Tips for keeping a travel journal
Travel diary writing is a fantastic way to mark and remember your escapades overseas. If you’re a little old fashioned like me, and prefer putting pen to paper, keeping a journal like this can be a creative outlet and serve as treasure trove of happy memories which you can reflect on long after the trip of a lifetime has come to an end.
Things to keep in mind when choosing a travel diary:
Flat travel diaries fit easily into handbags and carry-on luggage.
Some diaries have templates allowing you to document flight itineraries or an address book for you to write down hotels or notable places visited.
An inbuilt calendar is handy for centralising all the details of your trip in one space
A good travel diary should come with a transparent pocket at the back to keep various paper items collected on your travels e.g. business cards.
If you like random words of inspiration, opt for one with inspirational quotes
Ideas on what to collect for the transparent pocket of your travel diary:
Boarding passes
Tickets to sporting games
City passes
Brochures for museums and art galleries
Business cards (restaurants, cafes and bars)
Postcards of various cities
Flat fridge magnets
Items that inspire your creativity
Things to write down:
Anything you like! But writing is a sensory experience. It helps to illustrate what you observe through sight, hearing, smell and feel when in a given setting.
Times, dates, city names, the names of people you met, key attractions/landmarks visited
When to write:
Limit long-form writing on board bumpy and crowded bus rides, trains or at least bullet point significant events. There’s no point in writing if you can’t decipher your on-the-run scribbles. A modern-day alternative to this is jotting down times, places, situations and people in the notes section on a smartphone/electronic device. These little anecdotes are big help in triggering memories when you have time to reflect on new experiences and have time to write long-form later in a quiet, comfortable space.
