How to create a travel journal

Our photo journals are the perfect travel partner to keep all your moments together. Smaller than an average photo book, they are ideal for those little keepsakes you find along the way. Even though documenting your time away on your social media is great (sunny selfies and golden hour snaps are a must), try truly immersing yourself in your adventure by creating a travel journal.

How to start a travel journal?

Before grabbing your passport and setting off on your adventure, you can gather some travel scrapbook ideas. Bag yourself a scrapbook-style book, like our Softcover Photo Journal and a packet of pens – we’re going old-school. Start by documenting the basics and a mini itinerary.

Travel journal ideas:

• Where you’re going (and why)
• Who you’ll be travelling with – if it’s a solo trip, get that selfie stick ready
• How you’ll get there
• What you hope to see there, from the must-see landmarks (the Mona Lisa to *that* pastry shop) to the ‘if there’s time’ places
• How you’re feeling pre-travel – is it your first trip overseas? First time travelling with a partner? Prepping to test your language skills? Get all those emotions down (it’s cathartic).

How to journal while you’re travelling

You’ve landed at your destination – be that by plane, train, or (very tired) feet – and you’re ready to see it all. A quick check of your travel itinerary and it’s off to the local landmarks. If you’re taking your travel journal with you, scribble down notes as you go, or tap them into your phone notes to write in full later.

You can track how much you’re spending too, like how much it costs for an evening meal or to travel by the area’s local transport. If you know someone who will be travelling there soon, you can share your travel scrapbook ideas with them to inspire their own trip; details like budgeting might prove really helpful.

Travel journal ideas:

• The landmarks you saw – every statue, mountain, and native animal
• The food you ate – because you simply *had* to try every local delicacy. Why not stick a food menu for your favourite eatery inside?
• The weather – yes, you definitely, totally, absolutely knew it was monsoon season…

The sentimental stuff

Photos take you right back to a moment (it’s why we’re always telling you to take them), so make sure you’re filling that camera roll to print later. Capture the colours, the culture, and the people who make your trip the best one ever. And when you’re not photographing, stack up on the memoirs too. Collect keepsakes to stash in your journal: plane tickets, museum passes, that *stunning* shell that just had to come home with you. These ‘pieces’ of your trip will help take future-you right back to your travels (when sat at your work desk at 11:27 on a Tuesday).

Travel journal ideas:

• Use all your senses – it might feel like you’ll ‘never forget this moment’, but you might just do. Scribble down the smells, the textures, the sounds that wake you up and help you to nod off.
• The ups and downs – this is a diary of your adventures after all. Let those feelings flow, people.
• Get creative – why not add some illustrations? Try drawing the sunset or using colour to capture the mood

Looking back on your trip

So you made it home, with the sunburn, fridge magnet, and hiking boots to prove it. Your travel journal is (almost) full and you can’t wait to flick back through it and remember the good times. Now’s the time to reflect on your time away, be it 2 weeks or 2 months. Making a travel scrapbook is all about filling it with *every* moment from your trip. So, first up: your favourite moment. What was the biggest highlight? The moment that photos, memoirs, and words can only try to describe. Well, now’s the time to try and do that.

Think of this as your travel journal conclusion, your closing thoughts, and overall highs (with maybe some lows). How do you feel after your trip away and how would you describe it to others?

And for the last page of your journal? Write where you’re going next, obviously.