Every person journals differently. If you look through Pinterest for inspiration, you'll see pages filled with beautiful drawings. My travel journal isn't like that. I can barely draw a stick figure (no really. They always end up wonky with uneven arms and legs). So as much as I would love to be able to draw exactly what I see and experience when traveling, I can't. But that hasn't stopped me from filling the pages of my journal until the spine seems like it's going to give up and just explode.
If you need some inspiration for what to include in your travel journal (especially if you can't draw), then you've come to the right place. Not to toot my own horn, but I like to think my travel journal is pretty awesome... Okay.. So maybe I'm tooting my own horn a little... Anyway, let's get to the inspiration!!
Plane, Bus orTrain Tickets
- A great memento of the route you took to get to all the different places you visit! I use tape runners to keep them in place.
Postcards
- Postcards are super cheap to buy, available pretty much anywhere in the world and are a great depiction of the place you're visiting. I mean, they are meant to send home to your family and friends to make them jealous... I mean... let them know you're thinking of them and want to share the view! I use tape runners to keep them in place.
- I like to include stickers from the places I visit in my journal. If I go to a restaurant or bakery I really like and they have a sticker, I definitely get one.
- When I travel I always make it a goal to stop at a local coffee shop. Some of the best coffee I've ever had has come from these little hole in the wall places. If the coffee I get comes with a cardboard sleeve on the cup that has their logo or the name of the shop, I keep it to include in my journal. I use washi tape to hold them in place.
- When I go into little shops, bakeries, etc I tend to grab business cards. It's a great (and free!) memento to add to my journal. I mean, if I ever want to go back, I have the address right there in my notes!
Pictures
- Makes sense right? Include pictures of your favorite parts of your day. See a cool statue? Snap a picture and put it in your journal with some decorative washi tape!
Stamps
- Both postage and ink. Are you in a foreign country? Grab a couple postage stamps. They're not expensive and they're different everywhere you go! Are you visiting a National or State Park? Most have an ink stamp with the date and place, in the gift shop that is free to use.
What you ate or drank
- Every place has their own food and drinks. Why not write about them? You may never get the experience again. You can also include (clean) wrappers of candy, snacks or even teas in your journal.
Smell, weather, sounds etc
- One thing I always do when I go someplace new, is stop, close my eyes and take it all in. Is there a smell of wood burning in fireplaces? Or maybe damp leaves? Write it down. Is the sun beating down? Is there a constant drizzle of rain? Write it down. Is there constantly honking horns? Or maybe it's so quite that you can hear the animals scurrying across the ground. Write it down. These are the things you are less likely to remember down the road. But these are the things that make up new places.
People you met
- I know I meet some amazing people when I travel. I always include them when writing in my journal. I mean, I don't want to forget about them!
Foreign Coins
- After your trip, do you have pokets full of random change? Add it to your journal. I mean you already have it anyway, right?
Ticket Stubs
- What better way to show the tours you went on or the places you've gone?
Whenever keeping a travel journal be sure to take the time to write at the end of each day. If you don't, it's very easy for the days to run together and to forget important details of your trip.
Most importantly, have fun. Write, draw, bullet, do whatever you want. It's your journal and a documentation of your journey.
What do you include in your travel journal?
Disclosure:
This blog post may contain affiliate links or endorsements for which I may receive compensation. Your purchase helps me continue to bring you tips and adventures. But as always, the views and opinions are my own.
I would have never thought about adding Foreign Coins to it.
ReplyDeleteme neither!
Deleteme neither!
DeleteGreat stuff! Heading to Alaska next week. Thans for the advice
DeleteI haven't tried it yet, but I've read that you can use foreign (or any) coin as a wax sealer (put about a 1/2 teaspoon of melted wax on a page and use the coin to make an imprint in the wax). I'm traveling later today and will try that one. Can also melt crayons if you don't have wax handy.
DeleteLike the stamps! I always forget them!
ReplyDeleteThese are all good! You can write down how much $$ you spent on things, and also write notes on how things went in certain situations, like rips on arriving at train stations, when to walk instead of take a cab, the bus schedules...so, like, what went right and what to avoid when in specific places.
ReplyDeleteI love that! I never even thought of including that in my journal!
DeleteAdd the titles of songs you hear, the "mood" of the place (hurried, jovial, laid back, etc.), any stumbles to avoid next time, your personal rating system of hotels, restaurants, public transportation, etc. For those of us who travel with pets, pet friendly hotels, restaurants, local tips (as specific laws, customs if traveling internationally, etc.). You can aslo add a section for purchases and expenditures.
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought of rating things!
DeleteThose are great ideas! I'll have to start including them in my journal!
DeleteI loved that I had included prices for a baguette and coffee when I traveled to Paris as a student in my travel journal or wine I bought with a friend. Having 20 francs in my wallet at the end of the month back then was a luxury. I will always remember and appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful memory! And I never would have thought to include the prices of things.
DeleteI'm going to start collecting Chinese fortunes from fortune cookies. I think their fun mementos.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun idea!
DeleteI also take 1 sheet and envelop of the free stationary at the hotels that I stay with. It usually carries the logo and address and can be used to write your journaling. The envelop is great to store your tickets, receipts etc.
ReplyDeleteme too
DeleteI do that as well. Sometimes I'll write my journal entry on it and then make it a flip up with a postcard or photo of the hotel underneath.
DeleteLove it.. Great ideas. You can take a look at my travel journals on the link below:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nadiyanajib.com/search/label/Travel%20Journals
What is the product name of the journal that you used? It looks like the perfect size for me.
ReplyDeleteI always take the barf bags from the plane when I travel. They make great brochure holders for my journal. I've even decorated them.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas👍
ReplyDeleteYou can also keep paper napkins from restaurants, bars and coffee shops. They usually have the name of the place printed on it.
I often ask for a takeout menu so I have prices and favorite food choices in case I want to return and eat there again.
DeleteGreat ideas👍
ReplyDeleteYou can also keep paper napkins from restaurants, bars and coffee shops. They usually have the name of the place printed on it.
This is exactly how I'm managing my travelling journal! Good to know someone else is not so able to realize beautiful drawings XD
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started my travel journal, I looked up ideas of what to include. Most of what I found were drawings and I, personally, can't draw a stick figure haha. I knew I wasn't the only one out there that has this problem, so I wanted to share some ideas!
DeleteI keep pressed flowers I see along my journey.
ReplyDeleteThat's a Wonderful idea!
DeleteReceipts from purchases, labels from the complimentary toiletries, paper coasters/doilies from hotel rooms, badges/buttons (had to remove the shank and metal bits) obviously the brochures and literature
ReplyDeleteThose are great ideas also! I never thought of adding buttons to my journal!
DeleteI've taken pictures of signs, like street signs, or warning no lifeguard. Cut out the sign on the photo and stick it down. It's fun.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of doing that! What a fun idea!
DeleteI save receipts. They're dated and serve as the date of my page or spread quite often!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea! I never thought to use it as a date for the page!
DeleteI always make an envelope or pocket to include the receipts of the day. I include the name and room number of the hotel I'm staying in and the view from the window, the highlight and lowlight of each day, and pictures of local cuisine I've especially enjoyed with the name or business card of the restaurant.
ReplyDeleteThat's such a wonderful idea!
DeleteI usually grab at least 2 brochures, pamphlets, etc. (info may be on the backside too) and then by hand tear out specific info I want to add to my travel journal: words, small pictures, maps....
ReplyDeleteSome hotels have free magazines of the local area - grab one to pull out what you can include in your journal
Grab the free newspapers or the local news publications
Transit maps
Go into the Post Office to have journal stamped with their dated postal stamp
Restaurant mini-menus
Hotel key cards & their little envelopes
Decorative papers that come in a restaurant meal food basket or ask for a clean sheet
These are great ideas! I've never thought about getting a stamp from the post office! I'll have to do that now!
DeleteI love the stamp from the post office idea! I usually use postage stamps but I'm going to the post office next time! I do the same thing with free maps and brochures. Take two and you can tear them apart and use the whole thing. I also like to pick up one in the native language to include as a background on a page.
DeleteI keep track of where I like sangria! Which restaurants. Which flavors. The dates of when I had it. It’s fun to lol back on!
ReplyDeleteI carry my journal in my purse and write in it while in transit...bus, train, car plane etc...about the surroundings etc. I use a home crafted modori....and change the signatures out during my trip. When I get home I bind the signatures into one volume. I custom sized it to the typical size of a brochure....the last signature in my bound book, consists of mostly blank pages with key brochures clipped to each page. Works really well. I have a trip next month and all of my signatures are cut to size and ready to go��
ReplyDeleteCould you please explain what a "home crafted modori" is and what the signatures mean? Thanks very much!
DeleteWhen you are in a foreign post office purchasing stamps, it is always worth a try to see if they will stamp your journal with the cancellation rubber stamp that they use - it will have the name of the place you are in. Adds a bit of something to your travels.
ReplyDeleteI am using a travel journal for the first time ever. I started using for places I've never been (even if it was only an hour away from home). I'm now on my first overseas holiday and i am finding I am collecting all sorts of stuff, from airport to plane to every place I stay, every receipt to soap wrappers from hotels and maps from tour desks. Love my travel journal.
ReplyDeleteThese are all great ideas. Thanks for the ideas from both oTher Scarlett Chronicles as well as the posted comments.
ReplyDeleteSome great ideas here. My family collects the wooden buckles as well as the flatten nickles. I am excited to starting a travel journal. I'll add these items to my journal as well as the other suggestions here.
Sorry for the typos!
DeleteoTher should be The
Wooden buckles should be wooden buckles
For the love of Pete!
DeleteWooden Nickles!
Omg, with your great artical and all the comments, I will never run out of ideas! THANK YOU ALL!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked the article! I'll be posting more journal ideas, so keep an eye out!
Deleteyou can always add 'Rubbings'.. i take rubbings of coins (just take the coin , place a paper over it and rub a pencil or a piece of charcoal over it, the paper will take the impression of the coin), i sometimes also take rubbings of bark of a tree, or a pavement, or the wall of a monument..
ReplyDeleteits fun, n keeps the journal light
What a lovely idea! I'll have to start adding rubbings to my journal as well!
Deleteomg that's a great idea! I'll probably do that as soon as I can! I could've thought of coins but trees and walls ... just wow!
DeleteI like include the location I'm writing from. If I take 5 minutes in a park, I write down the park name as my location. Am I writing at the end of the day in my hotel? That's my location and I include the time. It makes it fun to look back and see on Monday I was at the park, on tuesday a museum, etc. It allows me to create an "agenda" of my travel. The little tidbits I pick up on the way get glued to that page. I also look for something natural to add - a feather I found, pressed flower, leaf, etc. I use stickers, rubber stamps and washi tape to decorate my journal and add some color and character.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea! I've never thought to write the location I'm writing.
DeleteA criminal history background check in the person's earlier nations of living arrangement just if the person's visa or potentially approval to work in the United States was issued before execution of the Patriot Act on October 24, 2001.background investigation
ReplyDeleteWell, i actually follow few of the mentioned tips.
ReplyDeleteTake a picture of gas prices. When sharing my travels with friends, they find the comparison interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love that idea! Especially since gas prices differ so much from place to place.
DeleteI had to cancel my trip due to health issues, so I changed the focus to traveling and navigating the healthcare system. People I spoke to, the level of customer service and my feelings of being victimized. One doctor will say you are on target for concussion recovery and another will act like I am faking it.
ReplyDeleteI like to stop at Welcome Centers and pick up travel brochures and magazines. They are free and i can often find pictures and maps to include in my journal. Really love the maps!
ReplyDeleteI do this as well! Especially with the maps! They're free and perfect for a journal!
DeleteI don't have s travel journal as such. But while in Germany with the Army I would go on day trips and draw a map as I walked. It allowed me make note of sights as I passed and allow me to retrace my steps to get back to the base or the hotel.
ReplyDeleteI would share my map with others. A major planned to use on of my maps to get to the central market she didn't get there. She liked the Indian restaurant that was on my map. I try to include my maps with other travel notes that I make
When I'm preparing for a trip, I get a large sketch book and use my rubber stamps on random pages for something to color in the future I have a pencil case full of (Dollar Tree) gel pens, scissors, glue sticks, washi tape and fun little stuff to stick on my pages. I cut fun pictures out of scrap book paper and old books. I pick up lots of informational brochures about where we're visiting, then cut them up and paste them into my journals. The pictures are always better then anything I can shoot. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI save all tips in my minds.
ReplyDeleteWow, This is amazing blog, I like very much to travel in different-2 location and also to take shot. I will suggest this post with my friends, because i think, my last trip was in Norway organised by Norway travel agency and i miss some points that mentioned in this post.
ReplyDeleteI am as bad as you at drawing and try do do the same! no drawings but loads of stuff (hopefully) creatively cut and pasted together...I'm searching for ideas to improve my future journals and actually like your ideas a lot, even if I actually could "force" my cousin to draw something for me in our next trip together, because she's amazing at that! I wish everyone loads of good travels and greetings from Italy! x
ReplyDeleteI also include all the possible receipts, guides, maps, even pressed flowers. I love stickers, so they are a must, pics with people we've met, hours of departure and arrival, temperatures (I plot them, but I am a nerd), flags of the country we visit, coats of arms... Pretty much everything. At the end of our travless my journals are super fat :)
ReplyDeleteI also include all the possible receipts, guides, maps, even pressed flowers. I love stickers, so they are a must, pics with people we've met, hours of departure and arrival, temperatures (I plot them, but I am a nerd), flags of the country we visit, coats of arms... Pretty much everything. At the end of our travless my journals are super fat :)
ReplyDeletei absolutely love all of these ideas and im so inspired now when i was kinda stuck thank you, its hard to be creative when all you find is pictures of crazy detailed and elegant pages especially when most my trips involve camping definitely gonna use almost all of these.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI also Journal as I travel, making daily entries, I am also a photography nut, every evening when I get back to the room I check to see what # picture was the last one I took that day, when doing this every day I have the # range from the day before. When I get back home and load up the photos I know by the numbers where they were taken. I hope this is not as confusing as it sounds...lol
ReplyDeleteI know it's an old post but this is a GREAT idea. Brilliant.
DeleteThank you for posting this. I do all of these because I scrapbook my trips. I also include. Funny sayings, and funny comments that my husband or myself said on the trip. I also make my husband journal. He just sums what we did quickly and what he thought that night(he has his own notebook). That way when I scrapbook I have his thoughts about the trip in our scrapbook too, not just mine.
ReplyDeleteI read your post, your post is most motivational; I think that I will share it with all my knowledgeable person. I have been following you for a long time because your post is very helpful and effective. If any person wants to travel by air, whether to the USA or any other country, we will help him book his flight. Our Travel agency known as VootFly.
ReplyDeletePrior to my visiting a place, I like to write down my expectations. Things like what I expect it to look like, what kind of people I think I will meet there, things I want to do there and one or two things that I want to look for specifically to buy or find in nature while there (like a piece of art from a local artist or a rock to hunt for and add to my collection). I find it interesting to see if the before and after impressions are similar or if not, what differences were there.
ReplyDeleteIf you are a person who likes to drink different kinds of unique beer when you travel, try saving the caps from the bottles and using them for an art project.