How to Create a Great Travel Itinerary

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You’ve arrived at the destination you’ve been dreaming about for months, maybe years then you realize “What are we going to do here?!” That’s where this post comes in. We are going to get into the nitty-gritty on how to create a travel itinerary so that you can do all the things you want to do without feeling confused or like you’re missing out.

As travelers you’ll notice we are very detail-oriented people – you know, with all the lists and a printed-out itinerary – so these tips might not be ideal for a “go with the flow” type of traveler. Remember you can have an itinerary and also have a relaxing and restful trip.

Want to skip planning out your own itinerary? We have a great resource to jump-start your planning. Our Travel Guides include all of the details of where to stay, things to see and do, and how to get around (along with our own pro-tips) for a number of the cities that we’ve visited already.

Getting Started

We are going to London for a week. What should we do/see when we are there?

Just like me I’m sure you see similar questions on Facebook, Instagram, or in person from friends. It can be so overwhelming to plan a trip so I get it, we ask people that have been there.

How do you decide what to do for that week?

Where do you even start the search for the best places to visit?

Check out Our Travel Guides to get some ideas.

There are several phases to planning a trip and setting up the best itinerary possible for your trip. They are as follows:

  1. Preliminary Brainstorming
  2. Destination Research
  3. Wish List
    • Site/Activity Research (this can be its own phase, but I like to combine them to reduce effort)
  4. Build the Itinerary

I know this sounds like a lot, but I will walk you through it all step by step!

Brainstorm your Wish List to Create a Travel Itinerary

Now that your trip has been booked, it’s time to start your preliminary brainstorming. If your destination is a top tourist destination then you likely already have a leg up because it has some famous sites to see.

Plane at the airport: Create a travel itinerary

If you’re going someplace completely unfamiliar to you, your brainstorming phase may be quite short but it can also be less specific if that helps (e.g., important historical sites, whatever the most important art museum is, popular beach, etc.).

Here are some questions to help you brainstorm (don’t forget to write your answers down!):

  • What are the famous/popular sites my destination is most known for?
  • What are the top, must-do sites or activities I already know I want to do on this trip?
  • What are my spouse’s/travel partner’s must-do sites or activities for this trip? If there are children traveling with you, why not include them in the brainstorming?
  • What are the kinds of activities we most enjoy while traveling in general?

At this stage, I would have opened up an excel document or a google sheet to jot down my list. Go wild! Time and cost are not a consideration at this rate of travel itinerary creation. We aren’t even opening the internet.

Traveling Internationally? Check out what you need to know before you go!

Research Time!

Here is the fun part! You want to use your resources to find the most things to do at your destination. Use excel or google sheets and keep adding sites to your list.

Research how to create the perfect travel itinerary

Here are some places you may want to look for information:

Tip: If you haven’t yet booked your accommodations, now is a good time to take a look at a map. Do a large number of must-do sites on your wish list cluster in a certain area? If so, you might want to consider booking accommodations nearby to simplify your transportation needs. This isn’t always a good idea but consider it.

Here are some additional questions you’ll want to consider:

  • What is my destination known for? Is it art, the natural landscape, history, architecture, etc.?
  • What season will it be at my destination? Are there any popular seasonal activities I’d like to try while I’m there?
  • Are there any special holiday events or festivals taking place there that I’d be interested in attending?
  • What is the weather typically like there that time of the year and month? Will I be comfortable spending long periods outdoors, or will I want to spend more time indoors?
  • What are the public transportation options at my destination? Is there a good metro/public transportation system or will I have to rely on taxis, ride-sharing, or walking to get around? Will I need to rent a car?
  • Where are my accommodations in relation to the major site on my list?
  • Does my destination offer any kind of city or museum pass? Also consider Hop-on, Hop-Off buses either as a way to get around or just to see what attractions they stop at.

I will say at this time I like to add some columns to my excel or google sheets to add some details to all the things I’ve researched to save some time later. Here I’ll add columns that allow me to record basic information about the researched sites. Information like the hours of operation, address, if tickets are needed and their cost, high-level highlights, and the website link. This is going to form the basis of how you’ll create a travel itinerary.

Flesh out your Wish List

Here is where your Itinerary starts to take shape! At this stage of your research, you’ve probably started to come across the same sites over and over again. It’s okay if at this point you have more things on your list than you can possibly complete (if you don’t have enough stuff, we can talk about some alternatives later on).

Now you can take some time reviewing your wish list and remove things that you’re not that interested in, and keep and prioritize the things you’re most interested in. If you’re not sure, keep it on your list! Nothing is confirmed or set in stone.

If you don’t have enough on your wish list

Now here you can get creative. I don’t want you to feel like you need to fall into the trap of “I MUST fill every waking hour”. It is perfect to have flexibility built in and time to rest and explore.

With that said there are some things you can do if you have more time than activities you’re interested in doing at your destination.

  • If you haven’t booked accommodations you can look at adding an additional stop to your trip. This way you can see two destinations in one trip! For example, if you are flying into Paris you might want to take a train ride to Nice for a couple of days before going back to Paris to fly home.
  • If you have booked accommodations you can do a quick road trip. For example, if you were staying in Florence you can take a train for a quick day trip to Pisa or Lucca. You can do that in the states too! For example, in Boston, a $10 Unlimited Pass on the Commuter Rail can take you to dozens of surrounding towns for day trips.
  • Finally, You can also just plan some time to just relax poolside, or lounge in bed, maybe with some room service.
Create a travel itinerary

You have this nice long list and you want to divide it up into four sections. These are “Must Do”, “Want to do”, “Nice to do”, and “Don’t really care for.” You will want to reorganize your list to fit under these different headings. Then your itinerary is really taking shape. Obviously what goes in each category is completely up to you but it might look something like this:

Must Do

This is usually the bucket list stuff! Like the things that people travel long and far to see. Such as the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, Pyramids of Egypt, the Dead Sea, etc. You get the gist. Of course, you can add your own must-dos here they don’t all have to be the major tourist draws. Remember think Bucket List.

Want To Do

These are the second-tier sites for your trip, the things you want to make room for, but won’t necessarily dissolve into tears if you can’t manage it. Examples from my travels would include the Rodin Museum (Paris), Trevi Fountain (Rome), or walking the entire High Line in New York City.

Nice To Do

You’re really going to look at the minor types of activities here. Like “Sit on the Spanish Steps” or “try a NYC hot dog” or “sit in a Parisian Cafe”. These will fill in spots in your travel itinerary when you’re creating it, but they can also quickly be cut if you’re running out of time.

Don’t Really Care for

These are the sites that are first on the chopping block once we start to build the actual itinerary. Or you may have cut them already once you did your destination research.

Since you already took the time to notate some of your research for each site in your excel or google sheet, you don’t have a lot more to do at this point. You might want to add more detail like which day of the week is best to visit or if you need to purchase a ticket ahead of time to visit. But that is a personal preference. I do believe that the most complete information you have the better. It will help create a travel itinerary faster with more information.

Create a travel itinerary and pick your must dos

Build the Itinerary

Google Maps here will be your best friend! It will give you the ability to search for all your sites and selected activities as well as plan how to get places. It even has a great feature in which you can save all the selected sites into a trip folder so you can see all the flags in one place.

This powerful tool can help narrow down your wish list even further. You might want to eliminate places that are too far out of the way or too expensive when you find less expensive options nearby. Around this time you might also be considering getting a city pass or a museum pass or any other type of tourist pass your destination may offer.

When considering this you want to look at the cost-benefit analysis. Will you be going to enough places on this pass that it makes the cost worthwhile? What are the costs of each entrance fee vs the total cost of the pass? Remember there is no wrong travel itinerary when you create it to meet your needs and wants.

What to cut and what to keep?

This part of the process is incredibly personal so I can’t tell you what is right or wrong. I do have these questions that you want to consider in order to build the best itinerary for you!

  • Are there activities that are clumped together? Walking distance? How do you want to get around?
  • Are there activities or sites you want to add because you’re getting a pass?
  • If you’re not getting a pass does that mean you will cut stuff out or add things?
  • Do you have enough time to rest and restore on vacation?
  • Is there anything on this list you are not excited about? (Hint: Cut that out immediately)

Put it all together

Start with your must-dos. Those will be the first that make it on your itinerary. Don’t put them off to fit in later because they won’t fit in! Once again use Google Maps to help with this. You can see where your must-dos are within your destination location and it can help you plan out each day so you are not traveling back and forth.

Once your Must-Dos have made it to your itinerary, add those Want To-Dos! Those are your second most important. Map them out so you keep them close to the must-dos. Walking around is an excellent way to explore so positioning your sites and activities within walking distance gives you the ability to explore while you visit each site. Finally, add the Nice To Dos.

When creating your travel itinerary, allow for flexibility, getting lost, and unexpected changes of plans (like weather). This will make you happier when you’re at your destination. Don’t overpack your schedule, it will make it miserable for you. We had this issue the first time we went to NYC and ended up needing to take a day off work when we got back.

Tips

  • If you are going to multiple cities do this for each city.
  • Remember travel takes time, you want to add that to your itinerary! That also means you don’t want to be bouncing around too much.
  • Eat like the locals eat. (Category: Eat Around the World)
  • Ensure to look at all the methods of transportation available within your destination before defaulting to one. There can be something more efficient within your destination.
  • I cannot stress this enough: LEAVE TIME TO REST AND RELAX. Don’t overbook your days.
  • Print out your itinerary or have it someplace that’s easy to access.
Create a travel itinerary and travel to Maine!

Finally, I want to say, just because you have a beautifully and intricately planned trip does not mean you cannot be spontaneous! You can find that you sometimes plan too much time for a site or activity and have extra time to explore. Or you can be greatly enjoying a site and decide you don’t want to go to the next place. The travel itinerary you created is a guide to fun!

Now that you have your trip planned think about what you’ll do with your cat or dog when you’re gone. Consider ways to make travel easier with TSA Pre-Check. Find out what items you might need for a long flight.