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3 Tips to Travel Journal like a Pro

October 25, 2017
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No more excuses: I’m too tired, I’m not a writer, it’s boring, I don’t want to.  Whether or not you enjoy writing, travel journaling allows you to experience your trip on a deeper level—and remember it later.  That being said, it can be tricky to simply begin the habit.  Here are 3 tips to travel journal like a pro:

1. Don’t be perfect

Your travel journal probably isn’t intended for publication so quit worrying about making it neat, clean and pristine.  It’s okay to scribble things out.  It’s okay if you don’t have perfect grammar (which gives this grammar brat some anxiety to even say!).  But at the end of the day, your travel journal is yours—raw as it is.  Eventually you may consider going back to edit and to form your thoughts into a complete story like I did for my stay in a French castle.   I brought a leather journal for my summer in France, which provided the sturdiness I needed for all the travel I did.

2. Share stories

Listing off what you did for the day is a place to start, but it shouldn’t be the end.  Include your emotions, inside jokes, conversations, frustrations.  When writing about my night at the museums, I could’ve just listed the museums I’ve visited and the pieces of art I saw.  But instead, I included my thoughts, lessons and highlights.

3. Collect items throughout the day

A travel journal should be more than just pen and paper.  Get creative by including little pieces you acquire throughout the day like brochures, receipts and newspapers.  This helps tell your story in a bigger, more accurate way, and it also makes it fun to look back through.  I packed my Eiffel Tower scissors, which allowed me to include fun itty bitties and are darling themselves.

Like these tips but want to dig a little deeper?  Try my Travel Thoughts Journal, a 12-day guided journaling experience for deeper, meaningful adventures.

Travel journaling is an investment time and energy-wise, but it forces you to reflect on your experiences so that these memories live much longer than just your one-week vacation.

3 tips to travel journal like a pro

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  1. Kristin Blake’s 40 Ways To Travel Better: A Review – the mountains are calling says:
    December 18, 2017 at 10:06 am

    […] follow Kristin’s blog, Round Trip, here and check out some of her awesome posts like this one about tips to travel journal like a pro! I hope you can get your hands on a copy of her book soon […]

    Reply
  2. Round Trip Roundup: DECEMBER – round trip says:
    December 31, 2017 at 8:45 am

    […] I’m a strong advocate for #RealTalk, and several of my posts talked about just that—like when I found the one little monster that followed me all the way to Europe.  And why living abroad isn’t always glamorous.  Practicality is also a huge value here at Round Trip with posts on topics from how to wear a travel backpack and tips to travel journal like a pro. […]

    Reply
  3. Round Trip: The Best Of – round trip says:
    December 1, 2018 at 11:53 am

    […] 3 Tips to Travel Journal like a Pro-We all get writer’s block, but these handy tips will help you beat it. […]

    Reply
  4. 5 Ways to Fight Homesickness – round trip says:
    January 30, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    […] You might also be interested in 3 Tips to Travel Journal Like a Pro. […]

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  5. My 4 Biggest Travel Regrets – round trip says:
    January 31, 2020 at 3:47 pm

    […] You might also be interested in 3 Tips to Travel Journal Like a Pro. […]

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  6. How to Plan a Motorcycle Trip Through Europe - round trip says:
    December 22, 2020 at 12:31 pm

    […] Because I had experienced an Edelweiss Moto Tour in 2009, I felt confident to plan a 10th anniversary trip for just my husband and me in 2019. I reviewed all my journals from the trip a decade earlier, as well as some websites that touted the best Alpine mountain passes to ride. We made a “hit list” of the 15 or so passes that we wanted to complete, and I created a little spiral-bound travel itinerary for us. The books I made for our trip in 2019 featured daily routes, maps, points of interest, history, restaurant suggestions and space for notes. For more travel journaling tips. […]

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Kristin. I'm a content creator teaching English in southern France. I'm all about exploring new places, practicing my French and sharing blogging tips. Allez-viens!
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About

Hi, I'm Kristin. I'm a content creator teaching English in southern France. I'm all about exploring new places, practicing my French and sharing blogging tips. Allez-viens!
learn more about my story

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Sometimes I just don’t believe my life🙈 Toda Sometimes I just don’t believe my life🙈

Today we took a casual 20ish minute boat ride to a nearby island I can see from my backyard. We hiked up to the ancient fort and danced to music mere feet from ruins — all with views of the Mediterranean Sea and Marseille in all her sunny glory.

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Been kinda quiet on the socials as of late👀I've Been kinda quiet on the socials as of late👀I've been soaking up the Marseille sunshine with long walks, picnics and the not-so occasional ice cream😋

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