We are a reader-supported education publication. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission to help us keep providing content.
Is a study abroad semester in your future? You’ll want a way to document all you do during your program. Having your phone to take pictures and type down notes is one thing. But there’s nothing like maintaining a physical journal in which you write and review the highs and lows of each day. Research even shows when you write with pen and paper, you’re much more likely to remember the events of your day and crucial details.
Whether you’re looking for a simple notebook, are a bullet journal enthusiast or want a journal to scrapbook, highlight your travels and detail your memories in these seven best travel journals.
1. The Best Leather-Bound Travel Journal
If you’re looking for a durable travel journal option, look no further. This journal features a beautiful leather-bound cover to hold up against wear and tear in your suitcase and backpack. Running smaller in size at 4.72 by 7.87 inches, this travel notebook is easy to carry or stash in your back pocket.
The journal comes with cardholders and pockets for your travel souvenirs. It also features two refillable lined inserts, equaling 160 pages to fill. If you run out of space in your journal with descriptions of your travel, you can easily purchase additional paper and keep using it in your notebook.
2. The Best Travel Journal for Bullet Journaling
Are you a bullet journal enthusiast? Look no further–this is the perfect travel journal for you. HUSTLE Co’s A5 notebook is hardcover, vegan leather and comes in black or navy. The journal features an inner pocket, numbered pages, a beautiful place holding ribbon and an elastic strap to keep your notes in place.
The journal has some wonderful elements, including its lay-flat design, a built-in pen holder and bleed-resistant pages. And with 160 pages, you’ll have plenty of room to detail your journeys.
3. The Best Travel Journal for Scrapbooking
If you’d like to scrapbook your mementos as you travel, this journal is the perfect choice for you. The Siixu Journal offers 192 unique pastel-colored pages for you to decorate and detail your study abroad experience. The notebook size is 5.3 by 7.2 inches providing plenty of space for your tickets, souvenirs, and pictures but still making it easy to carry around in your bag.
For being such a beautiful find, this journal is also easy on your budget, ensuring you’ll keep purchasing it to scrapbook your future travels.
4. The Best Travel Journal for Specific Destinations
Are you looking for a personal touch as you record your travels? The Moleskine Journey City Notebooks provide travel journals for various cities, including Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Milan, New York, Paris and Rome. If you plan to travel abroad to any of these destinations, consider purchasing one of the journals for its unique features, including a map with a street index and traceable paper to mark your favorite parts of the city.
The Moleskine notebook provides stickers and a pocket for your souvenirs. It also supplies 220 journal pages on which you can detail your journey.
5. The Best Travel Journal to Survive all Elements
If you’re headed to a study abroad destination where you’ll be hiking or frequently in the elements, there’s a perfect travel journal for you. Meet the Rite in the Rain notebook–weatherproof paper that won’t melt when the rain falls or your water bottle leaks in your backpack. When you write with a standard number two pencil, your notes are guaranteed not to fade.
Rite in the Rain notebooks come in various sizes and colors, but the standard size is five by seven inches, perfect for stashing in your jacket pocket. The journal offers 64 pages a book, but you can get a three-pack for the same price as most other travel journals.
6. The Best Travel Journal for Long Trips
Are you looking for the ultimate journal that provides a ton of unique features and space to record your special travel plans? Look no further than the Moleskine’s Traveller’s Journal. Inside you’ll find detailed prompts like wish lists, notes for planning before the trip, and documenting your journey and itinerary. There are also fun stickers, an eight-year calendar, a travel planning timeline and budget tips.
The Moleskine Journal is 400 pages long, providing plenty of room for you to detail your memories. Moleskine estimates enough space for 20 short trips or six long excursions.
7. The Best Travel Journal for Artists
Do you plan on sketching landscapes as you journey or portraits of the new friends you make? This might be the perfect travel journal for you. The Conda Sketchbook is spiral bound and easy to open, yet hardcover, so it will protect your art and journal entries.
The sketchbook provides 60 blank pages of 90gsm textured paper, perfect for dry media like charcoal, pen, pastels and pencil. It also provides a one-year, unconditional guarantee–if you’re unhappy with the sketchbook, you can return the product for your money back.
The Best Travel Journals for You
There are various travel journal options available. Now it’s up to you to decide which one is best for your journey. Happy travels!