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Keeping A Travel Journal

Tips And Tricks As To How To Record Your Experiences

Journals are a fun and rewarding way to record the wonderful places you’ve been to.

Having something like this to look back on, even in the age of cellphones and cameras, is a very positive and endearing idea. 

Keeping journals is also surprisingly easy. 

You don’t need to be a perfect writer or to carry half a bookstore in your suitcase – you just need some free time and to allow yourself to be creative. 

They have many practical benefits but are also just plain fun and sweet, which is a combination none of us would pass on. 

In order to help you start this wonderful hobby, we have written down some ideas to make your first journaling experience as easy as possible. 

We hope you find them interesting and inspiring enough to go and get a notebook right after you’re done reading!

Tips And Tricks

Let’s start with the basics. 

To start making your own journal, you’ll need a notebook, a sketchbook or something similar, some pens, and some duct/Washi tape. 

Take into consideration how much space you’ll need to write down your thoughts and to decorate when choosing what size notebook to use. 

It’s also important to keep in mind that you’ll carry it everywhere you go, so probably something that fits in your bag and is not too heavy is best. 

Choose your favourite coloured pens or pencils and stock up on them (you’ll definitely lose or break some along the way). 

The duct/Washi tape is for every item you want to include in your journey – from plane tickets to polaroids – everything can stay in place with some magic duct tape! 

From that point on you’re ready to start writing. 

First Steps

Many people use writing as a tool to remind themselves what they want to see and keep the excitement level high before the trip even starts. 

This is really easy if you’ve been keeping a journal for some time and know your basic writing style. 

However, it is far from necessary. 

You can start your journal when you’re already on your trip and just have some free time.

Looking at an empty page may seem a bit daunting at first, but that feeling vanishes the moment you start writing. 

If you don’t know how to begin, you can outline the most basic parts of your excursion – that’d be a good start!

Include things like where you are, how long you’re staying, what are some of the things that have made an impression on you or that you want to see. 

Once you start telling the story, more and more details will start popping up. 

The Details

This is when you can start attaching some of the items you’ve gathered to their respectful parts of the tale. 

We’re sure they’ll also remind you of some fun moments you’ll want to write down. 

However, if you’re still feeling stuck, you can start by describing some of the places you found beautiful. 

They can either be famous tourist attractions (like Times Square or The Taj Mahal) or just parts of the city you stumbled on and had a good time in (a small french cafe or a big Swedish nature park, for example). 

You can share a funny situation that happened between you and the locals or your opinion on their national cuisine. 

You can also map out a route you walked or the view from your accommodation. 

The possibilities really are endless, and once you get started, you’ll likely think of many more ideas. 

When You’re Back Home

Once you’re done with your wonderful trip, and you’re home, you can spend some time on the finishing touches of your journal entries. 

You’ll definitely have more supplies once you’re back, and you can start decorating the journal itself. 

You can print out some of the photos you’ve made or postcards you got there and have a visual representation of the wonderful times you’ve had. 

You can even put some business cards or mini-maps you’ve collected throughout your journey as authentic reminders of the places you’ve been to or people you’ve met. 

If nature is more your style, you can herbarize some flowers or leaves and have them be the decor of your page(s). 

This is a very addicting part of the process, so keep in mind, you will likely not notice how much time you’ve spent taping pictures and decorating pages!

All In All…

Keeping a journal is an engaging way to remember some of the best times you’ve had. 

It gives you a creative outlet for one of the most inspiring activities a person can do – travelling! 

Journals are also the best kinds of time capsules for your memories because they are absolutely unique. 

Most people who start journaling usually say the same thing – “Why didn’t I start this earlier?” and we can definitely understand why!

As a bonus, there is usually a correlation between keeping a journal and being more aware of both your surroundings and yourself while travelling. 

And who doesn’t want to have a fuller, more immersive experience in a new country? 

The great souvenirs that they are, journals are really a wonderful idea. 

Not only that but you can organize your information much easier and make plans for future trips. 

However, perhaps the best thing about them is that they are wonderful tools that can nourish your creativity and allow for your own personal touch on everything.

So let’s start writing!