it’s also somewhere to store any materials and scraps I collect. It’s water repellant and can be used with a cross body strap if you’re out and about
Travel First. Journal Later
Often we are so caught up in the moment while we are away that we journal on the go and don’t have the time and space to sit down and do a fully designed, decorated and detailed spread. But this is the very reason we took the trip - to be present and enjoy what’s around us. By taking notes and observations, you can use this to refer back to or transfer these notes into your main journal as a tip-in. I usually have way too many leftover materials after a trip so I’ve begun making a separate junk journal from these pieces. I love putting them to use again rather than going to the recycling and I have an entirely different style of journal to look back over.
You don’t have to be going abroad or for more than a day; visiting a new city on Saturday? That’s traveling. Journaling about the ordinary and the extraordinary is what makes it so fun - taking those overlooked experiences and picking up the special moments from them and recording them.
For some more ideas, I recommend picking up Abbey Sy’s The Art of the Travel Journal. It has loads of tips and creative inspiration.
