Does travel planning leave you in a cold sweat, unable to catch a breath and wondering just how you're going to untangle this web of money, time, and logistical nightmares? Personally, I find it a very creative experience and one you shouldn't be afraid of in the least! In fact, there are ways to engage yourself creative ways you may not have explored yet. Below are some tools you can use to help devise your travel itinerary. You can use them not only to stimulate your own creative juices but to involve the family in this creative experience as well! It will give the kids, the spouse, and everyone involved a sense of ownership of the experience.
Create an Inspiration Board
1.
Start
a Pinterest account.
2.
Create
a board called Inspiration Board.
3.
Collect
pictures from the web to paste there.
Create a Destination Board
Based on your
favorite inspirations, create a destination board. When you've visited places, move them from the left side of the table to the middle column. If there are places you want to spend more time exploring, move those to the far right.
Places
I want to go
|
Places
I’ve been
|
Places
I want to explore further
|
Devon
|
London
|
London
|
The Lake District
|
Stratford Upon Avon
|
|
The Pembrokeshire coast
|
Stonehenge
|
|
Whitby
|
Dover
|
Create an Events Board
Based on places
you want to go that you haven’t been yet, determine things you want to do
there. As you do them, move them to the right column.
Things
I want to do
|
Things
I’ve done
|
Tour by canal boat
|
Churchill’s War Rooms
|
Tour Windsor Castle
|
Buckingham Palace
|
Tour Hampton Court
|
Tower of London
|
Have tea at Claridges
|
Climb a Wainwright peak
|
Tour Parliament
|
Merlin’s cave
|
Create an Itinerary
Pull all your
previous research into an itinerary. Use
the web to gauge your estimates.
Trip Item
|
Description
|
Theme, Goal, or
Destination
|
Type at least three
things you want to see. Include a theme, goals you’d like to achieve, or
destinations to visit.
|
Budget
|
Decide on a budget for
your trip. For instance, $5,000.
|
Determine how you’ll
travel
|
Plane, train, car
rental, bus, foot, etc.
Estimate cost
|
Determine lodging
|
B&B, camping, 4-Star
hotel, Air BnB, etc.
Estimate cost.
|
Events
|
Determine events,
castles, sights, and other places that might incur a cost. For instance, an Elizabethan banquet or
seeing Windsor castle.
Estimate cost. |
Food
|
Pick an amount per day
to allocate for food. Multiply it by
the number of days of your trip for the estimated cost.
|
Spending
|
Pick an amount per day
to allocate for spending. Multiply it
by the number of days of your trip for the estimated cost.
|
Other fees
|
Kennel costs, trip
insurance, gas, passport, etc.
|