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An online travel journal is a great way to document your trip and keep friends and family in the loop while you travel. With a journal you can record events as they happen–or soon after–and ensure that you preserve the memories forever.

There are a number of options available if you want to record your journey. You can always opt for a service like blogger to tell your story. Many blog sites are free and most allow you to upload photos and videos in addition to writing about your travels. But there are also a number of travel-oriented sites available. These sites allow you to connect with fellow travelers and share your experiences. They also provide an already receptive audience. Think about it: People go to travel sites looking for travel stories. How much easier for them to find yours when it’s publicly available and listed on the site by country? Of course, you may want to keep your journals private and that option is available on most services.

Following are some travel sites to check out. Most are free, so check out a couple to see which one you prefer:

Mapness uses Google Maps to create an interactive travel journal that you can share with family and friends. The Google Map charts your trip, along the route you can add words, photos and video to describe and document your experiences. The service is free.

Protea.com, a UK-based service, allows you to make unlimited journal entries to which you can add pictures. The free service offers a travel journal of up to 10 pages with unlimited journal entries to which you can add photos, a choice of templates and the ability to send automatic emails when you update. For £19.99 per year plus £10 for an optional domain name, you get 100 pages and more templates.

TravelBlogger allows you to add photos, videos and text to your online travel journal. Readers can comment on each entry. Your friends can receive emails when you update or they can subscribe to your RSS feed. A Google Maps feature allows you to show your readers where you’re going.

MyTripJournal offers both a free and a subscription service. The free journal features advertising. You can add photos and videos, map your trip with the IntelliMap service and auto email your friends. You also get a travel homepage that links to your various trip journals.

TravellersPoint offers both a diary and a blog service. The diary gives you the option of keeping your diary private or allowing access to only friends and family. You cannot include photos in your individual journal entries but you can provide links to a photo gallery. The blog feature allows you to insert photos, video and maps in entries. You also get commenting, the ability to have multiple authors, RSS syndication, the ability to customize your blog’s look and MMS functionality, which allows you to send pictures and captions ivia your mobile phone.

Traveljournals.net allows you to upload images and text. You also get a guestbook and can receive email from visitors.

Continento provides an interactive map to which you can add travel notes and upload pictures. The site also provides automatic emails to readers when you update.

eTravelDiary offers a variety of packages ranging from a free site that features ads to a platinum package that costs $8.95/month. Features depend on what package you you choose. The free site only allows you to have five readers and to upload round 25 pictures. Available features include an itinerary page that allows you to plot your route, public and private message boards and automatic emails when you update. For the full freight, you can invite up to 100 people to your private site and have the option of allowing public access to your diary, plus you’ll get statistics on who’s visiting your site, RSS feeds for your public site and the ability to ban readers if desired. Platinum members can upload around 750 pictures.

TravelHall allows members to create no frills, online diaries. No pictures or maps, though there is an optional discussion board.

Fuzzy Travel allows you to create your own travel blog with unlimited pictures and video. You can customize your blog’s appearance, manage comments, plot your route on an interactive map and send automatic notices via email or RSS feed to your readers.

Trip to somewhere is another no frills site that allows you to publish journal entries and offers you a gallery in which to post photos. Visitors can also post messages.

GetJealous.com offers a free journal and packages ranging for £15, £25 and £30. The free site only allows you to publish 40 photos while the most expensive option allows you to publish up to 2,000 photos. All packages feature a map, unlimited diary entries and a message board. Premium subscribers can track visitor statistics, make their diaries private and send pictures via phone.

TravelPod offers a free journal on which ads appear or an ad-free premium package for $39.95 a year. Both services allow unlimited photos, MP3s and videos as well as email notify for up to 500 people. You can also share your diaries on social network sites like Facebook and MySpace. The premium service also allows you to make your journal private.

World Nomads is free and doesn’t feature ads. The site allows you to write and tag travel stories and link them to your travel map. RSS and commenting is available.

Anywherever is a free service that gives you unlimited journal entries and photos with comments. You can plot your trip on a map and restrict access to your journal entries.

(Photo via flickr cc)