Start with what is booked
Put the fixed points in first: flights, trains, accommodation, tours and anything with a set time. Everything else fits around them.
Plan one main thing per day
Give each day one or two main activities and leave the rest loose. Overpacked days lead to rushing and missed connections. Group activities by area so you are not crossing a city several times a day.
Count travel time and rest
Moving between places always takes longer than the map suggests. Allow time for check-in, getting lost and eating. After a long journey or an overnight flight, keep the next day light.
Keep every booking in one place
Record each booking with its reference number, address, time and cost, and note any free cancellation deadline. Keep a copy offline in case you have no signal when you arrive.
Budget before you go
Estimate costs by category, such as transport, accommodation, food and activities, and compare with what you have booked. If you are travelling with others, agree how costs will be split before the trip, not at the airport on the way home.
Documents and emergencies
Check passport validity and any visa or entry requirements on your government's official travel advice pages well before you travel. Keep copies of documents, insurance details and emergency contacts somewhere separate from the originals.
Travelling as a group
Agree the budget and the pace before booking, since those cause most group arguments. Share one itinerary everyone can see, and leave some free time so people can split up and do what they each enjoy.
Pack from the itinerary
Write your packing list from the days you planned: a hike needs boots, a nice dinner needs one smart outfit, a beach day needs sun protection. Packing for the trip you actually planned, rather than every possibility, keeps the bag light.
Your whole trip in one spreadsheet. The Trip Planner and Itinerary Spreadsheet takes every plan once with its date, times, place, booking reference and cost, and shows any day in time order. It keeps confirmation numbers and free cancellation dates, converts currencies, and splits costs between up to 8 travellers. The free Trip Itinerary Template has the itinerary, a day sheet and a packing list.
View in the StoreFrom the Stelaah Store
- ✓Trip Planner and Itinerary Spreadsheet. An Excel and Google Sheets trip planner with a day by day itinerary, bookings, a budget, shared expenses split between up to 8 travellers, packing and documents.
- ✓Travel Planner. A free, undated 12-page fillable PDF travel planner with a trip overview, day by day itinerary, reservations, budget and packing lists.
We build Stelaah and the Stelaah Store. These guides cover the everyday problems our planners, kits and tools are made for, in plain steps you can use with or without them.