travel journal essay example

Travel journal examples and how to get the most out of a travel journal

A travel journal: your new best friend.

Travel journal examples can spark ideas for your own journal. This matters a great deal because a travel journal can be one of your most helpful travel — make that life — tools. It can serve myriad purposes from recording your thoughts, emotions (an important aspect many overlook) and experiences to being a repository of creative ideas and even artwork. You can use it as a scrapbook, planning tool, contact book, organizer, reference book (for vital information such as passport numbers, hotel addresses, places to visit, etc.) and even a place to hide certain valuables.

It’s simple enough to put information into your travel journal. The hard part is being able to find or extract that information easily later on. But don’t worry. I’ll show you travel journal examples, techniques, hacks and tips for that and more based on decades trying a wide variety of travel journals and approaches. You’ll find these useful whether you’re an old pro at journaling or even if you’ve never used a travel journal before. And be sure to read all the way through this article since the Additional Resources section at the end is loaded with inspiring and helpful travel journal examples and ideas.

Getting started

The first and most important thing to remember is that there is no one right way to set up your travel journal. In fact, I’ve found that the best approach is to just start with something and learn as you go. My first travel journal was basically a daily diary: “Today I did this, etc.” Now, however, I use it in a very different matter. But it all comes down to this: What is the purpose of your travel journal?

Two typical entries from my first travel journal on my first trip to Europe in high school. I have upped my travel journal game a bit since then, or so I hope.

This is such an important question because it will guide what kind of notebook/journal/sketchbook you use, how you organize it and how you interact with it. If you’re just starting out, you may not even know your purpose other than to record your experiences. That’s fine. Start there. Then refine over time.

For me, I see my travel journal as a collection tool for travel drawing and notes where I gather ideas, sketches, some to-do’s, trip details and anything else that interests me. But the main difference between this and most journals is that as a tool, I want to use my journal after I return. Not just for nostalgic reminisces on my trip, but to glean from it what I’ve learned, gained and become. I’ll explain this more momentarily.

Picking the right journal

Again, I’m not sure there is a universal “right” travel journal. Your goal is to find what works for you. You can start by determining if you want a blank notebook or a travel journal that comes with prompts, quotes, organizing categories, etc. Here’s a helpful list of 17 travel journals to give you a sense of travel journal examples and possibilities. Mostly, consider if you want to do travel drawing or even painting in your travel journal. If so, you’ll want thicker paper that won’t warp with the water or bleed through with ink. You likely will want blank pages, as opposed to lines, grids or dots.

Just as there’s no right or wrong size (just what works for you), so too is the orientation up to you. As you can see here, I sketched holding the journal in a portrait orientation (left page) but wrote (right page, partial) using a landscape orientation. Both work.

If you want to use it as a form of a scrapbook, get one with pockets or that is expandable enough for when you’ve doubled the thickness with all those tickets, stamps, samples of currency, bottle labels and other elements you’ve glued to the pages.

Buying a nice looking or feeling notebook or journal can be motivating. But getting too nice of a notebook to use can be intimidating: You’ll be afraid to do any travel drawing or mess it up. Thus, I suggest starting somewhere in the middle. Find a journal or notebook that will hold up well (hard covers help in this regard), but isn’t so expensive you’ll only want to use it on special occasions. 

Even fancy patterns on your pages can be fun. I tend to prefer blank pages, but sometimes I’ll try different patterns just to mix things up.

Your travel journal is more of a workhorse than a show pony (though sometimes a bit of that too later on). You’ll get far more out of one you use all the time, where you write, do travel drawing or urban sketching, doodle and record with the intent that only you will ever see it. If you choose to show it to others later, fine. But don’t make that your main goal, at least as a beginner, or you’ll never get the most out of your journal.

How will you use your travel journal?

Back to purpose, you can choose to have a general-use journal or one devoted only to your trips (or to a particular trip). I have done both, and there are pros and cons to each. A journal for all situations allows you to connect everything you do so that if a great work idea hits you on a trip, you can reference back to a meeting about that, etc. You can also find things easier in some ways since your whole life, trip or home/work, is laid out in a chronological fashion in one book.

Here’s a recent journal of mine that I use daily, as well as for trips. You can see the basic outline for this article here that I wrote on the plane on a business trip. How do I know it was on a trip? From the notation that the sketch was done from a photo in the airplane’s magazine somewhere between Baltimore (BWI) and Seattle (SEA)

A really popular approach these days to general journals is the Bullet Journal . Many people swear by this way of organizing their journal and their life. I love many of the ideas found in bullet journaling. But I choose not to follow that approach completely. Why? Bullet journaling is primarily intended as a productivity tool. I personally don’t find it helpful in that regard because, for example, tracking all my calendar events and moment-by-moment to-do’s in a journal slows me down.

Combine digital and analog

Instead, I use a combination of Outlook, Trello , Evernote and Scrivener (the latter two for organizing ideas and writing projects or content) on my phone and computer. The main reason for tracking tasks digitally is that they roll over automatically. I don’t have to constantly move them manually from one day, week or month to-do list to the next.

But the main reason I don’t use the bullet journal methodology for my travel journal is that when I travel, productivity is not my goal. Exploration and discovery are. I use my travel journal to capture what I learn as I explore the world around me and the world within me wherever I go.

On a trip, I’m less interested in productivity than in explaining why this sketch was hard to do well.

In the last few years, I’ve taken up sketching and even watercolors, so for me, I now maintain a separate travel journal for each major trip. I use one that has thicker watercolor paper, so on a three-week trip, I can pretty much fill up the whole book. But for shorter trips, I do use my day-to-day journal. And I’ve even done both: Used my day-to-day journal to record words and a smaller sketchbook for travel drawing or watercolors. Again, no right or wrong way to do this. Just start with an approach and build from there.

Organizing your travel journal

What follows is how I organize my travel journal. It’s the same way I do my day-to-day journal but with some additional pages in the end for travel-specific information. My purpose, remember, is to capture ideas, information and experiences and then to be able to use these later. For that reason, the most helpful part of my journal is the index. I’ll explain that in a moment along with travel journal examples, but here’s what else goes into my journal.

Starting with a brand new empty journal

The first thing I do with a new journal is to put my name, cell phone number and email address on the inside cover.

Next, if the journal doesn’t have a rear pocket, I make one or glue/tape in a small envelope that fits on the inside of the rear cover.

If you glue in your own, consider hiding a few large denomination bills, both dollars and the local currency, behind the envelope or anything else you tape or glue inside the covers. It’s a great place for hiding back-up money. It works because once you start using your travel journal regularly, you’ll find it is one of your most precious possessions. You’ll learn to guard it like your wallet, passport or phone.

These are just some of the many travel journals I’ve filled up over the years.

In addition to the pocket or envelope in your journal, consider bringing a quart or gallon-sized zip lock bag to hold all the small items you pick up along the way. I used to shove them into pockets in my carry-on bag, but having a single location now keeps them from getting lost or mangled. And it keeps my travel journal from looking like George Costanza’s wallet on Seinfeld . This same bag can hold a glue stick, paper clips or anything else you want for adding items to your journal.

Start in the front and work back

I track everything chronologically noting the date at the top of each day’s entry. If it spans multiple pages, I’ll write “(cont.)” after the date on later spreads so I know to keep looking for the start of that day when I review the entry later.

I work in this chronological fashion for recording most of my entries because I find it flows better to write the item down right away and then figure out how to classify it later. I set up indexes in the back for classifying and locating the entry. But that comes as a review step, not a creative or collecting function.

What to write

Starting at the front section of the travel journal, I may use the very first page as a title page if the journal is devoted to a single trip. Otherwise, I skip over that page and then start with the date of the start of the trip and then just keep going from there. Here are the types of content I write/draw along with some of my travel journal examples:

Sometimes, I’ll devote a whole page or spread to nothing but sketches.

• General thoughts . These make up the majority of my journal and are what you’d expect in any journal.
• Sketches . I’m still just a beginner, but I’ve committed to one sketch per day, at home or on a trip. Sometimes they are involved. Others (most of the time), are just a quick gesture. But the discipline helps improve my skill.
• A daily log . At the end of each day, I do a very quick list of summary activities, where I went, who I met, what I did. I actually note it like this: “(Log 11/27/19 – Wed.):” so that I can see at a glance what were log entries versus other ideas. For logs, the shorter the better. Here’s where bullet journal techniques can help: Record a few words as a bullet rather than full sentences. At the end of every daily log, I also record two specific items in addition log entries themselves, gratitude points and what I’ve read or watched.
• Gratitude points : I jot down what I call a Goodness Journal (abbreviated as GJ) entry. This is the highlight of my day for which I am most grateful. On trips, this can often end up being multiple points.
• Read/Watched : The second additional component is what I call Read/Watched (R/W) where I list any books I’ve read that day or any movies, programs, concerts, etc. that I watched. It can include podcasts and anything else you want to track. Before I started doing this, I’d get to the end of the year and couldn’t recall all the books I’d read. Now I can just by referring back to these entries.
• Insights and Ideas . Most of my journal at home is filled with these. On trips, these happen more on plane, train or bus rides than every single day. But they could happen any time which is why I keep a pocket-sized travel journal with me or at least a note card or my phone so I can write the idea down immediately.
• Quotes . These can be formal written ones I encounter or snippets of conversations I overhear. As a writer, I want to always be gathering dialog examples or clever turns of phrases.
• To-dos. Yes, I said I record these digitally for the daily tasks. But sometimes on trips, you have opportunities for dreaming and planning. I mark all to-do’s with a checkbox I can fill in later. I like the bullet journal way they do this as well (a dot instead of a box).

I had a gentleman in China demonstrate his woodblock stamps by stamping some examples in my journal. You can paste in stamps, tickets, receipts, postcards or any other artifacts from your trip onto your journal pages as you go (if you remember to bring some glue or paste).

• Descriptions . These are either quick notes on what I’m seeing, hearing, tasting or tasting, or longer ways to capture the details of a place. See Look Closely for details on how to do this as a way to learn to see details better or to write better based on your travels. I also make sure to write down the names of places, people, food, local expressions and anything else I want to write about later. Don’t assume you’ll remember it or can look it up later. Write it down.
• Miscellaneous . I’ve had artists draw in my journal, had people stamp it (see photo above), record different colors of beverages spilled or intentionally dripped on it and a wealth of other things added. Be open to how you can use your journal. Or for fun, try this exercise: Come up with as many ways as you can think of to use your travel journal on your next trip.

The back of the journal

The front of the journal is used for a chronological input of information each day (or whenever you choose). The goal there is to record the idea, insight, drawing or information just like in a diary. The back of the journal is where you’ll organize it all for later retrieval.

Working from the last page backwards, I set up a series of index or topic pages (see the list below) where I record anything related to that topic either verbatim (if I have the time and forethought to write it down there such as contact info or a quote I came across) or as a page number reference and summary line from the front of the journal (hence the reason these back-of-the-journal pages are called Index Pages).

For me, I find that most index sections only require one page (e.g. for Contacts or Travel Details) but I leave two pages for Ideas or Vocabulary since they tend to have more entries. I write small (some would say ridiculously small), so if you don’t, you may want to leave more room.

Review your entries and record them for easier retrieval

I don’t assign page numbers as I write in the front of the journal. Instead, I jot down a page number later, maybe daily, maybe weekly, as I review my journal. Writing down the page number during the review phase shows me which pages have been indexed. No page number indicates it still needs to be indexed. As I review each page, I also code the entries themselves on the journal pages by highlighting the topic or assigning a word or letter to let me know what it is. For example, if there’s a quote, I will write “Quote” and circle it right before the quote. For blog ideas, I’ll write “blog” and circle that, etc. If  an idea that has distinct merit, I’ll draw a star next to it. Particular project ideas get a corresponding code, e.g. if it’s about  my book on Hidden Travel,   I’ll write “HT” and circle that. The whole point is to make it easier to spot the entry when you’re reviewing the page later.

Here you can (hopefully) see how I’ve written and circled page numbers at the top and put a box around the word “Quote” on the left page and “Visual appeal article” on the right page. Then, on the Quotes index page, I’ll write “108” and circle it with a quick notation like, “E.B. White on saving/savoring the world.” On the Ideas index page, I’ll write “109” and circle it with the notation, “Visual Appeal article questions.”

In case you’re wondering why the index/topic pages go in the back and not in the front like a table of contents, it’s because I often add topics as I progress through the journal. Working from the back gives me room to add new pages whereas if I’d started from the front and I didn’t guess correctly, I’d be out of room before running into my journal entries.

Travel journal examples of Pre-Trip Items

Some of my index/topic pages get filled in (or at least started) before my trip either as planning or to load my travel journal with important information to have on my trip. Here are some travel journal examples of the key sections.

Here’s a travel journal example of a shot list from my China trip journal. I tend to write pretty small in the back section of a journal! The whited out area was my passport number in code. Writing key information on pages with other entries makes it even less obvious this is something valuable.

• Vocabulary. On trips to countries where I’m learning the language, I’ll add new vocabulary words here usually starting long before the trip. These are key words to practice, as well as new ones I pick up as I travel.
• Shot list . When planning my trip, as a photographer, I make a list of specific places, scenes, techniques I want to try or even times of day I want to shoot. Check out my Beginner’s Guide to Making Awesome Travel Photos for more on this and other travel photo techniques. In addition, as I review guidebooks or articles, I’ll add interesting places to this list. Even if you’re not a photographer, you can make a list of “must see” places or “must do” experiences or activities. Writing them down really helps because it makes it so easy to find all these in one place rather than hunting through a guidebook or other pages on your trip.
• Themes and Moments . This is yet another pre-trip fill-in page. I try to come up with a theme or quest for each trip. Writing down ideas about that or defining it really adds to the anticipation of the trip. On this page, I’ll also jot down ideas for creating magic or defining moments for others on the trip. This includes ideas for the activities or contact info for places or people that will be part of the activity.

Travel journal examples of elements to add as you travel

Here are some typical index/topic pages in the back of my travel journal that get filled in as I go:

• Contact information . I keep a separate page to record the names, email addresses, etc. of people I meet along the way. If, in a hurry, I just write down a name and email address in the front-of-the-book journaling section. I’ll later record the page number and contact name on the page here so all I can find all my contacts in one place later.
• Ideas . This becomes a catchall for any creative ideas I’ve had. I normally start with the page number(s) followed by a brief summary such as “27 – 29: Dining room chair design” or “73: Article on architecture styles in Morocco.”

Here’s a specific travel journal example, the Ideas Index Page from my China trip journal. I had started the page on the left as a vocabulary list but made room from more ideas when I ran out of space on the page on the right.

• Books and Movies . This too is a catchall for any form of entertainment I want to read. I constantly get book and movie (and even song or podcast) recommendations as I travel that I add here with an open check box. I also record books I’ve finished to this list noting those with a checked box.
• Quotes . As noted above, these may be written quotes I come across or snippets of dialog I pick up. I either write the quote here directly or reference the journal page where I wrote the quote with a reminder such as “53-quote from Leipzig waitress on timing.”

You can do a trip highlights page on the flight home, but sometimes it helps to record a summary of details in the midst of your trip of things that stand out to you.

• To-do’s. I said I like to keep my travel journal free from productivity and time management, but I always have big-picture to-do activities that arise on a trip. I’ll record these as I go in the journal section, but for longer-term ones I don’t want to lose track of, I sometimes add a to-do index as well in the back of the journal. This can also be a great place to record future planning ideas for things you want to accomplish after your trip.
• Trip highlights . I’ll normally note the big moments in the journal section as they occur. But often on the flight home, I like to review these and capture them all in one place with the page reference and a brief notation. I may also add in additional ones at this point because sometimes, you don’t realize how powerful or meaningful a moment was at the time.

When your journal is full

Eventually, you’ll fill up your journal with entries. You’ll then review and have every page numbered with key entries noted in your index pages. Then what?

I use Scrivener (for writing projects) and Evernote (for others) as software/apps to track ideas over time. Thus, when I finish a journal, I go copy the content from my index pages into one of these digital programs.

There are several reasons for this. First, it helps to have all your ideas over time in one place so you can view them easier. Second, with the online tools, I can tag content by subject making retrieval later much easier. Most of us focus our efforts on having ideas and maybe writing them down. But those ideas won’t serve you well if you can’t find them later. Finally, putting everything into one place helps me see patterns and related ideas which, in turn, sparks new ideas.

It all relates to the concept of Collect, Connect and Share. If all you’re doing is collecting, you’re missing out on the main value of your journal.

Make a copy

This may be overkill to some, but my journals are precious repositories of life. I would hate to lose them. I could dictate the contents and transcribe that, but I don’t have that kind of time. Instead, Evernote comes to the rescue.

The Evernote app has a photo function. I open the app and take pictures of every spread or page of my journal. I save the results as an Evernote file and can even tag it by date, country or other criteria. It then resides on the cloud (and I also do a back-up on a drive at home). That way, if the original gets lost, I know that all those memories are secure.

Let’s review

Here’s a summary of the key points:

• Know the purpose for your journal
• Choose the type of journal based on your intended purpose.
• Start with something that’s not too nice so that you’re not afraid to mark it up.
• Keep daily entries in the front and a list of index pages in the back of the journal.
• Periodically review your journal entries. As you do, number each page and record that page number and a brief reminder on the appropriate index page.
• At the end of each journal, photograph each page and save to a secure location. Then enter the index information into whatever tool you use for tracking all of your ideas over time.

Additional resources and travel journal examples

Here are other resources and travel journal examples to both inspire and help you get the most out of your travel journal:

• A helpful article with visuals of different travel journal examples
• Writer and artist Austin Kleon’s comments on notebooks 
• Travel journal examples (and notebooks) of author Robert MacFarlane 
• Some additional travel journal examples and notebook types
• The Sketchbook Projec t, one of my favorite places to visit in Brooklyn, NY and a great source of inspiration for sketchbooks. If you’re looking for a single place for travel journal examples, it is this one. Here are just a few screen shots of some random travel journal examples I looked up by Julia Yellow . There are thousands of such journals at this site.

• If you really enjoy the travel drawing aspect of a travel journal, you might want to connect with the whole Urban Sketchers movement and see travel journal examples that include urban sketching. Here’s an example of an urban sketch by Stephanie Bower . I took some of her architectural sketching courses online at Bluprint and they were excellent.

Parting thoughts

Finally, if you want even more travel journal examples and information, be sure to read Lavinia Spalding’s excellent book on the subject, Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler. Here’s one of many great quotes from the book:

“If we’re committed to honest investigation, the travel journal can be a cornerstone of growth and a catalyst for great work, providing a safe container for astonishing discoveries and the life lessons we take away from them. We write words in an empty book, and an inanimate object is transformed into a living, breathing memoir. In turn, as we write, the journal transforms us. It allows us to instantly process impressions, which leads to a more examined layer of consciousness in both the present and the future. It’s a relationship, and let me tell you, it’s no cheap one-night stand.”

You might want to consider writing that quote down in your travel journal. Either in the daily entries or on the quotes index page. Or however you want to do it. It’s your travel journal and the possibilities are endless.

Thanks Steve! Informative and creative. Your sketching is lovely, too! Merry Christmas to you and the fam

Thanks, Alan. I was just editing a section in my upcoming book, “Hidden Travel,” on the subject of sketching and the advice I was given by Gabriel Campinario, founder of Urban Sketchers. He told me to never apologize or say, “Oh, I’m just a beginner” when someone compliments your sketching because no matter how bad you think it is, it is still better than that of the 99% of the population who never attempts to draw. So I will leave it at, “Thank you!”

[…] I mainly get inspiration from a Reddit group called Journaling, and also I get a few ideas on making travel journals. Despite it being fun to do having a physical notebook, at times it can be difficult to finish them […]

You’ve inspired me to resume creating tiny travel journals, with scrapbook like additions. I use photo double sided stickies, not glue. Someone asked what do I do with these? As if creating isn’t pleasurable. I often use them as primary sources to create photobooks. Along with my Bird lists.🐦😁.

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Travel Journal Examples & Sample Pages

Posted on Published: January 13, 2018  - Last updated: March 31, 2023

When I took the plunge to downsize a few years ago, I promised myself that I would see more of the world. Initially, I was turned off to the idea of solo travel,  so I put my travel plans to the side. That was two years ago. In the time since, I’ve grown in my ability to navigate unfamiliar spaces and, through following a few solo travel blogs, warmed to the idea of solo travel and visited over a dozen countries on solo adventures.

In April of 2017, I began planning my first solo journey- 25 days that summer in Italy, Croatia, and Bosnia. At some point, as I dreamed about travel and adventures, I began to imagine what it might be like to honor my artist self with something that all classically trained artists receive: a chance to study the masters.

I dreamed, cautiously, of spending hours in museums during my trip, sitting in front of the iconic work of the masters and translating their work into my style. I did this with caution because, as anyone can tell, I’m not a classical artist. Realism in art defies me, and I was acutely aware of the exposure that sketching in a museum carries. Could I bring the courage I’d need to sit in some of the best museums in the world, before works of the masters, and doodle? Cautiously, I packed my bags, created a travel art kit, and set off on my journey.

DAY 1. Michelangelo’s David At Gallery Academia

I intentionally planned my days without an itinerary, so I had the freedom to wander, to bask, or to explore. On my first full day of my trip, I was in Florence, and the only thing on my to-do list was to make it to the Academia Gallery by days end. Academia was built specifically to house their most famous piece- Michelangelo’s David sculpture.

It was at this gallery that I discovered the best part about solo travel as an artist- the freedom to really pause and take in great art. Without having to be sensitive to a partners interest or boredom, I could sit for hours with David- and I did. After some study and some people watching I went to work on this little doodle.

I had so much fun doing this sketched that when I stumbled onto Logia Del Lanzi later that day, I sat and doodled one of those ancient sculptures as well:

DAY 2. Botticelli’s “Birth Of Venus” At Uffizi Gallery 

Cruelly, Uffizi did not provide benches with a view of this piece, but I was able to stand with it for a time, studying, and then snap a photo to sketch her from a bench in a nearby hallway.

It was fun to study this piece as a student of psychology and someone doing a lot of personal work in the area of body image currently. Renaissance art bodies are so beautiful to behold, and great reminders. Here’s how I captioned this shot on Instagram:

Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. It is lovely to be reminded that thigh gaps and flat tummies are a fleeting ideal. This painting was made in a society that thought art should be in service of faith with a very narrow view of what that meant. I love that this image of a round woman’s body was one of the first to say the beauty of bodies, God’s creation is good.

DAY 3.  Florence Parks & Truffle Hunting

On Day 3 I strayed a bit from my “no itinerary” plans and booked an : Air BnB Experience . In a brilliant move on Airbnb’s part, in my opinion, they are using their network of local hosts as a source from which to curate local guides. Only available in limited cities at the time of this writing, Airbnb made booking the tour really easy (since I already had an account) and I loved, love, loved that it really was the offer of a memorable “experience” instead of an information-based tour.   Of the three day tours I joined during my 3 week journey, the Airbnb experience was my favorite.

I didn’t actually get the chance to doodle this one until I was in Croatia, and it’s not one of my favorite travel doodles- but it captures the experience- and that’s what my travel art journal was all about. The journal gave me space to capture what stood out about the experience- the texture of a truffle, our guide and his dog, and the views as we hiked through the Tuscan hills overlooking Florence. Space left for text allowed me to record a few things I learned about truffles.

You can read more about my adventure truffle hunting in Italy on my post about it .

Buildings of Florence

Florence was my first opportunity to use my doodling to collect a record of the places I visited, not just the art I saw, through recording streets and buildings.

A partially-finished painting of the street where I stayed in Florence

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Architecture is a point of interest for anyone visiting Italy, and the not-very-popular but still beautiful Piazza Del Liberta was a great spot to sit in the cool of the evening and practice architectural doodles. This turned out to be the first of many architectural doodles during the trip, but it’s still one of my favorites. I kept a separate hardcover booklet of heavy watercolor paper  in my pack for these kind of watercolors.

There and Back: Italy on the Return

My trip began and ended in Italy, with two weeks of exploring Croatia and Bosnia in the middle. On the return trip to Italy, I spent four days in Rome.

In Rome, I got to doodle Carravagio’s “Inspiration of St Matthew”. (Which turned out weirdly like a bible themed coloring page- but ok, everything is a learning process)

By the time I reached Rome I was so tired, but the doodles I made time for were lovely ways to remember what I saw during my solo time in Italy.

City Scapes and Overlooks

Self Portraits as a Traveler

Journal accent pages.

Fountains and Structures of Rome

In Rome more so than Florence, it was the architecture rather than the galleries that demanded most of my awe.

And the Iconic Trevi Fountain, too grand to capture in its fullness so represented in my doodle of a side portion of the fountain

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Lynli Roman’s unique approach to travel is informed by decades of experience on the road with a traveling family and, later, years spent as a solo international traveler. When she’s not writing about Seattle from her Pike Place Market apartment, Lynli writes on-location while conducting hands-on research in each destination she covers. Lynli’s writing has been featured by MSN, ABC Money, Buzzfeed, and Huffington Post. She is passionate about sharing information that makes travel more accessible for all bodies.

Sunday 14th of January 2018

so lovely to see them all collated :) . any chance you might share your info/discoveries/ sources on single person travel?

Thursday 18th of January 2018

Thanks for your comment! This is my art blog and I have a blog about non-art stuff, like solo travel, over at wanderbig.com I've written about some of my adventures traveling as a single person there!

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What Is a Travel Journal + How to Make One with Examples

Traveling to new places and journaling about your exciting and enriching experiences is beyond rewarding. Whether you're exploring a bustling city, immersing yourself in nature's wonders, or embarking on a cultural adventure, capturing your travel experiences is a great way to preserve memories and reflect on your journey. One popular and creative way to document your travels is through a travel journal . In this article, we'll cover what a travel journal is, the benefits of keeping one, how to choose the best travel journal among different types, and provide you with tips and examples on how to make your own.

Ready to discover how to capture your travel experiences in different places, explore creative travel journal ideas and travel journal prompts, and more? Let the adventure begin!

What is a Travel Journal?

A travel journal is a personal diary that allows you to record your thoughts, feelings, and experiences during your travels. It serves as a visual and written account of your adventures, providing you with a tangible keepsake that you can cherish for years to come. Unlike a regular journal, a travel diary focuses specifically on your journeys, including details about the different places you visit, the people you meet, the food you try, and the sights you see.

Benefits of Keeping a Travel Journal

Keeping a travel journal offers numerous benefits beyond simply documenting your experiences. Here are some additional reasons why you should consider starting one:

1. Emotional and Mental Well-Being

Journaling has been shown to have positive effects on emotional and mental well-being . When you write about your travel experiences, you have the opportunity to process and reflect on your emotions, helping you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your reactions to different situations via your journal entries. It can be a therapeutic outlet for releasing stress, anxiety, or even excitement, allowing you to better manage your emotions throughout your journey.

2. Enhanced Memory Retention

Writing about your travels helps improve memory retention. By actively engaging with your experiences and recording them in detail, you reinforce the neural connections related to those memories. This makes it easier to recall specific moments, sights, sounds, and even the feelings associated with them in the future. Your travel diary becomes a valuable tool for preserving and retrieving cherished memories.

3. Cultural Exploration and Appreciation

A travel journal encourages you to be more observant and attentive to the details of the places you visit. It prompts you to delve deeper into the local culture, traditions, and customs. By documenting your interactions with locals, sampling regional cuisine, and exploring hidden gems, you develop a greater appreciation for the unique aspects of each destination. Your journal becomes a testament to the richness and diversity of the world around you.

4. Personal Growth and Self-Reflection

Writing in a travel diary allows for introspection and personal growth. As you reflect on your experiences, you gain insights into your own values, beliefs, and perspectives. You may discover new passions or interests, challenge preconceived notions, or develop a greater sense of empathy and understanding for others. The process of self-reflection through journaling can lead to personal transformation and a deeper connection to the world.

5. Travel Planning and Preparation

Your travel journal can serve as a practical resource for future trips. By documenting your itineraries, accommodations, transportation details, and recommendations, you create a valuable reference guide that covers your experiences more fully. You can refer back to your journal to jog your memory or provide recommendations to fellow travelers. It becomes a repository of knowledge that can streamline the planning process for future adventures.

6. Connection with Loved Ones

Sharing your travel journal with friends, family, or future generations can be a meaningful way to connect and bond. Your journal becomes a storytelling tool, allowing others to experience your journey vicariously through your words, sketches, and photographs. It can spark conversations, ignite curiosity, and inspire others to embark on their own adventures.

7. Creative Expression

Engaging in the creative process of journaling stimulates your imagination and artistic abilities. Whether you're writing prose, sketching landscapes, creating collages, or experimenting with different art mediums, your travel diary becomes a canvas for self-expression. It encourages you to think outside the box, explore new artistic techniques, and develop your creative skills.

Keeping a travel journal goes beyond simply recording your experiences. It has profound benefits for your emotional well-being, memory retention, personal growth, and cultural appreciation. It serves as a tangible reminder of your adventures, a tool for planning future trips, a means of connecting with others, and a creative outlet for self-expression. So, grab a journal and embark on your journey of exploration and self-discovery through travel journaling.

Types of Travel Journals

There are different journals for just about any goal or activity you can think of – from travel journals to fitness journals , from gratitude journals to garden journals , and more. Similarly, there are various types of travel diaries to suit different preferences and styles. We cover the best travel journals below so you can find one perfect for you.

1. Guided Travel Journals

Guided journals provide travel journal prompts and structured sections to help you capture specific aspects of your journey. Guided journals often include questions, blank pages to fill in, and guided activities to guide your journaling process. Using a guided journal or planner , can ensure you cover all the essentials, without missing any crucial details you’ll want to revisit later.

2. Traditional Handwritten Journals

These are classic journals or notebooks with blank pages where you can freely write, draw, or glue mementos. Traditional journals offer the most flexibility in terms of customization for creative journal entries.

3. Photographic Travel Journals

For those who prefer visual storytelling, a photographic travel journal focuses on capturing moments through photographs. You can include pictures alongside brief descriptions or captions to narrate your journey visually.

4. Scrapbook Travel Journals

Scrapbook-style journals combine photographs, tickets, postcards, and other memorabilia with handwritten notes and decorative elements. They provide a visually appealing way to preserve your travel memories.

5. Sketchbook Travel Journals

If you have artistic inclinations, a sketchbook journal allows you to sketch and paint scenes, landmarks, and people you encounter during your travels. It's a great way to capture the essence of a place through your own artwork.

6. Digital Travel Journals

In the digital age, many people opt for digital travel journals, using apps or online platforms to document their adventures. Digital journals offer the convenience of easy editing, multimedia integration, and the ability to share your journey with others online.

7. Travel Bullet Journals

A popular trend in journaling, travel bullet journals combine organization and creativity. Based on the bullet journaling system, these journals use symbols, icons, and trackers to help you plan and record your travels. You can create sections for itineraries, packing lists, daily logs, and more, all while adding artistic touches and personalization.

You can also use a monthly planner with ample note pages and customize it as a travel calendar journal.

Whether you prefer the structure of guided journals, the freedom of traditional handwritten journals, the visual impact of photographic or scrapbook journals, the artistic expression of sketchbook journals, the convenience of digital journals, or the organization of travel bullet journals, there's a type of travel journal that will resonate with you and enhance your travel experiences. Choose the one that suits your style and embark on a journey of creativity and self-expression.

How to Make a Travel Journal

Now that you have an idea of the different types of travel journals, let's explore how to make your own.

1. Selecting the Right Journal

Consider the type of journaling experience you desire. If you prefer writing and sketching, a traditional blank-page journal or sketchbook might be ideal. If you want structure and guidance, opt for a guided travel journal. If you're tech-savvy, explore digital journaling options.

2. Gathering Essential Supplies

Depending on the type of journal you choose, gather supplies such as pens, pencils, markers, glue, scissors, washi tape, stickers, and any other decorative elements you'd like to incorporate. If you're going digital, ensure you have a suitable device and any necessary apps or software.

3. Planning Your Journal

Before your trip, plan how you want to organize your journal. Consider creating sections for different aspects like itineraries, accommodation, food, and sightseeing. This will help you stay organized and make it easier to find information later.

4. Documenting Your Journey

During your trip, actively engage in your journaling process with regular (yet not restrictive or rigid) journal entries. Write about your daily experiences, jot down interesting conversations, glue in ticket stubs or postcards, and take photographs to complement your entries. Let your creativity flow and capture the essence of each moment.

Travel Journal Page and Layout Examples

The layout and organization of your travel journal pages play a crucial role in bringing your travel experiences, from all the different places you’ve visited, to life. By incorporating various elements and sections, you can create a visually appealing and informative journal that captures the essence of your journey. From practical pages for itineraries and packing lists to creative spreads for reflections and bucket lists, here are some ideas to help you design engaging and meaningful pages for your travel diary.

1. Packing List and Pre-Trip Planning Pages

Dedicate a page or spread to jot down your packing list and pre-trip preparations. Include essential items, travel tips, and any special considerations for the destination. You can even add checkboxes or symbols to mark off items as you pack, ensuring you don't forget anything important.

You may also want to check out these helpful travel and packing tips .

2. A List of Local Words and Phrases

Learning a few basic words and phrases in the local language can greatly enhance your travel experience. Create a page dedicated to practicing and referring to these words and phrases. Include translations, pronunciation guides, and space to practice writing them. This page can be a helpful tool for connecting with locals and immersing yourself in the local culture.

3. Itinerary Pages

Design pages dedicated to your daily itineraries. Include the places you plan to visit, opening hours, transportation details, and any additional notes or reservations. You can add maps, photographs, or illustrations to make the page visually appealing and easy to navigate.

4. Accommodation and Restaurant Reviews

Reserve pages to review and rate the accommodations and restaurants you experience. Include details like the location, ambiance, service, and any standout dishes. You can even attach business cards, menus, or photographs to accompany your reviews. These pages will not only serve as a reference for future trips but also help fellow travelers discover hidden gems.

5. Post-Trip Reflection and Wrap-Up

Allocate space in your journal for post-trip reflections. Create pages to summarize your overall experience, highlight your favorite moments, and reflect on the lessons learned during your journey. Include photographs, sketches, or quotes that capture the essence of your adventure. These reflection pages will serve as a reminder of the growth and memories you gained from your travels.

6. Travel Bucket List

Create a dedicated page to list destinations, landmarks, or experiences you aspire to visit or accomplish in the future. You can divide the page into different categories like countries, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, or adrenaline-fueled activities. This page will serve as a source of inspiration and motivation for your future travels.

7. Travel Budget, Savings Goals, and Tracking

If budgeting is important to you, design pages to track your travel expenses, savings goals, and tips for saving money during your travels. Create tables or graphs to visually represent your budget and savings progress. These pages will help you stay accountable and ensure you're making the most of your financial resources.

Your travel diary is a personal and creative space to capture the memories, emotions, and experiences of your journeys. Through carefully designed pages and layouts, you can transform your journal into a visual and written narrative of your adventures. Whether you choose to incorporate practical elements like itineraries and packing lists or focus on creative expressions like reflections and bucket lists, the possibilities are endless. Let your imagination guide you as you create pages that reflect your unique travel style and personality. With each turn of the page, your travel diary will become a treasure trove of cherished memories and a gateway to relive your journeys again and again.

Creative Travel Journaling Ideas and Prompts

Stuck on what to write or include in your travel diary? Here are some creative travel journal ideas and travel journal prompts to get you started:

• Write a letter to your future self reflecting on your travel experiences and what you hope to remember.
• Describe the scents, sounds, and tastes that stand out in each place you visit.
• Create a "People You Meet" page, where you can jot down brief descriptions or draw portraits of interesting individuals you encounter during your journey.
• Write a short story or poem inspired by a specific location or experience.
• Make a to-do list of activities or experiences you want to accomplish at each destination. Challenge yourself to complete as many as possible and check them off as you go.
• Write a gratitude list, noting the things you're grateful for during your travels. It could be the stunning sunsets, the kindness of locals, or the serendipitous encounters.

A travel diary is a beautiful way to document and cherish your travel experiences. Whether you opt for a traditional handwritten journal, a photographic account, or a digital platform, the process of journaling will enhance your journey and provide a lasting memory of your adventures. Experiment with different styles, layouts, and prompts to make your travel journal uniquely yours. So, grab a journal and start capturing your travel memories today!

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Travel Journaling Guide: How to Write the Ultimate Travel Diary

Travel journaling allows you to preserve your travel memories for life. It’s a fact of life that memories fade over time. Some may disappear within seconds, while others can stay clear for hours, days or weeks. Travel memories that are written down, however, are there for life.

If you’ve been tracking down waterfalls in the Cuban jungle, it’s only a matter of time until you forget the blood-red feathers of the Cuban trogon you stumbled upon. What about the name of that man you met on the Paris Metro? The ins and outs of your journey on a night bus in Vietnam? The accidental shortcut you found in Switzerland?

As a travel writer, I’ve been travel journaling in one shape or form for my whole life. However, you don’t have to be a writer to start a travel journal. It can be as simple, as short or as complex as you like, with the following travel journaling guide.

Whether you bullet-point everything or smash out several pages of prose per day, your travel journal doesn’t just preserve precious travel memories. It’s a place to self-reflect on your journey, record facts and quotes, and creatively display your travels so far. The best part? All you need to start travel journaling is a notebook, a pen and a travel plan.

Table of Contents

What is travel journaling?

Travel journaling is the act of keeping a written record of your travels. While this typically refers to keeping a chronological (hour-by-hour and day-by-day) travel diary, some travel journalers might also sketch, create collages or draw infographics to tell a story.

Travel journaling is unique to each storyteller, but at its core, it’s about relaying your experiences for an imaginary or real reader and recording your adventures for your future self to look back on.

The only piece of equipment you need to begin travel journaling is a notebook. This could be as simple as a basic lined or unlined notebook. However, some notebooks are designed specifically as travel diaries and aim to prompt the author, such as the  Travel Listography Diary  and the  You Are Here Mindful Travel Journal .

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Travel Journaling: Should I keep a travel journal?

Anyone can keep a travel journal, whether you’re creating a travel journal to share memories with family and friends when you return home, or just for yourself. It’s a souvenir of sorts, but one that has a personal meaning to you and captures your exact thoughts and feelings at a specific time and place in your journey.

You might want to keep a travel journal if…

1. You want your memories to become sharper and more meaningful.

At school, teachers often advise students to write down facts to remember them. The same goes for memories. Writing about a memory stimulates your brain to recall and remember specific details from that moment.

When you revisit a memory like that, it sends your brain a signal that that particular memory is important. It is prioritised above other, more insignificant memories from the day, the week or the year. As a result, you’re more likely to be able to recall it in the future.

At the same time, revisiting a memory allows you to add meaning to your experience. By exploring the thoughts and feelings that came along with the physical sensations, you’re able to bring a unique, personal meaning to what happened.

2. You’d like to relive a memory a second time.

When I urged a friend I met on my travels to try recording his memories on paper, one of the most significant things he said was, “It’s like I get to experience it all over a second time.”

That’s one of the best parts about travel journaling. In your own, unique way, you get to experience something in detail for a second time. You might feel the same rush of adrenaline, the same apprehension or the same ‘lightbulb moment’.

3. You want to jot down contact details of new friends.

Sometimes you meet people on the road and they have a huge impact on you in some way or another: a blasé comment that stuck with you, a new perspective on a topic you thought you’d already figured out, or an unexpected friend in a moment where you really needed it. Just as often, you forget to ask for their contact information or you lose it in the mayhem.

Anything can happen to your phone when you’re travelling: loss, theft, damage, or unexpected memory wipes. Jotting down important contact details in your travel journal creates a second, permanent copy of their details. You never know, you might want to share some of the entries they starred in as a way to reflect on your fleeting time together.

4. You want to work through complex thoughts and feelings.

There’s a reason why many therapists and life coaches suggest writing down how you’re feeling. It’s a very effective way of processing complex or difficult emotions.

You might have had a travel experience that has shook you up slightly – an illness or a missed flight, perhaps – and want to get your immediate frustrations out on paper. Maybe you’ve come to a big realisation about the way you handle stress or adversity. Either way, your travel journal is a great way to work through the feelings.

Bottling up emotions isn’t good for anyone, so this is a particularly handy use for a travel diary if you’re a solo traveller who doesn’t have anyone to vent to immediately. This can all boost your self awareness, protect yourself from future mishaps, and generate a greater understanding of yourself.

5. You want to reflect on your travels so far and what you’d like out of the rest of your trip.

Travel can be a whirlwind. However, by reflecting on your travels so far, you can assess what have been the most meaningful experiences in your trip so far, and seek out similar experiences in the future.

Similarly, it can help you to realise if you’ve been focusing on one particular experience so far – for example, hiking or visiting historical sites. It might influence you to try something new, like attending a cultural festival, going on a village walk or engaging in some  offbeat travel  experiences.

6. You want to save ideas for an online travel diary or social media posts.

Whether you’re a content creator, a digital nomad, or simply someone who likes to share your travels with friends and family, travel journaling can be a great way to fine-tune ideas for future stories, whether written or visual.

You might be planning to create your own blog or post photos on Instagram with in-depth captions. Setting up your own website is relatively inexpensive to do nowadays with websites such as  Bluehost  offering cheap, affordable domains and hosting plans – this is the site I used to set up my own blog.

Draft ideas for stories and captions in your travel journal, and use a highlighter to pick out your best ideas.

7. You want to improve your writing skills

Whether you’re a seasoned writer or a complete beginner, the simple act of travel journaling every day (or every other day) will give you more practice in the art of the written word.

This will carry over into your studies, essay-writing, creative writing, email-writing, or general communication skills. It also boosts your confidence as a writer.

8. You want something tangible to share with family or friends.

Unless you’re planning on keeping your travel journal to yourself, a travel diary is a great hand-me-down that will give your ancestors a taste of your travels and personality. It’s also an excellent way to connect with friends and families back home, and give them the run-down on what you got up to. If you travelled with a partner or a friend, it’s also an excellent shared keepsake.

Travel Journaling: What should a travel journal include?

When it comes to the question of ‘what should a travel journal include?’, I use the word ‘should’ lightly. Your travel journal is uniquely yours. It doesn’t  have  to include anything you don’t want it to.

However, there are many things that you might want to include in your travel journal, so the following list should provide some inspiration.

Pick and choose the ideas you like and  experiment  to see what works for you. What works for you will be different than what works for other travel journalers.

1. Brainstorming

You don’t need to wait until your departure date to begin travel journaling. It can also be used to plan your trip. Before anything else, you might want to dedicate a page (or a few) to brainstorming.

Do you want a budget or a luxury trip? Do you want to see the beaches, mountains, jungle, lakes, rivers, or deserts? Which countries match your non-negotiables? Who might you invite, or who can you connect with out there? This sort of brainstorming can streamline the planning process and help you to get the most out of your trip.

2. Trip research

After brainstorming comes the more nitty-gritty trip research. Your travel notebook is ideal for this too. It’s easy to open up a dozen or more tabs on your laptop or mobile device, so you can use the physical notebook to jot down key destinations and activities that have captured your attention. This will help you to narrow down your itinerary once and for all.

3. A trip plan

You can take this a step further and write a complete plan for your trip. If you don’t want your notebook to get too messy, you can simply add your finalised itinerary. This will be very helpful when you’re actually travelling, because you can store all of your booking information and your travel timeline in one place.

This is what I do, and it keeps my mind clear and my travel plan organised. I also include back-up ideas for activities and alternative transport options should anything go awry.

4. A travel diary

When you start to gather first-hand travel experiences, you can begin to record a diary of the events. You might want to write in prose, which is the best way to let your thoughts flow freely onto the page.

An alternative option is to take bullet points, which help you to get down information quickly before you forget it. You might also want to alternate between the two, writing in bullet points when you’re short on time and writing in prose when you feel particularly inspired.

5. Other travel memorabilia

Your travel journal doesn’t just have to be a written diary. You can collect – and glue down – other travel memorabilia such as ticket stubs, receipts or dried flowers.

Just remember to pack a small glue stick or double-sided tape and scissors (in your checked bag, not your carry-on bag).

Some travel memorabilia that you might want to stick into your travel diary include:

• Ticket stubs.
• Foreign bank notes.
• Newspaper clippings.
• Dried flowers.
• Food wrappers.
• Luggage tag labels.

6. Sketches

If you’re particularly artistic, sketching the scenery, wildlife, or people you see on your journey is a great way to bring your diary to life. If you’re not artistically inclined, a small caricature might be more accessible and just as fun.

Others might prefer to paint in watercolour; there are a number of  watercolour travel journals  available.

Travel journaling: How do you write a travel journal entry?

When you start recording your first travel journal entry, my first piece of advice is simply to start writing.

It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t even have to make sense to anyone but you. If you work better with an outline, the following prompts should get you started.

1. Write down the date.

The most important thing to do, and perhaps the only rule of travel journaling, is that you should start by writing down the date of your entry. If you can, include the day of the week too, as this can often give extra context – for example, if it’s the weekend, it might explain why the crowds in your destination were so lively or the public transport delayed.

I recommend using the format: Thursday, 21st July, 2022. You want to be able to look back on the date of the entry and see how much time has passed since it took place.

2. Write down your location.

The second most important thing to write down is your location. It’s a good idea to be as specific as possible. Include the town, the village or even the hotel or hostel you’re staying at.

This makes it easier to re-imagine the scenario when you’re reading your diary back. It also makes the entry more accurate and places the event somewhere tangible.

3. Decide whether you’re going to write in prose or use bullet points.

As a rule of thumb, it’s best to get your memories down on paper when they are still fresh. If you’re pressed on time, you might want to take bullet points rather than write in prose. If more than a couple of days have passed, you’ll start losing some of the sharper details.

4. Start writing chronologically.

It might be tempting to jump right into the drama that happened in your evening. However, writing your travel diary chronologically is the easiest way to keep it understandable.

The version of events can get confusing if the narrator is constantly skipping from 7pm to 10am, then to 3pm and back to 10am again.

Begin by writing about your morning. What time did you wake up? What did you eat for breakfast? Who did you talk to? Where did you go from there? It’s also easier to recall memories this way and follow a clear train of thought.

5. Be specific.

As a rule of thumb, the more specific your writing is, the better. This is because the smaller details such as street names or direct quotes are some of the first things that will fade from your memory.

If you really want to bring the memory back to life, focus on the details:  location, names, times, dates, quotes, and specific thoughts.

The following prompts might come in handy:

• What did you eat? Where did you dine? How did it taste? What was the texture of the food?
• Who did you speak to? What were their names?
• Did you discover anything new today? Are there any facts you can recall? Did your destination meet your expectations?
• What was your favourite part of the day?
• What was your least favourite part of the day?
• Did you have any realisations throughout the day? What did you learn about yourself?
• How did you feel mentally? Were you energised, homesick, nervous, excited, or content?
• How did you feel physically? Were you in full health, hungry, full, sore, sleepy, or hormonal?

6. Be truthful.

Not every day is all roses and butterflies. At the same time, not every day is packed with drama and turbulence. It can be tempting to over-exaggerate your version of events, for a number of reasons.

You might want to make your trip sound more positive, add drama to your diary, or impress your real (or imagined) readers.

Remember, journaling isn’t just about creating a story. It’s about gaining self-awareness, improving your understanding of the world and working through the feelings that arise as a result of your travels. You can’t do that if you’re trying to paint your journey in a specific light the entire time.

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Travel journaling tips

1. decide whether you want to use a dated diary or a general notebook..

There are pros and cons to purchasing a dated diary over a general notebook. The problem with a notebook is that it’s just a notebook.

A general notebook:

+ There are no restrictions on how long your entries are.

+ It’s more space-efficient for those travelling long-term, as you don’t have to start a new entry at the top of a page.

+ More freedom to doodle.

– Less incentive to make an entry.

– It can get scruffy quickly.

Purchasing a dated diary can make you feel more motivated to write your entries on a regular basis. They often include prompts, which can help you to get started. Many tailored travel journals also have additional pages dedicated for jotting down thoughts and notes, whereas a general notebook can quickly get messy.

A dated diary:

+ Looks more aesthetic.

+ Acts as a reminder not to miss a day.

+ Looks like a traditional diary.

+ May motivate you to write more often.

+ Often includes helpful prompts to spark your creativity.

– Can waste line space.

– May limit the space you have to write about each day.

At the same time, a general notebook might be the best option for long-term travellers who are short on space, because you don’t need to start a new entry at the top of a page. Starting a new entry mid-page saves precious line space. Unless your dated diary has blank spaces where you can insert the exact date, you’re also limited on the amount of space you have to write about each day.

2. Put aside 15 minutes every day to journal.

If one thing is for sure, it’s that travel can get hectic. As a result, it’s easy to get out of the routine of travel journaling every day. Since you want your memories to be as fresh as possible when you’re writing an entry, one of the best ways of keeping on track is by putting aside a specific time slot every day to journal.

You might decide to journal for 15 minutes each morning while you wait for breakfast to be served or for the 15 minutes before you go to bed.

If you have a daily commute – to the beach, to your temporary job, or to your friend’s hotel, for example – take your journal with you and utilise the spare time.

3. Journal while you’re in transit.

If you’re constantly travelling, it’s probably not going to be long until you have a lengthy train, bus or flight ahead of you. As long as the road (or airspace) isn’t too bumpy and you’re not prone to motion sickness, I’ve found that this is the perfect time to get some travel journaling done.

Having a good chunk of time to dedicate to writing is excellent. Plus, if you do get preoccupied on your travels and go off track with your journaling, the plane ride or boat ride back home is a good stretch of time to pick up where you left off and get down everything you can remember in chronological order.

4. Try to write within at least two days of the events.

The sooner you write about a memory, the better chance you have at remembering the niche details. The ideal situation would be to write about your day at the end of the day before you sleep, but that’s not always realistic.

Instead, try to set yourself a goal of writing about a day or an event 48 hours after it happens. If you still fall off track, write about your travels within a week of the date they happened.

5. Don’t feel the pressure to be perfect.

The pressure to get something perfect is often the first obstacle in getting started. Life is messy – and so is writing a travel journal. It’s not going to be perfect the first try. Besides, what is perfect anyway?

Your travel journal is for you. It doesn’t matter how many spelling or grammar mistakes there are, as long as it’s legible. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the motivation to write.

Bullet points or a few short paragraphs are better than a blank page. Otherwise, you won’t have anything to look back on at all.

6. Get creative with it.

Harnessing your creativity goes hand-in-hand with letting go of the need for perfection. You could draw caricatures of the interesting people you meet on the road. You could sketch a bird you spotted this morning. You could even make a chart or a diagram of your spendings so far.

Here are some ideas:

• Dedicate a few pages to creating caricatures of people you meet along the road.
• Create a ‘quotes’ section and jot down the most meaningful things people have said to you.
• Make a chart or a diagram of your spendings.
• Put together a recipes section where you write down your favourite meals and their key ingredients (don’t be shy about asking).
• A ‘rant’ section dedicated to unedited writing.
• Glue ticket stubs to the relevant pages.
• Make a collage out of ticket stubs, photographs and other memorabilia.

7. Keep your travel journal safe.

While a journal might not look that attractive to potential thieves, it’s probably invaluable to you. Therefore, it’s very important to take measures to stop it from getting stolen, lost or damaged.

Prevent water damage

Whether it causes smudged ink or crinkled pages, water damage can have a catastrophic effect on your journal. It’s also one of the most common ways that travel journals get damaged, as they’re prone to rainwater and liquid leakages in your luggage.

Some travel journals have waterproof covers, which add some extra protection, but this isn’t a foolproof solution.

Storing your travel journal in a waterproof pouch or pocket is the most effective way to prevent water damage.

A plastic bag is effective too. However, it’s more prone to getting punctured by sharp objects and it’s less durable (and less eco-friendly) than a permanent waterproof pouch.

The following waterproof bags and pouches will protect your travel journal:

• Syncwire Waterproof Pouch Bag
• Eono Waterproof Waist Bag
• Waterproof Dry Bag Set

Keep it in a safe or a locked locker

If you’re not planning on travel journaling while you’re on the go, it’s probably best to leave it locked securely in your accommodation. Many hotels provide safes; it will usually be listed on the list of features on booking websites such as  Booking.com  or  Hostelworld.com .

Some hostels and homestays may provide a locker instead. For this, you will often need to bring your own padlock. I’d recommend bringing a set of  TSA-approved combination padlocks .

Carry an anti-theft backpack

It’s unlikely your travel journal will get swiped from your backpack. Thieves are far more likely to target a mobile phone.

Still, you should carry your valuables (journal included) in an anti-theft backpack. They come with features such as secret pockets, durable zippers, and designs that make it hard for thieves to gain access.

Anti-theft backpacks:

• Della Gao Anti-Theft Laptop
• TcIFE Ladies Backpack
• Oscaurt Theft Proof Travel Backpack
• Waterfly Anti-Theft Backpack

8. Don’t forget a pen (and back-ups).

A pen is one of the easiest things to forget on your trip. While they should be easy to get a hold of, there are some locations where you might find it tricker (Cuba, the middle of the jungle, or a small town, for example).

I’d recommend using a clickable pen, because this is less prone to leaking ink than a regular ballpoint. Bring spares if you can, because the ink might run out mid-journey or just when inspiration strikes.

Travel journaling examples

As someone who preaches about travel journaling, I’ve decided to share a few entries from my own travel diary so that you can get an idea for the sheer variety of what you can write about and how you can record the details.

Entry 1: Havana, Cuba (Saturday 22nd January, 2022)

Anisah and I arrived in Cuba late, around 7pm. It was already dark outside and thunder-storming – lightning, heavy rain that soaked through my papers.

The airport was very basic and very stringent with Covid (masks, stalls and many checks) but we cleared security swiftly and had only our backpacks as a carry-on.

Outside, there were taxi drivers holding names, and, surprisingly, they weren’t at all pushy. Our hostel was supposed to arrange a driver to take us directly there, but upon ringing twice (and spending a daunting £3 per minute on the calls), it appeared the driver was stuck in his house due to the storm.

We ended up in a yellow, licensed cab (which cost 25 euros – but down to 20 when the lady hosting us paid on our behalf).

I felt a little unnerved in the taxi, probably because I was exhausted, and because without maps, the driver relied on memory and locals in Havana for directions – and there weren’t many outside due to the torrential rain.

Entry 2: Ubud, Bali (Thursday 20th June, 2019)

Woke at 1am for the Mount Batur sunrise trek.

• Mount Agun nearby “coughed” up lava three weeks ago, according to our guide.
• 1,700-metre climb – our time was 1h35 but it felt way longer.
• Very steep, gravelly, and one of the toughest climbs I’ve done in my life. At one point, I told Jess, “Go on without me”.
• I ate a boiled egg and a banana at the top. I was still starving.
• Monkeys and dogs were fighting on the mountaintop.
• Monkeys almost stole my bag. They successfully stole a purse from another lady.
• We lost Pablo (Goncalo’s cousin) at the top of the mountain. The guide (jeans and sandals) was going to leave him behind, but we refused.

Entry 3: Havana, Cuba (Monday 31st January, 2022)

Our host gave us the cheque. We were short by 700 pesos. We went to hunt down an ATM. The ATM declined my card, as did the second ATM… and then the third ATM.

We started to panic, so we went to the Kempinski Hotel in Plaza Mayor to use their WiFi to contact my bank. It quickly emerged that the WiFi had completely cut out city-wide. At this point, we really started to panic. We had to leave for the airport in one hour.

We’d used up all of our options, so I told Anisah we’d have to ask someone for money. She was very dubious. We were walking down my favourite street when I spotted an older man and a younger woman, both blonde, looking lost and carrying cameras and bags.

I took off my mask and asked ‘Ingles?’. Nope, they spoke Spanish. In broken Spanish/English, I started to explain ‘plane’ (hand motion), ‘Londres’ (London), ‘desperate’, ‘taxi to airport’, and ‘short by 700’.

They replied, ‘No, a taxi should be 20’. They thought I meant euros! I said, ‘No, no. 700 pesos’. He nodded, ‘Oh, good price!’. To my disbelief, he pulled out a fat wallet filled with US dollars and pesos, and handed me a 500 and a 200. I nearly cried, but settled for tapping the lady’s arms and doing a prayer hand motion. People are truly good at heart.

Travel journaling: How do you make a memorable trip?

There are two halves to creating a travel journal. The first half is the part where you  explore, observe and investigate .

The second half is the part where you  write or create .

If one half of the formula is missing, you won’t have a travel journal at all.

Similarly, a travel notebook that documents seven days spent beside a swimming pool, tanning and reading a book, is unlikely to be as riveting as a travel journal that documents a journey into Dubrovnik’s old town, a bus ride through central  Vietnam , wild swimming through waterfalls in  Cuba  or a cruise over the backwaters in  Kerala , for example.

• Guide to the Parque Guanayara Waterfalls in Cuba
• Things to do at Alleppey and its backwaters

1. Research your trip.

A great motto, and one I live by, is ‘plan to travel without a plan’. If you want to make your trip memorable, it’s just as important not to over-plan as it is to dive in headfirst without a scooby of what you are doing.

Research enough so that you have a huge backlist of itinerary and destination ideas. Make a list of local accommodations that you like the sound of. Book essential, long-distance travel only.

You don’t know what will happen on the trip: delays, unexpected new acquaintances, weather events, romances, and so on.

Sometimes, the most interesting stories form from following your heart or your intuition, so if you’ve planned every single detail, you’ll end up boxed in.

Here are some ideas for your research:

• Research blogs to get practical advice from those who have visited a destination or attraction previously.
• Confirm the main modes of transport, currencies, and WiFi accessibility in your chosen destination. Practical details matter.
• Create a list of destinations and activities you’d like to engage in.
• Highlight your non-negotiable activities, desirable itineraries, and nice-to-have experiences. That way, you know which activities are the most important to you.
• Try to avoid tourist traps and opt for more authentic, local or offbeat travel experiences. These are often the most interesting experiences to write about.

2. Book your flights.

After your research is complete, the first thing you need to do is to book your flights.  Skyscanner  should be your go-to tool to search for flights. It scans the internet for the cheapest deals, routes and even the most eco-friendly transport options.  Google Flights  is another useful tool, which you can use to confirm that you’ve found the best deal.

3. Book interesting accommodation.

The accommodation you book has a direct impact on your travel journal entries. It can create drama, it can spice things up a little, or it can act as a relaxing backdrop.

Unique accommodation might liven up your entries: search for things like treehouses, camping tents, shepherd’s huts, and themed resorts.

The following sites are my go-to websites for booking accommodation that will jazz up my travel journal entries:

Booking.com : Booking.com has a wide selection of accommodation, including eclectic stays. I also find that it generally has the best price, compared to other booking websites advertising the same hotel or accommodation.

Hostelworld : Staying in a hostel is one of the best ways to introduce new, wise and quirky characters into your diary. As most hostels have communal spaces, it’s very easy to delve into a deep conversation with a stranger, which is often one of the most interesting parts of travel journeys.

The act of staying in a dorm room or shared accommodation is eventful in itself; you don’t know what sorts of stories you might get out of one night spent in a dorm room. Was there a fight for a particular bed? A sleep talker? Late-night card games and conversations?

Homestay :  Homestay specialises in accommodation where you stay in the home of a local. This is a brilliant option for those who are writing a travel diary, because it enables you to connect with the community, learn about local customs and have a more authentic travel experience.

4. Engage in more offbeat travel experiences.

Generally speaking, you won’t get as much of a story out of a tourist trap as you will out of a more unusual or hands-on travel experience. After six years of travelling, this is the biggest lesson I have learnt, and exactly why my blog specialises in offbeat travel experiences.

So, how do you find offbeat travel experiences for your travel journal?

• Ask at your hotel or hostel for local-led activities. Questions such as ‘where do you eat?’ or ‘where do you go to party?’ are also great ways to find local spots over tourist traps.
• Search for unique travel experiences on  GetYourGuide . They list local-led travel experiences, which are a great way to meet fellow interesting travellers and get an insight into the offbeat sides of a destination.
• Use tour organisations that label themselves as ‘local-led’, ‘experiential’, ‘offbeat’ and ‘immersive’. These are tailored towards giving travellers unique, hands-on experiences, and not taking you on the usual tourist trails.

Travel journaling: How do you write a travel journal that is worth reading?

Not everyone wants to share their travel journal. However, if you do want to write your travel diary for an audience – whether that’s family, friends, an online following or a potential future publisher – it’s going to need to be worth reading.

1. Make your first draft in a physical travel journal.

Writing in chronological order and as soon as possible after the events happen, make your first draft in a physical travel journal.

Remember, that you’re going to edit your travel journal when you’re back home, so the most important thing isn’t writing perfectly. It’s about being consistent with your writing schedule and getting the details down on paper.

2. Be as specific as possible.

Specificity is even more important if you’re going to share your travel journal in one form or another.

Use exact times, exact dates, full names, ages, and detailed physical descriptions. This will bring your story to life, especially for those who weren’t there to watch it unfold in person.

3. Feature specific characters.

Just as a novel would be incomplete without a series of in-depth and interesting characters, your travel diary should also feature characters.

It doesn’t matter if they’re fleeting and disappear after an entry or two. The important thing is that your reader can envision and relate to your character.

That might mean describing them physically, disclosing their name (or pseudonym) and age, as well as describing their little quirks and mannerisms.

You should try to quote them directly when possible, and explore their mindset and their backstory.

4. Write up your travel journal.

When you arrive back home, write up your travel journal into a digital format, correcting spelling and grammar mistakes as you go. This will create a second copy of your journal, just in case anything happens to the physical copy.

5. Edit your travel journal.

If you’re going to be sharing your travel journal, the most important part is the editing process. Your journal may only need a light edit, which corrects any spelling or grammar mistakes and makes it more legible.

However, it may need a deeper edit if you’re truly going to post it online or send it to a publisher. The execution, plot, and characters will be more important in this case.

Traveling journaling: Types of travel journals

There are several types of travel notebooks, and they all have their specific advantages and disadvantages.

There are also some clear criteria you should be looking for out of a high-quality travel notebook:

Number of pages:  The number of pages you’ll need will depend upon the length of your trip. If you’re travelling long-term, it’s better to have a notebook with a large number of pages rather than several, smaller notebooks which will take up more space overall.

Paperback or hardback:  While a hardback notebook is more durable, a paperback journal is more lightweight. If you’re limited by space or weight limits, opt for a paperback. Size:  Notebooks come in a variety of sizes, such as A4, A5, or A6. In general, an A5 notebook is ideal for a travel diary because it’s compact enough to carry in your packed or day luggage, but not so small that you’ll run out of space quickly.

Line size:  Unless you have large handwriting, a journal with fairly narrow line sizes is ideal, because you can fit more writing onto one page, and therefore into one notebook. You could also choose a notebook without lines at all, which gives you more freedom over the size of your handwriting, but can end up with messy, undulating lines.

Paper thickness:  Thinner paper is usually ideal, unless you are planning on painting, colouring-in or using heavy ink. Still, bear in mind that ink can bleed through the paper if it’s too thin, ruining other pages in your diary.

Binding:  The binding of your notebook is important too. Ideally, you want a notebook that can spread out flat while you write and one where you don’t need to hold the edges of the pages down. A spiral-bound notebook is ideal over a smaller, tightly-bound notebook, in this case.

Traveling journaling: A6 travel diaries

Best for: weekend trips.

• Sovereign-Gear Antique Brown Refillable Travellers Notebook : This A6 notebook has a leather case and a refillable design, which includes three packs of paper (one unlined, one lined and one made from kraft paper). Even better, it has a PVC water-resistant zipper pocket for your valuables.
• Avocado and Spice Hardback A6 Notebook : With a hardback cover and 200 pages, this A6 notebook is an aesthetic travel diary that comes with its own protective velvet bag. It comes with the option of dotted, lined or blank pages, and has a built-in pen holder and a bookmark.
• Antony Olivier Leather Journal : With unlined paper and vintage brown leather, the Antony Olivier Leather Journal is a premium A6 notebook. There are 200 pages, all unlined.
• Newestor Pocket Notebook : The Newestor Pocket Notebook is small enough that you can tuck it into your back pocket. It’s probably not ideal for those who are going to be writing in long prose, but those who are planning on documenting their travels with bullet points or short paragraphs will have 144 pages at their disposal.

Travel journaling: A5 travel dairies

Best for: longer trips.

• EMSHOI A5 Notebook : With the option of lined, dotted or squared pages, the spiral-bound EMSHOI notebook has 640 A5-sized pages. It also has a water-resistant PVC cover.
• Antony Olivier Leather A5 Notebook : This is an A5-sized version of the high-quality, leather Antony Olivier notebook. It includes unlined 200 pages and a journal enamel pen.
• Silvine A5 Executive Soft Feel Notebook : The Silvine 15 Executive Notebook has 160 pages with a sewn case, inside pocket and ivory paper.

Travel journaling: Watercolour travel journals

Best for: artists.

• Seawhite A5 Travel Journal : This notebook has 60 pages and a back pocket. It’s also completely vegan.
• Hahnemuhle Watercolour Book A5 : This sturdy hardback book has 30 sheets of natural white fine-grain paper, ideal for panoramic paintings.
• Tumuarta Watercolour Journal : Designed as a travel watercolour notebook, this journal has 48 pages, made of 25% cotton. The pages can tolerate light washes and they’re micro-perforated, so you can tear out a page if you need to.

A travel journal is a great place to jot down travel affirmations if you experience anxiety or nerves before or during a trip or to write down packing lists and other plans. See where I’ve been to start planning your next trip.

Katie Treharne

I’m Katie, the owner of Escape Artist Katie. I have been travel writing since 2018, including writing for luxury travel magazines and publications such as Wanderlust.

As well as being a digital nomad who works and lives abroad permanently, I’m a big advocate for  offbeat travel  and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

I hope you found my article useful – find out more  about  me here or keep up with my travels on  Instagram .

Travel Journal: Ideas, Tips, and How To Write a Travel Diary

• Travel Journal

Traveling has the potential to be wildly fulfilling. It exposes you to new cultures, different perspectives and unique experiences. The further you travel the more you are pushed out of your comfort zone. And the more you are pushed out of your comfort zone, the more you learn about yourself and the world around you.

One of the most popular types of journals is a travel journal. By having a travel diary, you can keep all these new experiences and knowledge in one place where you can reflect on them.

What is a travel journal?

Travel journals are a place where you can write about trips you have taken, what you learned during and the experiences you had. It is a collection of adventures, stories, memories and discovery.  It doesn’t matter where you're going or who you’re traveling with, an online trip journal can come anywhere. 

Why Write A Journal When Traveling?

There are many benefits of keeping a journal when traveling, but here are a few to start with:

Remember More

By writing down the things you want to do on your trip and the things you have done during it, you won’t forget the reasons you wanted to go and will remember more of your visit.

When traveling somewhere new, you will learn a lot about that place’s culture, customs and people. By having a place to write down your observations, you will absorb more of your surroundings.

Reflect More

A journal is a place to record new things you have discovered while exploring various places you visit. By having all these new findings in one place, you will be able to look back and reflect on what you have learned and apply it to other parts of your life.

How To Write Travel Journals: 5 Tips To Get The Most Out Of Your Journaling

You don’t need to be traveling to Timbuktu to write a travel diary. Your writing can start with a family vacation or a weekend getaway. All you need is a destination and your holiday journal can begin!

1. Use your journal to plan your trip

Your trip journal can begin before your trip has even started. Use your journal to start planning the things you want to do. It can be anything from a cool restaurant you want to eat at, a hike you want to go on or different sights you want to see. Write down whatever is on your trip check-list, so you don’t forget it.

Once you know what you want to do, do some research and figure out the best way to do it. If you want to go see a special monument, figure out the best way to get there and put it in your journal. If you want to do some cool activities, write down the contact information of the people, places or tours that facilitate them. Your journal is also a great place to keep the contact information of your accommodations and transportation.

2. Write about what you imagine it will be like

Sometimes when you travel, your destination is wildly different than what you expected. Maybe you expected the local food to be bad and it turned out to be delicious. Maybe you imagined the town to be smaller than it actually is. Maybe you thought you would be more comfortable with the language. Whatever it is, think about writing it down before you arrive. It will be interesting to compare these predictions to what you actually experienced.

3. Write during your trip

It is always easier to remember things when they are fresh in your brain, so try and write as much as you can while traveling; every day if you can. Your journal entries don’t have to be long, but let them highlight what you feel was most important or exciting. How did you feel during your visit to the local market? What did you smell, taste and hear? Did you learn something new from the person you spoke to at the bar? Were you surprised by the clothes people were wearing? What was the view from the top of the mountain like? Before you go to bed, try and recall what you did that day, what you thought and how you felt. This will serve as a great way to remember more from your trip, but will also help you reflect and grow from what you encountered.

4. Add pictures to your journal

Even though your journal is meant for writing, pictures are still worth a thousand words. Combining pictures with your first-hand accounts of what they represent, or what happened when they were taken, will make for an even more comprehensive narrative of your travels. Don’t worry about glueing or taping anything either. Penzu allows you to upload pictures straight into your online travel journal, so you can keep your pictures and words connected and organized.

5. Write about your trip after you leave

Since you write about your trip before you arrive, you should also write about it after you leave.

• What was it like?
• What did you learn?
• What surprised you?
• What disappointed you?

It is important to reflect on your travels, so you can retain new understandings and apply them to future adventures. This is also a great way to learn about yourself, other people you may have travelled with and how you can grow. Step back from all the things you did and try to see the big picture. It may surprise you.

10 Travel Journal Ideas To Inspire You

The blank pages of your travel journal may not be serving as great inspiration, but your new trip should! Here are 10 travel journal ideas to get those creative juices flowing, kick-start your writing and help you get the most out of your travels. We hope these journal prompts help!

1. Why are you going?

Not every trip needs an explanation and not every vacation needs a justification. People travel for all sorts of different reasons or for no reason at all, but if your travel has purpose, write about it. Even if you’re traveling for the sake of it, that is a reason worth talking about too.

2. Write about your expectations.

As we mentioned above, expectations can wildly differ from reality, especially when going somewhere you’ve never been or going with someone you have never travelled with before. Jot down what you think the trip will be like, or hope it will be like.

3. What are you going to do?

Write about the things you want to do, the sights you want to see, the music you want to dance to, the food you want to taste. Writing it all down will get you excited and help you not to forget.

4. Write about the people.

Did you meet anyone new? Did you make a new friend? Were the locals welcoming? Did you learn something new from a stranger? Did you learn something new from a friend? People can really make a trip. Whether you came with them, or met them there, write about how the people you encountered affected your experience.

5. Write about the food.

Just because you call it your travel diary, doesn’t mean it can’t double as a food diary . If there are any foods you loved, dishes you hated or recipes you can’t live without, write them down to remember them all. Maybe some new fare you tried will influence your tastes when you return home.

6. The ups and the downs.

What did you like most about the trip? What did you like the least?

7. Write about yourself.

Reflect on the new experiences you had, what made you uncomfortable and what enticed you. Did you learn anything new about yourself on the trip? Did being somewhere else expose something you hadn’t seen in yourself before? Traveling can help people grow. Think about your journey and if it helped you grow in any way.

8. Write a travel guide.

If you knew friends were going to the same place, what would you tell them to do? Write down your recommendations and the stuff that should not be missed.

9. What would you have changed?

Is there anything about the trip you would have changed? Is there anything else you wish you did? Anything you wish you didn’t do? Write about your travels and how you can improve them for the next time you go away.

10. Where do you want to go next?

We all have a wish-list of places we want to go. Write yours down and try to start checking them off.

Using Penzu for Your Travel Journal

Penzu’s journal software allows you to access your journal from any computer, smartphone or tablet. Penzu will be your travel journal app ; all you need is your mobile phone or tablet and can write in in it, with or without wifi. You never have to miss an entry or forget a moment, as Penzu can come with you around the world. No internet necessary.

Now that you know what to write in a travel diary and how to write one, all you need to decide is where to go. Pick a place get start your online journal today!

There's no time like the present - start your free online journal today!

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Get access to your diary wherever you are – download the free Penzu app for your all of your iOS and Android devices today!

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How To Write A Travel Journal: Ideas, Tips, Prompts & Resources (2023 Definitive Guide)

Before I give you the A-Z on creating your travel journal, I have an interesting thought experiment for you…

Can you imagine packing up your life into ONE SINGLE duffel bag?

That’s exactly what my wife and I did when we first moved onto our sailboat  Sea Otter : one duffel of personal items each, and one small box of other items stored at our folks back home.

It turns out over  90% of the “stuff” we all own can happily be given away  or tossed in the bin.

Look around you right now. How much of the things you see are truly meaningful enough that you’d NEED to keep if all you could leave your home with was ONE duffel?

You’ll like this…

One of the  DEAD SIMPLE decisions you’d face with a “purging” like this is with your travel journals  because I can GUARANTEE it wouldn’t take more than a nanosecond for them to be placed delicately in your bag so you could keep them forever (which is exactly what I did with mine).

That’s how important your  travel diary  will become to you. It will become a cherished vault of memories…

…stories you’d have forgotten if you didn’t jot them down…

…memories you’ll look back on for the rest of your days with an ear-to-ear grin…

…a memento you can pass along to future generations so they can bask in your adventures.

And today you’re going to see  how to write a travel journal of your very own , including travel journal ideas, writing prompts, tips and all the best resources around!

What Is A Travel Journal?

Simply put, a travel journal is a diary of your time on holiday or vacation. It’s a place to jot down the things you never want to forget: people you met, important details, funny events, raw experiences.

And as we’ll discuss, it can take many forms, such as a paper notebook, a DIY scrapbook, an app, a website, and everything in between.

Is There A Difference Between A Travel Journal, Trip Diary, And Travel Log?

People often get confused about whether there’s a difference between these terms, but the answer is that they’re all the same thing.

Whether you prefer to call it a diary or a log doesn’t matter because you enter inside is the same: the stories of your travels.

And here’s an interesting fact you might enjoy: 

The term “travel log” (otherwise known as “travelogue” or “travelog”) originally comes from the term “ship’s log,” which was how sailboats and other seafaring vessels tracked the details of the voyage. They called it a “log” because of a wooden float that they used to drag behind the boat to measure speed.

…You know, in case you were really wondering. 😉

Why Keep A Journal While Traveling?

The experience is priority one.

Followed closely by a way to remember that experience.

You know this conundrum:

If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?

Now how about this doozie:

If you forget most of the things you did on your trip, did they really happen?

Well of course they did! But wouldn’t it be so much sweeter if you KNEW you would remember that adventure for the rest of your life? Hell yeah!

THAT is why it’s SO important to keep a journal while on your trip: to remember the best days of your life — those days spent abroad exploring new places, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures.

What Are The Different Types Available?

If you want the best travel journal, you first need to know what  type  you would prefer.

There are  2 main types  to consider, and they are very different:

1. A paper notebook style journal 2. A digital, multimedia style journal (such as an app)

Let’s take them one by one:

A Paper Travel Journal:

These are, most often, simple notebooks that you tailor to your travels. Blank page after blank page, ready for ink to cover the lines.

The main benefits of a paper notebook style journal are:

• Some people like the physical act of writing, as opposed to typing on their phones or tablets.
• It’s physical. You can hold it in your hands. It can sit on your bookshelf and physically take up space. 
• They make really cool gifts (especially  personalized travel journals ). 
• You scrapbook with it by gluing in boarding passes, ticket stubs, and anything else you want to keep a hold of.

A few shortcomings of a physical journal are:

• You can lose it! 😩
• You can only write it in, not easily add pictures or videos from your phone.
• You can’t track or tag locations automatically.
• They take up physical space (if you are a diehard minimalist).
• You can’t share your stories online.

A Digital Travel Journal:

Digital journals are usually apps and websites that work well for journaling. That said, you could also DIY it by simply documenting your travels in a simple text doc on your computer or the ‘Notes’ app on your phone (just make sure you back them up properly!).

The main benefits of a  travel journal app :

• The best ones store all your entries securely to the cloud, so you never have to worry about losing your memories.
• You can add pictures directly from your phone’s camera.
• The best ones allow you to add videos too!
• You can collaborate with travel-mates to the same journal, which makes sure you get ALL the stories from all angles (and pics too).
• The best ones automatically tag locations for you and show your routes on a map.
• The best ones allow you to  ‘publish’ your journals online for your friends and family to follow along .

A few shortcomings of a digital journal are:

• It’s in the cloud, so you can’t place it on your coffee table and peruse when you’re in the mood (although the best ones do allow you to print your journals too).
• You can’t glue in physical mementos you want to hold on to.
• They’re harder to give as gifts because the “ unwrapping ” just isn’t the same.

As you can see, there are tradeoffs with each style and the answer to which is better truly lies in what you find as more important. Do you want to  share it online  or are you happy to  keep it privately written  on your bookshelf? Are you cool with just being able to write or do want to add pictures, videos, and maps ?

Think about what’s best and go for it! Remember, you can always choose a different style next time!

5 Of The Best Travel Journal Notebooks To Buy

There are loads of travel journals available for you to buy online. Some with simple ruled pages, others with prompts and other interesting things inside, and some are personalized for that extra cool touch.

Here are our top 5 favorites (including a few of our best selling personalized journals, of course 😊):

1.  The Extraordinary Life & Adventures Notebook (Personalized!)  by Journo Travel Goods

2.  Refillable Leather Journal Traveler’s Notebook  by Moterm 3.  Personalized ‘Comrades in Life, Love & Adventure’ Couples Travel Journal  by Journo Travel Goods

4.  Simple Premium Leather With Monogram  by OxAndPine

5.  The Custom Boarding Pass Travel Journal  by Journo Travel Goods

There are plenty of options out there. The best of which comes with personalization and are an ideal size for hauling around on a trip.

What Is The Best App For Journaling?

I founded  Journo  to do ONE THING: help fellow travel junkies track, remember and share their adventures like they couldn’t do ANYWHERE else.

It all started while at anchor in a secluded bay in The Bahamas, when I was trying to describe in my paper journal the most strikingly red sunset I’d ever seen. But I couldn’t find the words.

…and  I felt like I was going to miss out on that memory  if the only way I was trying to document it was on paper.

The very next day the idea for  Journo  was born. It’s taken on a life of its own since – developing a huge community of incredible travelers and winning “Best Travel App” by IMA Awards. 

National Geographic Travel put it simply:

“Sharing memories from a trip can get messy. Journo removes the pain.”

Journo  is loaded with cool capabilities that make it so much easier to document your trips. And even comes with your very own travel blog so your friends and family back home can follow along (and endlessly drool at your adventures 🤤).

Journo is  available on iOS for iPhones and iPad , with Android coming soon. Of course, there are a few other travel journal apps out there and I encourage you to compare with Journo and use whichever you think is best. 

What do you write in your journal? 10 Fun Travel Journal Ideas To Inspire You!

A little nudge can go a long way when you’re first starting out. So to get your mind running, here are 10 of our favorite ideas to include in your trip diary:

1. Start before your trip.  Jot down your  pre-trip planning list , where you’re going, who with, what items are on your  must-see and must-do lists . Write about anything you’re most excited about, even if it’s simply relaxing on the beach and going through a couple of  great books !

2. A picture is worth a thousand words.  If you’re using a travel journal app like Journo, the simplest thing to do is start in your photo album. Look through, grab a pic that catches your eye, add it to your Journal and then write the story about it! If you’re using a paper journal, consider bringing along  a mini polaroid like this , and then paste in your pics!

3. A video is worth all the words.  This one only works with a limited number of apps that allow for video (like Journo, of course 😉), but including a video of a memorable moment can really take your entries up a notch.

4. Oh, the sights!  We often say, “ Don’t be a tourist. Be a traveler. ” But we always recommend seeing the big sights, even if they’re in massive tourist traps. They’re big sights for a reason – they’re incredible! Add them to your journal. Write about if they lived up your expectations or not.

5. It’s all about the people.  I guarantee some of the longest-lasting memories you’ll have from a trip are of the people you meet. We, humans, are built for connection, and so a beautiful connection with a new friend or complete stranger can have a lasting impact. Document it!

6. Let’s not forget about the food.  Even the most non-foodies amongst us love to talk about  amazing food experiences abroad . I’ll never forget my squid ink spaghetti on The Amalfi Coast, or navigating my way through Cuy (Guinea Pig!) in Cuzco, or my daily  street dumplings  in Shanghai. Take pics of your favorite dishes, jot down the restaurant (or pin it on a map in Journo), and describe the food in detail! 😋

7. Map it!  If you’re anything like me, you love the look of a cool map. Now, doesn’t that map get even sweet when it’s of YOUR travel route? Yep! Draw it and color it if you’re using a paper journal (gives you something to do when in limbo or on a  long train ride ). If you’re using an app, it should  pin your route for you .

8. Paste in awesome mementos.  This one is best for the paper journalers amongst us because you can literally glue in cool stuff from your adventures, like maps, ticket stubs, bottle labels, coasters, postcards, foreign dollar bills, candy wrappers, etc. Whatever you find interesting, toss it in! If you’re using an app, just take a pic of it!

9. Write about yourself.  No better place for a little bit of introspection than on a trip. And that’s usually because – if you’re doing it right – you’re pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and growing as a person. Write about that. Write about your feelings, changed opinions, ups, and downs, whatever it may be that you’re going through!

10. Team up!  We created Journo as a collaborative journaling tool because it’s a ton of fun for you and your travel-mates to be journaling in the same place ( here’s my wife, Mak, and my collabo Journo from a sail a while back , as an example). You get all the stories and, oftentimes, a hilarious new angle on a shared experience. If you’re using a paper journal, just pass it around, maybe even taking turns documenting the days.

>> New: 100 travel journal prompts for ever part of your adventure.

And whatever you do… don’t overthink it! It’s better to just roll with it than overthink it. It’s just an entry, after all. Just write!

One thing we’ve discovered from our community of travel journalers is that it can be hard to find the time  while on a trip  to keep up with your journaling. Here’s some help with that…

4 Writing Tips To Fill Your Travel Journal With Ease WHILE Vacationing

1. Start with today.  With limited time, and being pretty beat after a long day, it’s tough to keep up. So just don’t worry about previous days, just start with today (and catch up as soon as you can or when you get home and maybe  feeling the post-trip blues ).     

2. Think “highlight reel.”  The quickest way to get that entry rolling is to think about the top 1-3 things that went down today. Add those, then expand later if you want. 

3. Start in your phone’s photo album.  As mentioned above, it’s simplest to start by pulling up the date in your phone’s photo library, find the best pics, add them to your journal and write a short snippet of it.     

4. Consider giving your friends back home a touch of the #TravelEnvy bug.  😜 With Journo, you can publish your entries to your very own travel blog with a couple of taps. This will both  make your friends drool  and also keep you on track with adding more stories of your adventures.

I hope you found this helpful in getting started with traveling journaling. Remember, the most important thing is to simply begin.

Step one is to grab the right journal  for you  (thanks for considering Journo in your decision).  Step two , if you have time before your departure date,  is to start writing now ! That easy!

Ok here’s one last helpful tip for you…

Try to develop the habit of daily journaling now will make it even easier while on your trip.  Here is a free downloadable journaling prompt exercise book for you: The 21-Day Journo Challenge.

Inside you’ll get ONE word or image, and all you need to do is write about WHATEVER comes to your mind as you read the word or lay your eyes on the pic.

Have any tips we didn’t mention? What do you love travel journaling about the most?  Tell us in the comments below!

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How to Write a Travel Journal That’s Worth Reading

Shelves full of spiral-bound notebooks filled with scrawl you’ll never open again? Or treasure troves of notes and experiences that you’ll re-read until your grandchildren hit college? If you’re planning to keep a journal while you’re traveling, you won’t be alone, but the big question is how to write one that you’ll actually want to read again.

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Some travelers swear by a laptop or an online blog to hold their memories, but this is not always practical, or in many cases not that desirable. When I travel, I still rely on my write-anywhere notebook and pen to record the special experiences I encounter.

Tip 1: Pick an Attractive Book

This might seem superficial, but I bet the guy I met in a hostel in Vienna who was scribbling in a cheap school exercise book doesn’t open that up too often any more. I’ve always liked to buy a diary or notebook that’s a bit meaningful: in Slovakia, for example, I bought a hardcover notebook adorned with pictures of the pretty Bojnice Castle . I loved writing in it, probably wrote more than normal, and still like to grab it off my shelf today. Because we do judge a book by its cover, even if we wrote it ourselves.

Be careful to balance attractive with functional, though. In fact my favorite travel journals are spiral bound with thick, solid rings. They’re the easiest to open and lay flat while you write, or to balance on your lap or a tray in an airplane or train. Don’t be too cheap with it because this book’s going to get battered around on your travels, and you don’t want it falling apart.

Speaking of attractive: it might be a personal preference, or a completely neurotic habit, but I like to alternate the color of the pen I use each day. It’s more interesting to flip through, and easy to quickly locate where one day’s entry ends and another begins.

Tip 2: Weigh Your Words

Do not make the mistake of writing down every single thing that happens to you. Just because it’s happening in a foreign country doesn’t necessarily make it interesting, even to you.

I often want to remember practical facts from everyday life, like the number of the bus or the cost of a ticket, or even the series of stops my train makes. Instead of writing about this in long-winded prose, I make a few dot points of the salient facts and leave it at that. It’s also not necessary to list the chronology of your day, including how you got from X to Y: if it’s not interesting, leave it out. It usually won’t be that important in the future that you took a bus from the museum to the art gallery and it took 37 minutes.

Whenever you sit down to write in your journal, recall the sights or events of the last days that have made the biggest impression on you. Which special food did you eat, or how did you feel at a new museum? Try and paint a word picture describing your feelings and thoughts about your new experiences, as well as explaining the history or culture behind it. Talk about the different backgrounds of the locals or fellow travelers you’ve met, and why you like them (or not!).

Do make the effort to spend your first few words identifying the when and where . I always include a heading with both the day and date, plus the town I’m staying in, and the place where I’m writing the entry — the name of the hotel, a train line or a bench in a park.

Tip 3: The Original Multimedia Approach

Keep it interesting for your eyes by adding in the occasional tidbit that’s not just words. This might be a quick sketch to explain the bizarre arrangement of furniture in your current hotel room, or pasting in the train ticket with your name printed in the Cyrillic alphabet. My backpack always contains a pair of scissors and a small stick of glue, useful for many things but especially intended to help augment my travel journal.

Be creative about what the extra bits might be. When I traveled across Russia I bought the most delicious bag of wrapped candies in Irkutsk. I stuck one of these colorful candy wrappers into my journal and I can still taste them when I open to that page. At the same time, be selective about your extras, and don’t just stick in picture after picture from tourist brochures. Pick something meaningful.

Tip 4: Create an Index

I’m serious. While this might sound like an incredibly anally retentive thing to do, it works. Every time I get a new notebook to use as a travel diary (always an exciting moment), I sit down with a pen and number every page in the bottom corner. When the journal is full, I take a half hour to write an index that lists the main destinations of my trip and which page I can find them on. Later, when you want to re-read your journal, it will most often be because you want to check on the name of a museum you visited, or to find out the name of that friend you made in Beijing. You’ll be grateful for your handy index then.

I just started keeping a travel journal about a year ago. I wish that I had started keeping one 10 years ago. It’s sad to think of all the great memories I could have recorded from many years past. *sigh*

One thing I like to add in my journal is the names of people that I meet on my travels. It seems like on each trip there is a special person who goes out of their way to be helpful or friendly and I always like to record that person’s name in my journal. It tends to solidify the memories.

I agree completely, Sheila. Especially the special people you’re sure you’ll never forget … I tend to write all kinds of neurotic things in my travel journals assuming the worst about my memory. Sometimes the act of writing helps me remember anyway – but if not, then at least I’ve got something to refer to. That way I can relive all these great experiences when I’m sitting in a boring desk job somewhere dreaming of another trip …

Thank you! This were the best travel writing tips I’ve come across yet! :)

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I enjoyed reading all your tips and pointers. I’ve been planning to have my trips and vacations on writting but never really had the chance. Everytime me and my best friends go out we always have something crazy happening. To top it all, we got lost, miss a turn or take the wrong road to nowhere like today! The trip to Multnomah falls was just an adventure. I really need to have a journal. I’m sorry for this long email. goodluck to us all. Happy travelling.

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Thank you for this! I am going on a 6 week holiday to Europe, my first ever overseas, and I agree about the attractive book thing :) The one I got looks really nice with like famous attractions and like a suitcase, all with a nice colour scheme, and its really thick too I cant stop taking it out and admiring it! It also has a little pocket to put train tickets and things in too :) I went on this site to see how I would write it, and this gave me lots of ideas! Thank you :) Oh and I shall make an index :D good idea! x

These were great tips! Thanks! I can’t wait to use them on my next trip (which is sadly unknown). On a side note, I absolutely love choosing notebooks. :)

Hey this was an awesome article, thanks =) I’m going away with my grandparents next year and I want to make sure I keep a nice journal…so ta for the tips =)

i believe your writing will inspired lot of travelers out there like what i felt just now.

i can feel that you are not just an ordinary ‘walk through’ traveler, it is obvious that you treat all your journeys as ‘once in a lifetime’ moment.

i also wishing all the good luck for your writing.

Thanks for this post. I’ve been doing travel blogging myself and I will have to use some of your tips!

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Thank you so much for the tips. I’m about to travel to Thailand for three months, and want to create an interesting travel blog while I’m away. I will definitely check out the rest of your blog for some more inspiration!

My journals are usually pretty scribbled in and I really do want to make more time to do some sketches etc. I stick things in too. I like putting parts of maps of where I’ve been. Agree re spiral which is also good for when you stick things in and it gets fat – doesn’t burst its seams. I’ve been using the Art A% ones as heavier gsm so if doodling and sticking it doesn’t go through the thinner paper ones. Part of my journal is photos which is one way I see things but these end up in my Facebook albums. ALthough I did get one printed for one trip I did. Expensive though. Happy advetures

I have been travelling overland in a convoy for the past 20 years. It is just us, our machines and the journey. Recently it occurred to me that I must record all my travels in a journal. Can anybody tell me how to I start?

I use mid-range small 4-to notebooks because I like to decorate the outside as well as the inside pages. I test my pens before I leave to make sure they won’t bleed away if the journal is dropped in the river. I collect printed ephemera and paste in collages (ephemera distinctive of a place is increasingly hard to find in these days of the global market). I pay attention to what the layout of the pages looks like. I paste pockets into the journal to hold odds and ends.

As with all writing, the best advice is do it. My early journals are awful; my later ones are a delight. I am at the moment using a journal I wrote a dozen years ago in Oaxaca to write a blog and am having a fine time of it.

At the moment, I am writing about a lost tomb I got wind of when I was there, a story I have wanted to write ever since I got back. I am interested to see how it comes out.

Eventually, I will move on to the Yucatan, Central America, Brasil, Greece, Italy and elsewhere. They’re all there in my old journals.

Just a thought on what I plan to try and experiment with. I want to take a large wall size map such as one from the National Geographic store, and using specific locations, mark those areas with numbers, letters, just with some sort of system that can be cross referenced in a journal and a photo album for both visual reference to those memories as well as your documented words about the experience. I definitely agree with the index though. Maybe even dvd pockets for video of the trips.

This article was really helpful. I have to start one of these! :) :)

Lol i just have to buy some glue and a notebook now :) :)

(excited about starting my new journal :) )

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Ive kept journal/sketch books for the last few trips and love looking at them.one problem is that I’m usually too tired to finish (or even start) the sketches! I’m wondering if anyone has used a voice recorder and edited a journal from that. Thought I might try it for am upcoming trip to Spain. Of course that doesn’t help with the sketches! There never seems to be enough time! And, yes, a glue stick and scissors are essential

Perfect…great post. Very helpful. :)

This is a really great read. I have never kept a travel diary but I realise, I have lost out on a lot. For my future travels, I will be sure to start recording. Thanks for the great tips

I’m going through my mother’s travel diaries now and putting them on a blog. She kept them throughout her life – starting in 1933 at age 11 on a trip to the Chicago World’s Fair. I’m putting them online for my grown children but others are enjoying them as well.

Late in their lives, my mom got them all out and would read them aloud to my dad. What a special thing to have and be able to do! Alas both are deceased now…I have so many questions to ask as I write.

Fay, are your online stories s available for anyone to access?! I would love to read them. What a treasure!

I used to sweat over writing a travel journal – both loving and hating it because it was a real chore to write everything I wanted to. Everything changed when I discovered speed journaling. Just write – don’t try to create bestselling prose.

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Literary Travel , Travel Tips

Writing a travel journal: let your words flow.

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Writing a travel journal is a great way to keep your most precious memories readily available … and permanent. Now, just to clarify things, we’re not talking about a travel blog.   We’re talking an old school “pencil and paper” journal. Yes, they still exist, haha. I do have a post on how to create an awesome travel blog , though.

Confession time. I’ll admit I failed big time at keeping a travel journal. 90% of my travels are journal – less. For example, I wrote some funny stories while on solo my trips to Paris and Ireland, but then … I stopped writing in a travel journal entirely. My habit disappeared mostly due to my own laziness and lack of motivation. I wanted to explore the sites, not write. Writing was for school, not solo trips. So my travel journal dreams died.

Now I regret it. I may be blond (har har), but I brag about having a strong memory. Seriously, I can remember fleeting moments from my kindergarten days. I’m especially good at remembering words said in passing – even years later – and this is a talent I don’t always appreciate.

However, despite my brain working in overdrive to cherish all of life’s moments, it’s still impossible to remember every colorful joke, every meal, every cool museum display, that I encountered on my trips. No one’s memory is that outstanding, not even mine.

So, on my next journey, whenever that happens, I need to write in a travel journal and keep it near and dear to my heart.

You should too. There are many beautiful travel journals to choose from so pick one unique to you.

Buckle in, writers. These are my best suggestions for writing a travel journal.

How to Write a Travel Journal

There are no rules for writing a travel journal the decisions are yours, my friend.

Okay, I know, total non-answer, right?

What to write in a travel journal all depends on your personal goals. If you’re writing a travel journal for professional reasons, then you might want to check Don George’s book  How to Be a Travel Writer.   Don George’s book has tips for your on-the-road research and ways to create a great travel stories. Your travel journal can be a valuable tool if you want to pitch to newspapers and magazines after your trip. This little investment goes a long way toward your literary dreams.

Furthermore, I recommend following Stephen King’s advice, which is you need to read to write. So check out The Best of American Travel Writing , which is filled with excellent short form examples.

However, if you want to write your travel journal just for you, then that’s an awesome goal too! You’ll have tangible memories to return to time and time again, allowing you to relieve your trip on those dreary boring work days when you need the extra encouragement and inspiration.

In this post, I’ve included some of my own tips for writing a travel journal. But again, there are no rules. So if my advice doesn’t want for you, feel free to throw it out the window. Beautiful, huh?

Writing a Travel Journal Tip #1

Jot all the insecurities you feel before your trip..

I think we all experience insecurities prior to departure. I know I’m only speaking from my own experience, but I still feel butterflies about traveling, and I’ve taken at least 10 solo trips in the last few years. Anxiety happens to the best of us. When you’re writing in your journal, please don’t shy away from those uneasy feelings nagging at you. They are important for you to acknowledge and confront. So, instead of hiding, I want you to write about any anxiety you feel before you board your plane.

Why? So you can refer back to reading about your scared moments whenever you hit future uncertain times in your life. These entries are valuable tools that serve to remind you of just how brave you are. Heck, even talk about what went wrong on a particular day when you’re in the middle of your travels. Authenticity is in short supply. So, when you’re on your trip, you can even write about your travel screw ups so you can have a good laugh (or three) later. Keep it real. 100% real.

Writing a Travel Journal Tip #2

Write every single day. even for five minutes..

Now, trust me, I totally understand it’s hard to find time to write when you’re busy seeing new museums, taking hikes, and eating at unique restaurants. You paid all this money to travel, so you actually want to savor the experience. So, while I understand it’s a chore, you should still set aside a specific time to write in your travel journal. I know this is much much much easier said than done, especially if you’re the type of traveler who “overpacks” their adventures and needs to see “everything.” It never feels like enough time exists in a day.

So my personal suggestion is for you to pause and set aside five minutes before bed or before breakfast to talk about your travel plans. What do you want to see?  What did you actually see? Why did you want to see it? Was the experience worth it? Did anyone say anything super funny that you need to write down? Did you learn something new about yourself?

You see where I’m going with this, right? You don’t even have to write in complete sentences or use appropriate grammar (yes, I’m an English teacher and give you permission) in your entries! Just jot down all that inspires you in any given moment.

Writing a Travel Journal Tip #3

Location, location, location..

Always write down your location! Like I said, I have a great memory, but even I can’t remember where I was based on any given date. Writing down your location keeps your journal organized and easier to read at a later date. Furthermore, this tip is especially essential if you’re visiting a tiny town with a super unusual name attached to it. You might even want to devote an entry to the specific neighborhood you’re based in if you’re staying in a larger city such as New York or London. If you’re staying in unique accommodation, don’t neglect to talk about it! Where you rest your head at night is a big part of the over all travel experience that shouldn’t be neglected.

Writing a Travel Journal Tip #4

Don’t write  the lord of the rings for every entry..

Let’s be honest with ourselves. When we travel, we wake up early, walk miles to see the sights, enjoy the food and drinks, take day tours to nearby cities … We don’t really have time to sit down and write pages and pages of travel memoirs. So don’t put undue pressure on yourself to write the “next Great American Novel,” because then you’ll never write a single bloody word!

Keep your entries brief. A couple of sentences describing your day will suffice. If you want to write more, then go for it, but don’t stress yourself out. Especially turn off that “inner editor” when you write all your awesome stories. You know who I’m talking about, right? The voice inside your head that states your writing isn’t good enough and should never see the light of day ever again? You’re writing for yourself, not an audience and especially not literary critics, so even if your writing skills aren’t on par with Shakespeare’s, don’t lose sleep over it. Again, write for yourself.

Of course, if you like writing a TON of detail, then go for it. Remember what I said about there being no rules? Haha.

Writing a Travel Journal Tip #5

Go ahead and scrap it.

Glue souvenir receipts, boarding passes, and museum tickets into your journal’s pages. The more tangible items you can keep, the better it will be for writing your travel journal! Why? Well you’ll have clearer memories of those places, too, if you save your ticket stubs and maps!

Time to make another confession, my dears. I threw away sooooooo many mementos over my years of traveling and now I deeply regret it. Don’t make my mistakes, please. Keep allllll of those random bits that you collect over the course of your travels and give them a new home in the pages of your journal. It’s one of the best gifts you can give yourself.

So go ahead and scrap it!

Check Out These Adorable Travel Journals

Ready to start writing your travel journals? Here are some adorable books to keep your memories in! Happy shopping.

• Refillable Handmade Traveler’s Notebook. Who doesn’t like refillable pages? Makes everything a lot simpler.
• Moleskine Classic Notebook.   These journals are popular for a reason. Clean, simple, and perfect to bring with you on your next trip.
• Moleskine Voyageur Traveller’s Notebook. A swanky hardcover notebook just perfect for your upcoming adventure!
• You Are Here: A Mindful Travel Journal.   Not sure where to begin? This journal will get you started on your travel writing ways!

Do you like to write on your trips? Why or why not? Do you have any tips for writing a travel journal?

Rachel Elizabeth

At 22, I took my first overseas trip to Bermuda. Took a break to follow the "American Dream." Had my self-esteem broken. Embarked on my first solo trip to Scotland at 26. The travel bug dug its way under my skin. I now book multiple trips a year.

1 thoughts on “ Writing a Travel Journal: Let Your Words Flow ”

Keeping tickets, boarding passes, sometimes banknotes, it”s something I started doing too late. Until a few years ago, I thought it wasn”t that important but I’ve recently discovered how they can make me really “feel” the place I visited, when I’m back home. I don’t collect them in my travel journal, though. I love to buy frames, make collages and hang on the walls.

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How to Make a Travelogue: 8 Travel Journal Ideas and Writing Tips

Traveling can be a widely fulfilling and exciting experience. A travel journal is a fantastic way to remember the things you have done during your trip and write down the observations you have had during the trip. You don’t have to travel around the world and have exotic adventures to write an insightful travel journal. All you need is a basic journal notebook and a destination.

But first things first:

What is a travelogue?

Three different meanings come up with a quick search:

• A travelogue can be a piece of writing about travel.
• On the other hand, a travelogue can also be a talk or lecture on travel usually accompanied by a film or slides.
• Finally, a travelogue can be a narrated motion picture about travel too.

In short, a travelogue is a speech, a movie, or a piece of writing about someone’s experiences while traveling. When a travelogue is a piece of writing, it is also called a ‘travel diary’ or ‘travel journal’.

Quick wins and tips to write an excellent travelogue

Here’s why you need to get into travel journaling or writing a travel journal and how to ace it:

You Can Plan Your Trip Before You Arrive

Don’t wait until you’re at your destination.

Use your journal to plan your holiday before you even arrive. You can enhance your travel experience by using your journal to plan out some activities.

Research and note the names and menus of restaurants you want to attend, sightseeing tours that interest you, hiking spots, or just photos to help inspire you.

Write down a checklist of places you want to see , your budget, or your list of things to pack. It can be very overwhelming arriving in a new country so making these notes before arriving at your destination can be very helpful. Not only will you have more fun, but you’ll also take some of the stress out of finding things to do and start getting interesting travel journal ideas.

It can be interesting to write what you imagine it will be like and then compare it to reality, once you arrive.

Don’t Just Describe

Avoid just listing descriptions of the activities.

“You want to create a captivating story that brings the journal to life , not a mundane list of things you’ve done. Also remember you don’t have to include everything, for example, if you eat the same cereal in the hotel as you do at home there is no need to note this experience,” says Joel Saunders, a travel writer at Boom Essays .

Pick out some interesting activities and experiences from each day and write about them. Write about how different your daily life is and how it compares to what you had imagined it would be.

Use dialogue , some of the best overseas stories come from overheard dialogues between tourists, locals, or conversations you can be a part of. Write whatever catches your imagination, if it interests you it’s likely to interest your reader.

You’ll find that one of the best parts of traveling is encountering people who are very different from you. Take in the local culture ; journal about things people say and do that are new and interesting to you.

Write Whilst It’s Fresh

It is easier to remember moments when they are fresh in your brain, try to write as much as you can whilst traveling. Writing at the moment will help you achieve the most accurate, vibrant, and engaging content.

We understand you don’t want to get distracted from your travels by working, you don’t have to write down much, just keywords like smells, tastes, sounds, and dialogue . Go back to the entry later and the content will be sure to trigger the emotions you felt.  

Writing after the event has happened can often be a false memory seen through rose-tinted glasses, especially if you write about it once the trip is over and you’ve returned home. You might find that writing a brief journal entry every evening is a nice way to unwind and end your day .

Wondering what to include in a travel journal ? Sometimes writing the most random emotions can work best:

• Did you learn something that day?
• Did something upset you?
• Was someone wearing something that stood out to you?
• What did you eat?

Don’t be afraid, to be honest, and include things that were strange or even unpleasant, these things are part of traveling and can be very interesting to read about.

Use Writing Tools

Writing tools can be a great way of getting the best out of your travel writing, they can improve spelling and grammar as well as make the text more cohesive.

• State of Writing and Grammar Checker

The grammar guides cover everything you need to know about writing.

• Essayroo and Assignment Help

These online communities will help you find like-minded people to give advice and share tips with.

• Cite It In and Word Counter

These are great tools if you want a professional take on your journal. Use citation tools to reference other articles, travel books, or websites.

• UKWritings and Academized

These are proofreading services that will help you polish your writing.

• My Writing Way and Via Writing

These tools will help you if you decide to choose the blogging route.

Add Pictures

A journal is for text but pictures are still worth a thousand words .

Combining images of your travels with words can form a comprehensive narrative of your travels. Take images of places you are describing, of a new friend, even a selfie or two if that’s the impression you want to give of your travels.

Sometimes images can make the journal seem more human and personal , it can also bring back memories or inspire. If you forget or don’t have time to journal for a few days, you’ll be glad you took some pictures so that you can use them to help you remember and fill in the blanks.

If you are so inclined, add sketches or doodles , they don’t have to be works of art but perhaps just mindless lines to pass the time on public transport. 

The internet is full of sketchbook tours. When talent and practice get together, the result is just mind-blowing.

Don’t Be Afraid to Write About the Bad

Even the best holiday will have ups or downs.

Don’t be afraid to write about what disappointed you . Since you wrote about your trip before you arrived, you should also write about it after you leave. The best travel journals are straightforward and raw.

Maybe you were looking forward to a meal and it wasn’t as high quality as you were expecting, maybe your hotel didn’t look like the website photo or, maybe the flight was hellish.

Often your bad experiences will be the most interesting and dramatic things to write in a journal. Great works have been written about awful trips. You might even want to book yourself into a cheap motel or visit a kitschy tourist spot just so you have a higher chance of a more authentic and interesting experience.

Write down what you would have changed about it, maybe you will return to that destination and want to remind future you to do something differently.

Write About Yourself

Think of yourself as the main character, or maybe even the hero, of your travels.

Take some time to record your trials and tribulations. Reflect on how the experience changed you or will change you in the future.

Did you learn something new about it yourself, like a new skill or the enjoyment of something you previously hadn’t enjoyed?

Write about the huge argument you and your friend had outside that restaurant that made you wait an hour for a table. Traveling can help people grow and evolve into better versions of themselves, it teaches you to appreciate people’s differences, to accept different cultures, and to be more patient, amongst others.

Maybe you’ve seen a side of your personality that you don’t like such as anger, prejudice, a judgmental side, or a snobby side . Don’t be afraid to be honest about your reflection as this itself will help you grow. All the best stories and creative and unique travel journal ideas have the character go through an arc and change, for better or worse.

Will your travel journal have an arc?

You can write this during the trip, or after, depending on when you start seeing these differences.

It Doesn’t Have to Be On Paper

We all think of worldly travelers with their beaten-up notebooks but in this day and age, you have so many choices.

Many people vlog , videoing their travels and speaking directly to the camera. This can sometimes be less visceral than a written journal but it can be more accessible and easier to show others. The cons of vlogging are also the worry about carrying camera equipment and having the right sound and lighting to capture that perfect moment.

Check this vlogger’s take on how to start vlogging:

Apps are also a great aid to travel journals. There are purpose-built travel journal apps that allow you to take notes, upload images and video plus text, and auto-link the website of the place or business you are mentioning. The best element of these apps is that they will auto-capture the time, location, and weather of your location; allowing you to craft a thorough online travel journal .

But the main piece of advice is to enjoy yourself . Traveling is fun and your journal should be too.

• Start writing in your travel journal scrapbook before you leave home.
• Don’t just list off things you did and places you visited, turn your trip into a story.
• Include details about how you felt and thought about the places you experienced.
• Record your thoughts while they are fresh in your mind and don’t be afraid to include the not-so-great parts.
• Use pictures to enhance your writing and to aid your memory.
• Be sure to use writing resources so your narrative flows well and doesn’t have errors in it.
• Write about what you want to talk about, show the images you want to show and summarize both the best and the worst of your time.

Do you have any further tips to add to this travel journal writing guide? Are you still wondering what to write in a journal? Would you like us to write a guide on how to create a travel blog?

Send us an email to aworldtotravel @ gmail . com , we are always happy to improve our articles with your tips!

There are 2 comments

I want to know how to start my travelogue… I have so many ideas n experiences but don’t know how to put them into words please help me.

Get in touch with us via email :) We’ll try to help

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How to write the perfect travel journal

Want to record the thrills and spills of your adventures? Here’s how to write an evocative and captivating travel diary…

1. Ask yourself… who is the diary for?

Is it just for you to read – or to share with your friends? This could influence what you put in or leave out! It will also influence the tone and style of the way you write. If you’re keen to write for a wider audience, how about creating a travel blog ?

2. Ask yourself… What do you want to include?

When writing your notes, think about what you’ll want to remember from the trip in ten, 20, or even 30 years.

It’d be a good idea to include your itinerary; your route plotted on a map, plus a ‘cast list’ of people you meet en route (include brief descriptions or even photos to jog your memory). Keep the contact details of the people you would like to keep in touch with (and do keep in touch with them!). You could list the ‘top moments’ or ‘best bits’ from your trip – best sunset, view, meal, restaurant…

3. Avoid listing mundane activities

‘And then I did this… and then I did that’… It can become tedious! You want to create a captivating story, not a repetitive list. Indeed, this is one of the big no-nos of travel writing !

4. Remember entries don’t have to be chronological

Write whatever catches your imagination, whenever it occurs to you.

5. You don’t have to record everything!

What you leave out is as important as what you put in.

6. Use dialogue

Funny things you’ve overheard, or a conversation with a camel driver, for example.

7. Use ALL your senses

Write about the sounds, smells, tastes and even textures of your trip.

8. Illustrate it

The act of drawing a building, termite mound or person will help to etch them in your memory. If you’re not artistic, how about learning how to get the best results from your camera or how to take great iPhone photos instead?

9. Use it as a scrapbook, too

Stick in tickets, bottle labels, snippets from local newspapers, receipts, etc – use the pocket in the back of the journal to hold them, or stick them in next to the day they refer to. You’ll have a thick, full memory book to look back through.

10. Give a day and date for each new memory…

Or else you’ll forget what happened when.

11. Get it down on paper while it’s fresh

It will be much more vivid. If there’s not enough time for a full description, jot down a few key words, which will jog your memory and fill in the gaps later.

12. It’s your journal, so stick to what interests YOU

If you want to record distance in miles covered, units of wine drunk, funny road signs, tacky souvenirs, or even cute cats, then great – that’s up to you!

13. Enjoy yourself!

Your travels and trips are fun – and your journal should be too! If it’s becoming a chore, think how you can change it to make writing more enjoyable… How about summarising each day with one sentence, a best of/worst of list, or replacing words with pictures or photos?

Further tips on travel writing:

5 biggest mistakes made by novice travel writers how to become a travel writer 10 tips for writing inspiring travel articles.

8 characterful stays in Cusco, Peru

Beyond New York: 16 of the world’s most intriguing street art cities

Trip planner: Plot your perfect route around Alberta, Canada

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Travel Journals Ideas – How and Why to Write One

DAY 3 (Must be Friday) We got a late start, as more in our party started to adjust to Hawaii time. We headed west to Waimea Canyon. After driving to a few lookouts we came to the end of the road and set off on what we thought was an “easy one mile family hike”. Little did we know what we were getting into. We found the trail marking for a one mile hike and set off happily, humming a little tune. We were soon thinking this wasn’t quite what we had expected. The first half-mile was a good bit rockier and muddier than we’d expected. There were some pretty views, but not much different than we’d seen from the overviews. But surely, we thought, the view at the end must be spectacular. So we traveled on, as the ground got muddier and the trail got steeper, until we were climbing hand over hand, over logs, up steep slopes. All the while we were thinking “I’m really surprised the guidebook called this an easy family hike”.

The Value of Travel Journals

The above paragraph was written in our travel journal in the safety of our Kauai hotel room on the evening after our misadventure on that beautiful island. We had started what was supposed to be a short hike to a waterfall but had turned into an overland adventure when we started from the wrong parking lot. While my wife wrote the words above, our clothes still were covered with the red clay mud of Kauai.

We have a bookshelf in our living room where we keep some of our most cherished possessions. Our travel journals are kept there above out photo albums where theoretically we could grab them in our hurry out the front door should our house ever catch fire. Travel journals have been important in my family since before we were married. My wife still has the journal from her Spring Break trip to Florida. It sits next to our journal from driving cross country after college in the 1980s. Combined with the photographs we take, these journals help us remember the details of what would otherwise be a faded memory.

How to write a Travel Journal

If you are going to write a travel journal then I would suggest you:

• Make sure a journal and pen are on your packing list. You can use any notebook or your computer or smartphone.
• Decide who you are writing this journal for. Our travel journals are written for us. Sometimes they contain witty prose and humor and sometimes they just contain facts we want to remember. They are not my blog. They certainly contain details that would be boring to other people. I don’t care. I would also suggest you write for yourself.
• Jot down notes every day  that will help you remember the details of the day. If you don’t have time to write a journal entry, just keep a list of your notes in the back of whatever you are using for a journal.
• Set aside time in the evening, at breakfast, on the plane, on the train or on car rides to take these facts and write your journal entries. Try and write something for every day of your trip.

Travel Journal Writing Prompts

• Think about what you saw that surprised you.
• Think about what amused you.
• Think about the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds.
• What was the name of that guide, site, etc?
• Who was the most interesting person you saw or talked to?
• Take a picture of that historic plaque to help you with details you may want later.

Don’t worry too much about editing, spelling or grammar. This journal is for you. You can clean it up later.

Travel Journal Examples

You can see some online versions of my travel journals on Amateur Traveler. You can keep a travel journal on paper or you can keep it on your laptop, smartphone or tablet. If you do plan on putting it online as I do there are some advantages to keeping your journal electronically. Of course, that does also mean that you have to worry about your device being charged.

Travel Journals

There are no particular requirements for what you write in or on. The travel journal above is 3 sheets of yellowing 8.5″ x 11″ pieces of paper. We have written in small notebooks, Moleskine notebooks, and college-ruled notebooks. It does have to be small enough that you will take it with you. I once gave my wife the gift of a notebook where I had covered it with our travel photos and then laminated the cover. I loved that travel journal.

And of course, if you travel with a laptop or even a tablet like an iPad you could keep your notes electronically but this will add additional complexity as you worry about battery life and backups.

Whatever medium you choose, don’t assume you will remember all the things you want to from your trip. Write them down and cherish them for years.

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by Chris Christensen

+Chris Christensen | @chris2x | facebook

3 Responses to “Travel Journals Ideas – How and Why to Write One”

Bohemian Trails

Nice tips! I always make a point to bring a journal with me when I travel

My mother kept journals of her travels, starting in 1933 at age 11 when she took a trip to the Chicago World’s Fair. Later on, of course, they included trips taken with my dad. Late in their lives, when they were both pretty bed-ridden but sharp mentally, she got them out and read them out loud to my dad. What a special thing to have to relive those fun times!   I have those journals now and have started a blog of them for my grown children. It’s been a great way for them to see their grandparents in a different way – not to mention seeing how different travel was back then.

Chris Christensen

very cool fayster

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31 Travel Journal Prompts + Creative Travel Journal Ideas

This post contains affiliate links to trusted partners. If you purchase through these links, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

Looking for travel journal prompts and creative travel journal ideas ?

Then you’re in the right place! 

Especially right now as travel is limited and people are searching for ways to travel at home, such as through relaxing staycations , keeping a travel journal can be a great way to relive your favorite trip memories. 

Moreover, it can keep travel alive, allow you to explore the world from home, and help you stay curious. 

Keep reading for a list of fun journal writing prompts related to travel as well as tips for creating something tangible that truly helps you feel inspired. 

Table of Contents

Downloadable Travel Journal PDF

Before we dive into the post, though, I want to offer you the chance to grab my free printable travel journal . 

The trip journal includes 56 prompts in total. 

This inspiring printable and fillable journal is great for exercising your creativity while traveling from home as you remember your favorite trips. 

Grab it, and then feel free to message me on Instagram ( @jessieonajourney ) to let me know which travel journal writing prompts were your favorite and why.

I plan to update the journal in the future — and you’ll get any revisions I make — so your feedback is appreciated!

What Is A Travel Journal?

A travel journal is a place where you can document your trip memories, whether you’re spending 7 days in Cancun , going on a solo USA road trip , off completing the world’s best hiking trails , or something else.

These can be paper or digital, bound or looseleaf, thin or thick. And— when it comes to how to write in a travel journal — it can include just text or a variety of mediums.

The point is, it offers a way to record what happens to you on the road — though you’re welcome to take your entries and give them a fictional twist for fun! 

Choosing Your Travel Journal

I may be a little biased, but if you’re looking for the best travel journal with prompts, I recommend grabbing my free printable journal here . 

Because I made it fillable, you can also use it as a travel journal online!

Additionally, there are loads of inspiring options online if you’d prefer to purchase one. On Amazon, I love this vegan leather option as well as this mindful travel journal .

Creative Travel Journal Ideas

Wondering how to be creative in your journal?

First of all, remember that a journal doesn’t just have to be writing. Use markers, paints, stickers, glitter, and even momentos from your travels to really bring the text to life. 

Of course, don’t forget about travel-themed accents, too, like stamps, tickets, postcards, and maps — you can even cut out sections of a map to showcase your favorite destinations. 

If you’re artistic, you might also consider bullet journaling and other techniques to make your journal more visual. 

In terms of keeping your travel writing fresh, having details to pull from can be a huge help.

When possible, try to experience a place with all five senses so you have more to draw from later. I personally like to take notes right after any experience I think I may write about later. 

Keep in mind, being fully present in this way is also just an overall healthy practice. 

If you’re having trouble remembering details, try to sit in silence and do a visualization. Personally, when I do this exercise I aim to not only see myself in a place, but to put myself back in the place so that I am seeing the scene through my own eyes. 

Feeling writer’s block?

Sometimes all that it takes is a change of scenery to get inspired again. Try going for a walk or trying a new cafe to see if that helps.

If not, put the journal away, give yourself some mental space, and pick it back up tomorrow. 

And if you’re proud of what you’ve written, feel free to post it on social media, share it in an email with friends or, of course, keep it to yourself. 

How To Keep A Travel Journal: Quick Tips 

As an avid journaler myself, these are some of my personal tips for having fun, feeling creative, and staying inspired while writing.

As with travel tips and trip styles, everyone has their own process when it comes to journaling, and something that works for me may not work for you. Feel free to try out this advice, keep what works, and let go of what doesn’t.

Overall, the goal is that you get something beneficial out of these pages.

Tip #1: Journal when you feel most creative.

For instance, you might choose some mindful ways to start your day and have completing daily journal prompts be one of your morning rituals. 

However, if you find you feel more creative in the afternoon or evening, plan your writing for then.

Tip #2: Don’t edit as you write.

Allow your first draft to be all about getting your ideas and thoughts down onto the paper and getting into a creative flow state.

You can always tweak things later.

Tip #3: Remember the power of lists.

This is one of my favorite trip journal ideas!

Writing in lists can be helpful when you’re:

• having trouble getting started
• wondering what things to put in a travel journal
• feeling like your sentences just aren’t flowing together

This way, you can at least get your ideas down and edit them together in a cohesive manner later on.

Tip #4: Write stories.

While this isn’t mandatory, those who are curious how to write a travel journal that’s worth reading should consider writing your thoughts as stories instead of in a stream-of-conscious fashion. 

To write a story, make sure you have a beginning, middle, and end. Actually, if you really want to do it right, you should also consider character, plot, setting, and tension.

For a lesson in storytelling, make sure to check out this video on how to improve your creative storytelling skills for more engaging writing:

Tip #5: Go beyond text.

Wondering what to put in a travel journal?

Realize there is no right or wrong answer to this question!

Keep it text-based, or add paintings, drawings, stickers, momentos from your trip, and more. 

Personally, I’ve started writing out my journal entries and then drawing them to add some additional creativity and really bring the pages to life. 

The Best Travel Journal Apps

Prefer a digital journal option over paper? 

There is an app for that! 

I’ve talked about my favorite travel safety apps before, but here are a few of my favorite apps for keeping a travel journal:

Travel Diaries .  This free app allows you to create both public and private journals. The layouts are customizable, and you can easily add text, photos, and even maps. 

One really neat feature of this app:

You can turn your travel diary into a physical creation to be shipped to your home!

Day One Journal . This is another great travel journal app that makes it simple to record your memories using photos, videos, drawings, and even audio recordings. 

The “On This Day” feature allows you to go back in time to revisit your favorite trip moments, while automatic backups ensure your content never gets lost. 

Unique app feature:

You can handwrite in your journal using your finger or Apple Pencil. 

This travel app has both free and paid premium versions. 

Polarsteps . Dubbed “the personal travel log in your pocket,” Polarsteps is an app that helps you plan your trips as well as record them along the way in a visually-appealing manner.

In fact, this app puts an emphasis on adding experiences to maps and using video to document, so you can really bring your trips back to life later on. 

A feature I love:

You can turn your travel memories into a stunning hardcover book to keep!

Unique Travel Journal Examples

Looking for some travel journal inspiration?

Here are some mood boards with journal examples to help get your creative juices flowing.

These are also helpful if you’re wanting to learn how to make a travel journal.

By the way:

Check out the bottom right photo in the top collage if you’re looking for travel journal layout ideas.

Travel Writing Prompts – Quick Picker 

If you’re like me and often feel indecisive when choosing a prompt, I’ve got a fun little tool that can help:

The above video moves through the list of writing prompts quickly.

To use it as a quick picker, press play, turn your gaze down, and then stop the video at a random moment.

Then, voilà , you’ve got your travel writing prompt chosen for you! 

31 Travel Journal Prompts

Whether you’re physically traveling or at home dreaming of the road, use these travel prompts for your journal.

I love these prompts for when I’m feeling stuck and am searching for things to write in a travel journal:

1. Remember a time when you met people while traveling that felt like family. Describe your time with them in great detail.

2. Write a postcard to a friend from a place you’ve loved visiting.

3. Think about a problem that exists in travel. Now, invent a solution to the problem. Hey, could this journal help you come up with your next million-dollar idea?

4. If you could go on a trip with anyone, dead or alive, who would you go with? Where would you go and what would you do?

5. Share a time you were lost or that you lost something while traveling. 

6. How has travel changed or shaped you? Note: This is one of my favorite self-discovery journal prompts!

7. Start your travel story with the following: “It was a dark and stormy night…”

8. What is the first vacation memory that comes to mind? Come up with your memory in 10 seconds or less!

9. Think back to the most beautiful place you’ve ever been to. Now, describe it using all five senses.

10. Write about a multi-destination trip — from the perspective of your backpack.

11. What is a sticky situation you’ve gotten out of on the road? Hint: Allow this to also be a reminder of your strength!

12. What is a fear you’ve overcome while traveling? How?

13. Take your story from the previous prompt about overcoming a fear while traveling and rewrite it from the perspective of an onlooker.

14. What has been your craziest transportation experience?

15. Write a review of the best hotel you’ve ever stayed in.

16. Write a review of the worst hotel you’ve ever stayed in using humor.

17. Write a letter of gratitude to someone who showed you an act of kindness on the road .

18. Write about the last trip you took — from the perspective of yourself in the year 2600.

19. Write about a hike you loved doing using all five senses.

20. “Travel makes me feel _____.” Why?

21. Write about a trip you took last year from the perspective of your favorite book or movie character.

22. What is the biggest lesson that travel has taught you? Share a story that brings this to life.

23. Pretend that you were given an extra day on a trip you loved. What would that day have looked like?

24. Choose a trip you haven’t written about yet. Now choose a different time period, and write about the trip as if it happened in that time period.

25. In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception about travel?

26. Think back to an interesting conversation you’ve had while traveling and begin your story with that dialogue.

27. Transport yourself to a beautiful beach you’ve visited. Suddenly, a message in a bottle washes up onto the shore. What does it say? How do you react?

28. Here is a road trip journal idea! Write about a road trip you went on, but have someone else from the trip be the narrator. Hint: If you traveled solo, have the car or an onlooker be the narrator.

29. Think of a time you went on a trip that took you out of your comfort zone. Write the end of the story, then the middle, then the beginning.

30. What is one piece of advice you’ve been told by a local while traveling? Have you applied it to your life? Why/why not?

31. If you were to write a travel memoir, what would the first chapter look like?

Bonus: Pair Your Journal Prompts With Self-Care

In my opinion, the best way to enjoy time spent journaling is by pairing it with other self-care activities.

In the video above, I share my top 10 favorite self-care tips and rituals for travelers — though they can also be enjoyed at home!

My recommendation:

Make a day of it! Use the journal prompts and the self-care rituals to create your own DIY retreat .

Want more travel-themed prompts?

Don’t forget to grab my free downloadable Inspired Storyteller Travel Journal — featuring inspiring quotes, writing tips, and 56 fun prompts to help you recount your favorite trip memories and write creatively. 

Do you have any travel journal prompts to add?

What are your favorite creative travel journal ideas.

Related posts:

About Jessie Festa

Jessie Festa is a New York-based travel content creator who is passionate about empowering her audience to experience new places and live a life of adventure. She is the founder of the solo female travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and is editor-in-chief of Epicure & Culture , an online conscious tourism magazine. Along with writing, Jessie is a professional photographer and is the owner of NYC Photo Journeys , which offers New York photo tours, photo shoots, and wedding photography. Her work has appeared in publications like USA Today, CNN, Business Insider, Thrillist, and WestJet Magazine.

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These prompts are just the inspiration I needed to capture my thoughts about travel. Not only do they tap into my travel memories, but they feed my creative spirit. Who says you have to actually go anywhere to be well-traveled? 😉

I have trouble keeping a journal, but have always want too – these are such good prompts ill have to give it another try!

Wow, what an incredible article! I’m so grateful to have come across this treasure trove of travel journal prompts and ideas. The suggestions provided here are truly inspiring and have sparked my wanderlust even more. From capturing the sensory details to reflecting on personal growth, these prompts cover every aspect of a fulfilling travel journal. The beautiful descriptions and practical tips have motivated me to start documenting my adventures with a renewed passion. Thank you for sharing such a valuable resource that will undoubtedly enhance my future travel experiences. Keep up the fantastic work!

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33 Terrific Travel Journal Ideas, Tips + Prompts!

Looking for the best travel journal ideas to help you remember your next trip–plus some prompts to help you think of what to write?

You’ve come to the right place!

As a lifelong lover of both journaling and travel, I have experimented with all kinds of travel journals over the years, ranging from the time-consuming to the simple, from the unique to the very basic.

I absolutely love the travel journaling system that I use now (more on that below), but depending on your habits and writing style, there is no limit to the number of ways to preserve your travel memories on the written page.

Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more detail.

This guide to travel journal ideas and prompts covers everything from the physical kind of travel diary to use, to tips on journaling effectively, to travel journaling prompts to help you get your writing started.

Remember, though, that the #1 rule of travel journaling is that there are no rules!

Anything that helps you preserve the intense memories of your travel experiences counts.

That being said: here are some of the best travel journal ideas out there!

Table of Contents

Terrific Travel Journal Ideas

Travel journaling tips, inspiring travel journal prompts, planning a trip.

While there are plenty of beautiful travel journals on the market, don’t feel like you need one to keep a memorable travel diary!

I’ve kept travel journals in everything from a $0.99 composition notebook to elaborate leather-bound notebooks to the Notes app in my phone, and I can confidently say that the best travel journals come from the heart–the physical place you put them is the least important function.

That being said, if you are looking for beautiful travel journal examples, I highly recommend these!

One Line a Day Journal

This is my current favorite travel journaling system, and I’ve been using it for nearly 5 years now!

Here’s the format: each page in this diary has a date at the top (say, August 17), and 5 small sections to write 1-2 sentences below it.

For 5 years, keep a daily journal of a memorable moment, and at the end, you’ll be able to look back and, on a single page, see what you did on all your August 17ths.

While this isn’t specifically a travel journal, I absolutely adore using it as one: the tracking of time through both days and years simultaneously is incredible, and the short time commitment is perfect for my lifestyle that already includes lots of writing.

I do still try to keep a long-form travel journal once a week or so, too, but I love my One Line a Day Journal so much that I recently bought two more, just to ensure I have the next decade covered if they stop making them!

Page A Day Travel Journal

Looking for something formatted for you, but with more of a travel theme and more of a long-form approach?

The Page A Day Travel Journal is perfect for that!

In addition to space to write about your day, there are spaces to note your destination and event the weather.

Classic Leather-Bound Journal

What reading-and-writing nerd among us hasn’t dreamed of owning a leather-bound journal to track their travels in?

I have always enjoyed this journal style and have owned a few in my life!

There are tons of similar ones on the market these days, given how popular they are, but I love the compass detail and great reviews on this one .

Postcards To Yourself

Looking for more unique travel journal ideas?

Consider sending postcards to yourself from the road!

In many destinations, you can mail yourself (or someone else) a postcard right from the souvenir shop where you purchase it–so bring a pen along, write some quick thoughts about your day, and drop it in the mail.

By the time you get home, you’ll have a collection of memories delivered right to your front door that you can save forever.

Travel Checklist Journal

If you’re the kind of traveler who wants to make sure they don’t forget a thing, the Travel Checklist Journal is the perfect choice!

With daily prompts covering everything from the restaurants you ate at that day to your most memorable moment of the day, it’s an in-depth log of your adventures.

I’ll be honest: I could never keep up with this much travel journaling on a daily basis.

But, some people absolutely can!

If you find yourself not sure what to put in some sections, though, don’t worry about it–better to skip a prompt than make your journal feel like work instead of fun.

Bullet Journal

A classic bullet journal like this makes a fantastic travel journal idea!

In addition to writing, consider including drawings, hand-drawn maps, charts, and more.

Standard Notebook

You don’t need anything fancy to keep a beautiful, memorable travel journal!

Anything from a simple composition notebook to the back of a receipt will do in a pinch, and I would never recommend putting off writing because you don’t have the “perfect” vessel to store your memories in.

If you’re looking for a fairly standard, lined notebook that is durable without including much formatting to get in the way of your creativity, though, I love these notebooks .

I’ve owned them in various colors and designs for years, going out of my way to replace my old ones with the same brand when they get full.

Buy one on the road!

While I definitely recommend keeping a travel journal from hour one (airports and train stations are great places to write!), there’s also something special about buying a diary on the road.

If you find a journal you love while you’re traveling, consider picking it up and journaling there from then on.

On Your Computer or Phone

I’ll admit, I’m very biased toward analog travel diary ideas–it’s just my style!

But if you prefer typing to writing, or you just don’t want the hassle of carrying a physical journal on the road, you can easily keep a detailed travel journal on your phone or laptop!

Evernote is a fantastic app for journaling on your phone, though a basic Notes app works fine too.

A Word document or Google Doc can work as well.

Alternatively, you can type and send emails to yourself and store them in a certain folder in your inbox!

There is no wrong way to keep a travel journal–whatever works for you, is more than fine.

That being said, based on my personal experience of keeping travel journals over the years, here’s my best advice for preserving your memories!

Try to write as often as possible.

Here’s the sad truth: you will forget much of your vacation.

Even if you remember the basics such as where you went, what you did, and who you were with, the passing years will steal the sensory details from your memory, jumble the order of events, and soften the edges of your stories, making it hard to recapture the emotions of your travel experience.

While some of that is the inevitable result of living a full, exciting life packed with beautiful memories, a travel journal can absolutely help preserve those experiences for you for decades to come.

The period of time that I was worst at keeping a travel journal– the first year of our full-time travels –is also the one where memories have faded the most.

It’s my #1 travel regret that I didn’t keep a detailed travel journal that year!

Imperfection is better than procrastination.

Don’t have time to write pages and pages?

Can’t find the right words to capture exactly how you felt seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time?

Don’t worry about it: a couple of sentences jotted down that afternoon while waiting for your coffee to arrive will capture your emotions far better than waiting weeks to find the right words.

Write what you can’t see.

Photographs and videos can do a lot to preserve visual and even auditory memory–but they can’t capture scents, or the feeling of the humidity lingering in the air, or how soft the dog you stopped to pet was, or the expression on the waiter’s face as you managed to order lunch in a language that you barely speak.

These kinds of recollections, paired with photos and videos, are invaluable for helping place you back in that moment of travel, even years after it has passed.

You don’t have to be a “good” writer.

Forget the English essays of your youth: whether you consider yourself a skilled writer or not, you can absolutely keep the world’s most perfect travel journal for yourself.

Because travel journaling is nothing but a conversation with your memory, and you know exactly how to talk to yourself!

It doesn’t matter if you wouldn’t want to publish it as a memoir or that other people wouldn’t understand what you’re trying to say, because you’re the only audience!

Trust me, as a professional writer of sorts, the things that I write publicly–even in more personal blog posts like this –are not nearly as unguarded as the conversations I have with myself when preserving my own travel memories.

Don’t edit yourself.

This goes somewhat with what I wrote about being a “good” writer, but it’s a solid tip for travel journaling even if you’re a very confident one.

Each of us sees the world in a completely unique way and will use entirely different experiences and criteria to jog our memories.

If none of the travel journal prompts in this blog post speak to you, ignore them.

Write about literally anything you like–anything that speaks to how you experienced your day.

The uniqueness of how we each see the world is never more obvious to me than when I compare the things that Jeremy writes in his travel journal to what I write in mine–many times, we each remember things that the other person didn’t even notice!

Save more than words.

Ticket stubs, brochures, boarding passes, postcards, even foreign currency–anything small and tactile that you can tuck into your travel journal is a fantastic addition.

If you print out any photos along the way or purchase any of the cheesy-but-fun souvenir photos for sale around the world, those can be great components of a travel diary, too.

Full maps are often too big to save in a traditional travel journal, but you can save them separately–or cut out your favorite section(s) and place them in your journal!

Sadly, the ink on receipts tends to fade within a couple of years, but you can try storing a few memorable ones for a while as well.

Depending on your travel journaling style and how much you collect, you may want to tape these extra items to individual pages or keep them tucked into a separate pouch (cheap and fun cloth zip pouches can be found at souvenir markets across the world–maybe you can buy one along the way!).

For something more fun than basic tape, buy a few souvenir stickers along the way and use those to secure your mementos to the page!

Avoid spiral notebooks.

If you want a very inexpensive place to save your memories, opt for a composition notebook over a spiral one–trust me.

Between the spirals being pulled out of place from being moved around so much during your adventures to the fact that they’ll scratch up anything they’re stored near (like your laptop, for example), they’re just not worth the trouble.

I learned this lesson the hard way and will never use a spiral notebook (without a cover, that is) for anything while traveling again!

Always keep your travel journal in your carry-on.

I’ll admit, I’ve broken this rule before, but it’s terrifying checking your travel journal–especially when, like my current one, it contains years worth of irreplaceable memories.

Much better to keep careful watch over it in your carry-on/hand luggage!

Wondering what exactly to write down in your travel diary?

These travel journal writing prompts will get you started!

Choose any of these travel journal topic examples from below and expand upon it in detail, and before you know it, you’ll find yourself jotting down details of memories that would otherwise be lost to time.

As always, the point of travel writing prompts like this isn’t to limit what you write–it’s to provide a jumping-off point.

If you find yourself veering off in a different direction after a few sentences, just roll with it!

What did you do today that you’ve never done before?

Make a list of everything you bought today, from food items to metro tickets.

Describe the most memorable person you interacted with today.

What was your favorite thing you ate today?

What new thing did you learn today? How did you learn it?

Describe your morning routine in detail: what was different from home?

What was your most memorable form of transport today?

What animals did you see or interact with today?

What was the weather like? How did it impact your day?

What were you wearing today? How did it impact your day?

Did you use any words in a language you don’t speak today? What were they?

What’s the big news where you are right now? Is it the same as at home?

What’s the funniest thing that happened today?

What’s the most memorable thing that you physically touched today?

What did you eat for breakfast?

Look up, and describe everything that you see in detail.

If you took a tour: describe your tour guide, including their name!

What did you do today that you didn’t expect to do before your trip?

What’s an interesting story or legend from your destination?

Describe your route from where you’re staying to your first destination of the day.

What’s your favorite word to say in the language of your destination?

What was your least favorite moment of the day?

What was the most surprising thing you saw today?

What interesting conversation did you overhear today?

None of these travel journal ideas or prompts speak to you?

Have something different in mind?

There’s no wrong way to keep a travel diary–whatever feels right when you’re on the road, that’s the best travel journal for you.

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About Kate Storm

In May 2016, I left my suburban life in the USA and became a full-time traveler. Since then, I have visited 50+ countries on 5 continents and lived in Portugal, developing a special love of traveling in Europe (especially Italy) along the way. Today, along with my husband Jeremy and dog Ranger, I’m working toward my eventual goal of splitting my life between Europe and the USA.

1 thought on “33 Terrific Travel Journal Ideas, Tips + Prompts!”

Thanks for posting this up , this is a very informative article surely.

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Write a Good Travel Essay. Please.

Kathleen Boardman

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Editor’s Note: We know that many of you are looking for help writing travel experience essays for school or simply writing about a trip for your friends or family. To inspire you and help you write your next trip essay—whether it’s an essay about a trip with family or simply a way to remember your best trip ever (so far)—we enlisted the help of Professor Kathleen Boardman, whose decades of teaching have helped many college students learn the fine art of autobiography and life writing. Here’s advice on how to turn a simple “my best trip” essay into a story that will inspire others to explore the world.

Welcome home! Now that you’re back from your trip, you’d like to share it with others in a travel essay. You’re a good writer and a good editor of your work, but you’ve never tried travel writing before. As your potential reader, I have some advice and some requests for you as you write your travel experience essay.

Trip Essays: What to Avoid

Please don’t tell me everything about your trip. I don’t want to know your travel schedule or the names of all the castles or restaurants you visited. I don’t care about the plane trip that got you there (unless, of course, that trip is the story).

I have a friend who, when I return from a trip, never asks me, “How was your trip?” She knows that I would give her a long, rambling answer: “… and then … and then … and then.” So instead, she says, “Tell me about one thing that really stood out for you.” That’s what I’d like you to do in this travel essay you’re writing.

The Power of Compelling Scenes

One or two “snapshots” are enough—but make them great. Many good writers jump right into the middle of their account with a vivid written “snapshot” of an important scene. Then, having aroused their readers’ interest or curiosity, they fill in the story or background. I think this technique works great for travel writing; at least, I would rather enjoy a vivid snapshot than read through a day-to-day summary of somebody’s travel journal.

Write About a Trip Using Vivid Descriptions

Take your time. Tell a story. So what if you saw things that were “incredible,” did things that were “amazing,” observed actions that you thought “weird”? These words don’t mean anything to me unless you show me, in a story or a vivid description, the experience that made you want to use those adjectives.

I’d like to see the place, the people, or the journey through your eyes, not someone else’s. Please don’t rewrite someone else’s account of visiting the place. Please don’t try to imitate a travel guide or travelogue or someone’s blog or Facebook entry. You are not writing a real travel essay unless you are describing, as clearly and honestly as possible, yourself in the place you visited. What did you see, hear, taste, say? Don’t worry if your “take” on your experience doesn’t match what everyone else says about it. (I’ve already read what THEY have to say.)

The Importance of Self-Editing Your Trip Essay

Don’t give me your first draft to read. Instead, set it aside and then reread it. Reread it again. Where might I need more explanation? What parts of your account are likely to confuse me? (After all, I wasn’t there.) Where might you be wasting my time by repeating or rambling on about something you’ve already told me?

Make me feel, make me laugh, help me learn something. But don’t overdo it: Please don’t preach to me about broadening my horizons or understanding other cultures. Instead, let me in on your feelings, your change of heart and mind, even your fear and uncertainty, as you confronted something you’d never experienced before. If you can, surprise me with something I didn’t know or couldn’t have suspected.

You Can Do It: Turning Your Trip into a Great Travel Experience Essay

I hope you will take yourself seriously as a traveler and as a writer. Through what—and how—you write about just a small portion of your travel experience, show me that you are an interesting, thoughtful, observant person. I will come back to you, begging for more of your travel essays.

Take Notes in a Cute Journal

Keep track of all the crucial details- and even the ones you might forget, in a durable and refillable journal.

More from SmarterTravel:

• Genealogy Travel: How to Find Your Family Tree
• The Essential International Packing List
• 9 DIY Ways to Upgrade Economy Class

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Voyage Scribe

For Writers Who Travel

What to Write in Your Travel Journals

Hey! Want to get free travel-inspired writing prompts every month? Then sign up for the Voyage Scribe newsletter and get ready for some inspiration coming your way!

Welcome back! Interested in journals designed for writers who travel? Check out there Voyage Scribe journals here !

Completing one of the Voyage Scribe Travel Writing Prompts , I was given reason to read through my old travel journals. I normally don’t read them after completing a journey, but I found doing so very useful in determining what to write about in my future travel journals.

The following are things I noticed in my travel journals that I was grateful to have written down. They were either things I found inspiring but have forgotten about, or that I am grateful to relive.

I hope that by reading what I have written about in my travel journals , and will continue writing about, you will find inspiration for what to write in your own.

Table of Contents

1. Itineraries

I can’t count the number of times I forget every single thing that I did on a specific day, or names of the places I visited. This is especially true on trips packed with activities and sightseeing. I think this is the most basic use of a travel journal, and the purpose of travel journals for many people.

But if you’re a writer, and you’re trying to remember your trip on a deeper level, either for more writing inspiration or another purpose, you should be doing more than just writing about what you did on a specific day. While it’s important, I find myself disappointed in the journals where I simply give an overview of places I visited without any further details.

Which brings me to the second thing I appreciated most in rereading my travel journals. I love reading about the little details. In the moment, I feel like I’ll never forget them, but time makes that impossible. Reading the details– the streets I walked on, the buildings I passed, the transportation I took, the rituals I had throughout the trip– these are the things that help me to relive my trips once more. Write about interesting conversations you had, about the tiny details you found the most interesting, what you found most stressful or frightening: your future self will thank you!

3. Emotions

It’s one thing to talk about what you did in a day, but it’s another to really remember what it felt like being in those places and doing those things. Write about the emotions you felt as you carried out your itinerary. Did they overwhelm or underwhelm you? Was there a strong emotion you felt visiting someplace, whether it be negative or positive? Remind yourself of what you found so profound on your trip; remind yourself of the little details.

In a few of my travel journals, the main thing I wrote about was the food I ate. And I’m so thankful I did. Thanks to this, I can relive those delicious meals. I forgot about many of them, but reading about them, it’s almost as though I could taste them once again. And there were some really, really good ones! My travel journal from the summer of 2014 which I spent in southern France is mostly filled with details of the food I ate, and I’m so, so happy about that.

5. All the senses

Using all the senses– sight, sound, touch, smell– is also a great way to relive travels. My favorite travel journal entries were when I described one moment in great detail that used all my senses. These made me feel like I was back in that moment I wrote about. If you find yourself in a moment you are experiencing intensely, sit down and write about what all your senses are feeling.

I often find it tempting to just snap a picture to remind myself of the moment, but a travel journal entry will be much more effective at capturing the moment if done right. Pause and capture with your words everything that a picture can’t.

6. Information/ tourist facts

At the time of writing them, the facts I learn on tours or in museums seem so ingrained in my mind that I feel as though I’ll never forget them. But then time and other trips muddle my memories of those facts, which is why I was grateful to relearn new knowledge in my old travel journals.

7. Writing Ideas

I’ll often come up with a plot idea while wandering a medieval, cobblestone street, or a character idea as I people-watch on a busy town square or marketplace. These ideas go into my travel journal, and I’m always so grateful to find them again while rereading my old journals.

Not a writer? Use travel to inspire other types of ideas you may need in life!

I meet a lot of people while traveling. And honestly, I don’t remember them all. At least, I don’t think I do, until I read about someone I had once briefly encountered and remember them anew.

It doesn’t even have to be people you had an encounter with. Travel is a great opportunity to people-watch, so make sure to note any interesting observations!

9. Comparisons

Something I’ve noticed I do in my travel journals is write about the comparisons and contrasts I find. I write about the place I’m in and compare it to other places I’ve been, either home, or places that remind me of that place, or perhaps a place I had been in previously on the trip I’m currently on.

I find that these comparisons are more interesting to read, and they remind me of the first impressions I had of a place I visited.

10. Reflections

Travel is the perfect opportunity to reflect, when you’re away from “normal life” and seeing the world in a new way. Use these benefits to reflect on yourself and the world around you. And then write about it.

Some of the most life-changing moments I’ve had were when I was traveling, and it’s nice to read back and “meet” myself when I experienced those moments of epiphany.

Do you have any other things you like to write about in your travel journals? Let us know in the comments below!

And if you’re looking for more specific inspiration, check out this month’s writing prompt . I design these prompts to help you gain writing inspiration from past travels, but you can certainly use them to write about your current travels too!

[This article may contain affiliate links, meaning I may receive commission at no extra cost to you. That being said, I would never recommend something I haven’t or wouldn’t use myself.]

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16 Comments

I really enjoyed this post! When I first saw the title I though ‘surely what you write in a journal is personal choice’, but actually there are some many great points in this post and I’ll definitely be using it for my travel journalling. Thank you for sharing 🙂

I don’t especially write a travel journal but I take notes in my iphone to remember certain things (like the places I have visited, the itinerary, the facts,…). This is a good list – perfect base for blogging about the destination afterwards!

I know a lot of people who draw instead of write in their journals. I just mainly write lists and random thoughts, not very consistent tho.

Love this! I want to start a travel journal n these are the perfect ideas!

These are great!! I have taken a journal every trip bar one…. and I now regret it as I don’t remember much!! Really useful ideas here! Thanks 😊

I love the idea of a travel journal, but I just never keep one. I really should though. I kept a travel journal for a world trip 10 years ago and it’s great to look back on.

These are some great tips! I always bring a travel journal with me but often find it hard to find the time or have the energy to write in it. I try my best but sometimes I definitely rush through it so I just jot down the key points from the day that I don’t want to forget.

What a helpful post and great idea!

I love this post so much. I used to write travel journals for every trip I took, but I got behind when I was in Europe and just never finished 🙁 I picked it back up in Africa, then didn’t think about doing it for my US travels! I appreciate this post so much because it reminds me why I started doing them in the first place. Thank you so much for this reminder and inspiration.

I have been thinking of starting a travel journal so I will be sure of use these ideas. I usually write on a random piece of paper which is not ideal.

I’m mostly about the finer details and facts I learn. Something I can use for when I’m writing on my blog later. But there’s definitely points where I remark how I was feeling at the time. I love taking notes and putting them with the pictures to remember these amazing trips

Good points. I keep a travel journal, but am usually behind on writing in it. So have a lot of half written travels in my journals.

I really enjoyed reading this! I like to write travel journals too, it’s so nice to read back on how I felt during certain moments!

I am not in the habit of writing travel journals though I do make the odd notes on my phone app to later put into the blog post. I love the pics of the journals you have shared as I am a huge stationary buff and love collecting all sort of diaries and pens, etc.

I always wanted to start a travel journal but I never knew what to put in it. I do have one notebook that has some trip info but i need to found more. Thank you for all the info.

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• Writing Style
• How to write …
• Analysis of Speech
• Storytelling
• Career Development

What is a Travel Essay (Article) in Journalism: Definition, Features, and Travel Essay Examples

• by Anastasiya Yakubovska
• 24.03.2023 23.06.2024
• How to write ...

The travel essay allows to tell readers about impressions, interesting human types, new things happening in the world, and to share thoughts about what the author saw and experienced in a relaxed and free form. Journalists actively use the possibilities of this genre. 

In this article, you will learn:

Types of Essays

What is a travel essay, features of the travel essay, what makes a travel essay (travel article) attractive for a journalist, what write about in the travel essay, travel essay examples.

An essay is one of the most versatile and multifaceted literary forms.

What Is Essay: Definition

An essay is a short narrative that briefly describes events, facts, and people.

An essay is considered one of the varieties of a story that combines elements of literature and journalism. This type of text belongs to a special kind of author’s or writer’s journalism, which is considered the pinnacle of journalistic skill.

The essay refers to the journalistic writing style , namely to its artistic and journalistic genre.

The “sketching” of such texts is expressed in the fact that the author strives to outline the portrait and character of the hero or to display the main points and contours of the problem situation. Therefore, very often the form of presentation of information is quite rough, and free.

There are several types of essay classification. But I propose to study the following four in more detail:

• Portrait or biographical essay. The portrait essay focuses on a person, and not fictional, but taken from real life. The author’s main task is to reveal the inner world of the hero, his values, and his personality.
• Problem-solution essay. The purpose of this essay is to study some problematic situations. A problem essay can be compared to an article. As in the article, the essayist explores the problem and finds out the causes of its occurrence, further development, and solutions. The difference between an essay and an article is that in an essay the author engages in a dialogue with the reader: he shares his thoughts, explores conflict situations, tries to get to the heart of the problem, and comprehends what is happening. Such observation of the development of the conflict often causes feelings and various emotions, both in the readers of the essay and in its author.
• Travel essay . The travel essay is a description of the events, meetings, and incidents that happened to the author during his creative journey. More often, a journalist already has the main idea for a future essay and the purpose of the trip, and the impressions and facts received during the trip are already “working” for this idea. For example, the goal of a journalist is to study what traditions have been preserved among people living in different settlements or explore how the state solves certain social problems in various cities of the country.
• Historical essay . In such an essay, the author presents historical facts and events related to the subject of research in chronological order, analyzes historical information, and gives his interpretation. 

A travel essay is a diverse genre; it is both travel notes, sketches, and the author’s travel diary.

Therefore, in its structure, a travel essay is similar to diary entries: the events are described sequentially, as the author gets acquainted with them.

In addition to the fact that the travel essay allows the reader to get acquainted with real events and people, as well as to see what is happening through the eyes of the author, the essay contains the author’s analysis of what he saw and learned.

The author of the travel essay is faced with the task of holistically recreating a picture of reality. Most often, a travel essay reflects a rather long time process.

The travel essay, apart from its literary form, is actively used in advertising journalism and on television (television travel journalism). Most travel programs are written in the form of a travel essay.

The main features of the travel essay are:

• Artistic imagery.
• Emotional richness.
• Dynamism and adventurism.
• The presence of elements of journalistic and artistic writing styles.
• The author’s opinion.
• The events and characters described in the essay are taken from real life.
• The structure of a travel essay is similar to the structure of diary entries.
• Urgency and relevance of the researched problem.
• Slang , jargon words, or special terminology. 
• To confirm a personal point of view, the author uses facts, evidence, quotations, statistics, etc.

The most striking stylistic features of the travel essay are:

• First of all, this is the expressed position of the author . All narrative is connected with the author’s opinion and view of the situation. Often, the author of the essay acts as a protagonist, interconnected with the main character.
• Dialogue with the reader. Using various stylistic devices, the journalist seeks to arouse the reader’s interest and emotionally involve him in the plot of his essay, thus making the reader a participant in the described events.

Writing a Travel Essay

The process of writing a travel essay is quite time-consuming. To write an essay, it is not enough just to choose a topic, to collect and analyze information.

The author’s task is to rethink the information received and transform it into a special essay form.

The degree of the artistry of the essay may vary depending on its purpose: one text may be more specific and documentary, while the other may be as creative as possible.

Thus, in each essay, there should be both artistic creativity and facts in various proportions (depending on the purpose and subject matter). Often the material for the plot is so rich, unpredictable, and sensational that the journalist only needs to present all the information received in the essay, without resorting to additional methods of artistic expression.

Read post “How to Write a Persuasive Essay and Article: Complete Guide.”

First of all, this genre is attractive for a journalist because it makes it possible to speak out on almost any occasion: from studying the culture of the countryside to a global demographic problem.

In addition, the travel essay is designed for a mass audience, and due to its writing style, as well as persuasiveness and reliability, it is effectively perceived by the public.

A travel essay is not an entertaining read. And all because in this genre, the center of the plot will be the study by the author of some socially significant problems during his journey.

The subject of the travel essay is the human character, various conflict situations, as well as socially significant phenomena.

The travel article incorporates elements of both science and art: these are documents, figures, statistics, and, at the same time, the author’s artistic world with portraits, landscapes, and interiors.

Read post “How to Write a Persuasive Article or Essay: Examples of Persuasive Argument.”

An early example is the writing of Pausanias (2nd century CE) who produced his Description of Greece based on his observations. James Boswell published his The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides in 1786 and Goethe published his Italian Journey , based on diaries, in 1816. Fray Ilarione da Bergamo and Fray Francisco de Ajofrín wrote travel accounts of colonial Mexico in the 1760s. Fannie Calderón de la Barca, the Scottish-born wife of the Spanish ambassador to Mexico 1839–1842, wrote Life in Mexico , an important travel narrative of her time there, with many observations of local life.

A British traveler, Mrs. Alec Tweedie, published several travelogues, ranging from Denmark (1895) and Finland (1897), to the U.S. (1913), several on Mexico (1901, 1906, 1917), and one on Russia, Siberia, and China (1926). A more recent example is Che Guevara’s The Motorcycle Diaries . A travelogue is a film, book written up from a travel diary, or illustrated talk describing the experiences of and places visited by a traveler. American writer Paul Theroux has published many works of travel literature, the first success being The Great Railway Bazaar .

In addition to published travel journals, archive records show that it was historically common for travelers to record their journey in diary format, with no apparent intention of future publication, but as a personal record of their experiences. This practice is particularly visible in nineteenth-century European travel diaries. ( Wikipedia about travel literature )

Travel Essay Example #1

Expert  

FINDING QUIET AMONG THE CHAOS IN KATHMANDU, NEPAL After a warm greeting at Kathmandu International Airport by my travel guide Nora, we rushed into a Nepali ride share car. “They don’t have traffic lights here,” Nora casually mentioned. “It can be a little unnerving.”  LET’S RIDE Groggy after traveling halfway around the world, I didn’t fully comprehend her comment until we were on Kathmandu’s chaotic streets. They were bumper to bumper with cars, trucks, and busses and in between motorcycles squeezed into every inch of space. Lanes were nonexistent and left turns a combination of luck and shear will. With the streets so congested, however, we couldn’t go much faster than 35 mph, so I was more overwhelmed by the incessant honking and smell of exhaust.  All that changed when we arrived at the Green Palm Boutique Hotel, a small family-run hotel in Budhanilkantha in the foothills above Kathmandu. My third-floor room had a queen-size bed with access to a wraparound balcony with stunning views over the terraced hills of the Kathmandu Valley. The hotel was a breath of fresh air, literally, above the city smog. SUNSET, SUNRISE That evening I had dinner with my travel companions, Nora Livingstone, founder of volun-tourism agency Animal Experience International and her business partner and wildlife veterinarian Dr. Heather Reid. In the hotel’s quaint courtyard, we enjoyed a traditional Nepalese meal of dal bhat (lentil stew over steamed rice) from the hotel’s vegetarian café.  After dinner we relaxed by sipping Carlsberg beers and watching the hazy sunset behind Chandragiri Hill. I thought Chandragiri was a Nepal mountain , but when I asked, hotel staff quickly corrected me. In the land of the Himalayas , Chandragiri was merely a hill. No need for an alarm the next morning because barking dogs and prayer bells announced the sunrise. Breakfast was included with our rooms, but when I met my travel mates down in the courtyard, the sun hadn’t climbed high enough to warm the patio yet. Our server, who was also the chef, brought us a large green thermos of hot water.  The water wasn’t hot because we were chilly, however. It had been boiled to kill germs since Nepal ’s tap water is notoriously unsafe to drink. I poured the steaming water into a glass and held it to warm my hands.  Today’s breakfast of a large veggie omelet with toast and jam was delicious, but the best part came last – slightly sweet Nepalese coffee. It would become our morning ritual the rest of our weeklong stay: lingering over warm coffee while watching the playful antics of the hotel’s house dogs, puppies Ruby and Kali, and elder stateswoman Pepper, in the courtyard.  The pastoral mornings at the Green Palm would become a peaceful contrast to our evening excursions into the city. Nora chose this hotel because it was within walking distance to the animal shelter we volunteered at during the day. However, staying in this location was possible thanks to Pathao, Nepal’s version of Uber. Nora used it to summon cars when we transformed into tourists to visit Kathmandu’s historic sites.  Full article here qoworldtravel.com

Travel Essay Example #2

The Incredible Travel Sketches, Essays, Memoirs & Island Works of R. L. Stevenson By the prolific Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, author of Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Kidnapped & Catriona

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Home — Essay Samples — Geography & Travel — Tourism — Travel: Personal Experience

Travel: Personal Experience

• Categories: Personal Growth and Development Tourism

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Words: 519 |

Published: Jan 29, 2024

Words: 519 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Personal growth through travel, cultural understanding and empathy, the formation of lasting memories.

• Larson, R., & Verma, S. (1999). How children and adolescents spend time across the world: Work, play, and developmental opportunities. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 701-736.
• Alkire, S., & Santos, M. E. (2014). Measuring Acute Poverty in the Developing World: Robustness and Scope of the Multidimensional Poverty Index. World Development, 59, 251-274.
• The World Bank. (2021). Poverty. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty

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Travel Essay

Travel essay generator.

Being given the chance to write essays travel to places around the world is a privilege that shouldn’t be taken for granted. For some people, it’s a dream that isn’t quite easy to reach. After all, not everyone is fortunate enough to afford such luxury.

When one travels, it’s an experience that they want to share with others. They want to tell a story of the things they’ve seen, the people they met, and the culture they’ve experienced. Most people tell this story through photographs, video diaries, or even travel essays. Through this, they are able to express the thrill and joy from their travel experience. It’s not about bragging but it’s about sharing the beauty of our surroundings.

Travel Writing Essay

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Travel Photo Essay

How to Write a Travel Essay?

Writing a travel essay is simple. The only thing essential is how you deliver the message. When you travel, it’s important to pay close attention to details.

This would be anything from the structure, the ambiance, and the locals. Allow yourself to wander and focus on the uniqueness of the given place. Tour guides, natives, and travel brochures often provide a short history of a place that you could include in your essay. It’s also best to learn the backstory of a place through your own research. This will allow you and the reader to feel the historic value of a place. It’s best to create an essay outline of your experience for you to properly organize your thoughts.

Purpose of Travel Essay

You have probably read a travel essay in the past. This could be from blogs, newspapers, or magazines. Some essays are so well-written that it makes you feel like you’re a part of the experience. This would inspire you to visit the place at one point in your life. However, it’s not all about what to see or where to go. It’s about the experience. It’s about sharing the beauty of a place that most people aren’t aware of. Travelling isn’t only about having fun but it’s also about appreciating the world we live in.

It’s a descriptive essay explaining the endless wonders of mankind. A travel essay also provides a glimpse of the culture of a given place. Writers inform us of the living conditions of the people there, their character traits, and their outlook in life. These essays are meant to be informative for people to remember that there’s a whole different world out there to explore.

Travel Experience

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Sample Space Essay

Why Is It Important to Write a Travel Essay?

Travel essays may be written for different reasons. This could be to promote a given location to encourage tourists for a given travel agency or even as a good subject for a high school essay . Writing a travel essay is important in such a way that we can promote local tourism.

Not only can this support a country’s economy but it can also contribute to a local citizen’s means of living. A travel essay is often more accurate and descriptive than a mere photograph. It simply brings the image to life.

Text prompt

• Instructive
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Write a Travel Essay on a transformative travel experience.

Create a Travel Essay exploring the culture of a country you visited.

Essays About Traveling: Top 5 Examples and 10 Prompts

Discover our guide with essays about traveling, including topic prompts that will make you write about traveling and hit the road for your next adventure. 

Traveling is a much-loved activity by many; exploring the world and seeing new and beautiful places can be a great way to unwind and recharge. Many fond memories are created during holidays abroad, and we carry these precious times with us. But for those who only travel for official business purposes and never really get to explore destinations fully, travel can be a more stressful experience. 

Beyond the anxieties one endures in planning a travel or boarding flights, traveling can do wonders for mental health, open our eyes to new experiences, help us be closer to nature, and allows us to reflect on our progress and accomplishments in life.

5 Essay Examples 

1. rebooting the economy: restoring travel and tourism in the covid-19 era by patrick l. osewe, 2.  humans may dream of traveling to mars, but our bodies aren’t built for it by charles wohlforth and amanda hendrix, 3. what’s sustainable about soaring private jet use by terry slavin, 4. instagram travel bragging is killing the family vacation by meagan francis, 5.  pre-travel stress by sally black, 1. travel bucket list, 2. your first solo travel , 3. travel to ghost towns, 4. how technology transformed travel, 5. how movies influence our travel preference, 6. learning cultures from traveling, 7. earn from travel vlogging, 8. traveling through time, 9. your most memorable travel experience, 10. benefits of traveling while working .

“Even as travel restrictions and lockdowns have relaxed, cautious return-to-travel behavior among travelers—due in part to lingering health and safety concerns—suggests that the recovery process for the industry will be long and slow.”

The travel industry was one of the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. With its importance to the economy, especially in Asia, where the industry could easily account for 80% of the GDP, a fast recovery is imperative. To make this goal more attainable, multisectoral coordination in planning and implementing safety rules will be essential. You might also be interested in these essays about holidays with family and essays about journeys .

“Even a short, sortie mission to Mars and back would be extremely hazardous to human health. A Mars colony is out of the question. Living long-term on its surface is beyond the capacity of our bodies to survive.”

Amid the excitement over sending humans to travel to Mars, there has been emerging research that highlights the dangers of such missions. The space between the Earth and Mars already poses many obstacles. And even if, by rare luck, man reaches Mars, staying will be the next paramount challenge as consequences could mean a halt in blood circulation or blindness. 

“When it comes to the carbon footprint of travel, there is nothing worse than traveling by private jet… Yet despite all the net-zero rhetoric from the corporate sector, and pressure from the flight-shame movement, private jet use is booming.”

As private jet use is starting to burgeon, society is demanding greater accountability from the ultra-rich and the commitment to invest in sustainable technologies for air travel. This could compensate for their use of private jets, a single one of which is estimated to ​​be several times more polluting than commercial planes.

“What, I wonder, does the financial strain of planning a trip you can’t really afford do to your expectation level — and how much can you enjoy your vacation once there? When the bill arrives, do most find that the experience was worth the stress after all?”

The culture of bragging on Instagram is destroying the true meaning of family vacations. Where such experiences used to be for relaxation, fun, and strengthening of family bonds, family travels are now a ticket for boasting, requiring ridiculous expenses for which some families are willing to be in debt. 

“While a vacation maybe me one of the highlights of your entire year, the days leading up to departure can be stressful. For some people, this stress can bubble over into a full-blown anxiety or panic attack complete with physical symptoms.”

Pre-travel stress is a common symptom for many. Worries often stem from hoping for the vacation to be smooth sailing. However, unpleasant incidents may always occur. On our part, we must focus on those we have control of, such as how we pack and how we address our ultimate pre-travel concerns.

10 Topic Prompts To Help With Your essays about traveling

How far have you progressed in completing your travel bucket list? Take this essay to share your experiences in traveling to your dream destinations. If you haven’t started ticking anything from your travel bucket list, you can simply enumerate these places and explain what drove your attraction. For example, you may visit Italy for tasty authentic Italian food and drink.

If you’ve traveled solo, this is the essay prompt for you. Turn this essay into a guide for helping people travel solo. So, provide tips on planning a solo trip and making the proper arrangements. Share the places you’ve gone to and travel hacks that helped ensure your safety, especially as safety is a chief concern when traveling solo. Finally, don’t forget to write down what made you bold enough to try a solo flight and how it has benefitted you.

For seekers of thrilling adventures, ghost towns are the best place to travel. First, find a ghost city that allows tourists. Then take on a story-telling essay by narrating the town’s story from its birth to its abandonment. Finally, ensure to provide your readers with a list of what they must do to enter the ghost town’s premises.

Efficiency and convenience in travel are the best gifts technology has given modern generations. Gone were the days when you still had to scout for a hotel upon arriving at your destination. For this writing prompt, compare today’s travel experience with the days before the computer. You may extend your essay by adding what more digital advancements the tourism industry has in store for travel lovers.

Almost always, the setting of a favorite movie becomes a part of your travel bucket list. This desire stems from the longing to connect with your favorite characters and mentally relive your favorite movie scenes, this time with yourself in the picture. For your essay, write about film-induced tourism becoming a key strategy for marketing travel destinations. 

Traveling is the best way to immerse in cultures and better understand the many worlds beyond your own. Share your experience traveling has helped open your mind to new cultures, practices, languages, and beliefs. To help your readers appreciate your trip, write a few paragraphs about the place, starting from its main point of attraction and its economic and socio-cultural statures. You can also interview other travel enthusiasts for this cultural essay. 

Travel vlogging is one of the best ways to earn money while having the best time. First, give a short overview of the travel vlog industry to entice your readers into travel vlogging. Next, gather reports that inform how one can generate money from this venture and how much they can expect in time with quality content. Then, provide a list of recommendations. You can use tips from other successful travel vloggers as well. 

Movies that tinker with time travel machines always appeal to many of us. This is certainly true for those thrilled over the possibility of visiting an era we can only imagine through our history books. If you were to time-travel, what historical period would you like to visit? Reveal this in your essay and explain why.

Share the most memorable travel experience with your readers and help them picture it with adjectives and vivid detailing. Your story doesn’t have to be a luxurious experience. It can be as simple as a scenic drive around the lake, a tan from a sunny beach, or your first travel by plane or boat.

Looking for more? Check out our guide on how to write a postcard .

The COVID-19 pandemic has made us realize that work can be done from a distance, pushing the telecommuting trends higher and fulfilling people’s travel vengeance. This essay cites the physical and mental health benefits of traveling while working. Share your opinion on whether companies should incentivize arrangements that allow work while traveling.  For more help with your writing, read our guide explaining persuasive writing . If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips .