The 7 Best Travel Photo Book Websites of 2023
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Nowadays, capturing stills and short videos of daily life is commonplace. And, haven’t we all felt that spark of excitement (and maybe even a bit of envy) when our feeds fill with faraway cities, unbelievable landscapes, and famous monuments? The ever-changing nature of social media has also brought back the specialness of physical prints. And when it’s your turn to explore new places, travel photo books are a great way to save memories from the most exciting and cherished times in our lives. Take a look at our picks for websites to create unique keepsakes. You’ll also find our advice on selecting a photo book service, including ease of navigation, level of customization, and price points.
Best Overall
Artifact Uprising
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Artifact Uprising
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Convenient data transfer options
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Can make photo books for other occasions
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Tips to improve your skills
When you want to create a glossy, high-quality photo book that truly does justice to your treasured vacation memories, look no further than Artifact Uprising. The site has a wide-ranging line of layouts, bindings, and sizes to choose from, and each of their albums is made using eco-conscious materials, like acid-free recycled paper that’s Forest Stewardship Council certified. It’s also easy to upload images from Dropbox and Instagram, which is key.
But it’s their modern, millennial-friendly designs that set this company apart. The Hardcover Photo Book is custom-bound in premium fabric, with your choice of a full-sized or partial dust jacket. Other favorites include the Layflat Photo Album, whose design was inspired by heirloom albums, with its thick pages and hand-stamped covers. And the Instagram Friendly Photo Book offers a fun, stylish way to catalog your feed.
Plus, the site itself is full of helpful content in the form of articles (like “Organizing Your Phone Photos” and “A Practical Guide to Scanning Old Photos”) that teach you how to be a better travel photographer and photo curator.
Sizes Available: 6 x 8 inches, 8.5 x 8.5 inches, 11 x 8.25 inches, and more | Cover Options: Hard, soft, photo-wrapped, fabric | Number of Pages: 50, 100, 150 | Shipping: Two weeks for standard shipping, one week for expedited shipping
Best Budget
Walmart Photo
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Walmart
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Affordable
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Fast
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Good selection
Just because you don’t have a big budget doesn’t mean you can’t have a quality photo book of your travels. Walmart lets you upload photos from a variety of sources—like your computer, Flickr, Dropbox, Google Photos, and Facebook—to create custom photo books that are more cost-effective than other sites. They offer different styles of books ranging from scrapbook-style albums to their full-page Destinations album. The Let’s Be Adventurers and Scenes to be Seen photo books have easy-to-use layouts and cute templates, with captions that read “Adventure Is Calling” and “Wild & Free” next to globe and suitcase clip art.
Regardless of which book you choose, there are several cover options, including glossy hardcover, matte hardcover, softcover, linen cover, leather, and more, all printed on thick, semi-gloss finish paper. Size options range from 5 x 7 inches to 12 x 12 inches. Book prices start at $10 for a paper-cover book to $60 for a premium layflat photo album. Conveniently, if you’re in a hurry, some book styles offer same-day pickup.
Sizes Available: 5 x 7 inches, 8 x 8 inches, 11 x 14 inches, and more | Cover Options: Custom, linen, leather, paper | Number of Pages: 20 to 150 | Shipping: Free shipping on orders over $35
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Printique
If you’re not exactly a pro when it comes to uploading and rearranging photos, why not let Printique do the heavy lifting for you? Yes, the site offers a variety of layouts and customizable templates, but there’s also an auto-fill option if you don’t want to start from scratch or you simply don’t have hours to spend designing a photo book. If you use the auto-build feature, your book will be ready in a matter of minutes.
Choose from one of just three styles—Build Your Own, Birch Forest, or By the Shore—and from there, it’s only a matter of ticking off the boxes. You can create both softcover and hardcover books or opt for premium options like genuine leather and full fabric. They have portrait, square, and landscape-oriented books available, and you can even pick your own paper.
The site also has excellent tips and articles on everything from how to create a killer travel photo book to how to narrow down which photos to use in your book.
Sizes Available: 6 x 7.5 inches, 8 x 10 inches, 10 x 12.5 inches, and more | Cover Options: Hard, soft, leather, fabric | Number of Pages: 10 to 100 | Shipping: Free on orders over $100 with some exclusions
Most Binding Options
Snapfish Hardcover Photo Book
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Snapfish
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Easy to follow
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Mobile-friendly
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Affordable
If it’s options that you want, Snapfish is a great go-to photo book maker. The site has enough templates, sizes, and binding options to make your head spin. All in all, there are 14 travel photo book themes to select from, including Life at the Beach, Wanderlust, Summer Snapshots, Roadtrip, Destination Stamps, and others.
There are nine binding types available: hardcover, matte hardcover, layflat hardcover, layflat matte hardcover, premium layflat hardcover, linen hardcover, leather hardcover, softcover, and matte softcover. Sizes range from 5 x 7 inches to 12 x 12 inches, and you can include up to 150 pages. As a bonus, Snapfish has an app that allows you to create and order prints and even design your photo book straight from your phone.
Sizes Available: 8 x 8 inches, 8 x 11 inches, 11 x 14 inches, and more | Cover Options: Hard, soft, photo-wrapped, linen, leather | Number of Pages: 20 to 150 | Shipping: Free shipping on orders $29+ with code (check deals tab)
Best for Creative Layouts
Mixbook
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Mixbook
Want to craft a thoughtful, one-of-a-kind travel photo book? Mixbook offers a plethora of layouts to choose from for a more personalized experience. They have a staggering number of travel-themed templates, all of which are thoughtfully created and fun, like Instagood, J’adore Paris, Retro Road Trip, and Camping Adventures, among many others.
Get those creative juices flowing as you curate your book—to start, you can pick from different orientations, sizes, papers, and styles. Then, every aspect of the design and layout process is customizable, which means you can rearrange photos, change and delete text, and even upload your own backgrounds. Prices range from $20 for softcover books to $175 for leather-bound albums.
Sizes Available: 6 x 8 inches, 8.5 x 8.5 inches, 11 x 8.5 inches, and more | Cover Options: Hard, soft | Number of Pages: 25 up to 399 | Shipping: Free on orders $79+
Best for Hardcover
Shutterfly
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Shutterfly
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Established company
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Designer service
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Well organized
When most people think about creating a travel photo book, they often think of Shutterfly—and for good reason. This powerhouse photo maker has a site that’s easy to navigate, and they frequently run sales on their (already affordably priced) photo books. Although you have the option of selecting a softcover, the company makes excellent hardcover and premium leather cover books.
Choose from one of six book sizes that run from 7 x 9 inches to 12 x 12 inches and from over 30 unique styles that are as specific as Aloha Hawaii and National Parks, plus plenty of generic travel themes like Modern Europe, Beach Travel, Family Vacation, and more. From there, you can upload your photos or even let Shutterfly select the best ones for you.
Sizes Available: 8 x 8 inches, 10 x 10 inches, 12 x 12 inches, and more | Cover Options: Hard, soft, leather and eco-leather, acrylic | Number of Pages: 20 up to 111 | Shipping: Ships in 1-2 days
Best for Softcover
Pinhole Press
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Courtesy of Pinhole Press
For those who’d prefer a softcover photo book, Pinhole Press offers a range of softcover styles, which are available in square, portrait, and landscape. These offer up to 50 pages and four different sizes, ranging from 5.25 x 5.25 inches to 8.75 x 11.25 inches. Feel free to get creative: After uploading your photos, you can choose your own photo for the cover and write any text that you want to include. And, in terms of photo layout, you can place the photos yourself or let the site do the work for you.
The books ship relatively fast, and the site is very user-friendly, both of which are always a big plus.
Sizes Available: 5 x 5 inches, 8.5 x 6.5 inches, 11 x 8.5 inches, and more | Cover Options: Hard or soft | Number of Pages: 20 to 50 | Shipping: Ships in 5-7 business days
Final Verdict
For a seamless and convenient experience, we like Artifact Uprising. They make eco-friendly photo books with plenty of options to personalize. Cost-effective and popular, Walmart offers a good array of products.
What to Look For in a Travel Photo Book Website
Ease of Use
Nobody likes a website that is cluttered or overwhelming. When you are making a customized keepsake or gift, you can bet you’ll be spending more time using that page. Sites that are simple, clear, and well-organized are going to improve your experience and translate into a book that you are happier with.
Level of Customization
All the websites we researched offer more and less in-depth options. Maybe you got the idea to make a photo book last minute for that wanderlust friend who is difficult to shop for. In this case, using an auto-fill option will streamline the process and take creative pressure off of you. Shutterfly, for example, offers a free designer service. On the other hand, if you are looking to impress a loved one and try your hand at adding special and meaningful touches, almost every website offers an option to start from a blank canvas.
Price
When it comes to travel photo books, prices vary widely. Depending on the level of customization, size, type of cover, number of pages, additional features such as glossy pages, and shipping speed, you could pay as little as $20 to more than $400. To be specific, an 8 x 8 inch, layflat, glossy hardcover book with 20 pages at Snapfish starts at $43.
Why Trust TripSavvy?
Justine Harrington loves seeing all her travel photos on the page rather than keeping them stored away in her phone or on the computer, where they almost never see the light of day. She’s been using Shutterfly for years (and Walmart when she’s in a time crunch) to create photo books that she looks back on whenever she wants to relive the best memories from her avid travels.
