Putting together a trip itinerary is one of my favourite parts of travelling. It can also make your head spin a bit, if I'm honest. Anyway, here's how I go about it.

  1. Work out why you're going. Sounds obvious, but the reason behind the trip shapes everything else. Are you after a week of doing nothing on a beach, a proper city break, or something with a bit more adrenaline to it? Get clear on that first, and the rest of the plan tends to fall into place around it.
  2. Do your homework on the place. Dig around and see what's actually worth your time — the big attractions, sure, but also the smaller spots that don't make every top-ten list. I lean on travel blogs, a good old guidebook, and a fair bit of scrolling through social media for ideas.
  3. Be honest about how you like to travel. This matters more than people think. Some of us want to wander slowly and linger over coffee; others want to tick off as much as humanly possible before the flight home. Neither is wrong. Just build your days to match the kind of traveller you actually are, not the one you wish you were.
  4. Sketch out the days. With a rough list of things you want to do, start slotting them into actual days. What time are you getting up? What's the morning look like, the afternoon, the evening? And don't forget the unglamorous stuff — meals, getting from A to B, and a bit of rest. Those gaps matter.
  5. Leave room to breathe. Things go sideways. Trains run late, a place you love keeps you longer than planned, someone tips you off about a spot you've never heard of. If you've scheduled every single minute, there's no space left for any of that, and the spontaneous bits are usually the ones you remember.
  6. Think about the logistics. The boring practicalities can quietly wreck a good plan. How are you getting between neighbourhoods or attractions? How long does that take, and what does it cost? Map that out beforehand so you're not stuck working it out on the pavement with a dying phone battery.
  7. Show it to someone. Once you've got a draft, run it past people who've been there, or who travel the way you do. They'll usually spot something to cut, or nudge you toward a place you'd have missed, or hand you some small trick that makes a day go easier. Costs you nothing, and it's usually worth having.

Do all that and you'll end up with a plan that makes good use of your time without turning the trip into one long checklist. Which is the point. Travel well, but actually enjoy it too.