How to make a travel itinerary, step by step

1. Gather the fixed points first

An itinerary isn't a wish list. It's the things you've committed to, in order, with everything else arranged around them. So the first job is to find every booking:

• Getting there and back: flights, trains, ferries, coaches, with their times and references.
• Where you're sleeping: each hotel, apartment or campsite, with check-in and check-out times.
• Getting around: car hire pick-up and drop-off, airport transfers, rail passes.
• Things with a time: timed tickets, tours, shows, restaurant tables, a spa slot.

Search your email for "booking", "confirmation", "reservation" and "e-ticket" to catch them all. Put each one down with its date, its time, and its reference: the reference is what a desk will ask for.

2. Lay it out one day at a time

Give every day of the trip its own heading, from the day you leave to the day you get home, and put each fixed point on its day in time order. Use weekdays as well as dates. On holiday, "Wednesday" is easier to think in than "the 14th", and it's how you'll notice a museum that closes on Tuesdays.

You'll quickly see there are three kinds of day:

• Travel days, which are full even when the journey is short. Count them as full days in your plan.
• Anchored days, built around one booking: the theme park, the boat trip, the wedding.
• Open days, with nothing booked. These are where the holiday happens, so don't fill them all.

3. Make sure every night has a bed

Where you sleep is the backbone of an itinerary. Run down the days and check that every night between arriving and leaving has a stay against it, and that check-out on one matches check-in on the next. The common gaps:

• The first night after an overnight flight, when the hotel was booked for the departure date instead of the arrival date. (See what +1 means on a flight.)
• A night between two stays, when one booking ends on the 15th and the next starts on the 16th.
• The last night, when a late flight home leaves you between check-out at 11am and a departure after midnight.

4. Decide how much to plan each day

The most common itinerary mistake is too much. A simple rule that works for most people: one big thing, two small things, and three meals. The big thing goes in the morning, when everyone has energy and queues are shortest; the small things fit around it; meals are part of the plan, not gaps in it.

Some useful limits:

• Allow at least 30 minutes between anything with a fixed time, plus the travel time between them.
• With young children, plan for half the sights you'd see alone, and a rest after lunch.
• After two or three full days, plan a free half-day. It absorbs the delays, and it's often the best afternoon of the trip.
• Check opening days: many museums and attractions close one weekday, and some close for public holidays.

5. Get the times right

Write every time exactly as printed on its ticket. Flight, train and event times are always the local time where they happen, so a flight that leaves London at 10:40 and lands in Lisbon at 13:20 is written down exactly like that, with no converting. (The reason some flights seem to arrive before they leave is explained in are flight times local?)

For things without a fixed time, write "morning" or "afternoon" instead of a clock time. It keeps the plan honest about what's flexible.

6. Put it where everyone can see it

An itinerary only works if the people on the trip can see it when they need it, which is usually at a station or a gate with poor signal. Whatever format you use, it should open offline, be easy to update when something changes, and be shared with everyone who needs it. For the options, see how to share a travel itinerary with family.

An itinerary day, done well

Here's what a good anchored day looks like, for a family in Lisbon. One big thing in the morning, lunch planned, an open afternoon, an early dinner:

Paper, spreadsheet, template or app?

If you'd like a structure to fill in, our free printable itinerary template gives you a section per day and prints neatly or saves as a PDF.

Questions people ask

What should be included in a travel itinerary?

Every booking with a date or time (flights, trains, stays, car hire, tickets, restaurant tables) on its day in time order, with its booking reference; where you're sleeping each night; the addresses you'll need; and key phone numbers such as your insurer's helpline.

How do I plan a holiday itinerary day by day?

Give each day of the trip a heading, put the fixed bookings on their days in time order, check every night has a bed, then add one big thing, two smaller things and three meals to each day. Leave a free half-day after every two or three busy ones.

How many things should I plan per day on holiday?

One big thing, two small things and three meals is a good rule for most trips. With young children, plan about half of what you'd do alone, and count travel days as full days.

Should my itinerary use local time or home time?

Local time, exactly as printed on each ticket. Flight, train and event times are always given in the local time where they happen, and that's what the clocks will say on the day.

What's the easiest way to make an itinerary?

Let an itinerary app build it from your bookings, or fill in a day-by-day template. Either way, start with the fixed bookings and plan around them.