This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I might earn a small commission if you click a link and make a purchase, but it doesn’t cost you anything. Thanks for your support!
Do you have a creative travel journal?
Most of you probably don’t, but that’s okay. You can always start now.
Travel journaling is more than writing down your itinerary. A travel journal is a place to write down thoughts, observations, lessons, and stories from your trips.
Many new journal writers might get writer’s block because they don’t know what to write about.
So, here are 10 travel journal prompts to help you reflect on every trip. These questions are designed to help you remember your stories so you can revisit them far down the road.
Since my website focuses on Hong Kong tourism, this blog post will include examples from Hong Kong. However, these travel journal prompts are universal and can be used when you travel anywhere, internationally or regionally.
Why You Should Start Keeping a Travel Journal
Before jumping into the 10 travel journal prompts, let’s talk about three reasons why travel journaling is worth your time.
1) Keep Your Memories
When you end your adventure, the travel memories will still be fresh in your mind, but months and years later, the tiny details will fade. Write down what you want to remember from your trips so you have something concrete to look back on at a particular time in your life.
2) Reflection
Planning a trip can be fun, but it also requires a lot of research and work. The excitement builds, and then it feels like, in the blink of an eye, the trip is already over. It’s normal to feel wistful when an adventure ends. Setting aside time will make you look back on happy and not-so-happy moments after your trip. It allows you to unwind and smooth out the transition from the end of the trip back to real life.
3) Practice Writing Skills
Even with the rise of AI, writing skills remain important. It’s the way people use to communicate and to express themselves. You might be able to get away with using AI, but you’re cheating yourself and taking the shortcut. AI can be a writing tool to help polish sentences, but it doesn’t replace the person (this is something I feel strongly about, but that’s a topic for another day) or your personal travel journey stories.
10 Reflective Travel Journal Prompts for Every Trip
1) Describe your expectation vs reality of the places you went to.
Before you visit somewhere new, most of the information you rely on is what you see online. This can be from search engines like Google, Instagram, or even Pinterest. Naturally, you imagine what the place would be like.
Then, when you visit the place in person, there can be a gap between the expectations you form in your head and reality.
For example, what draws people to the Monster Building in Hong Kong is its status as a popular Instagram spot. It’s also somewhere unique because it feels like you’ve briefly stepped into a dystopian world.
What people might not know is the surroundings. You need to pass through a narrow pathway to reach the courtyard. Or how too many people disrespect the area, so authorities blocked off the platform people use to stand on.
That’s why I think this question is important. Document your expectations before you go, and compare them to what actually happens when you’re there. You’ll notice the differences much more clearly once you’re experiencing the place in real life.
2) Note 3 cultural differences you noticed and your thoughts on them.
No matter where you’re headed, whether that’s to a new country or a new city within your country, there will be differences between where you are from and where you are travelling to.
Think about it. Even if you’re American, there are regional differences between people from different states. It makes it interesting because this compels you to observe how humans can be the same physically, but culturally so different.
The term ‘cultural differences’ can be vague. If you don’t know where you can go with this, here are some questions that will get you thinking about cultural differences:
- Is the environment built around walking and public transit, or do locals mainly use cars?
- Do people buy groceries in massive bulk once a week, or do they grocery shop every single day for fresh ingredients?
- Are people direct, or do they use polite language where you have to “read between the lines”?
- Is it a cash-heavy society, or do locals mainly expect you to pay electronically?
3) Describe a particularly memorable meal. What made it special?
In many cultures, food is often what brings people together. Try local signature dishes for at least 1 meal. Better yet, try it for 2-3 meals. Then you can compare what suits your taste buds.
What’s something you can only eat in this new place that you can’t back home? Or maybe you can find the same dish back home, but it’s either really challenging to find or not as authentic?
Do understand your limits when it comes to food. There might be foods that are a firm no, especially for those who aren’t adventurous eaters, but there should be at least a few dishes that you are open to trying.
Whenever you travel to a new destination, it’s important to be open-minded about food and to sometimes step out of your comfort zone.
In addition to writing about the food, note your overall dining experience, including customer service, dining environment, and price. What made this meal stand out in your mind compared to the other meals?
4) What new foods did you try? What did you like and not like?
At first glance, this question might look like the same as the previous question, but it’s not. The last question was focused on a meal, while this question focuses on the food itself.
New foods don’t necessarily have to be a new dish at a meal; they can also be street food or packaged snacks.
When it comes to new foods, unless you’re really not picky about food, there are bound to be things you don’t like, or at least not as much.
There are so many angles to go when writing about new foods. You can write about how it’s made, the texture, price, taste, aroma, and visual presentation. Maybe you learned that food texture matters to you more than you think.
5) List 3 travel lessons you learned from this trip.
Every trip has unexpected takeaways. Think of 3 travel lessons you learned from this trip, and here are some questions to guide you:
- Which choice worked better than expected (schedule, route, restaurant, transport)?
- What did you learn about your travel companions?
- Did the language barrier create any funny stories?
- If you interacted with locals, did they share anything about themselves or about Hong Kong culture you didn’t learn from research?
- How was sticking to the planned budget? What areas could you have saved money in, and what areas didn’t you regret splurging on?
6) Share something unexpected that happened. How did you handle it?
Even though you plan everything down to the minute, there will be mishaps on your trip. Sometimes, they are small and harmless; other times, they mean readjusting the schedule.
I think that it’s in times when things aren’t going smoothly that someone truly shows who they are. That’s why people talk about you don’t really know someone until you’ve travelled with them.
When things don’t go according to your travel plans, it can be extremely frustrating. You have limited time on your trip, and it can be frustrating when things don’t go your way. At the same time, when things go wrong, it’s also what makes a trip memorable.
7) Describe your daily routine while travelling. How does it differ from home?
Now, you might be like, ‘What is this?’ Of course, my travel itinerary to somewhere like Hong Kong is not going to be the same as my daily routine at home. I included this question because the routine might change depending on factors such as how many times you have been to this place and who you travel with.
For example, if this is my third time going to Hong Kong, I won’t want to do all those first-time attractions again because I’ve already done them. However, I might still want to go back to Hong Kong Disneyland because I love it there and want to visit the theme park again. So, the daily routine for your first time in Hong Kong will differ from that on your third visit.
This sample itinerary that you jot down in your travel journal might spark your memory for this specific trip, so write down a daily itinerary you want to remember.
8) How would you explain your travelling style to someone who doesn’t know you?
Travelling style isn’t only ‘I plan every hour of the trip’ or ‘I don’t plan and just go with whatever I feel like doing in the moment.’
It’s also about your interests.
Foodies will want to try as many restaurants, street food, and snacks as possible. Others might be more into museums. They want to visit several museums in Hong Kong to understand the city’s history and educate themselves.
Here’s another way to think of your travelling style. Are you the type who hits all the recommended attractions on your first visit to this new place? Or are you the type who tailors the trip to what genuinely interests you?
This question does require you to reflect on what kind of personality you have. That’s why the question isn’t only about explaining your travel style, but also about how you explain it to someone who doesn’t know you well. Your travelling style also reveals your personality traits.
9) If you could go back in time and redo one part of the trip, what would it be?
During a trip, many moving parts can lead to small regrets. You could skip a local attraction due to poor time management, choose a familiar dish rather than try something new, or waste too much time standing in a line at a food spot that wasn’t worth the hype.
If given the chance to turn back time, describe in detail what you would do differently. Most importantly, bring the lesson forward with you. This could be something to keep in mind for your next trip so the same mistake won’t happen again.
10. What are the places you would/would not go back to on this trip? Why?
Everyone has their own criteria for what makes a place worth revisiting. It could be the crowd levels, visual scenery, food quality, or overall atmosphere.
Maybe it’s that Instagram photo you saw online and wanted to see in person. Then you realize it’s a pretty sight, and there’s not much to do around there. Or it’s a restaurant you were excited about, but were let down by the food.
These insights are valuable because friends and family often ask for trip advice, knowing you visited the destination. What you share will carry more weight than what random people say online. This advice helps you understand your travel standards and gives travel tips to others for the future.
Common Travel Journal Mistakes to Avoid
Since a lot of people haven’t started a travel journal before, I want to go over some common mistakes to avoid when travel journalling.
1) Write About Your Feelings
Be completely honest about your feelings and don’t only share facts. Facts can be a part of a journal entry, but add emotions to your travel journal prompts. Get in touch with your feelings and dig deep. Write exactly how you feel. There’s no need to overedit or make writing perfectly polished. A journal is for your eyes, and your eyes only, unless you want to share this with others.
2) Think About Different Angles
These travel prompts are a guide, not strict rules. Feel free to expand and jot down any other observations, thoughts, and ideas that come to you about the trip. If there are other angles you can take on a question I didn’t cover, go for it!
3) Focusing Too Much On the Big Parts
The most memorable parts of a trip are often small, ordinary moments. Don’t write only about the big parts; also think hard about these seemingly tiny details. It’s what makes your trip unique.
Final Thoughts – 10 Engaging Travel Journal Prompts
Our brain is constantly active, and there are way too many things to remember. Keeping a travel journal means you always have a piece of history with you. You might forget the minor details, so use these questions as a guide to write down what happened on your trip. The journey might have come to an end, but these travel experiences stay with you.
So, be present during your trip and jot down your thoughts throughout it for your future self, so there’s always something you can go back to. Looking back at these journal entries will instantly transport you back in time. If you ever miss your favourite travel trip, you can read all about it again.
Now to You – 10 Engaging Travel Journal Prompts
Download this free printable copy of travel journal prompts to guide your reflection for every future trip!
xoxo,
Nicole
