Traveling is exciting. There’s so much to do, and see, and take in. It can be overwhelming and finding the time or will to keep a travel journal might feel daunting or out of reach or like one more thing to do. But really, it helps you see and experience the trip even more. Read on for all the reasons why keeping a travel journal will expanded your travel.
1. It helps you remember
When I took my first solo trip to Ireland, I landed with a notebook, pen and my iPhone. I came back with the same, plus some ideas scribbled in the margins of the notebook and a lot of beautiful photos, that have stayed in on my iPhone. When friends asked me about the trip I would struggle to find the photos on my phone and swipe through them quickly, all the green landscapes. Somehow they looked all the same, but I knew they weren’t. They were meaningful to me, I just couldn’t remember, why. “This was in…” I forgot. “I know there was a reason and memory attached to this but I can’t think of it.” It’s especially hard since I was there alone, so no one can remind me where I was when I took that photo of breathtaking landscape. A travel journal collects all of these memories together and the mix of materials: collage, paint and photos, gives context and reminds you of the feeling, not just the facts.
2. It can be whatever you want it to be.
At its heart, travel journaling is creative. It’s only form is not just a diary entry of what you did that day. It can and should be whatever you want it to be. Whatever feels right to you. If you want to spend an hour each night writing the details of everything you saw, ate and smelled, go for it! Or if you want to spend 5 minutes jotting down some impressions and taping in a ticket stub, do that!
3. It’s a great place for collecting and keeping information
One of my favorite things about going through my old travel journals is looking all at the business cards, receipts, and tickets I collected along the way. Seeing those things instantly takes me back to the memory of the place. Especially things like concerts, arts festivals and museum visits. It’s also very handy for keeping hotel name and info, you’ll be surprised at how those little scraps of a paper will make you smile when you return from your trip.
4. It helps you relax
When your traveling, everything is new, and that’s the point. It’s something the traveler seeks out, new experiences and sensory overload. The graffiti on the side of the building, the way the cobblestone streets fork in such a beautiful way, the gorgeous flower you saw on the trail. After a day of taking in all these wonderful and exciting sights and sounds, the practice of keeping a travel journal can be a great way to relax and reflect on the day.
5. It makes the trip personal to you
No matter how many tourists travel to a given place, your trip will always be unique. It’s unique because you’re unique. The places you choose to go, the path you take to get there and what you do when you arrive all make up your trip. Sometimes the photos of the “Top 10 Must See Sights” doesn’t capture the unique feeling you had when you were there. Keeping a travel journal can help capture the personal quality of the trip and help you remember it and cherish it for years after.
6. It sharpens your sense
To keep a creative travel journal you have to be on the lookout for things you love, things that catch your attention that you want to add to your journal later on. Or it makes you stop, and really look at the trees buildings or whatever you choose so you can capture it in your journal. The practices of keep a travel journal, really sharpens your senses and doesn’t let you breeze past all of the beauty of the trip.
7. It helps fight boredom
They come to me so clearly, those times I’ve been stuck on a train or waiting for a bus and felt that creep of boredom. When I’m not traveling I’d pull out my phone in these instances, but when I’m in a foreign place, I want to keep alert. So I pull out my travel journal and just jot down what I see, what I hear and inevitably, something that surprises me.
8. It’s not a camera.
Cameras are everywhere. I love taking photos. I love having a camera on me at all times with my iPhone, but when I’m traveling, I don’t like to rely on it for memories. I find that IPhone photos never do my memories justice and they just stay on my phone.
There are so many more reasons beyond these! Many of them you find in the doing. The practice of keeping a travel journal, by yourself or with your family or partner will reveal to you so many surprises of traveling that you will keep with you and return to long after you’ve come home.
Look around the site for inspiration and materials that seem right for you. And then experiment and have fun!