A travel journal is a great way to preserve your vacation memories. It is unique and a great personal "souvenir" of your trips. Journals allow you to remember the little things that you may forget years down the road, and you can almost feel like you are right there on your experience again! In this instructable I will go through the steps on how to make a travel journal.

Step 1: Inspiration

Find your theme for your travel journal! You can get so many great ideas from pinterest, and other fun websites. Try to read up on where you are going and find your feel of how you want your journal to be like. Going to Europe? Eiffel tours aren't too hard to get pictures of for your cover page!

Step 2: How Many Notebooks/ Sections?

How long is your trip going to be? If you are going on a big trip around the world you may want to keep separate journals. If you are going on short trips, it is fun to keep on journal for one trip. Remember- size depends on the journey! If you think you are bringing your journal with you on your trip, remember it has to be able to fit into your bag. This is also the time to decided if you will make your journal beforehand, and bring it with you, or if you will just wait until you get back from your trip. Either works!

Step 3: Jot Down Notes on Your Trip

What's on your mind? I like to do this myself while I am on trips. It works best if you are sitting in a café, on the plane to your destination, or awake at night with jetlag in your hotel room. Write whatever comes to mind, what you did in the day, and how your feeling. It's almost like a diary! You can glue this into your travel journal and look back on it to remember the cute Australian sitting across from your at the café! You can also keep lists, directions, and even cool phrases you hear. It is always a fun reminder of your trip.

Step 4: Collect, Collect, Collect!

Collect souvenirs wherever you go- (park maps, tickets, cards, brochures, etc.) They can easily be glued into your travel journal and you can remember where you went and how much fun you had. If you don't want to glue them in, you can always use pocket pages so that they can easily be taken out. Make sure to have a plastic bag or zippered file folder with you on your trip to collect everything so you don't loose it.

Step 5: Eavesdrop!

That's right guys and gals, listen in to other peoples conversations. Listen in at cafes, bus stops, etc. This can give you great little notes to jot down and you can really get hold of the atmosphere of the place you are in. Striking up real conversations can also be very informative. If you make a friend, keep their address and phone number in your travel journal and maybe glue in a picture. You could even keep a separate page in your journal for people you meet to sign, it could be fun! You will be able to bring back cool quotes, sketches, and contacts back home with you.

Step 6: "Be Here Now"

Stay focused on where you are. You don't want to be worrying about your travel journal the whole time. Remember you might only be there once, so you have to enjoy it. Rather than writing down every single thing you do and going into great detail while wasting your vacation time, just jot down quick notes on your way. Things that really grab your attention is easy to just quickly write on your "what on your mind?" page.

Step 7: Enjoy Your Trip and Put It All Together!

When you get back from your trip, keep the excitement alive by pasting all of your collections into your travel book. When it is all done- you will be able to share your experience with others and also look back on your time with your new friends. Have fun making your travel journals!