This June myself and 6 childhood friends will embark on a 10-day trip to the UK. Even though our departure is three months away, we’ve already created a travel blog to document the journey.
Here’s five reasons why keeping a travel blog might be a good idea!
1. Practical Matters
A blog is a clever way to organize yourself before you go. My method is to dedicate one page for posting all practical matters, such as important phone numbers, useful hyperlinks, directions from A to B, hotel addresses, maps and transportation details. Taking every practical detail and putting it all on a one-stop resource can simplify your life considerably. Plus, you can never lose a webpage, so you can quit worrying about the possibility of losing your important information.
2. Inspire and Share
Have you ever spent a few hours reading through travel blogs of people you don’t know? Well, you should – it can be quite interesting and inspiring. I love reading about other people’s travel experiences, getting fresh perspectives on places I’ve been and becoming intrigued of new places. You’ll also be amazed how many strangers will discover your blog and will want to share their own experiences with you.
3. Friends and Family
Sure, you can always keep in touch with friends and family via facebook, twitter, email, etc, but a travel blog is a different offering and goes deeper into your travel experience. Facebook is also highly-cluttered, so your photos and storytelling always compete for attention there.
4. Memory and Timeline
A travel blog is permanent, and it can be great to re-visit it as the years progress. Our recollections are highly imperfect, and a quick click through an old travel blog can bring back thousands of memories of places you were, things you experiences, and people you met along the way. I recently visited a travel blog I kept during a 2004 trip to Nepal in order to track down a trekking guide I had lost touch with.
5. Capture the Moment
Reminiscing about past travels is different than reading your exact thoughts during those travels. For me, I’m always at my most creative when travelling, so I enjoy revisiting an old travel blog whenever I need a little creative boost of inspiration.