My favorite travel journal entries are when I capture sights and sounds of the place, explore my feelings during the trip or really look at the world in a different way. Like most people, I struggled with what to write in my travel journal and to capture these memories. That’s why I so often use a writing prompt to help focus my entry or explore something new I hadn’t thought about or noticed. Writing prompts are fantastic to use in your travel journal and the more creative the better. Here are 100+ travel journal ideas to try on your next trip.
15 Best Prompts Before the Trip
Anticipation is a huge part of enjoying a vacation and making it last in your mind. All of these prompts are incredible at starting that enjoyment early and capturing your thoughts and feelings before the trip. While writing, try to take a few minutes beforehand to really focus on your destination and tap into the feelings of traveling.
- What I’m most excited about for the trip is…
- The reason I chose this destination is…
- One thing I really want to happen on this trip is…
- The food I’m most excited to try is…
- The best book I’ve read about this destination is…
- I can’t forget to pack…
- The best travel advice I’ve received is…
- One souvenir I really want to bring home is…
- One thing I really want to learn on this adventure is…
- Some interesting facts I’ve researched about my destination are…
- Write a letter to yourself that you can read on the trip.
- On this trip I really want to feel…
- On this trip I really want to see…
- When I come home from this trip I want to feel…
- My top five dream vacations are….
15 Best Prompts During the Trip
During the trip, writing prompts are incredibly helpful for keeping you in the present moment and aware of your surroundings and tapped into how you feel. Try using these in the morning as a check in before you start your day, during the day to focus your senses and capture the immediacy of the sights and sounds around you or at night to decompress and reflect on what you saw and did that day.
- My first impression of the new place is…
- The songs I’m listening to and the books I’m reading are…
- My favorite meal of the day was…
- An activity I really enjoyed today was…
- One new thing I saw today was…
- One thing I miss about home is…
- I feel different now than when I’m at home in these ways…
- Describe the scene around you right now…
- Something I thought I’d enjoy but didn’t was…
- Something I thought I wouldn’t enjoy but I did was…
- Something that made me laugh today was…
- The most relaxing part of the day was…
- Something I want to bring home with me but can’t is…
- One unexpected thing I saw/experienced today was…
- One thing I’m going to miss about this trip is…
15 Best Prompts After the Trip
Use these prompts after your trip to reflect on the experience as a whole. I really like taking time to use these prompts and reflect as it completes the story of the trip.
- My favorite part of the whole trip was…
- I would/wouldn’t recommend this trip to a friend because…
- One thing I really miss about the trip is…
- My favorite meal of the whole trip was…
- The funniest moment of the trip was…
- The top five highlights of the trip were…
- My favorite souvenir I bought is…
- How do I feel different now that I’m home?
- The most surprising part of the trip was…
- Something I wish I did, but didn’t get the chance was…
- Advice I would like to give myself before my next vacation is…
- If I return to this vacation spot, I am definitely going back to…
- If I return to this vacation spot, I am definitely not going back to…
- Something about this vacation, I will never forget is…
- The vacation I want to take next is…
Three Things
These are fantastic for a quick entry. Challenge yourself to not think about it too much and just write the first things that come to mind.
- Three things you must pack on any trip
- Top three dream travel destinations
- Top three trips you’ve taken
- Top three dream travel companions
- Top three books on traveling
100 Things I Love
This is a great way to challenge yourself and keeps you on the lookout for new things while traveling. While you’re on your trip, capture your favorites of the below items. Once you fill out the whole list, it adds up to 100 things you loved about the trip. Quick and easy, but it adds up to something really unique in the end.
10 Activities
10 Restaurants
10 People
10 Foods
10 Overheard Conversations
6 Drinks/Beverages
4 Desserts
10 Animals
10 Songs
10 Book
10 Travel Quotes
Confessions
On the pages of your journal you can confess anything. Use it to capture your most wild and wonderful thoughts and feelings.
- What’s your secret travel desire?
- What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever done while traveling?
- What’s one travel story you would never tell your mother?
Quotes as Prompts
Travel quotes are fantastic prompts because they both inspire us and make us think. You can use any travel quote you find as a prompt, just by reflecting on it or responding to it. Here are some of my favorites to respond to. If you want more travel quote ideas check out my list of favorites here.
- “If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody.” – Anthony Bourdain
- Do you agree with this quote? What are ways you have or want to ‘move’ in your life? What are trips you want to go on that are ‘across the ocean?’ What are trips you want to go to ‘across the river’ i.e. in your own hometown?
- “If you’re brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old, resentments and out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you.” — Elizabeth Gilbert
- What ‘familiar and comforting’ things are you leaving or do you want to leave behind on this trip? What do you hope to learn on this trip? Think back to previous trips, when have you faced things about yourself that were hard and what truth was revealed after you moved through it?
- “We can’t jump off bridges anymore because our iPhones will get ruined. We can’t take skinny dips in the ocean because there’s no service on the beach and adventures aren’t real unless they’re on Instagram. Technology has doomed the spontaneity of adventure and we’re helping destroy it every time we Google, check-in, and hashtag.” ― Jeremy Glass
- Do you agree or disagree with this quote? How do you want your relationship with technology to be on your trip? How can you invite more spontaneity and less technological connection for the duration of your trip?
- “The person you have known a long time is embedded in you like a jewel. The person you have just met casts out a few glistening beams & you are fascinated to see more of them. How many more are there? With someone you’ve barely met the curiosity is intoxicating.” ― Naomi Shihab Nye
- Which parts of yourself are you fascinated to meet on this trip? What are you curious about within yourself and how can this trip bring that side of you out and meet those ‘few glistening beams?’
- “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain
- What do you want to take from this trip? What good thing do you want to leave behind?
Visual Journaling Prompts
Anything you see can spark an idea and become a writing prompt. While you’re on vacation your eyes are taking in so much and a simple map can spark a myriad of thoughts and feelings in a way a question prompt sometimes can’t. I think you’ll be surprised at what a visual prompt can spark. Remember to include the item that sparked the writing in your journal. This way you’ll have a written memory and a visual memory together, making it that much stronger.
- Before the trip, go through your books and pamphlets about your destination and find any images that catch your attention. Use each one as a prompt to write about your anticipation of the trip.
- During your trip, be on the lookout for visual prompts during your day. It might be a map, museum guide or photo you take. Use what you find as a prompt to write about the activities of the day.
- After your trip, look through your photographs and choose a few that capture your attention. Use them as a prompt to write about your thoughts after your trip.
The Most . . .
There are lots of highs and lows on any trip. Capture them with these fun prompts.
- The most terrifying moment of the trip was. . .
- The most fun I had on the trip was. . .
- The most surprised I was on the trip happened when ….
- The most disappointing thing about the trip was…
- The thing I’m looking forward to the most is…
- The most exciting thing about planning the trip is…
- The most exciting thing that happened on the trip was…
Lists
You can create lists of many things, such as the following:
- Places you’ll visit on the tip
- Five activities you want to do on the trip.
- Make a list of all the places you want to visit.
- Make a list of all the places you have visited.
- Make a list of the names of all the people you met on your trip.
- Make a list of all of the movies you watched, books you read and music you listened to to prepare for the trip.
- Make a list of all of the movies you watched, books you read and music you listened to during your trip.
- Make a list of all the things you did on the trip that you never thought you would.
- Make a list of your top five favorite vacations
- Make a list of your top five goals for the trip.
Ask “If” Questions
“If” questions take you out of reality for the moment and ask you to imagine new possibilities. I find that this part of my brain is much easier to access when I’m in the vacation/travel mindset. Sometimes in my day-to-day life, possibilities seem far away, but on a trip, anything seems possible. I like to capture this energy and write down my true hopes and dreams that I can read when I’m home again and needing to see new possibilities.
- If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
- If you could change one thing about your current trip, what would it be?
- If you could go back and relive any trip you’ve taken in your life, what would it be and why?
- If you could live in any of the places you’ve traveled to, where would it be and why?
- If you could go on a trip with any fictional character, who would it be and why?
- If you could change one thing about your current trip what would it be and why?
Favorites
So many wonderful things can happen on a trip. Capture your favorite parts with these prompts.
- My favorite restaurant we ate on the trip was…
- My favorite part of the day was…
- My favorite interaction with a local was…
- My favorite photo opportunity was… (include the picture!)
- My favorite conversation I had on the trip was…
Interview and Respond
If you’re traveling with family or a companion, interview them using some of the questions below. Write down their answers in your journal and then when the conversation is over, go back and respond if you agree or disagree.This will bring your travel partner into your journal in a really fun and interesting way. They’re a big part of the trip, so capturing their point of view, you’ll learn something about them and yourself.
- What was your favorite part of the trip?
- If you could add one more stop to this trip what would it be and why?
- What was something that surprised you during this trip?
- If you could travel with any person living or dead, who would it be and why?
- Do you like adventure trips or relaxation trips more, why?
Express Your Emotions
Get still and tap into your emotions with these prompts.
- My happiest memory of any trip is…
- My happiest memory of my current trip is…
- My saddest memory is . . .
- When I tried something new on this trip I felt…
- When I went outside my comfort zone I felt…
- The most surprising emotion I’ve felt on this trip is…
- Some of the things that make me happy while traveling are. . .
- What is the dominant emotion in your life during your current trip?
Write a Letter
Sometimes writing to a specific audience that isn’t yourself helps bring our different information and insights during a trip. Try writing a letter to a specific person about your trip and see what comes up for you.
- Write a letter to your travel companion
- Write a letter to your future self
- Write a letter to your best friend about what you did that day.
- Write a letter to a friend you know would enjoy the activity you did that day. Write them about it and why it made you think of them
Dream Big
Use these to tap into all the possibilities, hopes and dreams and see what comes up for you. I hope you surprise yourself!
- Where would you travel if money were no object?
- What would you ask for if a genie granted you three wishes?
- What’s your wildest travel dream?
- What would you do if you could live a day on this trip without consequences?
- If you could learn any language what would it be and how would you use it?
- What would your perfect day on this trip be like?
- Close your eyes and imagine the most relaxing trip you could take. What is it like?
Keeping a travel journal on a trip is an amazing way to capture the memories on a trip. I hope you found some prompts to spark your creativity for your next trip. What are your favorite prompts that I didn’t include. Comment below, I’d love to hear them. Happy writing!