A travel diary is an individual’s record of his or her travels. This may be kept in a personal journal or diary and only read by the individual, or it may be kept online in a blog format. The individual may then share the travel diary with his or her friends and family, or with anyone else who wants to visit the web site and read about the individual’s travels. Many people keep travel diaries so they better remember all the details of the trip, and keep track of where they have been, particularly if they are frequent travelers.
There is no right or wrong way to keep a travel diary. Some people just buy a simple, pocket sized notebook and jot down basic notes throughout their trip. Others will buy a designated travel journal, some of which even include specific writing prompts, and write lengthy descriptions for each day or special event of the trip. When journaling in any form, it is important not to get bogged down in the way it is “supposed” to be done, and just write in the way that seems the most natural. No matter how many notes an individual chooses to take on a trip, it will still serve as a helpful reminder for the different things that happened while traveling.
It is not necessary to just stick to text in a travel diary. Many come with places to insert photos, or may include a pocket for other memorabilia as well, such as ticket stubs or concert programs. Keeping all the memorabilia from a trip in one place is a great way to revisit it later, and many people choose to combine a travel diary and a photo album into one, making a sort of travel scrapbook. This is another thing that is great to share with other people.
Keeping a travel diary on a web site can be a great way to connect with other people who are interested in traveling, or to share adventures with friends and family who may live far away. It is easy to upload photos to a web site as well, to make it even more descriptive. Individuals can choose whether they want to protect the web site with a password, and only make it accessible to certain people. Alternatively, a public travel blog makes the information open to anyone. If keeping a travel blog online, be sure to back it up regularly just in case, to be sure all the travel memories are not lost.