How To Create A Travel Journal


Time travel is a tricky thing, this is why River Song keeps a diary, to keep everything in order. Because I’m a fan of actually remembering my trips, I keep a travel journal! Sorry The Silence, won’t work this time. I’ve created journals for specific trips, and other journals for that year’s travels in general.

This is a great way to jot down those special details that you can share with family, looking at you Dr. Jones Sr. Also a great way to display all those little papers that end up in a shoe box or junk drawer. However, I must warn you not to place a fragment of your soul in them to create a Horcrux, because you know, bad things.

The first thing you need is something to write in. You can easily pick up a journal at a store like Target or Michaels, some specifically made for travel or you can make one yourself. Because I collect so much on my trips, I will get a 3-inch binder and cut down the paper to size.

I don’t take a huge binder with me on my trip, so I collect items that are accessible to me and add them in later!

-Things to add to a journal-

  • Checklists: stuff to pack, places to see, etc.
  • A map of the locations you’re visiting. You can even mark your travel journey
  • Sketch or draw things you see, doors are an easy thing to draw quickly
  • Collect stamps or mail yourself postcards from that location. I love doing this and writing my day’s adventure on the postcard. It may take longer to get to me depending on where it’s sent but it’s a nice surprise in the mail
  • Receipts and tickets
  • Local stickers or small embellishments like pressed pennies
  • Things that create pockets like coffee collars, envelopes you find in hotels stationary kits
  • Speaking of, I like to use the hotel stationery to recap the day and then tape or glue it into my journal later
  • Photos!
  • or simply just words

Get creative! You can add anything you want, these are your memories. Share how you keep all your travel memories in the comments below.