Moleskine Notebooks

Moleskine notebooks are definitely the travel writers’ best friend. Sure, PDAs and computers are pretty high up there, depending on your personal opinions (they are for me) but nothing beats a good old “analog” notebook for reliability and portability. If you’re going to be a serious travel writer, a notebook is an absolute must.

Looking to buy a Moleskine Notebook?
Check out all the Moleskine products at Amazon. Most are in the $10-20 range, so quite reasonably priced for a high quality notebook.

In preparing for my trip to Belize, I have been making lists of what I might take, and what is indispensable. A Moleskine notebook tops the indispensable items list, usurped only by clothing. Speaking of my trip to Belize, I’d like to point out a really valuable resource for finding cheap flights to Belize. I got an awesome deal that was $200 less than one of my friends who’s traveling with me. Check out BootsnAll to find your best deal on airfare to Belize.

Now, back on topic. After checking out a few of the different Moleskine notebooks, I chose their “info book” because it perfectly suits someone who’s wanting to write about a destination. It has 5 tabs carved out of the pages for Bed, Food, People, Sights, and Facilities. That’s exactly what you’ll want to find out about a given location, and then it makes it really easy to go back and read through your notes in an organized manner. I only wish they had this combined with the reporter’s notebook where the cover flips over the top. That would be ideal.

My other favorite Moleskine product is their 3-pack of “cashiers” which are basically slimmed down versions of their ruled, square or plain paper notebooks. One thing to note – they are heavy stock paper bound, not leather. So while the durability may be a little bit of a question, I think these are perfect for day trips when you only need a few sheets of paper, and want something really slim to carry. Plus, being all paper, they’re easily recycled.

Another thing that looks really cool, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on yet, mostly due to not having the need for one is Moleskine’s City Notebook. These handy little notebooks combine maps with notebooks, and make it easy for you to write your own travel guide to a given city. Currently available for Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Prague, Rome and Wien. There’s more coming too – look for the following cities to be added during 2007: Boston, New York, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal and Seattle. If you’re going to be writing about one of these destinations, or just traveling there and want to keep a journal, you owe it to yourself to check them out. Plus, they’re budget friendly at only about $17.

Looking to buy a Moleskine Notebook?
$10-20 (or so) at Amazon.

Why Amazon? It’s like supporting yourself in a roundabout kind of way – buying your own stock – after all, Amazon does sell travel guides and books.