Have you ever visited a destination and found out you missed the chance to experience a
tourist attraction? For instance, returning from Bauchi and realizing you could have entered the Marshall caves if you had known about it earlier. Or having so much to do that you end up exhausted after a trip rather than relaxed? Well, that’s where the need for a travel itinerary comes in.
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It allows you to organise and plan your trip in a way that maximises the time spent effectively. It helps you to be less anxious and feel more confident especially if you are travelling solo. You can send them to friends and family to keep them abreast with all you do when you are away.
There are three ways you can create a travel itinerary for your journeys. Such as:
To create your own itinerary from scratch, you’ll need a notebook (dedicated for travel details aka a Travel book) and a pen. You’ll also need to do a lot of research on and offline. Make a wishlist of all the attractions you would like to see at your chosen destination. Cross off the ones that don’t work with the season or date chosen for the trip. Choosing attractions based on proximity, days when you’ll visit certain locations, places you will like to visit/attractions. etc. Schedule events to enable you to maximise the duration of your trip. Use maps to get a clear view of the distance between places. Make enquiries about the cost of transportation, accommodation options and logistics from anyone you know who either lives or has visited that destination. Write down all your findings. Write out all foreseeable plans and their estimated costs to help determine your budget experience. Leave out nothing. Make note of how much you plan to spend per activity. Have a list of all you will need for the trip such as clothes, emergency numbers of contacts, security agents and/or embassies. Schedule your time as well. Write out what you will be doing per time during the duration of the trip. Also note how long time you intend to spare per tour/activity, when during the day you will go to certain places, etc. Always make allowance for downtime and leave room in your budget to be flexible in case something unexpected comes up. It is a lot of work but in the end, you will be glad you did.
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- Download a Template From The Internet Or App
The internet is your friend. The world is information crazy right now so lots of business and reviews are available online. You can google travel itinerary templates from websites such as smart sheet, inspirock and African guide. You can also get it from
travel apps like Fascinating Nigeria, Trip Advisor and Trip it. The itinerary templates are sometimes colour coded and categorised. Otherwise, they are filled with details on where to visit, what to do there, how much and long to spend per destination.
- Get a Tour Agent To Create a Customized Itinerary
Some tour operators/agencies are great at planning a travel itinerary for an extra fee so you don’t have to worry. All you have to do is contact them, tell them the duration of your trip, your budget and some of you must-see attractions. They will work out the modalities of logistics, entertainment, security, accommodation, etc. Once you pay them all you have to worry about is packing your items and getting to the designated location agreed on. It might be a less stressful option but it will cost you more for your budget.
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