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Relive Your Wildest Adventures With A Travel Journal

woman sitting in hammock Keeping a travel journal is a great way to relive all of your wild and not-so-wild adventures.

All of us click tons of photographs during every trip and while looks through your photo collection brings back memories of your trip, with time we tend to forget the emotions associated with that particular image.

Writing down your thoughts in your travel journal helps you get in touch with your feelings and emotions about different places and experiences.

In one of those ‘if I knew then what I know now’ revelations, I would admit that not keeping a travel journal is my biggest regret. I flew as a stewardess with an international airline for 15 years and enjoyed the perks that came with the job. I have traveled around the world and have plenty of photographs and memories. But what I do not have on record is how I felt at that moment.

I have fabulous memories of bringing in the New Year at Times Square, hearing the Pope’s mass at the Vatican on Easter Sunday, watching the fireworks on July 4th… When I look back at the photographs today, I wish I had kept a travel diary and written down how I felt at that time.

It’s never too late to start though and I am exploring different types of travel journals for my next trip. I’ve seen some great selection and am leaning towards getting myself a travel journal with pockets.

What is a Travel Journal?

A travel journal is a special type of notebook or diary that you reserve especially to write about your travels. You can use it to make notes about any and every aspect of your journey, from the planning stage to your experiences, feelings, and takeaways of every trip.

Think of it as a collection of memories, adventures, stories and new discoveries.

You can write about the places you’ve been, things you’ve seen, interesting people you’ve met, local foods you’ve samples, and how you felt at that moment.

Why Keep a Travel Journal?

Keeping a travel journal has myriad benefits. Take it from someone who has traveled a lot without making notes. In hindsight, I understand now how much more it would have enhanced my experiences.

You could use a travel journal to remember your trips better, nurture your creative side or even turn your journeys into a profitable side hustle.

Check out the many benefits of keeping your own travel journal.

Helps You Remember the Minutest Details of Your Trips

Do you ever return from a trip to find that you can’t seem to remember everything you did? The details of the trip have gotten so foggy because there was so much action packed into every day. One of the most satisfying benefits of a travel journal is that you can easily recall what you did every day and remember even the minutest details of your trip.

You will also remember every detail of everything that you loved and hated about your trip. You will be able to recommend the best place to explore the local cuisine to friends and family who are planning their next vacation to the same destination.

On the other hand, you will never need to worry about remembering which restaurant gave you food poisoning because it’s right there in your notebook.

You’ll also be able to recall what you loved more easily. Ever go on vacation only to come back and realize you can’t remember the name of that amazing spa you went to?

When you keep a travel diary, all the information you need is right at your fingertips.

Encourages You to Observe More, Learn More, Reflect More

Visiting a new country is like a reading a new book – every page unfolds a new adventure. You can either rush through the pages of the book just so you can find out the ending or you can linger over every word and savor the story.

It’s the same when visiting a new country. You can either rush from one tourist spot to another or you can stop and enjoy the side-show.

Every country, in fact every city, has its own unique culture, cuisine and customs. You can read all about the place on the internet but what you are learning is just somebody else’s interpretation of it all.

When you travel you will have your own experiences and you will absorb your surroundings through your own unique perspective. Your travel journal gives you a place to record your observations about the culture, cuisine, customs and other distinctive characteristics of any destination.

Seeing the Empire State Building up close is usually top of the list of almost every visitor to New York City. While that is undoubtedly exciting, the true attraction of New York City lies in it’s the vibrant, busy, crazy ambiance, the honking of NYC cabs, the smell of pizza wafting in the air… It is these little observations that will set you apart from the millions of other tourists to the Big Apple.

Writing about the sights, sounds, and smells in your travel diary, in addition to how you felt when you see an iconic landmark up close will encourage you to reflect on your trip. Was it exactly how you had expected? Were you satisfied, excited, disappointed?

Nurtures Your Creative Side

Filling in your travel diary is a great way to nurture your creative side. You can whip out your handy travel journal and write or sketch in it as you sit and relax in between or after a hectic day spent sightseeing or shopping.

Imagine yourself sitting on the banks of the River Seine in Paris, notebook in hand, sketching the Eiffel Tower while actually facing this iconic structure.

Another way to nature your creative side is to decorate the pages and make them more colorful and visually appealing. Use photos, stickers, ticket stubs, receipts and anything else you like to make the pages jump out.

The idea of keeping a diary is to record your personal journey and there’s no better way to do this than with little mementos of the trip.

Has the Potential for a Great Side Hustle

You might want to consider keeping a record of your experiences if you’re thinking of making traveling more of a career than a hobby. Many world travelers have used their adventures to make money through blogs, books and travel agencies.

A travel journal could easily be your ticket to a new and exciting career.

Keeping detailed notes of everywhere you’ve been, what happened on each day and what you loved and hated about a trip are essential to transforming your travels into a side business.

If you’re starting a blog, you’ll need to reference the things that went wrong on your journey to advise others against your missteps. Similarly, you’ll want to remember the places where you had amazing experiences to share with your readers.

If you’re starting a travel company, you’ll need to keep a list of contacts in your journal. You’ll also want to make detailed notes as to where to bring your guests and how to get them to each destination.

If you’re writing a book, you’ll want to write down details of the events that happened on your trip. Reference these notes to find interesting fodder that would make a great story later on.

Keeping a travel journal will help you remember parts of your journey that you may have otherwise forgotten.

4 Handy Travel Journal Tips to Cut Through the Overwhelm

So you’ve decided to keep a diary to make notes of your upcoming trip. The biggest problem when you start out is deciding how you want to keep one and maintaining a routine of keeping one.

To start with, break it down into 4 steps:

1. Planning your trip
2. Using prompts for each trip
3. Writing during your trip
4. Writing after you return

Travel Journal Tip #1 – Plan Out Your Trips

A well-planned trip will help you get the most out of your next vacation. Be careful though. You do not want to micromanage the entire trip. Planning everything down to the last detail can take away the sense of adventure.

The secret is to plan the major itineraries while leaving plenty of time in-between to just go where you want.

Travel Journal Tip #2 – Use Prompts Designed for Each Trip

Write out prompts for each area, event, or the trip as a whole.

By writing prompts for each day or event you give yourself questions to answer. This gives you something concrete to write about.
You also give yourself the chance to reflect on what you have seen in a more concentrated and specific manner.

You can also create prompts that push you to go to areas that you would not visit normally.

For example, a prompt suggesting what the local cafe and best coffee house are like could lead you to go to an area less traveled.

Travel Journal Tip #3 – Write Every Day While on Your Trip

This is something you absolutely must do. We tend to remember things best when they have just happened. By writing in your journal every day during your trip, you will be able to capture those little and large moments when they are still fresh.

Now don’t get over ambitious and plan on writing down long entries. This could be counterproductive and you are more than likely to just want to give it up.

Keep the entries short. Just write down the highlights of the day.

How did you feel as you tossed that coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome?

What surprised you most during your visit to the local market?

Did you learn something new about the local culture or cuisine?

Make a bulleted list of places you went and things you did along with a few words on how you felt at each stop.

Travel Journal Tip #4 – Write about your trip when you get home

Writing in your diary after you get back home acts as a reflection of your trip. Some things to write about:

· What surprised you about the place?
· What surprised you about the people?
· What disappointed you about the place or people?
· Would you visit the place again?
· What would you look forward to during your second visit?
· Would you recommend the destination to family and friends?
· What advice would you give anyone traveling to the place?

Try not to be too judgmental when reflecting on your journey. Taking a step back from the minutiae and seeing the bigger picture may offer a surprising new perspective of the destination.

Don’t leave home without your travel journal. Your next trip may be your most memorable one yet and you will want to capture every moment of it in your personalized travel journal.

You may also be interested in:

Travel Journal Ideas – What To Write In Your Travel Journal

Travel Journal Prompts – To Help You Put Your Travel Journal To Good Use

woman hiking up a snowy mountain

 

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