Are you a man consumed by wanderlust? You know, the strong irresistible desire to travel and explore every inch of the globe.
If adventure is in your heart, you’ll want to tour these travel tattoo ideas.
Just consider the words of the great French novelist Marcel Proust first, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
As you take in these masculine designs, you’ll find not only exceptional talent but also plenty of curiosity-provoking meanings. From plane tattoos to ones showing passport stamps and postcards, each tattoo design displays a different journey filled with its own unique experiences.
Of course, you can also be an airplane pilot and simply love your job. Whatever the case, I’m sure you’ll appreciate some cool, manly traveling-themed tattoo styles below.
Travel Tattoo Ideas
This lower arm tattoo prominently features an open compass resting on top of a world map. Compasses have long been used for finding one’s direction and, with the aid of a map, for plotting out a course of travel, particularly in the days before the global positioning system and Google Maps. That being said, the compass and map combo is certainly a strong and classic way to demonstrate one’s love of travel in ink.
This is a rather interesting and complex travel ink. It incorporates multiple elements, including a skull, a compass, a globe, some red coloring applied in a rather abstract manner, and, perhaps most importantly, the words, “We’re only at home when we’re ON THE RUN.” It stands to reason that this tattoo most likely represents several things that are not necessarily apparent just from a single look.
It does seem evident, however, that the owner of this multifaceted artwork has a strong love for travel as demonstrated by the words and images featured in the piece. Take the compass, for instance, which often resembles finding one’s way, whether that be literally or metaphorically. The same goes for the globe which presents strong evidence of international travel.
This piece is a strong work of black and gray shading that features two suitcases, often considered to represent the act of going on a trip, one stacked on the other, with a mounted globe standing on top of it. Wrapped around the globetastefully is a banner reading “ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE” in a subtle but vintage-feeling font. Accenting the piece are two flowers. All of this together conveys a more old-school, simplistic look that certainly brings upcoming travel to mind.
Here is an example of a much more elaborate tattoo that contains multiple symbols of travel and adventure. At the heart of this large back piece is Africa. Perhaps the subject is from this continent or travels there frequently, or perhaps it simply holds great meaning to him.
Surrounding the continent are several portrait photos and what seem to be various maps. These could be pieces of photographic memorabilia taken along a journey, such as portraits of people whom the traveler particularly wanted to remember. It is also difficult to ignore the two large angels at the top of either side of the piece, seemingly holding it all up.
This simple globe tattoo with an airplane flying around it strongly suggests world travel. It is simplistic and straight to the point. While it may not have the flair of some of the larger, more complex tattoos, it certainly has a meaningfully minimalist attraction of its own.
These complementary travel tattoos span across the client’s legs in a rather unique way. One features the simple outlines of the continents on one leg and the other shows a large dark-shaded airplane. Together they suggest world travel in a minimalistic but creative fashion.
This is a beautifully colored full-sleeve travel tattoo design containing a multitude of elements. Perhaps two of the most notable aspects of this piece are the large jetliner toward the top and the large, red and gold object seemingly attached to it that looks to be a key.
Perhaps one message being conveyed here is that “travel is the key” or that journeys contain the key to something. The piece could have a multitude of meanings. Regardless, it is quite a good-looking tattoo.
Here is another version of the airplane and globe tattoo. This time, however, it is accompanied by flowers, a prominent display of the word “Wanderlust,” and a rope and anchor element. This tattoo very much resembles a traveler’s lifestyle. It also displays fantastic, lush coloring, particularly the blue shading that outlines much of the piece.
This tattoo is particularly enjoyable to admire as it showcases several symbols of travel and adventure while utilizing various aesthetically interesting components. Some of the travel and adventure symbols include the silhouette of a person with a backpack walking down a path and a “watch out for kangaroos” sign.
These things give the work a travel-centered, possibly even wandering, feeling. Some of the aesthetically attractive components include the red and green coloring of the flowers, nicely touched by a small bit of yellow, and the background featuring an interesting landscape with a setting sun.
This tattoo is a fairly simple image of a travel suitcase. Since suitcases are often associated with travel, it is fair to assume that this is a travel and adventure tattoo. This is further accentuated by the scene of a pleasant beach during sunset (a common travel destination) that covers the front of the suitcase.
What better way to depict international travel than to display a passport stamp? This upper arm is filled with various passport stamps, indicating the traveler has been to many countries.
With the being a prominent symbol of journeys, adventures, and travels in general, this is fitting for any avid . With spot-on linework throughout, particularly on the finer points of the face, this piece is dynamic and strong.
Now this is a phenomenal piece of artwork. There is a strong sense of adventure in this piece as it features not only a compass, but also a quill and ink as well as a map. Perhaps most notably, this piece includes an incredible, highly detailed locomotive that appears to be emerging from the subject’s upper arm. It is a wonderful work of art and all of its elements together form a fantastic representation of a great life of travels.
The idea behind this piece is simple and the ink that brings it to life is not extremely complex either. This palm tree and the sunset in the background can be bold representations of a traveler’s lifestyle or dreams as many people love to take to the coast every chance they get. While the background may not be the most intricate scene, the orange and blue shading is certainly pleasant to look at.
This tattoo sleeve of travels might be ideal for couples, as it appears to have been placed here. It showcases multiple postcard-type images, such as a beach scene and a picture of a volcano. Flowers are also utilized, perhaps to add more attractive content in these abundantly colorful sleeves.
Simple and straight to the point, this small, black airplane is positioned casually but effectively on the arm. It’s a minimalistic yet constant reminder of one’s love for expedition, for the exciting life of a traveler.
This piece has a cartoonish style and shows that someone has set up camp by a river, with a view of the mountains. There is a campfire, hatchet, and a backpack that is surely filled with even more traveler’s tools. Camping is a common activity among travelers. Whether one is a backpacker, canoer, or any other type of traveler, many adventurers can relate to a life of setting up camp every night.
This tattoo covers a good deal of the subject’s mid-arm with a black and gray depiction of the seven continents and a large compass face. But the continent clusters are not arranged in a traditional layout as a standard globe would display them. It is also true that there is not a field, globe or map drawing of any kind behind these continents.
This sleeve consists of several different travel-related segments, including a compilation of photographs, postcards, and other miscellaneous papers from famous travel destinations. A few such places include the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Another large segment of this sleeve shows multiple sets of coordinates to symbolize different places.
Here is a tattoo suited perfectly for a frequent traveler by road. Done in a bold, rustic style, this piece consists of a large symbol of adventure and finding one’s way, that of course being the compass placed on the upper section of the arm. Below it is a simple road leading to some blue and white-shaded mountains through a flat region.
This piece would be ideal for any road warrior, whether a serious, lifestyle cross-country traveler or simply a casual road tripper who sticks to a special place or two.
Here is another tattoo of an airplane flying over a world map. But instead of featuring the usual, realistic plane, this piece shows a paper airplane. This choice of aircraft might be a nod to one’s dreams of travel and adventure that they have held dear going back all the way to their childhood.
This tattoo is simple as it contains only a stamp that depicts a row of apartment buildings. This is a relatively minimalistic piece by nature of its size, shape, and simple image. Nevertheless, it is still rather interesting and is most definitely a reminder of travel as stamps are great ways to symbolize communication from a distance or a souvenir from a long trip.
While this is another image of a map and compass, it is particularly eye-catching for two reasons. The first is that this tattoo was done in a style that makes it appear as if the subject’s skin is being peeled back to reveal the impressive ink underneath. The second is that it also contains more linework than one might find on some other map tattoos and these lines are done quite skillfully.
