Keeping a Travel Journal - Bring Back Memories with You

If you’re not one of those people who insist that the only way to enjoy life is to live in the present, keeping a travel journal can be a very rewarding experience. It’s one of the best ways to not only bring back memories with you, but encapsulate and highlight the best parts of your trip, together with the feelings you have had when you experienced them.

When done improperly, however, keeping a travel journal could defeat the very purpose why you’re travelling in the first place. So if you want to write stuff down while you’re exploring the world, here are some tips to help you build the best journal ever.

Get a Good Journal

It all starts with this. Can’t have a travel journal with no journal to write on, can we? The idea is to find something you can easily pull out when you need to write something, which is usually when you’re on the go. Keep it simple, compact, and handy. For those looking for something a bit more luxurious, try going for those journals with stronger material and are suited for travel more. Think durable. Think waterproof. Keeping a travel journal with you will be a whole lot easier when your journal is reliable and easy to use.

If you want, you can go techie and get an app on your phone or tablet that lets you jot down your entries.

Consider your Perspective

Try imagining the overall personality of the journal you’re writing. For instance, what’s your writing style? Are you writing as if you’re talking to the journal, or do you prefer a self-narrating approach?

Also, who are you writing this for? Is it for yourself, or is it something your friends or some other person can read? These are things that need to be considered when keeping a travel journal because your manner of writing is relevant to your goals.

Less is More

The idea is NOT to write everything. First, writing everything will take you forever, which means you probably won’t enjoy the trip anymore if your nose is on the journal all the time. Secondly, it blurs out the very special moments you want to single out of your trip. Save your entries for the ones you’ll want to remember years from now.

As mentioned before, keeping a travel journal means you can’t be writing all the time. Jot down keywords or phrases that you help you remember what you wanted to write once you call it a day and get back to the hotel room. Remember to write it down before you forget.

Be Creative

Keeping a travel journal isn't all about writing stuff down on a notebook. Make sure you attach other mementos to your trip as well. Stick your tickets on the page or that special photo you took while you were at the scene being documented. By including photos and souvenirs into the journal you make the experience much more vivid.

Whether your travel journal is for personal consumption or something to share to friends, just follow the tips above and you’re good to go.