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How to Create a Stunning Travel Photo Book

How to Create a Stunning Travel Photo Book


They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but what good is it if it’s buried in your camera roll like hidden treasure? If your travel photos are lost in the digital abyss, somewhere between screenshots of recipes you’ll never make and blurry concert videos, maybe it’s time to give them a new home.

A custom travel photo book serves as a front-row ticket back to your favorite adventures. This guide will walk you through creating a travel memory book that captures the heart of your journey. Ready to turn your snapshots into a page-turner?

Opened photo book and camera on table

Choosing the best photos for your travel photo book

If you’re anything like us, your camera roll is filled with pictures. Between the breath-taking landscapes, delicious meals, and selfies, you probably have a different photo for everything. But when it comes to making the best travel photo book, not every shot deserves a VIP pass.

Selecting the pictures is like packing for a trip – you don’t need five pairs of shoes for a weekend getaway, and you don’t need 100 nearly identical sunset photos. The key to making a travel photo book stand out is to tell a story.

Girl traveling taking a photo

Start by choosing high-resolution, well-composed images that truly capture the heart of your journey. Look for shots with good lighting, clear subjects, and the kind of storytelling magic that instantly takes you back. Once you’ve made your selection, you can start to organize your photos by location, event, or theme.

Travel photo album builders can make this process a lot easier, helping you arrange, crop, and tweak your selections until your book is beautifully polished. With the right choices, your photo book won’t just be a collection of pictures, but a walk down memory lane.

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Designing your travel photo book: Layout and themes

Now that you have your best shots picked, it’s time to turn them into a masterpiece. It doesn’t matter if you’re a naturally creative person or someone who struggles with it, a DIY photo book is easier to make than you think.

Technology is here to help you. Thanks to online travel photo book makers, you don’t need a degree in design, just patience and a lot of love for your travel memories. So, where should you start?

Woman flipping through a book

Pick a layout that speaks to you

Your layout is the foundation of your travel memory book, so think about how you want to tell your story. Some ideas include:

  • Full-page spreads: These are perfect for landscapes that take your breath away.
  • Collages: Sometimes, one photo just isn’t enough to capture the magic of a moment.
  • Text and image combos: Adding captions, funny anecdotes, or travel dates is a great way to trigger memories.

Woman creating a photo book online

Choose a theme that matches your adventure

Choosing a wedding theme for your first solo trip may not be the perfect choice. Your travels have a personality, and your photo book should too! Consider a theme that fits your trip’s vibe, such as:

  • Road trip chronicles: Map out your cross-country adventure with pit stop highlights and scenic highway shots.
  • Tropical escapes: Sun, sand, and so many coconut drinks can be the aesthetic you want to remember.
  • City adventures: Whether it’s the neon lights of Tokyo or the cobblestone streets of your hometown, you can showcase exactly the way you felt during your city explorations with retro, bold, or modern designs.

Travel map

Make it personal

Pictures are great for evoking memories, but adding a well-placed quote or caption can enhance your story even more. If you keep a travel diary, this is the perfect way to include inside jokes and some of the highlights of specific moments to cherish after.

Add quotes, travel dates, and short stories to give your book that personal touch. You can even completely customize it and make it a scrap book, adding in small details of your trip that you normally wouldn’t remember. The random ad on the streets that caught your attention, the selfie you took after losing the bus, the snack you picked up from a local market – don’t let these moments disappear into the depths of your memory.

Woman scrapbooking

At the end of the day, your travel scrapbooking ideas should reflect you. So have fun, get creative, and design a book that takes you back to those moments.

Choosing the right photo book format and materials

When it comes to making the best photo book for travel, the details matter. You wouldn’t want to take a flimsy duffel bag on a month-long European adventure, and the same goes for your travel photo album. Here are the best options for keeping your memories picture-perfect for years to come:

Hardcover vs softcover
Feature Hardcover Softcover
Durability Long-lasting, good for keepsakes Lightweight, easy to flip through
Look and feel Premium Casual
Best for Bucket-list trips Short getaways

Another element you need to choose is your paper type. The options include glossy, matte, or lay-flat finish. This depends completely on what you want to achieve.

If you’re looking for vibrant colors and sharp details, you may want to go with a glossy finish. However, they can leave fingerprints quite easily.

Glossy finish

Pros
  • Vibrant colors
  • Sharp details
  • Strong contrast
Cons
  • Leaves fingerprints
  • Reflective

If you’re looking for a more elegant and professional appearance, matte is a good choice. This paper isn’t reflective and it’s less sensitive to light and dust. However, this paper has lower contrast, enabling soft contours.

Matte finish

Pros
  • Insensitive to light and dust
  • Resists fingerprints
  • Soft contour
Cons
  • Low contrast
  • Less defined details

Lay-flat paper can also be a choice for those who want a more professional look. Flipping through this paper is much easier, as it makes the book lay completely flat. Since this type of paper is thicker, your photo book won’t have creases in the middle, making it perfect for panoramic shots. However, this also means it’s more expensive.

Lay-flat finish

Pros
  • Seamless spreads
  • Premium look
  • Easier viewing
Cons
  • Expensive
  • Bulkier
  • Fewer pages

If you’re using one of the best travel photo book makers, you have plenty of options to mix and match. The last thing you have to choose is your size. Most providers offer a variety of sizes, from 8×8” to 15×15”.

Adding personal touches to your travel photo book

A custom travel photo book filled with stunning pictures is great, but adding a little spice to it makes it a true keepsake. To achieve this, you can personalize your covers, adding your trip’s funny title.

You can also make the most of travel stickers and icons, giving your pages a little more personality. Again, adding inside jokes and handwritten notes can also make the photo book feel like your own.

If you like the travel scrapbooking idea but want to stay away from the glue and mess, going hybrid is always an option. You can easily scan ticket stubs, postcards, and maps to blend the scrapbook aesthetic into your digital book.

Photo editing

Using digital tools to enhance blurry photos or adding AI-powered editors to help with lighting and aesthetic can also come in handy when designing the perfect book.

The best DIY travel photo book is about capturing exactly how the trip felt. So, add those small, sentimental details and your book will tell a story even better than your travel journal!

Printing and preserving your travel photo book

Once you put together the perfect DIY travel photo book, it’s time to make sure it stands the test of time. Choosing the best travel photo book maker is key to getting high-quality prints that do your memories justice.

Look for services that offer sharp and high-resolution images, durable binding that won’t fall apart after a few flips, and paper options that match your style. Some of the best providers out there are:

Mixbook overview

Mixbook

Editor's rating:
Starting price: $14.99/unit
Main features
  • Easy to use
  • Create a truly unique book
  • Huge number of themes
  • Balanced design and durability
  • Foolproof photo book editor
  • Numerous customization options
  • Hundreds of photo book themes
  • Good size-to-cover pairings
  • No mobile app for Android
  • No offline mode
Summary
View summary

Founded in 2006, Mixbook has established its position as one of the best photo book editing services on the market. One of the reasons for the company’s impressive reputation is its nearly flawless editor that helps you quickly craft the photo book of your dreams.

This editor includes over 700 designs, layout options, and other customizations to make your photo book unique. Mixbook also offers a reasonable range of size-to-cover pairings, with eight sizes and four cover options.

For affordable pricing and shipping, you receive a quality product within one to three weeks. Mixbook is present in the U.S. and the UK, and ships internationally. It’s even possible to reduce the price by waiting for one of the occasional discounts Mixbook runs on its website or refer Mixbook to a friend and get off for each successful referral.

Special offers
View offers
Up to 50% off and free shipping of Mixbook
At least 50% off bulk orders with Mixbook
40% off and free shipping per each successful referral of Mixbook
Mixbook 100% happiness guarantee
Printique overview

Printique

Editor's rating:
Starting price: $14.99/unit
Main features
  • Highly customizable
  • Keep all photos in one place
  • Intuitive
  • Speeds up the creation process
  • Countless customization options
  • Unlimited photo storage
  • Easy-to-use editor
  • Autofill with ordering options
  • Above-average prices
  • No photo book editor for mobile
Summary
View summary

Photo books are an excellent way of always having cherished memories on hand, and they are also fantastic as gifts. Formerly known as AdoramaPix, Printique has been one of the most reliable photo book services on the market since 1996.

Printique guides you to create the photo book of your dreams with ease, thanks to a wide variety of customization tools. Ready-made designs make the creation process a breeze, but building everything from scratch is also possible.

There are several paper, cover, size, and shape options to choose from, and the book can be delivered to your doorstep or collected from one of s store locations. With prices starting at $14.99 for a 4×4” softcover book, as well as discounts for newcomers and occasional offers for regular customers, Printique is definitely an option worth trying out.

Special offers
View offers
15% off Printique for newcomers
Full refund for defected items with Printique
Snapfish overview

Snapfish Photo Books

Editor's rating:
Starting price: $12.99/unit
Main features
  • Easy for all users
  • Personalize every detail
  • Quick delivery turnaround
  • Affordable and transparent
  • Straightforward, user-friendly editor
  • Various customization options
  • Fast processing and printing
  • Good pricing policy
  • Hidden shipping prices
  • Confusing theme categorization
  • Mobile editing not supported
Summary
View summary

Snapfish (not to be confused with Snapchat) is a subsidiary of District Photos, founded in 2000 in California. The company, which is available in German, French and Italian as well, provides various photo sharing and printing services, including regular and canvas prints, decors, cards, calendars and photo gifts like mugs, pillows and phone cases. However, Snapfish is also capable of creating the ideal photo book and getting it delivered right to your doorstep. With the simple online editor it is a pleasure to create your regular or layflat photo books available in various sizes and with diverse covers. You can select from plenty of themes before or during the editing process, and further customize your book to your liking with stickers, texts, photo holders and such. Once you are ready, Snapfish will create your book within 3 business days and get it shipped in under a week to your doorstep or to a store of CVS, Walgreens or Walmart. And thanks to the countless discount offers you can always reduce the modest price tags.

Special offers
View offers
100 4x6 prints for free
$10 coupon for each friend invited

As soon as you get your hands on your memory book, make sure you care for it properly. Store it upright on a shelf, away from direct sunlight, because UV rays aren’t just bad for your skin. A protective sleeve or case is your best friend in fending off dust, spills, and curious hands covered in crumbs.

Speaking of protection, don’t forget about backup plans. Life happens – dogs chew, coffee spills, and kids have a talent for accidental destruction. Having a copy on both hard drives and cloud storage ensures you can reprint it anytime.

Book shelf with photo books

Many travel photo book providers also offer online sharing options, so your friends can order their own copy or just keep the memories compiled in digital form. With the right mix of quality printing and smart preservation, your travel memory book can keep your travels alive for years.

Reliving your adventures through a travel photo book

Every adventure deserves more than just a spot in your camera roll. A travel photo book is the perfect way to turn your best moments into a lasting keepsake, one that won’t get buried under a million other photos or lost in the void of your phone storage.

Woman looking at travel photo book

So why let those memories collect digital dust? Start your own travel photo book today and relive your history anytime. If you need a little inspiration, check out our top picks for the best travel photo books and get started on your own masterpiece. The best souvenirs are the ones you create!


Best photo book builders of 2025

Editors' choice

Mixbook

Editor's rating:
Easy to use
Create a truly unique book
Huge number of themes
Balanced design and durability
Quality

Printique

Editor's rating:
Highly customizable
Keep all photos in one place
Intuitive
Speeds up the creation process
Fast delivery

Shutterfly

Editor's rating:
Flexible creative control
Numerous photo book themes
Android and iOS apps
Expert help at no cost
Value

Photobook America

Editor's rating:
Edit anytime, anywhere
Quick and stylish designs
Fully personalized products
High quality, low cost
Selling

Gelato

Editor's rating:
User-friendly design tools
Extensive integration options
Global print-on-demand network
Versatile product offerings
Customization

Snapfish Photo Books

Editor's rating:
Easy for all users
Personalize every detail
Quick delivery turnaround
Affordable and transparent
On a budget

Walmart Photo Books

Editor's rating:
Budget-friendly
Get orders quickly
Help when you need it
Saves money on delivery
Beginners
Blurb Photo Books logo

Blurb Photo Books

Editor's rating:
Easy to create online
Greater creative control
Share digitally with ease
Monetize your creations

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