How to make a travel journal

What Is a Travel Journal?

A travel journal is your personal space to document your trips. It can include words, photos, small sketches, ticket stubs, or even stickers from places you loved. There's no single right format. It can be messy or minimal; what matters is that it feels personal.

Unlike a regular diary, it's grounded in place. The point is to put yourself back there when you read it years later.

Why Do People Keep Travel Journals?

Most people keep travel journals because memory fades faster than we expect. But there are a few other reasons, too:

• Sometimes it’s the small things you don’t want to lose, like the sounds of a street or the taste of something you tried for the first time.

• Other times, it’s about making sense of a trip that changed you in ways you didn’t expect. Writing it down just helps it click.

• Photos are great, but they don’t capture everything. They miss how a place felt, or what was going through your head at that moment.

• It’s also just fun. You get to stick things in, play around with pages, and make something that actually feels like yours.

• And without even realising it, you start paying more attention to where you are, because you know you’ll come back and write about it.

• In the end, it turns into something personal. Not perfect, not polished, but something you’ll be glad you kept.

7 Common Types of Travel Journaling

Honestly, there’s no one right way to do this. Just pick something you’ll actually stick to, not what looks perfect on the internet.

1. Daily Trip Log

The simplest option. You write what happened each day, where you went, what you ate, who you met, and what surprised you. That's it. Do it before bed while it's fresh. It’s simple, but surprisingly effective. Read it back five years later, and you'll feel like you're right there again.

2. Visual Travel Journaling

Less writing, more building. You layer PET tapes, washi tapes, stickers, and photos to make the page look and feel like the destination. A coastal spread in blues and whites. A night market page full of warm oranges and neon. The text is secondary; sometimes it's just a date. The visual does the talking. You don't need artistic ability. In this style, the supplies do most of the work for you.

3. Free-Writing Journaling

No rules. You write whatever comes, feelings, observations, half-formed thoughts, and complaints about the hostel Wi-Fi. No layout. No prompts. No pressure to make it look good. This style is great when a trip is doing something to you emotionally. It's raw. It's honest. And it's usually the stuff you'll find most meaningful later.

4. Bullet Travel Journaling

Borrowed from the bullet journal system. Short bullet points, symbols, clean, minimal layouts. An itinerary up front. A daily log. A list of restaurants to revisit. It’s fast to maintain and works well for organised travellers who find blank pages paralysing. If you only have ten minutes on a transit day, this style fits easily into that time.

5. Gratitude Travel Journaling

Each day, write three to five things you were grateful for. Nothing fancy. The local who pointed you in the right direction. The meal was better than expected. The moment you sat somewhere and felt completely at peace. It may sound simple, but it can subtly change how you experience your trip. Even on bad days, especially on bad days, it gives you a reason to open the journal.

6. Scrapbook Journaling

The most tactile style. You collect everything, boarding passes, museum tickets, restaurant cards, candy wrappers, tiny maps, and weave them into your pages. Open it years later, and you won't just see the trip. You'll feel it. The physical stuff triggers memories that words and photos miss entirely.

7. Manifestation Travel Journaling

Before the trip, you write what you hope to feel, see, and discover. During and after, you look back and see what actually happened. It sounds a bit out there, but it works well if you use travel for personal growth. And it makes for interesting reading later, especially when reality turned out completely different from the plan.

How to Start a Travel Journal and Make It a Habit

Before getting into the steps, remember that your travel journal is for you. Not for Instagram. Not for anyone else. It doesn't need to look perfect. A messy page with one stuck-on receipt beats a blank page you were too scared to touch.

Step 1: Choose the Right Portable Journal

Choose something that fits easily in your bag. A5 size is the sweet spot, big enough to use, small enough to carry. Look for thick paper if you plan to use glue or tape. Dotted or blank pages work better than lined ones for mixed layouts. And if you're going to stuff it with mementos, get one with an elastic closure. Otherwise, it can burst open in your bag, and you might lose something important.

Step 2: Pick a Style That Fits Your Journey

Look at the seven types above and pick the one that feels easiest to maintain, not the one that looks the best. New to journaling? Start with a daily log or gratitude journal. Already have a collection of washi tapes? Go straight into visual or scrapbook style. You can mix styles mid-trip. Most people do.

Step 3: Collect as You Go

Save things: tickets, receipts, coffee sleeves, little maps, candy wrappers from local shops. Keep a small pouch in your bag just for this. You don't have to stick everything in right away. Save it for a quiet evening. But the habit of collecting means you always have something physical for the page, even on days you didn't write a word.

Step 4: Use Travel Prompts When Stuck

Every traveller gets the blank page moment. You want to write but have nothing. Prompts fix this fast. Write a short list at the front of your journal and pull from it whenever your brain goes quiet: What surprised me today? What did this place smell like? Who did I talk to? What do I never want to forget? One answered prompt is a real entry.

Step 5: Create a Travel Routine

Find a slot in your travel day and attach journaling to it. Morning coffee. The train ride. Right before bed. You're not creating extra time; you're using time you already have. Even ten minutes produces entries that will matter more than you expect. Once the habit clicks, you'll reach for the journal the same way you reach for your phone.

Best Tips to Help Start and Improve Your Travel Journal

• Don't aim for perfect layouts. A messy, honest page beats a beautiful blank one every time.

• Leave white space for photos you'll print later. Plan your spreads with gaps.

• Use colour themes based on the destination. Earthy tones for a desert trip. Vivid blues for the coast.

• Revisit old journals before a new trip. Nothing sparks travel excitement like your own past adventures.

• Write during transit. Bus rides, train journeys, airport waits, that's free journaling time.

• Put the phone away. Writing by hand locks memories in better than typing.

• Start slow. One paragraph and one stuck-on receipt is a valid entry.

• Keep prompts at the front. Use them every time your brain won't cooperate.

• Add stickers and sketches. Pages don't have to be text-heavy to be meaningful.

• Keep the journal in your day bag. If it's buried in your luggage, it won't get used.

• Review old entries. They'll show you what you actually love about travelling.

Travel Journaling Supplies That Make It Fun

The right supplies can make journaling easier and more enjoyable. The right supplies can make journaling easier and more enjoyable.

Travel Journals and Notebooks

Get one journal and notebook that feels good to use, not so precious you're afraid to mess them up. Thick paper handles glue and tape without warping. Look for notebooks designed for mixed media, especially those with thicker paper that can handle glue and tape.

Travel-Themed Stickers

Travel stickers do more visual work than ten minutes of drawing. Landmarks, local plants, transport icons, and one well-placed sticker ground a page in a specific place. Many brands offer travel-themed sticker collections designed for different destinations and styles.

PET Landscape Tapes

This is one element that can significantly improve the look of your pages. PET tape is semi-transparent and printed with scenery, mountain ranges, coastlines, city skylines, and forest layers. You stack them horizontally: sky at the top, mid-ground in the middle, foreground at the bottom. With a few layers, your page can start to feel more structured and visually engaging—no artistic skill needed.

Washi Tapes

The original journaling staple. Matte, soft, forgiving. Tear it by hand, write on top of it, peel it off and move it without ripping the page. Use it to frame photos, create borders, mount mementos, or add a stripe of colour. You’ll find a wide range of washi tapes of patterns, from florals to maps to vintage styles.

Scrapbooking Papers

Scrapbooking papers add background texture, making a flat page look dimensional. Tear them for a rustic look. Cut them clean for something more polished. Layer them under tapes and stickers as a base. The difference is immediately obvious, in the best way.

Where to Buy Travel Journal Books and Stickers?

You can find travel journaling supplies online or in local stationery stores. Focus on quality and ease of use rather than quantity. A few good tools are better than having too many things you never use.

MooBoom doesn't just sell rolls of tape. They sell collections, sets designed to work together across a full spread. The quality is consistent. No weird smells. No tape that snaps when you pull it. No designs that fade in two months. And with over 1,000 designs, there's something for every travel style.

When choosing journaling supplies, look for:

• Huge theme variety, tropical, mountain, urban, countryside. A collection for every destination.

• Over 1,000+ designs across stickers, tapes, washi rolls, and scrapbooking papers.

• Artist-designed, created with real intention, not mass-produced.

• Vivid PET tapes, semi-transparent, high detail, made for scenery layering.

• Consistent new arrivals, fresh designs drop regularly.

• Affordable pricing, quality supplies without the boutique price.

• Exclusive MOOBOOM tapes, designs you won't find anywhere else.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I write on the first page of my travel journal?

Treat it lightly. A lot of people use page one as a cover page, trip name, destination, dates, or a quote. Others do a packing list or rough itinerary. There's no wrong answer. Simply open to the first page and start writing. That's all it takes to get started.

How do I journal while travelling without losing sightseeing time?

Use transit time, not sightseeing time. Buses, trains, airports, lunch breaks, that's your journaling window. Keep entries short while you're on the move: bullet points, quick notes, a rough sketch. You can expand and decorate later. Just capture the raw material in the moment.

Is it okay to skip a few days in my travel journal?

Yes. Some days you're too tired. Too absorbed in the experience. Just eating your way through a new city and not thinking about anything else. That's completely fine. When you come back to the journal, jot a quick note and keep going. A skipped day doesn't ruin anything.

What are common travel journaling mistakes?

Waiting for the perfect moment and never starting. Trying to write too much and burning out by day three. Leaving the journal in the hotel room instead of your bag. Forgetting to date entries and comparing your journal to polished spreads online. Yours looks different. That's not a problem.

How do I stick tickets and mementos into my journal?

A glue stick works for flat items like tickets and photos. Double-sided tape gives a cleaner hold for heavier stuff. Washi tape is great for things you might want to remove later. It holds well but peels off cleanly. For anything bulky, glue a small envelope inside the cover and store it there.

Can I make a travel journal after the trip is over?

Yes. Lots of people do. Use your photos, saved mementos, and notes from your phone. You lose the in-the-moment rawness, but you gain perspective. You already know which moments mattered. Give them the space they deserve.

How do I use PET tapes to create scenery?

Layer them horizontally. Sky tape at the top. A mid-ground strip, trees, hills, and buildings, in the middle. A foreground element at the bottom. Because PET tape is semi-transparent, the layers blend, creating depth. Three strips, two minutes, and your page looks designed. MooBoom's PET tapes are made for this; the tones work together so nothing clashes.

How do I stay consistent while on the move?

Keep the bar very low. One sentence counts—a date and a location count. A stuck-on ticket with nothing written around it counts. The goal is to keep reaching for the journal until it becomes a reflex. Keep it in your bag. Use prompts when you're stuck. And remember, these pages will matter to you more than you think.

Conclusion

A travel journal makes creativity feel safe. It gives your trips somewhere to live after you come home, not just in a photo album, but on pages you can hold and flip through.

You don’t need a detailed plan or advanced skills to begin. You just need a notebook you like using and the willingness to put something down. Start small, add a ticket, write a few sentences, or place a sticker on the page. That's a travel journal entry. That's all it takes.

Your next trip deserves to be remembered, not just in photos, but in something you can revisit anytime. Start your travel journal and make those moments last—over 1,000 designs, artist-made collections, and exclusive PET tapes.