Free Printable Travel Journal for Kids (Great for a Road Trip!)

Check out this free printable travel journal that you can use on your next trip! It’s a great way to engage your kids during family vacations when you’re stopping at all sorts of fun places and want to have those special memories written down for your whole family to look back on.

It’s funny how many details we end up forgetting even though we’re sure we’ll remember every moment of our family trip! Filling out these travel journal pages will help them remember favorite things they’ve done, seen, and learned.

We have four children and I tested this travel journal on them during our recent summer vacation :) My little kids (9 and 7) loved doing this and I think it will be really sweet to look back on what they wrote and drew when they get older!

And honestly, even my older kids enjoyed using the writing prompts to record their travel memories. They were more detailed, so it will be neat to read in the future because I’m sure there will be things I wish I remembered!

Each of our children remembered different parts of the experience that were special to them, so I feel like this kids’ travel journal is a great tool for letting them uniquely express their feelings about what was meaningful to them on our road trip.

If you’re planning some summer travel (or any travel!) I really think your children will enjoy using this printable journal. You can find the free PDF at the end of this post.

Creative Ways to Use the Printable Travel Journal

Here are three great ideas for using the kids’ travel journal the next time you take a trip so your child can make it their own.

1. Before the first day of your trip, print out the front cover and add it to the front cover of a folder with a little clear pocket. Decorate the folder with some washi tape or stickers or however your child prefers to be creative!

2. To store memories while on your trip, decorate the inside printable pages with stickers from places you’ve been or tape ticket stubs to the back of one of the pages. I like to use these little re-stickable tabs. Use the folder pockets to add in other memorabilia if desired.

3. Print out some extra pages if your child has more they want to add or some of the pages get ruined. Once you’re done with your trip, laminate the pages or put them in sheet protectors to keep them free of water damage or sticky fingers ;) These make a great keepsake!

This fun printable travel journal contains:

1. Cover page with a place for your child to write their name
2. First page with space to write the date, the destination, weather, what they saw, what they did and the best part of the day
3. Second page to write fun facts about the destination, what they learned while there, the best thing they ate and something cool they saw
4. Third page to write what they learned about God’s world, one fun thing you did as a whole family and space to draw different places and animals they saw!

This journal can be used for each individual day of the trip OR as a summary of the whole trip. I’ve designed it for your road trip activities and travels within the United States, but you can certainly try using it for other types of travel.

Taking Road Trips with Older Kids

Family travel with older children is both easier and harder. What do I mean by that? It’s easier because they can sit for longer days in the vehicle. It’s challenging because you may have a hard time finding a great activity to occupy them.

Some travel activities and ideas for older kids are:

• Grab a lined notebook for extra journal entries or observations.
• Buy a new set of colored pencils and a mini sketchbook for doodling.
• Have them take pictures on their phones of all the weird and wonderful things they see and then put them into photo books (yes, real ones!) ;)
• Take a pack of cards for some easy card games.
• Listen to audiobooks together.

Taking Road Trips with Younger Kids

There are lots of fun ways you can engage your younger children while on a road trip. Some activities we’ve done are:

• Make funny voices with hand puppets – mom or kids can make them talk
• Unwrap a little gift every so often (like some stickers, a special snack, mini notebook and pen, fidget toy, etc)
• Listen to audiobooks like the Little House series or Boxcar Children
• Try a free Audible trial through Amazon to listen to these audiobooks for free on the road!
• Listen to Adventures in Odyssey stories via CDs or their online streaming subscription
• Play I Spy or some other car games 

To download the free printable travel journal for kids, enter your email in the box at the end of this post!

Once you confirm your subscription, you’ll be sent an email with a link will open a pdf file. You can safely download it to your device and print at home. Or, you can email the file to a local print shop if you don’t have a printer at home.

For more great ideas for your next vacation, check out these posts!

• Travel Boredom Busters for Kids 
• Travel Journal Ideas and Writing Prompts for High School Students 
• How to Travel with Young Children and Not Go Crazy!
• My Top 3 Tips for Packing for a Road Trip 

I hope this kids’ travel journal printable adds to the joy of all the fun memories you’ll make as a family during your summer adventures!

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