Discover practical travel journal tips for European Christmas markets, including daily prompts, memory-keeping ideas, and ways to capture your experiences.
Travel Journaling is a Wonderful Way to Capture Your Memories
A staple on my travel packing list is a travel journal and a pen. On any given trip, I take hundreds of photos (let’s be honest, thousands). Pictures ensure that I have a visual souvenir to bring back with me and reminisce upon return. While a picture can absolutely be worth a thousand words, a picture on its own cannot always capture how you are feeling or thinking throughout the journey. Beyond that, there are so many times that my husband and I have experienced something totally wild on one of our trips that simply was not captured by the camera but was definitely a story we never want to forget (albeit not always good, but is absolutely a memory to recount for years to come).
Therefore, I highly recommend packing a travel journal on your next trip. Right around the corner is my next trip – the European Christmas markets! I will detail how I set up my travel journal to help me capture memories, moods, and moments while embarking on this exciting adventure!
Why a Travel Journal is Worth It
I am a digital planner through and through. I create detailed itineraries in Canva for every single trip. However, I am a hard-copy journalist to the core. I have spent years trying to find the ideal travel journal that will enable me to write to my heart’s content and also double as a scrapbook to insert ticket stubs, pictures, and keepsakes I collect on the journey.
After several years of searching, I finally landed on a watercolor notebook as being the best for this type of journaling. The pages are thick, which means no bleeding through to the next page, the ability to sketch or paint, and is ideal for scrapbook-style journaling.
You can find the notebook I use here:
[insert link to Amazon coming soon]
What You’ll Need
When it comes to journaling supplies while travelling, I like to keep it simple. I often have dreams of creating elaborate pages on-the-go, but the reality is you’ll be too busy seeing sites that there is not always ample time to just sit and decorate a page. Therefore, my tried and true method is to simply pack your journal and pen. Leave the watercoloring and scrapbooking for when you get home, but leave space in your journal as you go into insert keepsakes or pictures that inspired you.
A few journaling supplies that I always enjoy having on hand are:
- Favorite pen
- Scrapbook paper minis
- Washi tape
- Watercolors and brushes
- Glue dots or double sided tape
With these few items, you will be golden having enough journaling supplies to be minimalist but also creative.
These are a few of my go-tos:
[insert link to Amazon coming soon]
Step-by-Step Journal Setup
Cover
I have decorated the cover of my travel journals in numerous ways. One of the easiest is by taking a piece of patterned cardstock paper and cutting it to the size of the notebook cover. To secure the cover, use double-sided tape and press the cardstock to the outside cover. Then, voila, you have an elevated watercolor notebook.
For this trip, I opted to try something different by painting the cover with acrylic paint. I think the result was satisfactory! I definitely need to work on my painting skills but if you have a knack for painting then this may be a fun, easy option for you! Either way, I enjoyed trying a new approach to a decorated notebook cover.
Overview Page
I decided to keep my journal layout very simple for this trip because I wanted to leave ample room for daily journal entries. The main page that I journaled ahead of the trip is the very first page which details the dates and a must-see for each city.
Trip Reflection Page
To conclude the journal, I left a placeholder page at the end to write a trip reflection. This is the first time that I am intentionally leaving the space to reflect on the trip after I return and I am excited to do so for this trip!
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Optional Inclusion
If you prefer a more guided journaling experience, you can insert a list of prompts that may help you spark inspiration as you journal.
Here are a few prompts you can add to your journal:
Before the Adventure
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- What inspired this trip and what do you hope it brings you?
- When you imagine being there, what moment do you see first?
- What’s your travel philosophy — plan every detail or see where the day takes you?
- Three words that capture the mood of this journey.
What’s one thing you’re hoping to feel, taste, or understand on this trip?
During the Journey
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- What moment took you by surprise today — big or small?
- What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve seen so far?
- What’s been your favorite indulgence — a meal, a shop, a treat?
- What place has captured your imagination the most?
- Who or what gave you a glimpse of local life?
- What detail (a color, a sound, a phrase) sums up this city?
- What did you learn today — about this place, or about yourself?
- What was completely unplanned — and ended up being wonderful?
- What would you tell someone else visiting this place?
- When you think back on this trip, what moment do you think will come to mind first?
After the Journey
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- What memory feels like the “heart” of this trip?
- What surprised you most — about the places or about yourself?
- How has this trip changed your perspective, even in a small way?
- What will remind you of this journey when you’re back home?
- Where are you dreaming of heading next?
The Wrap Up
It can seem daunting to write everyday of the trip, but I promise dedicating even just five minutes at the end of the day will be absolutely worth it at the end when you have a journal full of your memories that you will be able to read through for years to come.
What’s your favorite way to capture travel memories?