Travellers all over the world are constantly collecting passport stamps, soul-stirring stories and often, stunning wanderlust tattoos. Each one tells a story, a tale of adventure, inspiration and often, personal achievement. They’re badges of honour, proudly emblazoned on the bodies of those whose hearts are stirred by travel. We asked YOU for your real travel ink stories (and pics), and as always, you did not disappoint. Brace yourself for an inspiration overload! #MeetMyInk
Here are 46 wanderlust tattoos for anyone obsessed with travel:
1. “The globe stands for Asia and the compass that ensure I will always know where my home is. The arrow stands for the jump into something new.”
📸: Tanja Gremmelmaier – Germany
2. “I’ve always wanted a palm tree tattoo, but I’m glad I waited to get this done on my trip to Bali as it has given it even more meaning and reminds me of my time there.”
📸:Annina – Finland
3. “My life goal is to travel as much as I can, as often as possible, and that’s pretty much what the tattoo means to me!”
📸:Vittoria – Brazil
4. “I got this wanderlust tattoo before I went on a backpacking trip to South America for six months. I work in travel and I grew up with travelling – that’s why I got this quote on my ribs.”
📸:Jana Shl – Germany
5. “I am a firm believer that tattoos should represent what you stand for and believe in. That is precisely the reason why I’ve tattooed the word ‘GO’ on my forearm. It’s a mantra, a moto, an inspiration – when life gets rough, when the day at work just doesn’t seem to be coming to an end. I try to remind myself I’m doing it for a reason: to be able to travel in the future, to have the luxury of experiencing a bunch of ‘firsts’ and to not take daily things for granted.”
📸: Pia – Slovenia (Tattoo by @fertattoo)
6. “I lived abroad for over 10 years, but home is always where the heart is.”
📸:Anmar Wilding – UK (Tattoo by Dolly at Black Sails, Brighton, UK)
7. “I made my tattoo on a trip in Thailand as is the Thai tradition, with bamboo. It is a Thai amulet that means luck and protection.”
📸:Thais Espildora – Brazil
8. “I’ve got the coordinates of Hawaii as a tattoo because I spent two wonderful months there. So if I’m lost, please send me back!”
📸:Judith Nora – Germany
9. “The latitude and longitude show where I come from, and the map shows where I’m going.”
📸:Washington Rosthayni – Brazil
10. “I went on a contiki trip to Europe in 2013 and met my amazing friend/Australian soul sister Eden. I went to visit her in Australia a year later and we decided to mark our friendship for life with this tattoo! Since I live in Canada, it’s my sun when it’s her moon, so we drew this one up and got it tatted. Then of course, we went to the beach.”
📸:Madison Baillie – Canada
11. “The world is about people and the moments you live with them.”
📸: Maria Eduarda Lacerda – Brazil
12. “My heart is in the mountains and never being tied down, so I got ‘wild’ to symbolize who I am! The tree is the Colorado state tree.”
📸:Vicky Petrauskas – USA
13. “Got my wanderlust tattoo compass done back in Latvia when I realised how much I want to go to places I’ve never been to.”
📸:Victoria Zarecneva – Latvia
14. “Got it after having lived near the ocean (Australia & Spain) and learning how to surf”
📸:Anneline Akkersdijk – Netherlands
15. “Tomorrow I’ll be going with a backpack all by myself to the Chapada Diamantina! Go, go!”
📸:Maysa Santos – Brazil
16. “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai
📸:Martina Anliker – Switzerland
17. “I LOVE palm trees! This is my first tattoo and I got it in Sri Lanka from a French guy who was living in Thailand. Plus, I got it for free!”
📸:Melina Trovatello – Germany
18. “My rose of the winds Daniele Duarte, who guides me to the most crazy and amusing ways of Brazil with our eternal friendship.”
📸:Lucas Sorreano – Brazil
19. “Got this one done by Coen Mitchell in New Zealand during my working holiday adventure”
📸:Julie Van Oosterwyck – Belgium
20. “’Not all those who wander are lost’ is my life phrase. Photo taken during the crossing of the Serra Fina Mountain, on top of Capim Amarelo.”
📸:Gabriel Oliveira – Brazil
21. “I just had to have my itchy feet eternalized with a palm tree.”
📸:Sandra de Groot
22. “’We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.’ – Anais Nin
📸:Carina Katharina – Germany
23. “I discovered a few years ago (since the age of 18 I have travelled without my parents) that I love travelling and ever since then, I prepare every year to discover a destination. It is amazing to learn about other cultures, including exploring my own country! I feel that my heart gains part of every place I have ever visited.”
📸:Ana Carolina Dias – Brazil
24. “I’ve been to over 30 countries before the age 23. I worked for an airline in the States. Traveling has been a huge part of my life and has made me to who I am. I’m a more global thinker, more empathizing towards others, and it has made me more curious about other cultures. If I don’t get on a plane for couple of months, I start getting jittery! I know my love for travelling will never leave me, so that’s why I got a tattoo! (Pic taken on the beaches of Tamarindo in Costa Rica!)”
📸:Olivia Dwan
25. “I’m the captain of my soul!”
📸:Camila Fernanda
26. “After breaking my neck in New Zealand I had this tattooed with a Maori pattern (given to me on a kiwi river stone from my nurse)in the ‘P’ and ‘C’to remind me how lucky I was.”
📸:Kinging-It – UK (Full story here if you want to know more: How I Broke My Neck)
27. “I won this in a competition haha! I decided to mark the places I liked the most and to register a year that was unforgettable.”
📸:Luana Borges – Brazil
28. “A tattoo in the jungle of Thailand. A representation of an elephant for my best friend who passed away years ago, because an elephant never forgets.”
📸:Ryan Mitchell
29. “After the ascent to Mt Rinjani (3726m) in Lombok, Bali, I got this tattoo with the outlines of the mountain with my two friends.”
📸:Tina Specowius – Germany
30. “It represents all directions under the horizon, symbols of change and new paths.”
📸:Thaís Machado – Brazil
31. “All it takes is a backpack to travel the world.”
📸:Joe Nic-Smith
32. “Free hand wanderlust tattoo in a little hut on a beautiful island in Fiji.”
📸:Tessa Jerman
33. “A reminder that, wherever my soul wants to be, my feet will take me. Travel is, and always will be, one of the most amazing, spiritual journeys we could ever experience. Much love to my fellow free spirited travellers.”
📸:Toni-Lea Shin
34. “Quote means: ‘Travelling is the longing for life.’ by Kurt Tucholsky”
📸:Silvana So – Germany
35. “This is my first wanderlust tattoo. I got it last Friday and I took this pic today!”
📸:Tiago Wallace Barros
36. “I did a road trip with a camper/caravan in the western USA, and during a stopover in Las Vegas I got this tattoo.”
📸:Joke Blankenstein. Germany
37. “She’s mine. Besides signifying my passion for travel, it marked a uni exchange and my graduation in fashion.”
📸:Pamela Nardino – Brazil
38. “This stands for adventure, off-the-beaten-track. To experience things you can’t find in a brochure. It stands for my time in Spain when I volunteered as a juvenile tour guide, without even knowing the language and living with strangers, giving everything every day.”
📸:Vanessa Wepunkt
39. “My little feet will take me to the most wonderful and enchanting places in this world!”
📸:Simoni Celis – Brazil
40. “Adventure! The tree is a cedar and is standing for my Celtic birth date. The paper plane stands for serenity and freedom during adventures.”
📸:Theresa Fuxjäger – Germany
41. “I had our ‘Kinging-It’ crown and a map of Bali tattooed on my shin on my 27th birthday in Bali to signify a new beginning. Kinging-It forevz. As cliché and straight forward as this tattoo is, it’s one of my favourites.”
📸:Kinging-It – UK
42. “I got my wanderlust tattoo during my year abroad in Estonia. It reminds me every day how beautiful this year was and how much there is to see in the world.”
📸:Jasmina Meyer
43. “Light house in Warnemünd.”
📸:Käthy Nuarb – Germany
44. “To overcome the fear of my first trip alone and show me that I can go wherever I want.”
📸:Thábita Ojana – Brazil
45.”My tattoo is a reminder to never stop seeing the world, no matter whether that’s in a faraway land, or an adventure in my own country.”
📸: Mari – USA
46. “Every time I look at my tattoo, it reminds me to keep travelling, learning and following my dreams around the globe.”
📸: Eduardo – Brazil
Thanks to everyone who submitted photos, and to the amazing @thetraveltellers for the banner image!
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