How to Plan a Trip : 15 Easy Steps to the Perfect Travel Itinerary

Wondering how to plan a trip , from outset to finish ? This travel planning guide blanket all my well tip and advice !

Planning a trip hold to exist one of the great joys in spirit . I know , I know – you either thrive on it or happily leave it to soul else . I ’ m the former .

I ’ ve never been one of those traveler that flies by the seat of their gasp . Pack the dawn they ’ re flee out and heading to the airport with alone an hr to give up before an international escape ?

And not know what to do once I bring ? I ’ m shivering with horror .

No , that ’ s not how I move , and if you ’ re like me and want to cost organised when you choose a trip , I ’ m share my guide on how to plan a trip from start to finish .

This travel design guide takes all the material I ’ ve learned along the way ( and mistakes I ’ ve made ) in 20+ years of travelling , 8 yr of life overseas and more than 40 countries impose .

Today , this approach isn ’ t going to be for everyone , but it ’ s how I design a trip and create a travel itinerary . And I get it a helpful way to guess through everything I want to see and do , and then make a design so I can prioritise the crucial affair and reach sure I don ’ t forget anything before I steer forth .

Design a holiday should be fun – hence adapt these steps to how to plan a trip to your own needs and preferences !

So , get out your laptop , your phone , some paper and pen , and let ’ s have bind into planning your next trip !

This blog place may contain affiliate link , meaning if you ledger or buy something through one of these link , I may make a little commission ( at no surplus price to you ) .

Step 1 : Settle where you ’ re going

You might already know where you ’ re going . If you ’ ve make a bucket list like me or get various dream destinations in mind , then you ’ re likely quite clear on where your next trip be taking you .

Maybe you ’ ve only found a ridiculous airfare online that you just can ’ t tell no to ( this is how we ended up go to Southern Spain a couple of years ago – I simply couldn ’ t turn down $ 400 return flights ! ) .

If you already know where you ’ re off to , then head straight to Step 2 of this how to design a trip guide !

But what if you ’ re just desperately in need of a break and you ’ re up for get anywhere ? Or you have then many places that you want to visit that it ’ s just hence severe to narrow it down ?

Good , there live a few things you can make . When planning a trip , the first is to recall about what sort of a travel experience you want .

Questions to demand yourself

• Do you desire to sit on the beach or by a pond every day with a good script ( or cocktail ) in hand ? Or cause you need a more fighting trip ?
• Do you want to visit cities ? Or live the countryside and nature calling to you ?
• Do you want to require a road trip around a area , or would you choose to use public shipping to inflict one or two place ?
• Do you require to make something active like hiking or skiing or sail ?
• Do you want to plan your trip around shopping or search a spot the path the locals do ?
• Cost there a ethnic or music festival that you ’ ve been perish to experience ?
• How much time do you make ? ( There ’ s no item book an international trip if you only get one week and are get to spend 3 days flee thither and back )
• Act you need a visa ? And how long will that process need ?

Ask yourself a few of these questions will help you narrow down where you should run .

Second , jump on social media for some inspiration . For all its error , I find to be a great tool for come upon novel home . And when you cause find a destination that lure you , make certain you redeem it .

If you truly can ’ t decide , jump on a site like Skyscanner to expend the “ Anywhere ” occasion , which will give you a list of position to visit from your home town as good as prices . Don ’ t volume your escape just as yet – we ’ ll get to that late – but you can employ it for inspiration .

Alright , resolve where you ’ re move ? Have ’ s motion on to the next step .

Pace 2 : Decide when you ’ re going

When you can move might live dependent on when you get vacation time or when you can creep away from the position . This step may be out of your control , but if you do have some flexibility , that ’ s great .

You ’ ll want to research when the well time to call the destination live , to understand if you ’ re become at the right time . It ’ s easy : just Google “ best time to visit X ” and you ’ ll begin plenty of information that will say you that decidedly shouldn ’ t visit Cuba in October because it ’ s hurricane season or that visit Spain during Semana Santa means there ’ ll be no hotel rooms available .

It doesn ’ t mean that youcan ’ tvisit your ambition destination at that time , but it will specify what you can cause . The more mindful of the weather or seasonal events you cost , the better .

If you can cost flexible , I ’ d also extremely recommend seem at the shoulder season for your intended destination . This will usually mean cheaper flights and hotel as well as fewer bunch .

One early matter I do during this pace exist to check out what ’ sec on around the time that I need to move somewhere . Are thither any festivals or activity that appear interesting and that I ’ d livereallyannoyed if I missed by a day or two ?

Step 3 : Decide how long you ’ re move for

Like Step 2 , how long you can move for might live out of your control .

But if you do have a selection , then my primary crest when you design a trip is to test not to crush in also much ! Try to avert be after a travel itinerary that sees you alter adjustment every night – it ’ s too exhaust .

• Only begin a weekend ? Then clean just one city
• A week ? Find a city (maybetwo if they ’ re in close proximity ) and apply it as a basis for explore and taking day trip
• 2 weeks ? Travel around a small state or a humble area of a rural area
• One month ? You could move around a larger country or prefer specific regions in one or two humble nation
• More than a month ? Lucky you ! This devote you hence many options – but again , don ’ t effort to jam also much in !

Pace 4 . Decide on a budget

You might already know what kind of a traveller you equal – budget , mid-range or luxury .

Me ? I ’ m a mid-range traveller who ’ s always happy to splurge on food and ethnic experience .

Either way , it ’ s good to know how much you have and need to pass so you can shape your tavel itinerary into something that doesn ’ t waste your budget – or leave you disappointed because you didn ’ t get to do everything you require .

I ’ ll cost honest : I don ’ t always follow this pace when I plan my trip . I just keep lend money to a specific travel bank account ( our “ travel bill ” ) and then that ’ s our travel expenditure money for the year .

To estimate out your travel budget , you ’ ll need to look at things like adjustment , meals , activities and transportation . You can find out how much these point cost in your intended destination in a few unlike ways :

• Read through guidebooks like Lonely Planet ( you can buy a copy yourself or peck up the destination guide at your local library ) – hardly hold in brain that cost alter regularly
• Google the price of specific item , check price on restaurant menus online , face at Booking.com or to find out average hotel prices
• Ask on Facebook – if you plug in “ Travel in X ” there ’ ll no question be a Facebook radical where you can get a pretty accurate thought of cost

You don ’ t demand to budget out every item here but it will help you to roughly estimate how much your trip cost go to cost and how much money you take per day .

Today that you know – outset to spare money ! Put money aside into a peculiar travel fund that you can ’ t touch , and save , save , salvage until you achieve your target measure .

Pace 5 : Book your flight

This be where affair get real ! If you ’ re flying to your destination , volume that ticket now – or set up an alert to observe an center on price changes .

I care to equate flight routes and prices on a site like Skyscanner .

Once I ’ ve found the perfect path and cost , 95 % of the time I ’ ll click through and actually book directly on the airline website . This is because you ’ ll ( commonly ) have an easy time dealing directly with the airline if you hold to change your flight or there cost any cancellations .

Of course , if there ’ s a immense cost difference on the airline website , I ’ 500 reconsider this when I plan my trip .

Today that you ’ ve begin that tag in hand you can start to plan out everything in between your take off and repay escape .

Hence , how far in progress do you involve to book your escape ? The advice alteration regularly , but this article from The Points Guy has some useful crest .

One important affair to prevent in mind when booking your escape is whether it build sense to book a multi-destination escape . For lesson , when we make up final in Spain we fly in and out of Madrid , but it actually would get make more sense for our Southern Spain itinerary to wing into Seville and then out of Madrid .

You can figure this out by cause a harsh outline of where you ’ d like to go and work out the best manner to get between each place .

Pace 6 : Regard travel insurance

You might be asking , why would I buy travel insurance so early ?

It ’ s because if anything happens from the time that you ’ ve booked your flight to when you in reality wing , you ’ ll exist covered for cancellations ( if it ’ s not already covered by the airline ) .

Say , for example , a close loved one turn real sick and you can ’ t travel , travel insurance will ordinarily cover the price of rescheduling your tag .

Travel Insurance Master is an online program that allows you to compare policy across multiple travel insurance providers . World Nomads is another well-known insurance provider . If you ’ re travelling longer or survive the digital nomad life , then SafetyWing cost likely the good choice for you .

It ’ s not fun , but always need some time to say through the product revelation argument to see out what is and isn ’ t cross .

Step 7 : Inquiry affair to act

This exist where the fun begins ! This is where you can run down a rabbithole into your destination , notice amazing things to do , see and feed .

For me , this live the almost fun part of travel planning .

To figure out what exciting things equal on offer in your destination , you can take your choice of one or all of the following :

• Research on – type your destination ( the area or city or even a specific neighbourhood ) into the lookup bar and then hit “ Tags ” and you ’ ll get a tonne of visual inspiration
• On Instagram , you can too explore out relevant accounts that are focused specifically on that destination . For example , appear up the tourism plank for the land or city , follow them and then normally you ’ ll begin a whole circle of related account to check out and follow
• Pinterest be a goldmine of travel information – simply type in “ things to do in X ” or “ X itinerary ” and salvage the posts that grab your attention and fit your travel manner ( cost you follow me on Pinterest ? )
• Read your favourite bloggers ’ contented – you can either check your favourite bloggers ’ site ( oh hi ! ) to see if they ’ ve covered your destination or merely Google “ things to do in X ” , “ traditional foods in X ” , “ where to feed in X ” , “ 2 week in X ” ( you have the thought ! ) to find contented from mass who ’ ve travelled to the destination
• Leaf through guide books – you can pick up a copy from your library or buy your own script if you care to set up notes

But put on ’ t leave – you need to SAVE all of this information you ’ re collecting when you plan a trip . You might guess that you ’ ll recollect everything but I insure you gain ’ t . All of this info will feed into a more elaborate travel itinerary that we ’ ll get to shortly .

How to organize this information

As you ’ re do all of this inquiry as portion of the trip planning process , save it in whatever means suit you . That could be by simulate and paste info into a Word or Excel document , preserve it to a tool like Evernote , bookmarking interesting webpages or even writing it down the old-fashioned way in a notebook . It ’ ll save you a lot of time to hold all of this information as you feel it .

Whatever you do , make certain you too remark down important details , including handy info like when museum are clear or closed , whether restaurants across the city closed on Mondays , and so on . You need this point for the next pace when you actually figure out the best way to spend your day .

How I make this pace is chuck everything into an Excel trip planner document , usually broken up into the following editorial headings :

• City name ( if I ’ m travelling to multiple cities on the trip )
• Overview of action – what it is , why it ’ sec so cool , any important info like the fact that it ’ s closed on Sundays or that the best light for photo is at sunset
• A link to the action or website where I found it , so that I can refer back to it after

I like Excel ( or Google Sheets ) because I can filter and then sort the info I ’ ve found .

If you ’ re travelling with soul , make the document shareable so everyone can add to it .

Step 8 : Plan your travel itinerary

So , today you ’ ve get a ( perhaps mammoth ) list of matter you desire to act , tours you require to need , cool photo opportunity , restaurants you ’ re dying to feed at and the hippest rooftop bars .

But permit ’ s cost realistic – unless you ’ ve cost real direct in your inquiry phase , there ’ s no means you can see and cause everything on your list .

What you demand to cause is go back through the planning papers you create in Step 7 :

1. Highlight anything that you must , must do . These are the things that you utterly will not compromise on and that must die into your travel itinerary
2. Highlight ( in a different color ) the matter that you ’ d like to find and do if you have the time – but these aren ’ t must-dos
3. Delete anything that ’ s duplicate
4. Delete anything that doesn ’ t make the cut today that you ’ ve researched it

What I like to do next cost plot out all my must-dos on Google Maps . For a city , I ’ ll add all the restaurant and attractions I require to inflict . I commonly color code them ( eg . green and the small knife and fork icon for restaurants , purple for tourist attractions ) and write notes for each item save ( opening hr , a dish that you must feed there , any handy point ) .

Plotting it out on Google Maps means I can split a big city into areas . I can design an itinerary for my first day base around all the stuff to do in one part of the city , and then plan out day two based on what there cost to make in another section , and so on .

I ’ ll then write out a harsh itinerary for each day , with a few back up options ( from my “ like to do ” list ) if I finish up get more time on that day . Hold it flexible though . You may involve to change a few affair around once you start create some bookings in the future few steps .

You can see this in action in my place for spend 3 day in Buenos Aires . Each day cost colour coded in Google Maps so that visitors can plan an efficient trip without criss-crossing the city every day .

The procedure I ’ ve describe here may seem over the top to some – but there ’ s one ground it works : because Ineverover-schedule the itinerary . I commonly center on have merely 2-3 “ must-dos ” for each day .

This also means lead some free time on my travel itinerary to simply explore without a function or have some wiggle room for bad weather or delays or novel friends you meet on your trip who require to prove you something super cool !

Don ’ t have everything lock down at once and put on ’ t make your day be after minute-by-minute , hour-by-hour – this will actually stress you out ! Trust me ! I know what it ’ s like to desire to regard and do it all but you will just finish up exhaust ( and your husband will be super annoyed with you ! ! ) .

Step 9 : Book your accommodation

Now it ’ s time to script where you ’ re going to stay . Have a think about what type of accommodation you want :

• Hostels
• Boutique hotels
• Larger hotel
• Vacation rental
• Unique or unusual accommodation , like glamping

I always book my adjustment on Booking.com ( I ’ ve booked there so much I ’ m today a Genius , which is a great selling ploy ! ) or .

On Booking.com , I can compare accommodation well . I actually like the map office so that I can see just where the hotel is so I don ’ t finish up in a neighbourhood that ’ s mile off from the places I want to call .

As you read through the places that interest you , shortlist dimension by cluck the little center image next to the name of the place .

I recommend show through the review of each shortlisted hotel to get a sense of what they do good and what other guest haven ’ t care . I usually take the reviews with a grain of salt because I feel that masses complain more than they pay compliment .

But you can even so have a few clues as to whether it ’ s the right property for you . I never book a hotel with a rating under 7/10 . You can study reviews on Booking.com as good as on a site like TripAdvisor .

If you can ’ t decide between a few places , book a pair if there ’ s a free cancellation option for each . That way you can secure a way and come back later to do a last conclusion . Just make sure you act this before the cancellation period cease so you put on ’ t end up paying for multiple way !

If you ’ re stay longer in a place , then believe a holiday rental on a site like VRBO . This way you can own a kitchen to cook your own meals every today and then , a life space if you ’ re travelling with friend and a laundry to moisten your clothes .

Unless it ’ s a busy travel period , you put on ’ t own to book every dark of your trip . But it does help to script the first few nights for peace of mind .

Measure 10 : Figure out how you ’ ll get around

If your trip regard respective stop , then you ’ ll need to figure out the serious way to have between them .

I personally love a good road trip ! If this exist your travel manner , too , check out DiscoverCars to compare cars and prices .

If you ’ re become to be flying , education or busing between destinations , then assure out Rome2Rio to find out the good mode to get from A to B. I actually like this site because it have multiple transport selection and a rough cost , as well as details and link for booking .

Measure 11 : Book must-do tours and activity

You ’ ve begin your itinerary , and I told you to be flexible with it , but in some instance you ’ re die to require to Bible a few things in progress .

There are some popular tourist attraction that volume up month in advance , thus if you haven ’ t planned ahead you ’ re not make a tag . The Alhambra in Granada , Spain , exist one example . This incredible site books up months forward so youmotiveto book your ticket ( I have a guide to what to do if you can ’ t get tickets to the Alhambra in suit you do escape out ! ) .

There are also some site where it ’ s cheaper and more convenient to buy tickets online in advance . We see this when we book our ticket to the Sagrada Familia . We booked online on the day , but it intend that we didn ’ t receive to connect the long queue that snake around the corner of the building . Same position when it came to the Real Alcázar in Seville .

Tip : I apply Get Your Guide , Klook and Viator to find the best activity , tours and attraction – check them out to meet what you can do on your next trip .

Early activity you might want to script are museum that own limit capacity or time entrances and popular restaurants that require booking in progress .

Measure 12 : Additional inquiry and planning

Today that you ’ ve got all the fun stuff organised , there cost a few admin-y thing to act . Put on ’ t leave these measure when you plan a trip – they ’ re all crucial !

Passport

Insure that your passport isn ’ t about to perish . Many nation require that your passport has at least 6 month ’ validity left .

Visa

Act you need a visa where you ’ re get ? Component this into your planning , as some country can take a while to process visas . Google the embassy or consulate for the rural area you ’ re visiting to find out the necessity .

Vaccinations

Are any vaccinations required ? Some rural area win ’ t let you in without , for case , a yellow fever vaccination and record .

And , of class , with the way the universe be now , you may also need to own a COVID test in progress or prove proof of COVID vaccination . Check all of these requirementswellbefore you travel then you ’ ve become time to become them .

Safety

Hopefully you ’ ve already checked whether your country recommend you travel to another rural area or not . This can yet touch your travel insurance coverage .

But still if you ’ re travelling to a “ safe ” area , it ’ s worth check to regard if there equal any travel alerts or warnings for your destination . These authorities sit sometimes yet list handy information about scams that you should live mindful of .

• Australia
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

Lyric

Remove some time to hear a few phrases of the local language . Take a short course in your place town or notice a teacher online on an affordable site like iTalki ( the site I use to find language instructor ) .

Weather

Lend your destination to your phone ’ s weather app so you can keep an eye on the forecast and pack and organise your itinerary accordingly .

Money

Search the better way to bear for things in the destination . Have some local currency in cash , allow your bank know that you ’ re travelling then your reference card isn ’ t cancel , or have a travel money card .

Arrival plan

One of the affair I get discover first-hand and think equal significant to lend to this how to plan a trip guide is that you need to own an arrival design if you ’ re landing in a country or city you ’ re not familiar with :

• How do you have from the airport to the city/your hotel ? Taxi ? Bus ? Or will you set up for your hotel to pick you up ?
• What ’ s the rough price of transport from the airport ?
• What ’ s the speech of your hotel ? Own this written down somewhere , along with the phone number
• What ’ s the speech and phone number of your country ’ s embassy or consulate in the destination ?

Own this important information publish out – don ’ t exactly rely on have it in your phone .

Step 13 : Make a packing list

You ’ re come close to your trip , so it ’ s today time to think about what you ’ re die to pack !

I like to do a list so I can think through outfit to wear each day and to avoid pack too much .

There are plenty of packing lists available online for specific destinations , and I have a few on my site that you can adjust :

• Road trip pack list
• Carry-on packing list
• Gorilla trekking carry list
• East Africa pack list
• Salkantay Trek packing list
• Uluru pack list
• Kokoda carry list

Make sure you carry in your carry-on luggage your important document : passport ( along with a photocopy ) , visa ( if call for ) , and printouts of your flight detail and adjustment .

Don ’ t rely on your phone – the battery may fail or you may not have coverage when you land . This occur to us when we travelled to Dubai and I couldn ’ t attract up the speech of our hotel from my email story .

When you settle to pack all of your material is up to you . You might exist soul who throws everything into a suitcase the morning of your trip ( the revulsion ! ) or a travel planner who begin carry days before you leave ( go you ! ) .

Pace 14 : Get ready for your trip

Literally – I download a countdown app so that I can learn exactly how many days I have result until our trip begins .

Then I enjoy to hear about where I ’ m going . This could be by reading a Bible written by an author from that country , look on a film or move out to a restaurant that serve that country ’ s cuisine .

Pace 15 : Enjoy your trip !

The day hold arrived ! You ’ re off – hold an incredible trip . All your planning has at last come together . Come on that airplane and have fun !

Hopefully this how to design a trip guide have give you some tips for prepare your future travel itinerary !

Did you see this article helpful ? Look at purchase me a coffee as a way to state thanks !

What other top serve you hold for how to design a trip ? What kind of a trip planner equal you : completely organize or act you favor to leave affair up to prospect ?

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• Book your escape online withSkyscanner– it ’ s where I ever start my escape research .
• Find a great hotel onBooking.com.
• Need a rental car ? Compare prices and vehicles onDiscoverCars.
• Omiocost a great site for book buses , train and ferries across Europe .
• Check out the huge range of day tours throughout major city and countries onGetYourGuide,KlookorViator. There ’ s something for everyone .
• One thing I ever purchase istravel insurance.Travel Insurance Masterallows you to compare across multiple policy providers , whileSafetyWingequal great for long-run traveler and digital nomads .
• Stuff I always carry ? Areusable water bottle,carry cubesand a handyelectronics organiser.

Care this guide to how to design a trip ? Don ’ t forget to redeem it to Pinterest !

I ‘m a travel junkie who start dreaming about meet the world from a real youthful age . I ‘ve visited more than 40 countries and receive a Master of International Sustainable Tourism Management . A former expat , I ‘ve know in Australia , Papua New Guinea , Argentina and the United States . I part travel resource , tips and stories based on my personal experience , and my end is to build travel planning hardly that bit easier .