Guide: travel itinerary

A travel itinerary is an important part of the travel process for two reasons:

1) It gives you an overview of what to do, even if you don't follow it to the letter, you'll have an idea of what's cool, how far away the places are and how long you can do them for.

2) The second reason is a little more romantic: you fall in love with the place before you even leave home! And that matters!

A few questions need to be answered before you can start putting together your travel guide. These are:

How many people will be traveling?

Traveling with a boyfriend or girlfriend? Taking the kids? Cousins? It's important for logistics to know how many people are going.

Type of trip

What do you want? Backpacking? Luxury travel? Relaxing trip? You can completely change your travel search and budget.

General budget

Before you even start, find out how much money you're willing to spend. It doesn't matter if it's a lot or a little, but know your limits! It's important to know how much you want to spend and how much you can spend, otherwise the travel plan won't help.

Travel time

Planning a 1-month trip? 10 days ? 1 week ? It's very important to know your time.

Knowing these answers, let's get down to business!

General site survey

It's time to find out a bit more about the city you're going to visit. Find out what there is to do, what kinds of programs are most common in a travel itinerary for this place.

Do your research on the place you want to visit, but don't stick to travel blogs and professional itineraries. Why? Quite simply, they try to talk about it in an interesting way, to show you the good things, while the average user talks about what they found in general and often talks about the bad things. You just have to be careful because people often take one specific problem - which may have happened to them - and make a big deal out of it, which can mislead an unsuspecting reader. Read from many sources!

Reference sites 

Some places where you can find good references:

Part 2 - Where to stay?

Well, you know the city, now let's find out where to stay! You know if you want a hostel, a 1, 2 or even 5-star hotel, so this is a no-brainer: just go to the hotel websites and choose. Be careful not to just look at the photos of the hotel/hostel itself, they're usually "nicer" than the real thing. As we did before, check reviews on the internet. Look up the name of the hotel on google, read the complaints, sometimes something the hotel lacks is unacceptable to you (like not having wifi for us on the blog).

Reference sites 

Once you've chosen your hotel, it's always a good idea to make a reservation. The worst thing that can happen to your trip is that you arrive in the city and have nowhere to stay. Sleeping in a train station/airport is very bad, we don't recommend it!

Some hotels ask you to pay a fee, usually non-refundable, to make a reservation. Be aware of this, it's a common practice and usually has to be paid at the time of booking. Always save all your receipts.

PART 3 - Transportation

Research how to get from your hotel to the places you plan to go, it's VERY important that you don't waste too much time getting around, as in general it's tiring and you want to have fun in the places, not on the way to them! Work out what's in your pocket and look for alternative options if something goes wrong. Find out if there is a card that entitles you to several tickets, as there is in Europe and the United States.

These details can usually be found on the website of the place you are traveling to.

PART 4 - Food

One of the best things about traveling is getting to know new cultures and the cuisine says a lot about the places. Take advantage of your trip to discover the markets and restaurants. Ask your hotel for information on where the best places to eat are, traditional places in the city and good bars.

Talking to the locals usually solves the problem quickly, they always have great tips on restaurants, bars, etc.

PART 5 - Other costs and considerations

Your travel itinerary is basically ready! Now you need to put down on paper all the costs involved in sightseeing, day-to-day life and accommodation. Always remember to have a reserve in case something happens.

If you're carrying a lot of cash, it's a good idea not to carry it all in cash, as it can be stolen, lost, etc. There are "travel money" cards that work like debit cards and are accepted in almost all countries. Always check if there is a cash machine where you are going and if the card is accepted in hotels and restaurants.

NOTE: Take a copy of all your reservations and payments with you. Bookings made months in advance can easily be lost by the hotel.