Document Your Travels - South Africa 2025

If you've followed me for a while, you know that I completely changed the way I document my travels after a whirlwind anniversary trip in 2023. Instead of packing lots of supplies and trying to create beautiful pages while I was traveling, I simplified everything.

Now, before every trip, I prepare a Traveler's Notebook insert with a spread for each day. While I'm traveling, I spend just 15–20 minutes each evening capturing the day's highlights, stories, and details - nothing more. Then, when I get home, I can take my time adding photos, memorabilia, and creative touches without worrying about forgetting the little moments that made the trip special.

It's a simple system that has made travel documenting so much more enjoyable, and it's the process I used for our trip to South Africa celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary.

Because this was a longer trip, I used two Document Your Travels inserts. As I prepared them before we left, I used sticky notes to map out our itinerary, keep track of where we'd be each day, and make notes about what I wanted to document. It was a simple way to stay organized while still leaving plenty of flexibility for the unexpected adventures that always seem to pop up along the way!

Because our days were so packed on this trip from sun up to sun down with sightseeing and safari game drives, I did much of my documenting on airplanes and in the afternoons vs night.

If you'd like to learn more about how and why I document my travels this way & why it's been so successful, be sure to check out my full blog post here.

See more of my travel TN spreads here.  

Shop Layle By Mail travel products here.

Want to learn more about my complete travel documenting process? Check out my  Document Your Travels e-Course, where I share my system from start to finish - including how I prepare before a trip, document while I'm traveling, taking and organizing photos, organizing memorabilia, and bringing it all together into meaningful keepsakes when I get home.

The Document Your Travels self paced e-course is based on a process I followed to successfully document an 18 day trip abroad in 2023, while I was traveling, with only a backpack and a carry-on, & it couldn't have been easier!

This Document Your Travels self paced e-course is a 3 part video series - 

Part I - how to prepare to document before you go on a trip

Part II - how to easily capture all the details on the go, while you’re traveling, including tips for collecting all the memorabilia & things and organizing your photos along the way

Part III - how to put it all together when you return home from the trip, regardless of whether in a Traveler’s Notebook, mini book, 12x12 scrapbook, etc.

Click here to learn more!