Blogging on the go: converting travel journals from PDF to Word

Collaborative Post | We’ve all been there: staring at a beautiful travel journal in PDF form and wanting to tweak those memories or add more photos. It’s so frustrating when making updates or changes feels like climbing Mount Everest.

Imagine if those static pages could magically turn into a Word document. Think about how easy it would be to reorganise your adventures, add more details, convert them to travel blogs or even add photos and links. More than the convenience, it allows you to bring your travel stories back to life.

So, let’s get started with the easy process of converting your travel journals from PDF to Word and unlock the world of possibilities for re-living and sharing your travels!

Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash

​Why Word is a Travel Blogger’s best friend

Converting travel journals from PDF to Word has been revolutionary. PDFs are great for preserving memories but feel like museum exhibits. They are beautiful to look at but not something you can touch. Word documents, in contrast, are like blank canvas, ready for your creativity.

With Word, you can quickly fix typos, reorganise paragraphs to make the stories flow better, and even add new details as they come to you. It’s like a time machine for travel! And adding photos, videos, or links to blog posts or your social media platforms is much easier.

One of the best things about converting to Word is the flexibility. Remember that time you roam around the vibrant food stalls at Borough Market in London?

You can add photos of those mouth-watering dishes right next to the journal entry to make the stories more alive and interesting. Or maybe, be a little extra. Work on the content and publish these memories as travel blogs.

How to convert PDF to Word while travelling

Converting PDFs to Word documents while travelling can be difficult, but it’s possible with the right approaches. The key is to choose methods that fit your current resources and your journal entries.

Offline methods

When travelling, you may not always have access to reliable internet or advanced tools. Offline methods are essential in those situations.

Don't worry—I won't ask you to create a physical journal out of your PDF files (although that is also fantastic!)

You don't have to do that, as some word processors have built-in features that allow you to open a PDF and save it as a Word document. This is super useful in areas with no Wi-Fi.

Preserving formatting

When converting your journals, one of the most important things is to keep the formatting intact. You don’t want your beautifully crafted stories to become a mess, especially if you plan to turn them into blog entries! The best way to convert PDF to Word and keep your layout is to start with a well-organised PDF. From there, you can use Smallpdf tools to convert files to suit your needs.

Handling embedded elements

Images and tables make your travel journal more interesting, but they can give you a headache during conversion.

Remember to review each page after conversion to check for any layout issues or missing elements, mainly photos from image sites or stock photos.

Mobile friendly options

Lightweight apps offer conversion options even with intermittent Wi-Fi. These apps have simple interfaces where you select your file and hit convert. Always preview the output before sharing or saving.

Optimising resources

Knowing when to use cloud services vs local storage is a must. Cloud services offer powerful conversion but require a stable internet connection, a luxury not always available when travelling.

Meanwhile, local storage provides a more reliable option when you're in areas with limited connectivity. But it may have some limitations with functionality and processing power. Still better than nothing though!

Troubleshooting tips: when things go wrong

Converting PDFs to Word isn’t always a smooth ride. Sometimes, you’ll hit a few bumps. Here are some common ones.

Formatting issues

One of the common issues is formatting discrepancies. The once perfectly aligned text is now misaligned or jumbled.

To fix this, check the original layout of your travel journal before conversion, and make sure all text boxes and images are in the right place in the PDF. If misalignment persists after conversion, use Word’s alignment tools to adjust paragraphs and sections manually.

Misaligned text

Misaligned text can ruin the reading experience. This happens when PDFs use complex layouts that don’t always translate to Word documents.

Select the problematic section and reapply the correct style or format using Word’s built in styles menu to fix this.

Missing images

Missing images can ruin the visual appeal of your digital journal. If images are missing after conversion, try inserting them back into their original place using Word’s insert function.

One thing you can try is to reduce file size before converting image heavy PDFs. This can help avoid any errors, maintain image quality, and prevent system overload during conversion.

Keeping it together: organising your travel journals

As your online travel journals grow, organisation becomes crucial. Nobody wants a digital space filled with random files.

One way to stay organised is to categorise your journals by location. This way, you can find specific journals when you want to write about them. You can also sort by date, creating a timeline of your travels. Or if you prefer, you can group by theme, like “food adventures” or “cultural experiences”.

Cloud storage can also be your best friend. You can access and edit your journals from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection. And it makes it easy to collaborate with others on your blog.

Remember to back up your journals regularly—you don’t want to lose all those memories.

Journals to blog: sharing your adventures with the world

Converting your PDF journals to Word is just the first step. Now, it’s time to share your stories with the world! Here’s how:

Write Great Blog Posts: Use your journal entries as a starting point for writing great blog posts. Add photos, videos and personal anecdotes to make your stories come alive.

SEO: Make sure your blog posts are easy to find online. Use relevant keywords and titles. Search engines can also recommend your blog entries more effectively when they are well-organised and categorised.

Engage with Your Audience: Reply to comments and questions and build a community around your blog.

Your travel stories reborn

Converting travel journals from PDF to Word unlocks the full potential of your travel stories. It lets you breathe new life into your memories and share them in captivating ways.

With creativity and effort, those journal entries can become engaging blog posts, social media updates, or even a published book. So, start converting and rediscover the hidden gems within your travel tales. Happy writing!


Disclaimer: this is a collaborative post.