How to make a travel journal? 7 travel journal ideas | Op reis met Co

How do you make a travel journal? Do you use pen and paper, or do you prefer writing an online diary? In this article, I’ll share 7 travel journal ideas.

Pen and paper

Years ago, this is how I started writing my travel journals. Just a notepad and a pen. I also collected things like bus tickets, business cards of restaurants, and plane tickets which I could add later with glue.

Nowadays, I still bring a notepad when I’m traveling, but I don’t write as much as I used to. I mainly write down things I don’t want to forget, like the names of the people I meet during my trip or special moments. Every trip, I buy a special notepad, so I’ll enjoy it for as long as possible.

Instead of using a plain notepad as a travel journal, you can also use an existing travel diary. In these diaries, you’ll just have to answer questions (for example, the temperature of your destination) and there are also certain sections to fill in the names and contact information of the people you meet. Lonely Planet has a good one that’s made for kids (but it’s also a fun travel journal idea for us older kids!).

You can find more great travel journals on Amazon.

Online: use an app to make a great travel journal

If you’re always carrying your cellphone, one of the easiest ways to make a travel journal is by using an app.

Polarsteps

During my trip in Peru, I used the app Polarsteps. Although it used a lot of battery (in my experience) it has a lot of great features. The app tracks your itinerary and you can post pictures and write some stories. You don’t have to write anything, if you just prefer sharing pictures, that’s fine. At the end of your trip, you’ll have a fantastic travel diary. This is the one I made during my trip in Peru.

You can find Polarsteps in your appstore. It’s available for Android and iPhone.

FindPenguins

Another popular app to make a travel diary is FindPenguins. This app is quite similar to Polarsteps but has one extra feature. If you travel with friends or family, you can add them to your trip.

FindPenguins is available in your app store for both Android and Apple.

Journey

The app Journey is not specifically meant to write a travel diary, but more a regular diary. The best thing though is you can use it every day, even when you’re not traveling. It has a GPS tracker, so it can show you where you’ve been. You can also use this app on your computer.

The app is available for both Android and Apple.

Online: easy website for making a travel journal

Do you prefer writing a travel journal on your laptop or tablet? You can also use a dedicated website for travel diaries.

My Trip Journal

My trip journal – create an online travel diary.

One of the easiest ways to write an online travel diary is the website My Trip journal. It looks a little outdated, but it sure does the trick. Just make an account and start writing. It has a guestbook, so your friends and family can leave comments on your updates

Online: make your own website!

My personal favorite: get your own website! On this website, I’ve been writing down my travel diaries since 2013 At first, only my family and close friends were reading them, but now I have more and more readers who love to travel with me virtually.

Free travel blog

WordPress.com – free website for your travel journal.

You can easily start with a free travel blog when you use WordPress wordpress.com or blogger.com. With those websites, you’re able to start your own blog in a couple of minutes and write several blog posts about your trip. You can also change the look and feel of your website through different free themes. Unfortunately, If you like to do some more (choose your favorite colors, layout or font) a free website can be a bit limited.

Make your own travel blog

Do you prefer more options and would like to have your own URL? Then it’s smart to choose a paid web host. This way, you can choose exactly the layout you like. In The Netherlands, one of the best parties for hosting a website is Vimexx. Here you can host a website including your own URL for as little as €2,44 a month. They’ve got a lot of in-depth guides, so creating a website is really easy.

These are my travel journal ideas! Do you like to keep a travel diary while you’re traveling? If so, what’s your favorite method?

Would you like to read more about writing a travel journal? I can highly recommend the book How to be a Travel Writer by Lonely Planet. If you’d also like to know more about travel photography, check out The Enthusiast’s Guide to Travel Photography.

More travel tips?

Did you like this article? You might like to read these as well:
– This is why you should use a VPN for travel!
– 14 travel-related staycation ideas for singles
– 10 Amazing travel videos on YouTube

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