Some travellers are more than happy to arrive at their destination with nothing but a YOLO or carpe diem mindset and a backpack on their backs. For others, just the thought of arriving with nothing pre-planned and no holiday travel itinerary is scary.
There are advantages to both travel styles, but it’s undeniable that putting at least a little work into your itinerary before you travel can enhance your vacation experience. It doesn’t need to be a multi-page spreadsheet or a long list of scribbled notes. Today, you can use travel planner apps to create an itinerary easily.
In this article, we’ll set out a few key tips on how to create an itinerary to help your travel dreams come true.
Make your ideas list
The first step to making an itinerary is to create your ideas list. Have a travel notebook, or an ideas board or use a travel planner app to make a note of your dream destinations or location wish list. Whether you have a few vague ideas – “Australia”, “Europe” or something specific like “seeing the Himalayas whilst paragliding in Nepal”, get it written down in one place that you can refer to later. We love to note down any recommendations that we stumble across whilst browsing the web.
Work out your budget!
Work out how much money you’re going to set aside for your trip, and be realistic with yourself. Arguably, this is one of the first things you should do as a travel planner so that you can focus your ideas list without having to go through the disappointing task of crossing off everything that’s out of budget later. There is no point browsing websites for private islands in the Maldives, only to be disheartened when you realize that you can only afford a room in a shared Airbnb when it comes to making your trip itinerary.
Working out your budget early can also help focus your location choice if this isn’t already determined.
Research your travel itinerary
If you’re like us, half the fun of travelling or vacations is the planning and working to create an itinerary. Learning something about the history and culture of your destination before you go can make a trip even more rewarding once you’re there.
From travel books like Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Bradt Travel, to customer-feedback-based sites like Tripadvisor to the multitude of online blogs, there’s a vast pool of resources to dive into for creating a trip itinerary.
You can also check out our list of the world’s best cities for more inspiration.
Additionally, online blogs and websites like National Geographic and www traveloverplanet com, etc can offer further inspiration and information about different destinations.
Decide when to go
Knowing when to go is an important factor for planning a trip itinerary. Make sure that the weather conditions are favorable for a holiday. Check for public holidays and local festivals at your destination.
Many travellers dream of being in India for ‘Holi’- the festival of colours but is it safe to travel during that time? Sometimes, festivals are best avoided. For instance, travelling to Vietnam during Lunar New Year (or Tet), is generally not recommended. Many facilities are completely shut down for a couple of weeks and the whole country is on the move, making domestic travel challenging! It might be best to create your itinerary to steer clear of these occasions.
Don’t overstretch yourself
As tempting as it is to try to visit all the temples in Angkor in one day, it’s probably going to lead to you falling asleep straight after sunset at Angkor Wat, with no energy to enjoy a delicious Cambodian dinner truly, and that’s if you haven’t succumbed to heat exhaustion by mid-afternoon! A major problem when creating travel itineraries is trying to cram so much in that your vacation resembles a military boot camp more than a leisure trip.
Sometimes less is more. As the travel planner, try to separate your activities and destinations into ‘must-do’ and ‘would be good to do’. Factor in travel time. Though train and bus rides can be a great way to see a new destination, you don’t want to spend your whole vacation staring out of a window.
Plan with your travel companions!
Maybe there’s an activity that the travel planner loves that might not be everyone’s idea of fun. Perhaps adventure caving in Mexico isn’t actually Mom’s ideal vacation activity. Have the conversation early in the planning stages, rather than when you’re on vacation.
If you’re travelling with companions who potentially have a different vacation budget to you it’s really important to discuss this early when forming your travel itinerary to avoid friction later on in your trip. Make sure you are open about this early and can come up with a solution. Perhaps your companion is happy to settle down on a hammock with a book for the day whilst you enjoy a day trip.
Use travel apps
Choose a trip planner app that will help you become the ultimate trip planner. Organizing apps like TripIt.com let you make complicated itineraries to share online and it will automatically generate maps, directions and weather information. Other options are a trip planning app like TripHobo.com which will give helpful activity and direction recommendations and useful information on opening times and visit duration.
Check out our list of the best travel planning apps to discover more useful apps.
Don’t get stuck in your schedule
Finally, the most important thing to remember – you’re not legally obliged to follow your travel itinerary! Allow yourself the freedom to take up recommendations from people you meet along the way, be that a fellow traveler, the staff at your accommodation or someone who lives there.
Use our tips above to plan your perfect travel itinerary, but don’t miss out on the spontaneous opportunities that come your way when you’re on the road.
