I recently planned an entire trip to Providence, Rhode Island, just to get a tattoo. Sure, the destination had been on my list for awhile, but the fact that the artist decided to close his shop at the end of April lit a fire under my ass to make it happen. As I was lying on the table being tattooed by Vinny Morris, he asked me, “Do you get a lot of tattoos when you travel?”
“Kind of,” I replied. “It started that way, and it seems to be going that way, too.”
My second tattoo ever was in August of 2007, towards the end of a summer interning in NYC. I got it with my best friend, so really it was a twofold souvenir: an ode to that unforgettable summer living and working in what is now my home city and an experience that reminds me of my friend. Even though I live in New York now, looking at it evokes a certain time and place, a very different city than it was 18 years ago.
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Take it from me: these brilliant, unexpected little travel moments of zen can make your dayLast summer, I got a Fernet-Branca tattoo in New Orleans during Tales of the Cocktail. Sure, it’s a nod to one of my favorite amari, but it also reminds me of those few days spent in the Big Easy, one of the most beautiful and vibrant places on earth. Last summer, a good friend visited New York after a trip to Tokyo. There, he got one of the coolest tattoos I’ve ever seen, a skeleton arm holding a smiling nigiri with chopsticks. I’ve vowed to get my own ink from the same artist the next time I visit, a way to keep one of my favorite cities close when I’m halfway around the world.
Although getting a tattoo as a souvenir is experiencing current popularity among Millennial and Gen Z travelers, the concept isn’t new. It’s been a naval tradition for centuries. Famously, the Royal Navy was exposed to Polynesian tattooing in the late 18th century during Captain Cook’s voyages, and it became a trend among European and American sailors. The U.S. Naval Institute outlines many of the traditions from the last 100 years, including getting a swallow for every 5,000 nautical miles traveled or an anchor for crossing the Atlantic. While these tattoos aren’t souvenirs from a specific destination per se, they do symbolize covered ground, which isn’t so different from why people do it when traveling recreationally.
Even hotels have gotten privy to the trend. From now until the end of June, five Kimpton properties in the United States are partnering with Tiny Zaps to offer complimentary, destination-themed tattoos to guests. For example, Kimpton Theta — located in NYC’s Theater District — has a flash sheet that includes things like a taxi cab and the comedy and tragedy masks. At Kimpton Hotel Fontenot in New Orleans, you can get a crawfish, a Mardi Gras mask or a saxophone. At the end of last year, our correspondent Jake Emen booked a stay at The Standard East Village just for the Inked Out package, which included a $100 tattoo credit and priority scheduling at Atelier Eva.
As for me, I’m currently looking for an American traditional artist in Miami; as an ode to one of my all-time favorite cities, I want a sandhill crane holding a cocktail cherry in its mouth. Because while my fridge will always be full of the magnets from every place I’ve been, a souvenir tattoo is as special as it gets.
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