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A travel journal is a great way to record your favorite vacation memories and keep track of all the little mementos and souvenirs you collect along the way. Take a look at our top picks, their best features, and why we love each.
What’s the Best Travel Journal?
There are so many great memories to record on vacation, so if you want to capture them all, you’ll need to find the best travel journal for your trip.
Check out our favorite options below, then keep reading to get into the specifics of why we think these travel journals are the best on the market.
Our Top 7 Picks for the Best Travel Journals:
- Best Overall – Moleskine Passion Journal
- Best Refillable – Maleden Travel Journal
- Best Weather-Resistant – Rite in the Rain Travel Journal
- Best for the Frequent Flier – AI-Natebook Travel Journal
- Best for Portability – Beyong Travel Journal
- Best for Kids – Kids Travel Journal
- Best for Writers – Robrasim Travel Journal
So, are you ready to learn more?
Whether you’re a hiker, kid, or artist, there’s a journal out there for you. Read on to find out why you should invest in one of these vacation necessities and which one might suit you best.
Why You Need a Travel Journal
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There’s nothing more exciting than taking a vacation to a new place with family, friends, or even on your own. You’ll get to experience new things, explore unfamiliar cities, and participate in activities that you wouldn’t be able to in your own town.
A travel journal is also a good way to catalog the photos you take on vacation. In the age of smartphones, it’s easy to take tons of pictures, only to have them linger on your phone forever.
Printing a few out and sticking them in your journal is a great way to take a look back at some of your fondest vacation memories without scrolling through months or years of images on your device.
Another great thing about travel journals is that they create an exciting story to pass down to younger generations. Who doesn’t love hearing all about the adventures their parents and grandparents experienced?
Creating a record of each trip, including the things and feelings you experienced, will give your kids and grandkids insight into who you were and what you enjoyed. Traveling is a pastime everyone should try to take part in because you can make so many memories that are worth preserving.
A travel journal is an excellent way to record some of your best memories, photos, and feelings about each moment of your trip. The best part is that journaling is an effective way to foster self-awareness at any age.
Kids and adults can both benefit from jotting down a few notes and memories each day. Still interested in picking up the fun habit of travel journaling? Then let’s dive into our favorite options.
Best Travel Journal: Our Top 7 Picks
Journaling can be a rewarding activity, especially when you’re using it to catalog your travels. There are so many things to record, and having a clean, dedicated space to jot down your vacation memories makes it easy to revisit some of your favorite times.
So, if you think you want to start keeping a detailed record of your journeys, check out our top seven picks for the best travel journals.
1. Moleskine Passion Journal – Best Overall
- Allow you to carry souvenirs
- Structured page layout makes it easy to write
- Quality brand with long-lasting products
- This paper might cause ink to bleed
- Not refillable
Moleskine is a trusted brand in journaling, so it’s no surprise that they’ve created a great travel journal. Their Passion Journal offers pretty much everything you could want in a travel journal, and it’s an excellent choice for beginners.
One of the best features is the convenient folder in the journal’s back cover to hold ticket stubs, receipts, or other paper items you might want to preserve. It’s a great way to keep mementos organized instead of stuck in your pocket or the bottom of your purse.
If you’re the type who likes a bit of a boost when writing, you’ll love the page layouts designed to break your entries into specific sections. Plus, the journal offers lots of lined space for you to write or draw whatever you’d like.
Although the Moleskine is our best pick overall, the two main downsides are that the paper is a bit thin and it isn’t refillable. However, if you don’t want to be able to swap out pages, this one will be a great option.
2. Maleden Refillable Journal – Best Refillable
- Beautiful design makes inspiration a breeze
- Dividers provide easy organization
- Refillable so you won’t have to replace anything
- Faux leather might not hold up for long periods
- No structured page formats
The Maleden travel journal has a gorgeous faux-leather cover stamped with a compass, giving it a unique, old-fashioned feel that inspires writing. It also ties shut with a pretty compass charm and leather strap, giving its unique design even more character.
With standard A6 acid-free binder paper that resists bleeding, the Maleden is a great choice for travelers who like to freely doodle, draw, and illustrate their entries.
In addition, you can simply wrap the included leather cord around the journal to hold it shut when you’re done writing. There’s no need to worry about it falling open in your bag.
What’s best is that this journal comes on its own or as a bundle. If you purchase the bundle, you’ll get refills, sticky tabs, and dividers that will make organizing your writing so much easier.
3. Rite in the Rain Journal – Best Weather-Resistant
- Allows you to write in wet conditions
- Sturdy paper withstands wear and tear
- Holds up to backpacking conditions
- Not refillable
- Writes best with special pens
The Rite in the Rain weatherproof journal is an excellent choice if your trips often involve the outdoors, wet conditions, or a lot of messes. It has a sturdy, waterproof cover and all-weather pages that you can write on even if they get wet.
That makes it perfect for the backpacker, hiker, or kayaker who likes to jot down notes on the go. The main drawback to the Rite in the Rain journal is the waterproof pages.
Although they make the journal versatile, the waterproof material doesn’t always give the same quality of writing as you might with standard paper. However, you can remedy that if you use the right writing utensil.
Rite in the Rain makes a pen that works great, but a #2 pencil or space pen will also do the trick. Overall, this journal is great for the outdoorsy traveler.
You can get it wet and dirty, not to mention be pretty rough on it before you can cause any damage. You just have to remember to use the correct type of writing utensil to get the best results.
4. AI-Natebook Travel Journal – Best for the Frequent Flier
- Good refill options for personalization
- Sleek design fits in small spaces
- Durable cover holds up well to travel
- Refills can shift while writing
- Not ideal for on-the-move
The AI-Natebook Travel Journal is a perfect choice if you’re the type to fill up your journals quickly or travel often. Each refill is a small notebook, so when you fill one up, you can store it away and replace it with another one.
In addition, the durable faux-leather cover keeps your pages safe, and its sleek design makes this one easy to store away in a backpack. Writers and artists alike will enjoy this journal because you can write and draw to your heart’s content.
As an added bonus, one percent of all profits for this journal go toward the Center for Biological Diversity, which helps protect endangered species. You can buy the AI-Natebook on its own or as part of a bundle.
5. Beyong Travel Journal – Best for Portability
- Small enough to fit in your pocket
- Good for creative types who like to draw
- Attractive cover design
- Blank paper doesn’t offer any format
- Brown paper might not be the best for coloring
If you want something pocket-sized, the Beyong Travel Journal will be perfect. At just 7″ x 5″, this journal fits nicely in your pocket, purse, or fanny pack. The Beyong Travel Journal comes in six different colors to choose from.
It has a gorgeous stamped floral design on the cover that makes this one just as much fun to admire as it will be to write in. It ties shut with a sturdy leather cord with a silver leaf-shaped charm, bringing the design together perfectly.
As far as travel journals go, the only downside to this one is that it only offers blank pages.
There aren’t any prompts or a structure to guide you in your writing. However, if you like to let your creativity flow when you sit down to write, the thick, blank paper will be a great way to get your thoughts down.
6. Kids Travel Journal – Best for Kids
- Perfect for kids
- Comes in hard or softback
- Sturdy enough to withstand being tossed around
- Might be too simple for older kids
- Not much plain space
Want to encourage journaling for your kids? Kids can get a lot more out of a family vacation by recording some of their favorite memories. A fun choice for younger travelers is the Kids Travel Journal.
It has pages to draw pictures, fill in trip information, and reflect on each day. And, with its “How We’re Getting There” pages, puzzles, and games, it’s an excellent option for keeping kids busy on the way to your destination.
Some of the prompts your kiddo will have include daily ratings, free-writes, and “draw what you saw” pages.
Each activity will encourage your child to reflect on their day, their feelings, and what they enjoyed most. Another fun thing about the Kids Travel Journal is that it’ll give you and your kids a good opportunity to bond.
At the end of each day, you can sit down together and jot down your favorite memories, gather up your paper mementos, and fill in your journals together.
7. Robrasim Travel Journal – Best for Writers
- More pages than other journals
- Comes in 2 sizes
- Small enough to fit in your pocket or purse
- Not refillable
- Pages are a bit small
With its unique, rustic design, the Robrasim Travel Journal is excellent for the more verbose traveler. It offers 320 pages of thick, acid-free paper, providing ample room for words, drawings, and souvenirs.
The leather cover for the Robrasim is perfect for frequent opening and closing because it’s one solid piece of material.
In addition, there aren’t any bindings or folds to put stress on, so you can write as much and as often as you’d like without worrying about wearing out the binding. The best part about this journal is its size.
You can go for the small, palm-sized version that’s a tiny 5.2″ x 4″, or choose the slightly larger, 7″ x 5″.
Whichever size you choose, you’ll have tons of space to write out your thoughts and memories for each trip. Then, when you fill your journal up, it’ll look beautiful on a bookshelf among your other books.
Finding the Best Travel Journal
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There are so many different factors that go into choosing a travel journal. Some of the primary considerations are size, durability, format, and design.
Size
One of the key components of any travel-friendly item is portability. Travel journals come in all sizes, so you should choose one based on how you plan to carry it. There are plenty of larger journals that are suitcase-friendly.
But if you want to keep yours with you while you’re on the go, a pocket-sized option, such as the Robrasim Travel Journal listed above, will give you the ability to jot things down while you’re out exploring the sights.
Durability
A journal that’s meant for travel needs to stand the test of airplanes, trains, backpacks, weather, and all other things you’ll encounter on your trip. Leather or laminated covers are sturdier than paper or cardboard.
So they’re good choices if you want something durable to record all the exciting sights and sounds. You’ll also want thicker pages made of acid-free paper, along with good-quality binding that’ll stand up to opening and closing multiple times a day.
Format
The format of your journal pages is where you’ll get to be really creative. You can find great options with daily prompts, fill-in-the-blanks, and pre-designed spots for taping in paper items.
Or, if you prefer to let your creative juices flow, you can choose plain, lined pages or a bullet journal that enables you to take control of what memories you preserve.
Design
A journal’s design can come in so many forms. You can choose a hard-bound style, spiral-bound, or one with refillable pages. Plus, covers come in all styles and colors.
You can find a pretty floral design, an inspirational quote, or a simple leather cover that reflects your style perfectly. The main thing to remember is you want something that opens and stays open easily.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A travel journal can be a great way to capture fond memories, but it’s understandable if you still have questions. Here are answers to a few common questions about travel journaling.
How do you keep a journal when traveling?
Keeping a travel journal is simple, and all you need is a few minutes a day. Take time before bed to write down the things you did, how you felt about them, and maybe tuck in a ticket stub or souvenir if you have them.
How do you write a creative travel journal?
The best thing about journaling is there aren’t any rules. You can glue or tape your souvenirs to the pages or slide them in the small pocket many journals have for just such items. But anything goes, from receipts to ticket stubs to photos.
What is a travel journal also known as?
Another common name for a travel journal is a road journal. You might also come across travel journals referred to as vacation journals.
What is a travel log?
A travel log contains all the details about your trip. This is where you’ll list the things you did, places you went, the food you ate, and anything else you might find relevant.
Although travel logs are standard for business trips, you can include a lot of great information if you use one for an ordinary vacation.
Should I make a travel journal?
A travel journal is a great way to remember your favorite trips. If you find you struggle to recall things or simply want a detailed physical reminder of your vacation, a travel journal would be an excellent idea.
Or, if you want to be able to pass your memories onto your children, they might love to see your trips through your eyes.
So, What’s the Best Travel Journal?
In our opinion, the best travel journal is the Moleskine. Moleskine is a trusted brand known for its durability.
- Allow you to carry souvenirs
- Structured page layout makes it easy to write
- Quality brand with long-lasting products
- This paper might cause ink to bleed
- Not refillable
Although it’s not refillable, its page layout and folder for mementos make this an excellent choice for frequent travelers. If you opt for the Moleskine (or any of the others on our list, for that matter), you won’t be disappointed.