Holiday season is coming around! An excellent way to remember everything you’ve done is to keep a travel journal. This is a journal for travel which is usually devoted to one trip at a time. You’ll write and add mementos and memories into the journal so that you can look back on it with pride and happiness. Plus, you can share your journey with others if you want to take pictures and add your journal page ideas along with them. You can use a bullet journal style or even a printable planner for the job.
Start with the Planning Phase
The journal should begin the moment you start planning your trip. You can use the journal to plan by writing the things you need to do and then checking off what you completed for the trip. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish on the trip. What do you want to experience, what do you want to learn, and when will you do each activity?
Travel Plans
Before you leave, you can use a section of your travel journal and planner to put together the ideas of where you want to do and what you want to do while on the vacation. You can also keep note of a few things in your travel bujo or planner that help you make choices such as:
Crafting Her Plans
Ready to plan it all out? We’ve got you.
Head over to the shop for printable planners and journals you can download and start using today.
Browse the shop →- What’s the weather normally like?
- What kind of temperatures will you be looking at?
- What activities do you want to do while away?
- Are there any attractions or events you don’t want to miss? Places you must visit such as National Parks, historic locations or even particular shops?
- Have you got any must-try restaurants?
Flight plans and hotel accommodations
Create a simple page or use a planner sheet to plan all of your flight and accommodation information. This will include things like the hotel name and contact information, the arrival and departure dates and times as well as any booking references.
Do something similar for the flights – time of departure, what time you want to arrival at the airport, what terminal and return journey information. You can also include information about travelling to and from the airports if needed.
Itinerary
You holiday itinerary can be as detailed or as simple as you want, depending on what you prefer. Some people like to map out the whole trip while others just note a few basic bits of information so that they can remember key things to do.
If you have prebooked anything, make sure yo include information here about this so you can easily access it when on holiday.
Packing List
The packing list can be approached in several ways. You can do one master list with sections for each person travelling or have a spearate packing list for each member of the family. The idea is to make it a check list so that you can check things off when they are packed or use a symbol to note where you have packed them.
Pre-Travel Personal To-Do List
If you have jobs or tasks you want to make sure you do before you leave, then a to-do list is an ideal solution. This might be anything from taking the cat to the cattery or organising the neighbour to turn on the lights each night.
Pre-Travel Work To-Do List
Similarly if you have a work to-do list you can add this to a to-do list spread, a page in the planner or just a simple page. This might be reminders to let someone at work know about a job that needs doing or might even be things you need to do for your business before you leave if you run your own business.
Travel Information Page
Finally, have a single page where you keep an overview of the whole trip and any relevant information, contacts and things you might need quickly if there’s a problem.
Using the journal while travelling
Once you have departed on your vacation, then the journal still has a big part to play if you want it to.
Write Daily during Your Trip
Once you’re on the trip, don’t miss out writing on any day. Try to find time to write in your journal when the experience is vivid in your mind. You might want to consider taking a recording device with you so you can record your initial thoughts while you’re doing it.
Add Physical Mementos to the Journal
Don’t just add text to your journal – also add color, images, and mementos. For example, save your tickets, a napkin from a restaurant, or other little things you touched during your trip. You don’t even have to buy anything extra to do this part.
Remember to Write the Good and the Bad
You don’t want to look back on the trip and see that it’s not written realistically. It’s perfectly okay to talk about what was good and bad about the trip. When you do that, you can plan differently next time. Maybe you learned that you need new shoes if you’re going to walk that much? It’s a good thing to write down.
Write What You’d Do Differently
If you ever go back to that travel destination, what would you do now that you’ve done it once? Would you change what you chose to do to something else?
Mention What Disappointed You and What Thrilled You
Talk about the things that were disappointments. Were the people nice or rude? Did the train smell like excrement? That might seem like a strange thing to write, but it will help you remember even more. Also, did something unexpected happen that thrilled you and excited you?
State What You Learned from Each Day
Add some facts that you are learning about your destination, the people you met, the people you traveled with, and yourself. For example, did you learn that you love people watching when you didn’t know you did? Did you discover a historical fact previously unknown?
When It’s Over, Finish by Writing a Last Reflective Entry
After the trip is over, take the time to write one last entry where you reflect finally again on everything you learned about the trip. Take about what it was like, what you learned, what surprised you, and so forth. Name the thing you’d do again and the thing you’d not do again, plus something you’d do next time.
Make the most of your travel planner
A travel journal will improve your memory of the event. You’ll retain more information and – believe it or not – it’ll help you make the next trip even better. Use these tips if you want to get the most out of your travel journaling now and in the future.
