1) Document your experience

A travel journal is a great way to document your experiences while backpacking, especially if you travel solo. It allows you to record the places you visit, the people you meet and the things you do. You can use your journal to write and draw about your adventures, challenges, and lessons you learn along the way.

You're the journalist of your journey: document it how best you see it, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It doesn't matter if it isn’t a pretty scrapbook traveller’s journal. What matters is what you put in it, and how it makes you feel when you read through it.

2) Keep your memories visually fresh

Keeping a travel journal is a great way to preserve your memories. Looking back on your journal years later will transport you back to the memories of your trip and the feelings you had at the time, and they'll be more vivid since you spent time documenting them.

3) Self-reflect and grow

Backpacking solo can be a transformative experience. You'll learn a lot about yourself as you navigate through new cultures and experiences. Keeping a travel journal helps you reflect on your journey and gain new insights into your own thoughts and emotions.

4) Use it as an on-the-go creative outlet

A travel journal is a great creative outlet if you love to write or draw. You can experiment with different writing styles or artistic techniques to capture the essence of the places you visit, and will improve your skills on the go.

On a side note, I learned how to paint with watercolour after I started backpacking solo. So most of my sketches were a disaster before I started getting the hang of it. But the beauty of backpacking solo is that you have so much time for yourself. Time to learn. So take the opportunity :)

5) It makes for a great story

When you return from your trip, you can use your journal to share your experiences with others. Your personalised travel journal can serve as a great conversation starter, and it can help you share your stories in an engaging and memorable way.

How to journal while backpacking solo: the art of journalling on the road

There's no right and wrong process. Keep your backpacking journal as a handy companion which is here for you when you need it. But if you don't need it, let it be. Inspiration will find its way naturally.

When I travel, I write or draw whenever I felt like it - usually, when I had time alone in nature or on long bus rides. Or when I can’t sleep. Or under my tent at 4600m in Peru. Sometimes, I wouldn't open my travel journal for weeks. I'd then do a recap of all of the best moments I had lived and ink a whole notebook in one afternoon.

What to write in a backpacking travel journal?

Whatever you want! I had some pages filled with Spanish vocabulary. Others were words from a song I heard on the bus.

If you're stuck and need help to write something, describe what you see. What colour is that tree? What do you hear? Is it warm, humid, rainy? I find that describing my surroundings often helps me enter into a writing flow.

Once you've described your surroundings, go deeper. How do you feel? How have you been feeling lately? Who have you met on the road recently, and how did they make you feel? Put it down on paper without restricting your train of thought. Don't worry about grammar, syntax or form. Just let it out and write.

Is there a travel journal app?

There are many travel journal apps, but my favourite one is Polarsteps.

Polarsteps is a travel app that allows you to track your travels and create a digital travel journal. Using GPS technology, the app automatically tracks and maps your route as you travel, allowing you to see where you've been and how far you've gone. The app also allows you to add photos, notes, and other details about your trip, creating a personalised travel journal that you can share with friends and family.

Backpacking ravel journal essentials

Your travel journal kit should take minimal space and be light enough to carry everywhere with you.

1. A notebook - no need to splurge here. Any small notebook will do, except if you plan to paint, then choose a higher grammage paper (at least 180mg). You’ll find plenty of shops abroad that sell beautiful notebooks, especially in cities like Cuenca in Peru and Santa Teresa in Costa Rica.
   
   
2. A travel watercolour set - great if you want to paint on the road. I had the Winsor & Newton Cotman Mini Plus 8 Pan Watercolor Palette. Super compact, super portable, and the colours were of high quality.
   
   
3. A pen to write


4. A 0.5mm black fineliner for sketches and watercolours
   
   
5. A pencil for sketches
   
   
6. A gray eraser

How to make a personalised travel journal book?

Once you return to your home country with your travel notebooks, you might want to turn them into a book. You can do this with many websites online or with Polarsteps if you've tracked your journey through the app. they make beautiful travel books of different sizes with fancy infographics about the details of your trip. It makes a great central piece on your living room table.

How to make a backpacking journal online?

You can make a digital travel journal using apps like Polarsteps or tools like Google docs. If you have an Ipad, you can draw digitally as well.

Just a tip: thieves won't steal your notebooks. But they will steal your phone or computer. So make sure you always back up your notes on the cloud, just in case.

You could also digitalise your physical backpacking journals once you return home. This is what I did by creating this website. I've scanned my drawings and re-wrote my notes to create an interactive digital reading experience in French and English.

Why? Well, bringing my seven travel notebooks everywhere I go would be tricky. With my digital travel book, I can read back through my memories wherever I am in the world, whenever I need a boost. And every time I read it, I tell myself, "wow, I really did that."

And that's the joy of a traveller’s journal: it's your personal reminder that you have it in you, that you can do the things you want to achieve, and that everything will be all right.