Whether you’re planning a weekend city break, or organizing a year-long, around-the-world journey, planning a trip requires organizing dozens of details. A vacation itinerary template helps you manage the schedule, budget, and logistical information of your trip. In this article, we’ll explain what a vacation itinerary template is, why you need one, and share examples and templates to help you plan your perfect vacation.
What is a vacation itinerary template?
A vacation itinerary template is a document you can use to create a travel plan and centralize all the details of your trip — it’s basically a travel schedule with space for other useful travel information such as:
- Flight departure and arrival times
- Accommodation name and address
- Contact details
- Any excursions or events planned for the trip
- Trip essentials, such as sunscreen or protective clothing
- Information about the destination and how to respect the local people and culture
- Useful phrases in the local language
The itinerary format depends on your needs — you might create a travel spreadsheet template in Excel if you’re focused on costs or try a Google Docs itinerary template for more general planning. If you want a simpler visual of your schedule, a Gantt chart view might be a good choice, as you can see in the example below. However, a capable Work OS is a more flexible option than Word or Excel because it allows you to do both — but more on this later. First, let’s cover why you should use a vacation itinerary template in the first place.
Why use a vacation itinerary template?
Whether you’re a solo traveler or the official trip planner for a 20-person European tour, an event itinerary template helps ensure you don’t skip over any important details. It’s especially helpful when traveling in groups as it’s a way to make sure everyone has all the information they need. Ultimately, an itinerary planner template can improve the quality of your trips by allowing you to:
1. Centralize your travel information in one place
Travel often involves using more than one form of transport or catching a connecting flight. A travel itinerary enables you to keep your travel information all in one place, including departure and arrival times, flight numbers, and public transport information. So it’s much easier for you to reach your destination on time without getting lost.
2. Make the most of your time
With limited time in an amazing location, you want to make the most of it and ensure you don’t miss any once-in-a-lifetime experiences. A vacation itinerary template helps you plan out your vacation — to the day or even to the hour — just like a business travel itinerary helps you schedule your work trips.
A vacation planner template can help you plan which sites you want to visit or events you want to attend, making sure you maximize your vacation time and don’t miss anything.3. Manage your budget
Even when you’re traveling for leisure, it’s always a good idea to have a cost management system in place. When you’re dealing with foreign currency, expenditures can quickly get out of hand. Some robust itinerary templates provide space to estimate the costs and track the expenses of your trip.
4. Pack everything you need
Once you’ve planned where you’re jetting off to, you need to know exactly what you’ll need when you get there. A vacation itinerary template is the perfect place to list your travel essentials, especially if your trip involves several destinations or different types of activities. You can also make a note of any medicines you’ll need as well as local emergency numbers.
What are some examples of a vacation itinerary template?
Ready to start bringing your trip ideas to life with a travel schedule template? Take a look at these four examples of vacation itinerary templates to get your inspiration flowing.
Flight itinerary template example
This classic example of a flight itinerary contains all the details a traveler needs for a smooth and carefree flight, including:
- Information about passports and visas
- Departure airport
- Travel destination
- Date
- Departure time
- Flight number
- Connecting flight and layover details
- Booking reference
- Airline rules and regulations
Juggling all of that information without an organization system could quickly become overwhelming. A flight itinerary template ensures that all of your important flight information is contained in one place and is clear and easy to understand.
Daily itinerary template example
There are almost unlimited ways to create a daily itinerary — which is best for you will depend on the type of activities you planned. One way to do it is to lay it out like the example below. It has a schedule column on the left and a checklist of must-see sights on the right.
This enables you to plan your route in the way that makes the most sense and make sure you don’t miss anything important. It also has space for meal planning, so no one gets hangry, and the weather forecast, so everyone dresses appropriately.
Family holiday itinerary template example
Traveling with kids can be chaotic, but a family holiday itinerary template like the one below can take the stress out of it. It has space for:
- Personal information
- Flights and car rental details
- Accommodation
- Activities
- Travel insurance
It can help make sure everyone gets to the right place at the right time and has all the information they need in case they get separated from the group.
Road trip itinerary template example
If you’re planning a road trip, and want a quick way to jot down some basic details, the trip itinerary example below may help make sure everyone has the information they need. This includes:
- Name of the group
- Daily schedule
- Contact information
- Other information such as restaurants, accommodation, and meeting points
This ensures that everyone has the same information and minimizes the risk of the group getting separated.
But if you organize a lot of trips, you might want to consider a Work OS like monday.com as an alternative to creating several single travel itinerary templates like the ones above.
monday.com’s vacation itinerary template
The team at monday.com has created a trip itinerary template that you can download and start using as an itinerary planner right away.
monday.com’s Work OS allows you to build and organize projects using customizable columns, statuses, automations, and more. Since each trip is unique, this makes it the perfect solution for planning and managing tailor-made travel itineraries.
For example, you can use monday.com’s project management features to manage each vacation, creating a workflow of tasks that span from the pre-departure preparations — such as visas or vaccinations — to the post-trip vacation feedback form.
Suppose you’re planning several trips at once. In that case, you can use the Board and Dashboard views to visualize the data of one or all your trips simultaneously, allowing you to track the expenses against the budget and reallocate resources where necessary.
Another way to visualize your trip would be to use the Location Column to plot your itinerary:
Once plotted, you can then view it on the Map view, so it’s easy to reach all your destinations on time:
Now that you’re familiar with the monday.com vacation itinerary template, let’s look at how you can maximize its abilities.
3 tips for making the most out of your vacation itinerary template
By now, you’re probably excited to create your perfect vacation itinerary. Use these three tips to plan the vacation of your dreams.
1. Don’t try to cram too much in
It can be tempting to try to see as many sights — or even countries — in as little time as possible. But sometimes, it can be more rewarding to take it slow and savor your time in each destination. The same goes for activities — if you try to do too many, you might end up burning out. This is your vacation, so build in some time to rest, too.
2. Take advantage of your layover
Long airport layovers can be a drag, so why not head out to explore a new city for a few hours? Use your itinerary to make a note of local sights or restaurants to visit, as well as transport information. Just remember to write down your flight departure time, too!
3. Be flexible
While it’s great to be prepared, it’s just as important to be flexible and allow your travels to surprise you. Perhaps a local family invites you to their home on the day you were planning to visit a Mayan temple. No problem! Just switch your plans around and go another day.
If you’re still unsure about vacation itinerary templates, here are the answers to a few of the most common questions about them to clarify.
FAQs about vacation itinerary templates
How do I make a vacation itinerary?
Follow these steps to create your vacation itinerary:
- Decide on your destination and dates
- Set your budget
- Search for and book flights
- Ensure your documentation and vaccines are up-to-date
- Decide on your travel schedule and activities
- Book hotels
- Research how to get from one destination to another
- Buy travel insurance
- Get familiar with local customs
- Write a packing list
- Include all this information in your vacation itinerary
A highly-customizable vacation itinerary template, such as the one by monday.com, makes remembering and organizing all this information much more simple.
How do I create a vacation itinerary in Excel?
To create a comprehensive trip itinerary template in Excel, open a new Excel spreadsheet. Use the tabs to create a separate sheet for each aspect of your trip, such as:
- Useful information
- To-do list
- Budget
- Sights and attractions to visit
- Flight details
- Accommodation details
- Itinerary by day, week, or month
You can also accomplish all of this in a more streamlined way on monday.com. Our Work OS allows for real-time collaboration and cloud-based documentation of your vacation itinerary, making it easy to work on it together or share it with the group when you’re finished.
What is a travel itinerary format?
A travel itinerary format is a document that includes all the necessary information for a vacation or business trip. This may be as simple as departure and return dates with flight information, or it may contain extra details such as hotel contact details, scheduled activities, and essential items to pack.
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