30+ travel journal ideas for kids

2 May 2017

I am a lover of all things paper. I love beautiful paper, notebooks and writing with a pen. When travelling, I love to take something to write with me to write, stick tickets, maps, etc. And now, my kids want to copy me.
30+ travel journal ideas for kids: DIY, notebooks, printables, foreign language books, etc.

30+ travel journal ideas for kids

A couple of years back, I created a travel journal for my girl, then 4. She loved it so much that it has become a little tradition. I give her a notebook and she writes, draws, sticks tickets, etc. Sometimes, it is just a store-bought notebook, sometimes it is something more elaborate. But we always have paper at hand to write.



Here are some of the solutions we like best. Hope you find something to suit your needs.

DIY tutorials & examples


Here are 5 tutorials and examples of very simple and easy journals to make with/for the kids. 

Small Travel Bugs travel journal for kids
Travel journal for kids from Small Travel Bugs

1. Small Travel Bugs: step-by-step instructions on how to make a travel journal with 32 pages of free printables.  Really cute designs and beautiful paper too.

DIY journals for kids
DIY journal with video from Red Ted Art

2. Red Ted Art: instructions on making a notebook for kids (includes a video and full tutorial). Perfect to then use as a travel journal.

Oman travel journal for kids
Oman travel journal for kids by Third Culture Mama

3. Third Culture Mama has a lovely example of a book she made for her kids when visiting Oman. Simple and easy book to customise and draw inspiration from.

Art inspired travel journal by the Artful Parent
Kids travel journal by The Artful Parent

4. The Artful Parent has this amazing art-inspired travel journal. It is so simple and so creative. it is perfect for little hands.

Custom travel journal DIY
Our custom travel journal included a shell chart

5. the piri-piri lexicon: my very own custom version of the travel journal we made for our girl, 4, when we road tripped around Florida. it includes two free travel bingo printables too.

Free printables


If you are making your own travel journal, you may like to complement it with some printables that you can either add to your book or simply collate together to make a book. Here is a little selection of free printables.

Travel journal printable by Kids Travel Books
Travel journal printables by Kids Travel Books

6. Kids Travel Books has a free downloadable journal split into 26 different prompts and pages. All you need to do is sign-up for her newsletter (which is great by the way).

Travel journal Printables by We 3 Travel
Travel journal printable by We 3 Travel

7. We 3 Travel has a very simple 2-page printable free to download. Perfect for when you want something short and sweet with writing prompts.

Printable travel pages by Mom colored Glasses
Printable travel pages by Mom colored Glasses

8. Mom Colored glasses has an amazing collection of printable travel pages to make a binder or a book. You can pick and choose or download the whole thing.

Travel journal by Fab Fatale
Travel journal by Fab Fatale

9. Fab Fatale also has a great template for a travel journal for kids with cute illustrations for something simple and with space to draw.

Road trip games by The Joys of Boys
Road trip games by The Joys of Boys

10. Tons of travel printables to add to your travel journals to keep the kids occupied. Pinterest is full of them but we like this collection by The Joys of Boys.

Paid printables

Teachers pay Teachers has quite a few paid-for yet inexpensive printables you can download as PDFs and print at home to create your own travel journal. These are made by teachers or for teachers to hand to their students so they tend to be a little more educational. Here are two of my favourite ones.

Jet Setting travel journal printable
Jet Setting by Rulin' the Roost

11. Jet Setting by Rulin' the Roost
This journal is aimed at young children (up to 2nd grade) and includes pages like counting cars worksheets, writing prompts or keeping track of the weather.

Travel Journal for Kids
Travel Journal by Create Abilities

12. Travel Journal by Create Abilities
This is a huge 49 page download with plenty of writing prompts and fun pages (like tic-tac-toe) for up to 5th grade.

Foreign language journals

Raising a multilingual child? Going somewhere where they speak your target language? How about a travel diary in a foreign language?

Journal de mes vacances

13. Journal de mes vacances
There are three different journals in this series. They contain a lot of writing prompts, spaces to collect images or tickets and games. (Get the Journal de mes vacances on Amazon US, UK or France)

Reisebuch

14. Kinder Kรผnstler Reisebuch
A fun journal with lots of helpful vocabulary for language learners and young readers. (Get it on Amazon US, UK or France)

Travel journal in Portuguese

15. Caderno de viagens da Pilar
Between a book and a diary, this journal also exists in country-specific versions and it comes with stickers! I believe it is written in Brazilian Portuguese, but hey, better than nothing. Pilar, the little traveller, even has her own blog.

If searching for more, look for Reise Notizbuch (fรผr Kinder) in German, carnet de voyages (pour enfants) in French, caderno de viagem in Portuguese.

Generic journals


If you are after ready-made journals that are full of prompts but come ready to use, these are for you. These are not location-specific so will work for most travel destinations.



16. The Little Globetrotter's Travel Journal by Travel Bandits
A simple journal with lots of very general pages. Can be used for any kind of trip or, even better, as a  kind of way to keep track of all of our children's trips. I love the sheets of stickers included and the pins to add to the maps. Ship worldwide.

Kids Travel Journal

17. Kids' Travel Journal by Peter Pauper Press
A colourful travel journal with images and space to write. Easy to fill. No work required and works for any destination. (Get the Kids' Travel Journal on Amazon US, UK or France)

My travel journal by Lonely Planet

18. My Travel Journal by Lonely Planet Kids
Lots of inspiration to scribble, draw, colour, etc. Aimed at the 5 to 8 age range, it is a sure bet from a trusted source. (Get the Lonely Planet Travel Journal on Amazon US, UK or France)

My Travel Journal

19. My Travel Journal by AA Publishing
A sweet little journal with plenty of space to draw, add memories like photographs and tickets and write. (Get the My Travel Journal from Amazon US, UK or France)

I was here: a travel journal for the curious minded

20. I Was Here: A Travel Journal For The Curious Minded by Kate Pocrass
Technically not marketed at children, but this little journal is more of an activity book than a journal so would be perfect for older kids/tweens/teenagers. (Get the My Travel Journal from Amazon US, UK, or France)

Destination-focused journals




21. My Awesome Adventure
Bali & Sydney in two lovely spiral-bound (perfect for folding) travel journals. Lots of pages to colour, draw, take quizzes and generally learn while travelling, etc. Ship worldwide.

Gelato mini journal by Open Wide the World
Gelato mini-journal by Open Wide the World

22. Open Wide the World
Julie has two unsual but amazing free printables to either add to a journal or use on their own. The gelato mini-journal is perfect for Italy (because what child doesn't want to write about ice-cream?). The donut tasting printable is great for USA travels.


23. Leap & Hop
These are more guidebooks than travel journals but they are so lovely, I had to share. There are activities and prompts for little games with plenty of informative content. They include mostly Asia but also New York and Paris. (Get them on Amazon US, UK or France)

Map journal
Australian map journals by Journey Jottings

24. Map journals by Journey Jottings
This is not technically a journal but this Australia map was made to be written on. Perfect for little ones who prefer a visual support and not keen on writing. You could stick things to it, draw on it.

Postcards journal


How about doing something else than writing in a journal? 

Postcard journal
Postcard journal by Small Planet Studio

25. Postcards journal
Everyday/week you mail yourself or keep a postcard of your day and put them together when you are back home. This is not children-specific buy such a lovely thing to look back on with the added benefit of the pictures. Here is a fun video with a tutorial.

Blank notebooks


Nothing beats a blank notebook and your child's imagination. 


26. Moleskine
Yes, I am nuts. Yes, I give Moleskine journals to my kids. They are customizable, come with all kinds of paper choice (lines, blank, etc) and all colours. We love personalising them. Our favourite are these inexpensive ones: Amazon US, UK, France.

Ooly notebooks

27. Ooly notebooks
And just because these are fun and can be used for anything at any age. (Get the Ooly notebooks at Amazon US, UK or France)
Florida notebook at Cafe Press

28. Custom cover
You could also customize the cover of a plain notebook for that special trip with pictures or a map. Cafe Press and a lot of other printing services do that.

Bonus entries


I couldn't fit these in any category as they are a little special. If you have a reluctant write or a teenager, this might be for them.


29. Wreck this journal everywhere
This is the travel version of a popular journal. I say travel, but it is used very loosely. You could really take this one out on a weekend at grandma's or a round the world trip. (Get Wreck this journal at Amazon US, UK or France). There is also a French version of this journal (Amazon FR, UK, US).


30. Rant & Rave
It is a journal where they can choose to be positive or negative. Turn it over and it can be filled both ways. Genius for those teenager complaints. (Get the Rant & Rave journal at Amazon US, UK or France).


BONUS

And if you are still looking for a great travel journal, some friends and I put this one together. It is a paid printable but you can purchase it once and reuse it as many times as you like. Printing different pages for different occasions. We love it.

Travel journal



Further ideas


Family on the Loose is a great book about travelling with kids. One of its chapters is dedicated to writing travel journals. It is full of tips and ideas to get you started. Read Spanish Playground's review of that chapter on keeping a travel journal when travelling with kids here. (Get Family on the Loose on Amazon US, UK, France).

I love this article about the importance of travel journaling.

This article also contains prompts to get your children writing a travel journal.
 
http://www.thepiripirilexicon.com/2016/11/10-gift-ideas-for-little-travellers.html
More travel activity books here.


Find out more travel tips, DIY ideas, printables on my Pinterest board.



** This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing through those links costs you nothing, it just feeds my love of notebooks.**



2 comments

  1. This is such a great post, and so many ideas! Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a fabulous idea! This would be a great way to help my children remember all of our special vacations.

    ReplyDelete

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