My Travel Tattoos and Their Stories
I went through a long-haired, tie-dye-wearing hippie phase in high school – just without the drugs. And, even though I've always been somewhat of an independent free spirit, I was the last person my friends and family ever expected to get a tattoo.
And yet now, at 32, I have four tattoos. And I can trace all of them back to my love of travel.
Here's a look at my travel-inspired tattoos:
My travel tattoos and their stories
2006 – The Quote
In 2005, right after I graduated high school, I used my passport for the first time to go on a Lord of the Rings tour of New Zealand with my mom.
On tour in Wellington, we got to meet Daniel Reeve, the man responsible for the mapwork and calligraphy in all the “Lord of the Rings” films (he's since worked on tons of other movies, including the more recent “Hobbit” trilogy).
When I was contemplating my very first tattoo nearly a year later, I kept coming back to New Zealand and “Lord of the Rings.” I eventually emailed Daniel and asked him to write out one of my favorite Tolkien quotes in Elvish lettering so that I could get it tattooed around my wrist.
Even though most people assume it's the Ring text (the whole “One ring to rule them all” thing) when they see it, my first tattoo actually says “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” It's a quote from Gandalf, and one of my favorites from Middle Earth.
2012 – The Compass
I was convinced for a long time that I would be a one-tattoo kind of girl. But what “they” say is true: once you have one tattoo, it's very easy to convince yourself to get more. In 2012, after thinking about a design for about six months, I got my second tattoo.
It's a compass rose with a globe at the center. (And, before all you smartasses ask, no, it doesn't actually work.) People often ask me what it “means,” which I find sort of a weird question, because I feel like it's pretty self-explanatory.
But, in case it's not, it basically just reflects my love of travel and my desire to explore the world!
2014 – The Elephant
I traveled around Southeast Asia for about six weeks at the beginning of 2014. And, towards the end of my trip, I saw this stone carving in a tucked-away temple on a mountainside in Chiang Mai, Thailand:
I had just finished up volunteering at an elephant sanctuary for a week, so this carving really struck me. I commented on Instagram that I thought it would make a great tattoo.
And then less then two months later I was getting it inked onto my thigh.
Someone commented that the carving could be of a sleeping Ganesha, a Hindu deity. I like to believe that, since Ganesha is usually associated with art, wisdom, and being a remover of obstacles – perfect for a traveler.
2014 — Wanderlust
My tattoo stories came full circle at the end of 2014, when I again found myself hanging out with calligrapher Daniel Reeve in Wellington, New Zealand (who has a ridiculously good memory, and remembered me by name!).
I asked him to write out the word “Wanderlust” in the font he created to represent Bilbo Baggins' handwriting in the “Lord of the Rings” film. And then I had it tattooed on me a couple of weeks later in Wanaka at Holy Skin Tattoo.
This is definitely my most impulsive tattoo to date since there was only a couple of weeks in between coming up with the idea and actually getting it inked, but I love it. I decided to put it right above my compass because 1.) I love wrist tattoos, and 2.) I thought it would complement my compass nicely.
My parents are always asking me if I'm “done” yet. And, truth be told, the answer is probably no. Just as I'm always compelled to keep traveling, I have a feeling I may also always be compelled to get travel-inspired tattoos!
Next up: a silver fern leaf to represent my love of New Zealand.
Do you have any travel-inspired tattoos, or tattoos you've gotten while traveling?
Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. She has traveled to more than 60 countries on 6 continents from her home base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel through the US, Europe, and rest of the world. Amanda only shares tips based on her personal experiences and places she's actually traveled!
I have many tattoos but just got my first “travel inspired” tattoo in July. It’s also a compass, but not a typical compass that most would envision, it’s an artistic style with scroll. If I did the blogluv thing right, I think my blog post is attached that has a picture. hahaha
I love your site. I just stumbled across it a couple days ago and can’t stop reading.
Nice! It must have been quite painful to get it in that spot, but it looks really cool!
They look great! I don’t have any, since I’m slightly put off my possible pain and I’m not sure if I can commit to one image on my body for the rest of my life! Hey, wait I did get married so maybe I could try tattoos too?;)
Haha, well, tattoos aren’t for everybody, and that’s totally fine! 🙂
I don’t have any travel tattoos (yet), but I did get a tribal phoenix to represent my move from teenagehood to adulthood when I felt I had gone through a sort of “rebirth”, but it’s a work in progress. I love yours so much, though! Especially the Lord of the Rings related ones because I’m also a huge fan of that and J R R Tolkiens other works.
Tattoos definitely aren’t for everybody, but I really love all of mine! Your phoenix sounds really cool, and sounds like it’s really meaningful to you. I’m picky about my tattoos – if they don’t mean something to me, I don’t get them!
Hey Amanda,
Thanks one more time for being apart of my Travel Inspired Tattoos article. Your ink looks great, I wish I had room to included more of it. I hope we cross paths again!
http://www.cameraandcarryon.com/40-travel-inspired-tattoos-from-travelers-bloggers-myself/
I have never quite been in the position to actually get it. It took me 4 years to decide if I actually wanted one, then I wouldn’t be able to get it healed up before my job. I will get it at some point (I hope). I am getting Mount Rainier’s outline with my favorite quote.
I love your tattoos.
Sounds like a cool idea! And tattoos really don’t take that long to heal. About 10 days is normal, unless it’s really big and detailed (or if your artist isn’t that great and goes too deep!).
“I eventually emailed Daniel and asked him…” How awesome that you had his email address and that he wrote back and did that for you!!! Very cool. Love the Wanderlust one too!
Yes! I actually just got his email address from his website – but I agree that it’s awesome that he responded and designed my tattoo for me!
I love the elephant and the compass tattoo. I don’t have any myself but I came close to doing so when I first went to Bali 15 years ago. Luckily, I did a skin test first as I ended up re-acting to the ink and my arm was sore for weeks! Anyway, it would have been two turtles entwined and on my shoulder. Representing the sea.
Oh no! Lucky you did that skin test! I guess you’ll have to stick to temporary tattoos.
I love compass tattoos. I have been toying with the idea for a while… For me a compass would symbolise direction and finding my direction and my way through life. Finding the right path but, never forgetting your way home when you need it or where you come from.
That’s a very good sentiment for a compass tattoo. 🙂
My tattoo isn’t really inspired by travel (although it is a bird, and birds are basically free to fly anywhere so make of that what you will!) but I did get my tattoo (a swallow, on my wrist) while I was living abroad in Melbourne 🙂
Well I think that definitely counts! Sounds really cute.
Those are all great – I love tattoos with a story. I have two and neither is travel related, both aquired in my teen years. One desperately needs a redo as it’s quite faded and I have thought about it for years – I couldn’t think of anything with a meaning important enough to have it permanently inked….except travel! So, hopefully this summer, I’ll be turning a little chili pepper into a globe of some sort.
Oh how exciting! I hope it turns out great!
you have exactly the same taste in tattoos as me, and for that just about everything. Its cool to find someone who thinks like I do! I currently have two lord of the rings quotes and two other tattoos, with the intention of getting more. I think another lotr quote may be my next. that’s amazing that you got to have the fonts and script directly from Daniel Reeve… what an amazing experience
Which LOTR quotes do you have? I know a lot of people who get “Not all who wander are lost” – which is a great quote for travelers! If I ever get another LOTR/Tolkien quote, it might be that one.
These are all pretty awesome Amanda, love them! Really like that you got the Elephant too. And right where you got the Wanderlust, I have Ferweh haha. It’s addicting, and I always struggle with getting more tattoos or traveling!
I think traveling will always trump tattoos for me… but I also have a feeling I’ll get more tattoos!
I love that you got Daniel to actually write out your tattoos for you. That’s really incredible!
I have The Lonely Mountain with Smaug on my ribs. I love it because it’s not the typical Middle Earth tattoos you see around. I drove 10 hours to get it. That counts as travel, right?
I’d say that definitely counts, Shannon! Very cool tattoo idea, too.
I love all of these! I was just thinking about having a compass around my shoulder bone for a while, but have been putting it off because it would be my first BIG tattoo (over an hour) and I’ve heard that area gets a little sensitive. I’ve only just have my first recently done on the wrist and that was a breeze, but once shading comes into play, it’s a whole new ballgame!
Yeah, the shading definitely hurts a bit more, but I would say go for it! 🙂
Great post! I love hearing the stories behind travel inspired tattoos! I have a compass rose as well! 🙂
Tattoo stories are almost always interesting, aren’t they?