Sharing your travel experiences used to mean sending postcards from each of your destinations. When you got home you then processed your countless rolls of film, only to find half of them to be under overexposed and certainly devoid of the impact that you remembered. However, you would dutifully put all of your photos into your albums. Albums that nobody wanted to look at. Some of you shot slides, so you would set up your slide projector and force your family to sit through your interminable slide presentation.

Things certainly have changed with not only the advent of the digital camera but the smart cell phone. The damn phone takes better picture than even pros were taking just 30 years ago with their fancy SLRs. The internet also had a major impact on how you present your photos. Social media sites compounded with cellphones and wi-fi outfitted cameras allow you to upload your photos immediately. There is no more waiting for film processing.

You can tweak and crop your photos to your heart’s content, you can even set up sophisticated slide shows with fade-ins and fade-outs and music and all kinds of special effects with your phone apps. I guess I am a little old fashioned. I wait till I get home from the trip to go through my photos and I then post them on my dedicated photo sites like Flickr and Viewbug. I don’t post them on Facebook or Instagram, those after all are not for serious photographers. Hah, I used to own my darkroom for God’s sake. Now, people I don’t even know see my photos and critique them on peer review websites, how cool is that? I am fast closing in on two million views for my Flickr photos. That sure beats the hell out of showing my work to my closest friends and relatives. Ah, the good old days. I remember getting high off the darkroom chemicals, things sure have changed. I now do things I once never thought possible in my darkroom in mere moments with my software.

Enough of the reminiscing, let’s see how the young and smart people share their travel photos.

5 Best Ways to Share Travel Stories

Traveling is so much fun! Modern times however, have added an extra bonus when it comes to savoring your travel experiences. These days, technology has created many ways to share travel stories that allow you to enjoy your own trips a lot more by simply sharing them with friends and family. From sharing your travel photos online to printing photo books, we have lots of ways to capture and enhance what we experience while traveling. Let’s put on our practical hat and explore my favorite ways to share travel stories.

Sharing your travel experiences especially as you travel makes your travel stories that much more memorable. In this article I will share my favorite ways to share travel stories.

1. Share Your Travel Photos Online

Shared Albums in Google Photos is one of the simplest ways to share travel stories online.

First on my list of best ways to share travel stories, is to simply share my travel photos. Sharing your travel photos online is the easiest and quickest way to share your travel stories with your friends and family. Using an online service to upload your best travel photos makes it really special because you can share photos while you travel. My favorite ways to share my travel stories online is to use Google Photos or Microsoft One Drive. Here is how I do it.

SHARE TRAVEL STORIES WITH GOOGLE PHOTOS

If you’re like most travelers these days you use your phone to take most of your travel pictures. Here are the steps for quickly sharing your travel story with Google Photos:

1. Open Google Photos on your phone. I assume you have it installed and ready to go.
2. Turn on Google Photos Backup and Sync on your phone. This will allow you to have your travel photos backed up as you travel. This not only will allow you to easily share your photos, but also it will provide an easy backup in case you lose your phone…which unfortunately, can easily happen while you travel. To turn on Backup & Sync on your phone, tap the top right corner of the application, press Photos Settings and tap Backup and Sync. Just make sure it’s turned on. I usually keep Use Cellular data turned off so I don’t use my cell phone data plan while I travel because that is very expensive. This way the phone will wait for a Wi-Fi connection before backing up my photos.
3. Select a few pictures you like and create a Shared Album. Once you select a few pictures you like to share, press the + button on the top right and choose Shared Album. Google Photos will create a Shared Album with the selected pictures in it. Now, all you have to do is to press the Share Button and share the link with your friends.
4. Add more photos to the Shared Album. Once you’ve created a shared album, next time you want to add more photos, click the Library button on the bottom right which will show you all your albums, including the Shared Album you just created. Tap the album and then press Add Photos to add more photos. Your friends will automatically be able to see the new photos using the same link you’ve sent them.

2. Travel Story Books

Travel Photo Books are my favorite way to share photo stories.

Printing a physical travel photo book is my second best of the ways to share your travel stories. My favorite things about a great travel photo book is that it is concise and you can hold it in your hand. Really, while digital ways to share travel stories are great and more versatile, an old fashioned travel photo book is the easiest thing to use by anyone, young or old. The largest downside of creating a travel story book is that it takes time to make…actually quite a bit of time.

My favorite company for creating a travel photo book is Shutterfly. Their user interface is easy to use and the books are simply beautiful. IF you are patient and wait for one of their sales so you don’t pay for shipping, then the deal gets even better. We’ve printed several 8×10 photo books that are always great conversation starters when we have guests over at our house.

Here are some simple steps for printing your travel story book:

1. Select your favorite photos. While seemingly simple, this step always proves time consuming and we take thousands of photos these days. I always do this step on my desktop computer where I have the advantage of a large monitor where working with photos is much easier.
2. Create an account with the company you’re using to print your photo book.
3. Upload your selected photos to the company’s software.
4. Pick a travel theme that suits your personality.
5. Place the photos in your theme and arrange them the way you want. My wife and I always want the book to flow like a travel story and not just some pictures. We also try adding some meaningful captions to the images.
6. Place the order and simply enjoy the photo book when you get it in the mail. Keep the book handy, on a coffee table or somewhere easy to share with your guests.

3. Share Travel Stories on a Travel Log

Keeping a travel log comes third on my list of favorite ways to share travel stories. Being able to share words in addition to travel pictures, makes your travel story so much stronger. Obviously, this is what I love to do, given your are actually reading my own travel blog. I love sharing tips and details for all my trips even though it takes quite a bit of time to write each article and process my favorite travel pictures. Writing in order to share travel stories helps me remember all these beautiful experiences I have had while traveling. If you love traveling then I really recommend trying to write about what you experience while traveling…just tell your travel story.

An online travel log is very different than running a travel blog (like my own TouristBee.com). Whereas a travel blog is a standalone website that you own and operate (which takes a lot of effort), travel logs use existing software services that provide everything for you to be able to share your travel stories.

Travel log companies provide you an easy way to share words and pictures without the headaches that come from running your own website. The downside of a travel log is that you don’t own the website and its URL and therefore you are very limited in what you can do with the travel stories you share. However, if your purpose is only to share your travel stories, then a travel log is the way to go.

There are a number of services that allow you to quickly record your travel stories and share them as you travel.  My favorite, quick way to record my travels is Bonjournal which makes it easy to combine words and pictures into a beautiful travel story that is easily shared.

4. Travel Story Calendars

The same company that prints your travel photo book can also print beautiful calendars. We love using calendars with our travel photos as Christmas gifts for our family and friends. Your own calendar with your own pictures and travel story means so much more to your loved ones when compared with store bought calendars. Even though my photography skills are not great compared with commercial photographers, putting that personal touch on your own travel story calendar makes the gift so much more precious.

Here are some simple steps for printing your travel story calendar:

1. Select your favorite photos. While this is similar to creating a photo book, a travel calendar will limit the amount of photos you can actually use. There are 12 pages in a calendar (you can also do a 16 page calendar with some pages for the current year) plus a front and back cover. Yes, you can pick a theme that allows you to add lots of picture per page, I like to only use a maximum of 4 photos for a calendar page.
2. Upload your selected photos to the calendar printing company.
3. Choose a travel theme for your calendar and place your selected photos in it. When you organize your calendar pages like a travel story you have a sequence of beautiful moments that flow.
4. Order your travel calendar and give it as a gift or place one in your house in an easily accessible place so you can use it as a conversation starter.

5. Bags That Tell Your Travel Story

If you are thinking of other ideas for sharing your travel story, personalized bags also make excellent gift items. Tote Bag Factory has your quality wholesale bags ready at the cheapest price and are ready for personalization. What type of utility in a bag should you focus on? What do people do every day? People eat lunch every day. Offering personalized and promotional insulated bags are the ultimate gift because they are multi-use and long lasting. Who doesn’t need insulation for food and drinks on a hot day at the beach, the office, or anywhere there isn’t refrigeration? You need to make sure you are offering up the best quality products to your friends and family. These are also great ideas as promotional products, if you own a business.  At Tote Bag Factory you know you are getting exactly that.

Should You Find Ways to Share Travel Stories?

I usually answer this question with a definite yes! Sharing your travel stories help you relive those beautiful experiences with all their flavor and quirks.  This helps my family relive feelings and sights that inspired or challenged us. My favorite ways to share travel stories are sharing travel photos online and printing travel photo books…and of course publishing on my travel blog.

BEST WAYS TO SHARE TRAVEL MEMORIES WITH YOUR FRIENDS

By Molly

Travelling is one of the most thrilling adventures you will ever take, so if you are about to head off to explore new cultures, you will want to share your memories with your friends. But going travelling can mean that you have to spend a considerable amount of time away from your friends and family, and contacting them can become more difficult. However, with our top tips and hints, loved ones can share your adventure with you every step of the way while you immerse yourself in new countries all over the world.

Share your photos 

One of the easiest ways that you can share all your travel experiences and memories with your friends is by showing them all of the photos that you take while you are away. If you are currently preparing to go away travelling then we recommend that you take as many pictures as you can as they will be invaluable to you when they return. But don’t worry if you aren’t a photography professional, as cameras on smartphones are great these days!

Once you arrive home from your adventures we recommend that you head over to Snappy Snaps as soon as you get home so that you convert your digital pictures into photo prints. While it can be tempting to keep putting it off, by getting your pictures printed as soon as you return home you don’t run the risk of losing them. Once you have them printed you could also create your own travelling photo album!

Start your own travel blog

Setting up your own travel blog is a great way for you to document all of your travelling memories, while also keeping them all in one safe place. Starting a blog doesn’t have to cost you a fortune either as there are many different free blog platforms available. Blogging also means that you can update all of your friends and family at home about your travels in one go.
Travel blogs have become increasingly popular over recent years, so creating your own is a great opportunity to share your experiences and the benefits of travelling with others. You never know, you may even create a bit of an online following!

Share your travel map 

If your travelling adventures involve you visiting a large number of countries within a short space of time, then you could keep your loved ones back home updated with your own online map. An online map allows you to plot where you have been, and you can also share photos of the places you have been on your online map so that your friends at home can follow you on your journey. So no matter where in the world you are visiting from Southern Spain or Northern America, your loved ones can come along too.

Send photo-themed gifts

During your travels, you may find that you are away for some important celebrations, such as birthdays and anniversaries. Photo gifts make for a great present and are a great opportunity to share your travel memories with those at home. Sending a personalized card, mug, or phone cover with a picture you have taken during your adventure is the perfect personalized gift from you.
Sharing your travel memories with those at home doesn’t have to be as difficult as you might think. So no matter how long you are away from home, there is a range of easy and affordable ways that you can include those closest to you in your adventures around the world.

Share Travel Photos on Trover

Trover is a site that let you share photos of the places you have visited. There is an option to add a description to describe your opinion about the place. People can also comment on the travel photo you posted.

Review Attractions on a Travel Booking Platform

You can also share your travel experience through the travel and tour booking sites where you’ve booked your trip. For example, in Tripadvisor, you can search for an attraction you have visited and added your comment. You can also add a traveler rating to the venue.

Tweet about Your Trips

Twitter can be used to share anything you want to say including your travel experience. It is free and you can register for a Twitter account in just 1 minute. Every time, you have something to share, just write a line on Tweet. You can tweet as frequently as you want with no limitation. You can also include a photo or short video clip in the Tweet.

Use Instagram to Share Your Travel Photos

Instagram is another place where you can post photos of your trips to share with other people. You should regularly update your Instagram account with new photos instead of keep bringing up the old photos. Many social media also allow users to organize the photos into photo albums on their accounts. This prevents you from having to waste money on buying new photo albums to store your photos.

Share a Video of Your Trip

You can take a video camera or your smartphone to film the scene at the attraction place. In the video, you can interview the locals or feature yourself introducing about the venue. After that, you can upload your video to share it on YouTube.

Compile a Travel Slideshow

You can compile your travel photos into a slideshow for sharing with friends and family members at video sharing platforms. You just need a basic photo slideshow maker to create the slideshow. In Movavi Video Editor, you can easily load a folder of images into the software by dragging it into a place where you see the + symbol on the timeline. When the photos are opened, you can drag them around to rearrange them. You can set how long an image will display by going to properties to set the duration. You can add plain or animated titles in the title tab. If you want to put callouts on the photo, you can go to the calls out tab and drag a callout style onto the clip. You can also add soothing music by dragging the background soundtrack files to the track for audio files on the timeline.

I use a combination of software programs to edit my photos. I use the venerable Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. I also use Faststone Image Viewer for basic edits, it is also serves as my generic viewing program. I find it is very easy to use, much more so than Lightroom. I also use Easy HDR 3.0 to make my photos into HiDef. By the way, I shoot in jpg not Raw. I am used to shooting with slide and film, so you had to have your exposure right when you took your photos. I frankly believe RAW is for the lazy photographer. I don’t shoot my pictures with the idea that I am going to spend hours making adjustments. If I spend more than a minute on any one of my travel photos, it is a big deal. I believe in getting it right in the camera not in the editing room. Ninety five percent of my edits are done with my Faststone Image Veiwer. The only time I use Photoshop is to remove spots if my camera censor is dirty. That is about it, guys. Happy Shooting!