How to Start a Travel Journal

Your number one companion as a traveller, especially a solo traveller, is your trusty journal. This companion sees you through your long days at the beach, countless train and plane journeys, and cosy solo dates at a café. Journalling while you travel is not only a great way to keep yourself company and reflect on all the new things you’re experiencing, but it’s also a great way to physically document your days as memories to look back on later.

We live in a digital age where physical media seems few and far between. But with the century’s old art of journalling, we can collect these special pieces of our days, these ephemera, and they can live on forever through our pages.

Journalling your travels is such a beautiful way to preserve memories. It’s not just about the places you visit. It’s about the things like the memories you shared with the people you travel with, the people you meet during your travels, the conversation with strangers, the handwritten notes, ticket stops, and all the little moments you want to hold on to.

Starting a travel journal is a huge commitment and therefore it's recommended to journal after your trip because when you travel you want to be fully present, exploring, taking in the sights, culture, food and making the most of each day. And let’s be honest, by the time your back at your hotel accommodation, most of the time, you’ll just want to rest and recharge for your next adventure. Therefore, journalling during travelling doesn’t really work. It’s best to set aside quiet time after a trip when you can sit down, reflect and bring all the memories together with intention and details.

But of course, journalling after the trip also means you’ll be returning home with a suitcase full of memorabilia, photos and stories. The amount of tangible things that you take back home can feel overwhelming, especially after a long trip.

Before you travel bring a pouch or a zip bag to store ephemera. Things like tickets, receipts packaging, or any little bits you pick up along the way. It makes a huge difference, instead of stuffing everything into random pockets or in your bag, you'll have one dedicated place to collect all those memorabilia.

Next, bring a small notebook or a journal to jot down daily notes during your travels. Any small notebook will do and each day write a quick list of what you did in bullet points. And if something special happened, add a short note about it. It only takes a couple of minutes and helps so much later when you’re putting together your full journal spreads.

And of course, you'll will need a pen to write. When you’re commuting or waiting somewhere and an idea pops into your head, you can write it down straight away.

A pouch, a notebook and a pen are all you'll need to start travel journalling. Don’t wait too long to start. The sooner you begin, the more chance you'll have of preserving your travel memories and write your story.