I’ve been looking for a simple chart where I can keep track of our travels and while I’ve not found the ideal tool yet, this is my latest find at http://www.amcharts.com

The only problem is while I can share it, download it and modify it, I don’t seem to be able to save it – so the hunt goes on.

Trip advisor do a neat travel map that plots cities visited, but in the end it just looks like a cluster of pins, and it’s not very user friendly from a display point of view.

But why the fuss?  I suppose it’s nice to see how far we’ve made it around our world so far ( 397 cities, 26% of the world according to Trip Advisor), or conversely how little you have seen in real terms, and how much more is left to explore.   I know I’m never going to see 100% of it, but mapping your travels can have some added bonuses.  Like…

Zooming in on Europe reminds me that there’s a couple of places I’ve yet to visit, and this has prompted me to start planning ahead.   Close to home, there’s the Isle of Man.   That should be easy enough to accomplish.

Then there’s Belgium.  I’ve always hankered to go there, so I’m guessing that could be elevated up our short trip list. Where do you recommend?  Bruge probably.

Andorra?  Is it worth it?

Austria – Well that’s always been on my to do list – Vienna without a doubt, maybe a Christmas market, or an Andre Rieu concert?   Then there’s Salzburg, and that sound of music tour…

Of course this mapping has its disadvantages too – just because we’ve visited a couple of cities in Italy, it doesn’t warrant colouring the whole of Italy in!  I’m reminded that the lakes are still beckoning us, and it would be easy to overlook places with this blanket approach.

If you have any suggestions for a good mapping app that fits in with what I’m after, let me know.