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Travel is, above all, a story of encounters. Those that inspire us, guide us, and make us dream. That’s why we’re happy to announce a partnership between Petit Futé and VoyageForum—two worlds that share the same passion: travel as lived and told by those who truly set off.

While planning a trip to the LOFOTEN for summer 2023 using the excellent guide *"Randonner aux Lofoten"*, we discovered this trek.

Sure, it’s rated as difficult, but it lets you cross the LOFOTEN on foot from north to south in 11 stages, covering 160 km and 9,193 m of elevation gain (or the reverse, of course).

So, it’s a multi-day hike, with wild camping, and no need to rent a car. Awesome...

And here we are at the end of September 2024. Another trip focused on arches—I never get tired of them. Every time I check one off my list, another gets added. Often it's a photo I've seen online or in the NABS (Natural Arches and Bridges Association) magazine, which I'm a member of. I also scour the WAD (World Arches Database) and make a list of arches I want to visit. Fewer and fewer "viewpoints" now—I've done all the most famous ones, and unless the sky is amazing, the photos start to look the same. Since my goal is still photography, in addition to hiking.

Hi there,

First attempt at a travel journal for me and first post after 7 years away from this forum. 😮 I went to La Palma island for 15 days in September 2025. After visiting Lanzarote in February, I was looking for a different and greener island. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. 😎

Over-the-top skyscrapers? You’ll get the idea when you see the photo illustrating this travel journal—though it might change as the trip goes on.

The sheer number of markets is what makes them larger-than-life, not necessarily their size (though Chatuchak is a beast!). Day markets, night markets, floating markets, fresh produce markets, fish markets, meat markets, spice markets, fabric markets… and even amulet markets. For luck, good fortune, protection.

What makes Bologna unique are its porticoes, which have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2021: 62 km of arcades along the buildings that let you walk sheltered from the sun or rain. Back in 1288, the municipality required houses to include private porticoes for public use. In the city center, you can stroll under 38 miles of porticoes in various styles, some more ornate than others, with a dominant palette of red tones.

So Kate and I spent a week in Istanbul. For her, who had already visited, it was a return; for me, a discovery.

As we’ve now made a habit of, I write the texts and she posts her photos. We hope this illustrated story, crafted together, will revive beautiful memories for those who know the city and inspire others to discover it.

We did the Langtang trek (hike) from September 10th to 17th, with the first and last days being the trip from Kathmandu and back—so 6 days of actual walking. It’s a fairly well-known trek but definitely not as famous or crowded as the Annapurna or Everest ones, which is why we chose it.

After a few requests like "are you going to write a travel journal" and especially the renewed pleasure from reading other travelers' travel journals about Japan or elsewhere on this forum or others, I've decided to share my 4th installment in the Land of the Rising Sun here.

Hi everyone, In mid-July 2025, we were lucky enough to spend about ten days in Bulgaria. We did a 10-day road trip exploring this beautiful and underrated Balkan country!

As mentioned in the title, a travel journal focused on St. Lucia and iSimangaliso ("this place is miraculous" = Zulu translation) over various stays spanning about twenty years.

This journal recounts a trip to Rajasthan that’s already over a year old and that I’m only now getting around to writing up. The summer of 2024 marked my return to India—my tenth trip—after six long years away since my last solo wanderings in Tamil Nadu back in 2018 (the journal for which is published on this site).

Why not play to win your next vacation?

We’re offering a little game (okay, fine, it’s not a walk in the park—you’ll have to do some digging!) with DirecTravel: the prize is 5 nights for one person at the Nilaya Experience guesthouse, in the heart of Kerala, India.

Hey fellow travelers,

This isn’t meant to be a full-on travel journal—just a little springtime dip into the Moroccan coast (and maybe a bit more if we hit it off). For our 3rd trip to this country, we set off for 8 days in early June 2025, confident we’d be greeted by non-stop sunshine...

I’ve been waiting nearly 15 years for this day!! I travel a lot, but this one—this is MY TRIP🙂 It kept getting postponed because... I wanted to do this trip with the right person... because I have a Turkish stamp in my passport and apparently that means they won’t issue a visa... because of COVID... and then because... Then China rolls out a 30-day visa exemption, and boom—it’s go time!

New life downloading in progress for three weeks! And for that, Flo and I launched a public tender... A public tender? What's the connection with a travel journal?

What if your travel memories had a place in a real journal? 🌍

Back-to-school season is when we get back into our routines, but it’s also a time to reflect on the great summer memories. We often promise ourselves we’ll organize our photos, jot down our stories... and then life gets busy. Memories slowly fade, stuck on our phones...

That’s where MyAtlas travel journals come in. They let you gather your stories, images, and emotions in a beautiful keepsake you can hold onto and share. It’s like a personal diary, but illustrated by your travels.

Creating your journal also extends the travel experience: reliving your photos, rediscovering forgotten details, and bringing those moments back to life.

Use the code WELCOME10 for 10% off your first album ;)

I’ve kept quiet about them... to preserve them. Those are the words of a passionate traveler who recently wrote to us. For years, he’s been discovering rare, authentic places... and chooses to say nothing. Out of respect. Out of fear of ruin. Out of love for secrecy. What would you do?

A server walks down the central aisle offering crepes for sale, which I suspect are filled with ground beef. I'm in Central Asia, in Uzbekistan, somewhere between Bukhara and Samarkand.

I chose the title "notes"—random notes, drafts, I'm not quite sure what I'll write, but it's certain this won't be a linear travel journal.

Okay, Palermo—we know it. We go there to marvel at the architectural wonders born from the Arab-Norman-Byzantine-Gothic blend. And rightly so. We also go to treat our taste buds to all sorts of delights, both savory and sweet. Rightly so, too.

Hi there, Not only do I love the countryside, but I’m also really into trains, so I’m starting this photo thread dedicated to trains in Thailand (I bet most of us have taken one at some point...).

February 9th is a pivotal day during my trip to Thailand. Up until that date, my focus had been on cities, temples, and other urban landmarks. Starting February 10th, I’ll finally leave the city behind for the outskirts—places with a different pace of life, farther from tourism, more genuine, more authentic... Then comes the idyllic surroundings of Chiang Mai, nature, the countryside, the mountains...

Off on new adventures!!! For my wife’s 60th birthday, I really wanted to make her happy. While I usually pick warm, sunny destinations, she’d rather go somewhere we won’t suffer from the heat. So, it’s off to Norway!! A real challenge for me—a southern guy who’s as cold-sensitive as they come.

Mid-June, two Auvergnats on the starting blocks—it’s the big departure for the former Yugoslavia! We’d already visited a few spots and hidden gems in northern Croatia back in 2019, and we’re keeping the momentum going by planning a trip to the south of the country and then Montenegro.

On the way back, we’ll drift into Bosnia-Herzegovina just to mix things up a bit!

We’ve read it all about Bali: mass tourism, non-stop parties, ferry disasters, the kingdom of “Instagrammers,” pollution, “Bali belly”... But luckily, this island isn’t just about Kuta’s beaches and the Lempuyang Temple.

I’m kicking off my first travel journal since VF reopened!

This will mostly be to share my impressions and a few photos, with a bit of a delay, but I’m starting this journal while I’m still here.

A big thank you to those who helped me plan this trip!

I was able to organize this trip to one of the most expensive countries in the world thanks to the home-exchange principle. Not necessarily a direct swap, but through a points system, which is more flexible for choosing where you want to go without it having to be a reciprocal exchange.

A travel journal, it's been a while!

I have to say, my personal situation has "a little" changed since my last journals (my 3 kids are grown up + a divorce finalized in early 2021). So, no more long-haul family destinations—now I’m focusing on multi-day hikes for my vacations. I found a hiking buddy in 2021 to join me on the Laugavegur trek in Iceland, but this year, 2022, no one’s available.

After southern Tanzania, I’m sharing a travel story about the Cantal region... For us, the Cantal was a real "Terra Incognita"!! We’d seen some tempting TV reports, so we decided to fill this gap—especially when it came to the landscapes.

We were invited to a friend’s wedding in beautiful Brittany, so we took the chance to spend a few days there on holiday—first on the Pink Granite Coast and then in Cornwall.

Kattegat Tour and a bit further north! Kattegat isn’t just the name of the village in the TV series *Vikings*—it’s also the name of the body of water separating Denmark from Sweden... the sea, basically! Further north, you’ve got Norway...