Why everyone should keep a travel journal

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I think everyone who travels should keep a journal or log of their travels here’s why.  Whether traveling for business or pleasure, there are always details that we want to remember.

For the business traveler, maybe that’s a great restaurant in a faraway town or maybe it’s the less than desirable hotel you never want to book again. Having a log of your trip will keep those memories fresh for future travel plans or if you’re asked for advice.

But it’s the pleasure traveler who can really create a cherished keepsake that they can look back on and share memories for a lifetime.  From the youngest traveler to the oldest, a travel journal is a fun way to chronicle our adventures and remind us of a life well lived.

What kind of travel journal is right for you

How elaborate or simple your travel journal is really up to you. Travel journals are as different as the people keeping them, from full-fledged blogs to picture collages, from kids doing a school project to retirees on the trip of a lifetime there’s a ton of travel journal ideas out there. Here are my favorite ones.

Postcard Journal

Pick up a postcard from wherever you visit. Write it to yourself then mail it home. Mailing it from the nearest post office gets you a cancellation with the location and date.  This is a great project for kids or anyone who doesn’t enjoy a lot of writing. When you get home, the postcards will be waiting for you, punch a hole in the corner and thread them on a binder ring or carabiner.

Photo Collage or Shadow box

I’m a big fan of this if you have the space.  Collect pictures and keepsakes from your travels and display them in a shadow box frame. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and here’s an instance where that is definitely true. Make sure to include yourself and your companions in the photos, not just the scenery. That way you can look back at the things that have changed and things that have stayed the same. Along with the pictures put in dried leaves or pressed flowers, ticket stubs, maps, really anything that you find memorable.

Bullet Journal

I’ve seen some gorgeous bullet journals on Pinterest. A bullet travel journal is just what it sounds like. You make short bullet type lists of memorable facts, feelings, and impressions. Most are filled with drawings and beautiful typography. I especially like the ones that are a two-page spread with every inch covered.

Long form Travel Journal

This is my personal choice. I love to write and since we usually travel by RV, I have long stretches of road to write when Wayne is driving. My personal travel journal is a leather-bound planner that I repurposed. It fits half sheet paper that I take out and bind when I’m ready for more pages. I have quite the collection of these just stuffed with memories and souvenirs. I love to look back on the ones from when my kids were young.

Ready to start your own travel journal?

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My best tips

Try to write on the same day or in the moment if you can. If you leave it longer, you’ll forget the first impressions. I like to bullet first impressions in the moment then write out how my perceptions evolved throughout the visit.

Don’t try to write a novel. Ok, maybe you are an amazing writer and should write a novel but if you’re like me that will get old fast. When you put too much pressure on yourself it becomes easy to procrastinate. you don’t have to record everything!

“What you leave out is as important as what you put in.”

Think about who you’re writing for. Is it just for you to read or to share with your family and friends? This could influence what you put in or leave out. It will also influence the tone and style of the way you write. Do you want to write for a wider audience? Maybe you have lots to share with the world, how about creating a travel blog.

Think about what you want to include in your travel journal. Make an outline or use our free printable. Think about what you’ll want to remember from your travels in ten, 20, or even 30 years.

Enhance your journaling experience

Sometimes it helps to make the actual act of writing your travel journal more fun by getting yourself the right tools. It can be great writing a journal on paper as this doesn’t rely on keeping any kind of device charged up. You can also add little drawings or quick notes. If you are journaling the oldschool way, you might want to buy a nice leather notebook to write in.

Instead of writing with any old pen, get a decent rollerball pen They glide over the specialty papers I like to write on and make me feel like an old-time novelist.

If you are keeping a digital journal, check out software such as Evernote, which allows you to add handwritten notes, drawings, and other clippings.

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Here’s some ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

• Always start with the date and the place. You’d be surprised how quickly everything gets jumbled up if you travel a lot and you won’t remember where you were, when.
• I like to include the weather and any smells or sounds that really stand out to me. Sometimes a place is so peaceful and serene and other times a places proximity to traffic noise, for instance, make for a different impression.
• Don’t neglect feelings. What you saw is important, but how it made you feel could be your most cherished memories.
• Add a map or ticket stubs or any other keepsakes. I like to collect stamps. Both the postage kind and ink kind. Every National park has a stamp and lots of other places do too. Also, if you go to the post office for local postage stamps ask them to cancel the stamp. Other ideas to include, bottle labels, snippets from local newspapers, receipts.
• Include memorable food and drinks. New locales offer new food choices, what was something great or not so great you tried. If you do find a special dish you want to recreate, ask for the recipe.
• Make note of one thing you learned that day or a fun fact you want to remember.
• Include people you meet and their contact information if you want to keep in touch. I had the most pleasant conversation with a couple from Ireland on a mountaintop in Yosemite. We discussed their further travels to San Francisco and our desire to travel to Ireland. We followed each other on Instagram and they tagged me in pictures of places I’d recommended they see.
• Keep track of spending. Ever go to a museum or show that you thought was expensive but later thought was worth every penny? I like to include that and it’s also fun to look back at journals from years ago and see how things have changed.
• Is this destination everything you hoped it would be? What is surprising and why? What’s turning out better than you expected? What is a shock or disappointing and why? When you walk away from here, what are you going to remember most?
• Describe the place you’re staying during your trip. Record the name of streets, stores, and tourist spots.
• Do you wear a Fitbit or other health tracker? Record your steps or miles
• Everyone loves a good inspirational quote, right?! Add your favorites to your journal before you leave to keep the wanderlust strong.
• Use dialogue. Funny things you’ve overheard, or a conversation with a cab driver, for example.
• List any major news events that happened during your trip. Where were you when those events happened? Did any world events affect your travels?
• Illustrate your journal. The act of drawing a building or painting the landscape will help to etch them in your memory. If you’re not artistic, photographs are just as good
• Add a Table of Contents. If you only have one or two journals, you’ll probably remember what’s in them. If you have several like I do, you’ll thank yourself when that recipe you got in New Orleans is easy to find.

Your travel journal ideas should reflect you – and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. It’s your journal, so stick to what interests YOU 
If you want to record distance in miles covered, bottles of wine drunk, funny road signs, tacky souvenirs, then great – that’s up to you!

Make your travel journal unique!