The best way to document your travels

Over my many years of travelling, I have had various methods of documenting the places I have visited.

I initially used magnets to remember where I had travelled. From writing this article on my desk, I can see the multitude of magnets I have amassed. From Tallinn to Rhodes, to local places like Oxford and Cardiff, all these magnets remind of where I have been. Some of them even remind me of what I have seen. For instance, my Berlin magnet shows some of the sites like Brandenburg Gate, whilst my Gibraltar magnet is the outline of a monkey to highlight the high monkey population in the area, reminding me of when a monkey used my head as a makeshift nutcracker! Meanwhile, some of my magnets are not the city/area I was in but are more specific. I have a magnet of Froggyland (a stuffed frog museum in Split, Croatia, depicting frogs doing humorous activities, such as at school). I was not allowed to take photos in the museum, but the magnet helps to remind me of some of the sights I saw. Also, I have a magnet of an actual piece of the Berlin Wall, along with a certificate proving its authenticity. My favourite non-country magnet I have is the one that reminds me of the Sagrada Familia. I have a magnet of the Magic Square whereby adding up all the rows, columns, and diagonals of the Square, you will get the number 33 (the age Christ was at the time of his death). This magnet not only reminds me of the beauty of the Sagrada Familia (truly a must visit if you are in Barcelona), but as a Christian, it also helps remind me of my faith, a dual-purpose magnet.

However, I must admit, I have a magnet addiction. I have over 75 magnets stuck onto my desk and dozens more that I could not fit stuffed in a desk drawer. And I will be getting even more this summer when I will be visiting over 10 more places, including some new places for me like Rome and Bratislava. I can’t stop buying them! I even buy duplicates! I currently have two Barcelona magnets as I have been there twice and will be getting a third one when I go again this summer. I also get lots of unnecessary ones too. I have one of a coal mine I visited when in Wales and a Donald Trump magnet from when I visited Trump Towers. I even sometimes buy magnets from Amazon if I could not find one in the place I was visiting. But then, when I look at them, I am reminded of my memories and I realise that even though they may seem excessive, they are a brilliant way to remember your holiday.

I realise that even though they may seem excessive, they are a brilliant way to remember your holiday

Recently, I have developed another way to remember my travels. This one is probably a bit more modern and one most of you do too – Instagram stories. Now, whenever I go visit a place, I will take lots of photos and then post the best ones on my story. Then, I will move these photos into my highlights on my Instagram page. This means I have all the photos I have taken stored in albums on my phone and then the best ones I have taken are saved on my Insta page. On my highlights right now, you can see photos of my trips to Cadiz, Marseille, Cyprus, and more. If we take my photos of Barcelona when I went the second time, on my highlights there are 10 photos, meanwhile my album has 138 photos in it. Insta highlights has made it so much easier for me to streamline my photos and, like magnets, also works in reminding me of all the wonderful things I have seen during my travels in a very vivid way. I use Instagram for everything now. Even to remind myself of nights out I have had or sporting events I have been too. In fact, on my highlights, I have a section for sporting events, where you can see photos of the stadiums I have visited, including Villa Park (for football) and Trent Bridge (for cricket), as well as some more niche stadiums such as Wham Stadium (home of Accrington Stanley). Insta has been such a helpful discovery in working almost as a memory bank for me, helping me store all my photos!

I use Instagram for everything now. Even to remind myself of nights out I have had or sporting events I have been too

A final way to document all my travels is a country checker app. I use Visited. With this app I can check off all the countries I have visited (currently at 15 but will be adding five more this summer). The only con with this is that unless you buy the premium version, you can only say the country you have visited, not the exact town/city. But still, the app allows me to track my progress and visualise how many countries I have explored and which ones I should realistically be aiming to tick off next.

Throughout the years, there have been many ways I have documented my travels. From old fashioned magnets, to Gen-Z Insta stories, I have tried it all. But to be totally honest, I find that a mixture of all these methods helps me remember my travels. Magnets are great for reminiscing, whilst Insta stories are great for storing memories. Meanwhile, country checkers are perfect for visualising all the countries you have visited and seeing just how well travelled you actually are. What ways do you use to document your travels? Maybe you are like me and use a mixture of techniques, or maybe you just use one? Whatever you do, it is great to remember our travels: the places we visited, the people we have met, the good times we have had. It’s great to have a way to remember all this and all the great times we have had on our travels.