How to Start a Travel Journal ~ 9 Tips for Beginners
In this post I show you how you can start a travel journal in a very simple way.
Starting a journal while travelling can be a wonderful way to deepen your experience, be more present, and give yourself a creative outlet that makes the whole trip even more memorable.
But it might seem like a big thing to take on, and maybe that’s why you hesitate to try.
With this post, I want to show you how easy and fun it is to start your own travel journal and document your new experiences. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It can be as elaborate or as simple as you want it to be.
When I find something difficult or overwhelming, I always try to make it as simple as possible in the beginning, and then add to it later when I’m ready for it.
Travel journalling is a good example for that. You can start with the bare minimum, and it will still be meaningful.
1. Start with the Simplest Version
What’s the easiest way to begin a travel journal? Just grab a spiral notebook or pick up a journal from a local shop, something easy and available, and start jotting down a few bullet points each day.
Keep a simple travel log.
At the end of each day you can write a few things you experienced, the places you visited, or just a little recap of the day. It doesn’t need to be long. Just five minutes each evening is enough to capture a memory, a feeling, a favourite cafe, a beautiful walk, or a funny moment that happened.
Later, when you look back over your journal, you’ll have those tiny details recorded, the ones you’d probably forget otherwise. And if you ever return to the same country or someone you know is planning to go there, you’ll have a little treasure trove of tips and memories to share: restaurants you loved, hidden beaches, scenic hikes – whatever it is you enjoy.
Even just doing this—quick, simple notes—makes your journal a lovely keepsake. But of course, if you want to, you can add a little more.
2. Collect Little Treasures Throughout Your Day
If you want to make your travel journal feel a bit more alive, start collecting tiny mementos as you go about your day.
These can be small things like sugar packets from a cafe, a tea bag wrapper, train tickets, a receipt, or even a leaf or flower pressed between the pages.
You can usually get a free map from a tourist office and glue it in. Mark the places you visited or the route you walked that day. It adds such a lovely, visual layer to your journal—and suddenly, without much effort, your pages start to tell a richer story.
3. Add Some Creativity
If you’re feeling a little more creative, it can be fun to bring a few art supplies along. A small pack of coloured pens or markers can make your journal more interesting. Or, if you want to try painting, a tiny travel watercolour set can be a wonderful addition to your journalling toolkit.
You don’t need any artistic abilities to have fun with these supplies. Just add a splash of colour in the corners of your page or doodle little stars, bubbles, or flowers.
Maybe you draw a quick sketch of a beautiful view or a pastry you tried that day. Allow yourself to play around, capture some of the small details that you encounter on your road trip, hike or when visiting a new city.
You could also just decorate your pages with washi tape. The most important thing is to enjoy the creative process and to create a record of those new experiences.
In this video I talk about my favourite nature journal art supplies, which are also great for keeping a travel journal.
4. Start Before You Leave
If you’re starting your travel journal before your trip begins, you can use the first few pages to map out your plans.
You might want to write down your packing list, your travel itinerary, or even just a few thoughts and feelings as you prepare to go.
What are you hoping for?
What are you most excited about?
Are there any places or experiences on your bucket list for this trip?
These pages will help you remember how you felt before the journey began. You could also leave space to add your ferry or plane tickets.
And if you’re already on the road and didn’t do any of this beforehand, don’t worry at all. Just enjoy starting from where you are. You can always try this next time.
5. Use Prompts When You’re Stuck
Some days, it can be hard to know what to write. Maybe you’re tired or your day felt a bit uneventful, or maybe you’re just not sure where to begin. That’s where these simple travel journal prompts may help.
You could write:
- “The most surprising thing today was…”
- “Something that made me smile…”
- “Some of the smells I encountered were…”
- “A sound I’ll remember is…”
- “My favourite local food so far is…”
- “A few phrases in (language of your destination) are…”
You don’t have to write long answers. A few lines can spark a memory and might help you tune into your surroundings in a different way.
You could even create a little list of go-to prompts in the back of your journal to flip to when you need inspiration.
Get more prompts and inspiration in this FREE PDF:
6. Make It a Daily Habit (Even If It’s Just a Few Lines)
One of the best ways to keep your travel diary going—especially if it’s your first travel journal—is to make it a part of your daily rhythm. You don’t need to spend a lot of time on it. Even five or ten minutes in the evening, maybe while sitting at a coffee shop or unwinding at your guesthouse, is enough to keep those travel memories fresh.
You can jot down a few handwritten notes about where you went, how you felt, what you ate, or who you met. Sometimes just a simple journal entry is all it takes to capture the little details that would otherwise fade.
There’s no need to worry about empty pages—you don’t have to write every single day, and you certainly don’t need to fill the whole notebook on your trip. Just show up when you can, and create something small.
A sketch, a few bullet points, an idea or a thought.
7. Choose the Type of Journal That Suits You
Once you’ve started your first travel journal, you can look at a few more options.
There are so many different types of travel journals out there, and no one-size-fits-all approach.
Some people love spiral notebooks. They’re simple, lightweight, and easy to tuck into a bag. Others might prefer beautiful notebooks with thick pages, or even a sketchbook journal for quick drawings and watercolour paintings.
If you’re into organizing and planning, a bullet journal style might work really well. You can include to-do lists, bucket lists, and little mini travel logs all in one place.
And if you love tech, a digital journal or online travel journal might be a great way to document your trip with photos and typed notes, especially if you want to share bits on social media later.
8. Let It Be Personal and Messy
Your journal doesn’t need to look perfect. You’re not creating a photo book or a polished article—you’re creating something personal and meaningful to you. A personal journal can be messy, colourful, scribbly, and full of doodles or misspelled words.
Don’t worry about grammar or making the pages Instagram-worthy. Use your favourite pens, doodle in the margins, write sideways if you want to.
Use a glue stick or Pritt Stick to add little bits of your day, like the corner of a napkin from a great place you ate, or a note someone wrote you.
9. A Valuable Tool for the Future
Your travel journal might be something you’re doing for fun right now, but it can also be a really valuable tool in the future.
Looking back over your old journal can help you remember details you’d otherwise forget—like the name of that quirky little coffee shop, the business card of a local artist, or that important information about the tricky train schedule.
It can also become a source of inspiration for future trips. You might find to-do lists, half-finished bucket lists, or favourite experiences you’d love to revisit.
And if someone you know is planning to visit the same places, your journal can be a goldmine of travel stories, tips, and recommendations.
Even if you never share it, your journal is a record of your real life. Your thoughts, your experiences, and how you’ve grown along the way.
I hope you give it a try. The best way to begin is simply to begin.
Page by page your journal will grow with you. And each entry becomes part of a collection of memories. A creative, personal reflection of all the new places, new cultures, and new things you’ve explored.
Wishing you journal pages full of happy travel memories!
Find more journaling posts and videos over here.
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