Traveling and exploring are the wildest things. It exposes us to new cultures and different perspectives of life. Apart from getting unique experiences, traveling pushes us out of our comfort zone. So when you are exploring the world, having a travel diary with you where you can write about the rendezvous you have taken and you have learned can help you to recall all the memories and experiences.
There are many benefits of keeping a travel journal. By writing the things which you want to do during the trip and which you have done during the traveling will help you to remember more about your visits and to get ready for another one. Keeping a travel diary will help you to absorb the cultures and traditions of the new places you visit. A journal helps you to look back and reflect on what you have learned and apply it to other parts of your life.
Here are some tips on how to write a travel diary/ log?
A travel diary isn’t only about long trips and long vacations but you can also start to write about small trips and family vacations. You can include a written description, a list of your itinerary, photos that you took during the trip, and even voice recording in your travel diary. You can also add the places you like to visit and whatever is in your wishlist.
1. Use your travel diary to plan your trip
Your trip journal begins before your trip gets started. A travel journal can be used in your upcoming plans whether they are exotic or not. You can include everything in your wishlist from the restaurant where you want to eat, hike where you can go and lodge where you want to stay. Research everything about the place you are going to hit and figure out the best way to do that.
2. Write about your expectations from the trip.
This is also something you need to write in your travel log before the trip gets started. Before you set your foot to explore that place, you have a certain kind of expectation about that place. List it out and enjoy the journey. This can heighten your pre-departure excitement and make you feel like the vacation has already begun. Sometimes when you travel, your destination is wildly different from what you expected. So compare your expectations with reality. It will be interesting to compare these predictions to what you experienced.
3. Make the travel diary interesting for the future overlook.
Stick in tickets, passes, bottle labels, snippets from local newspapers, receipts, etc. Paste pictures you have taken during the trip, voice and video recording, and all. While doing such the diary looks more interesting and it will take you back to the traveling time. Give a date and day for each new memory. You will have a thick and full of a memory travel diary.
4. Write during your trip
It is an easy task to remember the things, which you just experienced, so try to include your every experience in your travel or trekking log. It does not have to belong or anything, just be comfortable with what you are writing. This is a reflective journal of your travel and this can be so useful as is a great way to recap what you have learned about the people you were with and the places you explored. Ultimately, it will also be a guide for your future trip or activity as it helps to gain more insights for future vacations.
5. Compare your expectations with reality
Your expectations about the trip can be a little different from reality. Compare it and point out all the things that disappointed you during the trip. Also, highlight the part that made you extremely glad. These comparisons will helps you to recall all the memories during your trip.
6. Use all your senses and try to make it a little funny
Write about the sounds, smells, tastes, and even textures of your trip. Everything you experienced with an illustration to mound them permanently in your memory. Try to be artistic but if you can’t be then try to stick pictures and all to your travel journal. Try to make the journal funny using dialogues and all to recapture all the memories.
Why write a travel diary?
- The first reason to write a travel diary is to capture all the memories and relive it.
- Secondly, to discover and learn more things.
- Moreover, travel diary are reference for future trips.
- To reflect more as it is a way to record new things that you just discovered.
- It helps to increase self-awareness and development.
- It is a great pastime.
- Travel journals are a practical way to stay organized.
- It helps to slow down your trip with a reflection.
- It boosts your creativity and makes you a better writer.