Are you wondering how to plan an itinerary for an upcoming trip?

Do you need some quick tips to help you prepare a solid resource document for your travels?

It’s no surprise that traveling can be a lot of fun.

But it can also be fraught with a lot of detailed information.

Fortunately, you can keep all of your trip information neat and tidy by creating an itinerary.

In this post, you’ll find a few pointers to help you prepare a simple itinerary.

Whether you’re planning a vacation, short weekend excursion, or business trip, these tips will help you easily organize information.

Gather travel documents and information.

First things first, it’s a good idea to round up all related information to your upcoming trip.

Gather any relevant emails, tickets, brochures, pamphlets, notes, and the like.

Make sure you have a web browser open and ready on your computer, tablet, or smart phone.

This is just in case you need to research some information as you prepare your itinerary.

Open a blank document in a word processor.

Next, you’re going to start creating your itinerary.

A simple way to capture information is in a plain word processor.

This is where you are going to write and store your itinerary.

Yes, you could write-up the document by hand.

However, a word processor allows you to quickly and easily move items around in the document.

Type out the name of your trip at the top of the document. Then list the start and end dates underneath.

Divide your itinerary into sections.

Your next step is to divide your itinerary into three general sections. This will make it easy to locate information.

The sections should be setup as follows:

General Information – This area contains all the “at-a-glance” information for your trip. This space is a great catch-all for lodging, transportation, contacts, and the like.

Dates/Times – This is the area where you list out the different dates and times of your trip. This includes arrivals, departures, connections, and reservation information. List the dates of your trip first, then fill in all the different times as needed.

Notes – This area is for any other information about your trip you should know about that doesn’t quite fall into the categories above.

Drop information into sections.

Now it’s time to put all of your information into the three sections.

Keep in mind the following items as you lay out your itinerary:

• Trip details – start and end dates, any major info about your trip, etc.
• Travel details – dates, types of transportation, routes, reservation and confirmation numbers, connection information, rentals, etc.
• Lodging details – dates, name of lodging, full address, phone number, fax, website, email, reservation numbers, etc.
• Traveler details – names, dietary restrictions, health and medication notes, emergency numbers, etc.

Proofread and double-check your work.

An itinerary is only as good as the information contained within.

Double-check your work a few days later to make sure you have included everything you need.

Even better still, have someone you trust review the document to make sure there aren’t any glaring errors or omissions.

It’s a good idea to confirm general information first.

For instance, you’ll want to ensure you have the correct name, address, and phone number for a hotel.

After that, it’s time to move on to the specific dates and times of your itinerary.

Take your time working through each line to make sure everything is correct.

Make sure all arrivals have matching departures and vice versa.

Lastly, confirm all your notes. Do a final check to make sure all the items are clear and understandable.

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How about you? Which of these itinerary planning tips did you find most helpful? Join in the conversation and leave a comment below!