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In this post we share a trip planning template that has been a key resource for planning Engaged Abroad’s travel.
This itinerary planner has proven itself as a useful for all types of travel – from solo trips to large groups meeting up from all reaches of the world.
Though there are travel planning apps and options for preparing for a trip (TripIt and the likes), we have yet to come across a planner that highlights travel details and also provides space for long-form reading.
That’s why we use this custom-made document. Engaged Abroad relies on Google Documents as the primary tool to create, edit and store itineraries. The benefit of this approach is that this itinerary can be accessed by all travelers in the group, can be made available offline for access anytime, anywhere, and makes it easy to collaborate and share ideas to build a great trip.
This version is a basic form and is meant for travelers who would like an “at-a-glance” itinerary.
Engaged Abroad hopes to one day make available an Advanced Version for those who are interested in a more comprehensive trip outline.
The Template
Trip At-A-Glance
- Trip Title (Countries) + Dates
- Header: City + Country
- Header: Dates of Travel
- Header: Base or Day Trip
- Header: Travel Time (from Base City)
Accommodations
- Header: City + Country
- Header: Dates of Travel
- Header: Accommodation Name
- Header: Address & Details
Trip Notes
- Category: Activities, Things of Interest + Restaurants
- Category: Resources (links to websites referenced)
- Category: History + Culture (copy/paste long-form text)
<<Template Example>>
Trip At-A-Glance
| City + Country | Dates of Travel | Base or Day Trip | Travel Time (from Base City) |
| Depart San Francisco | Oct 22, 2022 Arrive Oct 23 | ||
| Zurich, Switzerland | Oct 23-28, 2022 | Base City | |
| Lucerne, Switzerland | Oct 25, 2022 | Day Trip | Mid-morning depart + 40 minutes (Train) |
| Saint Gallen & Appenzell, Switzerland | Oct 26, 2022 | Day Trip | Early-morning depart + 1 hour, 15 minutes to Saint Gallen (Train) Mid-afternoon depart + 20 minutes to Appenzell (Car) From Appenzell, return to Saint Gallen to get back to Zurich |
| Depart Zurich to San Francisco | October 28, 2022 |
Accommodation
| City + Country | Dates of Travel | Accommodation Name | Address & Details |
| Zurich, Switzerland | Oct 23-28, 2022 | Park Hyatt Zurich | Beethovenstrasse 21, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland +41 43 883 12 34 Room Type: Room Rate: Confirmation #: |
We authored “How to Use a Spreadsheet to Track Accommodation Bookings” a few years ago to help travelers on extended trips keep an organized log of their bookings. This is a more detailed spreadsheet that is particularly useful when planning for long-term travel.
Accommodation
| City + Country | Dates of Travel | Accommodation Name | Address & Details |
| Zurich, Switzerland | Oct 23-28, 2022 | Park Hyatt Zurich | Beethovenstrasse 21, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland +41 43 883 12 34 Confirmation #: |
Trip Notes
Recommendations:
- Create a table for every location and provide enough activities to fill out each of the days
- Here we have created notes for Zurich and Lucerne. A traveler may also want to create notes for Saint Gallen and Appenzell, Switzerland that are also included in this itinerary.
- Stack rank activities in order from most–>least interested in case you face a time crunch.
- If you plan to stay in a base city for multiple days, consider sorting out what activities you want to do for each day. Review Zurich’s plan for an example.
| Zurich, Switzerland | |
| Activities, Things of Interest + Restaurants | Activities + Boat Tour around Lake Zürich + Wander through old town + Shopping on Bahnhofstrasse + Hike up Uetliberg Mountain + Lindt Chocolate Factory Restaurants + Kle (plant based + spirits) + Widder by the Lake (lakeside dining) —— Day 1: + Wander through old town + Kle + Shopping on Bahnhofstrasse + Boat Tour around Lake Zürich +Widder by the Lake (lakeside dining) Day 2: +Hike up Uetliberg Mountain +Lindt Chocolate Factory |
| Resources (links to websites referenced) | + Rick Steves Zurich: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/switzerland/zuerich |
| History + Culture (Copy and Paste Details here for Offline Access) | + https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/great-swiss-cities + https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/europe/switzerland/zurich/history/ |
| Lucerne, Switzerland | |
| Activities, Things of Interest + Restaurants | Activities + Chapel Bridge + Water Tower + Spreuerbrücke + Glacier Garden of Lucerne + 1 hour Lake Lucerne Cruise Restaurants + https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/luzern-region/luzern/restaurants + Sauvage |
| Resources (links to websites referenced) | + https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/destinations/lucerne/ + https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/how-to-spend-a-perfect-weekend-in-lucerne |
| History + Culture (Copy and Paste Details here for Offline Access) | + http://lucerne.all-about-switzerland.info/lucerne-history.html |
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