Travel Journal Packing List

Most often when I travel, my bullet journal is on my list of must-takes. It’s where I keep my itinerary and notes on reservations and flights, just in case something happens to my phone and I can’t access these things electronically. When I started working through my packing list and making sure I knew what I was taking on our vacation to Hawaii, my bullet journal seemed an natural choice to take. But I gave a second thought to bringing my whole bullet journal with me when I remembered I’d purchased a sharp little journal from YesStyle with “bon voyage” across the front of it.

This vacation is going to be different than most of the trips I go on. I’m usually the one with the plan, making sure everything is squared away and that we know where we are going and when. The tables are a bit turned this time around. My partner knows much more about our destination than I do, and so I’m leaving it all in his hands. This isn’t just a vacation from the everyday, for me, it’s also a vacation from being the one with a plan! So, taking my bullet journal seems a bit like overkill. A small travel journal that lets me track my adventures instead of planning them sounds like so much fun.

Since my travel journal is basically a scrapbook on the go, I like to be able to put vacation pictures straight into it. I bought a Polaroid Zip portable printer back in 2015 and it has held up strong all this time. It doesn’t have a super high print quality, but that slightly-off Polaroid look makes the photos really feel like on-the-go vacation photos. Not a bad thing, in my book. It does sync up with my phone, so I can quickly print memories to add to my journal. My favorite part of the Zink Paper the printer prints on, is that it already has a sticky back. All I have to do is peel and stick, no extra tape or photo corners required!

Photos aren’t the only thing going into my journal, though. I’m also bringing a small roll of black washi tape to help secure any paper trinkets, such as ticket stubs, I pick up on my trip. Along with that I also picked out a few stickers that match the pen colors I selected and have that vacation vibe. Some of them are loose stickers and others I just cut out of existing sticker sheets. Cutting down the sticker sheets allows me to keep all my sticker choices in a small cellophane pouch that takes up very little space. The goal is to take just enough to add some embellishment, without becoming a burden on my limited luggage space.

And speaking of limited luggage space! Pairing down what pens to bring is probably the most difficult part of packing up my journal supplies. It’s just like with outfits, for some reason on the day to day I use the same things regularly, but on vacation I need to bring everything! What if I need this color, or that one? I’ve already limited it down to a handfull of Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pens, a thin and thick Marvy Le Pen Drawing Pen (my true everyday go-tos), and a couple sizes of Zebra Fude Brush Pens (they are so pretty for hand-lettered headers). I’ve worked hard to get the bundle this small, but I’m still going to try to weed out a couple more before my trip.

I’m excited to work on this little project throughout our adventures. Keeping a separate travel journal will also let it stand alone, ready to be flipped through without having to go through my regular bullet journal. It will be fun to see the end result!

Supplies List

• Bon Voyage Journal
• JStory Pencil Case
• 6 inch Ruler
• Mini Binder Clip
• Polaroid Zip
• Zink Photo Paper
• Washi Tape
• Assorted Stickers
• Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pens
• Marvy Le Pen Drawing Pens
• Zebra Fude Brush Pens

Do you take your creative hobbies on the road with you?