Five Most Innovative Ways to Document Your Travels in 2019

Are you jetting off to the Balearics for a week to remember with friends, or backpacking solo around the world? If so, you’ll want to preserve the memories of your travels, so you can enjoy them at a later date.

In the past, travellers recorded their travels with not much else than a trusty notepad or disposable camera. However, times have changed. Now, there’s a wealth of technology at your fingertips, just waiting to be used to document your travel experiences.

Not sure which device is best for you? Here’s a useful guide.

Get a GoPro

Hardened travellers often rave about their GoPro cameras. This ‘action camera’ is built to withstand tricky terrains, extreme sports, watery environments and more. It also copes with all the standard tasks that you might need it for, such as taking selfies, getting snaps of friends, or making short videos.

The key features that make the GoPro particularly great are:

• Timelapse and timewarp video functionality. This is good fun if you’re posting content on social media, for example.
• Vlogging. If you’re planning on doing a vlog while on top of a mountain or in the midst of a forest, this camera is ideal.
• Fisheye lens. The fisheye lens feature lets you squeeze much more into the shot, without distorting the image significantly. It’s great for capturing expansive landscapes or city skylines, and the wider lens means you can take a selfie while still fitting in plenty of the stunning backdrop.

Use the ‘1 Second Everyday’ App

This is a great alternative to buying an expensive video camera, as it is a completely free App for your smartphone. The idea is that you record a single second of video each day, which is then put into a montage video, documenting the duration of your travels.

This concept is great for sharing around social media, as the videos tend to be shorter and more bite-sized than some of the alternative video diary ideas.

1 Second Everyday is available for download on both Android and iOS.

Get ReMarkable!

Planning on writing an epic travelogue or extensive journal while you’re away? A digital writing device like ReMarkable might be just what you’re looking for.

This device can be used for writing, reading and sketching, and feels like real paper when you’re drawing on it. It’s also useful for taking notes when you’re out and about (to be used for penning that great novel later on in the evening).

Even more useful – your files can be exported once you’ve completed your work; in the form of a PDF or PNG file. So, if you want to show the world your artistic or literary masterpieces, it’s relatively easy to share them. This device is definitely one for the creative crew.

Go snap-happy

If you’re looking for something truly innovative (and you love a good tech gadget), then the iON SnapCam might be just your thing. It’s about as unobtrusive as you can get, measuring in at just 1.5 inches square, and weighing less than an ounce.

Simply attach to your clothing with a clip or magnet, then start snapping your surroundings.

All you need to do to activate the SnapCam is to tap it. Tap once for a photo, twice for a video, and three times to start streaming live. This feature is especially great if you want to show your family back home where you’re exploring, in real time.

The video quality is pretty good for such a small device – it’s fully HD and has an 8MP camera. It’s also easy to upload your images and videos to social media or your website, via WiFi or Bluetooth connection.

Record your podcast on the go

Are you the chatty type? If you’re planning on doing a podcast while you’re away, you’ll need to get the right equipment (or risk sounding pretty amateur). The Zoom H5 is a great portable option for podcasting. It has excellent audio quality, its dynamic range is good, plus it has voice-activated recording, which means you don’t lose those valuable few seconds before the recording starts. Then, when you’re ready to upload, simply plug it into your laptop.

It’s got a pleasantly rugged, robust feel; which is exactly what’s required if you’re exploring the world. If you’re new to making podcasts, be aware that you’ll also need some editing software to polish your recording before you unleash it to your devoted podcast fans.