The best and worst thing about traveling is that you’re never in the same place twice. This is great for the adventurous spirit in every traveller, but with so much change and sensory overload, it’s hard to find a good time or place to journal. Just about anywhere can serve as an inspiring place to journal, you just have to use your imagination and do a bit of experimenting.
Here are some of my favorite places to journal on the go. Some will work for you and some won’t. So try them out as part of the adventure and see what works best for you.
In Private
The easiest, most consistent place to use your travel journal is in private. In your hotel or hostel where you have space and quiet and don’t have to worry about how much your washi tape or favorite pen set will weigh in your bag.
I like to journal in private at the beginning and end of the days. In the morning, I journal to plan for the day and in the evening, I use my journal to reflect on the day’s adventure.
When exactly I journal in room always looks a bit different depending on the trip. One thing I especially like to do on one night of my trip, usually close to the end, is to do a couple of scrapbook spreads with all of my mementos I’ve collected up to that point. It’s fun to spread everything out and reflect on the trip. And it’s definitely not something I can do as easily in a park or bus!
In Public
Oh the joys of journaling in public! I’ll be honest, I use to hate it. I felt self conscious with my notebook and pen, drawing or writing like I pictured myself the next great Picasso or Yeats. But then I realized two things (1) I am in a place where no one knows me and I’ll never see these people again (2) No one actually notices or pays attention to anyone else and (3) The people that do are often interested or charmed by seeing someone doing something a little odd and (in tech crazy countries) are happy to see someone not on their phone. You never know, you might make a friend!
Level One Public Journaling Places: Cafes
I am always looking for new places to journal. I started at cafes because I liked the safety of the table and other people writing or reading around me. It felt like a level 1 public journalling outing. And it was great for people watching or describing the local cuisine on my plate.
Level Two Public Journaling Places: Try if you dare!
Once I was ready to move to level 2 locations, they popped up all around me. Now journaling in public might be my favorite way to journal because I can capture the immediacy of what I’m seeing, feeling and noticing. When I’m journaling in public I like to use quick drawing or sketching techniques or lists. Anything that captures the feeling of the place.
I’ve done this all over and some of my favorite places have been:
- Bookstores- Write down the names of the books with the most interesting covers. This is even more fun if the titles are in a different language
- Art Museums– do a quick sketch of your favorite piece or record some colors that pop out at you with your watercolor set
- Historic Ruins or Cemeteries– record some interesting and beautiful names that you notice on the gravestones
- Literally anywhere cameras aren’t allowed– make up your own fun activity! No one will have a record of it but you!
Journaling especially comes in handy in a historic sight, church or museum that doesn’t allow cameras. I had a wonderful afternoon of journaling at the Sagrada Familia. There was so much I wanted to remember, but my camera just wasn’t capturing the beauty as I saw it. Using my journal helped me capture the light and the feelings in a way my camera couldn’t
In Transit
Journaling while in transit might be the best travel hack I’ve discovered in a while. I am not a patient person and waiting in long flights or bus trips use to be agony for me. Then I started taking my journal out and drawing what I saw. It was so fun and made me smile to really look around me at all of the people and sights and sounds. If you are impatient and like people watching, you should definitely try this!
Try it here:
- Train- look out the window and record!
- Plane- look out the window and record!
- Bus- look out the window and record!
- Taxi- look out the window and record!
- Boat- look out the window and record!
Journaling in transit adds an extra hurdle of trying to write while moving. Some forms of transportation are easier than others. I find trains and planes the most smooth. Buses can be bumpy and taxi’s can have a lot of starts and stops and turns! I’ve never tried to journal on a boat, I’ll have to try it and see!
In Nature
Travel journaling is so much about stopping and pay attention to the beauty around you and capturing it as best you can. You;ll never capture the fullness of it, but it’s fun to try. And in nature, you never have a shortage of beautiful things to inspire you.
Some one my favorite ways to journal in nature is to press flowers. List and draw the flowers I see.
Here are some of my favorite nature spots to journal:
- Parks- draw the people!
- Forests/On Hikes– draw the leaves!
- Zoos– draw the animals!
- Aquariums- draw the fish!
- Botanical gardens- draw the flowers!
- Arboretums- draw the trees!
- Beaches- draw the bikinis!.
Anyplace can be a place to journal, it’s just a matter of what inspires you to get out your notebook and trying different locations. You’ll never know what you like till you try. And since travel is about novelty and courage, adopt that attitude toward journaling and you won’t be sorry. What are some of your favorite places to journal?