Keeping a Travel Journal to Capture Memories of Your Vacation
Keeping a travel journal is very simple. Bring a journal with you on your vacation and record things of interest to you. What is so interesting is that what captures your eye may not be the tourist attractions but some small detail, something in your hotel room or a conversation you overhear in the elevator, or perhaps something about the transportation system. Your journal is the best souvenir you could bring back from a vacation, as it will be the most personal.
It is a great idea to select a journal style that appeals to you. Whether it is lined or unlined paper, or a leather cover or one with a canvas cover – pick up a journal that feels good in your hands. The size of your journal is also important. Some people feel that a travel journal should be small, and very portable. But other people prefer to work with a larger sized journal. My journal has always been about 8 Ã?½” x 11″ like a regular size of paper and that is the size I prefer. I haven’t found any real challenges with transporting it, it fits well into a backpack. A good tip is to get some type of waterproof cover for your journal – like a heavy weight plastic bag with a good seal or one of those plastic envelopes that you can find at a stationary store. You never know when something in your bag could leak out, or it could start to rain – and this could just ruin your journal.
Consider also carrying extra plastic bags or plastic envelopes to bring back brochures and postcards in to put in your journal. You will probably find things during the day that you will want to paste into your journal at night in your hotel. Having something easy to transport them in is half the battle.
Always carry something to write with when you have your journal. Consider also carrying a variety of pens, markers, pencils or pastels to give your journal an artistic touch. Even if you can only make stick figures, a journal has a way of freeing your creative juices. You may find yourself quickly doodling things in the margins, or writing little poems.
Tourist maps are also a wonderful thing to consider adding to your journal because they show where you have been. You can glue sections of the map, to show where you were that day and then another section on another day to track where you were the following day.
Bring a glue stick to glue postcards and brochures into your journal. Also bring a small pair of scissors so you can trim or cut them into shapes that you like. Keep these items handy in a plastic bag.
There are so many things you can consider capturing in your journal. Impressions of sights you have seen that day. A description of a meal you have had. A description of a person you have seen in a museum or a cafÃ?© that has caught your eye. A list of the things you wish to still do on your vacation. Any feelings that have come up about being on vacation – frustrations with travel or how you feel about the hotel you are staying in, what your flight was like. It is all the little details that do make up your trip.
Here are some journaling prompts to get you started on keeping a travel/vacation journal:
What was my inspiration for coming here?
What is my first impression of this place?
What are ten things I want to be sure to do on this vacation?
What am I excited/nervous about doing in regards to my vacation?
Is this the first time I have come here? If not, describe the other times I have been here
What travel guides and information do I have about this place?
What is my goal for this vacation? Education, Relaxation, Restoration, Family time, Romance
Have I ever considered traveling alone? To where?
What ten places do I want to visit next?
