Planning an itinerary can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Whether you’re planning a weekend trip to a city, a two-week holiday in a beach town or a two-month backpacking trip, you’ll want to see as much as possible without wasting time or money.

Over the years we’ve developed a strategy for setting up the perfect itinerary and doing travel planning as effectively and quickly as possible. With these nine steps, planning your next trip will be easy, and you won’t find yourself missing out on any attractions.

If you usually struggle to set up an efficient itinerary or find yourself wishing you’d have done more on your trip, then this is the post for you. Keep reading for our step-by-step travel planning guide and find out how to change the way you plan your trips.

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Why making an itinerary matters

Even if you’re not a fan of spreadsheets and an exact travel itinerary, a bit of planning and preparation can really help give you the best travel experience. Most people either find themselves over-planning and never completing their itineraries or not doing any research at all and missing out on the best things to do and see.

Have you ever sat in your hotel room googling what to do in the city you’re visiting, wasting time and ending up disappointed when you run out of time to see everything? While you can definitely find fun things to do on the go, you shouldn’t rely on everything just working out.

Just a few hours of planning will really take your trip to the next level.

Another reason why we love to encourage travellers to do their research before they go is to avoid disappointment. If you’re flying to Bali expecting it to look like Eat Pray Love, that will probably not be the case. If you’ve carefully set up your itinerary and done some planning, you’ll know that Bali is actually quite touristy and that you should go to specific areas to find the authenticity and peacefulness you might be looking for.

Are these steps necessary for every trip?

While we love travel planning (we think it’s almost as fun as the actual trip), we do realise that not everyone does. Plus, over-planning might actually make your experience worse, which you’ll want to avoid, of course.

If you make your itinerary too packed and leave no time for spontaneous activities, you might miss out on the best parts of travelling. Plus, travel is meant to inspire you to experience a new place. No one can truly enjoy the present if they’re constantly referring to a schedule.

This guide on how to plan your travel itinerary will mostly apply to trips where you’re trying to see a lot in a short period of time. If you’re on a two-week beach vacation to simply relax and enjoy yourself, then too much planning will not be helpful.

If you’re number one goal for your trip is to get away for a bit then, by all means, ignore everything this article says and ditch the itineraries. However, you might still benefit from some research before you go.

Even if you’re only planning to lay by the pool or go to the beach the entire time, you might find it interesting what there is to see and do around you, just in case you get bored.

9 steps to plan the perfect itinerary

Here are nine steps we love to use to plan and set up an itinerary.

1. Pick your destination

The first step of travel planning is, of course, picking your destination. This will usually be an easy step if you’ve already booked your flight or know you want to travel to a certain place.

If you’re not sure where you’ll be going, you should do some research online for fun new destinations to try. You can also join an organised tour to places like Thailand or Bali if you’re not up for planning an entire trip yourself.

Your destination choice will affect your itinerary a lot. Planning a trip to a larger city, for example, is usually more work than setting up an itinerary for a beach vacation. If you’re planning to see multiple places on one trip, now is the time to consider how long you want to spend in each one.

2. Decide on your time-frame

If you’re planning a big trip, you will most likely have limited time available. It’s important to keep in mind how much time you’ll have to see a place when you’re planning your itinerary. There is no use in planning a big trip when you only have a few days, so set up your itinerary wisely.

Don’t forget to factor in travel days, which quickly turn a week-long trip into just a few days.

3. Consider where you’re staying

Booking your accommodation and doing research for what you want to do in a certain place should go hand in hand. You don’t want to blindly book a hotel or hostel in a new city without knowing first where the main attractions are. Consider your budget and always check if the accommodation you’re choosing is close to public transport.

If you’re not too worried about your budget you might be staying in a really nice hotel or apartment. For resort-style trips, you’ll want to keep in mind that you might be spending a considerable amount of time at your hotel. This is important when you plan your itinerary so that you don’t end up missing out on the amazing amenities you’re paying for.

4. Do the research and look at examples

Now that you know where you’re going, where you’re staying and for how long, it’s time to do some research on the destination you’re seeing. This is where travel blogs can be incredibly helpful.

The advantage of doing travel research and planning online is that you can always find up-to-date and relevant information, plus you can make use of reviews from people who have already been there. All for free!

Googling “What to do in” or “Things to do in” is really helpful and will show you tons of fun activities and must-see places. Looking at sample itineraries will also really help you get an idea of what is realistic to see in one day.

Some of our most popular itineraries include our Indonesia guides to Yogyakarta and Nusa Penida or our itineraries to Lisbon or Thailand.

5. Make a list

Next, we love to make a big list of all the things we’re interested in seeing on our trip. This can be a very rough list of places you come across during your research, and you can keep adding to it as you go.

This list will be really helpful to organise yourself and make sure you’re not missing out on anything. If you feel up for it, you can create a subsection for places to eat, which will be really helpful to refer to later if you’re struggling to find a place for lunch or dinner.

6. Make a map

A list is great to get an overview of what you want to see, but it’s not the best way of planning an itinerary. You want to avoid wasting too much time on needless transportation between places, so setting up your itinerary in an efficient way is really important.

That way, you avoid having to go back and forth between areas or forgetting to see a place while you are close by.

We usually take our list of things to do in a place and then transfer them to Google Maps. You can use the “My Maps” function as a travel planning tool to make sure you always have your map with you everywhere you go and can keep it as a reference for the future. Or, it’s even easier to just mark interesting places on your Google Maps with a star, and organise them in different lists, so you won’t get confused.

Our itineraries on Guide Your Travel usually include such an interactive map that is easy to add to your phone. That way you get to skip all the previous steps and save yourself time with a ready-to-go map that includes all the important attractions.

Once you’ve added all the items from your list onto a map, you should have a pretty good idea of where all the places of interest are. This is probably the most important step on this list and will truly help you set up an organised and efficient itinerary.

Check out the map of San Sebastián below as an example.

Check out the best things to do in San Sebastian, Spain

7. Look at the transport

Your next job is to look at your map and find out how far apart everything is and how you’re going to get from Point A to Point B. For some distances you may be able to walk, for others you might need public transport or a car.

Don’t forget about places that are further away and might require a day trip. If that is the case and you’ll be spending an entire day getting to one attraction, you might want to look at other places of interest nearby.

That way, you can see more things at once and get the most out of your trip.

8. Set priorities

Unfortunately, travellers rarely have enough time to see everything they want to see. It’s likely that your list of things to do is too long and you’ll have to set some priorities.

At this point, it’s really useful to colour code your list and map to get an idea of what you don’t want to miss and what you could maybe leave out. You can still keep these ideas on your list for your next trip.

9. Plan your itinerary

Lastly, you finally have all the tools you need to set up your itinerary. Gather the points on your map into little groups of things you want to do in one day. Do some research on how long you’ll approximately be spending at each one and what’s realistic to do in a day.

Plan the things that are important to you first and add the others around them. Give big attractions their own day, and don’t plan to see the most important thing on the last day in case you can’t because of the weather or unforeseen circumstances.

Most importantly, don’t stress yourself out too much and avoid over-planning. Here are some tips to keep in mind while you plan your itinerary.

Tips and tricks for planning an itinerary

Planning an itinerary will feel like second nature after some time, but you might want to keep these tips in mind for your first few attempts.

Be realistic

Don’t make your time schedule too tight. If you’re planning your day in 30-minute chunks starting at 7:00 AM, you’re most likely overdoing it.

If you’re running from place to place just to see, you won’t have a lot of chances to actually enjoy any of it. Go back to step number 8 and take some things off your list if you’re feeling like there won’t be enough time. Even just one or two big activities or attractions per day are usually enough.

Leave room for spontaneous activities

The best parts of travelling are often the things you didn’t plan. Use these steps to plan a rough itinerary, but avoid making a set time schedule.

You’ll want to use your map and list to get a rough idea of which attractions are close together, but not to plan your day minute by minute. Definitely leave room for spontaneous activities and unplanned exploring.

If you come across a museum, an interesting place, or something you didn’t have in your original itinerary, don’t shy away from moving away from your original plan and doing something spontaneous.

Factor in transport

Keep in mind how long it will take you to get from one place to another. This is especially important for day trips. Again, over-stuffing your itinerary is not a good idea, especially if you’ll be spending a good chunk of your day on a bus or in a taxi.

Traffic is something we often forget about, and a quick 30-minute drive can quickly turn into two hours in rush hour in a busy city.

Don’t forget about downtime

Sightseeing is exhausting. You’ll most likely be too ambitious when planning your itinerary and will end up tired and unmotivated to go out and see more.

Everyone knows that point of your trip when all you want to do is lie on your bed in the hotel room and not do anything for a few hours. Leaving some time in the afternoons to rest for a few hours can really help you regain that energy.

That way, you won’t skip too much of your itinerary because you feel tired or unmotivated.

Factor in bad weather

It’s useful to keep in mind which attractions can be seen during bad weather and which can’t. When it comes closer to your trip and you can see the weather forecast you should take some time to adjust your itinerary if there is going to be rain.

Make sure to have some rainy-day activities ready in case the weather is bad.

Consider waiting times

If you’re seeing big attractions like a famous landmark or a museum there will most likely be waiting times. These can be several hours and might mess up your itinerary and plan for the day.

Always keep in mind that you might have to wait for a while before you go see a place, and book entrance tickets and tours in advance if you can.

Factor in opening hours and busy times

Opening hours are another thing people tend to forget about when planning their itinerary. Some places close in the early afternoon or are only open on certain days of the week.

Always do research on this before you go, and make sure the hours are up-to-date. Another thing to keep in mind is that every tourist will want to visit the main attractions during the same time of day. To avoid long waiting times and huge crowds, you should make sure to visit popular places early in the morning if possible.

Look at weekdays and special events

Finally, research public holidays or special events before you go. Opening hours might be different on those days, which is good to keep in mind. In general, places are a lot busier on the weekends, so try to see the attractions that are important to you during the week.

However, if you’re planning to experience the local nightlife, you should make sure to do so on the weekend for a more fun experience.

Planning an itinerary FAQ

Before you go…

You’re ready to plan your itinerary for your big trip, and hopefully, this post was helpful. If you’re not quite set on a destination yet, you might want to check out our guides to popular places around the world like Kuala Lumpur, the best islands in Thailand, Ubud or Uluwatu in Bali, or the Komodo National Park.

In Europe, have a look at Saint Emilion, San Sebastian, Porto, Frigiliana or Madrid.

Did I miss anything?
If you have any questions or feel like something is missing from this post, please leave a comment below or contact me.