Stepping off a plane in a new city is not as pretty as movies lead us to believe. We are often jet-lagged, hungry, and sleepy from the flight, so we have to take some time to remember what to do next. Now, imagine that, at that moment, you have to search for a hotel, a place to eat, and where to get a taxi to go there. And that’s only the first part; you still have to find what attractions to visit and figure out how to get there. Have you ever traveled like that?
If your answer is “no”, in varied levels of intensity, followed by a sense of incredulity, we a hunch of the reason: you already know how important it is to travel with an itinerary. In other words, a travel plan which anticipates possible issues and shows a way to deal with them while respecting boundaries such as how much to spend. Here, we are going to delve into that topic and bring some useful tips for you to draw the most useful itinerary for your next trips.
What is a travel itinerary?
In a few words, a travel itinerary is a plan that contains key details of your trip. Main destinations, list of activities, transportation options, and accommodation addresses. It stores several important items in a way that allows you to consult them easily, at a glance. This way, it helps you manage time and money, organize logistics, and ensure you have the means to enjoy all the experiences you had planned.
Travel itineraries can be simple and loose, highly detailed, or anything in between; it depends on what your goals are. Business travelers, for example, tend to build meticulous itineraries because they have many goals to achieve during the trip. Leisure travelers, on the other hand, usually set simpler guidelines because their main goal is to relax. The best itineraries manage to capture the essence of the trip.
Key components of travel itineraries
Here are some ideas you can use to start building your own itinerary. Feel free to add or change items according to your needs.
- Flight and transportation: Details such as flight numbers, departure/arrival times, terminals and gates, and booking confirmations. If applicable, train/bus schedules are also helpful.
- Accommodation: Hotel names, addresses, check-in/check-out times, and reservation codes. Anything that makes you reach your hotel more quickly and easily.
- Activities and attractions: List all tours, museums, parks, and sightseeing spots you want to visit. Get their opening hours, required reservations, and any entrance fees you may need to pay.
- Meal plans: Restaurant names and addresses, occasional menu restrictions, reservations if applicable… if someone in your group has dietary restrictions, you should keep that noted too.
- Budget tracking: Set a suggested spending limit for every day, track your actual spending, and keep currency exchange rates visible in case you need them.
- Contact information: Emergency contacts, embassy details, reference places such as hospitals, and contact details of any local guides or hosts.
It pays off to group locations geographically. This way, you can choose one region at a time and visit everything it has to offer. Planning your travel itinerary like that will allow you to minimize time and money spent on transportation.
What benefits will I get?
There are many reasons why building a travel itinerary is important. We are going to list some of them below, but you can rest assured that this list is not exhaustive:
- Time management: By knowing what to do, where to go, and when beforehand, you can maximize the time you actually spend enjoying your trip or getting work done. There is no need to decide anything on the spot.
- Lower stress: It is better to have a clear plan and not need it than to need one and not have it. A well-built travel itinerary does wonders to reduce anxiety in unfamiliar places.
- Budget control: It’s not about stopping the fun. Keeping track of your expenses allows you to enjoy the trip in a responsible way, so you will not end up with unpleasant surprises back home.
- Goal accomplishment: The best way to meet all your goals is to keep them visible. It will be easier for you to manage your time while seeing everything you want and/or need to do.
- Easy information access: You can use an app or a shared folder to keep everything you need in one place. Later, you can even adapt this travel itinerary to future trips in order to save time.
If you are traveling with a group, make sure to involve them in all steps of building the itinerary and get their approval before the trip. This way, you will avoid many problems while on the road.
How to create a great travel itinerary?
While this task is pretty straightforward, we can pinpoint some tips to make it easier to start. Once again, if you are traveling with other people, make sure to go through these steps with them:
- Do extensive research: Go beyond generic online searches. Read travel blogs, check tourism boards, ask people if it is possible. The more information you get, the better you will be prepared.
- Group by location: We mention this again because it is highly important. No one wants to waste time or money on transportation going back and forth because of bad planning.
- Set your priorities: Whether you want to visit ten sightseeing spots or need to attend five meetings, keep them visible on your travel itinerary. It is easy to get lost when you are in a new city.
- Create a vacation schedule: It may be stricter or looser depending on your goals. Business trips tend to be more detailed, but it is good to set some spare time even in those cases.
- Include tricky information: Reservation codes, entrance fees, anything that you feel you may forget when you need it. Remember: you are building a travel itinerary to help yourself.
- Use digital tools: Dedicated apps and shared folders are great for that. You can store everything in an organized way and easily share the travel itinerary with the others who are traveling with you.
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Balance structure and spontaneity
We all want to enjoy a trip to the maximum. After all, it is a chance to visit a whole new place, filled with exciting things to do. However, experienced travelers know their limits. If your travel itinerary has you visiting dozens of places every single day, you will only make yourself stressed and tired. You will end up arguing with your group, spending too much, and coming back home with a negative feeling about the trip.
Instead, we recommend you start by setting priorities and making sure those are met. Then, it is important to set goal-free times. It can be every evening, or a given weekend, whatever fits best. You will see that we often build the best memories when exploring the city without hurrying or any other constraints. And if you are traveling for business, those moments will help you unwind and get ready for the next day.
Travel itineraries are your roadmap to adventure
More than a vacation schedule, your itinerary is a companion that stays by your side during the entire trip. It can work as file storage, budget tracker, task reminder, or all of those at once; it all depends on how you build it. If everyone in your travel group approves the itinerary you built, go ahead. You will see that having some framework, whether strict or loose, will keep everyone calm and ready to make the most of their trip.
