Ten years after our last big trip, my husband and I decided it was time to head out again and enjoy a longer vacation. And because I want to preserve as many memories of our life adventures as possible, keeping a daily journal is a matter of course for me. I got my hands on the Travel Journal by Jitka Štádlerová from Koralkydni.cz, which had the honor of accompanying us on the entire journey.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| + durable cover | - large format |
| + spiral binding | - no place for a pen |
| + dots instead of lines | |
| + stickers for decoration | |
| + texts and thought-provoking questions |
Fortune favors the prepared
Vacation preparation starts at home, planning the route, booking accommodation, and finding out which monument is the best and how much the entrance fee is. Honestly, I don't enjoy this part; I like to be surprised by what interesting things we encounter along the way. Filling out the first pages of the journal was therefore quite difficult for me. What do I want to see and experience? For me, it's more a collection of feelings than a list of castles and chateaus. And so, I approached the introductory part of the journal as fragments of expected adventures.
Of course, you can sign the journal and record the destination and dates of your vacation. The map page is handy, but I admit I finished it last of all.
Unleash your imagination
The individual pages of the journal do not have classic lines, but there are small dots to help keep your writing straight, which are more than sufficient. Plus, when you want to draw or stick something in the journal, you aren't distracted by thick lines of lined paper. There is more than enough space for writing in the journal. Our journey lasted a month, and I still didn't fill the whole journal. But on the other hand, everyone's writing passion has different intensity – for many people, such generous space will be fully satisfactory.
The paper is a bit thicker, so it can handle markers or pens without bleeding through to the other side. The spiral binding allows you to flip the pages over, providing a stable surface for more comfortable writing. A nice touch are the weather icons, which you can color in according to the current state of the sky during your travels. Today's era of "likes" and stars probably requires having a small rating on the pages of a travel journal, so in the bottom left corner of the left pages, you will find a row of stars to rate the intensity of your experiences for that day.
For adventurers and romantic souls
The cover of the journal is pleasant, featuring a matte laminate, so any spills or getting caught in the rain won't have a devastating impact on the journal. We expected rainy weather in Ireland and England, so I was glad for this surface treatment. Instead, I can tell you that direct sunlight won't harm the journal, and I can't give relevant reports on the rain, as we didn't encounter any.
What I struggled with a bit was the format of the journal, i.e., the overall size. Most of the time, I kept the journal in the top pocket of my backpack, and honestly, if it were smaller, it would have been better. A notebook this large sometimes got in the way and was difficult to place somewhere.
Moreover, I didn't like plain text in such a large format, so I started supplementing it abundantly with the included stickers, clippings from tourist leaflets, travel artifacts, and drawings. The journal thus took on more of a chronicle character than just brief notes. A nice idea are the quotes on the bottom right side, which will often make you think.
And what's next?
After returning, I still had plenty of blank pages left, but those will probably remain empty. Given that I titled the whole journal with one name (i.e., one specific trip), I don't know what else I could add there. The only option is to approach it differently from the beginning, for example, as a travel journal for the entire summer.
At the end of the journal, there are a few pages that allow you to look back at the adventure you experienced, think about what you went through, and what you would like to do next time. You will even find maps there where you can mark your plans and wishes.
Overall, I rate the journal positively, although I would criticize a few minor things. I missed a place to put a writing utensil. But as soon as I expanded my tools with a set of markers, glue, and scissors, I shoved everything into a small pouch, and it was solved. The back cover of the journal is very light for my taste, and after a month of traveling, you can see a lot of dirt on it, but at least it shows that it traveled a respectable 4000 km with me.
The travel journal definitely fulfilled its purpose, and I will be very happy to return to the recorded memories.
And what impressions did the Travel Journal leave on our other testers?
Jan, manager of the Brno store:
The Travel Journal, with its beautiful illustrated design, directly invites you on long journeys for experiences and adventures. Through it, a number of well-known personalities speak to you, whose quotes motivate you to explore, be courageous, and capture the unique charm of traveling.
The journal is divided into three sections: the first one – Before the trip (where you have space to plan your adventure) and the last one – After returning (where you evaluate everything), will tune you into the travel vibe with a few simple questions. In the preparatory part, there is plenty of room for notes, ideas, and dreams. It's just a pity that there isn't more space around the summary questions.
The "body" of the journal is the second part – On the road, in which you describe your experiences. The freedom that inherently accompanies traveling is also reflected in the very concept of this passage. Dotted lines give freedom and allow you to use the journal in any way, whether for writing or drawing. On each double-page spread, you can also color in one of four weather pictures, depending on whether the sun was shining or it was raining that day. You can also rate the day with one to five stars.
The best part of the whole journal is the three pages of playful and stylish stickers with which you can decorate your journal. At the end, you will also find several maps where you can mark your future plans. Overall, the Travel Journal is a wonderful and creative companion for all wanderings, which will allow you to capture unique experiences, memories, and realizations from your travels.
Kamča, photographer:
The Travel Journal by Jitka Štádlerová is a practical tool for preserving travel experiences that also supports creativity. It allows you to unleash your imagination in written as well as artistic expression. You can write down your experiences, draw them, supplement them with photos, clippings, and other small mementos. This way, you can keep all detailed memories of the trip, organize them, and thus prevent their image from gradually fading in your memory. That is precisely why I am sympathetic to the idea of the Travel Journal, as well as its tasteful graphic design.
The journal is structured to guide you to record all important points of the trip and ends with interesting questions that encourage reflection and retrospective evaluation of the impression the whole trip left on you. There is also space provided for recording inspiration for further adventures.
Personally, however, I am not a fan of motivational quotes and structured journals. I didn't use the included stickers much either, which serve only for visual separation of content but do not provide the possibility of more creative use. Overall, the journal strikes me as a means for pleasant relaxation and for more intense enjoyment of experienced moments, especially for longer trips.
TIP: Would you like to start your own travel journal and don't know how? We have more advice and tips for you in the article Why and how to keep a travel journal.
