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The 13 Best Travel Journals

From leather-bound to Moleskine, here are the best travel journals to keep track of your adventures.

In This Article

• Our Top Picks
• Tips for Buying

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why Trust T+L

Travel + Leisure / Alli Waataja

Whether you’re staying close to home or embarking on a bucket-list trip, it’s no secret that travel helps enrich our minds and provides us with a better understanding of the world around us — all while creating lifelong memories. To document your adventures and preserve these precious memories, consider snagging a travel journal. As you shop, keep in mind that the best travel journals come in a slew of different forms — including some with all-blank pages for long-form freewriting and others with a mix of dotted pages and prompts to spark some inspiration. All in all, it’s safe to say that there’s a travel journal out there for everyone. Ahead, we’ve rounded up our favorites, including a handful with bonus features like illustrations, maps, stickers, detachable packing lists, and storage pockets.

Best Overall

Papier joy travel journal.

The journal is divided into six sections to help travelers stay organized while planning their vacations and documenting their memories.

There’s no place to store a pen.

Divided into six distinct sections, the Papier Joy Travel Journal makes documenting your travels easy and fun. Use the wishlist and trip ideas sections to write down your top bucket list travel locales, while the journey planning and reflection sections provide plenty of space to document your escapades. Pass the time en route to your destination — be it by train, plane, or automobile — by filling out the travel games section of the notebook which includes fun activities like “I Spy,” airport bingo, word searches, and word scrambles. At the very back of the journal, you’ll find an illustrative world map to color in. You can, of course, use the journal to jot down packing must-haves, restaurant recommendations, and anything else to help you stay organized while on the go.  

The Details: 192 pages | 5.5 × 8.5 inches

Best Hardcover

Moleskine voyageur notebook.

This journal features fun and functional bonus features like stickers, detachable packing lists, and to-do lists.

There are limited color options.

Moleskine is renowned for its durable notebooks, and this travel-themed one is no exception. Featuring a clothbound hardcover, elastic closure, and an expandable inner back pocket, this 208-page travel notebook is unique in that it also comes complete with detachable packing lists, to-do lists, and, best of all, a sheet of themed stickers for decorating. The travel-planning section is excellent for — you guessed it — planning out your itinerary, while the budget pages come in especially helpful for jotting down and keeping track of expenses. And, since this is a travel journal, it should come as no surprise that there is also a dedicated section for writing down key memories to look back on. 

The Details: Lined, blank | 208 pages | 4.5 x 7 inches

Best Accessories

Clever fox travel journal.

It comes with fun themed stickers and offers specific sections for budgeting and trip reviews.

It’s made with faux leather, which is considered less durable than genuine leather.

Creative types will especially appreciate this Clever Fox Travel Journal, which comes with over 150 stickers to decorate away. Need some inspo? Check out the included user guide with examples to help you create your own one-of-a-kind travel journal. The calendar page can be used to mark down important trip dates, while the illustrative map page can be used to plan out your route. There are also research and budgeting pages, along with a trip review section where travelers can look back on their favorite activities. Additional highlights include a ribbon bookmark, a back pocket, and a pen loop.

The Details: Blank, lined, dotted | 120 pages | 5.8 x ‎8.4 inches

Best Sustainable

Rocketbook smart reusable notebook.

This innovative journal utilizes QR code technology to scan and safely store your entries in a digital app on your smartphone.

Those who prefer a more traditional journaling experience may not feel so connected to this smart journal.

Travelers looking for a more sustainable approach to journaling (read: one that doesn’t require excessive amounts of paper) should consider snagging the Rocketbook Core Reusable Smart Notebook. Simply scan the QR code printed on each page, and your smartphone will automatically snap a photo of your work before subsequently updating it to the corresponding app where your entry will live on forever. You don’t need to worry about accidentally losing the journal, and your memories, along with it!). To “write,” use the included reusable pen, add a drop of water, and wipe with the included microfiber cloth to reveal a blank page ready to fill once more.  

The Details: Dotted | 36 pages | 6 x 8.8 inches

Best Pocket Sized

Letterfolk trip passport journal.

This compact travel journal can be easily stashed away in your backpack or pocket while on the move.

With just 48 pages, this journal is not ideal for longform entries.

As the name suggests, the Letterfolk Trip Passport Journal is about the size of a passport, which means it can easily fit in your carry-on, tote bag, backpack, or everyday purse. Despite its small size, it contains a total of 20 entry logs for travelers to jot down key details of each trip. Each entry page is also accompanied by a blank page that can be used to record thoughts, photos, illustrations, and even keepsakes like ticket stubs and museum tickets. The back pages of the journal offer checklists, flight logs, bucket lists, and other fun activities. 

The Details: Lined, blank | 48 pages | 3.5 x 5.5 inches

Best Prompts

The traveler's playbook.

The specific prompts will help inspire travelers to record small but memorable details of their vacations.

Conversely, the creative, hyper-focused pages and prompts may feel overwhelming to some.

Document each and every one of your adventures with this beautiful journal, which was created by an avid traveler. Inside, you’ll find a slew of illustrations and prompts to help get those creative juices flowing and inspire travelers to record seemingly small but unique details of their journeys that will live on for decades. There’s even a dedicated page for each country, a master tracker to help plan the ultimate itinerary, a travel bucket list, checklists, and pages where travelers can record the names and details of new friends made while globetrotting. Finally, for each country visited, color it in on the world map page. 

The Details: 256 pages | 5.8 x 8.3 inches

Best Leather

Smythson "travel and experiences" cross-grain leather notebook.

This timeless travel notebook features a chic albeit durable cross-grain calf leather construction.

There are no specific prompts or unlined pages.

This portable, pocket-sized travel journal is both functional and fashionable thanks to its cross-grain leather construction, which is known for its excellent ability to withstand wear and tear. As such, you can expect it to stay intact for years on end while serving as your trusty travel companion. Plus, it can even be personalized with your initials for an extra-special touch. Choose from four fun color options: Nile Blue, Orange, Scarlet Red, and Bright Emerald. 

The Details: Lined | 64 pages | 3.5 x 5.5 inches

Mark and Graham Leather Bound World Travel Journal

This leather-bound travel journal includes colored maps of cities around the world.

It’s not refillable, meaning that you’ll need to purchase an entirely new journal when you run out.

World travelers may opt for a travel journal with multiple maps to 1) plan their upcoming trips, 2) map out future itineraries, and 3) know where they’re going when wandering through new-to-them locales. This one from Mark and Graham includes full-color maps of major cities, as well as world weather information and international dialing codes. The leather-bound book is a sleek and functional choice. For extra-luxe flair, consider adding foil-debossed monogramming for just $12.50. 

The Details: 320 pages | 6 x 4.5 inches

Best Customizable

No ordinary emporium personalised travel journal with map pages.

This fully customizable journal makes an excellent gift for friends or family, or a keepsake for yourself!

Since it ships from the United Kingdom, it can take several weeks to arrive.

Whether shopping for yourself or a lucky giftee, this travel journal can be fully personalized based on specific preferences and travels. Shoppers can customize the cover with a title, subtitle, name, date, and message. There’s also the option to select the number of pages, along with the page design. Choose between blank or lined pages, and between colored or gray maps. Lastly, the journal boasts a sleek matte finish and sturdy hardcover construction to ensure it’ll stand the test of time. 

The Details: Blank, lined | 50-150 pages | 5.9 x 8.2 inches

Best Refillable

Robrasim refillable travelers notebook.

Three different paper refills are available.

It’s a small notebook.

This versatile leather travel journal has not one, not two, but three different 64-page refill inserts — lined, blank, and kraft paper — based on personal preference. When one notepad is full, simply remove it and replace it with a new one. The included pouch is also great for storing receipts, ticket stubs, and other small travel mementos. And while this is technically classified as a travel journal, it can also be used for general note-taking, sketching, or daily planning. Take your pick of two colors: coffee and wine.

The Details: Lined, blank | 64 pages | 4 x 5.2 inches

Best with Stickers

Legend travel planner.

It has three sheets of stickers, plus dedicated pages for safety tips and checklists.

It only holds info for a maximum of five trips.

This fun travel journal-slash-itinerary planner has three sheets of themed stickers to decorate. With dedicated pages for emergency contacts, safety tips, pre-trip checklists, and even translation to commonly spoken languages, think of this journal as the ultimate travel companion. Globetrotters also have the opportunity to add photos and mementos while simultaneously jotting down notes, ideas, and expenses. The attached pen loop, three ribbon bookmarks, elastic closure, and pocket for loose notes and documents are all added bonuses. Travelers can take their pick of six fun color and pattern options, as well. 

The Details: Ruled, dotted | 5.8 x 8.3 inches

Best for Kids

Peter pauper kids’ travel journal.

A combination of maps, prompts, illustrations, and games make this the ultimate kid-friendly travel journal.

It's most suited for international travel.

Surprise and delight your child(ren) with this kids’ travel journal ahead of your next family trip. Suitable for those ages seven through 12, this journal is filled with prompts, photos, illustrations, maps, puzzles, and games to keep little ones entertained for hours on end. Kids can use the blank pages to paste photos and mementos, while the lined pages are great for jotting down memorable experiences, reflections, and drawings. The travel journal is also chock full of travel-centric quotes and fascinating world facts. The back pocket is great for stashing keepsakes.

The Details: Blank, lined | 96 pages | 6.2 x 8.2 inches

Journo Travel Journal & Trip Tracker

This is a great option if you plan to transfer your digital travel memories to a glossy photo book.

Digital journaling may not be for everyone.

Travelers looking for a non-traditional journaling option should download Journo, a travel journal app and trip tracker that’s Android and Apple smartphones — along with tablets and Macs. Think of this app as a digital travel scrapbook complete with notes, photos, and — get this — audio clips. Travelers can choose to type or handwrite their entries, and the digital journal can be completely customized with specific text styles and colors. It can also be printed out into a gorgeous coffee table book. 

The Details: Customizable | Unlimited pages

Tips for Buying a Travel Journal

Consider your needs.

Are you going on a road trip? Backcountry hiking? On a month-long ship journey across the ocean? Consider where you’re going and for how long when picking a journal. If you’re going to be in some extreme weather, you might want to pick a journal that has some weather protection. Short on suitcase space? Or maybe you’re only bringing minimal gear? Consider a pocket-sized journal to maximize precious packing room.

Pick the right page format and style

Be sure to look at what types of pages come with your journal, and if it is refillable, what types of page refills are available. If you’re used to writing on lined paper, you’ll want to make sure your journal has that. But if you’re looking for some blank pages so you can sketch or add photos, make sure the journal includes them, too.

There is no right or wrong way to journal. Simply start and just let the words flow onto the pages. Talk about what you’re doing, how you’re feeling, who you're traveling with, the itinerary, what you ate, etc. If you’re not quite sure how to journal, choose a journal with prompts that will help you get started.

A bullet journal is more for to-do lists, scheduling, organizing, and jotting down ideas. Usually, bullet journals include dotted pages instead of lined pages, but you could simply add in your own bullet points to a lined journal if you wish. Bullet journals are great for quick notes while on the go, or for organization in between long journaling sessions.

Why Trust Travel + Leisure

For this article, T+L contributor Lauren Dana Ellman utilized a combination of research and personal expertise as a travel commerce writer to compile a list of the best travel journals on the market. She also combed through dozens — if not hundreds — of product reviews and ratings to narrow down the specific product picks mentioned above.

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• Best Laptop
• Best Upper Mid-Range
• Best Mid-Range
• Best Budget
• Best Compact
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Notable Mentions

Recent updates, all reviews, the 6 best travel laptops - summer 2024.

When shopping for a travel laptop, a couple of requirements immediately come to mind: size, weight, and battery life. Finding a thin and light laptop isn't so much a problem when it comes to general productivity and media consumption devices, but finding a relatively portable mobile workstation or gaming laptop can still be challenging. You must also ensure that portability doesn't come at the cost of a flimsier, cheaper-feeling build, or that it hampers performance. Screen brightness is another thing to consider, as you want a display that can overcome glare in bright settings, and you'll want a good keyboard and touchpad, as they're your primary input methods. A good port selection is a must if you don't want to carry around a hub or dock, and webcam quality is important if you're often on video calls. Biometrics isn't necessary but nice to have, especially if you don't like typing out your password or PIN in a public area.

We've bought and tested over 125 laptops. Below are our recommendations for the best laptops for travel you can buy. You can also see our recommendations for the best laptops , the best business laptops , and the best laptops for college .

Best Laptop For Travel

The best travel laptop we've tested is the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023). This 14-inch workstation has nearly everything you could ask for in a premium model: a sturdy all-metal chassis, a compact design, tons of processing power, and a long battery life. It sports a bright 120Hz Mini LED display, a spacious keyboard, and a gigantic, easy-to-use haptic touchpad. The display is suitable for color work, as it has full DCI P3 coverage and superb factory calibration. Its 1080p webcam is excellent, so your colleagues can see and hear you clearly on video calls.

New in this generation of MacBook Pro is the addition of a base M3 model, similar to the discontinued 13-inch model with Touch Bar. This can be a great option if you don't need all the processing power but still want the 'Pro' features, like the display and up-firing speakers. The main downside is that the RAM and storage aren't user-replaceable, and upgrading them increases the total cost considerably.

See our review

Best Upper Mid-Range Laptop For Travel

If your workload includes lighter tasks like text processing, web browsing, spreadsheets, and video playback, get the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2024) instead. It's also a high-end model that provides a premium user experience; however, its base M3 SoC doesn't have as much processing power as the M3 Pro or Max variants, so you aren't overpaying for performance you don't need. While its IPS panel isn't as impressive as the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) 's 120Hz Mini LED display, it's still pretty and bright enough for outdoor use. The main drawback is the port selection, which comprises two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports; these support two external displays, but only if you close the laptop's lid.

A Windows alternative would be the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) . Though slightly bulkier and heavier than the MacBook Air, this 14-inch model still fits easily into most bags. As its name implies, this is a 2-in-1 convertible, which means you can flip the screen around and use it as a tablet. Its 120Hz 2.8k OLED display also supports pen input if you want to take handwritten notes or draw, though you may have to buy the stylus separately, depending on the retailer. You get Wi-Fi 6E, a 4k webcam, and a wider port selection with multi-display support. Two things to know about: the display doesn't get as bright as the MacBook Air's, so visibility won't be as good in well lit settings or outdoors in broad daylight, and the screen flickers at 480Hz, which might bother those sensitive to flickering.

Best Mid-Range Laptop For Travel

If you want a more affodable mid-range option, check out the HP Pavilion Aero 13 (2024). Available with AMD Zen 4 CPUs, this 13-inch ultraportable can easily handle general productivity tasks like web browsing and spreadsheets, as well as more demanding workloads like programming. It only comes with 16GB of soldered RAM, which is both good and bad, as you don't have to spend more money to upgrade from the measly 8GB found in most base models, but you also can't get more or add more later. As for the display, you can choose between an FHD+ or QHD+ IPS panel; both get bright enough to provide good visibility in well lit settings.

The biggest difference between this model and the more premium models mentioned above is build quality. Its chassis—a mix of aluminum and plastic—exhibits a fair amount of flexing, and the device as a whole feels hollow. Additionally, the finish is prone to scratches even from regular, everyday use. The keyboard feels spacious, albeit a tad fatiguing over an extended period of use, and the touchpad is responsive but makes some actions like dragging and dropping hard to perform. Its 1440p webcam supports Windows Hello facial recognition, allowing you to log in quickly and avoid typing your password in public areas.

Best Budget Laptop For Travel

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023) is the best travel laptop we've tested with a budget-friendly price. This 14-inch model is a great option if you only need a portable device to browse the web or get some light work done while on the go. It feels decently well built for the price, sporting an aluminum and plastic chassis, and its battery life is outstanding at around 12 to 13 hours. You get Wi-Fi 6E, a surprisingly excellent 1080p webcam, and a decent port selection with two USB-As, one USB-C. and an HDMI. The keyboard feels spacious but a tad mushy, and unfortunately, the touchpad is small and sometimes unresponsive.

While there are many CPU and display configuration options available, we recommend getting a Core i3 model with 8GB of RAM and a 1080p IPS display, which you can regularly find on sale for about $400 to $500 USD via  Lenovo . The N100/N200 models with 4GB of RAM are likely fine if you only use the laptop to access the internet and want to pay as little as possible; just know that you'll experience more frequent stutters and slowdowns when multitasking. Lastly, remember that Chrome OS is limited in the type of applications you can install, so make sure you can do everything through a Chrome browser or Android app.

Best Compact Laptop For Travel

If you need something compact to browse the web or answer emails on the go, get the Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021), a 10.5-inch tablet PC with a built-in kickstand and a detachable keyboard. It's super compact, and its battery lasts a little over seven hours of light use. Its FHD+ display looks very sharp, gets bright enough to combat glare, and supports pen input. You get an excellent 1080p webcam, a second back-facing camera, and a facial recognition IR camera for quick logins. Like all Microsoft 2-in-1 tablets, you must buy the keyboard and stylus separately. The keyboard is worth getting, as it's much more comfortable to type on than an on-screen keyboard, and it protects the screen from scratches.

The Surface Go 3 is available with an Intel Pentium Gold or Core i3 CPU. They perform well enough for this tablet PC's intended use, which is to say simple tasks like web browsing, emails, and video playback, but don't expect to do anything remotely intensive. If your budget allows, it's worth upgrading the memory to 8GB, as you'll get a much smoother experience with fewer slowdowns when multitasking. Port selection is limited; you only get a USB-C, a headphone jack, and a proprietary Surface Connect charging port.

Best Gaming Laptop For Travel

For gaming on the go, we recommend the sleek and compact ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024). This 14-inch model is available with AMD Ryzen CPUs and NVIDIA 40-series GPUs (up to an RTX 4070), providing plenty of processing power for a smooth gaming experience in intensive AAA titles. Its 120Hz 2.8k OLED display has a fast response time, so you get a clear image in fast-moving games and great input responsiveness, and there's also VRR support to minimize screen tearing. There's a wide port selection for peripherals and external displays, including four USBs, a MicroSD card reader, and an HDMI 2.1. Unfortunately, there's no Ethernet port, though you do get Wi-Fi 6E.

Configuration-wise, every model can handle gaming at 1080p, but if you want to play at 1440p or at the display's native 2.8k resolution, we recommend going up to an RTX 4060 or 4070 GPU, as the RTX 4050 will struggle to reach 60 fps in highly intensive titles. Storage configuration maxes out at 1TB, which isn't a lot these days, but thankfully, you can easily replace the SSD, as this laptop uses a standard M.2 SSD. Unfortunately, the battery life lasts less than two hours when gaming, so you'll need to bring the charger when gaming on the go.

• ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2024): If you want a Windows alternative to the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2024) with a more traditional clamshell form factor, check out the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2024). It has a 120Hz 2.8k OLED display like the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024), but its battery life is shorter at around eight hours of light use, and its CPU throttles significantly under load. See our review
• Framework Laptop 13 (2023): The Framework Laptop 13 (2023) is a good alternative to the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2024) if you want a laptop that's easy to repair or upgrade. You can replace any component in the laptop, even the CPU and motherboard. All the parts are available via Framework, and the company provides manuals to guide you through the replacement process. However, its keyboard, touchpad, speakers, and webcam aren't as good. Also, depending on where you live, it might be harder to get one because you can only get it via Framework's website. See our review
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 (2023): The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 (2023) is a great ultraportable alternative to the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2024). It has a wider port selection and Thunderbolt 4 support, and its SSD is user-replaceable. However, it's slightly bulkier, and its battery doesn't last as long. It's also more expensive. See our review
• Lenovo Yoga 6 13 (2023): The Lenovo Yoga 6 13 (2023) is a cheaper alternative to the HP Pavilion Aero 13 (2024). It has a sturdier build and a better touchpad; however, its display doesn't get as bright, and its webcam is significantly worse. It also doesn't perform as well because it uses slower AMD Zen 3-based CPUs, whereas the HP uses newer Zen 4 processors. See our review
• Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 (2021): The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 (2021) is a good alternative to the Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021) if you only need a device for media consumption. It has a much nicer OLED display, and its battery lasts longer. It's a 13-inch device, though, so it isn't as portable as the Surface Go 3. See our review

Aug 01, 2024: Replaced the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2022) with the HP Pavilion Aero 13 (2024) because the Acer is an older model and harder to find. Replaced the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) with the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023) because the Acer is discontinued. Replaced the Razer Blade 14 (2022) with the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) because the ASUS is easier to find and available with NVIDIA 40-series GPUs.

May 13, 2024: Replaced the Apple Macbook Air 13 (2022) with the Apple Macbook Air 13 (2024). Replaced the LG gram 14 (2023) with the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) as an alternative to the Apple Macbook Air 13 (2024). Added the HP Omen Transcend 14 (2024) as a Notable Mention. Minor text changes to reflect the changing availability of Dell XPS 15 (2023).

Mar 15, 2024: Removed the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023) from the Notable Mentions because it's discontinued. Added the Framework Laptop 13 (2023) as a Notable Mention. Minor text changes to provide information about new models of the Dell XPS 15, Apple MacBook Air 13, and Razer Blade 14.

Jan 23, 2024: Replaced the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M2, 2023) with the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) because Apple no longer sells the M2 model.

Nov 16, 2023: Minor text changes to provide information about the new M3 MacBook Pro and to add the Dell XPS 15 (2023) as a Windows alternative to the MacBook Pro. Added the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023) and Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023) as Notable Mentions.

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best travel laptops you can get. In addition to the test results, we factor in the price (a cheaper laptop wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability.

If you prefer to make your own decision, here’s the list of all of our laptop reviews. Keep in mind that most laptops are available in various configurations, and the table only shows the results of the model we tested, so it’s best to see the full review for information about other variants.

20 Best Travel Journals to Document Your Trips

Some include prompts and templates to help get you started.

We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

Last-minute planning of a trip can consist of chaotic lists in your phone's notes app while the chronicling of said trip may look like sporadic photos in your camera roll. But what if there was a collective place you could plan in advance and jot down funny moments along the way? A travel journal can culminate the ups (and downs) of your vacation with guided prompts and templates.

The purpose of a travel journal is to document your journeys near and far, whether it's a weekend getaway with the girls or a family vacation to a kid-friendly New England town. And much like notebooks of any category, there are a variety of travel journals to peruse. Some are more guided than others, with templates for packing lists similar to that of a planner , while others have more open-ended prompts or just blank lined, unlined or dotted pages.

Our experts at Good Housekeeping Institute extended our expertise in the best photo book makers and best wedding planning books to research the best travel journals, a category we have not yet formally tested. We rounded up the best travel journals of 2023, whether you want a self-designed bullet journal or a notebook with fun maps and stickers. At the end of our list, you can find advice on how to start your travel journal as well as read more about why you can trust Good Housekeeping. And if you have a frequent traveler in your life besides yourself, check out our guide to the best travel gift ideas (although a journal is a great idea too!).

The Art of the National Parks: Park-Lover's Journal

Perfect for the outdoors enthusiast in your life, this journal celebrates each of the 63 parks. It's 175 pages long and comes with prompts that'll help them chronicle their journey. It doesn't hurt that this journal has gorgeous illustrations of each park by real artists.

Papier Off Piste

Whether this is your first or fifth travel journal, or a gift for the college student in your life who's about to go abroad, Papier's notebooks will check all of the boxes. One GH editor has the Off Piste journal and loves the cover, a simple design that includes a meaningful quote, and appreciates the helpful templates you'll find inside the notebook. You'll be able to document up to six trips with templates for your budget, packing list, transportation, accommodation, itinerary and a journaling space for freestyle writing. There are also pages dedicated to a travel wishlist as well an illustrative map you can color in as you mark off countries you've visited.

Peter Pauper Press Page-A-Day

Journals can ring in at a variety of prices, but you can find a great travel journal for under $10 that will still give you enough space to write about your wanderings around the world. This leather-bound journal dedicates one page to each day of your trip, with spaces to add in the date, location and weather conditions (we especially like the delicate drawings for types of participation which you can circle with your pencil or pen). Dotted lines on the page will keep your entries neat and organized and an included ribbon bookmark will keep track of where you left off last. Even though this journal is pretty basic in design and on the smaller side, we think it's a great option for someone who doesn't want to spend too much on their first travel journal.

Clever Fox Vacation Planner

Amazon's Choice with a 4.6-star rating across over 900 customer reviews, this travel journal comes with more than just a notebook. You'll also get 150+ fun stickers to embellish your entries, plus the journal also has a pocket to hold the pages of stickers and an elastic band for your pen. But what makes this journal really stand out is its extensive range of templates geared towards helping you plan your trip. For five trips, you'll get pages for research and budget, a packing checklist, transportation and accommodation details and an expense tracker, plus a map and more journaling pages. If you like to plan out every detail, this is the perfect travel journal for your needs. We wish you could fit more than five trips in the journal, but for the price, it's a great value.

Peter Pauper Press Kids Travel Journal

Perfect for the adventure-inclined kiddo, this 96-page travel journal lets young travelers record everything from general entries about a trip to a packing list. Kids can even paste in photos, tickets and more and store the rest in the journal's back pocket. The journal is also full of games, maps, helpful phrases in other languages, metric information, quotes and fun facts. Not only is this kid-friendly journal a creative means to document their early adventures, but its accessories encourage international learning.

Leatherology Medium Spiral Snap Journal

Available in four hues including black onyx (pictured), brown, azure and lilac, this journal is made from gorgeous dyed leather with light gold hardware. You can choose from a spiral or bound format, but note that the spiral option has 130 perforated pages while the bound journal has 265 ruled sheets (or 128 pages). Regardless of which style you choose, you'll will get the benefit of a snap closure and a built-in pen loop, although the writing utensil is not included. We appreciate the versatility of this journal given the blank pages that let you doodle and write freely over the course of your next trip.

Mark and Graham Leather Bound World Travel Journal

This beautiful leather bound journal not only has pages for writing about your trips, but it also includes full-color maps of major cities plus world weather information, international dialing codes and more. A perfect gift for the international traveler, you can also add a foil debossed monogram to the cover if you want to add a personal flare to the notebook. We wish that the journal was available in more than one color, but the rust orange is a versatile enough choice that will stick out in a dark suitcase or bag.

Duncan & Stone Paper Co. World Trip Adventure Book

An almost-perfect five-star rating on Amazon and the titular Amazon's Choice badge is enough to make you add this travel journal to your cart. The layflat design makes it easy to open and write on, and you'll have enough pages to reflect on 15 trips plus a back pocket for extra photos and blank pages for notes and random musings. What we love most about this journal are the helpful prompts that guide newbies through the process of journaling, with questions like "Where did you stay?." and "Something I learned from this destination/culture..." From basic to more thought-provoking questions, you'll have a boost of inspiration to help you document your journey.

Day One Day One

While the majority of picks on this list are physical journals, you can also document your trips through an app if you prefer a digital format or have minimal space in your luggage . Chief Technologist & Executive Technical Director at the GH Institute Rachel Rothman , says Day One is a solid choice with ample positive reviews from consumers. You can download the app for free on your iPhone, Android, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. You'll get one journal for one device with the ability to add a photo per entry, plus templates, export capabilities and tags. If you want unlimited journals, devices and photos plus the option to add videos, audio recordings and more, opt for Day One Premium which rings in at $2.92 per month.

Extreme Assistants Classic Notebook

If you travel a lot, or tend to squish as much as you possibly can into your carry-on (we have all been there), you'll want a durable journal that can withstand being tossed around and bumping against other items in your bag. A faux leather hardcover and thick paper ensure your journal will stay intact as you travel to and fro. The manufacturer adds that the cover is designed to be easy to clean, which is helpful if you are journaling on the airplane or train and accidentally spill your drink. We also appreciate that you can add a photo or logo to the cover for an element of personalization, especially since the notebook is more basic in style.

Deanna Didzun The Traveler's Playbook: A World Travel Journal

Journaling of any kind can be intimidating as you don't always know where to start — even a notebook with guiding prompts can lead to partial writer's block. If this sounds like you, then opting for a book that has more structure and a variety of templates is the way to go. This popular travel journal has a 4.3-star rating on Uncommon Goods is designed by explorer Deanna Didzun who created illustrations and lists to help jog your memory of your most recent journey. You can give overall star ratings for each destination and write down food and drink highlights if you so please.

Smythson Travels and Experiences Panama Notebook

There are journals and then there are journals — and this beautiful handcrafted leather journal falls into the latter category. Bound in crossgrain lambskin and available in a light blue or scarlet red, you'll have 128 pages of lined Featherweight paper to fill. This notebook is all about quality and is designed to last, but with that comes a higher price tag. It would be a great gift for the writer in your life who loves to travel, but given its simple layout and lack of templates other travel journals can have, it may not be splurge-worthy for every traveler.

DesignWorks Ink Suede Travel Journal

If you or a friend is traveling to Santorini, Mexico and/or Sydney in the near future, you may want to opt for this travel journal inspired by each of those stunning cities. You can add personal information in the first page of the notebook and the 240 pages are lined with spaces to include the subject and date. Although the journal does not include prompts or templates, we love the eye-catching gold design and appreciate the ribbon bookmark to keep track of your last entry.

Moleskine Traveller's Journal

Moleskine, the established brand that has been around for over two decades, is synonymous with traditional, high quality notebooks — and this travel-specific journal is no different. There are three sections for a travel wish list, short trips and long trips plus two sheets of stickers and a ribbon bookmark. The journal has a 4.6-star rating on Amazon across over 3,200 consumer ratings. One five-star review calls this notebook "the traveler's best friend," and notes how helpful it can be to keep track of places, restaurants and sites so you don't forget.

JB Leather Personalized Travel Notebook

For a personalized touch, this pick lets you choose from over 1,000 charm and stamp combinations including astrological charms, meaningful quotes and more . There are also three different vegan leather hues to choose from: cinnamon, cedar and sandy brown. The notebook has 18 plastic card slots, a zippered pocket for storage and a total of 152 lined pages. You can also refill the notebook as you cross places off your travel wish list. A best-seller on Etsy with a perfect five-star rating, this customizable notebook is popular among customers. Multiple reviews comment on the fast delivery, and its high-quality, beautiful appearance.

Transient Books Custom Travel Journal for Kids

With this journal, you can customize the cover color, font and cover map, as well as choose between 100- and 200-page books with lined, unlined and prompts variations. We love the various ways you can personalize this kid-friendly journal, making little ones that more excited to explore new places. The five-star seller has over 3,000 customer reviews on Etsy. And the travel journal doesn't just have to be a gift for the kids: Adult customers also said they enjoyed using the notebook for camping trips and vacations around the globe.

Compendium Everywhere You Go

We have included travel journals on this list that have prompts but none like the unexpected ones in this notebook that will get your creative wheels turning. The questions may catch you off guard, but prompt thoughtful reflection: they range from "If this place had a perfume, it would smell like..." to, "If this place had a soundtrack, these songs would be on it." The notebook is Amazon's Choice and has a 4.5-star rating, with multiple customers calling it the perfect gift for the traveler in your life, whether you need a gift for a teen or a present for a thirtieth birthday .

PAPERAGE Dotted Journal Notebook

Keeping a bullet journal is a popular trend that can easily translate to an aesthetic yet meaningful travel journal. This popular bullet notebook has a 4.7-star rating on Amazon with over 18 color options to chose from including mustard yellow (pictured), burgundy, lavender, royal blue and more. The 5.7-by-8-inch dotted pages lend themselves to open-ended creativity. While it can be hard to start designing and writing a journal from scratch, you have the benefit of customizing how much space you want for each list or entry.

Polarsteps Travel Tracker

Physical journals are not everyone's cup of tea, which is where an app like Polarsteps comes into play. Available for iOS and Android devices, Polarsteps lets travelers track their journeys. You can utilize over 300 helpful guides created by travel editors, as well as use the itinerary planner to dream up your perfect vacation and check the transport planner when unsure of what mode of transportation to use from one destination to another. Once you begin your trip, plot each site you visit and slowly form a personalized map that you can embellish with photos and videos. From there, share your map with friends and family or turn it into a travel book to look back on for years to come.

Glad & Young Studio The Traveler's Journal

If you have a bookshelf with rows of novels, photo albums and notebooks, you may want an aesthetic-looking travel journal that fits your style. This leather notebook has 60 pages to document your travels, and is available in a neutral shade (pictured) as well as two marbled patterns that are unique to each purchase. We personally love the brightly colored assorted pattern that has swirls of lavender, yellow, fuchsia and blue. The lined pages are great for daily entries and you can also note the day and weather. Note that to clean, you'll want to wipe away and spills or messes with a soft cloth.

Elizabeth Berry (she/her) is the Updates Editor at the Good Housekeeping Institute where she optimizes lifestyle content across verticals. Prior to this role, she was an Editorial Assistant for Woman’s Day where she covered everything from gift guides to recipes. She also has experience fact checking commerce articles and holds a B.A. in English and Italian Studies from Connecticut College.

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Savvy Travel Advice

14 Best Travel Journals for Travelers – Guide to Choosing the Perfect Travel Journal

Last updated: January 19, 2024 - Written by Jessica Norah 32 Comments

A travel journal can be a great way to record one’s memories and experiences while traveling. Laurence bought his first travel journal in 1999 to use on a trip to Namibia. I bought my first travel journal back in 2012 for a trip to France. We have both been keeping travel journals on most of our trips ever since.

Although I don’t do it often, I love re-reading my old travel journals. They bring back a lot of memories, and help me remember all the little things that happened that I may have forgotten, the good, the bad, and the hilarious.

I also find my old journals very useful in recording details, such as a guide’s name, the duration of a hike, or which restaurant we ate in during a trip which may not be something I can tell from a photo. This has helped us add details to travel blog posts, return to favorite spots, and give more specific travel advice to friends and family.

Over the years, we have used a lot of different journals for travel writing, from basic composition notebooks to custom handcrafted journals. We have used, gifted, and reviewed dozens of different types of journals.

This guide was written to help travelers find the best travel journal for them. Whether you are looking for a personal journal for an upcoming trip or looking for help in buying a travel journal as a gift, we’ll give you all the information you need to choose the best travel journal.

We’ll share what to look for when buying a travel journal, including things like size, page count, paper quality, closure types, and sustainability. Then we review a wide selection of different travel journals so that you can find one that suits your criteria, style, and budget.

Table of Contents:

14 Things to Consider When Buying a Travel Journal

Travel journals all have a lot in common, but there are also a number of differences. We’ll discuss the main factors you’ll want to consider when choosing a travel journal.

For many people, a journal for traveling is no different than a regular journal or diary. But there are things that may be more important to you for a journal that you take on a trip rather than one that stays next to your bed. These may include factors related to portability (size and weight) and durability (cover type, binding quality, closure type).

There is no perfect journal for travelers. My favorite travel journal is not necessarily the right one for you. Also the ideal journal may also depend on the type and length of your trip. A journal that is good for writing about short weekend trips may not work well on a month-long backpacking trip.

As you read this, I’d recommend making a list of the things that are most important to you in a journal. What size is right? What type of paper does it need to have? Do you want a guided or unguided journal? These notes can then help you narrow down the journals on our list and find the one that is perfect for you.

Journal Size

One of the more important factors to consider when buying a travel journal is its size or dimensions. The size of the journal that is best for you will depend on your needs.

For instance, someone who wants to be able to carry their journal in their back pocket or jacket is going to want a small journal. Those who plan to sketch or glue things onto pages (e.g., tickets, photos, flyers) of their journal may want to think about what size will be best suited to that.

I would recommend grabbing a book, journal, or piece of paper that you have handy at home and measuring them to get an idea of what size you prefer. You can fold or tear a piece of paper until you get the size that you think would be ideal, then you can search for journals with similar dimensions.

In most of the world, you likely see a lot of travel journals with sizing that says A5, A6, or B5 which are a standard size measured in millimeters. These are referring to the International Standard (ISO) paper sizes . For instance, A5 paper is 148 mm X 210 mm (5.8 inches X 8.3 inches).

However, if you are in North America or Central America, you are less likely to see journals advertised in ISO sizes. Countries such as the United States and Canada generally use North American paper sizes such as letter and legal paper sizes, which are measured in inches. You are much more likely to see journals that are designed to inch measurements, such as 5″ X 7″ or 7″ X 9″.

Generally if looking at measurements for journals, the first number will refer to the width and the second number refers to the height. So a 120mm X 170mm journal would be 120mm wide and 170mm high.

There is no “best” size for a travel journal, it just depends on your needs. I would just recommend not going any smaller than 3.5″ X 5″ or larger than A4 or letter-sized paper.

For some guidance from popular journal brands, Paperblanks has said its Mini (4″ X 5.5″) and Midi (5″ X 7″) sizes are the most popular. Moleskine has said that its brand’s “Pocket” (3.5″ X 5.5″) and “Large” (5″ X 8.25″) sizes are two of its most popular sizes. Leuchtturm1917 says its Classic A5 (5.75″ X 8″) and B5 (7″ X 10″) are two of its most popular sizes.

If you are looking for your first travel journal and have no idea what size to go for, I’d suggest either A5 (5.8 inches X 8.3 inches) or a “Mid-sized” one. So something that is approximately 5 inches X 7 inches (127 mm X 178 mm) to 6 inches X 8 inches (152 mm X 203 mm).

I have used a variety of journals of different sizes and tend to prefer more medium sized ones. We keep ours in our day bags or backpacks.

My current favorites are the Slim sized notebooks from Paperblanks which are 90 mm X 180 mm (3.54″ X 7″). Laurence typically uses the Midi sized ones which are 130 mm X 180 mm (5.1″ X 7″).

Journal Weight

Weight is another factor to consider when choosing a travel journal. The weight is going to be affected by the cover type, the number of pages, and the overall size of the journal. Generally, journals with hard covers are heavier than those with soft covers.

Note that most journal brands do not note the weight of their journals online or on the labeling. But most journals are designed to be lightweight and portable, so this is probably mostly a factor to consider for those wanting a larger sized journal.

The weight of a journal is going to be more important for those who are backpackers or light packers. Those looking for a more lightweight journal, should consider a soft cover journal that is smaller in size. A refillable journal may also be a good option as you can control the amount of paper in it.

Most standard or mid-sized journals are fairly lightweight so this is not normally a big factor of consideration for us. Our travel journals generally range between 150 grams to 400 grams (6 oz to 14 oz), with most of my journals being around 8 ounces or 230 grams.

Number of Pages

The number of pages you will want is going to depend on how much you write, the length of your trip, and the size of the journal pages. It is also good to think about whether you want a travel journal for a single trip or if you want one that will last for several trips.

The number of pages will affect the thickness and the overall weight of your journal. So we would generally recommend trying to keep the page count under 250 pages.

It is important to note the difference between sheets and pages. A sheet of paper has 2 sides that you can write on. So if you see a journal specification that says it has 96 sheets, this means it would have 192 pages. Most journals will just advertise the number of pages you can write on, but you do occasionally see it noted in sheets.

I generally write 3-5 pages per day, so if going on a 2-week trip, I’d want to make sure to have at least 70 pages. If going for a month, 150 pages. For instance, a 176-page Paperblanks Slim journal lasts me about a full month of travel.

If you are not sure how many pages you want in a journal, most journals contain between 120 and 200 pages. So I think any journal with a page count in that general range is probably a good place to start.

If you are going on a particularly long trip, say over 3 months in length, you might want to consider starting with one journal and then getting new journals along the way as you fill them up. You might want to mail home your completed journals (recommend backing them up digitally first through) to avoid lugging them around the world.

Type of Paper

The type of paper is something most people will want to consider when buying a journal. The main question for me would be how do I plan to use the journal. For example, you will likely want a different type of paper if you would like to use your journal for both sketching and writing versus someone who solely wants to be able to write in it.

Here are some of the things you might consider regarding the type and composition of the paper in a journal:

• Is the paper blank, lined, dotted/bulleted, or squared/graph paper?
• For lined/dotted/squared paper, does the spacing between lines or dots matter to you?
• Is it designed to be written on both sides of the pages (e.g., is both sides lined/dotted)?
• Is it smooth or textured?
• Is the paper acid-free? (acid-free paper ages better)
• Is it designed primarily for writing or sketching?
• What color is the paper?
• Is it made from wood or cotton?
• Is the paper made from a certified sustainable source (e.g., Forest Stewardship Council [FSC] certified)?
• Is it suitable for certain types of writing instruments such as fountain pens, pencils, or charcoal?
• Is the paper perforated?

Most journals are made of acid-free uncoated paper with a smooth texture that is designed to be used on both sides. Most paper used in made from wood pulp and is generally white, off-white, ivory, or cream in color.

Of all the above listed factors, the most important thing for most travelers is probably the type of page ruling in the journal (whether lined, dotted, blank, etc.). You probably already have a preference for the type of paper you write on. For example, I always choose journals with lined paper.

Note that a dotted, dot grid, and bullet journal are generally all referring to the same type of paper. Similarly, graph, grid, and squared paper are generally referring to the same type of paper.

The other thing you should consider is the type of writing instrument you plan to use. If using a regular ballpoint pen (the most common type), most journals should work just fine. Those with gel pens or fountain pens may want a slightly heavier than usual paper to avoid the ink going through the pages.

Those wanting to use pencils or draw with charcoal may prefer more textured paper. Those planning to use watercolor will need much thicker paper.

I would recommend avoiding notebooks with perforated paper unless you definitely plan to tear out pages. Perforated paper is much more likely to tear and come out of your journal.

I personally only use my journal for writing and strongly prefer lined paper. All of my travel journals have lined smooth acid-free paper that is designed to be written on both sides. But some people may prefer unlined paper or bullet journals; it really just depends on how you plan to use your journal.

Paper Quality

There are different things that you can look at in terms of evaluating paper quality such as the material, weight, thickness, finish, grain, etc. The majority of these things are not going to be that important to most people.

The paper used in travel journals is almost always made from wood pulp, but you might also see some premium journals or handmade journals using cotton or linen paper.

The main thing to look at when assessing page quality is the weight of the paper which is typically measured in grams per square meter and may be denoted as the gsm, g/m², or g/sq m. This is the most common indicator of paper quality that is provided to consumers.

Note that in North America you’ll likely come across the U.S. paper basis system where paperweight is measured in lbs (such as 70lb or 70#). But normally measurements are also given in the metric gsm as well. For example, 70lb paper is typically equal to about 100 gsm.

As you look at journals, you’ll notice a fairly wide range of paper weights from about 60 gsm to 140 gsm. I would recommend looking for a journal with paper between 70 gsm and 120 gsm.

Note that the size of the journal can affect the paperweight with thinner paper often used in smaller journals. For example, the smaller sized Paperblanks journals often have 85 gsm paper whereas the larger ones have 120 gsm paper.

For most people, the gsm of the paper isn’t going to matter very much. But if you plan to use a fountain pen, marker, etc. then the paperweight and type is going to be much more important. For example with a fountain pen, heavier weight papers are generally better able to resist feathering, ghosting, and bleeding.

We have had journals with a range of paperweights, from 70 gsm to 120 gsm, with most being around 85 gsm. On most of our journals, we have just written with various ballpoint pens and had no issues.

I also have a Platinum #3776 Century fountain pen and it seems to perform fine on most paper in this weight range but it can vary. The biggest factor seems to be how smooth the paper is, as the pen generally does better on smoother paper.

Fountain pens users may want to read reviews by fellow fountain pens users to judge performance of any particularl journal. However, the way that a fountain pen will perform on a specific journal will depend not only on the paper, but also on your specific ink, nib, and the pressure applied during writing.

Bound Journal Versus Refillable Journal

Most travel journals are bound, but another option to consider is a refillable journal system. These are where you purchase a journal cover that normally comes with a closure, replaceable paper inserts, and rubber bands to affix the inserts. You can then purchase additional paper inserts as you need them.

The refillable paper inserts are typically affixed inside using an elastic or rubber band, a cord, or a ring binder. Most refillable journals are designed to hold a total of 3 compatible paper inserts.

As you would expect with refillable journals, the paper inserts are not going to be as durable as a bound book. These inserts are often bound using saddle stitching and/or staples. But if you are just using these for one trip and then storing them at home, this is probably not that important to you.

Although a refillable journal is typically more expensive than a bound journal, they tend to be less expensive over time versus buying a new bound journal for each trip. They can also be a more sustainable option if you keep using the same cover and just replace the paper inserts. They also allow you to have the same journal cover and writing experience for a long time.

Investing in a refillable journal is probably best for people who already know they enjoy journaling, know the size of journal they prefer, and know the type of journal they like. You don’t want to invest in a system you are not sure you are going to like.

Another benefit of refillable journals is that you easily personalize them and change the type of paper you are using. With many brands, you can also add things like folders, pouches, pen loops, decorative charms, etc.

A couple of popular brands making refillable journals are The Traveler’s Company (Midori) and Wanderings . Most brands use leather covers but you can also find faux leather covers out there as well. You just want the material to be durable enough to last through years of wear and tear from traveling.

If you decide on a refillable journal, things to consider are the quality/durability of the cover, extra features (e.g., pockets, ribbon, etc.), and the availability of correctly-sized paper options for your chosen journal. You’ll also want to check to see how the paper refills are inserted and check to see if it will lie completely flat when you write in it.

Journal Binding

If you are planning to buy a bound journal, you will want to consider how the journal is bound. The journal binding can affect the durability of your journal. It can also affect how it opens, such as whether you can open and lie it down completely flat or not.

There are a lot of different book binding methods and the options available may depend on the type of cover (soft versus hard cover) and the thickness of the journal. Common journal binding methods include Smyth sewn binding, case binding, glue binding, spiral binding, and saddle stitch binding.

For many people, the type of journal binding may not be very important as most people just want to make sure that their journal is strong enough to last the duration of their trip.

But if you are wanting something more durable, I recommend journals that have been bound using Smyth sewing. This is considered the best type of binding in terms of quality and durability. But these journals are also a little more expensive than ones that have been bound using other techniques.

Smyth sewn means that groups of folded pages have been stitched together with binder thread, and then multiple groups are joined together. This makes it more durable than those that have just been glued for instance and it is much less likely that pages will come out. It also allows for the book to be opened completely flat.

If you don’t like the Smyth sewn bound journals or are looking for something a bit less expensive, you might look at a good quality spiral-bound or coil-bound notebook. These are usually fairly inexpensive, lie flat, and the pages won’t fall out. However, spiral notebooks tend not to be designed as travel journals (often they are designed for school or work use, an exception being the Write it Down journals ) and often don’t have any type of closures, but you can create your own binding with a piece of elastic.

The type of bound journals I generally avoid are those bound using only glue, staples, or basic stitching. These tend not to be that durable and you may have an issue with the pages coming out, especially for the ones where pages are just glued to the spine. But if you are going on a short trip or just need something to jot notes in, these will work just fine.

Journal Closure

Another thing to consider is whether you want a journal with a closure or not, and if so, what type of closure you prefer. I would strongly recommend having some kind of way to close your travel journal. This will help protect the pages and binding of your journal from getting bent, torn, or soiled. If you plan to shove your journal into your backpack or purse on your trip, we’d definitely recommend one with a closure.

Probably the most common type of closure for a journal is an elastic band that stretches lengthwise over the journal to keep it closed when not in use. Other types of closures include magnetic wrap, magnetic strap, snap, metal clasp, leather strap, hook, button wrap, and ribbon tie closures. The more creative ones, such as ribbon ties and button wraps, are more typical on handmade journals.

The type of closure may or may not be important to you. I always buy a travel journal with a closure; however, I don’t have a strong preference for a specific type of closure. I have used travel journals with a variety of closures, including magnetic strap, metal clasp, elastic band, and magnetic wrap. All of these worked fine. My favorites are probably the magnetic strap and metal clasp ones.

The only issue that I have found with elastic band closures, which are very common, is that they can with use over time lose their stretch and/or wear little grooves into the edges of the cover. These are minor issues but something to consider if planning to use the same journal for a longer period.

Note that many guided travel journals don’t come with a closure for some reason. So if you are looking for a guided journal and you want a closure, be sure to check the description carefully.

If you have a notebook or journal you like, but it doesn’t have any type of closure you could consider adding one. For example, some companies like Midori Traveler’s Company and Wanderings sell replacement closure straps for their journals that might work for your journal. Or if you have some DIY skills, you could consider adding an elastic band, ribbon, or magnetic closure of your own. For example, this is a DIY video of someone adding an elastic closure to a hardcover Wire-O bound journal.

When choosing a travel journal, another feature you might consider is the type of cover. The main two options are a softcover or hardcover journal.

A softcover journal is generally lighter, more flexible. and slimmer, whereas hardcover journals are generally sturdier, heavier, and thicker. Hardcover journals generally allow for more pages for those looking for journals with a lot of pages.

Most popular journal brands such as Moleskine, Paperblanks, and Leuchtturm offer both softcover and hardcover journals. For example, Moleskine offers a selection of both softcover and hardcover journals. Most of their hard covers are made of polypropylene, while the soft covers are made of polyurethane.

Covers can be made of a variety of materials including binder’s board (chipboard), plastic, cardboard, kraft paper, leather, and cork.

Leather journals (or vegan alternatives) are a popular choice for refillable journals as they tend to be both durable and age well.

Unguided Versus Guided Journals

A guided journal is a journal that includes prompts, questions, or exercises of some kind to inspire and encourage one’s writing. An unguided journal is just full of blank pages for people to free write as they wish.

Most people use just a regular journal or notebook as a travel journal. But you can also get journals that are designed exclusively to be used as a travel journal and include things like travel-related writing prompts, questions, quotes, and trip planning exercises.

If this is your first journal experience, you might enjoy things like writing prompts and lists that can help guide your writing and help you get into the habit of daily writing. They can also help make sure that you remember to write about all the different aspects of your trip.

Some of the really focused travel journals may come with a lot of specific travel-related features like memento pouches, waterproof covers, maps, packing lists, planning checklists, etc. So they can also be used for planning activities before your trip.

Some examples of guided travel journals include the Everywhere You Go Journal , the Promptly Minimalist Journal , the Duncan & Stone Journal, the Clever Fox Planner & Journal , the Write it Down journals , and the One Line Voyage Travel Planner & Journal .

Most journals designed for kids and teens are also guided and generally include a lot of exercises and activities in them as well.

I personally just use regular unguided journals as my travel journals as these allow me as much space as possible to just write. So if you are someone who writes a lot and likes to write about whatever topic comes to mind, you’ll probably want to avoid these types of journals. But if you are someone who is new to journaling, these can be a great first journal.

Travel journals are sold at a wide variety of price points, from a few dollars to over $50. You’ll pay more for premium refillable journal systems, handmade journals (particularly those with leather covers), and personalized journals. Guided journals also tend to be more expensive than unguided.

Price will depend primarily on the type and quality of the materials used, the binding method, the size of the journal, where it is manufactured, and any included personalization

You don’t need to pay a lot for a travel journal. Most of the journals we have used over the years have fallen in the $10 to $20 range, although inflation has been driving up prices. The last journal I bought cost me about $16.

But I’ve also used a simple composition notebook that cost a few dollars on one trip. If you have a small budget, don’t worry too much about finding a fancy journal, just find something that is the right size and has the kind of paper you want. The most important thing is that you have something that you can and will write in during your travels.

For instance, if you have a small budget you can get a school notebook or memo pad for a few dollars. Field Notes is a great USA-based brand focused on selling packs of pocket-sized notebooks at good prices. You can easily find basic journals for under $10 at a local store or online such as the Amazon Basics Journal .

Paying more for a journal sometimes results in better quality, but sometimes not as more well-known brands can charge more than less popular brands for similar quality. So we definitely recommend paying attention to the details if you are looking for something a bit nicer.

Sustainability

There are a lot of factors you might consider when it comes to evaluating a brand’s sustainability. These might include the materials used to produce the journal, where its products are manufactured, where its products are shipped, the company’s ethos, the staff working conditions at the company, whether the journal is reusable or recyclable, the journal’s durability, etc.

You’ll have to do your own research on a specific brand, some brands are very transparent whereas others provide very little public information regarding their sustainability practices. Some brands that specifically market themselves as being more sustainable are Dingbats , Karst (a B Corp), Rocketbook (reusable), and Field Notes .

One factor will depend on where you are based. If you are based in the USA for instance, a journal made of American materials and manufactured in the USA, such as those by Field Notes , is likely going to be more sustainable than one that is produced in Europe or Asia. See the next section on country of origin for some tips on finding brands produced in your own country.

Refillable journals would also likely be more sustainable over time than a bound journal as you can keep using the same cover for many years. You just need to replace the paper refills rather than the whole journal. You would just want to make sure the cover is well-made and durable so it will last for a long time.

For those looking for vegan travel journals, many journals are not vegan due to either the glue or dye used or the use of leather as part of the cover or binding. Even many companies that sell faux leather journals are not fully vegan (due to glues, inks, or dyes).

However, there are still several vegan-friendly journal options out there. Dingbats and Scribbles That Matter , for example, are two brands that only produce vegan-friendly journals. So if you are vegan or buying a journal as a gift for a vegan, I’d check out those two brands first.

Country of Origin

Travel journals are made in countries around the world with many being produced in China since it is cheap to manufacture products there. If you are concerned about quality control, sustainability, working conditions, or carbon footprint, you may want to pay attention to where products are made and from where they are shipped. Some companies even provide details of their whole supply chain.

If you have a hard time finding where a product is made on a journal description or company website, it is typically made in China. Some companies will use phrases like “British design” or “Italian heritage” but this typically just means their products are designed in Europe but are actually produced in China.

For example, while a lot of companies are based in North America or Europe (e.g., Moleskine, Paperblanks, Leuchtturm1917), most manufacture their journals in China and/or Taiwan. This also goes for smaller more “indie” brands like BaronFig, Scribbles That Matter, Archer & Olive, and Beechmore Books, which all produce their journals in China.

It can be difficult to find a journal produced in one’s own country or region, but here are some journal brands listed by where they produce their products (to the best of my knowledge) to help get you started:

• United States : Field Notes , Write it Down , Appointed , Leather and Earth Co ., Roaring Spring , and Word. journals are made in the USA.
• United Kingdom : Bespoke Bindery , Pink Pig , The Stamford Notebook Co ., Billy Tannery , and Citrus Book Bindery make their journals in the UK.
• Canada :  MacLellan Books and Ecojot produce their journals in Canada.
• Germany : Nuuna and X17   both manufacture their journals in Germany.
• France/Morocco : Rhodia journals are made in France (although it appears their Webnotebooks are currently being made in Morocco but still use the French Clairefontaine paper)
• Italy : Epica , Ciak , and Belcraft produce their journals in Italy.
• Australia : Notely makes their notebooks in Australia.
• Turkey : Dingbats journals is based in Lebanon but journals are currently made in Turkey
• Japan : Midori MD journals, and those of their subsidiary The Traveler’s Company.  are made in Japan (leather covers made in Thailand).
• Nepa l: The Kathmandu Valley Co makes its journals in Nepal.
• Any Country : Try Etsy to find homemade journals and notebooks produced in your own country or region. You can filter by shop location and then research where it is made.

The above is by no means a comprehensive list of journal brands, and if you have a brand of journals you’d like to recommend that is manufactured in your own country, feel free to leave us a comment.

Other Travel Journal Features

There are a lot of other features you might see on different travel journals. Some are just general journal features and some are specifically tailored to travel journals.

Some common features that you may see are attached ribbon markers, interior pockets or folders, rounded corners, pen loops, foldouts, writing prompts, stickers, waterproof covers, memento pouches, travel or packing lists, etc.

• Ribbon bookmarks
• Interior pockets or folders
• Rounded corners
• Numbered Pages
• Daily writing prompts
• Waterproof covers
• Travel info / maps
• Travel packing lists

One nice design feature can be rounded corners, as these are designed to protect the cover and pages from wear and tear compared to sharp corners. Rounded corners are common in travel journals; most journals produced by popular brands Moleskine and Leuchtturm1917 have rounded corners.

Some of the really focused travel journals come with a lot of specific travel-related features like maps, memento pouches, waterproof covers, travel specific writing prompts, packing lists, etc.

For me, the only feature of the above that I always look for is an attached bookmark ribbon to keep my place in the journal during a trip. Other features can be nice but are not must-haves for me.

14 Best Travel Journals 

Below is our list of 14 different travel journals and notebooks. They come in a variety of sizes, colors, styles, price points, and countries of origin. All can be purchased online.

We are fairly certain that most people will be able to find the perfect travel journal for them on this list!

These 14 travel journals are listed in no particular order.

1. Moleskine Classic Journal

Moleskine is one of the best-known journal brands, particularly for travel journals. Most Moleskine journals feature rounded corners, a ribbon bookmark, an expandable inner pocket, and an elastic band closure. The journals are Smyth-sewn and bound to be able to lie flat.

The journals are available in both hardcover and softcover versions, with a choice of blank, lined, squared, or dotted paper, and in a number of colors. They come in a wide range of sizes from XS (2.5 inches X 4.25 inches) to XXL (8.5 inches X 11 inches). Most Moleskine journals come with ivory-colored 70 gsm acid-free paper.

Don’t worry, no moles were harmed in making these journals! Most of Moleskin’s hard covers are made of polypropylene, while the soft covers are made of polyurethane. They also offer more expensive leather-covered and silk-covered versions of the Classic Journal.

The regular Moleskine Classic Journals have 192 pages, but the expanded versions have 400 pages. So be sure to double check if you are concerned about weight or number of pages.

In addition to their original Classic collection, Moleskine also offers a wide range of other journal options, including journal collections designed for those who want to sketch, draw, and/or watercolor. They have also released a number of limited editions and collaborative notebooks.

Moleskine journals are designed in Italy and most are manufactured in either China or Taiwan.

A lot of people think it is a heritage brand with a long history, but it was actually introduced in 1997 by the Italian company Modo & Modo. The name was inspired by the type of journals that English travel writer Bruce Chatwin used which he called “carnets moleskine” in his book The Songlines .

Chatwin specifically used small notebooks bound with black shiny oilcloth covers which were wrapped in an elastic band. He also notes that he used squared paper. According to Moleskine founder Francesco Franceschi, many famous writers and artists used these “moleskine” type little notebooks, including Ernest Hemingway, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso. These notebooks were produced in France and purchased in paper stores in Paris.

While the modern versions are certainly not the same thing, the version that was inspired by these 19th and 20th century journals of Chatwin and others is the Moleskine Classic notebook line. The closest to Chatwin’s journal would probably be the black softcover pocket-sized Moleskine journal with squared pages.

Due to their popularity, Moleskine journals receive both a lot of praise and criticism. Probably one of the biggest criticisms is that they use a fairly low paperweight (70 gsm) compared to their main rival Leuchtturm1917 (80 gsm to 100 gsm on their classic journal). This means a bit less quality, but it does mean a more lightweight journal and they are able to sell them at a lower price than Leuchtturm1917.

My personal opinion is that they are good journals and perfectly fine for most people to use as a travel journal. They are decent quality, lightweight, readily available (both online and in stores), and come in a variety of colors, sizes, and styles.

One of the great things about Moleskine is they are widely available in many bookstores and stationery stores, at least in Europe and North America. This means you may be able to easily go check them out in person and although color choices and sizes are usually limited in stores, the most popular ones are usually kept in stock.

If you are considering a Moleskine travel journal, but are not sure which to try, I would recommend starting with one of their regular Classic Notebook ones . You can then choose between a softcover or hardcover and the type of paper you prefer. If unsure of which size to get, Moleskine has said that it brand’s “Pocket” (3.5″ X 5.5″ | 9 cm X 14 cm) and “Large” (5″ X 8.25″ | 13 cm X 21 cm) sizes are two of its most popular sizes.

I’ve personally used both a large Classic soft cover (Large size, lined paper, 192 pages) and a medium Classic hardcover (Medium, lined paper, 208 pages) journal in two recent trips, which both happened to be to Italy. Both worked well as journals, but my clear favorite was the medium lined hardcover journal—I liked both the hardcover and the slightly smaller size.

Price:  Check the  latest prices here

2. Leuchtturm1917 Classic Journal

Leuchtturm1917 is another popular journal brand; it is based in Germany. The brand first released its journals in 2005, although the company’s history loosely dates back to 1917 when it began printing coin and stamp books under the brand KaBe.

Leuchtturm1917 journals are Smyth sewn and feature rounded corners, an expandable inner pocket, and an elastic band closure. A few features that the brand is known for are its numbered pages (most journals come with page numbers, some feature dates), 2 attached book markers, table of contents page, stickers for labeling and archiving, and having some perforated sheets at the back of each notebook that are easy to remove if needed.

The buff-colored paper in the Classic journals ranges between 80 gsm and 100 gsm, depending on the size of the journal. The heavier paper is used in the larger sized journals. Available paper choices are blank, lined, squared, or dotted.

The Leuchtturm1917 Classic journals come in several sizes from Pocket (A6, 9 cm X 15 cm | 3.5″ X 6″) to Master (A4+, 22.5 cm X 31.5 cm | 8.8 inches X 12 inches). Its most popular sized notebook is its Medium A5 (5.75″ X 8″).

Both hardcover and softcover journals are available, but the availability depends on the journal size. Some sizes are only available with one type of cover. Their main hardcover journal covers are made of acrylic paper and their soft covers are made from polyurethane.

Note that the page count in Leuchtturm1917 journals depends on both the journal size and whether they have a hard cover or soft cover. For example, the Classic A5 journal in the soft cover format has 123 pages and the hard cover format has 251 pages.

They come in a rainbow of colors with a wider array of color choices than many other brands. I believe the Classic journals are available in 24 colors in total, but not in every size or color type. You’ll need to shop online to find the full color range.

In addition to their classic notebooks, they also have a range of bullet journals, change journals, sketch journals, and limited editions. Their “Official Bullet Journals” have been popular in recent years with the bullet journal (BuJo) community.

Leuchtturm1917 journals are designed in Germany, and made in Taiwan and China.

The brand launched its journals in 2005 to compete with brands like Moleskine. So many of the features between the two brands are similar. Differences include the extra bookmark, heavier paperweight, page numbering, archival stickers, and more color options. The heavier paperweight is often a feature preferred by fountain pen users. But Moleskine notebooks are generally a little more lightweight than Leuchtturm1917 (and sometimes less expensive); they are also easier to find in certain parts of the world.

If you are considering a Leuchtturm1917 and not sure which to try, I’d probably recommend starting with the Classic A5 journal. It is available with either a hard cover or soft cover, with 4 paper choices, and lots of color options.

One thing I don’t love about the Leuchtturm1917 notebooks is that the number of pages and size options vary by cover types. So a softcover and hardcover journal of the same size will probably have a different number of pages. So just be sure you check the page count if you are considering various options.

I think Leuchtturm1917 journals are nice journals and are likely to work well for most people wanting a travel journal. If you are trying to decide between a Moleskine and one of these, the paper is a bit nicer than that in the Moleskine Classic journals and they offer a few more features, but the differences are not likely to make a huge difference to most people.

3. Paperblanks Journals

Paperblanks is another popular brand of journals and notebooks. The company was founded in Vancouver, Canada in 1992. In 2022, it became part of the Hachette UK publishing group.

Paperblanks journals are all Smyth-sewn and use acid-free ivory paper. The paper weight used varies from 85 gsm to 120 gsm, depending on the journal size and type. The majority of journals contain a bookmark ribbon (some contain two) and an inside memento pouch. Most of the journals contain either lined or unlined (blank) paper, but they do have a few options for dot grid or gridded (squared) paper.

Paperblanks is unique in that there is no “classic journal” in their collection, and they don’t really make any plain-looking journals. They are much more focused on the journal’s cover designs and many are an homage to old manuscripts, artists, or writers. They also offer a variety of journal styles, sizes, and closure types.

So I think with Paperblanks, the first thing to decide is what size you like, and then whether you prefer a softcover or hardcover journal. That will then narrow down your choices so you can see the available designs.

The sizes of Paperblanks journal range from Micro (7 cm X 9 cm | 2.75″ x 3.625″) to Grande (21 cm x 30 cm | 8.25″ x 11.75″), so most people should be able to find a size that suits them. If you are looking for a “standard travel journal” size, I’d recommend their Midi sized journals .

The page count varies depending on the size and design, but most Paperblanks journals contain between 144 pages and 208 pages.

Paperblanks journals are designed in Canada and made in China.

Personally, I love their hardcover Slim sized journals and Laurence prefers either the Mini or the Midi. The Slim size format, which I really like, has led to me buying a lot of these journals over the years as this size of journal is not common. I also enjoy their old manuscript designs over the more plain designs of most journals.

If you are having trouble finding Paperblanks journals available in person or online in your area, we’d also recommend checking out similar journal designs by Peter Pauper Press . These journals are easier to find in North America whereas Paperblanks are easier to find in Europe.

4. Rhodia Webnotebooks

Rhodia is a French brand that has been selling paper products since 1934. The company was acquired in 1997 by Clairefontaine which has been making paper at its own mill since 1858 and stationery products since 1890.

While not as well known as some of the other brands on this list, Rhodia is a brand that is often recommended to fountain pen users and those wanting a journal with high-quality smooth paper. Their most well-known product is the Rhodia Webnotebooks, also affectionately known by users as “Webbies”.

The Rhodia Webnotebooks are Smyth-sewn and feature 90 gsm ivory acid-free Clairefontaine paper, rounded corners, an inner pocket, a ribbon marker, and an elastic band closure. Each has 192 pages (96 sheets), and is available with a choice of blank, lined, or dot grid paper.

The classic Rhodia Webbies are hardcover notebooks with a faux leather black and orange cover. However, they now offer hardcover Webnotebooks with a variety of cover color choices as part of their Rhodiarama range.

The Webbies come in two main sizes: Pocket size (A6) which is 9.5 cm X 14 cm (3.5 inches X 5 inches) and the larger size (A5) which is 14.5 cm X 21 cm (5.5 inches X 8.25 inches).

In addition to the Rhodia Webnotebooks, Rhodia makes a variety of other types of journals, writing pads, and notebooks. These include softcover journals, wire-bound notebooks, pocket memo pads, calligraphy pads, etc. The brand Clairefontaine is well known in France for its quality school notebooks.

Rhodia journals are designed and made in France using Clairefontaine paper. Many of the Rhodia products are made in the Alsace region. However, some of their journals, including the last Webnotebook I bought, are now made in Morocco but still use the French paper.

Rhodia journals can be more difficult to find in stores outside of Europe, so I would recommend looking online.

These are nice quality notebooks with smooth paper, and the Webbies are often recommended to those wanting to write with a fountain pen. Those who enjoy smaller journals will likely want to try one of the pocket A6 size Webbies and those wanting a more typical travel journal size will likely want to try one of the A5 size Webnotebooks .

5. Amazon Basics Classic Journal

If you like the classic simple design of a Moleskine journal but not the price, consider a Amazon Basics Classic Journal. It has many of the same features as the Moleskine journal but comes at a significantly lower price, usually priced under $10.

The Amazon Basic journal has a hard cover with off-white, acid-free paper and rounded corners. It is bound to lie flat and it has 80 gsm paper and 240 pages (120 sheets).

Simple design but does include a black elastic band closure, an attached bookmark ribbon, and an expandable paper pocket in back. Available with lined/ruled, blank (classic), and grid paper options.

It comes in one main size of 5 inches X 8.25 inches (close to an A5 size) and comes in several different colors. Amazon journals are made in China.

So compared to my Moleskine classic hardcover with ruled paper, the Amazon Basics journal has many of the same features such as rounded corners, elastic closure, back pocket, and ribbon bookmark. It has the same number of pages as the Moleskine Classic Large hardcover journal. The Amazon one has darker lines and says it has 80 gsm paper (versus 70 gsm in Moleskine). So there are many reasons to recommend the Amazon one.

Now the price difference does mean that the quality isn’t quite the same. The Moleskine cover does feel nicer and “softer”, seems to be better constructed, and the Moleskine includes a “In Case of Loss” page in the front. So if you value the feel and construction, the Moleskine is definitely nicer and feels and looks more premium. You also get a lot more choices in the size, color, and cover in a Moleskine.

However, if you like the style, size, and color options of the Amazon Basic journals, then there is little question that it is a good value buy in comparison to the Moleskine. I am currently using an Amazon journal for daily notes and keep it in my backpack or purse, and it has been a good journal so far.

The Amazon Basics Classic Journal is a great budget buy if you are looking for a simple hardcover journal. It can be purchased online directly from Amazon.

Price:  Check the  latest price here

6. Field Notes Journals

Field Notes is an American brand that specializes in pocket-sized notebooks and memo pads. If you are looking for a pocket-friendly journal or looking for a journal made in the USA, this is a brand to consider.

Field Notes started in 2007 and was inspired by the simple 20th century agricultural field notebooks used by farmers across rural America. Field Notes staple product is a pocket-sized memo book with a kraft brown cover.

The Original Kraft memo book measures 3-1/2″ wide by 5-1/2″ tall (89 mm X 140 mm), uses 90 gsm acid-free bright white paper, is bound by a rugged saddle stitching and three staples, has rounded corners, and has a kraft brown cover. They are available with blank, lined, or squared paper. Each memo book contains 48 pages and are typically sold in packs of 3.

These pocket-sized memo books are probably better suited to those who prefer to jot down notes rather than to write out long daily journal entries. Although these little memo pads can still be great for short trips even for those who tend to write a lot. For those looking for a more traditionally sized travel journal, you can check out some of the other options from Field Notes.

Field Notes are known for their limited edition covers and designs that change regularly. They also now offer a much wider variety of memo book and notebooks with a variety of covers, sizes, and styles. These include larger sized formats, wire flip notebooks, waterproof editions, perforated notebooks, and notebooks designed for left-handed writers.

If you are looking for a more durable or larger journal that is more like a typical travel journal, I’d check out their Field Notes Pitch Black Note Books which have sturdier black covers. These are offered in the regular pocket size in 3-packs with each containing 48 pages. They are also offered in a larger size at 4.75 inches X 7.5 inches (121 mm X 191 mm) and sold in packs of 2, each containing 64 pages.

Adventure travelers may also be interested in their durable and waterproof Expedition Edition notebooks. These feature a waterproof and durable hi-vis cover and synthetic waterproof paper.

All Field Notes brand products are printed and manufactured in the USA. The company provides some of the most detailed information I’ve seen for a company about its materials, printing, and manufacturing process.

If you are looking for simple, lightweight, smaller notebooks, these are a great option to consider. They are also very budget-friendly as you can get a 3-pack for under $15. If you are a fan of Field Notes regular kraft memo notebooks, you can get a journal cover case to help protect them when traveling.

I’d also recommend Field Notes if you are looking for a brand that prints and manufactures all its journals in the USA. These are mainly sold online and can be hard to find outside of North America.

7. Midori Traveler’s Company Traveler’s Notebooks

Midori started making paper and stationery products in Japan back in 1950. In 2006, they released their Traveler’s Notebook, a refillable travel journal, and it became very popular. In 2015, they changed the brand name of these travel notebooks from Midori to Traveler’s Company.

The Traveler’s Notebook is essentially a reusable leather cover with replaceable rubber band connectors, elastic and metal clasp, and paper notebooks. Each journal also comes with a cotton storage bag. The Traveler’s Notebook is designed to last for a very long time and all the elements are repairable or replaceable.

Each Traveler’s Notebook comes with one paper journal insert. The inserts are saddle stitched and each contains 64 pages. Paper inserts are available in a variety of paper types including blank, lined, squared/grid, watercolor, kraft, sketch, calendar, and thin paper. It depends on the insert but the paperweight of the paper inserts is normally 80 gsm.

The paper inserts can be replaced and changed out, and you can use a variety of different inserts at once if you wish. Depending on the insert, you can fit up to 5, but most people report using 2-3 inserts at once.

The Midori Traveler’s Notebook comes in two sizes: Regular and Passport. The Regular size is 120mm X 220mm (4.7 inches X 8.7 inches) and they also have a smaller Passport size which is 98mm X 134mm (3.9 inches X 5.3 inches). The leather covers come in a several different colors.

The company also sells a number of accessories you can add to personalize your Traveler’s Notebook. These include pen loops, kraft envelopes, zipper pockets, cases, stickers, charms, etc.

The products are designed and made in Japan. The MD paper is made in Japan. The leather covers are made in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

I personally got a Traveler’s Notebook for the first time only last year to try it out since I had heard so much about it. I have the regular sized one in the dark brown (tea color) . It came with a dust cover, band, and a blank paper insert. I have since purchased several lined paper inserts, a craft folder, a zippered case, and a band refill set.

Overall, I really love my Traveler’s Notebook. I like the feel of the leather cover, the paper is good quality, and I like being able to personalize what I put into the journal. The downsides have been that the Regular size is a bit larger than the journal I typically choose (and the Passport smaller) and I wish they had more size options. It has also been hard to find and buy some of the accessories (they are often sold out).

There have been a lot of copycat products of the Midori Travel Company’s Traveler’s Notebooks. So if you want this specific product, be careful to check product descriptions and photos carefully to ensure it is actually from this Japanese company.

Note that Midori has gone through a lot of company name changes and now has multiple brand names which can be confusing. But The Traveler’s Company, Midori, and MD Paper are part of the same overall company which is now called Designphil.

8. Wanderings Refillable Journals

Now, the success of Midori’s Traveler’s Journal (discussed above) has spawned a number of similar products, often competing at a lower price than the Japanese brand. Wanderings is one such company which is based in the USA and has been around since at least 2016. The company mainly sells its products online via Amazon.

The Wanderings travel journals have a full-grain leather cover that comes with replaceable rubber bands to hold inserts and an elastic and leather closure band. The covers are made of Crazy Horse cow leather and come in a few different color options. Each comes with the company’s compass rose logo on the front.

Some of the covers also have pockets that can be used to hold money, paper, credit cards, passport, etc.

Each notebook cover is designed to hold up to 3 refillable inserts. The replaceable paper inserts contain 100 gsm paper and are available with lined, blank, dotted, scrapbooking, calendar, or squared (graph) paper. The inserts are easily added and removed and secured using elastic bands.

The total number of pages varies based on journal size, but each journal is designed to hold between 180 to 240 pages (90 to 120 sheets) in total.

The Midori Traveler’s Company inserts and Wanderings refillable paper inserts are interchangeable and can be used in either brand’s journals of the same size.

The journals are available in several sizes: Pocket/Passport (4″ X 5.1″ / 9cm X 12.5cm), A6 (4″ X 5.7″ / 10.5cm X 15cm), Regular (4.5″ X 8.5″ / 11cm X 22cm), A5 (6″ X 8.5″ / 15cm X 22cm), and Grande (7.5″ X 11″ / 19cm X 28cm).

There are also the Wanderings 6-ring binder journals that come in various sizes and are very similar to the folio ones above except the paper inserts are kept in place inside by a set of 6 metal binder rings instead of elastic bands. The binders come with 120gsm paper inserts, internal pockets, and a pen loop.

Most of the Wanderings products are made in China. Although the owner notes that some of the products are also made in India.

if you are looking for a refillable leather journal, the design of the Wanderings travel journals is very similar to the Traveler’s Journals from The Traveler’s Company. Some people prefer one to the other in terms of design and quality. Some advantages of the Wanderings version is that they are less expensive, easier to purchase outside of Japan, and are available in more sizes.

For those looking for a similar refillable journal that is not made of leather, check out the refillable faux leather journals called Atlas Journals made by Tribute Products.

9. Guided Travel Journals with Prompts

If you are new to journaling and/or traveling, you may prefer a travel journal that gives you some writing prompts, asks questions, and gives suggestions for writing topics. These guided travel journals can also make nice gifts for someone who is new to traveling.

Travel themed prompts often ask about what you’ve seen, the weather, your transportation methods, people you met, food you tried, new words you’ve learned, best/worst experiences, etc. Many of these journals also leave room for drawing, sketching, pasting mementos, and adding photos.

Some journals also contain a planning section that can be used for pre-trip planning such as packing lists, maps, budget sheets, safety tips, etc. These can be used to help you plan out your itinerary, accommodation, budget, transportation, etc. Just note that planners tend to have fewer pages for actual journaling.

There are a lot of travel journals with prompts, and when searching you’ll often see them listed as guided travel journals or travel journals with daily prompts.

Here is a list of popular travel journals with prompts to get you started:

• Everywhere You Go Journal (112 pages)
• Waypoint Goods Pocket Travel Journal (58 pages, designed for up to 14 days of travel)
• Promptly Minimalist Journal (88 pages, designed for up to a month of travel)
• Duncan & Stone Journal (100 pages, up to 15 trips/destinations)
• A Guided Journal (77 pages, up to 10 trips/destinations)
• Letterfolk Passport Sized Trip Journal (48 pages, up to 20 days of travel)
• Clever Fox Planner & Journal (129 pages, planner/journal, up to 5 trips/destinations)
• One Line Voyage Travel Planner & Journal (72 pages, planner/journal, up to 4 trips)
• Honeymoon Planner & Journal for Couples (112 pages)

When choosing a guided travel journal, you’ll want to consider all the factors we listed for a normal journal, including size, paper quality, number of pages, type of closure, etc.

Travel journals with prompts are a great gateway into journaling. They give you plenty of ideas and ways to record your trip and your memories so you’ll have them for years to come. They can also be a good introduction to find out if you are the kind of person who enjoys keeping a travel journal or not.

10. Promptly Guided Journals

Promptly travel journals are hardcover guided journals that are designed to be used before, during, and after your trip. Their journals have a minimalist design and their slogan is that their travel journals are great from “boarding to exploring”.

Their main journals have a hardcover covered in either a lightly textured faux leather (leatherette) or a linen cover. They are debossed on the cover and spine. The journals are designed for a single trip and contain 86 total pages.

These include a world map, 4 general travel planning pages with questions, 8 pages for a trip itinerary for up to 31 days, 5 memorable moments, several pages to denote trip highlights with prompts, 2 pages for transportation, 5 accommodation reviews, 6 food experiences, 2 pages for travel companions, mementos sections, 2 pages cultural observations, 2 pages for trip takeaways, and then 10 lined pages at the end that you can use for free journaling/extra notes/address book etc.

The Promptly hardcover journals are 6″ X 9″ (15cm X 23cm). They do include a ribbon marker, but do not include a closure or any pockets.

Note that Promptly also have smaller 4-pack paper softcover journal packs available that are designed for shorter 14 day trips. As well as a  children’s journal version 4-pack designed for kids age 5-12 which be a nice addition if you want to get journals for your kids too. So just be sure you know which variation you are buying.

The company is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and the journals are made in China.

These journal are only going to work well for someone wanting to use it for a single trip (up to 31 days), and I would not recommend for someone wanting to use it for multiple trips. Since there are a number of pages where you can paste photos (or other flat mementos like tickets), then it is probably ideal for someone who wants to add photos to the book after the trip.

I personally have bought one of the faux leather ones, and these journals feel and look nice. They make it easy to follow along from trip planning to completion, and are thin and easy to pack. I think this is a great travel journal gift option for someone going on a trip of 2-4 weeks.

Price : Check the latest prices here

11. Dingbats Vegan Journals

Dingbats* was started in 2016, although it is part of a larger family-run paper trading company that has been operating in Lebanon since 1800. Dingbats sells vegan-friendly journals and is notable for its focus on sustainability and eco-friendly products.

Most of the Dingbats journals feature acid-free, coated 100gsm cream paper, a ribbon bookmark, an attached pen loop, an expandable back pocket, an elastic closure, and a vegan leather (polyurethane) cover. They are hardcover and Smyth-sewn, and most versions contain 192 pages (96 sheets).

Dingbats journals are available with your choice of lined, dotted, blank, or squared paper. Some journals contain perforated pages.

The Dingbats journals are available in a variety of colors, and each Dingbats journal features an embossed animal or natural element on the front, such as an elephant, whale, cactus, wolf, Great Barrier Reef, or deer.

Dingbats journals are designed in Lebanon and produced in Turkey. They are 100% vegan. They also say that most of their products are fully recyclable in most countries.

Most of the Dingbats journals range in size from approximately A6 (9.5cm X 14.5 cm / 3.7″ X 5.7″) to A4 (21.5cm X 30cm / 8.5″ X 11.8″). Most open like a book, but they also have a smaller reported-style flip-style notebook as well. There is also a Pro Collection of Dingbats journals which are larger in size (B5), use higher quality paper (160gsm), and nicer textiles.

The Dingbats journals are really nice and will especially appeal to wildlife lovers and vegans. Dingbats journals can be difficult to find in stores in many countries but they can be purchased online.

In terms of choosing a size for a travel journal, their A6 sized journals are good if you are looking for a pocket-sized travel journal and the medium A5 sized journals are perfect if looking for a more standard-sized travel journal. If you are wanting something bigger, like a school composition notebook size, then you might be interested in their B5 Pro Collection journals .

12. Leather and Earth Co. Handmade Journals

If you are looking for something more handmade and crafty looking, I highly recommend going onto Etsy and seeing what you can find there. There are a number of talented artisans making various kinds of journals and notebooks.

Leather and Earth Co. is one such small business run by a mom of 4 kids named Laura in Nebraska, USA. She has also recruited a couple of other local moms to help her as well. Together they hand-make, sew, and personalize leather journals.

The paper used is a thick 90lb (185 gsm) mixed media paper available in blank, lined, music writing, or recipe formats. There is also an option for a thicker watercolor paper.  All the journals are designed to hold up to 140 pages of regular paper or 60 pages of watercolor paper.

They offer both bound and refillable journals. The hand sewn bound journals are hand stitched together with a linen thread. The refillable journals include 3 elastic straps where you can add and remove up to 3 paper inserts.

All journals can be personalized with text on the front cover. For example, you can have initials, your name, a date, or trip destination embossed on your journal. You can also design a custom title page if you wish.

The journals are available in several sizes: 4″ X 6″ (10 cm X 15 cm), 5″ X 7″ (12.5 cm X 17.5 cm), 6″ X 9″ (15 cm X 23 cm), or 9″ X 12″ (23 cm X 30.5 cm).

These journals, including the leather and paper used in them, are made in the USA. Note that these journals currently only ship to addresses in the United States.

If you are looking for more handmade journals from around the world, check out the options on Etsy , where you can search for those made in your own region. For example, Bespoke Bindery is a great option if you live in the UK. Most handmade journals can be personalized just for you.

13. Travel Journals for Children & Teens

If you are traveling with children, then getting them their own travel journal can help them record their own memories. Travel journals and activity books can also keep kids entertained when there is downtime on your trip.

Each of these travel journals are designed for children of a certain age range and reading level. Depending on the age level, they may have colorful illustrations, travel-related activities and games, writing prompts, areas for drawing or coloring, stickers, quotes, fun facts, maps, memento pockets, etc.

There are a number of travel journals for children out there and you can find a lot of them online on Amazon. Here are some good options to consider:

• Lonely Planet Kids Journal (ages 6-8)
• Peter Pauper Kids’ Journal (ages 6-11)
• Awesome Activity Journal (ages 6-10)
• Promptly Kids’ Activity Books & Journals (ages 5-12, typically sold in packs of 4)
• Happy Fox USA Road Trip Activities & Journal (ages 7-10)
• Lonely Planet Older Kids Journal (ages 9-12)
• Teen Journal (age 10-14)
• Clever Fox Planner & Journal (teen to adult)
• Refillable Vegan Leather Journal with Map (teen to adult)
• A Guided Journal (teen to adult)

Each travel journal is generally designed for children of a certain age range. So you’ll want to take your child’s age, reading level, writing ability, and general interests into consideration when choosing a journal.

Some journals are also tailored to a particular region (e.g. USA or Europe) or a specific type of travel (e.g., road trip), so it is good to read the full description and user reviews.

14. Page-A-Day Journal

This next journal is made by Peter Pauper Press which is an American company based in New York, which has been selling books and other paper goods since 1928. Today, the company sells a number of journals, books, puzzles, etc.

The Page-A-Day Journal is intended to give you enough space to write and take note of memorable places and events on your travels, but is still brief enough that writing in it doesn’t take up too much time. As the journal name suggests, it is intended that you write one page per day.

This journal is Smyth-sewn and features smooth acid-free 120 gsm paper, rounded corners, an attached ribbon bookmark, a back memento pocket, and an elastic band closure. The brown faux leather cover is embossed with “Page-A-Day Travel Journal” and has a globe design. The endpapers have a cloud design.

Each page provides space for you to put the date, location, and weather as well as a number of blank lines to write down whatever you want. The paper is lined (gray dotted lines).

The journal is 5″ X 7″ (82 cm X 114 cm) and contains 176 pages in total. So the journal will last you about 170 days of travel if you write one page per day. But you can also use multiple pages per day if you wish as you can just put the same date. For most people, this journal will last for multiple trips.

The Page-A-Day journal is designed in the USA and printed in China.

If you are on the fence between a guided journal and an unguided journal, this may be a perfect solution. This journal gives you a small bit of structure and a page per day to write whatever you want.

** You can also see many of the travel journals we recommend above in a single page on Amazon here with current prices for a handy reference. Just note that not every journal on the list is available via Amazon. **

So that is our list of the best travel journals for travelers! Which is your favorite?

Planning to purchase a travel journal in the near future, but not now? Pin this article to Pinterest to read later:

What do you think about travel journals? Have you kept a travel journal or diary while traveling? Is your favorite travel journal brand on the list? Tell us below!

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There are 32 comments on this post.

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Logan Gross Post author

May 28, 2024 at 7:42 am

This is such a great & thorough article! You guys put so much effort into these it’s honestly inspiring to see. I had to do some research on travel journals and this wa SUPER helpful.

I sincerely appreciate all the work you’ve put into this!

Jessica & Laurence Norah Post author

May 30, 2024 at 10:17 am

Thanks for your kind comments, and glad to hear our travel journal reviews and research were helpful to you in your own search. If you have any questions about journals, just ask!

Best, Jessica

Olivia Post author

September 26, 2023 at 3:43 pm

Hi there! Could you tell me what the little blue and gold journal is in your photos? It is beautiful and would love to buy one like that for myself! Thanx

September 26, 2023 at 5:00 pm

I think the journal you are referring to is the Paperblanks Azure Journal, it is specifically a lined journal in the Slim size with a metal clasp closure. I love this journal and used it for years but have been unable to find any in the Slim size for a couple of years on their website or on Amazon. But you can get the Azure journal design in the Mini and Midi sizes, and you can see those here .

If you prefer something the same size as the one I had, the most similar one that is a newer design is the Paperblanks Blue Rhine journal as part of their River Cascade collection. You can see the Slim version here and it is available in a few sizes. I took it on a recent trip around Europe and really liked it.

Hope that helps! Jessica

ADAM HINES Post author

September 12, 2023 at 5:49 pm

Hi Jessica, My gf and I are preparing to leave for a trip to Mexico in a couple of weeks. Your review has helped me figure out what I want in a travel journal, but I am struggling a bit on the prices. Want one line (me), one grid (her), black, simple design, some kind of closure, bookmark, archival quality pages, “normal size”.

We need two journals and I think the Leuchtturm and Moleskin both fit the criteria and those look nice. But the prices are a bit high for us and I am wondering what you think would maybe be a good cheaper option for those? Have you tested the Amazon Basics or Paperage ones as those look to fit what I am looking for as well and are both under $10 right now. Thank you!

September 13, 2023 at 6:46 pm

First, so glad you know what you want in a travel journal and that our article was helpful in that. I think knowing that info can help make sure you choose a journal you are actually going to take and use on your trip. And certainly you don’t need to pay much for a journal (anything with paper will work!), I would definitely recommend sticking to your budget. Basically I would say just find something that meets your needs and that you will use and will want to keep.

Now, I can’t comment on the Paperage brand journals as I haven’t personally tried them (I suspect they are very similar to the Amazon Basics ones since they are comparable in price), but I can comment on the Amazon Basics journal versus a Moleskine or Leuchtturm1917 journal. Specifically I would say that the Amazon Basics journal is closer to a Moleskine than a Leuchtturm1917 journal as its more simple and doesn’t have any of the extra features that you see in a Leuctturm1917 journal.

The Amazon Basic journal (this is specifically the one I am reviewing and one I have in hand) seems to currently come in mainly one size (5 inches X 8.25 inches, close to an A5 size). I have it in black so you can definitely get that color. It has a hardcover with off-white, acid-free paper and rounded corners. Designed to lay flat. I think most are 240 pages (120 sheets). Says made with 80 gsm paper. Simple design but does include a black elastic band closure, an attached bookmark ribbon (gray in mine), and an expandable paper pocket in back. I have the ruled or lined version but it does also come with grid or blank paper so will work for your gf as well in terms of paper types. Made in China. I think I paid about $9 for mine.

So compared to my Moleksine I have in my hand for comparison (hardcover black classic ruled paper), the Amazon Basics journal is a bit thicker and has more pages (my Moleskine has 208 pages and the Amazon 240). The Amazon one has almost all the same basic features with the closure, rounded corners, back pocket, ribbon bookmark. Some of the differences are that the Moleskine’s cover feels nicer and “softer”, seems a bit better constructed, and there is a front title page with “In Case of Loss” info. The color of the paper and line ruling width is about the same although lines are darker and easier to see in the Amazon Basics. The Amazon Basics says 80 gsm paper while most Moleskine journals use 70 gsm. Both are made in Asia.

So yes, my opinion would be that if you like the color, style, and size of the Amazon Basics (since there is not much choice or variety), then there is little question you are getting a good value with the Amazon Basics versus the Moleskine. In a few areas, the Amazon could be a better choice depending on what you want most. Now if you valued the touch, feel, and construction, then obviously the Moleskine does look a bit nicer (and certainly feels nicer, I can tell its a more premium journal just by picking it up). But in terms of value for price, I think the Amazon Basics journal is a great choice to consider for what you are wanting and seems to tick all the boxes.

Hope that helps, and wishing you and your girlfriend a wonderful trip to Mexico!! Jessica

Anika Post author

June 14, 2023 at 11:54 am

hello, do you know where I can buy field notes in the uk or eu or have suggestions for similar simple little notebooks like this? need some for big upcoming trip. thanks for advice!!!

June 15, 2023 at 2:02 am

Happy to try to help. So the Field Notes if you purchase directly from their website they do offer international shipping options but it can take a long time and be more expensive but that is an option. But you can find them on Amazon in some parts of Europe, so on Amazon UK, for example, they have a couple of the Field Notes notebooks available. You can see those options on Amazon UK here .

If shopping on Amazon or similar, there are a lot of copycat products so if you want something by Field Notes brand, make sure it says “Field Notes” on the cover and in the description.

But if you can’t find the Field Notes product you want and are looking for similar sorts of pocket-sized or memo notebooks, some you might consider are the Moleskine Cahiers , Silvine Originals Pocket notebooks (UK made, ones with thread better than ones with staples), and Portage pocket notebooks . VENTED also has pocket sized notebooks, but they have cotton or recycled leather covers so may not be the best fit if wanting a kraft paper sort of cover.

There are other brands as well and you’ll see more if you search Field Notes notebooks in Amazon. If shopping in person you’ll have less selection but if you drop into a Waterstones (if in the UK) or similar large bookstore or stationary store, you can usually find one or two options of that type of pocket notebook or memo pad.

Hope that helps and wishing you a wonderful trip!

June 16, 2023 at 10:22 am

much gratitude and thanks Jessica, such a detailed answer. I can’t wait to check these pocket journal options out and get travelling again!

June 16, 2023 at 10:32 am

You’re very welcome Anika, and I hope you find a travel journal that works best for you.

Wishing you many future happy travels! Jessica

Lorna Post author

June 2, 2023 at 5:16 am

I am a longtime Moleskine user here but am thinking about possibly trying another journal and found your great and thorough article. Thoughts on one to choose that is similar but maybe a bit of an upgrade? Hard cover and either ruled/lined or squared paper.

Also, I always thought that Moleskine journals were made in Italy. Is that not true??

June 2, 2023 at 9:52 am

So I would say Leuchtturm1917 (see description above in article) is probably the most similar journal brand and they have hardcover notebooks and most of the sizes are similar. They have a few more features than Moleskine, offer more colors, and I think they have slightly nicer paper and covers. And they offer journals with both the ruled/line or squared/checked paper. So you could try one of them out and compare them with the ones you already have and see which brand you prefer. Prices are similar but depends where you buy it and in what country.

The Rhodia Webnotebooks (see description above) is another one to consider. But I didn’t love the quality of the last one I ordered (they started making them in Morocco) and it arrived with a dent and wasn’t as good as past ones.

So Moleskine journals are designed by a company started in 1997 and is based in Milan, Italy. The journals are designed in Italy but they are not made in Italy. According to their website they are manufactured in the “Far East” which is oddly vague. But they tend to mainly be manufactured in China or Taiwan (same as Leuchtturm1917 and many other journal brands). Although the last Moleskine I bought (while in Italy actually) says it was designed in Italy and manufactured in Turkey. I think during COVID-19 a lot of companies moved manufacturing to countries like Turkey to keep up with demand as China basically shut down for so long. But the journals are popular in Italy as we have seen several Moleskine stores while traveling in Italy.

Ciak is an Italian brand and is made in Italy so another one you could consider if wanted one made in Italy but these are a bit different in style than a Moleskine and offer fewer options in terms of sizes, paper types, and cover types.

Anyone hope that helps!

Deb Post author

June 1, 2023 at 5:23 pm

Wooooow! I just got pumped up reading about the benefits of keeping a travel journal but wasn’t really sure which journals were worth the time and money. This post was crazy helpful, thank you!!

June 2, 2023 at 5:03 am

So yes, travel journaling can certainly be helpful. We find by far the biggest benefit is being able to look back on what we did, where we went, and our thoughts/feelings along the way from past trips. It is also a nice excuse to relax with a coffee or drink and take a break when traveling 😉

Glad that you found our travel journal reviews helpful in finding a travel journal that works best for you! If you have any questions, just ask!

Hari Sitaula Post author

May 16, 2023 at 11:12 pm

Very helpful, been looking for a good travel diary! We appreciate you sharing this.

May 18, 2023 at 9:37 am

Glad you found our travel journal reviews helpful and I hope you find a perfect travel diary for you and your travels!

Martha Wells Post author

April 16, 2023 at 5:15 am

Oh, thanks so very much for this very thoughtful and detailed reply to my very specific questions. I have ordered this kids’ travel journal for my grandson (it sounds perfect!) and will be getting a different travel related coloring book for the granddaughter as she is only 4 and prob too young to make much out of the PPP one.

Thanks again for taking the time to write such a detailed reply to my questions about this journal!!!!! Martha

April 16, 2023 at 6:10 am

You’re very welcome Martha, hope your grandkids love the travel journal and coloring book!

April 14, 2023 at 7:13 am

Hello! Do you think the Kids Journal by PPP that you list would be Ok or a 9 (almost 10) year old? Does it close? How many pages of the actual journal writing part does it have? sorry if you don’t know this, just trying to buy a gift for grandkids and having lots of questions, thanks

April 15, 2023 at 4:09 am

I think you are asking about the Kids’ Travel Journal by Peter Pauper Press, this one here ?

So if that is the correct journal, we have bought that one before (as a gift) and had the chance to review it. So I do personally think it would be a good fit for a 9 or 10 year old. I think that is probably an ideal age as they should be able to read it and do the activities on their own.

It has a printed hard cover and it does close. It has a red elastic closure to keep it closed when not in use.

The book has a total of 96 pages. It contains pre-planning pages, packing lists, contact info pages, maps, games, puzzles, post-trip thoughts, fun travel-related facts, etc. In terms of pure journaling pages for writing, there are 15 pages dedicated to a daily journal so ideal for say a 2 week trip. But it also has other pages that ask questions that you can fill in about your trip related to who you met, where you stayed, type of transport, what you ate, etc. as well as some pages for free writing, drawing or pasting things. There is also a memento pouch.

If you are thinking about buying this for more than one grandchild, given the more personal and individual nature of the book and the journal, probably best to give one per child rather than having them share unless they are the type of kids who like to write and do these types of activities together.

A couple of things to note is that it has no ribbon bookmark so including a thin bookmark with the Kids’ Travel Journal might be nice if it is a gift. It is also more geared to American travelers (uses American English and terms) and for those traveling somewhere in either North America or Europe (as many of the facts are about these places), although it could, of course, be used by anyone really.

Anyway, hope that helps answer all your questions about this travel journal and will help you decide if it is a good gift for your grandchildren or not.

ROHIT PATLE Post author

March 23, 2023 at 9:22 am

Traveling is not just about reaching a destination, it’s about the journey and the experiences along the way. It opens your eyes to new cultures, people, and ways of life.

March 24, 2023 at 11:32 am

That is definitely true, and keeping a travel journal can be a great way to remember all those experiences along your travels!

conner Post author

March 9, 2023 at 4:46 am

wow, so many of these journals sounds great. could your recommend a travel diary option made in italy available online in US – looking for a gift for the gf for a month long college trip to Italy. I think she prefers lined paper and something sort of mid-sized (so no pocket or huge ones). option to put her initials in it would be great but not absolute. thanks for any help!

March 9, 2023 at 5:46 am

Happy to try to help!

So the Italian brand that is probably best known & available in the USA is Moleskine. They are really popular as travel journals. However, Moleskine journals are designed in Italy but made elsewhere (I think mostly in China, Taiwan, & Turkey).

If you want a journal made in Italy, the most available brand in the USA would probably be Ciak. I have one of them and it has really great paper quality (most have 110 gsm paper) and they have a variety of different types and colors of covers. So you can check their website for options, not sure if they deliver to the US or not, but you can also buy many of their products online via Amazon here or online stationery shops. Hard, but not impossible, to find in person depending on where you live. They offer plenty of lined journal options in a variety of sizes. I don’t think the company offers the option to add initials or personalize individual journals but you may be able to have someone locally add personalization.

Also, a note about buying the Ciak journals via third parties, they are often listed as leather bound, but I think the company primarily uses faux leather (so expect faux leather). If looking for actual leather bound journals, I’d check out Belcraft or Epica which have a lot of leather options.

Two other Italian brands you might want to check out are Epica and Belcraft , which both produce their journals in Italy. I believe both companies offer the ability to personalize a journal, including adding initials via embossing, engraving, and/or branding.

Hope that helps. I am sure your girlfriend will enjoy whatever journal you get her!

Aimee Fionda Post author

March 8, 2023 at 4:14 am

This is such a knowledgeable, in depth article about travel journals and we thank you so much for mentioning us! We love to think of our hand bound leather travellers journals journeying with their owners across the globe! We are always happy to create a bespoke journal too, as we make everything from scratch!

Thanks again and happy travels! The Stamford Notebook Company

March 9, 2023 at 4:49 am

Thanks for taking the time to comment, and glad you liked our article on travel journals. You’re very welcome for the metnion.

For those reading this, The Stamford Notebook Company is a great place to check out for all those looking for UK made journals or notebooks!

Seana Turner Post author

February 26, 2023 at 4:33 am

In spite of everything being digitized these days, I do love all things paper! I prefer the dotted pages because they give me just enough guide to keep my journals looking orderly without having too many lines making them look like homework.

I do like the ones that have a strap to keep them closed. Not that journals falling open is really an issue, but I just like the feel of pulling that elastic over the book. It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.

On a side note, I’m just so happy that we are talking about traveling again. All of the flights I’ve been on recently have been packed, and I find this encouraging. Go travel! I imagine you will have to revisit many places now and give us updated, post COVID information!!

February 26, 2023 at 6:56 am

Yes, so good to be talking about and more importantly traveling again. We are currently in Rwanda and plan to be doing a lot of traveling in 2023! And yes, COVID has sadly changed or closed a lot of places so updates are certainly needed.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on journals – everyone has such different preferenes. I am a lined girl myself but I know a lot of people prefer dotted pages. I guess they probably do remind a lot of people of their school notebooks 😉 But without lines, I have a hard time writing in a straight line – Laurence is even worse.

For me, since I mostly use my journal while traveling, they have to be able to be shoved in and out of my day bag and backpack so being able to securely close it an important feature for me. When I’ve had notebooks without a closure, they were more likely to get bent and the pages damaged if I didn’t put them in the “right way”.

Wishing you a year full of fun travels!! Jessica

Colleen Post author

February 25, 2023 at 11:37 pm

I have been using Moleskine journals for many years now…I think the Large size ones with lines. I use black ones for travelling and then I have colored ones that I use for my everyday/work notes. This article gave me some other brands that I am definitely going to consider the next time I need a journal like the Rhodia and Dingbats. My daughter is a vegan so I think I may surprise her with a Dingbats one as that elephant is so precious!!!

February 26, 2023 at 1:16 am

Hi Colleen,

Thanks for taking the time to share the brand of travel journal you use.

Yes, Moleskine is a very popular option for a travel journal. I like that you can always seem to find them as it is easy to find them in most bookstore and stationery shops (at least in the US and UK) whereas other brands can be more difficult to buy in person. Yes, you may definitely like the Rhodia Webbies and Leuchtturm1917 Classic notebooks as they are very similar but have slightly heavier paper – you may or may not notice the difference though if you are already happy with Moleskine. I think it makes the most difference to those using fountain pens etc.

Dingbats is a great choice for anyone looking for a vegan-friendly journal and the animal designs are really cute!

ALAN JOHN COOK Post author

February 25, 2023 at 12:13 pm

This article is completely unnecessary. I’m so pleased I didn’t waste my time reading more than the first few paragraphs. As a vastly experienced traveller and professional writer you don’t need all this stuff about bindings and paper quality and decoration. All you need – if you don’t have a laptop computer or similar – is a spiral bound notebook and a few cheap pens. I say spiral bound as they lay flat and can be folded back on themselves which is handy (although not essential). You can buy them almost anywhere and they are cheap. Also easy if you need to rip out a page to use for something like a shopping list or to give someone your contact details. It’s not the look of the journal that counts for anything – it’s what you write in it that’s important.

February 26, 2023 at 1:10 am

Thanks for sharing your opinions on journals. As I noted in the article, any journal or notebook can work fine as long as it is something you can and will write on during your trip. For someone who is on a tight budget or using it as you are (tearing pages out for shopping lists etc.) then a composition book or spiral school notebook or something will work fine. I have used one before and they work, although I found it less than ideal in many ways compared to other options which are designed to be actual journals.

We’ve tested dozens of notebooks and journals and definitely think that there are much more ideal options for those looking for something nicer and better suited for travel. Most people aren’t using their journal to tear out pages but are wanting to keep it to look back at later.

Many people want a journal that is a bit more durable & lasting, and do care about the paper quality, binding, cover, having a closure, etc as they want it to last and to store it to read again later. Many do care about what their journal feels and looks like and some care about how and where it is made. Also some travlers also use them for sketching or scrapbooking in which the page type, quality, and size are more important, along with those like myself who have a fountain pen (it will bleed through the paper on most cheap notebooks).

Our guide is designed to help those who are new to journals or who want to upgrade their current travel journal to find the perfect notebook for them or to give as a gift. Whether it is an inexpensive spiral bound notebook or a fancy leather custom journal. There are lots of options out there and we are just sharing information and our thoughts about this so people can make an informed decision.

We are happy you have found the journal type that works for you!

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10 best travel laptops – ultimate buyer’s guide

Whether it’s for the daily commute, business trips, holidays or blogging, I know that having the best laptop for travelling can make so much difference. Finding the best travel laptops isn’t like choosing a laptop solely for use at home, however.

As someone who works from all over the world and is constantly on the move, I understand the importance of having a travel laptop that ticks all the boxes.

My guide will help you choose a laptop for travelling, whether for short-haul trips, use on a daily basis or heading off around the world.

For business travel and commuting to holidaymakers and digital nomads, discover 10 of the best travel laptops – based on my own personal experience, plus recommendations from fellow travellers.

In this guide, you’ll also find all the technical details you need (and none that you don’t).  The options to consider come from some serious brands.

Apple, of course, is represented twice in the following list (and is a personal favourite. Other options well worth considering include lightweight yet portable powerhouses from HP, Lenovo, Microsoft and more. 

From a small, light laptop for travelling that won’t break the budget to powerhouses capable of video editing, gaming and much more, here’s the full lowdown on buying the right one from yours truly.

But before listing 10 of the best travel laptops, let’s take a look at what I think you should consider when choosing. 

Author Bio: Jessie Moore

Jessie Moore is a luxury travel expert with years of experience travelling the world to find the best destinations, hotels and adventures.

What to look for in a travel laptop

If you want to find the best lightweight laptop for travel, then this has to be number one.

A travel laptop is by definition something you’re going to carry around. So you need to find one that’s as portable as possible. 

The lightest laptop listed in my guide is a little over 500 grams, while the heaviest is around three times that. So it’s something to look at closely when choosing the best laptop for travelling. 

Screen size

There’s little point in buying the best budget laptop for travel if you cannot see the screen properly when working or playing.

So do bear in mind that the best cheap travel laptop, for example, is more likely to have a smaller screen. 

A hack I’d recommend to get around this – when working at home or in the office – is plugging a compatible laptop into a larger monitor. This is what I do when I’m at home.

Battery life

How you travel may affect the relationship between the best laptop for travel and business and its battery life.

If you always have access to a power socket on the train, for example, then it may not matter so much. But what if you have an aisle seat without this connection? 

The best laptop for travel and work is therefore always going to be one with a good battery life. In fact, this is one of the key reasons why I’m recommending the laptops on this list. 

When choosing the best laptop to take travelling, it’s worth asking yourself this question.

What do I want to use the laptop for? Is it for work or leisure, for starters? But beyond that, what do you do most when sitting in front of your computer? 

The best gaming laptop for travel, for instance, may be completely different to the best laptop for travel vlogging. Or the best lightweight laptop for business travel.

Try to choose a computer with the technical features to fit your intended purpose(s) – that may be watching the latest box set or making your latest YouTube video.  

Whether you want the best laptop for travel blogging, your corporate role or a trip around the world, I’d recommend thinking long term.

Buying a cheap laptop can be a false economy, as it may not last for as long as a more expensive product.

A really good laptop may last you for many years, meaning it actually pays in the long run. 

If you want the best Windows laptop for travel, then good brands include Lenovo, Asus, Microsoft, Acer, Zenbook and HP.

Otherwise, Apple Macbooks come highly recommended. The Pro in particular, if your budget can stretch to it. 

Best travel laptops – quick comparison

Note that prices are based on the best price available at the time of writing. These may fluctuate depending on special offers.

10 best laptops for travellers

1. macbook pro 13 inch.

Best video editing laptop

• Price: £1,349.00
• Battery life: Up to 20 hours
• Weight: 1.4kg
• Screen size: 13-inch
• Features: Up to 24GB memory, play and edit up to 11 streams of 4K and up to 2 streams of 8K ProRes video, touch ID and touch bar
• Good for: Video editing, battery

If you’ve got a bigger budget, then I really think that the 13 inch MacBook Pro is worth splashing out on – this is the laptop that I am currently using.

It’s arguably the best travel laptop for photographers, writers, viewers and workers alike. And it truly leads the field when it comes to making videos.

If you have a YouTube channel or are planning to give it a go, I’d really recommend picking this one. It’s also the leader in terms of battery life, as it can last for up to 20 hours on a single charge.

All without heating up, thanks to the effective cooling system that’s built in. 

This is the most portable model of the Apple Pro range, weighing in at 1.4 kilos. It also has a FaceTime HD camera – ideal for making you feel connected to the loved ones you may have left at home.

M2 chip technology makes it super fast, and you can also stream 4K and 8K ProRes video with ease. 

In fact this laptop is up to six times faster than an Intel laptop, and up to 1.4 times faster than the previous M1 models.

The display is incredibly clear, with realistic colours and crisp images. Plus there are studio-quality microphones perfect for video and podcast producers. 

If you want to find the best laptop of the bunch, this is my favourite and the one I use personally. 

2. Zenbook S UX393

Best touchscreen travel laptop

• Price: From £1,099.00
• Battery life: Up to 14 hours
• Weight: 1.35kg
• Screen size: 13.9-inch
• Features: NanoEdge touchscreen, facial recognition, 10th Generation Intel® Core™ processor
• Good for: Lightweight, battery life, touchscreen

The Zenbook S UX393 can go for up to 14 hours on a single charge, and is an ultra lightweight choice too.

For portability, I think this one scores serious points as it’s super thin. It also weighs in at a little over a kilo, yet is packed with power and useful features.

These include facial recognition protection and an intuitive NanoEdge touchscreen. The Generation Intel® Core™ processor makes this Zenbook a great all-rounder, perfect for multitasking.

For an even longer battery life from the same brand, check out the Zenbook S 13 OLED.

3. Microsoft Surface Pro 9

Best travel tablet hybrid

• Price: From £1,075.00
• Battery life: Up to 15.5 hours or 19 hours with 5G
• Weight: 879g
• Features: Front and rear 1080p camera, rear 4k video, 2 in 1 can add keyboard
• Good for: Lightweight, 2 in 1 

If you want to find the best small laptop for travel that involves business trips, I’d recommend considering the Surface Pro 9 from Microsoft.

At under 880 grams, it’s also one of the lightest models on the market. I love that it can also be used as a tablet, so may save you from carrying two devices around.

High-speed 5G connectivity is an optional extra here too, which is ideal if you want to work without delay while on the go. Do check regarding 5G availability in the area, though, if you’re relying on this.

Unlike laptops from other makes, this Microsoft one comes preloaded with Windows 11. So you can set to work – or play – straight away.  

4. ROG Zephyrus G14 Gaming Laptop

Best gaming travel laptop

• Price: £1,799.00
• Battery life: Up to 8 hours
• Weight: 1.65kg
• Screen size: 14-inch
• Features: AMD Ryzen™ 9 processors, Nebula Display, fast charging, intelligent cooling, Dolby Atmos® audio
• Good for: Gaming

In my opinion, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is the best on-the-go laptop for any keen gamer. Its powerful AMD Ryzen™ 9 processor ensures reliable speed and a true powerhouse laptop. 

This ROG gaming laptop also features intelligent cooling to avoid overheating, as well as the ROG Nebula Display for excellent graphics.

Care has also been taken when it comes to sound, as this laptop has Dolby Atmos® for crystal clear audio. 

At a weight of 1.65 kilos, it’s not the lightest in this list – but it’s surprisingly compact considering its powerful function. The battery life is up to 8 hours.

Finally, I think it’s wonderfully sleek for a gaming laptop so it hits the aesthetics points too.

5. Microsoft Surface Go 3 

Best lightweight travel laptop

• Price: £369.00
• Battery life: Up to 12 hours
• Weight: 544g
• Screen size: 10.5-inch
• Features: Touchscreen, pen compatibility, lightweight, 1080p HD cameras
• Good for: Ultra-lightweight, on the go, budget

I’d recommend the Microsoft Surface Go3 as an ideal option for those seeking a lightweight laptop for travel. It’s also a very pocket-friendly pick. 

A 10.5 inch touchscreen and a kickstand combine to give you great flexibility here.

Whether you want to watch a film, study, work, play or surf the internet, this incredibly lightweight little machine can help you out. At 544 grams, it’s the lightest one featured in this article. 

Despite the modest weight and price tag, this Microsoft Surface device offers a battery life of up to 12 hours, plus 1080P HD cameras and a high resolution touchscreen.

I love that it’s also pen compatible for those who like to take notes or get creative. 

6. MacBook Air M2 

Best for portability and video quality

• Price: From £1,249
• Battery life: Up to 18 hours
• Weight: 1.24kg
• Screen size: 13.6-inch
• Features: Ultra-thin (1.13cm), play and edit 4K and 8K ProRes videos, made with recycled materials, touch ID, 1080p camera and three-mic array
• Good for: Video-editing, lightweight, video calls

In my opinion, the best travel laptop for video editing is the MacBook Air M2 . For many people (myself included), there’s no going back to other operating systems once they’ve tried a Mac.

Apple products work a little differently to the likes of Windows laptops, yet are very easy to get used to. 

The benefits of the MacBook Air M2 include a battery life of up to 18 hours, advanced audio and visual tech and an ultra-thin build.

This latter feature places this among the most portable laptops on the market. Being made from recycled materials, this is also an eco-conscious choice. 

Video-friendly features of the MacBook Air M2 include a 1080p camera and the ability to edit and play 4K and 8K ProRes videos.

There’s also three microphones for sound recording plus a touch ID for security purposes. 

7. Acer Aspire 5 A515-57 15.6 inch Laptop

Best travel laptop for work

• Price: £699.99
• Battery life: 11 hours
• Weight: 1.8kg
• Screen size: 15.6 inch
• Features: HD camera with dual microphones and AI noise reduction, 4k streaming
• Good for: Working remotely

It’s not always about the best laptop screen size for travel. Sometimes it’s even more important to choose a laptop with a screen of a decent size, so you can see what you’re doing very clearly at all times.

Especially when your eyes are tired at the end of a long day!

The Acer Aspire 5 A515-57 15.6 inch laptop scores highly on visuals, with wide viewing angles, Quad HD resolution and true-to-life colours. It also has a backlit keyboard so you can see better, even in dim lighting. 

A 12th Gen Intel core, 16GB of RAM and pre-installed Windows 11 means you have power at your fingertips when using this laptop.

Features making it particularly work-friendly include the HD webcam and AI noise reduction for those online meetings, plus a raised hinge for more ergonomic posture.

I don’t know about you, but I could definitely do with a better posture when hunched over my laptop!

8. ASUS Chromebook Flip CM3 (CM3200) 

Best for work, rest and play  

• Price: From £219.99
• Battery life: Up to 16 hours
• Weight: 1.1kg
• Screen size: 12-inch
• Features: 360° hinge to turn into a tablet
• Good for: Budget, lightweight, 2 in 1

I love that the ASUS Chromebook Flip CM3 stands out from the crowd because of its innovative design.

It’s called the Flip because you can turn it up the other way, which means that the keyboard is no longer in your way. This is known in the trade as “tent mode”.

If you can’t decide between a laptop and a tablet, this device offers you the best of both. All you need to do is fold back the screen however you like. A 360 degree hinge gives you full flexibility here.

The ASUS Chromebook Flip CM3 is a great all-rounder. You can use it to watch TV or a movie in bed or take it to the boardroom fully powered up, ready to go for up to 16 hours.

It’s fast, lightweight and versatile, and you can also connect it to a monitor if you like using a large screen. 

9. LENOVO IdeaPad Duet 10.1″ 2 in 1 Chromebook

Best budget travel laptop

• Price: From £260.00
• Battery life: Up to 10 hours
• Weight: 920g
• Screen size: 10.1-inch
• Features: 2 in 1 keyboard included, HD touchscreen, 1 year guarantee
• Good for: Lightweight, budget, 2 in 1 

I’d recommend this IdeaPad Duet 10.1 inch 2 in 1 Chromebook as a great bet if you’re on a budget. Because of the modest price tag, I think it also makes the perfect starter laptop for teens.

The battery life on this one is limited to 10 hours, however. Weighing only 920 grams, it’s not asking too much even if you want to carry this one around all day long.

A one year guarantee is provided for peace of mind, and a clever detachable keyboard means you can use it as a tablet. 

As well as being the best laptop size for travel, this IdeaPad Duet 2 in 1 Chromebook weighs just 450 grams when used solely as a tablet. You can also use it for watching full HD videos. 

10. HP ENVY x360 13.3″ 2 in 1 Laptop – Intel® Core™ i5

Best for blogging

• Price: £999.00
• Battery life: Up to 17.5 hours
• Weight: 1.3kg
• Screen size: 13.3-inch
• Features: Full HD touchscreen, includes stylus for note taking
• Good for: Blogging, battery life

If you want to source the best laptop for travel photography, writing and taking notes, the HP ENVY x360 1.3 inch 2 in 1 laptop is a very good bet indeed.

Like the ASUS Chromebook Flip CM3, you can flip this one up the other way for viewing the screen via the 360 degree hinge.

This is ideal for online meetings – or winding down with a film at the end of a long, demanding day. 

This laptop comes with a full HD touchscreen. Unlike others, I love that a stylus is also part of the package, so you won’t need to buy one of these separately.

If you appreciate good sound, you’ll also love the fact that this laptop comes with Bang & Olufsen speakers, no less. 

A powerful 12th gen Intel® Core™ i5 processor, an edge-to-edge HD touchscreen and Intel® Iris® Xe integrated graphics are all features to wrte home about.

You can also transfer files without wires via HP QuickDrop, or load up a video by using Intel® WiFi 6E.

There’s even a webcam privacy shutter for when you’d rather not be seen on screen.

Of course this isn’t a comprehensive list of the best travel laptops, but these are my personal pick of the best. To keep your laptop safe while on the move, discover my guide to the best travel laptop bags .

Plus, read my tips on how to become a digital nomad or how to protect yourself online when travelling .

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Home » Gear » best travel laptop

10 BEST Travel Laptops (MUST READ! • 2024)

From the sleek and mighty powerhouses to the budget-friendly gems, our list is tailored for diverse itineraries and preferences. Imagine unwinding in a quaint café with a laptop that boasts a battery life longer than your layover, or editing your travel vlog on a device that handles heavy graphics like a breeze.

I put this guide together with one goal in mind – to help you find the best travel laptop for YOUR travel style. With the help of this epic guide, you’ll easily to be able to know which laptop is best for your needs, style, and budget.

Alllrighty then, do you wanna find out what the best computer for travel is? Well, let’s get to it!

The Broke Backpacker is supported by you . Clicking through our links may earn us a small affiliate commission, and that's what allows us to keep producing free content 🙂 Learn more .

Quick answer: The Best Portable Travel Laptops

What type of traveller are you, best overall laptop for travel – macbook air, best laptop for professionals – macbook pro, best midrange travel laptop – dell xps 13″, best value for money laptop – samsung galaxy book4 pro, best budget travel laptop – lenovo ideapad, other great budget laptops for travel, the best overall travel laptop, what specs to consider before buying the best travel laptop, choosing the best travel laptop faqs, how we tested the best travel laptop, faq about the best travel laptop, final thoughts on the best laptops for travel.

• Buy Us a Coffee!
• Macbook Air – Best Lightweight Laptop
• 16.2 Inch MacBook Pro – Best Laptop for Professionals
• Dell XPS 13″ – Best Midrange Laptop
• SAMSUNG Galaxy Book4 Pro – Best Value Laptop
• Lenovo Idea Pad – Best Budget Laptop
• Jump to –> Travel Laptop Reviews

Macbook Air

• Price > $1,444.99
• Portability > 6.3 lbs
• Battery Life > 18 hour battery
• Storage Space > 256 – 512GB SSD
• Processing Power > M3 chip
• Operating System > Mac OS Ventura

16.2 Inch Macbook Pro

• Price > $2,549
• Portability > 8.3 lbs
• Battery Life > 22 hour battery
• Storage Space > 512 GB – 1 TB SSD

Dell XPS 13

• Price > $599
• Portability > 2.7 lbs
• Battery Life > 7 hour battery
• Storage Space > 128 GB SSD
• Processing Power > Intel Core i5-7200U 3MB cache, up to 3.10 GHz 8G memory 128G SSD
• Operating System > Windows 10

Samsumg Galaxy Book4 Pro

• Price > $1,149.99
• Battery Life > 15.5 hour battery
• Storage Space > ?512 GB
• Processing Power > Intel Core 7 Ultra Processor
• Operating System > ?Windows 11 Home

Lenovo Ideapad

• Price > $569
• Portability > 5 lbs
• Storage Space > 500 GB Hard Drive
• Processing Power > Intel Pentium 4405U (2M Cache, 2.10 GHz), 2 cores, 4 threads
• Operating System > Windows 10 Pro

My laptop has literally changed my life – not only can I earn money online but I can also stream Game of Thrones wherever I go… and I think we can all agree that that’s pretty damn important.

But what about your needs?

You see, “the best travel laptop” is a pretty broad statement since there are many different types of travelers. The question is – which kind of traveler are YOU?

Here are some extremely important things to consider…

1. Do you need to get work done on your laptop?

If you aren’t planning on using your travel laptop for online work, you don’t necessarily need to splash out on a top of the range laptop.

While it might be tempting to spend $2,000 on the new best laptop, the truth is that only digital nomads and other professionals really need that sort of tech. If you don’t have any work deadlines to meet, it might be better to keep it simple.

2. What will you use your laptop for?

Will you be working on the road (writing, editing, etc.), or mainly surfing the web? Do you need the processing power to run multiple editing programs, or is your prime concern staying connected to social media?

Identifying exactly what you need a laptop for will help you decide on which one is best for your travels.

3. Do you have any size requirements?

Are you traveling with minimal room in your backpack? Are you bringing a bag with certain size requirements?

For instance, some expensive daypacks can’t fit 15-inch laptops, or some laptop sleeves can’t fit larger than a 13 inch. If you buy a special backpack for your laptop , then most of your needs should be met. Either way, make sure to keep these in mind.

4. Are you traveling heavy or light?

The more powerful the laptop, the more it weighs. The difference between a 1.5 lb tablet and a 7 lb professional laptop is HUGE.

Remember that a light traveler is a happy traveler, so if you don’t need a heavier laptop, there’s no reason to cause extra strain on your body.

There are different specs you need to considers when choosing the best laptop for you…

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Two quick things….

• If you are a digital nomad, working professional, or aspiring to work online. Do not pick this travel laptop.
• If you hate Macs or iOS. Do not pick this computer.

Everyone else. This is the best travel laptop. 

If you’re an Apple user, this is Apple’s best Mac laptop for the money and this was the first laptop I took traveling which was adequate for working online. The pros (as with any MacBook) are its integration with apple products, ease-of-use, trackpad and keyboard, design, and reliable performance. It’s also the lightest laptop for travel, so that’s a major win.

I’ve used MacBooks for 7 years now (my first one from 2010 is still alive and kicking!), and I’ve never needed repairs (except to replace an old battery). I can’t say the same for any of the PCs I’ve owned, which is why I think Macs are the best user-friendly laptops if you don’t have a computer background.

If you want a MacBook for browsing, streaming, social, and office, the MacBook Air is fast enough, especially with 2024’s updated processor speed and default memory. But if you want a Retina resolution screen, “Kaby Lake” processors, and more power for editing programs, you’ll have to fork out the money for a MacBook Pro instead.

I recommend you go for as much storage as you can afford if you plan on storing music, images or video because you can’t add storage to Apple computers after purchase. If your laptop is used for browsing and light document work (Excel, Word, etc.) the 256GB SSD should be fine.

• Fast and durable!
• Lightweight (super important)
• Can handle your internet needs and then some
• Not as powerful as other options
• Not good for working professionals

Is the MacBook Air for you?

If you are looking for a light laptop that can handle all of your basic internet needs and then a little bit more – the MacBook Air is my highest recommendation. It’s light and sleek design makes it ideal for travelers, and it comes at a reasonable price.

If you are interested in making money online, you need to invest in a great laptop. The MacBook Pro is my highest recommendation. Its starting price plus lack of ports can be a deal breaker for many, but I still think it is the most versatile, user-friendly laptop out there and mine has allowed me to start and run several businesses from all over the world. I love my MacBook Pro and investing in it was the smartest move I made.

Whether you are freelancing, doing graphic design, blogging or editing photo or video – if you are a traveling professional, it’s hard to beat the MacBook Pro. If you’re in the market for the best lightweight laptop that still has a ton of storage space, the 16.2-inch MacBook is the best choice for you. Weighing less than a 2 kg, this is the best lightweight laptop for travel. Overall, the MacBook Pro is one of the fastest computers on the market. It’s the best traveling laptop for digital nomads, but you have to pay for it.

This is a great choice for bloggers, freelance photographers , etc too. It outperforms the other laptops on this list, but if you’re not set on the Mac OS system, the Dell XPS and Microsoft Surface Book have competing specs for a much more affordable cost.

• Powerful – can handle anything
• Great battery life
• Great for Digital Nomads or professionals
• Unnecessary for normal web users

Is the MacBook Pro for you?

If you can afford a notebook above $1800, or have to bite the bullet because of work, these laptops are going to be fantastic options because they have powerful processors, larger storage space, and better quality build.

High-end laptops are the best laptops for travelling photographers, videographers, laptop bloggers, etc., but not necessary for the average traveller.

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The Dell XPS is best mid-range laptop for travel because of its superb battery life, 7th-generation Core performance and excellent Wi-Fi range. I love that it has more ports than on competing laptops, as well as an SD port. It also has a touch-screen higher-resolution option (for a bit more weight and quite a bit more money).

As for its design, the Dell XPS has a comfortable soft-touch, carbon-fibre deck, infinity display, and rose-colour option. Often the trade off for a thin, best ultralight laptop is shorter battery life and too few ports. The XPS 13, however, gives you nearly 14 hours of battery power, and all the connection options you need while also remaining pretty light and compact for travel.

If you are a PC user, the Dell XPS 13″ is the best travel computer within the $1000 range. Though if you want more memory than 256MB, or an i7 processor, you will have to pay more money. This is a high quality laptop at a great price…

• Incredible value
• Powerful – good for those who  work and travel
• Great alternative if you don’t like Apple products
• Pricey for a PC
• Touch screen option is very expensive

Is the Dell XPS right for you?

For under $1000, you should be able to find a high quality travel laptop for many of the specs that matter most to the average traveler: weight, portability, and reliability. If you are willing to spend a couple hundred more, I would recommend picking up the Dell…

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When it comes to weight, size, features, and battery, the Galaxy Book4 Pro is the best travel laptop for your money. It’s compact size and lightweight design make it highly portable, perfect for on-the-go use. The vibrant display offers crisp and clear visuals, ideal for multimedia consumption and productivity tasks. If you are going pro and embracing the digital nomad lifestyle, I would recommend getting a Macbook instead.

It’s got a powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor, ideal for keeping you productive without the frustration of slow-loading apps. I had used a touchscreen laptop before but I was very impressed with the responsiveness and how much I used it. One downside is it doesn’t come with a stylus you will have to purchase one of these separately.

• Great value
• Laptop AND a tablet
• Overall pick for best value
• Not powerful enough for professionals/Digital Nomads
• Not as durable

Is the Galaxy Book4 Pro right for you?

If you’re travelling and looking for a lightweight, portable laptop that can get the job done this one is for you. If you need something with a bit more processing power then I’d recommend looking into the Macbook Pro.

The Lenovo is one of the best ultra-lightweight laptops in the budget price range. This Windows OS laptop has 9 hours of battery life, a nice design, and is one of the cheapest light laptops for travel. The performance is good enough for web surfing, editing documents, and viewing movies. The keyboard and touchpad’s quality, however, is less than subpar.

Overall, this is a cheap laptop and a solid choice for the minimal traveller, who wants to stream online and run basic programs. This is definitely not adequate for anybody who needs to work online and certainly the Lenovo cannot handle Lightroom or other photo editing programs.

The team felt this was a great option for those with pretty basic needs looking for something lightweight, affordable and that performs well enough given the tasks expected of it. For those working mostly on word processors and looking to store their travel photos, this is a great option. The standard edition comes with a massive hard drive too making it great for storing and doing some basic processing to travel photos on the road.

• Good for basic surfing and Netflix-ing
• Not durable

Is the Lenovo right for you?

If you are trying to get any work done or be productive, the Lenovo is NOT for you. This is a budget computer that can handle some basic browsing and streaming for the few years it lasts. If that is what you need it for, then this is one of the best budget options!

What are 2-1 Laptops?  They are travel tablets that can be converted into full laptops. Unlike conventional tablets, they’re made to be used offline and can run computer programs. Moreover, unlike with normal tablets, 2-1 laptops allow you to upload data (music, videos, photos, documents).

Just keep in mind, 2-1 laptops rarely have enough storage space for a lot of videos and photos. A 2-1 tablet/laptop isn’t the best laptop for GoPro users or videographers either since they cannot run intensive video editing programs without sacrificing performance and speed.

1. Samsung Chromebook

The Samsung Chromebook Plus offers a decent design, long battery life, touchscreen, and a hybrid hinge that turns it into a tablet, and is the lightest Chromebook on this list.

Unlike other ChromeBooks, this one is using the sister system, that allows you to download Android apps and use them offline, making it a great Chromebook for travel.

As an alternative to expensive and heavy Macbooks, the team felt the Samsung Chromebook Plus was a really viable option for those not wanting to travel with that kind of laptop but wanting similar performance levels.

2. Acer Chromebook

The Acer Chromebook is one of the better budget lightweight laptops on the market. The laptop has ultra portability, a comfortably sized keyboard, and a touchscreen. The downside is it does feel very “cheap” with a plastic like frame. At 1.1 Kg and 11.6 inches, this is one of the best budget laptops for surfing the internet, and a great option if you’re looking for a small, portable laptop to stream movies on or run other basic tasks with.

Note:  I have listed the starting price for the storage space available. Often you can add more storage space for a higher price.

3. Lenovo Yoga 910

An alternative to the Surface Pro and another one of the best tablets for traveling is another hybrid with cool features like a fingerprint sensor. At 1.4kg (3.09lbs), the Yoga 910 is a heavier than most 2-1s, but also has more storage space to start, an all-metal finish, the latest Kaby Lake processors (i7), and 14in HD display.

It’s reasonably well-priced for a hybrid of this quality, but there is a cheaper, more basic version called the Lenovo Yoga 710 if you’re trying to save some cash. The 910, however, is the best no-compromise option for work and pleasure making it one of the best laptops for travel and digital nomad life.

Tie Between MacBook Pro and Dell XPS 13 for the best travel laptop

MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro is the best laptop for travel for Mac users, who want the fastest, most reliable computer on the market. The MacBook Pro uses Kaby Lake processors (Intel’s seventh generation chips), has a sleek design, retina (2560 x 1600-pixel) display, touch ID, and the best rated audio sound.

The Dell XPS is the best Windows 10-based laptop. It comes with 13.3 HD display, nearly 14 hours of battery power, and all the connection options you while remaining plenty light and compact for travel. This is a great choice if you want to save a bit of cash and avoid Macs…

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Price is probably the most important factor when choosing the best laptop for traveling.

Unless you are working online, you really don’t need to spend $1000+ to get the best travel laptop. There are several cheap travel laptops and mid-range options that make great laptops for travel.

Remember that high-value items, such as a top of the range laptop, are often harder to claim for on insurance. There are some cheap lightweight laptop options on the market too and overall the price of laptops continues to come down… You get what you pay for though so if you need a laptop for work, I recommend not going for the cheapest laptop option.

2. Portability

Portability is especially essential for the on-the-go, minimal traveler, and an important factor to consider when choosing the best laptop for travel.

You want something lightweight so that your backpack doesn’t end up weighing too much (As we say in the hiking world, ounces add pounds and pounds add pain!). If you haven’t yet picked up a backpack for your trip, check out this post for plenty of backpack inspiration. 

Your laptop’s size is also important (usually correlating with weight) to easily pull your computer in/out of your bag at the TSA security line, etc. The smallest travel laptops and tablets have less storage space and processing power, but they are also cheap and highly portable. If you are going to be on the road a lot, I recommend trying to find a lightweight laptop.

If you have a smaller unit, you can also invest in a smaller laptop bag . So portability not only applies to the laptop itself, but what you’re going to use to carry it.

3. Battery Life

It’s always nice to have a reliable battery life, especially if you are taking your laptop up into the mountains. The best laptops on the market have at least 8 hours of battery life, and some can last for an entire day. If you are spending a lot of time off the grid and still need access to your laptop then consider picking up a portable battery capable of charging a laptop.

Quick travel tip: make sure your wi-fi and blue tooth are turned off (when you’re not using them) to save battery!

4. Storage Space

Most of the top travel laptops (with ample battery life and affordability) lack a large amount of storage space, and if you’re going to store a lot of photos and videos from your travels, it’s important to have ample hard drive space!

I’ve found it’s well worth investing in a cloud drive and/or an external hard drive, especially since photos and videos take up a lot of room. This way you don’t have to sacrifice laptop portability for storage space on the actual laptop.

My first backpacking laptop, a MacBook Air, didn’t have too much storage space so I kept a lot of my photos and videos on Dropbox and stored my movies on a nearly bulletproof portable hard drive .

Typical external drives with 1 terabyte cost around $80 USD, and cloud storage (through Google, Dropbox Microsoft, etc.) average around $10 a month. It’s also important to back up your files in case your travel laptop gets stolen (like my friend Ana’s did in Costa Rica)!

5. Processing Power

If you are running editing programs and high-resolution videos, you should also prioritize the processing power.

The CPU is like the “brain” of your computer. At the moment, Intel Core i7 is the highest performer, but also the most expensive. Intel Core i5 should work for most of the best travel computers, and anything older is fine if you’re just surfing the web.

A separate graphics chip allows gamers, 3D designers, and high-res video editors to run their programs without taking up a ton of RAM and slowing the overall performance of the computer.

An integrated graphics chips (one that shares system memory) is just fine if you don’t have these needs.

If you want a separate graphics chip, keep in mind Apple only puts separate graphics chips in their MacBook Pro 15in computers. The 15 inch MacBooks are more expensive, and in my opinion, anything over 13 inches is too large to be considered one of the best laptops to travel with.

6. Do you prefer Mac, Windows, or Chrome OS?

Most laptops run one of these three operating systems: Windows, Chrome OS, or Mac OS X (for MacBooks only).

Windows notebooks offer the largest range of options for the best travel laptop. The newest window computers offer cool features like touch screens, 2-1 convertible tablets, fingerprint readers, and dual graphics chips.

Mac’s newest operating system, MacOS Sierra, comes with all Apple computers. Once you get the hang of Apple’s programs and trackpad/keyboard short cuts, Mac is the best user-friendly laptop (in my opinion) for the average person who knows nothing about computer engineering or coding.

Macs are expensive, but also reliable, which is important when you are travelling around the world and don’t have time/money to take a computer in for repairs.

Chrome-OS is Google OS’ – simple and secure operating system, usually available on small portable laptops. The drawback? It’s mainly limited to surfing the web, checking email, and navigating social networks, not doing stuff offline. Still, ChromeBooks are the best cheap and light laptops for the minimal traveller.

Conclusion? Most travellers are going to need to prioritise versatility , weight , battery life , and price when picking the best travel laptop. Digital nomads and travellers working remotely are going to need powerful laptops for travel to handle multi-tasking and intensive programs.

Q. What is the best laptop for the money?

In my humble opinion, the best value laptop is definitely the Microsoft Surface Book  – from a specs / weight / price ratio, this laptop outperforms all the others.

Q. What is the best cheap laptop?

The Lenovo Idea Pad  is the best cheap laptop on the market at the moment. It is adequate for streaming movies and casual web browsing but that’s about it… Still, for less than $300, it’s a steal.

Q. What is the lightest travel laptop?

The MacBook Ai r is the most compact, thinnest and lightest laptop for traveling on the market… If space and weight is your primary concern, this is the laptop to choose.

Q. What is the best laptop for blogging?

The Macbook Pro  is the best laptop for bloggers and photographers – it can handle whatever you throw at it and edit photos without any problems, even on very advanced, space hungry, software.

Q. What is the smallest travel laptop?

The Macbook Air  takes the gold again for the smallest laptop for traveling…

Q. What is the most durable laptop?

The Macbook Pro  is the toughest laptop in this list and if you put it in a case it can take some knocks… Still, be careful with it.

Q. Should I travel with a laptop or a tablet?

A 2-1 will give you a lot more versatility than just traveling with a laptop or a tablet. If you ARE a fan of tablets, I recommend that you consider getting a 2-1 laptop / tablet combo rather than just a tablet. The Microsoft Surface 7 Pro  is definitely the best 2-1 laptop / tablet on the market.

There is no perfect or exact science when it comes to testing out what the best work travel laptop is. Having been digital nomads for a number of years, we think we’re in a decent position to give our 2 cents on the matter!

So when it came to assessing the best travel computers, we looked at a few different factors like specific performance for certain jobs and tasks, memory, storage, speed, weight and durability too. Of course, when it comes to the best laptop for travel and work, much of what is needed is individual depending on your needs. But we tried to cover most of the common uses as well as generalised purposes for travelling with a laptop.

Finally, we also take into account how an item is priced. Travel computers vary wildly in price and the most expensive isn’t always the best for your needs and your trip. However, we did scrutinise the more expensive laptops and gave the cheaper ones a bit more leeway.

Still have some questions about the best laptops for travel? No problem! We’ve listed and answered the most commonly asked questions below. Here’s what people usually want to know:

What is the overall best travel laptop?

The perfect all-rounder for digital nomads is the Macbook Air . It packs style, efficiency, plenty of battery life and storage space and a solid operating systen in one little rectangle. For even more storage space, we’d suggest upgrading to a Macbook Pro .

What is the most affordable travel laptop?

The Lenovo Ideapad is one of the best budget options for digital nomads. While the value might not be as high as a Macbook, you’ll definitely get some real bang for your buck.

Which is the lightest travel laptop?

The Macbook Air is one of the best lightweight travel laptops on the market, with only 2.5lbs!

Should I get an insurance for my laptop during my travels?

Hell yes! If you’re relying on your laptop, having your electronics insured is one of first steps to travelling without any worries.

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There you have it!

Our epic reviews of the most versatile laptops, the most cost-efficient laptops, the best laptop for blogging and digital nomads and, of course, the best budget laptop on the market.

Overall, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the listed choices. I personally tend to lean towards MacBooks because of their reliability and my own personal experiences.

However, some of the newest Microsoft, Lenovo, and Dell laptops have unique, useful features like touch screen, and 2-1 convertibility that give them a leg up as the best traveling laptops.

If you just want the best cheap travel laptop to surf the web and stream online, one of the budget laptops or Chromebooks would be perfect for you.

You will need to upgrade from the ChromeBooks and budget options to one of the travelling tablet 2-1’s or more expensive laptop options if you want to store data but you can get around this by buying a portable hard drive. Personally, I’m a big fan of Macbook Pros but what does the data say? When we compare all the factors, what is the best laptop for traveling?

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31 Comments

Your writing is so relatable and down-to-earth It’s like chatting with a good friend over a cup of coffee Keep sharing your wisdom with us

Great article and certainly needed. However, I wouldn’t use a Lenovo product, even if you gave it to me for free. They have lots of problems!

Nicely comprised info for travelers. Like you, I once brought a laptop while traveling, only for it to not turn on due to the none air conditioned climate. It worked fine once I got back to the air conditioned USA. Do you have a laptop suggestion for those traveling to poor areas where cool flowing air is not an option? I’ve heard someone say there are ASUS laptops that can take the heat, but I have yet to find an article that states this.

This is a tough question because I feel like most laptops would be susceptible to this problem. You should buy a laptop with a high-quality frame or invest in an industrial-grade laptop.

Hey, thanks for your effort. I love working outside and i am trying to become more independent. After going through your choices real quick, the microsoft surface pro seems to be the most fit for me. Although i would love to be able to use a powerbank or something to charge it. Any suggestions in that regard?

The most important information thats missing for me is, the ability to work outside. Are all of them equal in that regard? Will i be able to work in the sun? Because my current notebook will not let me do that.

Hey Flo! I’m working off a Surface Pro 4 and I love mostly love it…. Mine has a factory error that dates back to 2016, but new ones should be fine. I’m able to work in the sun… if I need to. But working in the sun is both miserable and can cause eye damage. You’re not meant to be focusing on tiny text on a screen while inundated with blazing sunlight!

The best Windows 10 option for creatives and travelers needing versatility, speed, and power. While technically a powerful laptop, this is also one of the best tablets for travel. I will go for it.

I think this is great and you have totally nailed it by making that statement. Right on.

Thanks for the review. I am going to making some tour videos and for that, I will buy a laptop for video editing. I hope MacBook Pro will do that job greatly.

very informative blog, to bring a laptop while traveling actually I am making a plan to go an India for some time before that I definitely will check your mention points like battery life, processing power etc.

I’ve had my MacBook Air for a couple years now and it’s starting to show signs of needing replacement. Kinda nervous about this and what Apple is currently offering. Hopefully, it will hold out for a bit longer to see what else Apple might have in store.

You should really add the “Surface Laptop” to the list, it’s a great little laptop that allows you to choose how much storage you want along with three different processor options

I am looking for a new laptop and your list is helpful. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing this. A lot of people recommended me to buy the MacBook pro definitely expensive but worth every penny especially for us freelancer who like to travel and do work not just outside our home. Anyways, thank you for sharing this list. I love that you also share how informative and being detailed about the pros and cons.

Glad you found our laptop reviews helpful Esther! I’m a Macbook Pro man myself! 🙂

Please stop using the term “Digital Nomad.” It’s cringeworthy… Also, being a “DM” isn’t the only reason to have a high-powered laptop.

If you have heaps of money to spend on a high end laptop purely for leisure then good for you dude but for most people that kind of investment is only worth making if you’re going to be working online, with your laptop, as you travel.

that was wonderful details on the travel laptpops for all the techno freaks. Good post with all the essential details.

The performance of the SurfaceBook 2 is everything you could want form a laptop and thanks to the dual battery the battery life on offer here is impressive from a performance-focused device.

While choosing the laptop for traveling it is most important to consider which specs will optimize the digital experience. Which type of laptop is best for traveling and also how you plan to use your laptop while traveling

I’m definitely a windows user! The surface book 2 is just awesome, I’m gonna buy it soon.

Chromebooks are pretty much the perfect laptop for travelling. I mean not only are they cheap and super light and portable, but you can’t do much on them – which hopefully means you’ll STAY THE HECK OFF OF THEM and actually enjoy your vacation 😉

Comprehensive and detailed. I love that you have included comparison and required specs of the different travel laptops. I’d go for portability, memory, and battery life. Thanks for providing the best choices!

Hii Will Hatton,

I would like to say big thank you for your post. I really love to read it , this is such a very appreciable & informative post for each travelers. Keep posting

Yeah portability is what makes laptops great 🙂

I’ve been looking for a laptop to use for my business when I am away from home. So glad I found your blog. It has great info and I think I’ve narrowed it down to 2 different ones. Price is going to effect my choice, but that’s how it goes.

Hi, I’m going to India this winter but I’m also a student so I do have to be checking my laptop to see if my assignments and homework. I’m a little worried about wifi coverage. When you go to 3rd world countries how do you get reliable wifi? What provider/coverage plan do you use?

You’ll be fine – WiFi can be found in most places these days, which is kind of a shame. I don’t have reliable WiFi when I travel, I just get on with it.

Yes, but what no travel writer thinks to mention is which of these computers, all or none or in between, can connect to Channels 12 (in Canada and the rest of the world) 13 (in Europe and the rest of the World) and 14 in Japan. I’ve bought devices in the past, for world traveling, only to discover that the devices had been needlessly throttled for US customers at the firmware level. In other words, they could only connect on Channels 1-11.

Hi Will, Great detailed post. For me, a travel laptop has to be extra portable and have long-lasting battery. Chromebooks tend to meet those requirements and I always keep one for when I am on the road.

I’m truly impressed with your business finesse while traveling in some really interesting places. Nicely done!

I used to be a MacBook fan, but this last one as well as my latest iPhone has made me look elsewhere. The Dell XPS and the Lenovo Yoga products definitely seems to get great reviews and rock solid performance. I think I’ll be checking them out next. And, of course, your travel on $10 a day…didn’t think that was possible anymore! Thanks for some great reads

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What are you looking for?

12 best travel laptops you can buy in 2024 [for all budgets].

Bradley and I have been digital nomads for around 5 years now.

And one of the most important things we’ve invested in is our laptops. 

They are what we use to run our business and if they didn’t work well, then we’d be in trouble!

Over the years, we’ve used a number of brilliant laptops for travel, and we thought it would be a good idea to give you some guidance on the best travel laptops on the market this year. 

We’ve done a lot of research, and we’ve included all the best ones we’ve found, including the laptops we currently use, and laptops we have previously used. 

So, if you’re in search of a laptop to suit your travel needs, then look no further. We’ve got you covered!

Want a quick answer? Our top pick is the Asus Zenbook 13 .

Travellerspoint

Quick roundup of our top picks

What to look at when choosing a travel laptop

The best laptops for travelers excel in many or all of the following categories ...

Before actually thinking about the features and specs of the laptop, make sure you know your budget. It’s also worthwhile to compare laptops on a similar price point so you can choose the best one, without spending more than you should.

2. Weight and Size

The portability of a laptop matters too, especially for travel. Is it lightweight and small enough to make it convenient to travel with? Would it need a suitcase to fit? How heavy is it to lug around on a two-week backpacking trip ? Can it breeze through airport security?

These are just some questions to consider in terms of your laptop’s weight and size. It helps to know what you need!

3. Battery Life 

Longer battery life typically correlates with a higher price tag, but if you’re working on the road, having a long battery life can make your life so much easier!

Even if you’re stuck on a long flight or train journey where you can’t plug your laptop into a power source, a powerful laptop means you can still work.

4. Storage Space 

Again, you’ll pay more for more storage, but think of this as a long-term investment. Storage is especially crucial if you create content such as videos and photos, as they take up more space than mere word documents.

An option is to buy an external hard drive to expand your storage capacity. It can be a great alternative if you don’t have the budget to buy a higher storage capacity to begin with.

5. What RAM do you need?

RAM (Random Access Memory) is where your laptop stores data before processing them, and its size affects how well your laptop can handle “multi-tasking”.

Imagine editing photos on Lightroom, then writing a blog article on Google Docs, and then watching a YouTube video ( p.s. Check out our channel ). Having a large RAM lets you switch between tasks smoothly.

Here’s a quick summary of the most common RAM sizes:

• 4GB: Great for general browsing, word editing software, and writing emails.
• 8GB: Everything above, plus video calls and light photo editing. If you’re running a simple blog without doing anything too heavy, 8GB of RAM should be enough.
• 16GB : You’ll need at least this amount for editing up to 4K videos and photos while multitasking. It’s the minimum RAM size for digital nomads. Trust us, it will make your life (and travel) much easier!
• 32GB: Usually used in gaming laptops or heavy video editing, and by that we don’t mean travel or Youtube videos, we’re talking movie quality stuff!

Of course, the more RAM, the more expensive the laptop, so it’s important to strike a balance between what you need your laptop to do, and your budget. 

6. Processing Power 

If you are running editing programs and high-resolution videos, you should also prioritize the processing power. Trust us, this will make working on your laptop so much more enjoyable.

The CPU is like the heart and brain of your laptop. For high-power activities like video editing, you need to go for at least an i7, although the i9 is now on the market and the most powerful.

We opted for high processing power as Adobe Premier Pro can be very demanding for video editing, especially during the rendering process. Cloud/browser based video editors like Clipchamp may be less demanding for laptops with lower processing power.

i5 will work for a travel laptop if you’re not doing anything too heavy, or don’t mind editing at a buffering pace and have a lot of patience. However, anything less than an i5 processor (i3) will not be suitable as a travel laptop unless you just plan on answering emails and surfing the internet.

A separate graphics chip allows gamers, 3D designers, and high-res video editors to run their programs without taking up a ton of RAM and slowing the overall performance of the computer.

I use an i7 CPU and this allows me to edit video footage, including 4k very easily, and I can edit on Lightroom, Photoshop, and After Effects without any issues. It can also perform multiple of these tasks at one without crashing, which is a real testament to the quality! 

7. Do you have a software preference: Windows vs Apple vs Chrome OS?

Apple may seem like the quintessence of all technology brands, but if you don’t already use their products or like the Apple software system, there is no point in getting an Apple laptop. 

But if you already use Apple and want easy integration with their other products, then it would make sense to choose one of their laptops. 

For us, we don’t like Apple products and opt for Windows instead. It has never let us down so far, and there are so many more options to choose from!

Pros of Windows Operating System

• Excellent compatibility with Microsoft software
• Easier to upgrade
• Familiar interface, even for non-techy users
• More budget and model options

Cons of Windows Operating System

• More vulnerable to virus and hackers
• Windows updates may feel disruptive
• The huge range of options can be overwhelming

Pros of Apple Operating System

• Seamless integration with other Apple devices
• Feels premium and very durable
• Excellent for video, photo, and audio editing

Cons of Apple Operating System

• Extremely pricey and limited choice
• Few options for hardware
• May need to buy tons of adaptors

Pros of Chrome Operating System

• Feels fast compared to Windows laptop of the same price
• Easy set-up and usage 
• Chromebooks have great battery life

Cons of Chrome Operating System

• Cannot run Windows software
• Most web-based apps won't’ work without connection
• Weaker build, screen and audio quality

The 12 Best Travel Laptops

1. asus zenbook 13 - best overall travel laptop.

Weight: 1.11 kg

Battery Life: Up to 13 hours

Specs: Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7 Processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD

Display: 13.3", Full HD 1920 x 1080p

Operating system: Windows

In terms of weight, size, power and price, we decided that the ASUS Zenbook 13 comes out top as the best travel laptop you can currently buy.

It's not the most powerful on this list, but it is still an absolutely amazing piece of kit and is the exact laptop I have been suing since late 2018 on our trip to Sri Lanka .It is still working 100% the same as it did when we first bought it and I have used it to run our website for more than 3 years now.

It does everything most travelers could possibly need, and more; and costs roughly 40% less than it's slightly more powerful counterparts (the DELL XPS 13 and Apple MacBook Air 13 - both discussed below).

Battery life is also a key component of any great travel laptop and the ASUS Zenbook 13 boasts up to 18 hours of battery life, which in addition to its compact and ultralight design, makes it perfect for travelling.

Plus, the Zenbook 13 is the world’s thinnest 13” laptop that still has complete I/O ports, including USB-A and HDMI. It's small enough to even fit in my Loctote Flak Sack , which is testament to it's power-to-size ratio.

If you like having a number pad but don’t want to carry large laptops around, the innovative ASUS ScreenPad 2.0 will excite you! You can activate this feature and watch the touchpad light up.

Pros of the ASUS Zenbook 13

• Excellent battery life of 18 hours
• Ultra-thin design but still complete I/O ports
• Unique NumberPad 2.0 technology

Cons of the ASUS Zenbook 13

• Fan is easily triggered, which can be a bit loud
• You can’t upgrade RAM after purchasing
• Extra function keys may make keyboard feel cramped

2. Dell XPS 13 - Most powerful 13 inch travel laptop

Weight: 1.27 kg

Battery Life: Up to 4 hours

Specs: 11th Generation Intel Core i7-1195G7 Processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD

Display: 13.4", Full HD 1920 x 1080p

I would say that the DELL XPS 13 is definitely my second top pick for travel laptops.

Perfect for those of you that need a slightly more powerful laptop that the ASUS Zenbook 13 and are happy to pay the higher price tag.

But why is it better than the XPS 15? (discussed below).

Well, it’s not quite as powerful, but has a lower price tag, smaller screen size, weighs less, and is absolutely perfect for 90% of travellers. It’s what we would travel with if we didn’t need the video editing capabilities of the XPS 15.

At only 1.27 kg, it can easily fit into your backpack and you won’t even remember it’s there! Perfect if you’re moving around a lot and don’t want a heavy laptop. (On that note, be sure to check out the range of digital-nomad-friendly backpacks from Solgaard ).

The Dell XPS 13 has an Infinity Edge screen that is nearly borderless, so you can still enjoy beautiful colors on this display. Whether it’s for watching films or editing videos, a large screen can be very useful!

Moreover, it features the Killer 1535 Wireless-AC card , which means you will get impeccable Wi-Fi performance. It can be a lifesaver if you are travelling and working somewhere with limited connection.

Pros of the Dell XPS 13

• Extremely sleek and portable
• Infinity Edge Display with anti-glare finish
• Killer Wi-Fi performance, literally (Killer AX 1650 WiFi 6)

Cons of the DELL XPS 13

• Only one USB-C port
• No USB-A port
• Awkward camera angle

3. Dell XPS 15 - Best travel laptop for video editing

Weight: 2.05 kg

Battery Life: Up to 13.5 hours

Specs: Intel Core i7-10750H Processor, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD

Display: 15.6", Full HD 1920 x 1200p

If you’re a video editor, then you can’t go wrong with the Dell XPS 15 . It’s the one we currently use and has proven to be absolutely amazing.

You can edit 4K videos without lagging and multitask with no problem. In fact, it’s probably one of the best laptops on the market today.

It is pretty thin and easy to store in a van (as we are currently travelling in), but it’d be excellent to travel with even if we were still using a backpack.

With incredible performance and storage space, the Dell XPS 15 is a great choice if you need a high-performance laptop and aren’t too bothered by its relatively heavier weight.

One minor issue is that this laptop overheats easily. While this doesn’t actually shut down the system or affect its running, you can feel it get super hot, which is quite uncomfortable.

Top tip: If you are editing a lot, and want the extra screen space, I have been using the Duex Max Portable Screen Monitor . You plug it in via the USB port and it's a convenient way to have some extra woring space.

Pros of the DELL XPS 15 

• Super fast performance, excellent for travel vloggers and bloggers
• High-resolution screen for editing photos and watching films
• Excellent battery life, even when doing heavy work

Cons of the DELL XPS 15

• It may feel a little too heavy for backpackers
• The price can be an investment 
• It can overheat easily

4. MacBook Air M1 - 13 inch - Best Apple travel laptop

Weight: 1.29 kg

Battery Life: Up to 18 hours

Specs: Apple M1 chip and Octa-core Processor, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD

Display: 13.3", Quad HD 2560 x 1600p

Operating system: MacOS Big Sur (11.0)

Maybe Windows isn’t your thing, and you prefer using Apple OS for your travel laptop. In that case, our top recommendation would be the MacBook Air M1 . It’s thin, premium-looking, and incredibly fast.

And because it's so slim and lightweight, it can even fit in most decent camera backpacks ; great if you already carry lots of tech with you when travelling.

Obviously, the new Apple M1 chip offers astounding performance. It’s 3.5x faster and has excellent thermal efficiency. There is no fan inside the machine so it operates silently.

Better yet, it can perform heavy tasks without using up too much battery, which means you can use this laptop for up to 18 hours! We cannot stress how life-changing this can be, especially for a digital nomad who moves around a lot.

There are also additional features such as the Retina Display screen, True Tone technology , and massive 512 GB solid state drive for instantaneous loading. Plus, the updated Touch ID sensor ensures all your data is secure while you’re on the road.

Pros of the MacBook Air 

• Excellent battery life lasting whole day (18 hours)
• M1 chip is incredibly fast and powerful
• Inclusive built-in software like iMovie and GarageBand can be useful

Cons of the MacBook Air

• Limited connectivity with only two ports 
• Doesn’t support multiple screen displays
• No embedded 4G/5G option

"The MacBook Air M1 is the latest MacBook series with a custom Apple designed processor in it, tuned for the efficient execution of MacOS applications compared to the old ones. The design is thin and lightweight, similar to a ChromeBook but has the processing power of a high end laptop making it a perfect choice for travelling.

I used to travel with my ChromeBook, but it was not sufficient for travel content creation applications, whereas the MacBook solves this problem. All the Adobe applications (Lightroom, Photoshop and Illustrator) as well as Davinci, designed for video creation, work smoothly on this laptop with efficient battery usage.

This laptop is a perfect combination to go with the latest Iphone 12 Pro as your blogging camera and have all your travel content easily accessible to share on social media on the same day. MacBook Air M1 is certainly an optimized laptop from Apple with user experience in mind, perfect for travellers, due to its weight and content creation capabilities."

5. MacBook Pro 13 Inch - Most powerful Apple travel laptop

Weight: 1.4 kg

Battery Life: Up to 20 hours

Specs: Apple M1 chip and Octa-core Processor, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD

Again, if you're an Apple-fan and want the most powerful travel laptop you can get, look no further than the MacBook Pro 13” . It’s a true workhorse that can handle any intensive tasks while on the go.

Its M1 chip is obviously an advantage, but we also love that it features the Magic Keyboard. With a redesigned scissor mechanism and 1 mm of key travel, as well as an integrated Touch Bar, you can now streamline your workflow and make it super effective.

And if you thought the MacBook Air has a great battery life, then the MacBook Pro 13” is exceptional. Imagine having up to 20 hours of playback when using Apple TV, or 17 hours of wireless browsing !

It’s slightly heavier, but at 1.4 kg this is still a lightweight travel laptop that can easily fit in your backpack.

Our only complaint would be the low standard of 256 GB SSD, which despite being quite large, is still only half of most laptops nowadays. Considering the steep price tag, it’s also disappointing that the MacBook Pro 13” doesn’t come with a 1080p webcam.

Pros of the MacBook Pro

• Has one of the longest battery life for a laptop
• Fast and powerful performance from M1 chip
• Touch Bar and Touch ID fingerprint sensor
• Features Magic Keyboard for the best typing experience

Cons of the MacBook Pro

• Lower storage standard at 256 GB SSD
• Webcam is only 720p, which is mediocre for its price
• Only two Thunderbolt or USB-C ports

"I took my 13 inch Macbook Pro around the world for 14 months and couldn’t have been any happier with it. Its fast graphics performance, large storage, long lasting battery and retina display made video and picture editing a breeze. I also love the thin sleek look of it.

The 13” Macbook Pro is on the high end of laptops for price, however it’s worth the splurge if you plan to use large programs for video or picture editing on your travels. The 13” size and 3 lbs weight also make it easy to store and carry around in your backpack."

6. HP ENVY 13.3" Laptop - Intel® Core™ i5 - Best HP travel laptop

Weight: 1.3 kg

Battery Life: Up to 9.5 hours

Specs: Intel® Core™ i5-10210U Processor, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD

The HP Envy 13.3” laptop offers a stylish design and powerful performance, while its relatively affordable price tag makes it the perfect go-to laptop for those on a tighter budget.

It’s the first travel laptop we ever bought and is what we used for our first ever 4 month backpacking trip around South America.

We personally feel that this laptop could be the best laptop for travel photography, mainly because of its incredible performance. The NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics also lets you edit videos with relative ease, though you can still expect a certain degree of buffering.

The HP Envy has a screen with 400 nits, which is pretty bright and useful for working in bright spaces. Some might find the reflective screen a little distracting, but we don’t think it should be a problem for most.

Even better, you can get the model which supports a 4K display for stunning graphics and accurate colors. You can use this to view mesmerizing images at 8.2 million pixels!

Pros of the HP Envy

• Fast performance that is useful for editing high-quality images
• Bright display of 400 nits
• Powerful and excellent speakers

Cons of the HP Envy 

• Shorter battery life compared to other travel laptops
• No HDMI and Thunderbolt 3
• Reflective screen makes it harder to see in outdoor work spaces

7. ASUS C223 11.6" Chromebook - Best budget travel laptop

Weight: 1 kg

Battery Life: Up to 10 hours

Specs: Intel® Core™ Celeron N3350 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC

Display: 11.6", HD Ready 1366 x 768p

Operating system: Chrome OS

Those on a budget would love the ASUS C223 11.6" Chromebook , which in our opinion is probably the best budget travel laptop on the market today.

It’s extremely lightweight and has a thin profile (this is one of the thinnest Chromebooks). In addition to the 10 hour battery life , it really is an excellent travel companion.

However, this laptop is only suitable for basic functions like writing blog posts and basic internet browsing. It’s not capable of heavy tasks such as video or intensive photo editing. 

If all you need is a laptop to stream Netflix, Facetime your friends, reply to emails, and other less demanding tasks, this Asus Chromebook is perfect.

And coming in at under $200, it's even a viable gift for backpackers .

Pros of the Asus Chromebook

• Very affordable, especially considering its fast performance
• Lightweight and thin, so it’s easy to carry around
• High-definition images for watching films and videos

Cons of the Asus Chromebook

• Not suitable for heavy and intensive tasks
• Limited RAM of only 4 GB
• You can only use Microsoft products through subscription

8. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 - Best laptop for business travellers

Weight: 0.77 kg

Battery Life: Up to 10.5 hours

Specs: Intel® Core™ i5-1035G4 Processor, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD

Display: 12.3", Quad HD 2736 x 1824p

The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 may not be the best choice for creative workers, including graphic designers and video editors, but it excels for business functions.

This 2-in-1 model which combines a laptop and tablet into one device is perfect for the travelling businessman or entrepreneur. 

In terms of versatility, it’s an absolute dream! You can use it in Tablet, Laptop, or even Studio Mode, depending on what you need at the moment. Unfortunately, you have to purchase the keyboard and pen separately, and the extra costs can add up.

However, this makes room for plenty of personalization as you can choose any color or design you want for each of the accessories.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is also very lightweight, at just 0.77 kg. Meanwhile, the high-resolution PixelSense Display and Dolby Audio Premium ensure you can enjoy a good movie comfortably.

Pros of the Microsoft Surface Pro 7

• Extremely lightweight and portable
• Switch between Laptop, Tablet and Studio Mode
• Sharp display and crisp images

Cons of the Microsoft Surface Pro 7

• Keyboard and pen are sold separately
• No Thunderbolt port
• No fan means performance can drop when used for long

9.  LENOVO IdeaPad Flex 5 - Best notebook for travel

Weight: 1.5 kg

Battery Life: Up to 10 hours battery life

Specs: Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 Processor, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD

Display: 14", Full HD 1920 x 1080p

Compared to a laptop, a notebook is essentially its smaller, cheaper, and less powerful counterpart. But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean it’s bad!

In fact, if you’re looking for a more portable and versatile option for non-intensive tasks, then you might be better off buying the LENOVO IdeaPad Flex 5 . It’s not the lightest 2-in-1 laptop, but the design is still slim enough to fit in your laptop backpack .

This model is also something of an in-between. It’s both a laptop and tablet, while the touch screen and 360-degree hinge let you switch between modes easily.

You can be writing articles one second, scrolling through images the next, and catching up on your favorite show after that.

Also, the 10-hour battery life is pretty impressive. You can easily take only the IdeaPad to a nearby cafe or local library, and you won’t need to charge it the whole day!

Pros of the LENOVO IdeaPad

• 2-in-1 design with touch screen
• Durable, soft, and stylish chassis
• Privacy shutter for webcam

Cons of the LENOVO IdeaPad

• Relatively heavy for a 2-in-1 model; not the most portable
• 250-nit display is quite dim
• 4GB RAM is unsuitable for heavy multitasking

10. HP Spectre x360 i7

Battery Life: Up to 19.5 hours

Specs: Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 Processor, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD

The HP Spectre x360 i7 has a 16:9 aspect ratio, which makes it excellent for streaming your favorite films and shows. Not to mention that the near borderless display is stunning too.

Aside from that, you can use this laptop to work on almost anything. It has a pretty powerful processor and 8GB RAM so you can multitask and handle heavy tasks comfortably.

However, the true charm of the HP Spectre x360 is in its exterior. It has an exquisite gem-cut design that feels premium, while the all-aluminum body is both durable and beautiful.

This HP laptop has some excellent security features too, including a fingerprint reader and privacy switch for the camera.

Lastly, true to its name, you can easily flip the screen 360-degree to get the desired viewing angle. It also works well on Tent mode for viewing texts or watching.

Pros of the HP Spectre x360

• Excellent and fast performance
• Great security features (fingerprint and face recognition
• Beautiful gem-cut design with all-aluminum body

Cons of the HP Spectre x360

• Overheats quite easily
• Fan noise can be loud and distracting
• Maximum volume may produce harsh audio

"I love my HP Spectre 360 i7 because of its top-of-the-line quality, while still being light and small enough to bring along without it being a hassle. It fits easily in my carry-on or day pack without taking up needed space.

I find that flipping between laptop and tablet modes is helpful when trying to get some work done or entertain myself, in smaller spaces such as during a train ride, on an airplane, or in the back seat of the car.

When you are a travel writer, you need to be able to easily get work done on the go. The touch screen is helpful as well when you cannot have a full desk setup. It is one of the best ultra-portable travel laptops I have had, without having to sacrifice power or usability."

11. DELL Inspiron 13

Battery Life: Up to 17 hours

Another excellent travel laptop to consider is the DELL Inspiron 13 . This is another versatile model that you can use in Laptop, Tablet or Tent Mode.

Like the IdeaPad Flex, you can use the DELL Inspiron 13 in different viewing modes and fold the screen into Tablet Mode. However unlike the Microsoft Surface laptop, you cannot actually detach the monitor from the keyboard.

Moreover, it has spectacular battery life of up to 17 hours. This is truly incredible, considering the powerful performance it also offers. With 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, you can use this laptop for editing or even gaming.

You’ll also love the Windows Hello feature , which uses the webcam to automatically unlock the computer. Additionally, you can use the privacy shutter to feel more secure when browsing.

Pros of the Dell Inspiron 13

• Excellent battery life
• Incredible performance for a 2-in-1 model
• Full HD screen with touchscreen or Active Pen support

Cons of the Dell Inspiron 13

• Onboard memory cannot be upgraded
• Few ports and limited connectivity options
• On the heavy side for a 2-in-1 model

12. HP 14a 14" Chromebook

Weight: 1.46 kg

Specs: Intel® Celeron® N4020 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC

If you’re looking for a budget Chromebook to bring with you on your travels, the HP 14a 14" Chromebook is a brilliant choice.

We recommend this for simple tasks that can be done easier on a laptop than a smartphone. From researching or planning your journey, to streaming blockbuster films, and catching up on social media.

Plus, the virtually borderless Full HD screen is great if you’re planning to watch lots of movies or shows on the road!

Not to mention that it offers high-quality audio , thanks to the custom tuning by experts over at Bang & Olufsen.

One of the biggest drawbacks of using the HP 14a, much like other Chromebooks, is that you cannot run desktop-based software. This includes Microsoft Office, Photoshop and any graphics-intensive game. Instead, you can run them on a browser, but this will limit the functionality.

With that said, you can access Google Play, which means you will have a pretty much endless choice of apps for your every need. It’s great if you prioritize user-friendly interface and convenience over powerful performance.

• Affordable Chromebook for travel
• Large 14-inch screen for comfortable viewing
• Limitless app choices for everything
• May not be the best for demanding tasks
• You can’t run desktop-based software
• Not suitable for offline work

Other things to consider when buying a travel laptop

1. Do you need your laptop for work-related purposes?

If your job requires the use of a laptop and you’re planning to work while travelling, it’s a good idea to invest more and buy a higher-grade laptop. This is especially important if your work is related to your travels, for example if you’re a travel blogger or vlogger .

It’s better to spend more in the beginning than getting a bargain and discovering later that you can’t work because your laptop is unreliable!

2. What else will you use your laptop for?

Are you going to use your laptop just for entertainment on long journeys? Watching Netflix and browsing the internet in the evenings? For planning your travels? Editing photos and videos?

It’s great to know what you’ll be using your laptop for so you can buy accordingly, as some laptops are better suited for certain tasks.

For example, if you’re going to be editing, you might want a laptop with excellent colors and fast performance. Alternatively, for watching films, it’s nice if your laptop has high-quality audio and resolution.

If you solely want it to help plan upcoming trips , booking accommodation and finding what to do, then something more basic will be fine.

3. How light and portable do you need your laptop to be?

Travelling with a backpack immediately reduces the size and weight of the laptop you should buy. After all, you wouldn’t want your laptop to take up half the capacity of your bag.

If you plan on traveling with a larger suitcase, you might have more room for a larger laptop when packing for your trip . This also means you can enjoy more flexibility in terms of price. If you want a recommendation for a great laptop backpack, check out our Matein review .

4. What are your budget constraints?

Just like buying any gadget or electronic device, you should only buy a laptop within the price range you’re comfortable with. Our top tip is to set a budget before even starting your research. 

It will help you stick to it and not be enticed by the latest technologies and cool features which you might not necessarily need. Plus, it helps to be realistic of what a certain price point can get you.

After so long spent saving money for your travels , you don’t want to blow too much on an unnecessarily high performance laptop.

Reasons why you should travel with a laptop

If you’ve been pondering over the idea of whether getting a laptop for travel is the right choice for you. Let’s delve into some of the top benefits and reasons why getting a laptop for your travels is an awesome decision. 

1. You’re more productive 

Yes, phones have become extremely powerful and practical that you can probably perform most simple computing tasks on it. But working on a laptop is much easier and more motivating.

Even with things such as replying to emails, writing blog posts, or editing travel photos , you’ll find that a laptop allows you to do them faster. If you’re a creative individual, you may find it impossible to function on the road without a laptop.

2.  Better access to entertainment

Imagine being stuck in a hotel room with poor WiFi, or on extremely long train journeys with nothing else to do. A good laptop equals an excellent source of entertainment, whether that’s video games or watching downloaded movies.

Sure, you can do all these on a phone, but any film or TV show will surely seem more exciting on a laptop screen! Additionally, it is easier to play games together on a laptop than on a phone.

3. Easier to backup photos and videos 

If you take a lot of photos and videos throughout your travels, investing in a laptop can be worth it. It’s especially true for individuals who create for a living and might be worried about losing your content.

There are more ways to backup files on your laptop than on a phone. This includes an external hard drive, on the laptop itself, or cloud services - more options, more security!

4. Travel planning is much easier

Finally, a laptop can make planning your travels infinitely easier! It’s much simpler to book hotels, train tickets and flights, as well as map your journey on a laptop interface.

There is quite literally more space to search, open multiple tabs and plan your route, which can be frustratingly difficult on a small screen. You’ll be more efficient, which can probably save money. 

Travel laptop FAQs

What is the best travel laptop for blogging .

The Dell XPS 13 would be a good option for blogging because it’s lightweight and perfect for running all aspects of a blog.

We personally use the XPS 15, but that’s because we like the bigger screen for video editing. If you’re like us and “vlogging” as well as blogging, then the XPS 15 would be a better investment. Otherwise, the XPS 13 should be enough!

What is the best cheap laptop for travel? 

Chromebooks offer the best value for money. Out of the two listed above, we recommend going for the HP Chromebook , simply because the software in HP laptops works well. We have also used HP in the past and have never had any issues with it.

What is the lightest travel laptop? 

Strictly speaking, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 , weighing just 0.77 kg, would be the lightest travel laptop around. But it’s a 2-in-1 tablet and laptop that is more suitable for business purposes and lightweight functions. But if you’re planning on doing more intensive tasks, the ASUS Zenbook would a better bet.

Is a tablet a better option than a laptop?

Not if you’re planning on working remotely. This includes running a business, blogging, vlogging, or anything that requires heavy work, even editing pictures. A smaller laptop would still be a better investment than a tablet.

But if you simply want to stay connected on a bigger screen, watch Netflix, or reply to emails and do meetings, then a tablet would work perfectly. It’s much lighter, smaller, and more portable than even the most lightweight laptop.

Which travel laptop is right for you?

As you can see, there are a LOT of fantastic options out there.

Ultimately, which travel laptop you go for depends on …

• What you plan on using it for
• How often you travel
• How much space you have
• Your budget

Regardless of which sort of traveller you are, you should be able to find the perfect laptop from the list above.

Now, over to you …

Which laptop do you think you will go for?

Do you have any other ideas that aren’t on this list?

Just drop a comment below and let me know!

Other gear guides you might like:

• Best portable power stations
• Best GoPro alternatives
• Best travel drones

Leave a comment

Let us know what you think.

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Budget Travel Buff

10 Best Travel Laptops of 2023: The Ultimate Buyer’s Guide

In your travels, whether for leisure or business a laptop surely comes in handy when your phone or tablet does not suffice.

There are times where there are no other options but a good laptop for you to work while you travel. Mobile devices and tablets are not handy while multitasking as you face limitations working on a touch interface. 

Professional tools are a hassle to use in a tablet or mobile interface. These tools in a tablet or mobile interface may be limited in function or unavailable altogether.

Editing photos, coding, or video compilation work happen a lot faster using a good laptop. The reason being a laptop’s top-end processing power which mobile or tablet cannot compare to.

While researching for your best travel laptops you may want to pay attention to the price and the hardware specification. 

Whether you have a tight budget to follow or are affluent enough, travel full, or want something for casual travel we have got it covered.

Before we get into our list of best travel laptops, we can understand the things to consider while buying your best travel laptop to take while you are on a vacation.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, you won’t pay any extra penny, but I’ll get a small commission that encourages me to deliver more helpful content for you.

What To Look For to Purchase A Good Travel Laptop

What’s the purpose :.

During your travel, consider the kind of work that you will do. Laptops generally are divided by: 

Light use: For browsing the internet, email, social media or organizing digital photos, etc. 

Medium use: Streaming movies, TV-series, using spreadsheets, and creating documents.   

Heavy use: Using the laptop to multitask opening multiple tabs, coding, advanced graphic work, photo, and video editing.  

When you are traveling and working, you shouldn’t forget to carry a WiFi router. Here is our another top article on the best wireless travel routers to travel and work .

Operating System

A software that helps manage all other software and hardware in your laptop. It helps you interact with your laptop through a visual interface. According to your use and preference, you may choose the best-suited OS for you.

The popular choices of OS in best travel laptops would be:

Mac OS : Mac is installed only on Apple computers, with an easy-to-use interface as well as very few issues with viruses and malware. With a sleek look and feel and impressive battery life support a Mac OS is a choice to consider.

Windows OS : This OS was designed to support a seamless touchscreen interface that helps you with more navigation options. The Windows OS has high security and is supported in a large selection of laptops, unlike the Mac.  

Chrome OS : All Chromebook laptops run on Chrome OS. The interface is fast but simple to use.

The Chrome OS shines in the area of leveraging the Google Play Store, to download and run apps from their huge selection. 

This caters to your travel needs of downloading photo edits or document creation apps at a moment’s notice.  

Screen Features

Touch Screens

Using a touch interface gives us the navigation ease of a tablet or smartphone whereas the powerful hardware gives you great processing speed. You may tap to select, drag it to move, pinch to zoom in and out increasing your mobility while doing your tasks. 

The best laptops for travel and photography generally avail of the touch screen feature for greater navigation options.  

Screen size

Laptop screens when measured diagonally their sizes have a range of 11 to 17 inches approximately. You may choose the screen size as per your use. Gaming, movies, photo and video editing can be done on a larger screen. 

Whereas emails or light work documentation or keeping track of your business metrics can happen over a smaller screen as well.

A laptop with a higher resolution will display better picture quality. You have a choice on the resolution you prefer, here are a few choices to consider.

• 4K Ultra HD : 3840 x 2560 and 3840 x 2160 resolutions with four times pixels of full HD. Great for viewing and editing high-end images.
• QHD (Quad HD) and QHD+ : With 2560 x 1440 and 3200 x 1800 resolutions, with a high pixel density that creates crisp and sharp detail, ideal for professional graphics work and watching high-definition videos. 
• Retina display : 2560 x 1600 and 3072 x 1920 resolutions are found in Mac 13 inch and 16-inch laptops. 
• Full HD : 1920 x 1080 resolution, can play movies and videos in Blu-ray, and have good detail while playing games.
• HD+ : 1600 x 900 resolution is good only for casual gaming and watching movies.
• HD : 1366 x 768 resolution is the standard followed on mainstream laptops. It’s great for web surfing, email as well as consume less battery 

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• 10 Best Water Filter For Travel & Hiking
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The laptop’s processing power is decided on the kind of processor you will be using. 

The advantage of good processing power is the smoother and faster functioning of critical software, graphic work, or multitasking on different software.

The most popular processors belong to Intel, which gives you the widest choice among the laptops you will choose. 

The AMD Ryzen processors deliver great multitasking performance, stunning visuals, and good battery life.

The Apple M1 chip designed for Mac is found in the latest generation of Apple laptops. It is known to integrate CPU, GPU, and more to deliver on a good performance and power efficiency. 

The best gaming laptops for travel consider processing power as one of their key selling points.

The Random-access memory commonly known as RAM helps your processor tackle multiple tasks at once. A 12 Gb RAM or more is recommended if you have advanced graphic design to do whereas a 2 Gb RAM is sufficient for casual web browsing and emails. 

Internal Storage

If you intend to store high-resolution photos and videos on your laptop, you should at least have a storage drive of 512 GB. 4K movies and high-def games will require 1 TB at the least.

Any laptop with good internal storage will come quite handy as a laptop for travel vlogging as it helps you store your massive amount of raw footage to edit, at your convenience. 

Battery Life

Battery life is one of the most important factors to consider while traveling. Laptops that have higher specs generally have a higher consumption of battery charge so it’s important to balance specs with usage to ensure healthy battery use. 

A solid-state drive is preferred to a mechanical hard drive to improve power efficiency.

Now that you have an idea of what to look for while buying a travel laptop, we can now get into the List of the 10 Best Travel laptops.

Related Post : 10 Best Headphones for Teens: The Ultimate Buying Guide

List of 10 Best Travel Laptops: Which One to Choose?

1. acer aspire 5 slim laptop for business travel.

As per Acer the Aspire 5 features an AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Mobile Processor which can tackle complex jobs easily. 

It has sharp and crisp visuals on the 15.6” Full HD IPS screen providing a Clear HD viewing experience for you.

The thin bezel provides you more space to work with, making it a perfect companion to take with you while you travel.  

The battery life lasts a good 7.5 hours and the 128 GB hard disk will help store those memorable photographs during your trip. 

All of these simple yet important features make the Aspire 5 as one of the best laptops for travelers.

•  Weight: 3.97 pounds
•  Dimensions: 14.31 x 9.74 x 0.71 inches
•  Battery Life:7.5 Hours
•  Storage:128 GB Flash Memory Solid State
• RAM:4 GB DDR4

2. ASUS L210 Ultra-Thin Budget Travel Laptop

To be productive all day while on the move is what the ASUS laptop L210 is built for. This lightweight and compact 11.6-inch laptop is perfect to carry around to watch your emails and business metrics while traveling. 

Entrepreneurs can easily catch up on work due to the good processing power provided by the latest Intel processor.

The L210 has a standing battery life of 12 hours which lets you work free from the worry of power backups. 

With eMMC storage, your data is safe and secure. The Windows 10 in S mode offers great compatibility with a variety of software and applications you may use for your work, all such features making it one of the best and cheap travel laptops for air travel.

• Weight: 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions: 11 x 7.5 x 0.67 inches
• Battery Life:12 Hours
• Storage: 64 GB
• RAM: 4 GB DDR4 SDRAM

3. Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip 

The Apple MacBook Air has the Apple-designed M1 chip which provides a faster CPU, GPU, and machine learning performance. 

This laptop has one of the highest-rated battery life extending to 18 hours. 

The 8-core CPU that delivers 3.5x faster processing and 8 GPU cores which provide 5x faster graphics performance contribute greatly to the fluid navigation across multiple tabs. 

The laptop is very adept at handling complex work which requires high processing power. 

Featuring Superfast SSD storage and 8 GB of memory (RAM) the MacBook Air has all the features to deliver a powerful and portable performance. 

Additional Apple features like one-touch security, Wi-Fi 6 enabled and the thunderbolt USB are also available for your use. 

All these amazing features make the MacBook Air one of the best travel laptops for business.

• Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Dimensions: 11.97 x 0.63 x 8.36 inches
• Battery Life: 18 Hours
• Storage: 512 GB SSD
• RAM: 8 GB 

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4. Lenovo Ideapad Flex 5

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5   gives you tons of creative choices by blending in performance with affordability and a sleek design and feel to boot. 

With the AMD Ryzen 5 4500U mobile processor and Radeon graphics, this laptop offers you great all-around performance, graphics, and productivity during your travels.

The laptop also offers privacy features like a physical shutter on the webcam ensures you are safe from unwanted attention. 

This laptop can be used in multi-modes such as the Tent mode or Stand mode or the Tablet mode.

Each mode corresponds to a task like Tent mode can be used for sharing things, Stand mode for binge-watching, or the Tablet mode for more intuitive interaction.

With such great features brought to the table, the Lenovo Ideapad is for sure to be on the list of best travel laptops for either business or leisure.  

• Weight: 3.63 pounds
• Dimensions:12.66 x 8.56 x 0.82 inches
• Battery Life: 10 Hours
• Storage: 256 GB Flash Memory Solid State
• RAM: 16 GB DDR4

5. Acer Chromebook Spin 311 Portable Laptop for Travel

The Acer Chromebook Spin 311 can easily transform into any mode as per your needs. It is versatile to rotate to an angle of your desire, transforming this laptop into a notebook or tablet easily. The laptop also has a stand-up display or the tent mode. 

Its 360-degree hinge lets you do all of these without any complications allowing for a cool laptop that you can take anywhere and use everywhere. 

The laptop features a wide-angle HD Webcam that supports HDR imaging enhancing your video calling experience during your travel. The battery backup extends to 10 hours which is quite sufficient for your work. 

The flexibility of using the Acer Chromebook as well as the availability of a wide variety of app choices places the Acer Chromebook as one of the best lightweight travel laptops on the list.

• Weight:2.62 pounds
• Dimensions: 11.65 x 8.11 x 0.79 inches
• Storage: 32 GB embedded multimedia card
• RAM: 4 GB LPDDR

6. Dell Inspiron 15 5502 : Best Lightweight Travel Laptop

Dell Inspiron 15 is thin and light, engineered with the 11th gen Intel i5 processor and a 15.6-inch Full HD with anti-glare LED Backlight Narrow Border WVA Display. 

The 8 GB 3200 Mhz DDR4 RAM helps run complex tasks seamlessly.    

The platinum silver color is an elegant touch that brings modern aesthetics to the laptop. 

The ExpressCharge will help recharge your battery in a flash making the Dell Inspiron one of the best laptops to take traveling. 

A multifunctional USB type-C port gives great compatibility with other laptop accessories. 

Other features in the Dell Inspiron 15 5502 include a lid-open sensor that will turn on the laptop even when completely off, as well as the fingerprint reader that provides hassle-free yet secure log-in. 

• Weight: 3.78 pounds
• Dimensions: 9.23 x 14.02 x 0.7 inches
• Battery Life: 8 Hours
• Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive
• RAM: 8 GB DDR4

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7. Acer Swift 3 : Best Laptop for Travel Blogging

This Ultra-thin and lightweight laptop sports a magnesium-aluminum metal chassis with a high screen-to-body ratio and a long-lasting battery. 

One of the best laptops for travelers, weighing only 2.65 pounds it is not cumbersome to carry at all. 

The ultra-notebook features an AMD Ryzen 7 4700U processor for fast and smooth workflow and a silver-colored chassis to complete the look. 

The 14-inch FULL HD IPS display will surely give you an amazing multimedia experience, along with features like dual-band Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (GIG+) (802.11ax) which provides 1,700 Mbps download speeds and the Thunderbolt 4 USB for ultra-quick data transfer (40 Gbps).

All of these features will surely make your work experience pleasant during your travels, making this laptop one of the best lightweight travel laptops.

• Weight: 2.65 pounds
• Dimensions: 12.73 x 8.62 x 0.63 inches
• Battery Life: 17 hours
• Storage: 512 GB Flash Memory Solid State
• RAM: 16 GB LPDDR4

8. Dell Inspiron 5000 : Best Travel Laptops

The Dell Inspiron 5000 sports a high 32 GB RAM to run multiple software smoothly while browsing the web, giving you a perfect multi-tasking experience. 

The 1 TB solid state drive has ample space to store your high-spec media files. 

The Intel i5 processor helps you switch between tasks without lag and the 15.6 inches FULL HD display is a visual treat while editing your media files.  

With the newer Intel processor and a docking station, it’s much easier to edit videos and perform cloud computing tasks.

This laptop was built to help you do those heavy-duty graphic edits or run software that will not lag even with multiple tabs open.  

Such great computing capabilities make the Dell Inspiron one of the best laptops for travelers.

• Dimensions: 14.02 x 9.23 x 0.7 inches
• Battery Life: N/A
• Storage: 1TB PCIe Solid State Drive
• RAM: 32 GB DDR4

9. HP Pavilion x360 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop

The HP Pavilion x360 can easily convert into four versatile modes. Drawing or note-taking feels as natural as on paper. 

The laptop easily supports online video meetings with its solid Wi-Fi 6 connection, the wide vision HD webcam, and dual-array microphone gives a wide-angle clarity which makes things look closer. 

Equipped with BIOS recovery and protection which automatically checks the health of the laptop and protects against unauthorized access.  

HP Pavilion has a 14 inch FULL HD IPS, micro-edge, WLED-backlight, multi-touch enabled, edge to edge glass touch screen display, which gives an amazing viewing experience.

The battery life lasts up to 9 hours and 15 minutes at normal usage. Amazon Alexa voice service is also one of its trendy features to use making this laptop one of the best laptops for travel and photography.

• Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Dimensions: 12.76 x 8.78 x 0.81 inches
• Battery Life:9.25 Hours

10. ASUS VivoBook

The ASUS VivoBook is one of the best lightweight travel laptops you can purchase with equal attention to performance. The RAM is upgraded to 12 GB DDR4 memory for adequate multitasking and a smooth running of applications. 

The internal storage is ample enough with the 1 TB variant to store your important digital data whereas the 15.6-inch FULL HD LED nano edge bezel display gives you an amazing visual experience. 

The AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor provides maximum high-efficiency power to run all work tasks smoothly.

The Asus VivoBook is the best laptop for travel blogging with great internal storage and a powerful processing unit it will make your blogging and vlogging edits as easy as it can get. All such features make this laptop a sure feature in the list of top 10 best travel laptops.

• Weight: 3.51 pounds
• Dimensions: 14.1 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches
• Storage: 1 TB Flash Memory Solid State
• RAM: 12 GB DDR4

These top 10 travel laptops here will surely fulfill your needs while traveling. 

The things you need to take note of are generally the weight, processing power, and battery life to make your travel hassle-free in terms of using a laptop. 

The laptops featured in have a lot more to offer though. Travel laptops in this list offer you choices in the higher and lower price ranges. 

The laptops with a slightly lower price may offer less processing power due to hardware restraints but they do not compromise in the quality and are great for emails, checking business metrics, browsing the web, etc. 

The laptops with high-end specifications do not compromise processing power giving you a seamless navigation experience while editing your media files, however, the battery backup may not be as great as the lower priced models. The trade-off here will depend on your usage. 

All the laptops featured here have high-security measures, a few also have the finger touch verification enabled ensuring security while you travel.

With Wi-Fi 6 enabled in almost all laptops, the connectivity will also not be an issue. All of these features were designed for a great travel experience and hopefully, the list of the best laptops for travelers will help you choose yours.

16 Best Pocket Friendly Hiking Backpacks

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13 Best Travel Laptops for Digital Nomads

1. MacBook Air

Pros and Cons

2. dell xps 13.

3. Microsoft Surface Go

4. Lenovo Ideapad Flex 5 14

5. Acer Spin 3

6. HP Envy X360 13

7. Acer TravelMate P6 (2022)

8. Lenovo Yoga 6

9. Asus ZenBook

10. HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook

11. Dell Latitude 7370

12. Asus Chromebook Flip C302

13. HP Pavilion x360 Convertible Touchscreen Laptop

Travel Laptop: FAQs

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• Accessories

HP Travel Plus 15 Liter 14 Laptop Bag (A2CE2AA)

Simplify your journey with a durable, travel-optimized bag that keeps you organized from packing through the airport and beyond.

380 x 130 x 290 mm

Bag; Removable straps

All Things Organized

Stay organized with three compartments and multiple pockets, including two quick access pockets, for all your essentials. Expand the capacity from 15L to 20L to fit everything you need for your business trip–tech, clothing, packing cubes, and more–in one bag.

Designed for Quick Access

Streamline your security experience with a travel laptop bag that provides easy access to all your belongings. The 180-degree opening lets you quickly grab whatever you need in the moment—laptop * , toiletries, liquids, accessories, and more.

Protection on Multiple Levels

This bag is built for the long haul with durable, water-resistant * 750D recycled polyester. Padded compartments safeguard your laptop * and accessories from bumps and bruises, while the RFID-blocking pocket and lockable, anti-puncture zippers * deter theft.

Your Ultimate Travel Companion

Traveling convenience.

Conveniently and securely attach your travel laptop bag to your rolling luggage for easy transport.

Rise Above Bumps

The padded floating laptop pocket is elevated to prevent your PC from directly hitting the floor when you set the bag down.

Protection for Peace of Mind

Protect credit cards and other sensitive information with a dedicated RFID-blocking pocket. Secure your stuff with a puncture resistant double-coil, lockable zipper.

Easy Access

180-degree zippered opening simplifies packing and offers fast, easy access to your belongings at airport security checkpoints.

Compatibilities

Hp elitebook 840 14 inch g11 notebook pc, hp elitebook 840 14 inch g10 notebook pc wolf pro security edition, hp probook 450 15.6 inch g10 notebook pc, hp probook 440 14 inch g10 notebook pc, you might also like..., warranty & support.

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Laptops, tents, binoculars and other surprising items you could be fined for when you travel to Mexico

At this point, you probably know which items you can and cannot pack in your luggage when traveling through U.S. airports. Even when flying internationally, you can usually enter another country with those same TSA-approved items without incident.

However, if you have an upcoming trip to Mexico, you may face a hefty fine if you pack the wrong items.

On a recent visit to Mexico, TPG reader Karen Bishop was forced to pay about $100 before she could clear customs at Cancun International Airport (CUN). The culprits were the iPads she and her husband had each packed for the trip.

The issue was not the iPads themselves; it was that Mexican customs regulations allow only one portable computing device per traveler. According to regulations, a laptop and a tablet are both considered personal computing devices. Bishop and her husband had each packed a laptop and a tablet in their carry-on, exceeding the limit and resulting in a fine.

Related: Here's what to pack in a carry-on bag every time you travel

"As you enter the customs area, there is a sign detailing this law," Bishop told TPG. "It is well hidden from most of the arriving customers so, at this point, you're trapped. We had not seen this on any website prior to departing for Cancun, thus we were caught completely off guard. I would assume this is being enforced in other Mexican destinations as well."

This rule is not new, but it is both rarely and randomly enforced. In fact, the personal baggage limits are printed on the customs declaration form that most travelers complete on the plane before they land in Mexico.

However, based on Bishop's story and similar accounts found in online forums and other recent news articles, enforcement seems to have become more common recently. Bishop stated that customs agents were searching the luggage of all arriving customers.

Mexican customs regulations regarding merchandise you can bring into the country without having to pay a tax extend far beyond laptops and tablets. According to the Mexican finance ministry , there is a limit to the number of certain items you can bring into the country without being subject to taxes.

Here are a few of the item limits on common items travelers bring to Mexico:

• Two cameras or video cameras
• Three cellphones
• One GPS device
• One portable computing device
• One video game console and up to five video games
• Two musical instruments

Each of these limits is per traveler, so a couple traveling together can bring up to six cellphones and four cameras, for example. If you exceed these limits, you may be subject to a fine before you can clear customs and enter Mexico.

There are also some more niche items on the list that you may need to be aware of, especially if you are planning any outdoor pursuits:

• One pair of binoculars and one telescope
• One set of hand tools
• Four fishing rods
• For passengers over 18 years of age, 3 liters of liquor or beer and 6 liters of wine

The amount of tax you owe is based on the value of your item. Bishop was told the amount is 19% of the value determined by the customs officer. "The process is to take your device from you, go into a room and a customs officer decides what it is worth, then they return with a bill," she said.

Luggage limits aren't the only thing you should note in order to clear Mexican customs quickly and efficiently. Travelers to Mexico also need to complete an Official Entry Immigration Form, also known as a Tourist Card. This card is free, and you can apply online before your trip to save time upon arrival.

Some regions, including the state of Quintana Roo (where Cancun is located), also require tourists to pay a visitor tax . You can save time at the airport by paying your tax online before you leave for Mexico.

Several TPG staffers have passed through Cancun recently without incident, so it's difficult to say when, where and how often these regulations are being enforced. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry. If you want to stay within the tax-exempt rules, you should avoid exceeding the limits that Mexico sets on items brought into the country.

Related reading:

• Which major destinations charge a tourist tax (or are planning to soon)?
• These are the best times to visit Mexico
• TPG's favorite points hotels on the beach in Mexico
• The best all-inclusive resorts in Mexico

Information Technology Services

• ITS Laptop and Projector Rental

The ITS rental service offers short-term notebook computer and portable projector rentals for UI departments needing equipment for conferences, short term, travel and other purposes.  Authorized departmental purchasing requestors can reserve equipment online for pickup at the ITS offices in 2800 University Capitol Centre during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8-5).

Students : If you are a student, you can only rent laptops at the Main Library or Hardin Library (not ITS). 

How to rent equipment

• UI departmental requesters can log in to the ITS Rental Reservation application with their Hawk ID and reserve notebook computers and projectors with a valid MFK.
• UI faculty and staff requiring short-term equipment rental will need to have their departmental requestor/administrator reserve equipment on their behalf.
• Once a department has reserved a notebook or projector, a designated user can pick up reserved computers and projectors by presenting a photo ID at the ITS offices at 2800 University Capitol Centre during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8-5).
• Equipment can be returned to the same location during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8-5) on or before the end date of the equipment reservation.
• Rent a laptop or projector (departmental requests only)

Rental fees & terms

• $20/day 
• Maximum rental length – 14 days
• ITS Help Desk

Support and Training

General support information.

• Can I access my H and shared drives on a rented computer?
• Can I install software on a rented laptop?
• Getting an error "You must currently be an authorized user to be able to use this application." when trying to logon to rent equipment.
• How do I rent a laptop or projector?
• How long can I rent a laptop or projector?
• How much does it cost to rent equipment?
• Who do I call for help with rental equipment?

About iOS 18 Updates

iOS 18 brings new ways to customize the iPhone experience, relive special moments, and stay connected. Customize your iPhone further by arranging your Home Screen, your Lock Screen, and Control Center in all-new ways. Photos delivers the biggest redesign ever to make it even easier to relive your special moments. Staying connected with friends and family is even better with new ways to express yourself in Messages. A new hiking experience in Maps and updates to Wallet enable you to explore the world further. iOS 18 also brings new features to Safari, Journal, Notes, Phone, and so much more.

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/100100

Home Screen

Flexible arrangement to place app icons and widgets in any open position on the Home Screen, such as along the bottom or off to the side, to create the ideal layout for each page

Dark icons give your Home Screen look a darker aesthetic, and can automatically adjust when your iPhone enters Dark Mode, or always appear dark

Color tinting lets you apply any color to app icons and widgets or have iOS suggest a color that complements your wallpaper

Larger icons allow you to make all the app icons and widgets on your screen appear larger, removing the name underneath

Photos app redesign features the biggest update ever with a simplified layout that puts everything into a single view

Collections automatically organize your library by helpful topics that you can browse in a collage, grid, as a memory, or on a map

Customization options let you reorder, add, and remove Collections rows, and add just the items you want to Pinned Collections to keep within easy reach

Groups in People and Pets include photos of your favorite people or pets who frequently appear together

Trips automatically organizes your travels into collections so you can relive each trip

Recent Days lets you view your recent photos organized by day without clutter like screenshots

Filter button in the grid helps you reduce clutter by filtering to specific media types, your favorites, or by hiding screenshots from the view

Video speed control lets you slow down high frame rate video content with in and out points

Utilities includes additional helpful collections like Documents, Receipts, QR codes, and more, and items you’ve recently edited, viewed, and shared

Recovered album in Utilities surfaces images that are on your device but were not previously visible due to database corruption in a locked album

Messages via satellite lets you message friends and family when you are without cellular or Wi-Fi connection by connecting to a satellite in space (iPhone 14 and later)

Text effects bring your conversations to life by visually amplifying any letter, word, phrase, or emoji in iMessage with dynamic, animated effects like explode, ripple, and nod

Text formatting lets you add bold, underline, italics, and strikethrough to any letter, word, or phrase in iMessage

Emoji and sticker Tapbacks allow you to react to a message using any emoji or sticker, giving you access to the Tapbacks you and your friends send the most with just a swipe

Send Later enables you to compose a message now and schedule it to send later

RCS messaging support includes delivery and read receipts, higher resolution photos and videos for messaging people without an iPhone and requires carrier support

Control Center

Redesigned Control Center features convenient groups of controls, the ability to arrange controls just the way you want, and support for controls from third-party apps

Groups of controls can be accessed by continuously swiping from the right edge, including your most used controls, Home controls, Media Playback and Connectivity, with the option to build out entirely new groups too

Controls gallery displays the full set of available controls, including controls from third-party apps, that you can add right into the group you choose

Resizable controls let you drag from the lower right of a control from within Control Center

Lock Screen

Custom Lock Screen controls let you choose controls from the controls gallery from your favorite apps

Action button can be customized with controls from the controls gallery (iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max)

Font options allow you to customize the time with 10 new numeral scripts in Bangla, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Meitei, Odia, Ol Chiki, Telugu, and Urdu

Distraction Control helps you hide items on a webpage that you find disruptive to your browsing

Highlights surface key information from the webpage you’re visiting with summaries, locations, and more

Redesigned Reader offers even more ways to enjoy articles with a streamlined view of the article you’re reading, a summary, and a table of contents for longer articles

Passwords app lets you see all your credentials for websites and apps in one place, making it even easier to access your passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes

Verification codes for two factor authentication can be set up right in Passwords so you can easily copy them or autofill them into Safari without opening an authenticator app

Secure syncing ensures your accounts saved in Passwords sync seamlessly with iCloud with end-to-end encryption so you can access them on your other devices

Windows support through the iCloud Passwords app so you can access your passwords on Windows devices

Topographic maps display features like trails, contour lines, elevation, and points of interest

Hikes are available across all U.S. national parks and can be saved to your device to access while offline

Custom walking and hiking routes can be created with just a few taps for hikes in the park, regular exercise routines in your neighborhood, walking tours while on vacation, and more

Places Library combines all your saved places, guides, and hiking routes into one location for easy access

Game Mode minimizes background activity to sustain the highest frame rates and dramatically improves responsiveness with wireless accessories like game controllers and AirPods

Tap to Cash lets you exchange Apple Cash quickly and privately, without sharing phone numbers or email addresses, just by holding your phones together

New pass designs have a beautiful new look and great new features, including a new event guide with helpful information about the venue and smart recommendations from your favorite Apple apps

New ways to pay with installments and rewards on supported credit and debit cards when you check out with Apple Pay online and in apps

State of mind can be logged right from within Journal, and emotions or mood logged in the Health app are included in Journaling Suggestions

Insights view shows your writing streaks, a calendar, and other fun stats that help you track your journaling goals

Search lets you easily find past entries, and the ability to sort shows your entries in your preferred order

Widgets for your Home Screen and Lock Screen show your current streak or writing prompts that change throughout the day, so you can reflect on what’s going on in the moment

Recent calls search helps you find previous calls, voicemails and contacts using phone numbers, names, or even a word transcribed from a voicemail

Keypad search helps you quickly find and call existing contacts by typing in their number or name on the alphanumeric keypad

Automatic mic mode picks the right mic mode for you, toggling between Voice Isolation, Wide Spectrum, and Standard mode depending on your environment

Locked apps let you protect your sensitive apps and the information inside them by requiring Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode to open them and hiding the content from search, notifications, and other places across the system

Hidden apps have the same protections as locked apps, plus they are placed in a new hidden apps folder that is locked, and you won't receive notifications or calls from the app

Improved Contacts permission empower you to choose which contacts to share with an app

Improved Bluetooth pairing lets developers offer a seamless pairing experience, while protecting your privacy

Hands-free Siri Interactions let you respond to Siri announcements with AirPods by simply nodding your head ‘yes’ or shaking your head ‘no’

Voice Isolation on AirPods Pro provides clearer call quality for those you are speaking with, even in windy conditions or places with loud background noise

Personalized Spatial Audio for gaming with AirPods puts you in the middle of the action with sound that surrounds you combined with a new API for developers that makes it easier than ever to enable

Apple TV app

InSight delivers real-time information for every live-action Apple TV+ movies and shows that complements what you’re watching onscreen

Enhance Dialogue enables you to hear what’s being said onscreen more clearly, especially when loud effects or music is playing

Subtitles automatically appear at just the right times, like when the content language doesn’t match your device language, when you mute the audio, or when you skip back while watching a program

Audio recordings can be started right from inside a note, and kept with related comments, checklists, and documents

Live transcriptions show as you record audio, and transcripts are fully searchable so you can always find what you need (iPhone 12 and later)

Math in Notes let you enter expressions and equations in your note to have them solve instantly

Collapsible sections help you simplify and hide text in long notes; just tap next to a section header to lighten up your most text-heavy notes

Highlight text in your note with a choice of five colors allows you to make your text standout

Accessibility

Eye Tracking makes it possible for people to control iPhone with just their eyes (iPhone 12 and later and iPhone SE (3rd generation))

Music Haptics syncs the iPhone Taptic Engine with the rhythm of songs so those who are deaf or hard of hearing can enjoy the Apple Music catalog (iPhone 14 and later)

Vocal Shortcuts help people with severe atypical speech record custom utterances that trigger specific actions

Vehicle Motion Cues can help reduce motion sickness for passengers in moving vehicles by placing dots on the screen that move with the vehicle without interfering with content

This release also includes other features and improvements:

Emergency SOS Live Video enables you to share streaming video and recorded media during emergency calls with participating US emergency operators (iPhone 14 and later)

Math Notes in Calculator let you evaluate expressions, assign variables and even create graphs on iPhone

Calendar lets you create, view, edit and complete reminders alongside with your events

Recently Deleted list in Reminders lets you view and retrieve deleted reminders

Screen sharing in SharePlay lets you tap and draw on someone’s screen or ask for permission to remotely control their iPhone and take actions yourself

Scenes in Freeform allow you to organize your content into sections, then save, label and order them as you like

Redesigned Fitness+ makes it easy to find personalized recommendations, or search for something specific

Guest access in Home app lets you provide visitors with date and time- based access to locks, garage doors, and alarm systems

Electricity usage and rate plan information in Home app are displayed for eligible customers when connecting their utility account, starting with Pacific Gas and Electric Company in California

Repair Assistant prompts you to configure the genuine Apple parts replaced on your device after a repair (iPhone 12 and later)

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For more information, please visit this website: https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-18

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all iPhone models. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/100100

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Moscow: Travel Notebook, Planner, Journal, Diary with Checklist, Itineraries, Journal Entries, and Sketch and Photo Pages (110 Pages, 6" x 9") Paperback – August 31, 2019

Purchase options and add-ons, capture your great memories and your travel plans in this easily customizable travel journal., the journal has structured pages as well as blank pages for you to capture anything and everything about your travels..

• a month at a glance
• budgets planning
• flight details
• time converter
• hand luggage list
• packing list
• shopping list
• days at a glance
• daily planning
• places of interest
• souvenirs list
• contacts (back home or new acquaintances)
• lots of extra pages to use as you wish

Check out other journals from the series.

• Print length 110 pages
• Language English
• Publication date August 31, 2019
• Dimensions 6 x 0.25 x 9 inches
• ISBN-10 1689824913
• ISBN-13 978-1689824910
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (August 31, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 110 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1689824913
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1689824910
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.25 x 9 inches

About the author

The inspired jotter.

The Inspired Jotter offers you dedicated planners.

We love to design unique and multi-functional diaries to fit your needs. Our team is full of passion for planning and designing planners, diaries, notebooks and bullet journals.

Familiarize yourself with our offer and choose the perfect planner to capture your ideas and plans, recording your wonderful memories.

We want to know your comments, observations and ideas. Email us at [email protected]

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