Making an itinerary is really important to manage your day when you’re out because you travel on a limited budget and for a limited amount of time, you would want to enjoy it the most! That’s why creating an itinerary can greatly help you enjoy a great vacation time.
It can be a rough itinerary like the names of places you want to visit or can be as detailed as planned for every hour! We suggest going the middle way, include the places you really wish to visit and keep a flexible time to explore and get amazed with unplanned moments!
How to make an itinerary?
It goes a lot behind planning a perfect itinerary for you. Before There are 10 set of questions that you need to ask yourself when you start making your travel itinerary:
- Where do I want to visit?
- How many days do I want to plan for?
- What is my maximum budget for the vacation?
- Do I want an adventurous or or a relaxing vacation?
- Who are my travel companions?
- Do I have any dietary restrictions or allergies?
- Do I have any travel companions with special care like an infant or old family members or a person needing ADA assistance?
- Do I know anyone who’s been there to get a general idea?
- Do I have enough time if am required to apply for a visa?
- Can bad weather ruin my travel plans? If yes, check weather details for your specific travel dates.
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After you get the answers to those questions, start making your itinerary. You can use your diary/ a planner to write down your plan or you can save it on your desktop or phone. Just make sure it’s easy to access when you need to check it.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
Make Google your best friend for next few days. You can search using different ways like like “Adventurous things to do in XYZ City” or “Best restaurants in ABC state”. This will pull up a lot of interesting information for your through different blogs, travel websites, booking websites etc. and this is a great way to get trip ideas straight from travel experts. You can also search on Tripadvisor and check out photos with reviews by real travelers from all over the world!
BE ORIGINAL
A very big mistake that most of the travelers do is to blindly follow a most popular or an internet recommendation list. And when you are in the middle of the trip and not having fun, it’s too late! Do not decide on the basis of other’s list, make your own list.
If you are seeking for adventure, you’ll have to make sure that the place offers those options to you like water activities, zip lining, horse riding, whale watching tours, sky diving etc. If you are looking to have a relaxing vacation, you will want to check for beaches and and spas. Some might enjoy hiking, some might just like sightseeing. Some enjoy the day activities, while others enjoy the glamorous party nightlife. The most important thing is the you should be having fun.
MAKE A LIST
Start with a rough list of places to see, things to do, hotels nearby, restaurants as per your taste preferences and transportation options.
Like I said before, you can make the list online or in your diary. After completing your first draft, divide them into three categories: Definitely do’s, Would like to do and Optional activities.
For each activity on the list, write time required and take an estimation of distance by putting the locations on Google maps.
CREATE A DRAFT CALENDAR
Search for the opening hours and open days of all definitely-do places. Write down each day of your trip and include some must-do items from your list that are closer to each other by distance.
Add breakfast, lunch and dinner stops. Make this list for all your vacation days and add from would like to-do list and from optional activities.
MAKE COMPLETE ITINERARY
Complete your itinerary by adding accommodation, restaurant stops and transportation details, and a list of the activities per day.
You can make it as detailed as an itinerary for hour-by-hour on your calendar, or you can just keep a list of must do and must see and keep crossing it off each day.
MAP YOUR STOPS
When you know all the places and activities for your trip, create a map to visit these places sequentially. If there is more than one city in your plan, make sure you have correct map setting like to avoid highway or not, or any scenic route you want to opt.
FIX YOUR BUDGET
INCLUDE EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
LEAVE ROOM FOR SOME SPONTANEITY
Save your flight numbers, hotel addresses, maps, etc. to your itinerary file for easy access. Know the currency exchange rate.. It is much easier to look at one file then have to scroll through dozens of emails or check different apps so keep all important information in one place.