Though we live in a digital age, there will always be something quite romantic and meditative about taking a moment to jot down your thoughts while you’re on the road. Travel journals are personal. They become time capsules of your memories, emotions, and descriptions of the places, people, and things you’ve encountered.
Even if you visit a well-known city like Paris or New York City that’s been the subject of millions of travelogues, your trip is still unique because of all the little, hidden cafés you will discover, the conversations you will strike with locals and fellow travelers, and the situations you will find yourself getting into. And since time tends to erase moments, names, and details from our memories, writing them down in a journal is the best way to preserve them for years to come.
Related: 11 Must-pack Items, According to Full-time Travel Writers
And if like us, you can't bear to throw away museum tickets or metro cards from foreign cities because they will forever remind you of your time spent there, consider purchasing a travel diary with a few pockets in it to store all of your keepsakes.
So whether you’re looking for a luxury leather journal to chronicle your adventures or you need an agenda to help you plan, organize, and document your journeys, we found 19 options that will satisfy any traveler.
Personalized Travel Journal With Pockets and Envelopes
For travelers who tend to keep every single ticket, receipt, or entry pass after a trip, this journal is for you. It features two pockets and four envelopes to store all of your keepsakes as well as six tabs for photographs or postcards. The vintage map on the cover can be customized with your name and an inspirational phrase. And since it is a journal, after all, it also has 32 blank pages plus 16 more that are lined.
To buy: etsy.com, from $45
'I Was Here: A Travel Journal for the Curious Minded'
This illustrated journal features separate sections for itineraries, reviews, local tips, important addresses, and plenty of space to detail your adventures. There’s also a back pocket for collecting all those metro and museum tickets you hate throwing away.
To buy: amazon.com, $17
Moleskine Voyageur Traveller's Notebook
Color-coded tabs, detachable lists, stickers, and plenty of writing space with ruled, dotted, and plain pages make this clothbound journal your perfect travel companion. It is designed with the modern traveler in mind and has a pocket for printed emails, maps, and itineraries.
To buy: amazon.com, $21
'Travel Listography: Exploring the World in Lists'
If you like the orderliness of lists, this wonderful book from the Listography series is the right journal to document your travels. It has more than 70 topics spanning countries to visit, food to try, and wild animals you’ve seen that, in the end, will serve as a time capsule for your world adventures.
To buy: amazon.com, $17
Rifle Paper Co. Wanderlust Journal
This beautifully illustrated 208-page travel journal features lined and unlined pages perfect for sketching and writing down your thoughts and experiences in every new destination you visit this year.
To buy: amazon.com, $15
Smythson Off the Beaten Track Travel Journal
This luxurious, English-made travel journal has a lambskin cover and features dedicated sections for to-do and packing lists, itineraries, travel notes, and world maps.
To buy: net-a-porter.com, $230
Sloane Stationary World Travels Pocket Notebook & Clever Pencils
This pocket-size journal features 72 unlined, gilded pages, a ribbon page marker, and a lizard-embossed hardcover. Each journal comes with a box of 10 orange pencils, each with a fun saying.
To buy: ahalife.com, $50
'Life Is a Road Trip' Leather Journal
This journaling book not only features plenty of space to document up to eight trips, but it also includes fun writing prompts, beautiful travel photography, quotes, lists of hidden locations to explore, and inspiring stories from fellow travelers. It is crafted from luxury vegan leather, has two bookmark ribbons, and there's an elastic strap to keep the journal closed.
To buy: barnesandnoble.com, $35
Ban.do Travel Planner
This planner/travel journal is perfect for the frequent traveler. It will help you organize and keep track of all your trips for the next three years and it also features a few fun extras: a map page, a language converter, packing lists, travel stickers, and postcards.
To buy: bando.com, $30
50 States Traveled Journal
If visiting all 50 states is on your bucket list, then this travel journal is the perfect way to document your progress. Each state gets two pages of fun prompts to help you highlight the best moments of your trips.
To buy: uncommongoods.com, $30
Leather Notebook Journal
This refillable journal has a genuine leather cover and an elastic closure that doubles as a pen holder. It has 30 blank double-sided pages that you can fill with sketches, personal thoughts, or trip ideas. It has a distinct vintage feel to it, and you can order more page refills that are available in blank, lined, dotted, or graph paper.
To buy: amazon.com, $26
Mead Two-ring Travel Journal
In addition to the lined and blank pages, this journal is packed with useful features such as folders, pockets, stickers, and labels.
To buy: target.com, $15
'En Route: A Journal'
If you're more of a doodler than a writer, you'll appreciate this super colorful, illustrated journal with a different design on each of its 144 pages.
To buy: amazon.com, $15
Traveler's Agenda
This agenda is a calendar, diary, and planner all in one. It features detailed packing lists, wish lists, goal setting guides, maps, a budgeting and expenses section, and everything else a frequent traveler needs to stay on top of planning and documenting a trip. It has a vegan leather hardcover with an inspirational quote embossed on it.
To buy: uncommongoods.com, $38
'You Are Here: A Mindful Travel Journal'
This 190-page journal focuses on mindfulness in the context of travel. It encourages you to observe certain things and write down your thoughts and experiences wherever in the world you happen to be. It also features meditation exercises that you can easily do on the road.
To buy: amazon.com, $15
Sunset Travel Journal
This 72-page travel journal will help you plan, organize, and chronicle your trips. It features sections on packing essentials and expense tracking and a front pocket to collect any tickets or receipts.
To buy: anthropologie.com, $18
The Journey Journal: U.S.
Heading on a cross-country road trip this summer? Capture your every move with this 30-day trip journal. Each day's page features prompts such as place, temperature, plans, reflections, encounters, and many more. The front page has a detailed map of the U.S. where, with the help of fasteners and string (both included), you can track your progress.
To buy: etsy.com, $18
'This Is My New York Journal'
The fourth DIY city guide in the This Is My series is dedicated to the Big Apple (the series also includes Berlin, Paris, and London). It’s a city guide/coloring book/travel journal all in one. You basically get to create your own New York City guide by drawing your itinerary maps, writing down your favorite eateries and museums, and documenting your experiences.
To buy: barnesandnoble.com, $16
'Everywoman's Travel Journal'
Alongside its blank and lined pages, this little journal packs in a ton of information that's useful to have when Wi-Fi's not easily accessible like clothing size conversions, tipping etiquette, natural remedies for common travel ailments, and the addresses of U.S. embassies around the world.
To buy: amazon.com, $13
