How to DIY & Buy Custom Travel Maps: A Quick Guide in 2025

If you're wondering how to cherish those exciting memories or looking for the perfect gift to celebrate your adventures, you're in the right place! 🗺️

In this article, we’ll show you what a couples travel map is, how to create one step by step, and where to find some of the best ready-made options in the market.

💖 Save Your Favorite Moments on a Custom Travel Map 🗺️  

Art That Tells Stories: What is a Couple Travel Map?

🌍 A couples travel map is the perfect way to track your adventures together and proudly showcase all the places you’ve explored—plus those still waiting to be discovered! 🌍 Unlike travel journals, photo albums, or souvenirs, these maps give you a big-picture view, letting you instantly see every destination and route you've covered.

Some maps even include interactive elements, allowing you to pin locations, add photos, or attach messages and postcards for an even more personal touch! 🗺️💌

Here are some creative ideas to represent your travels and relive those unforgettable experiences.


DIY Couples Travel Map: Step-by-Step Guide 

There are lots of ways to make a travel map:

🗺️ Hand-draw it and paint it yourself
🌐 Create a digital version
🌎 Get a pre-made map and personalize it at home

In this guide, we’ll focus on how to make a custom digital travel map from scratch.


📣 (Want to do it all by hand first and then digitize it? Check out our other article with all the details!)


💡  Now, if you want to make your own travel map, you will need to define a couple of things first:

  • What map do you want to use? 
    •

    A planisphere map, a United States, map, one with several cities or just one? 

    All options are fine, so here we'll show you how to make a map from scratch with all of them. 

    1. Look for photographs of the trips you want to show. We will use them to complement the designs or customize the maps made.

    Let's dive into creating your own personalized map!

     

    📍 MAKING A DIY TRAVEL PUSH-PIN MAP

    🧭 To create your own push-pin travel map, follow these steps:

    1. Pick a world map. You can either use a map from Canva or download one from sites like:
    2. Personalize it by adding:
      • Your names
      • A customized quote or phrase
      • A frame or section for your push-pins, for example:
        "📍  Adventures we've had"
        "📍 Adventures still waiting for us"
    3. Print the map to fit a small corkboard, and attach the map. Get your push pins ready, and there you go! 

    Your personalized push pin travel map is ready to help you track your adventures!.

    Alternative: Get a World Map and Make It Your Own

    🗺️ Here’s another idea: get a simple world map and personalize it at home. 

    This is perfect if you're short on time but still want to add your own creative touches. 

    📷 What’s next? Print out some of your favorite travel photos and pin one to each location you’ve visited. Even though it’s not custom-designed, it’ll reflect your personal adventures!

    🌍 This could even become a fun family activity: planning future trips together and marking the spots when you return. Plus, it’s a great way to dream about the next destination you’ll explore! ✨

     

     

    Mountain-Style and City ImageTravel Maps

    1. Choose a Personalized Frame
      Select a stylish frame that complements your decor. This will be the perfect backdrop for your map collection.
    2. Display Your Maps
      Hang the maps of the cities you've explored together within the frame. You can arrange them artistically to showcase your journey.
    3. Add a Personal Touch
      Include a custom phrase, a meaningful title, and the date when you started your adventures together. This personalizes your map and makes it even more special.

    Brainstorming Ideas for Your Map:

    Custom Frames: Consider various frame styles to match your home aesthetic:

    🚂 Houses and Cities: Include maps of the cities you've lived in or dream of visiting.
    🚢Transport Methods: Illustrate your travels with images of trains, hot air balloons, or ships docked in ports.  
    🏔️ Natural Wonders: Highlight beautiful mountains or national parks you've explored together. 
    🏛️ Landmarks and Monuments: Incorporate significant monuments or buildings that hold special memories for you both. 

     

    CUSTOM COUPLE PHOTO COLLAGE

    Another fun idea is making a photo collage alongside your map.

    ⭐ One way to do this is to create a hanging photo album around the map, attaching strings with pins for each location.
    ⭐ Another is to build a timeline story of your travels, like the ones shown in Map of Us.

     

     🎁Save Your Moments on a Travel Map of US: Order Here ✈️

    This gives you a chance to tell your story visually, incorporating key moments like "our first date," "our first trip," or "our engagement" with photos, quotes, and memories. You can even print this as a poster or create a booklet with your journey!

    🖼️ Only you won't do the designs by hand (unless you want to, of course), what you'll do is make a collage with the photos you have of each place and the experiences you've lived there. 

    📷 For example, you can take your trip to Disney together, attach one photo per experience (or an entire album), and fill in spaces with phrases, photos and fun memories! 

    This way you will tell a story through the design you make…

    🏕️ You can also use a timeline or a path to represent it (where we met, our first date, the first trip, engagement, marriage, first pet).

    If you wish, you can print the collage in poster format or on printing paper and hang it as if it were a special journey like the Map of Us. 


    City Map and Photo Combo


    For this project, here’s what you’ll need:

    1. List the cities you’ve visited together
    2. Pick your favorite photos from each trip
    3. Open SnazzyMaps and Canva, and get ready to design!

    Step 1: Map Design

    • Open SnazzyMaps, search for a style you like, and enter the cities you've visited.
    • Download the map images.
    • Make sure your photos match the look of the map! If not, you can always create a sepia or black-and-white collage for a consistent look.

    Step 2: Editing

    • Select one or two photos for each city and arrange them alongside the city map images.
    • Mix up the arrangement: two photos, one map, or three photos, two maps—whatever suits your style.

    Step 3: Printing

    • Print the collage on high-quality paper, or turn it into a mini postcard book to preserve your special memories.

    CONCLUSION

    In this article, we've explored the most creative and original ways to create personalized travel maps for couples. We’ve seen how to effectively and aesthetically combine images and maps to make an amazing gift from scratch.

    ⭐ Now you know how to make your own map, or if that’s not your thing, you have great options to buy.

    🎁👉 Access the exclusive guide to create your own couples travel map! 🗺️✨

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