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Calypso Tree

34 free travel itinerary templates (word, excel & pdf).

Free travel itinerary templates:  Your itinerary refers to your journey’s more detailed plan. Usually, highlights some places to be visited and the travel plan. By having itinerary templates, you will benefit from having the travel arrangement in one location for easier referencing and retrieval. 

Your travel plan is usually placed in the front of the folder full of your tickets, brochures, and confirmation receipts – this is also a good source to get information on the road. 

Although the information includes the travel plan for yourself or other people might contain different items, the basic structure was usually still retained. You can use your best itinerary templates.

Table of Contents

Benefits of Using an Itinerary Template

Traveling is an adventure! But planning for it can sometimes be stressful. That’s where a  travel itinerary template  can be your best friend.

• All-In-One Location:  Say Goodbye to Chaos!

Do you have flight details in your email, hotel bookings on an app, and excursion times on a sticky note? Stop the madness! An itinerary template puts all these details in one simple place. Just open it up, and you’ll know what’s happening next.

• Easy to Use:  No Tech Skills Needed!

You don’t have to be a computer genius to use an itinerary template. Most of it comes with clear fields for you to fill in. Just type your flight time here your hotel name there, and you’re done! It’s like filling out a fun quiz.

• Be Organized:  Know What Comes After What

The best part about being organized is knowing what’s next. You see your trip like a story when you put your plans in an itinerary template. First, this happens, then that. You can enjoy the trip more when you know what’s coming up.

• Shareable:  Keep Everyone in the Loop

Traveling with family or friends? Send them the itinerary template! That way, everyone knows the plan. If someone asks, “What time is dinner?” tell them to check the itinerary!

• Free:  More Money for Fun Stuff!

The best things in life are free. Well, most travel itinerary templates are free, too! That means you can save cash for fun stuff like snacks, souvenirs, or an extra special adventure!

• Time-Saving:  Quick Changes Made Easy

Plans change. Maybe it rains, and you can’t go to the beach. With an itinerary template, it’s super easy to swap things around. Just a few clicks, and you have a new plan!

• Keeps You On Track:  No More Missing Out

Need to catch a flight or need to remember a dinner reservation? With an itinerary, you’ll get reminders. It’s like having a helpful friend who says, “Hey, time to go!”

• Peace of Mind:  Worry Less, Enjoy More!

When you’re organized, you feel calmer. That means you can enjoy your trip more and less worrying about it.

Are you ready to try an  itinerary template ? Trust us, it will make your next trip so much easier! ????

Essential Elements in a Travel Itinerary

So you’re convinced that a travel itinerary template is a good idea. Great! But what should you include in it? Don’t fret; here’s a list of the  key things to put in your travel plan .

• Title and Dates: What’s the Trip For?

Start with a striking title that sums up your trip. Are you going on a “Summer Adventure in Hawaii” or a “Weekend Getaway in Paris”? Include the dates so you always know the timeframe.

• Names: Who’s Going?

If you’re traveling with other people, write down everyone’s name. It’s an easy way for everyone to know they’re looking at the right plan.

• Departure and Arrival: Take-Off and Landing

Include details about when and where you’re starting and ending your journey. Include times, places, and how you’re getting there. Plane? Train? Automobile?

• Transport Info: All Aboard!

Note any flight numbers, train cars, or other key details. It’s also smart to list any reservations and helpful phone numbers in case of delays.

• Lodging: Home Away From Home

Where are you staying? Include the name, address, and check-in/check-out times for each place you sleep.

• Activities: The Fun Stuff!

What’s a trip without cool stuff to do? List all the tours, visits, or shows you plan to attend. Add times and places so you remember.

• Meetings: Can’t-Miss Appointments

Are you mixing a little business with pleasure? Include any meetings or important appointments you have. Who, what, where, and when—it all goes here.

• Meals: Yummy in My Tummy

Planning to eat at that must-try café? Put it in the itinerary.

• Free Time: Do What You Want

It’s your trip, after all! Include some blocks of free time for spontaneous fun.

• Emergency Contacts: Just in Case

Include some emergency contacts, like local hospitals or a trusted friend back home.

• Checklist: Remember!

Add a small list at the end for any last-minute things you need to do or bring. Passport? Snacks? It goes here.

That’s your  travel itinerary essentials  covered! With everything in your template, you’re ready for an awesome, stress-free trip! ????

Tips for Crafting a Useful Travel Itinerary

It isn’t just about jotting down names and places. Here are some tips.

Be Realistic: Time Matters!

Always consider how much time each activity will take. Keep your day manageable. You want time to enjoy the places you visit!

Group Activities by Location: Smart Mapping

Put things that are close to each other on the same day. This way, you spend less time moving and more time doing.

Always Have a Plan B: Be Flexible

Sometimes, things go differently than planned. Maybe it rains, or a place is closed. Have a backup plan, so you’re never stuck with nothing to do.

Check Opening Hours: No Unwanted Surprises

Imagine showing up at a museum you’re excited to visit, only to find it’s closed on Tuesdays. Check opening times in advance to avoid this.

Share It: Keep Everyone in the Loop

If you’re traveling with others, ensure everyone has a copy of the itinerary. You could even make a shared online version.

Local Customs and Laws: When in Rome.

Check for any local customs, rules, or laws you should know about, like dress codes at religious sites.

Remember Time Zones: Sync Up!

If you’re crossing time zones, adjust all your times so you’re always on local time.

Add Some Breathing Room: Take It Easy

Don’t schedule something every minute of every day. You’ll need some downtime to relax and soak it all in.

Include All Confirmation Numbers: Quick Access

For flights, hotels, and activities that require booking, include all confirmation numbers for quick and easy access.

Double-Check All Details: Be Sure, Be Safe

Before you finalize your itinerary, double-check all times, dates, and reservations.

Print and Digital: Best of Both Worlds

Have both a printed copy and a digital copy available. Technology can fail, and you might only sometimes have Wi-Fi.

Keep it Handy: Easy Access.

Put your itinerary somewhere easy to get to. Save it on your phone or put it in a pocket in your bag.

Free Travel Itinerary Templates

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 01

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 02

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 03

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 04

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 05

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 13

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 14

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 15

Travel Itinerary Template Word

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Free Travel Itinerary Templates 07

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 08

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 09

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 10

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 11

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 12

Easy to Use

One of the best things about using a Word template is its simplicity. You don’t have to be a computer wizard to figure it out!

Customizable

Word lets you change fonts and colors and even add pictures. Make your template  truly your own .

You can open a Word document on almost any device. It’s super  easy to share  with family or travel buddies, too.

Pre-made Templates

Word offers a variety of  ready-to-use templates . Just plug in your details, and you’re good to go!

Checklist Features

You can add  checkboxes  next to each activity or place. It feels so good to check them off as you go!

Safe and Secure

You can easily  lock the document  to keep your travel plans private.

Great for Printing

Word documents  print beautifully . It is a great option if you like having a paper copy of your plans.

How to Use It

• Open Word and choose a blank document or a pre-made template.
• Fill in your travel details like flights, hotels, and fun stuff to do.
• Add any  extra notes  or  checklists .
• Save it, print it, or share it via email.

Tips for Using Word Templates

• Spell-check : Always run a spell-check to avoid any errors.
• Save Often : Keep up your hard work. Save your doc often!
• Backup : Email a copy to yourself or save it in the cloud.

Using a Word template for your travel itinerary is a smart way to keep all your plans in one place. Give it a try for your next trip!

Free Travel Itinerary Templates Excel

Do you like spreadsheets?  Excel templates  offer even more ways to stay organized. You can sort your plans, filter them, and find what you need fast!

If you’ve been using regular Word documents or even pen and paper for your travel plans, it’s time to  upgrade to Excel ! Here’s why and how:

Easy to Edit: Change On-the-Go

Excel allows you to add or remove items quickly. If your plans change, delete a row or add a new one!

Sort and Filter: Find What You Need

Say you want to see all your flight details at once. Excel lets you sort and filter to find what you’re looking for in a snap.

Color Codes: Make It Pretty and Practical

Blue for sightseeing and red for meals. It makes it easier to understand your day at a glance.

Formulas: Count the Hours

You can use simple Excel formulas to add how much time each day’s activities will take.

Shareable: Easy to Send

Excel files are easily shared by email or cloud services like Google Drive. You can also password-protect it if it has sensitive data.

Collaborative: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Everyone can add their activities or notes in the same Excel sheet if you’re traveling with others. It’s a team itinerary!

Tabs for Days: One File, Many Uses

You can use different tabs for different parts of your trip. One tab for flights, another for hotels, and so on.

Links and Notes: Extra Info

You can add links to websites or notes with additional information in Excel.

Offline Access: Always Available

Once downloaded, Excel files are available even without internet access, making them reliable and handy.

Templates Galore: Start with a Bang

It is lots of pre-made Excel itinerary templates available online. It can give you a head start and create planning even quicker.

Itinerary Templates Excel

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Weekly Itinerary Template

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Free Travel Itinerary Templates 16

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 17

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 18

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 19

Free Travel Itinerary Templates 20

Itinerary Template – Free Travel Itinerary Templates

Business Tour – Free Travel Itinerary Templates

Business Travel Diary- Free Travel Itinerary Templates

Stable and Consistent

One of the biggest perks of using a PDF is that it looks the  same  on every device. No surprises!

Easy to Share

PDF files are  super easy to send  in an email or message. They can be opened on almost any gadget.

No Accidental Changes

Once you save it, it stays that way. You can’t accidentally mess up your plans!

Universal Acceptance

Almost all businesses can open and read PDFs. Most people can easily check your plans if you need to show them.

Password Protection

PDFs can be  locked  with a password. Your plans stay  safe and private .

Fantastic for Printing

If you like paper copies, PDFs print out  just how they look on screen .

• Make your plans in any software that can be saved as a PDF.
• Double-check all your details and  spelling .
• Save or ‘print’ your plans as a PDF file.
• Share or print your  snazzy  new PDF itinerary!

Tips for Using PDF Templates

• Read-Only : Remember, most PDFs can’t be easily changed. Make sure all your info is correct before you save it.
• Compatibility : Always ensure the people you share the PDF with can open it.
• Document Size : PDFs with lots of pictures can get big. Keep an eye on the file size if you need to email it.

A PDF travel itinerary template is  rock-solid  for keeping your travel plans organized and easily accessible. It’s a popular option, especially if you want a file that stays how you made it.

Common Mistakes in Using Travel Itinerary Templates

Skipping the Details : One of the most common errors is  filling in all the blanks . It can lead to confusion during your trip.

Ignoring Time Zones : Many must remember to account for time zone changes. It can mess up your plans.

Overstuffing the Itinerary : It’s tempting to pack your day full of activities. But this leaves  no room for rest or unexpected events .

Forgetting to Share : If you’re traveling with others,  forgetting to share  the itinerary can make things hard for everyone.

Not Checking Operation Hours : Imagine going to a museum only to find it’s closed. Always  check the working hours  of places you want to visit.

Skipping Backup Plans : Weather changes. Plans fall through. Having  no Plan B  can ruin your day.

Bad Formatting : If your itinerary is hard to read, it’s almost useless. Make sure you use  clear and easy-to-read formats .

Not Updating : Sometimes plans change.  Only updating your template  can make sure you get all the things.

Ignoring Local Customs and Laws : Failing to account for local customs or laws can be embarrassing and sometimes problematic. Always do your  basic homework .

Not Double-Checking : A small mistake in flight numbers or hotel booking IDs can be a big hassle. Always  double-check your details .

Avoiding these common mistakes can make your itinerary a powerful tool for a smooth and enjoyable trip!

Traveling is more fun when you’re organized. Using a  travel itinerary template  can help a lot! So why wait? Download a free template today!

Additional Resources

Want to know more? Click the links below for free templates and helpful travel apps.

• Free Itinerary Templates
• Best Travel Apps

Happy traveling! ????

What Is a Travel Itinerary Template?

A travel itinerary template is like a  map for your trip . It shows where you need to go, what you’ll do, and when you’ll do it.

Where Can I Find Free Travel Itinerary Templates?

You can find free templates online, in apps, Excel, or Word. Some travel websites also offer them for  free .

Should My Template Be Detailed or Broad?

That depends on you! Some folks like a  minute-by-minute plan , while others want just the  big events  listed. Choose what works for you.

Can I Use the Same Template for Different Trips?

Yes, you can! Just  change the details  to fit your new trip.

What Should I Include in My Template?

Include key info like  flights, hotels, and activities . Remember  small but important details  like transport from the airport to the hotel.

Do I Need to Print My Itinerary?

Only sometimes. You could keep it on your phone. But a printed copy is good, just in case your phone  runs out of juice .

How Many Copies Should I Make?

It’s a good idea to have  more than one copy . Leave one with a friend or family member back home, keep one with you, and maybe have a  digital copy .

Can I Add Last-Minute Changes?

Yes, you can. Just  update all your copies  so you’re not working off old info.

What Do I Do If My Plans Change Mid-Trip?

No problem! Just  update your template . You can do it with a printed copy or update the digital one on your device.

Is It OK to Leave Free Time in My Plan?

Absolutely! It’s your trip, after all. Free time lets you  explore  or  rest  as you feel like it.

The content creator team at calipsotree.com is dedicated to making topics accessible to everyone, with over 9 years of experience in writing and breaking down complex concepts into easy-to-understand articles that answer readers’ financial questions.

About The Author

Calypsotree.com.

The content creator team at calipsotree.com is dedicated to making topics accessible to everyone, with over 9 years of experience in writing and breaking down complex concepts into easy-to-understand articles that answer readers' financial questions.

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How to Write a Travel Itinerary (Template and Tips)

Being able to write a good itinerary is a powerful tool in the travel industry. A travel itinerary isn’t just a list of things to do. It’s a stop-by-stop break down of how a traveler should spend their time.

Whether you’re a travel agent, blogger, content writer, or anything in between, itineraries are fundamental.

Creating effective itineraries is also a valuable skill if you’re a traveler. If you can craft a compelling trip plan, you’re in for a holiday that will show you and your loved ones an amazing time.

Why take our advice? We’re highly experienced in the itinerary game. 🙂 The Travel Tractions content team has crafted over 500,000 words worth of travel itineraries in the last 3 months alone.

We know our stuff, and we’re here to share it with you. The following is a detailed guide on how to make a travel itinerary.

Travel Itinerary Template

An itinerary will pretty much always be broken down into days (unless it’s a 24-hour itinerary). Each day is further broken down into individual stops , which are typically the recommended points of interest and attractions.

The days and stops are the meat of the itinerary, but most itineraries will be supplemented with additional information to further help the reader.

Have a look at how we added a practical packing list in this 3 day London itinerary .

We recommend structuring your vacation itinerary in a similar way to the following:

Introduction

Every good blog post needs an introduction. For your itinerary, this will be a brief overview of the destination and why it’s an attractive place to visit. Sell the itinerary here. Give the reader a good reason to stay engaged and continue reading.

Brief Overview

Offer a bullet-pointed breakdown of the itinerary, outlining the stops. This allows the reader to understand if it’s right for them before reading in full.

Day 1, etc.

This is where you lay out the stops for each day. Give some insightful and interesting information about each stop.

The aim here is to get them excited about what you’re suggesting / offering. Don’t overwhelm them with information, just whet their appetite.

Make each stop a heading, and include useful information such as opening hours, cost, and which kind of traveler is best catered for here. You can add must-visit food stops as well, or simply leave that choice up to the reader.

Check out how we helped our readers organize a 7-day trip to Bali .

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Other Useful Information

In this section, offer some extra information that will help the user get the most out of their experience. Some things you can add include:

• Tell the reader a bit about how to get around, transport options, and things to be prepared for.
• Discuss the best places to stay and suggest a few options for accommodation that you know are great.
• Make some restaurant recommendations and mention any other foodie stops that haven’t made it into your itinerary stops.
• Include a packing list if you feel it’s an important aspect (or write a separate packing list post and take advantage of some internal linking).

This section exists to help close the itinerary in a satisfying way. Offer a brief summary and some final thoughts. Reaffirm the reasons why the destination is attractive, and why your itinerary is the best on offer.

Important Considerations for Writing an Itinerary

So, now you’ve got the outline for a successful itinerary. But you’ll need to fill this skeleton with high-quality content in order to produce something valuable. Taking into account the following considerations and tips will help you do so.

Decide the Length of the Itinerary

Before writing anything, you’ll need to decide the length of your itinerary. Are you offering an itinerary for three days? five days? one week?

The best option will largely depend on the size of the destination and how much it offers in terms of things to do. For example, most travelers will probably spend at least a week in Bali but perhaps just two or three days in Amsterdam.

This can generally be determined with some logical thinking or past experience. But a bit of keyword research can really help uncover what your audience is truly looking for.

If you already have an idea of what you’d like the reader to see and do, you can base the length of the trip on the time it’ll take them to see it all.

Decide on the Stops & Attractions

Once you’ve decided on a number of days, you’ll need to figure out how the reader should fill their time.

Ask yourself questions like:

• What are the most popular landmarks, attractions, and points of interest?
• What will offer the most memorable experience?
• Are there any unheard of spots that will enrich the experience and make it unique?

Deciding on the stops can be done through a combination of experience, prior knowledge, and research.

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What’s Achievable?

How much can the reader realistically fit in the time allotted? We know it’s easy to get excited about all the amazing things that a travel destination has to offer. But it’s important to keep it realistic.

The last thing you want is to over-promise on what can be achieved during a trip, only to leave the reader rushing from one attraction to the next without time to appreciate each one. They could even end up abandoning the itinerary altogether.

Plan Out Logical Routes

It’s very important that you consider the geography of the destination when structuring an itinerary. You need to plan out logical routes between stops in order to minimize travel and maximize efficiency. If two or more attractions are close to one another geographically, it only makes sense to visit them at the same time.

Use your knowledge of the area in combination with Google Maps to plot out a route for each day’s itinerary.

Offer Insider Tips

Try to offer unique insights and ideas, insider tips, and some off-the-beaten-track gems.

The reader wants to know that they’re in reliable and experienced hands. Unique and valuable guidance will also help your itinerary stand out against those offering more generic advice.

You can provide these at any point throughout the itinerary. Wherever they fit best.

Be Specific and Unambiguous

Itineraries provide insightful guidance to those who want to be guided. To those who want their trip to be planned for them.

Therefore, it is your job to guide them fully . Don’t offer too much in the way of flexibility. Display conviction in your chosen stops. Show confidence that if they follow your itinerary to a T, they’ll have a great time.

Include Captivating Images

High-quality images transport the reader to the destination before they’ve left their seats. They’re one of the strongest mediums for generating excitement and anticipation for an upcoming trip. They also help break up long blocks of text.

Including images frequently is a great way to keep your reader’s attention and enhance their experience.

You can use images from your own trip, or curate some top-notch stock images .

Implement SEO

Data-focused, strategic SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) underpins all of our content. And if your itinerary is being written for the web, it should underpin yours too. Good SEO can help ensure that your itinerary is seen by as many people as possible. And if you’re in the travel business, getting your travel material seen should be a top priority.

Final Thoughts

If you were wondering how to write an itinerary, you landed in the right place. We hope this trip itinerary template helps you craft well-rounded, engaging, and realistic itineraries that leave readers delighted.

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Organize your trip today

Create an itinerary, map your route, and organize your travel plan. Start your next adventure with confidence and leave the hassle behind.

Where are you starting?

Bring your plan together

Organized trip planning.

Update your itinerary without rebuilding your calendar and trip map - everything works together.

Plan with friends & family

Share with others or collaboratively build a trip in real-time with live updates.

Everything in one place

Gather the pieces of your plan: itinerary, budget, & important documents.

Plan That Trip is here to take the hassle out of your trip planning process.

We eliminate the clutter of traditional planning methods by combining various planning aspects into one intuitive interface.

You're in good company

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Your ticket to efficient planning

Skip the data entry.

Automatically add flights to your trip itinerary from confirmation emails or other documents.

Plan on your terms

Access anywhere, anytime. Export a PDF for convenient offline access, or use our mobile-ready web app.

Kick-start your research

City-level information about locations. Find out average temperatures during your visit, currency, time zone difference, and more.

Collect your ideas

Keep track of all the possibilities of your trip before committing to an itinerary. Move your ideas into your plan when you are ready. No more losing track of your options!

Budgeting made simple

Easily manage your travel expenses. Track spending, split costs among travelers, and view a comprehensive breakdown of expenses to keep within your budget.

Your travel documents, organized

Access all your trip-related documents. From tickets to hotel bookings, keep everything in one secure, accessible place. Forward confirmation emails to a synced address, and we'll include them with your trip-planning documents.

How it works

Gather your ideas.

Organize your ideas and decide what you want to do.

Chart your course

Plot your destinations and build your itinerary.

Fill in the details

Add your stays, activities, travel documents, and notes.

See your plan come together!

Can i plan trips for free.

Yes! Our free plan offers you everything you need to plan a trip. Trips with itinerary, calendar, and map views are saved for a year. You can also track expenses and attach notes. However, there are no sharing or collaboration tools with the free plan.

Can I share my trip plan?

Absolutely! Plan That Trip allows you to invite friends, family, or colleagues to collaborate on your travel plans. They can view, edit, and add to the itinerary in real-time, ensuring everyone involved has the latest information. Collaboration and sharing require a Premium plan.

How do I add flights?

Plan That Trip lets you add flights in lots of ways. You can specify the destination and arrival location, or flight number and date. With the Premium plan, you can automatically load flights from any document.

Can I track my spending and budget?

You can assign a cost to any part of your itinerary, and we'll tracks all expenses across the entire trip. Cost splitting lets you determine who owes what for various activities and is a good way of keeping tabs on individual expenses.

Is my data secure with Plan That Trip?

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How to Make An Itinerary: The Steps to Perfect Travel Planning

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Written by Woodrow Matthews

Creating a travel itinerary is the best way to stay organized, whether a first-time vacationer or a seasoned traveler. A travel itinerary or schedule, whether for a solo business trip or a giant vacation with many other travelers, aids in the planning process and the actual traveling part.

If this is your first time hearing of such a thing, a travel itinerary is a document or digital system that helps organize all the necessary details when planning a trip. It first helps you actually plan to maximize your travel experience but also serves to provide easy access to important information along the way.

Some travelers use their itinerary to remain on budget , some use them to help plan their wardrobe, and some need one to know what they’re doing each day. (And some travelers just go with the wind – our writer Stuart is that type )

If making one of these sounds like a daunting task to you, it can be – but it certainly doesn’t have to be. Some people find that it makes the process much easier; it’s certainly handy along the way.

TL;DR – Make an Itinerary in 5 Easy Steps

How to make an itinerary for travel.

Need help with travel itineraries, your bucket list , or even your packing list? Follow our guide below to create a comprehensive itinerary for your next trip with ease, whether it’s a day trip, business trip, road trip, or round-the-world trip . Not only will you enjoy all the benefits of having one, but you’ll also have an extra memory to keep from your travels!

Steps 1 & 2: Choose a Destination & Dates

You may or may not already have these steps completed – if you want to make a personalized itinerary for an upcoming trip that’s already booked, just skip these parts. But for travelers who don’t yet have dates, destinations, or either, these are actually the first parts of putting together an itinerary. They are interchangeable if you’re truly starting from scratch, and you can start with one or the other.

Selecting Your Destinations

Do you want the perfect sunny beachside getaway or a snowy mountain retreat? Do you want to see a different country or prefer to stay within your state?

These are the fun questions to ask when making travel plans – before the stressful parts come along! There are important considerations to make with destinations, though. As you explore places to visit, check to see what kind of hotels you find.

You don’t want to spend time researching only later to find nothing but dumpy motels or ultra-expensive five-star resorts. Ensure that any hotel candidates have access to transportation and specific activities you may want to do.

At the same time, do a quick search to see if any special events are happening at your destination, such as concerts, conventions, or similar things. On the one hand, you may want to specifically be there for something cool. On the other hand, you may want to avoid places that will be very crowded and expensive because of an event you don’t care about.

See Related: Travel Itinerary Generator: We’ll Plan Your Trip in a Minute!

Selecting Your Travel Dates

Your destination candidates may have specific periods or seasons that are better and worse for visiting, which helps narrow down dates. For example, you don’t want to be visiting the Greek Islands in January; you also probably don’t want to go to the Bahamas in the summer hurricane season.

Of course, you may only have certain periods or dates to travel. In that case, use the same logic as above, but in reverse. Then, use tools like Google Flights’ “search anywhere” to find a great destination with cheap flights, or use Momondo’s color-coded calendar to see when the cheapest flights to your destination depart.

Sketch it Out

As you research dates and destinations, keep track of what works and what doesn’t. This doesn’t have to be formal – just simple notes organizing places and dates.

You can even jot down a few hotels, activities, and other details, allowing you to visualize everything on Google Maps for the next steps. You should have roughly planned one or more trips at this point, allowing you to either decide on an idea or continue creating a sample itinerary to show others coming along!

See Related: The Traveler’s Guide to Europe: Exploring With A Flexible Itinerary

Step 3: Download an Itinerary Template or Make Your Own

Now that you have one or more feasible trips in mind, it’s time to organize everything nicely on paper (or digitally). This is the part that can really help you make sure you haven’t missed anything, as a truly complete travel itinerary will have spaces to fill in for things you may not have thought of before.

Any travel itinerary should include all the details important to both the planning phase and the travel itself. Besides day-by-day or even hour-by-hour scheduling, a good itinerary should have space for:

• Flight numbers and/or train numbers
• Ferry boat names and operators
• All booking information for car rentals
• Confirmation numbers for everything
• Hotel addresses and contact details
• Planned activities’ booking information, contact information, and things to know
• Anything else along these lines appropriate to your trip that may need later reference

You can simply download free itinerary templates from the internet. Sites like Etsy have more premium options available for purchase and are not very expensive. Getting a pre-made travel itinerary template like this is a great choice for travelers doing this for the first time and who aren’t confident in constructing one themselves or for those who like pretty things.

But you can DIY a travel itinerary. The simplest, best way to do it is on Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel, as it will be seamless to build, add, and edit along the way; you can also access these on your mobile device later.

Those travelers who like pretty things can design something more beautiful on Canva . Use the previously mentioned free itinerary templates as inspiration to make sure you aren’t missing any components.

Step 4: Settle on Your Travel Plan & Make To-Do Lists

At this point, you’ve decided on a trip plan, selected or built a travel itinerary outline, and possibly even booked some portions of the trip. It’s time to finalize plans, fill in the details, and organize your next (very important) steps.

Start by filling out your travel itinerary fully, whether you’ve booked things or not. However, make it clear if something is already booked – for example, put a checkmark next to it. You want the travel itinerary to come together so you can see what’s done, what needs to be done, and what you may have missed along the way.

You’ll want to leave room in sections for additions and edits later in the process – like adding confirmation numbers and phone numbers once things are booked. If this is a road trip itinerary , organize each day to include mileage estimates, fuel and bathroom breaks, and rough route estimates.

Once the tentative travel itinerary has been built, you can save time by creating to-do lists for finalizing bookings and locking everything in. Preview the next step to see how you can organize these lists strategically to ensure you don’t lose any money in the booking process.

Step 5: Book Everything in a Careful Order and Fill in the Details

Whether you’ve organized your to-do lists as such or not, I highly recommend booking each part of your trip in a specific order, rather than booking package deals . That order is based on free cancellation opportunities along the way.

For example, if you book flights first but then wait more than a day to make your hotel reservations, you run the risk of finding out that your hotel of choice is sold out or suddenly way too expensive . Now, you’re stuck with a non-refundable flight booking. If the situation was the opposite, and you first booked a hotel but then found your flights to be too expensive, the hotel would probably be totally cancelable.

Therefore, I try to stick to this rough order of booking things, depending on cancelability:

• Car rentals – Car rentals are usually fully cancelable and/or refundable.
• Hotels – These are mostly fully cancelable, but sometimes not within short notice periods, and not at all though some third-party sites .
• Activities & excursions – These can go either way, as premium ones sometimes can’t be canceled but are usually pretty flexible.
• Flights, trains, buses, or ferries – These are mostly non-refundable, except within 24 hours of booking for most major airlines, so don’t lock these in until everything else is good to go. Some buses and ferries (depending mostly on size) may not be bookable, but you may be able to buy passes ahead of time.

While my order of things usually works, be sure to check each item on your trip, as every provider is different. Of course, there are non-refundable rental car and hotel rates that usually get you a small discount. Personally, I don’t go for these – I value flexibility more than a few percentage points off my total.

See Related: Best Websites for Cheap Flights and Hotels

Step 6: Maintain the Itinerary Over Time

Travel itineraries are always prone to unexpected changes , both before and during travel, and a good one will recognize that. Therefore, leave some space in each area to account for them. You will appreciate having a record of things that seem small at the time but become needed later.

For example, if you followed our guide on how to get cheap flights and you set price alerts for your route even after booking, you may find that the price drops, allowing you to rebook and take credit for the difference to use in the future. That’s definitely something to note, as it may result in a new confirmation number, flight route, or other details.

Another example is contacting a hotel or restaurant to make a special request. If you spoke on the phone with someone and asked for something like connecting rooms, note the agent’s name and the date and time of the conversation. This way, you’ll be prepared if the provider doesn’t follow through.

Read Also: Why DIY Travel Itineraries Are the Future

Step 7: Travel and Keep the Itinerary Close

Well, if you’ve carefully organized all the information pertinent to your trip, you should have accomplished a few things. For one, you should have successfully accounted for all the small details of a trip and planned quite thoroughly.

For two, you should have all your travel information at your fingertips like a pro. And for three, you should have a beautiful travel itinerary to distribute to your friends, family, or anyone else coming on your trip!

If you want to go the extra mile to impress anyone reading your itinerary, add some tips around the excess space. For example, suggest that everyone download local maps to their phone if they don’t have cellular internet access in a foreign country or a rural area. Or add the local currency of a place with a basic exchange rate so that everyone is prepared.

Most importantly, ensure you can access the itinerary during the trip, as you may need to refer to it for important information – or to know what you’re doing next! You can continue to make notes on it for things that change, just as you’ve been doing all along, or add in memories of each part. You’ll continue to appreciate this for years if you save it and reflect on a well-done trip.

Related Resources

• Essential Travel Safety Tips for Trips
• Best Family Travel Tips and Hacks You Need to Know
• Best Travel Hacks From An Expert Globetrotter

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• Planning Travel

How to Make an Itinerary for a Trip

Last Updated: June 13, 2024 Fact Checked

• Planning Your Itinerary
• Formatting Your Itinerary
• Using an Online Template

What is a travel itinerary?

• Travel Itinerary Template

This article was co-authored by Allyson Edwards and by wikiHow staff writer, Sophie Burkholder, BA . Allyson Edwards graduated from Stanford University with a BA in International Relations. Afterwards, she went on to facilitate International partnerships with agencies in over twenty countries, and has consulted for companies in industries across education, fintech, and retail. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 287,437 times.

A travel itinerary outlines all elements of a trip, from hotel stops to destinations. It can be indispensable, whether you’re planning a weekend vacation or an extended road trip. A good itinerary gives a trip structure, and maximizes the amount you’ll be able to see and do. An itinerary is simple to develop and we're here to walk you through each and every step so you can plan an entire trip in an efficient and organized manner!

Making a Travel Itinerary

• Research your destination, including information on weather, local events, and activities.
• Make a list of everything you want to do and see on your trip, from highest to lowest priority.
• Create a calendar that includes travel dates and accommodation check-in times.
• Book activities that require advanced reservations and note them under the appropriate date.
• Moving down your list of activities, fit them into your itinerary schedule.
• Double-check opening times, dates, and other logistical information for each activity.

Planning Out Your Itinerary

• If you’re not sure where you want to go yet, create a trip inspiration board with all the places you’d like to go.
• Create a physical vision board , pin destinations on Pinterest, or save inspiring TikToks from travel influencers.

• Do you want a trip with days spent at four-star restaurants and nights spent in five-star hotels? Or are you more interested in finding local favorites and rustic B&Bs?
• Your vacation can be as expensive (or inexpensive) as you want. It ultimately comes down to what you can afford.

• Look into transportation for traveling to your destination and for getting around while you’re there.
• Find accommodation that fits your budget, like a hostel, AirBnB, or hotel, and make sure it’s near your top attractions.
• Research local events, holidays, and observances in the places you're traveling to. You may be able to witness or experience a cultural event that other travelers don't get to experience.
• If you’re traveling with a group of friends or another person, get feedback and ideas for your destinations from the group.

• Obtain local maps for the areas you will be exploring. It is also helpful to get schedules for bus and train services and numbers for local taxis.
• Make sure that the maps are up-to-date. Cities and other areas change often. A road that existed 10 years ago may no longer exist today.
• Use Google MyMaps to pin each attraction or eatery onto a map. On your trip, you can easily see routes between points of interest and what’s around you at any time.

• Build in an extra day for rest or spontaneous adventures. Plus, if plans go amiss for any reason, having this extra day will give you some wiggle room. [6] X Research source

• Keep a printed copy or type the details of your itinerary into a word processing document.
• If you will be using airport transportation to get to your hotel, also include information about fees and hours of operation.

Formatting Your Itinerary in a Text File

• Using a text document to make your travel itinerary makes it easy to organize your information quickly.
• You can easily arrange information from your confirmation emails or online travel blogs on the page by copying and pasting it.

• General Information : Includes “at-a-glance” information, like transportation, accommodation, contact info, emergency phone numbers, travel websites, physical mailing addresses, etc.
• Dates & Times : Includes the different dates and times related to your trip, such as arrival and departure times, connections, travel routes, reservation information, etc.
• Notes : Includes any additional information related to your trip, like miscellaneous travel arrangements and important tips.

• Monday, July 8th
• Tuesday, July 9th
• Wednesday, July 10th
• Thursday, July 11th

• 4 AM: Leave home and take the Silver Line from Courthouse Station to Logan Airport.
• 6:13 AM: IcelandAir flight #FI680 departs. The confirmation code is LXRMTQ. Flight seat number is 6F.
• 8:45 PM: Arrive at London Heathrow airport and take Bluestreet private car service to the Hoxton, Holborn hotel. Car service reservation is #402FB5.
• Ask for assistant manager (Nancy) for help with excess luggage.

• Print out a copy for each person joining you on the trip.

Creating Your Itinerary with a Digital Template

• Complete each section of the template with the indicated information, such as activities, travel arrangements, or daily schedules.
• Add visuals to personalize your itinerary and make it cute! Upload photos from your device or choose stock photos. Include effects, filters, and stickers as desired.
• Personalize the font, effects, color, and layout of your titles and text boxes.
• When you’re happy with your final itinerary, download it in PDF, JPG, or PNG format. Print copies of the downloaded document and/or share it digitally.

• Save the template or template link for later so that you can make similar itineraries when planning your next trip !

• Basic information : Dates, times, and locations for the trip.
• Travel arrangements : Car services, reservation numbers, flight/bus/train/ferry numbers, rest areas, etc.
• Accommodation arrangements : Reservation/confirmation numbers for hotels, motels, hostels, campsites, resorts, etc.
• Meal arrangements : Vouchers, restaurant reservations, recommended cafés and bars, hotel breakfast hours, etc.
• Excursion/Activity arrangements : Tour companies and operators, reservation numbers, contact information, hours of operation, pick-up and drop/off locations, etc.
• Destination contact information : Landline, toll-free, and mobile phone numbers, email addresses, websites, physical addresses, etc.
• Personal emergency contact information : Your emergency contact’s name, relationship, physical address, phone number and email address. The address and number of your country’s closest embassy or consulate.
• Notes : Any additional notes related to the trip that don’t fit in one of the other categories.

5-Day Travel Itinerary Template

Community Q&A

• Keep a hard copy of your travel itinerary in a multi-pocket folder or 3-ring binder. As convenient as an app can be, batteries can die. It never hurts to keep a physical backup handy. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
• Even if you will only be gone for a weekend, it’s a good idea to make sure that everything at home is in order and accounted for. If you have pets or plants or will need your mail checked for an extended amount of time, ensure that a friend or family member will be there to do so. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
• Stay flexible when making your itinerary. Ultimately, your itinerary is a guide to keep you on track while visiting. If you miss a reservation, it isn’t the end of the world, and it may give you a chance to explore some spontaneous options recommended by locals! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/work/teach-english-abroad/blog/weekend-warrior-how-plan-weekend-trip
• ↑ https://www.seat61.com/spreadsheet.htm
• ↑ https://www.easemytrip.com/blog/tips-to-plan-an-international-trip
• ↑ https://www.fjordsandbeaches.com/plan-a-trip-to-norway/
• ↑ https://www.expedia.com/lp/b/vacations/planning
• ↑ https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/how-to-plan-a-trip
• ↑ https://allaboutplanners.com.au/how-i-use-microsoft-word-to-plan-my-travel-itinerary-my-template-planning-process/
• ↑ https://twoweektraveller.com/how-to-write-a-2-week-travel-itinerary-2/
• ↑ https://youtu.be/5O9ISzhJ9E4?t=76
• ↑ https://malaintransit.com/the-8-essential-things-to-include-in-your-travel-itinerary/

About This Article

If you want to create a travel itinerary, first gather your flight numbers, hotel and car rental details, and any restaurant reservations you’ve made. Once you have the broad outlines of your comings and goings, make a list of everything you want to see and do. You can then figure out how and when to fit everything into your vacation days. Try to map your stops sequentially so you don’t waste time doubling back or driving around in circles. Just remember to build in a couple of free days to explore a little-known local treasure or put your tired feet up! For tips on how to organize your itinerary and why to keep it on paper as well as in the cloud, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• Trip Planner

Trip Planner | Travel Itinerary Planner | Plan a Trip

Are you looking for an itinerary planner to plan your next trip? We know creating a customized travel itinerary manually is an overwhelming task. You have to put a lot of time into selecting destinations, booking hotels, flights, and comparing prices. On top of that calculating budgets & booking hotels and flights is another challenge that makes itinerary planning tough.

But what if all of this is done within a few minutes for you? Yes with TripHobo trip planner you can do this smartly. We have observed that many travelers end up spending more time in researching information than enjoying the actual trip. Not only first-time travelers but also experienced travelers struggle in creating perfect travel plans.

Even though it is a tedious task to create a customized itinerary, everyone agrees on the importance of itinerary for an enjoyable holiday. So Triphobo came up with this easy to use automatic itinerary planner.

How Trip Planner Works / Steps to Plan a Trip

Do you want to create your travel itinerary quickly & easily? Are you ready to use this tool now? TripHobo's trip planner plays a major role to ease the itinerary creation process and helps you overcome the pain in the trip planning .  Follow these 4 simple steps to plan a trip & let us know your experience.

1) Choose Your Destination & Dates when you want to travel

Visual algorithmic trip planner lets you choose destinations you want to travel to. You have the freedom to choose the real dates from the calendar. After selecting travel dates, planner runs algorithms to optimize a trip. It starts suggesting activities, sightseeing spots, tours and transport options with the details. For every attraction, it suggests open/close timings, time to spend, and nearby restaurants.

You can drag & drop activities and complete your itinerary within a matter of minutes. You can book yourself a nice vacation once you are sure of all the details, making you plan your trip very easily.

2) Refer to User Created Itineraries

If you have a lot of travel ideas but confused about where to start? Don't worry. Thousands of other people have visited the same destination before and created itineraries with us. Choose from a pool of more than 1 million user-generated itineraries around the globe. You can view other travelers’ itineraries for any location and duration to inspire yourself and then customize them to suit your own preferences.

3) Book Hotels and Flights

TripHobo always tries to offer the best from the travel industry to our valued planners. It has formed alliances with Expedia , Skyscanner, Zomato and Booking.com. Its ratings and reviews come courtesy of TripAdvisor whereas Google (as well as other partners) powers its location data.

TripHobo aims to cater to travelers at every stage of the travel planning process. It provides one platform to create personalized itineraries and hassle-free bookings .

4) Get Ready with a Perfect Itinerary

Once you’ve created your customized itinerary, you can print it. Save your plan for future reference or share it with your friends. When you’re ready, you can finalize and have a perfect travel itinerary ready.

Why Is TripHobo a Smart Trip planner?

There are few things included in the Triphobo planner algorithm & app which builds itinerary within minutes.

• A free virtual map-based trip planner with a smart algorithm
• International trip planner with about 1,50,000 popular destinations
• The largest repository of user-generated itineraries
• Hassle-free booking options for hotels, tours & flights
• Provides local transit options like metro, rail, bus, and car
• Calculates an estimated budget
• Provides options to save, print and share itinerary
• Strategic Partnerships with leading travel companies

TripHobo: Around the Web

• Trip of Your Own
• Traveling made easier with TripHobo
• Making The Southeast Asian Travel Connection
• Ex-HCL employee’s led ‘TripHobo’ is on a mission to become a global brand – a goto place for travel planning!
• Interview: Praveen Kumar, Founder & CEO of TripHobo
• TripHobo inks partnership with Zomato
• How a trip planning startup can succeed
• Karthik Ramachandram Co-Founder COO, TripHobo - Phocuswright Conference

Here's what travelers have to say about our travel planner

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Great tool for trip planning. Impportantly it's free and automatically tailors travel plans to your preferences and is completely customisable. The integration with skyscanner and booking.com, and other OTA like priceline and expedia makes it very easy to plan the whole trip along with the bookings in one place.

Plan, Ready, Go®

How to Plan a Travel Itinerary: The Complete Guide

You’ve chosen your destination, booked your transportation, and maybe even your accommodations. Now…you just have to figure out what in the world you’re going to do while you’re there.

In this post, we’re going to take a deep dive into how to plan a travel itinerary , the nitty-gritty of how to put together your schedule of sites, museums, and activities.

Key takeaways

• Prioritize and list your “must-do” sites and activities.
• Do thorough research on your destination
• Organize your wish list into “must-do,” “want-to-do,” and “nice-to-do” categories.
• Compile all the practical details for each activity, such as operating hours, fees, and booking requirements.
• Build your itinerary by scheduling must-do activities first and filling in with want-to-dos and nice-to-dos.

This post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  See disclaimer.  

I’m a very detail-oriented kind of person (you know, the kind of person who makes lists for EVERYTHING), so this method of itinerary planning may not be of interest to the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of traveler.

If you’re not as hyper-organized as I am, you can easily modify this method for how you like to travel. It’s logical itinerary planning at its best.

I won’t be going over in this post how I research and plan for dining options since that’s a more complicated topic for me and my husband (as a celiac and a vegetarian) than the average traveler.

That’s probably a topic for a separate post. So, let’s get planning.

Getting started on your itinerary planning

“I’m heading to Rome/New York City/Paris/Mexico City for X number of days. What should I do and see while I’m there?”

I see similar questions all over Facebook literally every day, and I understand why. It can be overwhelming to plan a travel itinerary.

Let’s say you’re planning to spend five days in New York . How do you decide what to do for those five days? Where do you even start your search for the best ideas for sites to visit?

Side note: for simplicity’s sake, throughout this post, I’m going to use the word “site” to refer to anything (not eating) that you will want to make time for on your trip. These could be monuments, national parks, palaces, museums, activities, guided tours, etc.

There’s no real wrong way to plan your itinerary…just kidding. You have to do it my way.

No, seriously.

Okay…let’s get started.

When I’m planning a travel itinerary, I go through five phases of the process before I arrive at my final draft.

• Preliminary brainstorming
• Destination research
• Fleshing out my wish list
• Site/activity research
• Building my itinerary

I know this seems like a lot, but trust me, you’ll want to know you’ve considered all your options before you go on your trip.

You’ll thank me later.

Read More → Travel Planning Resources

Planning an itinerary starts with brainstorming your wish list

So, you’ve booked your trip, but your itinerary is completely blank. Your destination is your oyster, but where and how do you start?

Your first step is to do some preliminary brainstorming. If you’re heading to a top tourist destination, you probably already have some idea of the specific sites you want to visit (e.g., the Colosseum, Eiffel Tower, Chichen Itza, etc.).

If you’re going someplace completely unfamiliar to you, your brainstorming phase may be quite short but it can also be less specific if that helps (e.g., important historical sites, whatever the most important art museum is, popular beach, etc.).

To help yourself with your brainstorming, you can ask yourself the following questions:

• What are the famous/popular sites my destination is most known for?
• What are the top, must-do sites or activities I already know I want to do on this trip?
• Why are my spouse’s/travel partner’s must-do sites or activities for this trip? If children are traveling with you, why not include them in the brainstorming? They’ll love feeling like they’ve been a part of planning the trip.
• What are the kinds of activities we most enjoy while traveling in general?

Great! Write all of this down. Don’t worry. Nothing’s set in stone yet.

And the sky’s the limit. We’re not yet worrying about the costs involved or how much time we have.

Write it all down. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

[cue Jeopardy! theme music]

Okay, keep this list handy; it’s time to do some basic research on your destination.

TIP: Keep track of all of your important travel details with a digital travel planner like this . Prefer paper planners? Grab your printable travel itinerary planner pages here.

Research your destination

This is where I start to go crazy with research. I’ll take in anything and everything I can about my destination. The more good information I have, the better equipped I am to make good decisions about my itinerary.

And don’t assume you already know enough about where you’re headed.

Before I started researching Paris, I had never heard of Sacré-Coeur (which is one of the great free things to do in Paris , by the way) or Les Invalides.

We ended up visiting both on our trip.

Here are the questions I keep in mind as I do this research:

• What is my destination known for? Is it art, the natural landscape, history, architecture, etc.?
• What season will it be at my destination? Are there any popular seasonal activities I’d like to try while I’m there?
• Are there any special holiday events or festivals taking place there that I’d be interested in attending?
• What is the weather typically like there that time of the year and month? In other words, will I be comfortable spending long periods outdoors, or will I want to spend more time indoors?
• What are the public transportation options at my destination? Is there a good metro/public transportation system or will I have to rely on taxis, ride-sharing, or walking to get around?
• Where are my accommodations in relation to the major site on my list?
• Does my destination offer any kind of city or museum pass?

Side note: If you haven’t yet booked your accommodations, now is a good time to take a look at a map. Do a large number of must-do sites on your wish list cluster in a certain area? If so, you might want to consider booking accommodations nearby to simplify your transportation needs. This isn’t always a good idea but consider it.

Read More → Is it Worth it to Use Booking.com?

Read More → Booking.com or Direct with Hotel: Which is Better?

Where do I find this information? Here are a few suggestions:

• Do some simple Google searches and look around the different results for up-to-date information about your destination.
• Head over to Pinterest to discover what travel bloggers ( ahem ) have to say.
• Buy some good travel guidebooks and start reading.
• Watch YouTube videos about your destination.
• Armed with this pile of new information, you’re going to go back to your list.

Flesh out your wish list

As you researched your destination, you likely noticed certain sightseeing ideas or recommendations coming up over and over again.

• If they’re already on your brainstorm list, great! Leave them there.
• If you’ve never heard of or considered them, but they now sound interesting, add them to your list.
• If there’s something you’ve changed your mind about, go ahead and take it off your list if you really want to, otherwise, leave it on the list. You can always remove it later.

It’s okay at this point if your list has far more ideas on it than you can possibly fit into your trip. We’ll work on narrowing it down later.

After doing my research, I discovered a lot more ideas for things to do in Paris and sites to visit than were on my first brainstorming list. But…what if you’re finding the opposite to be the case?

What if you’ve booked yourself a round-trip plane ticket to your destination, but you’re finding only enough you’re interested in doing to fill a much shorter time than you’re planning to be there?

You have a couple of options:

• If you haven’t booked your accommodations yet, or you can still change/cancel your reservation, consider adding a destination to your trip. For example, if you’re flying into and out of Zurich, Switzerland, but are finding more that interests you perhaps in Lucerne (or beyond), consider spending at least a portion of your trip outside Zurich.
• If you have booked your accommodations and your reservation cannot be changed, consider adding day trips to your itinerary. For example, if you’re staying in Florence, Italy, you could take the train to Pisa or Lucca for the day.

By now you should have a good sense of what your itinerary could look like; it’s starting to take shape.

Specific site or activity research

Okay, so you have this beautiful, and probably fairly lengthy list of things you’d like to see and do on your trip.

Now you get to do research on each of these items individually. Yay! Seriously…I love this part.

To start, you’re going to break down your wish list into four sections. If your list is pretty long, you can re-write it into these four sections, but if it’s on the shorter side, it’s okay to do this mentally.

Must-do sites.

These are the places people traverse the globe to see…the Eiffel Tower, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pyramids of Giza, Great Wall of China. You get it.

These are the non-negotiable ones. They go in the itinerary no matter what.

Want-to-do sites.

These are the second-tier sites for your trip, the things you want to make room for, but won’t necessarily dissolve into tears if you can’t manage it.

Examples from my travels would include the Rodin Museum (Paris), Trevi Fountain (Rome), or walking the entire High Line in New York City.

Nice-to-do sites.

These are the minor sites and activities that will become the filler in your itinerary. On my itineraries, these are things like “sit on the Spanish Steps” or “buy cheese from a fromagerie.”

I don’t care if we do this or not.

These are the sites that are first on the chopping block once we start to build the actual itinerary. Or you may have cut them already once you did your destination research.

Now that you have your sites grouped, the next thing to do is your research. For at least each of your must-do and want-to-do sites you need to know the following:

• What days of the week is it open and what are the operating hours?
• What is the entrance fee (if any)?
• What is the best day of the week to visit?
• Do you need to book tickets or make a reservation ahead of time? If so, how far in advance can you book/should you book?
• Where is it and how do I get there? I especially want to know how far it is from my accommodations and how far it is from other major sites on my list.

Side note: The My Maps feature in Google Maps is an invaluable part of this phase of the itinerary planning process for me. You can pin locations, organize and color code sites to visit, and even add personal notes.

Narrowing it down

Okay, now you have even more information about your destination. Here’s where you start making some changes to your list.

At this stage, I may move sites from one section of my wish list to another. Something might move up on the list, for example, if I discover that it’s very near one of my must-do’s, or if it’s free to visit.

This is how we ended up going to Les Invalides; it wasn’t anywhere near the top of our list, but it’s right across the street from the Rodin Museum (which was something I wanted to do) AND it’s covered by the Paris Museum Pass. It was super easy to just pop in for a bit after the Rodin Museum, but we probably wouldn’t have made a separate trip.

Something might move down the list (or come off the list entirely) if I learn it’s very out of the way or more of a financial investment than my particular budget for this trip can support.

Should I purchase a city or museum pass?

Let’s revisit the city/museum pass question from the destination research phase.

If your destination offers one (or a few), take the time to consider if it’s worth it for you to purchase for your trip. We used the Museum Pass on our trip to Paris (and highly recommend it), but decided against buying the Firenze Card for our trip to Florence, Italy .

Here are some criteria I use to judge whether a city or museum pass is worth it for us to purchase for a particular trip:

• What sites are covered? Will you have to book entrance to many of your must-do/want-to-do sites separately or are most covered by the pass?
• Does the pass offer you unlimited entry to covered sites or can you use it one time only?
• Will you save money if you buy the pass? It’s not necessarily a deal breaker if it doesn’t. The convenience of not having to book entrance reservations to sites ahead of time can outweigh some financial disincentives.
• Does the pass cover any public transportation you’re planning to use or just site entrance fees?
• For how many days is the pass valid versus how many days you will be at your destination? For example, we chose not to buy the Firenze Card on our trip to Florence, because it’s only good for 72 hours, and we were spending 8 nights there. Purchasing two cards each would have cost us far more than paying for our chosen sites individually.

How do I decide what to cut from my itinerary?

This part of the process is highly personal. Only you can really decide if a particular site or activity is “worth it” to you.

The decision to buy or not to buy a city or museum pass may affect how you narrow down your list. If you have to purchase entrance tickets to all of your sites individually, you may end up having to spend more money to see everything (or cut sites to stay within your budget).

Or if you do decide to purchase a pass but a site on your list is not covered, you may find yourself considering leaving it off your list.

On the other hand, if you have a pass you may see more sites overall because you’ve already paid for admission.

…If that makes sense.

At this stage of the itinerary planning process, if there’s anything on my list that makes us say “meh” it goes on the “I don’t care” list.

Build the trip itinerary

Okay. You’ve done your research, you’ve decided whether you’re buying that city pass and you’ve refined your site wish list.

You’re ready to build your itinerary! I’m going to use our recent trip to Paris to demonstrate how I put it all together.

The non-negotiables get top priority.

For each full day on your trip, choose one or two of your must-do’s or want-to-do’s: one first thing in the morning and one for later that day.

Your must-do’s (your non-negotiables) go on the schedule first and as early in your trip as you possibly can.

If you arrived in Paris on April 14, 2019, and decided to put off seeing Notre-Dame until later in the week, you were probably pretty disappointed on April 15 as the world watched the devastating fire that closed it down.

Don’t. Put. It. Off.

For our trip to Paris, we each had one non-negotiable: the Louvre and the Palais Garnier. We did them both on our first full day there.

Then add any other must-dos that require advanced booking or warrant a full day on your itinerary or both. So, I needed to choose days for Versailles and the Eiffel Tower.

My research told me that I should plan a full day at Versailles and that it is quite busy on the weekends and on Tuesdays (when the Louvre is closed).

I also learned that the Eiffel Tower is open every day until late, that I should plan to spend about three hours there, and that I needed to book tickets for the summit as far ahead as possible.

Add in your want-to-do’s.

With the must-dos scheduled, I’m ready to schedule the want-to-do’s. I added Musee d’Orsay and Musee Rodin, then Musee de l’Orangerie, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, etc.

Nice-to-do’s fill in any remaining gaps.

I then fill in the rest of the itinerary with the nice-to-do’s, leaving our last full day intentionally blank.

When staying in one place for four days or more, we try to keep our last full day completely open. This is so we can return to any place we want to see again, or so that we can add more of the items from our “nice to do” list depending on what we’re in the mood for. It helps us create a good balance between sightseeing and relaxation .

If you’re taking a trip that includes multiple stops, you can just repeat this process for each place you’ll be staying.

Keep in mind as you’re planning a trip itinerary that if you’re bouncing from city to city every other day, you’ll be spending a lot of time traveling from one destination to the next.

I do feel like I need to say, that even though you now have a meticulously planned itinerary it doesn’t mean you can’t be spontaneous. We often find that we spend far less time at some sites than we think we need to allow for, giving us time to do even more on our trip than we hoped.

Or sometimes we just don’t feel like doing something on our schedule…and that’s okay too.

Now you have the tools to build the perfect itinerary for your next trip. Enjoy!

More articles to help you plan your travel itinerary

• 5 easy steps to planning a trip
• Travel planning resources you need
• The best travel guides (online resources and books)

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Darcy Vierow is a busy professional and travel planning expert with years of experience maximizing travel with limited time and on a less-than-average salary. Her tips have been published by Forbes, MSN.com, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, Aol, Newsbreak and GOBankingRates. Read more about Darcy Vierow .

10 Comments

Absolutely love this perspective on travel! It beautifully captures the essence of what it means to explore the world. Travel isn’t just about ticking off destinations; it’s about slowing down, immersing yourself in new cultures, savoring moments, and absorbing the rich tapestry of life that the world has to offer. 🌍✈️🌏

My sister wants to travel for her honeymoon, so she’s interested in starting to plan it this month. I liked what you explained about choosing a destination and the places you’d like to visit, so I’ll share this with my sister right away. I appreciate your insight on considering what you want to see and visit and booking accommodation near those places.

You are so much more organized than we are – we usually book places the day of or the day before and figure out what we are doing day by day. We like to leave things pretty wide open to see what happens and what we find. This is such a great guide though for planning a vacation!

Thanks for your comment! Yeah, I actually have a hard time just going with the flow…it’s something I’m working on.

This is so perfect! I enjoy the entire planning process, so this definitely speaks to me. I particularly enjoy researching locally owned restaurants and off the beaten path places. Thanks so sharing such a great way to plan

Thank you for your kind comment!

This post resonates a lot with me as like you, I too plan extensively before I travel. I believe planning well helps us make the most of our time and also gives more peace of mind. Excellent tips!

Thank you! And I definitely agree with you about how helpful good travel planning is for traveling well.

It is so helpful to find a guide on how to organize and plan a trip! For a lot of people (me included) this is the most traumatic experience about traveling as you want everything to go perfect and smoothly. I plan trips all the time and this guide was literally how I do my planning! Thank you so much for sharing and I hope it helps a lot of travelers out there too!

Thanks so much for reading and for your kind comment. I really do hope a lot of travelers find this guide helpful.

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How to Make a Travel Itinerary: Create the Best One for Your Trip

There is something to be said for aimlessly roaming the streets of an energetic city popping into quaint cafes and talking to the locals, not knowing what you will find.

Though when there’s a limited amount of time, I also don’t want to leave seeing something perfect for the bucket list totally by chance. What if I missed the Skyline Trail hike along the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia ? Or the stunning Piaynemo view in Raja Ampat ?

I always create a travel itinerary.

In order to make sure I don’t miss any amazing bucket list experiences while exploring a new destination, I always create a loose itinerary that leaves room for unexpected opportunity, like exploring the alleyways along the backstreets of Tokyo .

When I make my travel itinerary strict, it causes me anxiety, but it also can waste precious time when you don’t have a plan. I never want to be spending hours in my hotel room trying to figure out what to do for the day, when I can actually be out there doing it!

Here’s how I organize an itinerary:

How to Store your Travel Itinerary

In the beginning of my travel career, I spent a couple months creating a London itinerary , not wanting to miss a thing. I purchased an expensive map and spent hours putting little numbered stickies on all the places to be visited. These numbers coordinated with an Excel spreadsheet that listed the attractions by name along with other essential information.

It was foolproof-so I thought.

On day one, while walking to Abbey Road , the map fell out of my purse and was gone. Countless hours of planning were down the drain in a matter of minutes. Since then I have never bought a paper map, (especially since almost every airport and hotel has a free one you can pick up when you arrive).

Instead, I create and store all my itineraries with the Evernote app . The app can keep maps, photos and links to important websites that can be accessed on any of my devices. You can also set up an offline notebook in order to see your notes without Internet access, but keep in mind that you will need Wi-Fi to access any links.

You could also use the Notes app on Apple products (though it does not have as many bells & whistles as Evernote) or Microsoft OneNote , which is Evernote’s main competitor.

Do Your Research

If you want to get the most out of your experience, you need to know what you want to do and what will make the ultimate travel venture for you. Are you fascinated by a town’s history, culture or food? Do you want your trip to just be about crazy adventures and a city’s vibrant nightlife? Answering these questions means that you need to do some research for the area you are visiting.

Prior to traveling anywhere I do an online search of “unique things to do in XYZ”, “traditional foods of XYZ” and “best restaurant in XYZ”. I then scroll through dozens of the result sites quickly, making a list in Evernote of all the things that even slightly interest me. It is important to get past the first few pages of the Google results to find more personal stories and blogs, instead of large generic sites that can give you only a touristy perspective.

If the city or country’s Tourism Board website does not come up within the search results, I always check their site for recommendations. I may also see if Netflix has any documentaries on the destination that can be rented, plus browse a few travel guides at the bookstore.

Another good idea is to search a tour website, like Get Your Guide for what sorts of experiences they offer in your travel destination.

After there is a rough list, more elaborate research is done on each attraction and restaurant to determine what will be kept on the itinerary versus what will be deleted. Keep in mind that you can’t see and do it all, so put an asterisk by the items that are absolute must-dos.

Divide a City into Sections

Many large cities will be split up in districts, like Paris with its arrondissements or the London boroughs. Look at an online map and determine the sections of a city you are traveling to. Create a header in Evernote for each district; if a town doesn’t have sections, it can be zoned into four quadrants (NE, NW, SE, SW). If your travels will be through several small villages, your headers can just be the name of the village.

Start taking the items from your master list and placing them in the sections that they are located in. This will make planning your day easier when you know what area you will be headed to and all the things you can do there.

Tip: You can create a Google Map with pins in all the locations you want to visit for the day, then add it to your Evernote file.

Create a Calendar

Make a calendar for each day of your vacation. You can either do this in a simple list format or create a table. Take a look at your “things to do” list, there are bound to be certain attractions/events that have to be done on specific days due to limited open hours or reservation availability, so put those on the calendar first under the appropriate day and time.

If there are free hours on that specific date, then add anything that is in that same district to it, starting with the important items that have an asterisk next to them. Don’t put specific times on these other entries just squeeze as many as you can in before or after you scheduled event. This way you will have plenty of options on what to in the district that you will be in without having to be strict about the time.

Leave Room for Opportunity & Be Realistic

Even when I am in a location trying to make a tick off the bucket list I create loose itineraries, ones that leave room for unexpected opportunities, because a bucket list is just as much about the journey as it is the checkmark.

There are always times while exploring a city that something incredible sidetracks you, and if you are scheduled with events back to back you may have to miss out. Of course you’re going to want to see and do everything on your trip, but also be realistic.

Don’t expect to land in Europe, after twelve hours of travel and hit the ground running jam-packing your itinerary from sun up to down. Leave room for meals, sleep, jetlag and rest. Plus expect a few hiccups along the way; flights can be delayed, restaurants can lose reservations and an attraction may pale in comparison in person to the photographs on the Internet.

In the Bahamas our tour guide forgot to pick us up at the hotel, it rained for 24 hours straight and the buggy we rented got a flat tire in the first half hour. Yes, it changed our itinerary a bit, but instead of the original plan we met a lovely Bahamian couple that graciously drove us to the local fish fry where we ate cracked conch and drank bottles of Kalik beer.

Sometimes the unexpected is the most memorable part of the journey.

Don’t Forget the Extras

Add your flight numbers, hotel addresses, maps, etc. to your itinerary file for easy access. All my itineraries include this information, plus the currency exchange rate (so I know how much 1 US dollar is worth in the country). It is much easier to look at one file then have to scroll through dozens of emails or check different apps to find what I am looking for.

Note: This should not be a substitute for keeping all that information stored in emails or printed copies of confirmations just in case.

This and a lot more traveling tips can be found in my book Bucket List Adventures .

Happy Traveling!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through my links, I earn a commission that helps to keep this blog running—at no extra cost to you. For more information read my full disclosure .

Tips for Long Flights: 30 Things to Do on the Plane My Favorite Tripod Selfie Stick for the Iphone 38 Items to Pack in Your Travel Medicine Bag 7 Printable Vacation Packing Lists for Your Next Trip 35 Travel Safety Tips to Know Before Your Next Trip Comfortable Airplane Travel: 25 Products To Take on Your Next Flight

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29 thoughts on “how to make a travel itinerary: create the best one for your trip”.

How do you decide how long you will stay somewhere? We are looking to book our first trip to Europ and hope to visit Paris and London. Thinking 5 full days at each but don’t know how to determine that.

Typically, I will research everything I want to do before actually deciding on how long I will stay in a location. After I’ve compiled that list, I seperate the chosen adventures into the cities district and then I will put them all on a mock calendar to determine how much I can see and do on each day. This can determine how many days I need to be in a city, but it also depends on how much time I have to travel too. I think that an amazing overview of almost any city can be seen in 3-4 days. I did both Paris and London in 4. I didn’t get to see it all, but I also didn’t feel like I missed out on any of the monumental things. Five days will get you a lot of exploring in both those cities!

Wow! That kind of itinerary planning takes dedication. I do basic research when I go some place but I wish I can be as organized as you are :) I’ll give Evernote a try. Thanks for mentioning it.

I like my research!

Great article! This is also how I create our travel itineraries with the addition of doing a search for unique souvenirs to bring back home. It takes a lot of time and effort but it also gets you even more excited for the trip knowing what you’ll be seeing! Totally agree on having a loose itinerary – I over planned the first time we went to Europe and even made an itinerary of what paintings to see in museums :0 P.S. Absolutely love Evernote – I feel like my whole life is there :D

I totally over planned my first trip too! I love that you add what souvenirs to look for, that’s something I have never done, but may need to add.

Great article, very useful who love to travel.

Very nice article and photos you I love it thank you for sharing. Good luck

Great tips here–especially on how to use Evernote more effectively for planning! I usually just make a very unorganized list…no more!

I agree that whenever you are on travel always make an allowance to your itinerary. You don’t know along the road you might meet other travelers too that will be going to an interesting place.

I thought I had itinerary planning down, but after reading this, I’m realizing I’m still in the minor leagues! Love the tip about Netflix documentaries and leaving room in the itinerary for opportunity. I used to plan things so rigidly that it at times was very stressful. I’ve since tried to be more flexible and it has made all the difference. Thank you for sharing your trip planning strategies!

I used to be the same and plan very strict itineraries. And you are right—it’s way too stressful!

I wish I had that dedication to planning! Would love to do it step by step though. Gonna try the evernote app first!

Well thank you for those useful tips.

Thank you! It is an honor to be included on this list with this amazing group of customer service and experience experts and organizations. I promise to keep writing! Thank you again

Great blog and thanks for sharing nice facts.

Grateful information. So thank you for sharing.

This is a perfect article to read especially for a first-time traveler. Very informative, thanks a lot for sharing.

Thanks for the practical advice. A well prepared itinerary saves lot of time gets you most out of the journey.

Nice tips on how to store your travel itinerary!

I’m glad you enjoyed your trip to the Bahamas despite the hiccups. I’m from The Bahamas and I love living here

It was a great visit and I hope to return!

Wow. Thanks for the info. A useful article for anyone who wants to travel a lot!

Can you recommend train or bus links for travel in Europe? Specifically Italy, Greece. You have inspired by bucket list!

Thank you for highlighting your valuable words through this article

Thanks for the clearly laid out explanations, makes lots of sense. I do like allowing a bit of down time or for the unexpected too.

I found this review quite informative and helpful, I enjoyed it

Thank you for the information it helps a lot due to i love to travel on my down days, However it would be nice to have some kind of transportation included like a bus or some to make sure we get where we need to be.

This festivals looks an amazing at the first glance, a lot of countries’ respresentative. It should be on the bucket list of the travellers who want to experience cultures and traditions. I will try my best to be a part of this too.

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8 Websites to Find Free Itinerary Planner Templates for Your Next Trip

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If you’ve ever tried to plan out an itinerary, you know that a template makes things much easier than just trying to throw something together yourself. Unfortunately, trying to find a template can be quite a difficult process if you don’t know where to look.

Thankfully, there are good options for you to use. Here are eight of the very best places that you can find free itinerary planner templates for your next trip.

First up on this list, we have Canva. Canva is an online graphic design platform that lets you create a huge range of designs, including itinerary planners.

Canva includes over 750 different itinerary planner templates that you can look through at your own leisure. The designs here are pretty diverse and feature just about any event, holiday, or structure that you could want.

What really makes Canva shine, however, is how it lets you interact with these templates. You can simply choose a planner and print it out, if you so wish, but Canva lets you do more than that.

With Canva, you can customize and design your itinerary any way that you want. This includes adjusting the text, the locations, the images, and more. You could also upload your own pictures if you want to include a photo of yourself or your destination, for example.

Next up, we have the itinerary templates available from Jotform. Jotform is a PDF editor, which means that it should be no surprise that it’s a remarkably powerful tool to use in conjunction with its free itinerary planner templates.

The range with Jotform’s itinerary templates is noticeably less than some of the other options available on this list. There are only 21 templates available to choose from, and though there is a very solid variety available here, this may be a little limiting.

Jotform’s greatest strength, however, is in how you can edit the templates. Unlike Canva, Jotform’s editing is less artistic and more functional. There are plenty of options to easily add in new lines, boxes, page breaks, and signature boxes.

If you’re looking to pass around a relatively no-nonsense itinerary to a couple of people, this can be a good way to do so.

3. Adobe Express

If you’re looking for an impressive range of different free travel itinerary templates that also features some reasonably powerful editing tools, then Adobe Express is a fantastic place to look.

Adobe Express features well over 100 different itinerary templates, though some of them are only available to premium users. The range here is quite good, though some of the templates can be pretty basic and seem to focus more on aesthetic than on functionality.

If you've ever looked for free travel journal apps to create a beautiful trip diary , however, then this might be what you're looking for. With so many options, you’re bound to find something that appeals to what it is that you’re looking for.

The main reason to use Adobe Express, however, is that the editing options that you have are quite powerful. There’s a comprehensive layering system, as well as a huge variety of design assets, fonts, and layout tools. You can even animate your travel itinerary if you’re not planning to print it.

4. Microsoft Office

Next up, we have the itinerary templates available for Microsoft Office. These templates are a little more limited than some of the other options on this list, but if you’re already familiar with the Microsoft Office suite and don’t want to sign up for and learn a new system, then they might just surprise you.

There are only nine itinerary templates available from Microsoft, with roughly half of them being available for Microsoft Office and Microsoft Excel, respectively.

The templates themselves are very solid, however. They’re certainly not the most elaborate nor fancy, but they’ll do the job well. If you’re just looking for something that will get the job done and work with the Microsoft Office suite out of the box, then this is a great place to get some templates.

If you’re looking for some templates that strike a good balance between design and functionality, then the free travel itinerary templates provided by Visme might just be exactly what you’re looking for.

Visme has over 30 different itinerary templates available for you to look through, mostly focusing on different destinations and travel lengths. These itineraries are all entirely customizable thanks to Visme’s in-depth design tools as well. A perfect compliment to these smart travel planning apps for easier trip itineraries .

These templates all look great without sacrificing usability. They’re also highly adjustable, with options for colors, graphics, photos, media, and text all being customizable.

6. EDIT.org

For something that is a little bit more pared back and is easier to learn, EDIT.org has a wide range of different templates available for use.

These templates are all customizable, though the options here are a little less complicated, and therefore overwhelming. If you’re looking for templates that look great and that you can edit without having to worry too much about learning something new, then EDIT.org is a great option for just that.

7. Template.net

Next up, we have Template.net. As you might imagine, Template.net is a website focusing on different template designs, including free travel itinerary templates.

There are over 60 different travel itineraries available with Template.net, though not all of them are available for free. The range is, however, diverse, so you’re likely to find something that you can use.

You can download your templates directly for a variety of file formats such as Microsoft Word or Excel, Google Docs, Apple Numbers, and more. You can also edit your itineraries directly.

8. On Planners

Last, but not least, we have On Planners. If you’re looking for a variety of free travel itineraries that you can download and fill out yourself, then Onplanners.com might just be what you’re looking for.

On Planners provides a handful of different travel itineraries for you to look through. The range here isn’t huge, but the options are solid and easy to download.

It's worth bearing in mind that only some of the templates are editable. But, if you’re looking for something that you can quickly print and fill out by hand, then this is a great place to find what you’re looking for.

Finding Free Travel Itinerary Templates Can Be Easy

As you can see, finding free travel itinerary templates doesn’t have to be a difficult thing. Regardless of if you’re looking for something that you can quickly download or print and fill out yourself, or are hoping to find something that looks nice, there’s something out there for you.

Plotting out the itinerary doesn't have to be difficult, either, with plenty of planning apps to help you out.

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How to create the perfect travel itinerary

Some travellers are more than happy to arrive at their destination with nothing but a YOLO or carpe diem mindset and a backpack on their backs. For others, just the thought of arriving with nothing pre-planned and no holiday travel itinerary is scary.

There are advantages to both travel styles, but it’s undeniable that putting at least a little work into your itinerary before you travel can enhance your vacation experience. It doesn’t need to be a multi-page spreadsheet or a long list of scribbled notes. Today, you can use travel planner apps to create an itinerary easily.

In this article, we’ll set out a few key tips on how to create an itinerary to help your travel dreams come true.

Make your ideas list

The first step to making an itinerary is to create your ideas list. Have a travel notebook, or an ideas board or use a travel planner app to make a note of your dream destinations or location wish list. Whether you have a few vague ideas – “Australia”, “Europe” or something specific like “seeing the Himalayas whilst paragliding in Nepal”, get it written down in one place that you can refer to later. We love to note down any recommendations that we stumble across whilst browsing the web.

Work out your budget!

Work out how much money you’re going to set aside for your trip, and be realistic with yourself. Arguably, this is one of the first things you should do as a travel planner so that you can focus your ideas list without having to go through the disappointing task of crossing off everything that’s out of budget later. There is no point browsing websites for private islands in the Maldives, only to be disheartened when you realize that you can only afford a room in a shared Airbnb when it comes to making your trip itinerary.

Working out your budget early can also help focus your location choice if this isn’t already determined.

Research your travel itinerary

If you’re like us, half the fun of travelling or vacations is the planning and working to create an itinerary. Learning something about the history and culture of your destination before you go can make a trip even more rewarding once you’re there.

From travel books like Lonely Planet , Rough Guides and Bradt Travel, to customer-feedback-based sites like Tripadvisor to the multitude of online blogs, there’s a vast pool of resources to dive into for creating a trip itinerary.

You can also check out our list of the world’s best cities for more inspiration.

Additionally, online blogs and websites like National Geographic and  www traveloverplanet com , etc can offer further inspiration and information about different destinations. 

Decide when to go

Knowing when to go is an important factor for planning a trip itinerary. Make sure that the weather conditions are favorable for a holiday. Check for public holidays and local festivals at your destination.

Many travellers dream of being in India for ‘Holi’- the festival of colours but is it safe to travel during that time? Sometimes, festivals are best avoided. For instance, travelling to Vietnam during Lunar New Year (or Tet), is generally not recommended. Many facilities are completely shut down for a couple of weeks and the whole country is on the move, making domestic travel challenging! It might be best to create your itinerary to steer clear of these occasions.

Don’t overstretch yourself

As tempting as it is to try to visit all the temples in Angkor in one day, it’s probably going to lead to you falling asleep straight after sunset at Angkor Wat, with no energy to enjoy a delicious Cambodian dinner truly, and that’s if you haven’t succumbed to heat exhaustion by mid-afternoon! A major problem when creating travel itineraries is trying to cram so much in that your vacation resembles a military boot camp more than a leisure trip.

Sometimes less is more. As the travel planner, try to separate your activities and destinations into ‘must-do’ and ‘would be good to do’. Factor in travel time. Though train and bus rides can be a great way to see a new destination, you don’t want to spend your whole vacation staring out of a window.

Plan with your travel companions!

Maybe there’s an activity that the travel planner loves that might not be everyone’s idea of fun. Perhaps adventure caving in Mexico isn’t actually Mom’s ideal vacation activity. Have the conversation early in the planning stages, rather than when you’re on vacation.

If you’re travelling with companions who potentially have a different vacation budget to you it’s really important to discuss this early when forming your travel itinerary to avoid friction later on in your trip. Make sure you are open about this early and can come up with a solution. Perhaps your companion is happy to settle down on a hammock with a book for the day whilst you enjoy a day trip.

Use travel apps

Choose a trip planner app that will help you become the ultimate trip planner. Organizing apps like TripIt.com let you make complicated itineraries to share online and it will automatically generate maps, directions and weather information. Other options are a trip planning app like TripHobo.com which will give helpful activity and direction recommendations and useful information on opening times and visit duration.

Check out our list of the best travel planning apps to discover more useful apps.

Don’t get stuck in your schedule

Finally, the most important thing to remember – you’re not legally obliged to follow your travel itinerary! Allow yourself the freedom to take up recommendations from people you meet along the way, be that a fellow traveler, the staff at your accommodation or someone who lives there.

Use our tips above to plan your perfect travel itinerary, but don’t miss out on the spontaneous opportunities that come your way when you’re on the road.

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DESTINATIONS

3 days in St Petersburg, Russia: a complete city guide and itinerary

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This mammoth 3 days in St Petersburg itinerary (and city guide in general) has taken me ages to write up. But it’s been so worth it to share all of my recommendations on what to do, see and eat in this gorgeous Russian city. Having spent an incredible 2 weeks in Russia this year and absolutely LOVING it, I’m now ready to convince everyone I know that they have to go. 

I actually spent nearly a week in St Petersburg after visiting Moscow , but only had a solid 3 days of full-on itinerary blocked in. The rest of the time, I winged it and found extra things as we went. So although you could cram all of this into 3 days and whiz through the city using it, you could also spread it out over longer. St Petersburg involves a lot of walking and you might want a few ‘rest days’.

I also have a whopping guide to travel in Russia generally , covering everything from how to get a Russian visa, to general food and drink tips, to safety stuff. And I also have a Moscow itinerary and giant guide to Moscow .

Get your glass of vodka and get reading 3 days in St Petersburg itinerary and city guide…

Please note that this travel guide is from 2018. For obvious reasons, I do not want to promote visiting Russia at the current time. I didn’t want to delete the guide as I hope one day Russia’s political situation will have changed and we can return to visiting this beautiful country.

3 days in St Petersburg itinerary: day 1

Getting your bearings around nevsky prospekt.

So it’s day 1 and you’re up and out and ready to explore. Please note that I’m not including breakfast places in this because if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to sort that in your hotel or buy stuff to eat in your apartment.

The obvious place to start getting your bearings in St Petersburg is the bustling heart of the city, Nevsky Prospekt. It’s the main street, with loads going on and the inevitable accompanying crowds. If you’re not a fan of touristy areas, don’t let the hordes put you off. It’s worth seeing and the rest of the city isn’t as manic at all, so you only have to put up with it for this part. There are so many gorgeous buildings around the centre. One of my favourites was the bright pink Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace at Anichkov Bridge, so keep an eye out for that.

You’ll also notice plenty of shops and department stores around here. Regular readers will know that I adore shopping but I wouldn’t recommend looking in any of them here. It’s all expensive and anything affordable is just what you could get at home or anywhere so is a waste of time, like Zara.

Generally, I’d say to set aside an hour to take in the sights and sounds of the Nevsky Prospekt area on foot. You’ll naturally cover more of it during your time in St Petersburg, too. The best way to really get into the city is to do the following…

Boat tour – a highlight of your 3 days in St Petersburg

Ah, the instant regret of a boat tour in any major city. You’re feeling nice and warm, enjoying wearing a t-shirt and then decide it’s a good idea to go out onto freezing cold open water to experience a gale-force wind that you had no idea existed… But it’s a fact that a boat tour is a really nice way of understanding the layout and main sights of a city, especially one as big as St Petersburg, where you couldn’t easily cover it on foot in a short trip.

I massively recommend the English-language boat tour we found called Anglo Tourismo . Strangely, this was one thing we’d not researched beforehand and ended up picking it then and there based on a quick check online. You can buy tickets at the booth on Anichkov Bridge for about 1,200 rubles. 

It was excellent, and I wasn’t even that cold. Sort of. Definitely a good thing to do on your first day, and if you only have 2 or 3 days in St Petersburg, you’re going to see lots of the city from a beautiful perspective without wasting too much time getting about.

Lunch: Eliseyev Emporium

After your boat tour, it’ll no doubt be time for lunch. It’s only a short walk to Eliseyev Emporium , the most unique experience I had in St Petersburg.

It’s a sort of café meets food hall within an Art Nouveau building (1902/3) on Nevsky Prospekt, with a very distinctive facade and all sorts of madness going on in the window displays. There are lots of animated characters playing in a band in the window, which means you get people stood outside watching. They’re not usually queuing to get in, so don’t be deterred.

Inside, you’re met with a sort of tsar-ist opulence. There are deli counters selling all sorts of bakery goods, chocolates, meats, cheeses and wines, all set against the usual Russian amount of gold. Everything is dipped in gold! It’s so extra. I love it. Imagine a Russian version of Harrod’s but a million times more exciting. Oh and featuring a giant pineapple-like palm tree as a centrepiece with tables set around it. Of course.

If it’s your first visit to Russia or you just want to fully get into the experience, go for traditional herring and potatoes with vodka. Once you’ve had lunch, it’s also a good place to pick up presents for home because there are lots of small tinned goods and mini vodkas that will fit nicely into your luggage. 

Summer Garden

Walk off your lunch by heading out of the city via the Summer Palace and Gardens. If you don’t want to walk, get the metro to Gostiny Dvor station, cross Nevsky Prospekt and head up Sadovaya Ulitsa until you get to St. Michael’s Castle. One of the two entrances is just behind the castle, across the canal.

The Summer Garden was especially gorgeous when I was there, featuring lots of amazing floral archways designed for people to pose in front of for photographs. Classic Russia – everyone is always posing for a photo. I never feel daft there getting pictures for the blog!

There are loads of fountains here too, if you’re into them. The actual Summer Palace is pretty modest by Russian standards (wait until you see the normal palaces further down this blog post…). It’s a Dutch-inspired two-storey house really, but pretty nonetheless. It was completed in 1714 and Peter the Great moved in with his fam. It’s now a museum, featuring some of their furniture and clothes and that. We didn’t go in because it was such a hot day that I didn’t want to waste the sunshine by being inside, but I imagine it’d be worth popping in if you wanted.

Peter and Paul Fortress

After wandering through the gardens, head to the Peter and Paul Fortress . It’s a 20-minute walk over the bridge, or the nearest metro station to the fortress is Gorkovskaya and you can get there from Nevskiy Prospekt on line 2, then walk to the fortress from Gorkovskaya. The whole thing should take about 25 mins.

Inside the fortress, the main spectacle is the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which is made of lovely yellow brickwork and set in a big courtyard. There are plenty of other buildings too and a museum, but the best things are just walking around taking it all in and the view looking across the water to the ‘mainland’. 

If you want to stop for a drink and cake at the fortress, I’d recommend Korushka . It could easily be an awful touristy rip off given its location, but it’s actually lovely.

Hare today, gone tomorrow

To enter the Peter and Paul Fortress, you walk across Ioannovsky Bridge. You’ll see a log sticking out of the water with a little bronze sculpture of a hare on it. The island that the fortress is on is known as Hare Island, hence this little guy cropping up a lot there.

Before humans came along and plonked a massive fortress on it, the island was mostly a swamp and home to lots of hares minding their own business. Legend has it that during a particularly bad flood, a hare was afraid of drowning and leaped into Peter the Great’s boot (he of Summer Palace fame). The hare was then saved, and the island got its name. But they still destroyed the hares’ home by building all over it because humans. ANYWAY. The hare sculpture in the water has a tradition attached to it. You have to try to throw a coin onto the top of the log the hare stands on. If the coin lands on it and doesn’t roll off, your wish will be granted!

Evening meal and drinks in New Holland Island

It’s easiest to get a Yandex taxi to New Holland if you’re tired, but the nearest metro is Admiralteyskaya if you’ve got the energy left for a 30-minute walk.

Anyway. Hello, another island. But a lot different and more modern than the Hare Island.

New Holland Island was human-made in the 1700s as a naval port, but it now looks like an image you’d expect to find in the dictionary under ‘hipster redevelopment’. Although it’s obviously meant to be like Holland, it felt just like being in Scandinavia and had a big Copenhagen vibe to it, which I obviously loved as that’s my favourite city ever.

There’s a circular courtyard full of eateries and bars, canals, outdoor seating, a communal herb garden (of course!), a little boating lake, and some gorgeous independent shops. Have I mentioned yet how good the fashion is in Russia? I think I banged on about it quite a lot in my Moscow posts. There’s also lots of stuff going on like theatre productions and gigs on a pavilion, and seasonal things as well. As I’m writing this (months after my summer visit), there’s apparently an ice rink in the gardens there.

By the time you’ve mooched round the shops and grounds of New Holland, you’ll probably be ready for a feed. I really loved Pho N Roll , for Vietnamese street food. If you’re there in summer, take your scran to the outdoor seats for a good people-watching opportunity. Because everyone is so well dressed in Russia, the whole place is just made for a good people-watch. Then after eating, I highly recommend a frolic and photo opportunity in the herb garden…

3 days in St Petersburg itinerary: day 2

Day trip: tsarskoye selo and the very extra catherine palace.

Day 2 and it’s day trip out time. Brace yourself for this one. It’s a biggie, in every sense.

I think Tsarskoye Selo is probably the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen and definitely the best palace ever. Soz Versailles and Schönbrunn, but you’ve got nothing on this bad boy.

I liked it much better than St Petersburg’s other palace, Peterhof (see further down this post). So if you’re debating between the two, this one gets my vote, for what it’s worth.

Getting to Tsarskoye Selo 

Take the suburban train from Vitebsk Station to Pushkin Station, which takes about 30 mins. You can then walk (it’s a bit of a trek) or get the bus, either 371 or 382, to the park gates.

At the time of writing (but do check), the interior of the palace is closed on Tuesdays and the last Monday of each month. We went on a Tuesday because I’m not that into interiors (although obviously Catherine’s gaff is bound to be spectacular and features a whole room of amber) and the weather was great so we wanted to be outside. This meant that it was a LOT quieter than it would be on a day when the palace itself is open.

As you can see from the photos, it wasn’t crowded at all and that’s what I’m all about.   

A bit about the palace

Tsarskoye Selo is actually the name of the town the palace is in but a lot of people seem to call the palace it too. To confuse matters further, the town is also known as Pushkin.

The palace itself is actually called Catherine Palace, after Catherine I of Russia, who obviously had amazing bougie taste in Rococo architecture and an addiction to painting everything gold. I definitely approve.

I don’t know if it was helped by the 28-degree heat and sunshine, but when we entered the palace grounds and saw this beast, I was pure flabbergasted. Just look at it! I knew it was going to be blue (and obvs wore a blue maxi dress to blend in) but not that blue. And all the gold! Incredible scenes.

“Oh hi, come in! Yeah, we’ve had a bit of work done on the porch. Just a lick of paint really.”

The grounds of the Catherine Palace (and lunch)

Having taken roughly 721 photos of the palace itself, we headed into its huge grounds (1,400 acres). As much as I loved the palace building itself, the grounds are absolutely stunning. There are various buildings in them like a pavilion and a boathouse, all in the matching blue and gold design. Then there’s a gorgeous big lake you can walk around, before entering into pinewoods and meadows with streams flowing through them. 

All the meadowland in the grounds was really the highlight for me. It felt like we’d entered another world, some kind of fairytale idyll. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good if it had been full of people, which is another thumbs-up for coming on a Tuesday.

We spent hours walking through the grounds, only breaking it up by popping into the on-site café for lunch, which was inside a boathouse on the edge of a lake. It was called the Admiralty Restaurant (linking to TripAdvisor there as it doesn’t seem to have its own website). 

Viewing Tsarskoye Selo from a rooftop vodka bar

After spending pretty much the entire day walking (30,000 steps!) round the palace grounds, I was crippled by my sandals and in need of a sit.

We stumbled across this bar, which also happened to be hosting a wedding downstairs. Tempting as it was to do a Busted and crash that, we instead went to the rooftop bar. It was in a sort of little tower and you could see for miles from the top. I can’t find the name of it (Google just lists ‘Vodka bar’!) but if you want to find it, it’s here . I highly recommend it for the views, if not the vodka. Soz Russia, I just can’t enjoy it on its own, as much as I tried…

After forcing down some vodka, admiring the view, and completely ruining my hair in the wind up there, it was time to limp back to the train station and head back into the centre.

Evening meal: back on the brilliant Georgian cuisine

After completely falling in love with Georgian food in Moscow the week before, I’d researched a few Georgian places to have it again in St Petersburg. By far my favourite was Kakha Bar , which was right by where we were staying.

Before I went to Russia, I’d heard loads about the Russian’s deep-rooted love affair with Georgian cuisine. Georgian food involves loads of veggie/vegan options, including delicious dips/hummus and all sorts of creations involving aubergines, so I was very excited about this. It lived up to expectations both in Moscow and in St Petersburg. It’s also some of the most beautiful food ever in terms of presentation, especially at Kakha Bar. 

I was so glad this place was very close to our apartment… with the ridiculous quantity of food and having crippled myself walking 30,000 steps in sandals, I was in no state to venture far afterwards.

3 days in St Petersburg itinerary: day 3

Grand maket russia: the best model railway in the world.

Even if you think you have zero interest in model railways, this should impress you. 

Grand Maket is Russia’s answer to Germany’s Miniatur Wunderland in Hambur g, all 800 m² of it. Miniatur Wunderland is Germany’s most popular tourist attraction and famous around the world as being the best model railway ever. When we went, I was very impressed with it. But I have to say, St Petersburg outdid it with Grand Maket. The attention to detail was better, the crowd control was better (no hordes of screaming kids pushing in) and it had far more amusing little scenes in it that really appealed to me.

How to visit Grand Maket model railway

Tickets cost 480 rubles, and the ticket office is open from 10.00 to 19.30. It’s out of the way but easy to get to by taking the metro to station Moskovskiye Vorota, then walking. You can easily spend an hour or more there.

The details

Whereas Miniatur Wunderland focuses on different European cities, Grand Maket covers Russia’s vast and varied terrain. All of Russia’s time zones are included, as well as all the major cities. Like I said further up, it has way more amusing little scenes. I’ve included some of them below.

There was a funeral, a woman kicking her husband out of their apartment and chucking his clothing out of the window, the tourist boat tour as mentioned in this post further up full of people taking pictures, lots of car accidents, a tree surgeon cutting the branch off he’s sitting on (labelled simply ‘idiot’ and comes from a famous Russian proverb ‘do not saw the branch you’re sitting on’!), and best of all, Putin riding a bear naked through the Russian wilderness. These are just a few of them, but there are loads more I didn’t manage to capture on camera.

It’s honestly so so good. There are plenty of buttons you can press as you go round, which set off things like discos in clubs, fire engines squirting water onto blazing buildings, and a steam train pumping out real smoke that you could actually smell!

The light goes from day, to evening, to night, to morning again at around 15-minute intervals, so you get to see different things depending on the ‘time’. I could have spent all day there.

I particularly loved the apartment blocks against the glass so you could see inside them and all the decor and what the people were up to. It reminded me of Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge books only with humans instead of mice. I appreciate this is a niche reference that will alienate 99% of my readership. You’re welcome.

Lunch: a Soviet-style experience in a ‘stolovaya’ – an unmissable thing in your 3 days in St Petersburg itinerary

If you’ve not already done a stolovaya in Russia, now’s your chance. Stolovaya #1 is my stolovaya of choice in St Petersburg. You can get to it from Grand Maket by taking the metro from Tsvetochnaya to Nevsky Prospekt and then a short walk. 

Stolovayas are self-service canteens that are popular with Russians and tourists alike. They’re ridiculously cheap, the food is simple but delicious and I couldn’t believe what a good quality sizeable meal you can get for around £4.

Also, they’re an important part of Soviet history so it’s interesting to still be able to visit them. They started in the 1920s as a new programme of public catering facilities. Today, despite McDonalds and the like being everywhere, locals still flock to stolovayas.

Point at what you want or load it into your own tray as you go around. No botched attempts at Russian required! I highly recommend finding some traditional Russian brioche pies. I became dangerously obsessed with those during our trip, as all my skinny jeans will attest too. If you’re only doing 2 or 3 days in St Petersburg, I recommend at least one of these a day…

Time for the big daddy: the state Hermitage 

Now, there are two options here:

• If your trip to St Petersburg includes being there on a Wednesday/Friday , you’re in luck. The Hermitage is open late on those days (or it is at the time of writing – do check!) so you have the option to do it in the evening until 21.00. Evenings are apparently a bit quieter. But also, because it’s all indoors, it’s a good use of an evening when it may be darker and colder outside. So if you can do the late-opening option, I’d save your last afternoon to do some shopping and then do the Hermitage later on. Side note: My shopping centre of choice in St Petersburg is this one : it’s easy to get to and it has a massive branch of Reserved, which I adore and we only have online in the UK. More on shopping in Russia in my Moscow post .
• If your trip doesn’t include being there on a Wednesday/Friday , 100% use your last afternoon to do the Hermitage and do something else in the evening after it (my suggestion would be drinking craft beer).

For the sake of this being a flexible itinerary, I’m going to carry on writing as if it’s not a Wednesday/Friday. I hope all this makes sense.

How to visit the Hermitage

Anyway, late-opening options aside, let’s discuss the Hermitage ! If you’re wondering about the name, by the way, obviously it’s not home to a hermit. But it was initially given this name because of its exclusivity. In its early days, only very few people were allowed to visit. Now, it’s full of tourists. But don’t let that put you off. It’s one of the best things I saw in Russia.

It’s quite the spectacle and bloody massive. So you’ll need at least 2 hours to tackle even a portion of it. It’s the second-largest museum in the world (after the Louvre), so get your Converse or similar comfy shoes on for this one.

We bought tickets on the door, but you can book online (which is slightly more expensive at 700 rubles per person).

To get there, take the metro to Admiralteyskaya and walk from there. It’s not far at all, which is a good thing because the Hermitage itself involves a lot of trotting to get around its insane amount of rooms.

Gold overload

Much like the Catherine Palace, you’re in for a lot of gold in the Hermitage. And a lot of very impressive ceilings, chandeliers and walls. I don’t even know where to begin describing it. You just have to go. You’ll never see everything in one afternoon/evening, so if you’re particularly interested in something then do a bit of research on the official website before you go and pick up a map at the entrance.

Look out for the giant solid gold peacock clock. There’s a sentence I wasn’t ever expecting to type. It’s a mechanical beast that does a display to show the time, although they don’t seem to have it running, probably to preserve it. 

You can do organised tours of the Hermitage, but for once I wouldn’t recommend that. It’s really good to wander it at your own pace. Personally, I can’t stick portraits of old dead kings and whatnot, so whizzed past that kind of stuff to spend more time with the more interesting things like the Malachite room (see photo above with the green thing), the Jordan staircase, and the Pavilion room. The Raphael Loggia (below) was another highlight. There was loads of ancient stuff on the ground floor that we didn’t even contemplate doing. So pick whatever you like and focus on that. It’s all incredibly impressive.

Evening meal: Mickey & Monkeys 

I found the gorgeous Mickey & Monkeys place through a recommendation from another travel blogger. I can’t for the life of me remember who it was, so if it was you, THANK YOU. We adored this place. After being absolutely overwhelmed and knackered from traipsing round the Hermitage, we were starving.

The nearest metro stop is Spasskaya.

Mickey & Monkeys does burgers, freakshakes (you know those OTT milkshakes made for Instagram), cocktails, and incredible cakes/desserts. It’s not traditional Russian, but at this point in the trip I’d done a lot of that so was interested in where the hipster locals go. And seemingly, they were all in here. I’ve never seen so many beards and jam jars in one restaurant.

The food was glorious, and really reasonably priced. The decor was equally gorgeous. Exposed brick, a golden fake dinosaur skeleton hanging above the bar, chess-board-style tiled floors, and huge floor-to-ceiling windows opening onto the street outside. Again, perfect for a people watch. They also did a great Aperol Spritz and an even greater lavender eclair, which I deffo didn’t need after seeing off a giant veggie burger. But when on holiday…

Evening drinks: craft beer o’clock

I highly recommend sampling St Petersburg’s craft beer scene at some point during your St Petersburg itinerary. Some of my favourite bars around the city included:

• BeerGeek – nearest metro: Mayakovskaya (This was my favourite. Excellent sours and the staff were great!)
• TopHops – nearest metro: Dostoyevskaya
• BeerHERE – nearest metro: Chkalovskaya
• BottleNeck Beer Authority – nearest metro: Admiralteyskaya.

Russia is  such a craft beer destination and I don’t know why this isn’t more well known here in the UK. I don’t think it’ll stay a secret for much longer. Both Moscow and Saint Petersburg have a massively established scene with lots of cool bars and microbreweries you can’t get elsewhere. Really interesting and great for my personal favourite, sours.

And if you have an extra day or want to do another day trip from St Petersburg…

Day trip: peterhof summer palace and gardens.

Peterhof is a stunning palace and estate, but have to admit, I much preferred the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo. The colour was more striking, the grounds were wilder (can’t get enough of those meadows), and the crowds (because of our tactical timing) were a lot thinner.

Peterhof is still hugely impressive though, like Versaille with extra fountains. Seriously, the fountains are something else. Apparently there are over 60 of them. Note that they’re only switched on from early May to early October, so it would be a less exciting fountainy experience in other months.

Like the Catherine Palace, Peterhof can take up most of the day. It’s also on the water, so that’s a really nice added bonus, but be aware it’s absolutely FULL of mosquitoes. 

How to get to Peterhof

There are a few options but the main two are:

• the train from Baltiskiy Station to Novy Peterhof (45 mins) then walk (about 20 mins) or get a bus (about 10 mins) to the gates
• the hydrofoil from the Hermitage wharf, across the Gulf of Finland, to the jetty (about 30 mins); this option is only available in summer so do check.

We got the train as it was less busy. All the tourists seemed to opt for the seafaring option. Note that the train was kind of like being in an oven in 30-degree heat, so if you’re there in the height of summer do bear that in mind.

White Nights: something to add to your 3 days in St Petersburg itinerary if you visit in June

I’ve tried not to make this 3 days in St Petersburg itinerary too time-dependent, but I can’t finish it off without mentioning this.

One of the most surreal things about my visit to St Petersburg in summer was experiencing the White Nights.

This is the period during summer when the city stays light late into the night, with very white skies. It was about 23.30 in this picture below! White Nights usually runs through mid-June to the beginning of July, but do check because specific start/end dates vary each year. During the period, the city is alive 24 hours a day and museums/restaurants/bars all stay open later, while festivals and gigs go on. If you’re only doing 2 or 3 days in St Petersburg, doing it during White Nights is a proper experience.

The city’s drawbridges get raised in the night, taking boat cruises on the Neva River after 1am. This is a big deal and people flock to watch the bridges go up, but if you’re knackered from walking all day then it’s good just to wander the city’s many canals earlier in the night. There’s a proper hyped-up atmosphere and everyone is in a sort of euphoria, having lost all sense of time. 

3 days in St Petersburg itinerary – useful information for your trip

Where to stay in st petersburg.

I can’t recommend where we stayed enough. Grey House is a gorgeous set of apartments on Rubinshteyna. Ours was the red apartment and it had a traditional Russian stove, a huge bed, big en suite and a huge fitted wardrobe for all our rubbish. It was decorated in a sort of modern take on traditional Russian and I LOVED it.

The location couldn’t have been better because it was in a courtyard of apartments set back off Rubinshteyna street, so really quiet, yet the street had all the best bars and places to eat just outside. It’s on the third floor of the apartment block, but there’s a very old lift in full working order for getting luggage up and down.

We had a superior double room because we were feeling extra (about £75 per night) but you can do a normal double for £57 per night. Breakfast can be included but we opted out.

I very rarely rave about places to stay but this one and where we stayed in Moscow were both great, so I was pretty happy with Russian accommodation overall. 

How to get around St Petersburg

St Petersburg is famous for its metro system. I wouldn’t say it’s as exciting as Moscow’s if you’ve been there too, but it did the trick and some of the stations are almost as stunning. Each trip is 45 rubles. We got a 5-day pass for our trip, but they do various options, including a 3-day one (which I think was 340 rubles) for if you’re only doing 3 days in St Petersburg.

We also ended up using the trolley buses a bit, which were really handy. A ticket is 40 rubles and you pay as you get on usually.

When to go to St Petersburg

We went in June and it was HOT. I mean, hot. Think 30 degrees in the evening. I actually loved the heat, despite being sick from it one of the days. It wasn’t humid and gross and I got to wear dresses with no tights every day. But if you’re not into fake tanning/shaving your legs every day (it did get a bit much TBH) and would prefer to be slightly less sweaty, I imagine the shoulder seasons would be a nice temperature – May or September maybe.

The biggest draw for going in June is of course White Nights. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about that choice, sweat included.

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If you enjoyed this blog post on 3 days in St Petersburg, Russia and how to do your itinerary, why not hover over one of the images below and pin to your Pinterest board? (Desktop only).

You might also like my other Russia posts:

• 45 things to do in Moscow, Russia
• 4 days in Moscow, Russia: a city guide and itinerary
• 38 things to do in St Petersburg, Russia
• Everything you need to know to plan a trip to Russia.

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16 comments.

Love this. Have you got a new camera? I’ve also done Miniature Wunderland and have never heard of Grand Makket. All I can say is omg… xx

Hiya, no new camera but I’m using Lightroom now so everything looks a bit more profesh! You have to do Grand Maket. I’m considering sharing this blogpost in model railway groups but not sure I can cope with the inevitable abuse haha x

Whoa! Catherine Palace looks phenomenal! I’ve never really known anything about St Petersburg so this is really insightful. It looks like a fantastic city to explore.

I loved Moscow even more but yes SPB is amazing!

I’ve always wanted to go here. The architecture is stunning, and everything is so colorful and beautiful. A dream trip for sure

Brilliant post. The place is amazing!

St. Petersburg looks like an amazing city with its beautiful gardens, colorful buildings and churches! You convinced me, I would love to visit here one day! 😁

That´s an awesome wright up! And definitely worth it although it took you a while! It looks like I´ll go to Russia next year and this will help to prepare myself for this trip!

Thanks! I take it you mean write up but that did make me laugh! 🙂

The colours of all the buildings are just beautiful! The Hermitage looks so grand, I can see why you said it’s one of the best things you saw in Russia. All the gold and the intricate work on the ceilings is just incredible

This is a really beautiful city guide! As a professional St. Petersburg guide, I am incredibly happy to see such wonderful articles about my city. And I, too, absolutely love the Eliseyef Emporium. Here is a little tip: after 9 p.m. they sell all bakery items, and cakes with 30% discount!!

Thanks Mila! Great little tip there.

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3 Days in Saint Petersburg Russia: My Perfect 3-Day Saint Petersburg Itinerary

Saint Petersburg is one of Russia’s largest and most exciting cities, offering visitors thousands of things to do, including museums, palaces, beautiful parks, historical sites, and world-class theatre. Discover all the sights and delights the cultural capital of Russia has to offer with my 3-day Saint Petersburg itinerary.

With all these options, planning a trip to Saint Petersburg can be a bit overwhelming, especially for first-time visitors. I’ve put together a recommended 3-day Saint Petersburg itinerary that will help you see the city’s highlights if you have at least 3 days in Saint Petersburg.

Saint Petersburg is a budget-friendly destination that promises historical immersion and exquisite architecture at half the price of that in Western Europe.

My suggested 3-day itinerary has you visiting all the city’s most famous attractions (e.g., the atmospheric Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, the Winter Palace, the Hermitage Museum) as well as some of the city’s lesser-known attractions. In addition to the 3-day itinerary, I also provide tips on how to get around Saint Petersburg and tips on where to eat and stay during your 3 days in Saint Petersburg.

If you’re headed to Russia’s capital city, take a look at my travel itinerary for one week in Moscow .

3 Days in Saint Petersburg Itinerary | The Perfect 72 Hours in Saint Petersburg

Saint petersburg, russia in 3 days – day 1.

Start with an early morning walk along Nevsky Avenue from Vosstaniya Square to the Admiralty Building. The first point of interest is the Hero-City obelisk next to the Moskovsky railway station commemorating the victory of Soviet people over the Nazis. The lovely views will put you in a good mood for the rest of the day. Stop for a nice cappuccino at one of the bars near Gostiny Dvor, a Russian alternative to the French Passage. Enjoy the sight of the old Anichkov Bridge, the oldest bridge over the Fontanka River.

Then make your way to the neoclassical St. Isaac’s Cathedral. It’s a good idea to climb to its colonnade’s observation platform. It means that you get a panoramic view of the St.Petersburg and the refreshing breeze in the summertime.

In St. Isaac’s Cathedral you can admire the interior that boasts more than 300 paintings, mosaics, sculptures, various kinds of precious stones and gilding. The walls of the Cathedral are faced with fine Italian and Russian varieties of marble and other stones: malachite, lapis lazuli, porphyry. St. Isaac’s Cathedral, for example, is otherwise known as the “Museum of stones”.

What Motivates People to Travel

Just a stone’s throw away from St. Isaac’s Cathedral you’ll find the Winter Palace and the Hermitage Museum. These are the most famous attractions in St. Petersburg and you simply can’t miss them. Spend some time taking awesome pictures of the Palace Square, then continue your walking tour of St Petersburg toward the Spit of Vasilevsky Island.

Here you’ll find red Rostral Columns decorated with bronze anchors and four pairs of bronze ship prows. Ah, don’t miss out on visiting the KunstKamera, arguably the weirdest museum in the world.

End your first day in Saint Petersburg exploring the Peter and Paul Fortress. The mighty that never served its purpose to protect the city sits on a narrow strip of land at the mouth of the Neva river. Hare’s island is home to a plethora of various buildings, museums, and exhibitions both permanent and temporary. Although, these do not always reflect the specific history of the fortress itself.

Be sure to make your way down to the Neva River. Here you can have a take a leisurely stroll along the mighty granite walls and mingle with locals.

Saint Petersburg, Russia in 3 days – Day 2

First things first. You can’t visit Saint Petersburg without seeing the real Dutch and Flemish Painting in the Hermitage Museum. It’s worth the trip but book ahead, and allow yourself at least two hours. A good place for a coffee and a pastry is Hermitage Cafe in the General Staff building. Pop over to the Field of Mars to have a look at ordinary people spending their leisure time and the first eternal flame in the country.

If you are a history buff, visit the Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad. a former monastery filled with atmospheric early Renaissance frescoes painted by Fra’ Angelico. The permanent exhibition features the history of the city during the 900-day Blockade, which lasted from 8 September 1941 to 17 January 1944. It goes without saying that this is a very sobering, and unique place to visit for thought-provoking entertainment.

When Is the Best Time to Visit Russia

Then walk along Moika Embankment towards Chizhyk Pyzhik sculpture (pine siskin), and from there take a stroll through the Michael Garden (Mikhaylovskiy Sad) to reach the Church of the Savior on Blood. Admire the ornate cupolas of the Cathedral, otherwise known as ‘Spas Na Krovi‘. It was built on the very spot that Alexander II had been assassinated on March 1, 1881. You can also admire the Cathedral’s interior from inside – walls and ceilings are completely covered in intricate mosaics and paintings.

Nevsky Avenue and adjoining Griboyedov Canal are full of lovely little shops to browse in. At the intersection of Griboyedov Canal and Nevsky Avenue, you’ll find several cozy restaurants offering a wide array of dining options.

In the afternoon, head along to the Alexander Garden to see the Monuments and the Bronze Horseman; a monument to Peter the Great) next to the Admiralty building. From there take a subway ride (Admiralteyskaya station) and go see the impressive Narva Triumphal Arch. Definitely one of the most underrated attractions in St Petersburg.

This remarkable roman arch is made of bricks and covered with copper sheets for the facades. There are four columns on the front side, two on each side of the arch, chariot on the top and the two statues of ancient Russian warriors. The square around the arch is a lively spot in a summer evening too.

Saint Petersburg 3-day itinerary – Day 3

While St Petersburg is a perfectly walkable city, the main streets can get quite crowded in high-season. However, there is always an escape to one of the royal suburbs.

Spend the third day of your 3 days in St. Petersburg taking day trips to Peterhof and/or Pushkin.

Peterhof has many intricate fountains, the highlight being the Samson Fountain with the lion. The sculpture celebrates the Russian victories, especially the victory over Sweden, whose coat-of-arms contains the figure of a lion. Peterhof Park and gardens are a vast area behind the palace where you can spend a few hours to escape the crowds.

Should you choose, I recommend heading to Peterhof in summer. The former royal residence of Peterhof sits some 30 minutes by hydrofoil from the Hermitage Embankment. Peterhof consists of a series of palaces, gardens and the Grand Cascade that makes the city an extremely popular destination in summer. If you are here during the summer, check out the palace’s many fountains. Remember, the fountains are only operational from May to September and aren’t functioning during winter. Peterhof is most quickly accessible via minibus from a St. Petersburg suburb, but most easily accessible via direct train from Baltiysky railway station.

Alternatively, sightseers and culture seekers can visit Pushkin – home to a Catherine Palace and the famous Amber Room. I actually visited both Pushkin and Peterhof and it’s nearly impossible to choose between these two amazing places. Keep in mind, during the public holidays both cities can be quite packed with locals. So you may want to visit the Catherine Palace in autumn or winter when it’s much less crowded.

Where to Stay in Saint Petersburg

You’ll be spoiled for choice among Saint Petersburg accommodation options. The city offers everything from luxurious hotels with their own rooftop bars to more affordable budget hotels that put you within 25 minutes of Moskovskaya railway station. No matter what your budget, you’ll be able to find the perfect St Petersburg hostel within easy reach of downtown. Check Railway Capsules . If you’re looking for someplace a bit nicer, I can personally recommend the WYNWOOD Hotel .

The Bottom Line

You did it! You made it to the end of my itinerary for 3 days in Saint Petersburg, Russia! Hopefully, you’ve discovered some of the best attractions in Saint Petersburg and have maybe even learned about some unique things to do in Saint Petersburg too!

I also hope that you now feel comfortable enough to plan the perfect weekend itinerary in Saint Petersburg. So if you’re ready to begin planning your trip to Saint Petersburg, Russia, then pin this now and read it again later!

How many of these attractions would be on your Saint Petersburg itinerary? If you’ve visited Saint Petersburg, what were your favorite spots in Saint Petersburg? If you have any questions about the itinerary or visiting Saint Petersburg, just ask them in the comments below and as always I’m happy to help!

PIN IT FOR LATER!

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I’ve always wanted to travel to Russia. This looks amazing! Your photos are beautiful.

MindTheTravel

Thank you, Sarah! I agree this country should be visited at least once in a lifetime!

Thank you for sharing. I never dreamt about going to St. Petersburg. May change my mind after reading your blog post and seeing your pictures though 😀

Thank you for sharing.We would be in Sankt Petersburg in July 2020,for sure we would use the Guide.Thanks again.

Once this covid crisis is over, I can’t wait to get there — am looking forward to the suggested itinerary!

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One Day in Saint Petersburg Itinerary – How to Spend a Perfect Day in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Saint Petersburg is one of those cities that somehow manage to blend in so many elements without losing touch with their beauty. With its history, architecture, and love of the arts, it’s no surprise that this is one of the most astonishing cities in the world. Saint Petersburg is not a city you can see in one day, maybe not even three, but this itinerary will show you the destinations you should see during your visit. Welcome to the cultural capital of Russia!

GUEST POST BY DIMA ALSHEIKH BLOG: Dima The Wanderer

What’s the best time to visit Saint Petersburg?

The best time to visit Saint Petersburg varies by what you’re looking for. The two best seasons to see the city when you have just one day are summer and spring. The summer months have great weather, but large tourist crowds take over the city. In fact, some locals leave for most of August. Spring, which comes late to this northern city, is host to a series of festivals and holidays and is a great time to see the city while avoiding the summer crowds. Due to extreme cold and unreliable weather, avoiding Saint Petersburg during winter and autumn would be wise.

What’s good to know about Saint Petersburg?

There is so much to see and do in this city that it’s easy to miss a few things when traveling on your own. Finding a tour guide or an experienced local could make the trip around the city a whole lot more interesting. They can point out things you never would’ve noticed on your own and help skip many of the lines. Fun facts on the way to Tsars Village, details inside the Catherine Palace, marvels of the Peterhof Gardens, and the wonders of the Hermitage all await you.

One Day in Saint Petersburg Itinerary

Follow this guide and make the most of your trip even if you’re short on time. These are the top sights and things to do during your one day in Saint Petersburg.

Explore the State Hermitage Museum

To see the entirety of the Hermitage Museum in one visit is an impossibility. In fact, if you were to spend one minute looking at every item on display there, it would take you eight years to see everything. The museum occupies a vast complex of six historic buildings along the Palace Embankment, including the enchanting Winter Palace that used to be the residence of Russian emperors.

Booking a tour with a group that goes here early in the morning means you get to skip the rush of visitors later on in the day. You may even get to go in before official opening hours. Walking thorugh those near empty rooms, which are usually crowded, makes for an incredible and unforgettable experience. You will hardly be able to believe your eyes!

Stop to see the Peter and Paul Cathedral

Across the river, inside the Peter and Paul Fortress , is the Cathedral that serves as the burial site of the Romanov dynasty. This is a generally quick stop, since the Cathedral is not very big in size, but it is present on pretty much every famous trip planner.

Visit the Catherine Palace at Pushkin

The drive to Pushkin (formerly Tsars Village )  is an opportune moment to catch up on the history you are about to see firsthand throughout your one day in Saint Petersburg. It takes about an hour to get there, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it if you’ve gone with a good group. This would be a good time to eat a pre-packed light lunch or a snack in preparation for the rest of the day.

The Catherine Palace served as a summer palace for the tsars and definitely does not pull back in terms of opulence. Don’t forget to have a look at the Amber room, but remember: photography is prohibited in that area of the palace.

Photo stop at Church of Savior on the Spilled Blood

On your way back from the village into the city, it’s a good idea to stop for a photo by the Church of the Spilled Blood . After all, what is a trip to Russia without a photo with one of it’s famous domed churches? If you’re visiting in summer, you will have the chance to see the church during the evening opening hours. The beauty and splendor of this building is something you definitely don’t want to miss.

Stop at the famous Nevsky Prospect for dinner

A five minutes’ drive away from the Church, Nevsky Prospect is the ideal area to head to find a proper bite to eat before the end of your day. This is a 2-in-1 deal, since the area itself is also considered one of Saint Petersburg’s must sees!

Where to stay in Saint Petersburg?

Friends on Fontanka

Naberezhnaya reki Fontanki 59, Tsentralny, 191180 Saint Petersburg

Friends on Fontanka is a comfortable and stylish hotel with minimalist and modern decor and one of the best value deals in the area. It’s located next to the Fontanka River and only 15 minutes walking to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

BOOK A ROOM HERE

Vosstaniya Street 13, Tsentralny, 191036 Saint Petersburg

Silver Age is a charming and classy hotel located very central, with lots of cafes and restaurants around and only a short walk from the Nevsky Prospect street. The rooms are elegantly furnished with classic-style interiors looking like from the beginning of XX century.

Kentron Boutique Hotel

Nevsky Prospekt 111/3, Tsentralny, 191186 Saint Petersburg

Kentron Boutique Hotel is a contemporary boutique hotel located on Nevsky Prospekt avenue, in the city centre, close to train and metro stations with many restaurants, shops and bars close by. All rooms have incredible furniture, are beautifully decorated and give you that modern luxurious vibe.

Extra tips for visiting Saint Petersburg

– As this is a city well known for it’s pickpockets , be extremely careful about what you bring with you. Try not to wear any jewelry or flashy clothing, and do not carry large amounts of cash with you.

– Don’t forget to adjust your itinerary depending on the day you’re visiting! Some destinations are closed certain days of the week, so do your research before you decide to make the trip!

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If you have any other propositions for this One Day in Saint Petersburg Itinerary feel free to share it in the comments below!

Make sure you have everything you need

What to pack for your next trip.

Make your next trip as simple and as enjoyable as possible by packing smart. It’s amazing how much stress top travel items can save you, so choose carefully. Things like lightweight travel backpacks, for example, are ideal for short trips and allow you to move around with ease, and a passport holder will make sure you keep your documents safe at all times. Check our travel checklist guide for 2021 to make sure you haven’t missed anything, and travel to your next destination in style and with maximum comfort.

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Dima Alsheikh

Dima is a Saudi Arabian English major, amateur photographer, and self-proclaimed wanderer. She currently has her plate full with full-time schooling and part-time photography, but hopes to one day make her passion for storytelling, travel, food, and literature her full-time focus. Check out her day to day adventures on http://www.snapchat.com/add/DimaTheWanderer

I love the details in the architecture. Just so much to see.

That’s true Neni! There’s so much to see in Saint Peterburg that one day seems like no time to see everything this magnificent city has to offer!

Thank you so much Great website

One day itinerary….what an unique concept of traveling. Really impressive. I am planning to visit St Petersburg on next Christmas with family. I must tell you that your photography skills are amazing. The way you have captured photographs make this article even more eye-catching. Keep posting such amazing work and keep inspiring thousands like me. Thanks.

We are glad you like our concept! 🙂

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We Let AI Plan Our Vacation And Here's How It Went

T he future is now — and AI is here to transform it. From helping you find information to making decisions, optimizing workflows, and even personalizing experiences, AI is reshaping pretty much every industry out there — from healthcare to marketing, software to retail, and education to travel. Because, whether you're directly involved in technology or not, efficiency (speed) and convenience (ease) have become more important than ever when it comes to helping us lead a more streamlined (impatient) lifestyle. And that's precisely where something like AI travel planners comes in.

Similar to what travel agents can do, AI travel planners create personalized travel itineraries and destination guides for you with just a few clicks. Simply choose your preferred platform — there are dozens — enter some key pieces of information like your destination, travel dates, and number of travelers, and let AI work its magic. And, while regular agencies might be lacking when it comes to immediate responses or certain customization capabilities, AI planners can put together a done-for-you plan in minutes — sometimes even less.

To see what all the buzz is about, we decided to put some of the most popular AI travel planning tools to the test to help us plan an upcoming nine-day trip to Madrid, Spain. Armed with a very vague sense of what we wanted to do while in the city, we hopped online, did a quick Google search, and chose four different (and free!) platforms: ChatGPT, Trip Planner AI, Roam Around, and iPlan.ai.

Read more: Anthony Bourdain's Perfect Advice For Spotting The Best Local Places To Eat

To kick things off, we headed over to good ol' ChatGPT . Although not technically an AI travel planner, ChatGPT uses previously learned information and advanced natural language processing (NLP) techniques that can generate travel itineraries. For our initial prompt, we provided the platform with very basic instructions — the number of people traveling, our destination, and our travel dates — and let it do the rest. Within a couple of seconds, ChatGPT-4 had written out a day-by-day itinerary that also included generic tips like "Take it easy and get acquainted with the neighborhood."

Since the initial response felt a little bland, we went ahead and provided the platform with additional details like the name of the neighborhood we're staying in, and asked it to be more specific about which attractions, restaurants, and shops to visit. With the updated prompt, ChatGPT provided a more detailed itinerary that included names but was still missing addresses and distances. This meant we had to, once again, prompt the platform in order to get what we were looking for. The constant back and forth with ChatGPT took less than 10 minutes until it created an itinerary we were relatively happy with.

Overall, ChatGPT worked great as a base from which we could build a more detailed and personalized itinerary for ourselves. However, since the platform is mostly text-based, it was difficult for us to get a sense of exactly where it was sending us, what it recommended, and how the trip might actually look.

Trip Planner AI

First on the list of dedicated AI travel planners was Trip Planner AI . Founded in 2023, the site lets you create itineraries, book tours, and purchase tickets — all from within the same interface. Once you've created an account, all you need to do is provide them with details on your destination, travel dates, number of people traveling, average budget, interests, and even how busy you want your schedule to be. Once the platform has compiled all of this information, it'll throw out an itinerary — complete with a color-coded map — in just seconds.

Along with the map, Trip Planner AI's itinerary also includes the attractions' distance from your accommodation — and from one another — as well as short descriptions of each place, average prices and entrance fees, and even potential time slots for your visit. It even throws out an estimate for how much you'll spend that day on food and other touristy things — which makes it a great tool if you have a strict budget!

In terms of details, Trip Planner AI had a lot more to offer than ChatGPT. However, we weren't too happy with some of the results that the platform kept giving us. Specifically, some of the restaurants and cafés in the itinerary seemed to have been picked solely based on proximity and not quality or reputation. Additionally, we also couldn't find a way to edit our itinerary, which meant we had to keep creating new ones if we wanted to see different options.

Roam Around

Next, we hit up Roam Around . After signing into the platform with your Google account, all you need to do is simply input your destination and travel dates, and the platform will quickly put together a multi-day itinerary for you. Broken up into morning, afternoon, evening, and bedtime, it covers everything from where to eat to what to see, where to shop, and where to go from some sundown drinks.

Additionally, the platform also collaborates with Viator and Get Your Guide — two of the most popular travel apps for finding experiences — so you can book admission tickets and tours directly from them. Other features include a handy "regenerate" button, which shuffles up your day or trip if you're not happy with what the platform churned out, an interactive map that pinpoints everything on your schedule, the option to add more days or check out other itineraries for nearby destinations, and a button that downloads your itinerary as a PDF.

One of the best things about Roam Around is that the destinations and attractions it picked felt a lot more curated and authentic than before. While the platform doesn't give you the opportunity to specify what you're into, it does a good job of providing a mix of cultural, outdoor, and leisure activities that most travelers will enjoy. Additionally, when it came to the recommended restaurants and bars, Roam Around's picks felt a little more thoughtful than Trip Planner AI's — sharing recommendations with higher reviews, better photos, and more detailed descriptions.

Lastly, we tried iPlan.ai . Unlike the others, the platform is solely available as a mobile app, which means you actually have to download it to your phone. And, even though we see the benefits of having your itinerary right in your pocket, it felt a little annoying that we needed to go through the hassle. Once you've downloaded the app, you can sign in with your Google account and start filling out your trip details.

Similarly to the sites before it, iPlan.ai will create a tailor-made itinerary for you based on your destination, travel dates, budget, and interests. Along with a list of attractions to see, the platform also includes estimated travel times between each spot, as well as detailed descriptions, operating hours, and reviews. Additionally, once you tap into each individual activity, the app is also designed to let you book tours and tickets by redirecting you to the Get Your Guide website.

In terms of convenience, iPlan.ai is a great tool to have during your trip. The interface connects to Google Maps, which means that you can easily access driving or walking directions to where you want to go. Ultimately, however, iPlan.ai didn't do much more than its web-friendly counterparts, and still had some debatable options when it came to dining.

Should You Be Using AI To Plan Your Trips?

Overall, AI travel planners do exactly what they're meant to do: create full travel itineraries  you can use. Whether or not this is enough to actually plan a trip is a different story. Why's that? Well, in terms of travel, some of the basic information provided by AI might be off because it just doesn't have access to real-time data. 

The same goes for things like tickets and reservations. So while AI might be quick to recommend a famous landmark for a specific date, it won't be as quick to tell you that tickets have been sold out weeks in advance. Whether it's due to outdated information or operational changes, it's important to take everything with a grain of salt — and, ideally, double or even triple-check the source yourself.

All in all, we felt like the AI travel planners we chose did a good job with their itinerary-making. Most of them even chose the same attractions — sometimes on the same days — which probably means they're drawing from similar datasets. However, there was a clear winner in terms of usability, user experience, and detail, and that was: drum roll, please... Roam Around! Simple to use and intuitive, the platform gave us exactly what we wanted without the need to fill out too much personal information or navigate through complex interfaces. Plus, the site's own chatbot, Layla, is also a great source of more specific-detail information when you need it.

Read the original article on Explore .

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• Five Fall Days in Malta

Hiking along limestone cliffs and eating seafood pasta in the Game of Thrones backdrop.

Everyone knows that person who spends weeks sniffing around travel blogs, going deep into Tripadvisor rabbit holes, collecting Google docs from friends of friends, and creating  A Beautiful Mind –style spreadsheets to come up with the best  vacations  and itineraries possible. In this recurring series, we find those people who’ve done all the work for you and have them walk us through a particularly wonderful, especially well-thought-out vacation they took that you can actually steal.

Malta wasn’t on my radar before my partner, Matt, and I started planning a three-week trip to Europe last November. But this temperate Mediterranean island has so much to do and such incredible weather that it made for the perfect five days to kick off our trip. Malta has surfing, hiking, scuba diving, and sightseeing opportunities that include historic churches and filming locations from Game of Thrones , Troy , and Gladiator .

We like to keep our travel planning pretty loose. We outline potential highlights of each destination but rarely book activities in advance or box ourselves into an itinerary. We prioritize free or low-cost activities, which helps me feel more creative in exploration, and allows for a longer trip while staying within budget. Our goal for Malta was to see as much as possible, hike the coastal trails, and explore the region’s history. During our five days there, we ate fresh seafood; toured Valletta, the capital city; and took a high-speed ferry to nearby Gozo for a full day of hiking along massive coastal limestone cliffs.

Lodging, meals, and transit were affordable and logistically simple. The weather was sunny and in the low 70s, and it felt like a place for both city-oriented and adventure-seeking travelers. Here’s how we spent five days in Malta with almost entirely free activities.

2 p.m.: Arrive in Malta

We flew two hours from Barcelona to Malta. This was my first experience on Ryanair, a discount European airline that has the tin-can aesthetic of Spirit Airlines but also a cabin crew selling perfume on rolling carts. The tickets were $30 each, though, so no complaints. The Malta airport felt as compact as our home airport in Bozeman, Montana, and since we’d already been through customs the day before, we were outside in the 70-degree sun in just a few minutes. We connected to airport Wi-Fi to figure out transportation to our hotel in Sliema, about ten kilometers north of the airport. It was a straightforward bus ride and cost just two euros each for the 20-minute ride. We chose to stay in Sliema as it sits directly across the harbor from Valletta without the pricier lodging of the capital city, plus it has plenty of restaurants and bus stops.

3 p.m.: Check into Londoner Hotel

We checked into the reasonably priced Londoner Hotel ( 83 The Strand, Sliema ), which recently underwent an extensive interior renovation under new ownership. The 51-room building has harbor views across from a row of open-air restaurants and is just steps away from a walking path along the water. Our room was modern and clean, and the hotel staff was quite patient as I fumbled for my passport after trying to use my U.S. driver’s license to check in. We had booked the Londoner a few weeks before at $95 per night, which was about $30 cheaper than peak season, which is June to August. We try to balance comfort, cost, and location with our lodging. I don’t need anything fancy, but you won’t find me continuing to plummet into my mid-30s in a shared hostel room.

6 p.m.: Order seafood pasta at Trattoria Del Mare

We were still jet-lagged, so after a short nap, shower, and rummaging through my bag for something besides my travel clothes , we went in search of food. We wound up at Trattoria Del Mare ( Triq Ix - Xatt Tas-Sliema ), a highly rated seafood restaurant just a few blocks from our hotel, with entirely outdoor seating and a full kitchen in a compact building next to the tables. The food was passed through the window, and we could see the whole process from where we sat. I could see the boats in the harbor and the lights of Valletta glittering across the water, and it felt like the perfect start to the trip. I am not a foodie by any means — I would have been perfectly happy filling up on bread dipped in olive oil — but the linguine with fresh seafood in a rich tomato sauce was fantastic. Matt ordered a salmon filet. Both portions were generous, and the meals were just over 20 euros per person. We were early enough to get a table right away, but by the time we finished, there was a fairly long line.

10:30 a.m.: Catch the bus to Ghajn Tuffieha

We spent a few minutes during the free hotel breakfast planning the day and settled on hiking and sightseeing near the famous beaches on the northwest side of the island. Malta’s bus schedule is robust, but this particular bus only comes every hour, so it’s worth staying on top of the schedule and making sure you can get where you want to go. The bus is inexpensive (we paid two euros each for the hour ride), but in hindsight, we rode the buses so much it would have been simpler to purchase a five-day pass instead of counting coins for every ride.

1 p.m.: Hike around Ghajn Tuffieha Bay

I used the fast Wi-Fi on the hourlong bus ride to screenshot hiking-route directions, the bus schedule back to Sliema, and load maps for that side of the island. We didn’t get a SIM card or phone plan for Europe, so we were reliant on wireless and planning ahead, which mostly worked.

We considered renting surfboards from Malta Surf School , but then decided to stick to our original hiking plan. We spent an hour reading and relaxing on the beach and watching someone fly their pet parrot around, before heading up a cliffside trail, stopping at a kiosk for five-euro baguette sandwiches with prosciutto and mozzarella. We hiked half a mile up the trail and ate lunch while watching people surfing in the bay below. We ended up spending a few hours hiking the trails over Golden Bay and Gnejna Bay, dropping down to another beach and wheezing our way back up the climb. You can really wind around the trails there, crisscrossing more established routes and getting turned around on livestock paths. There were crumbling huts and larger lookout towers, and our only parameter was making sure we didn’t miss the final bus back to Sliema.

9 a.m.: Ride the top deck of the ferry across the harbor

The ferry for Valletta was right across from our hotel and cost less than three euros per person — I recommend buying a round-trip ticket to avoid waiting in the ticket line on the other side. The line was long and we missed the first ferry, but Valletta Ferry Services runs two ferries concurrently, and it was less than 15 minutes before the other boat showed up. We sat on the top deck during the short crossing and watched the walled city get closer. Once you debark the ferry, you walk one of the many steep hills in Malta into the city, then more steep hills on side streets and neighborhoods. Nothing like a good calf burner to get the day started.

11 a.m.: Explore the capital city of Valletta

We toured the Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a massive church with vaulted ceilings and incredible sculptural detailing. I was surprised to see it was built in the 1950s, but it was modeled after (and built on the same site as) the original basilica from the 1600s. After it closed for the afternoon, we spent a few minutes in line for St. John Co-Cathedral before seeing it cost 15 euros per person. Instead, we watched exhibition dancers in St. George Square and hauled ourselves up and down the narrow cobbled streets, stopping for espresso and pastries to supplement a light lunch at a counter-service café.

3 p.m.: Mosey around the Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens

I’m an absolute fiend for gardens, so I was really excited to visit the Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens ( 292 Triq Sant’ Orsla ). Created in 1661 and opened to the public in the early 1800s, the gardens have multiple levels and overlook the Grand Harbor. The Garden Terrace had a jaw-dropping view of Malta’s fortress walls, including one section that served as an exterior set in Game of Thrones. Rows of olive trees surround fountains, column-supported archways frame the turquoise water, and all of the levels were free to access. We walked down the hill to Herbert Grenada garden, which was quiet and peaceful with stately olive trees and rows of bright flowers. There were plenty of people walking around, but it didn’t feel crowded or chaotic.

6:30 a.m: Wake up early to catch the ferry to Gozo

This hike was the only must-do thing on our list, but the timing was tricky as we needed to coordinate two ferries to reach Gozo, one of the more popular islands in the Maltese archipelago. We reserved round-trip tickets for the Gozo Highspeed ferry online the night before, so we caught the 7:30 a.m. harbor ferry to Valletta across from the hotel to make the Gozo ferry connection. Once we arrived in Valletta, we hustled on foot up the steep, hilly streets and back down to the larger harbor on the other side, where we caught the 9:45 a.m. ferry to Gozo.

The seats were nice inside, but it was a nauseating ride on the fastest ferry I’d ever ridden on. We wobbled off after 45 minutes and located the start of our hike on blurry preloaded maps.

11 a.m.: Hike 14 kilometers along the Gozo cliffs

We started hiking from Mgarr toward Xlendi beach, a 14-kilometer one-way route that climbed toward the high point of the island, then followed dramatic sandstone cliffs plunging 1,000 feet into the sea. The whole route is exposed, and I recommend bringing plenty of water and sunscreen.

The trail was mostly easy to follow, but we had it downloaded just in case. The route took us from cliffside to inland, winding through a small town where we stopped to pet some friendly cats. On a more remote stretch, I saw a paved road that actually dropped down to Ta’ Cenc Il-Kantra Lido Restaurant ( Sannat ), a white-tablecloth affair perched on cliffs above the sea. They were fully booked for lunch, so I got a slice of cake and a can of Coke and sat on a nearby rock loading up on sugar. We finished by descending spectacular steps built into the cliff down to Xlendi Beach, with the whole route taking about three and a half hours.

3 p.m.: Connect the dots back to Valletta

Our bus screenshots were only of medium relevance, so we had to ask for the best route to get back to the Gozo ferry. We ended up connecting between Victoria and Mgarr, catching the ferry back to Valletta with much calmer water this time. Our legs were smoked from hiking, but we hoofed up and over to the other harbor to catch the ferry back to Sliema.

6 p.m.: Miss the final ferry to Sliema!

The final piece of the bus-Gozo-ferry-Valletta-ferry puzzle was catching the ferry from Valletta back to Sliema. We totally blew it and didn’t check to see what time the ferry finished for the day, which was quite an oversight on a Sunday in the off-season. We had no reception or data to call a taxi, and there were no bus stations near the ferry terminal. We started walking on the side of the road, but had no route loaded for the area, so we kept getting stuck inside the city walls. It was a lovely evening, though, and a few extra miles didn’t bother us. We walked about 3.5 miles around the edge of the harbor until we reached a bus station with a ride to Sliema.

10 a.m: Sink-wash clothes and plan the day

We slept in and washed our clothes in the sink at the hotel (Matt and I are both thru-hikers and some habits die hard). We filled up on the hotel breakfast (after enough days eating it, I decided my favorite combo was a crusty roll loaded with butter, cheese, and ham). We used the hotel wireless to plan a day near St. Paul’s Bay to finally get in the water and snorkel.

2 p.m.: Snorkel at Qawra Point Beach

We took a bus to St. Paul’s Bay, then spent an hour walking along a waterside walkway. We passed the Malta Aquarium and street after street of funky little shops and food stands. Malta is famous for its diving and snorkeling, and while we didn’t hit the most popular snorkel spots, St. Paul’s Bay was a convenient destination. We rented two sets of fins and snorkels from Eco Sports ( Triq L-Imsell, San Pawl il-Baħar, SPB 2440 ) for ten euros each. The attendant was super-helpful and pointed out the best snorkeling spots within walking distance on a large wall map.

Qawra Point Beach was a 20-minute walk from the gear shop, and we set up towels and our bags on a small point of warm, flat rock. We alternated between reading books and snorkeling in the calm waters, watching curious fish bump against our feet, vanishing into the underwater vegetation when I moved my arms.

6 p.m. Share one last meal

Our final dinner was at Opa Mediterranean Fusion ( 163 Triq Ix - Xatt, Tas-Sliema ), a Greek restaurant a few blocks from our hotel. We are pretty low-maintenance eaters and had spent most of our other meals at counter-service shops and food kiosks, so it was nice to have a final sit-down meal. We sat outside and got several platters of Greek and Mediterranean food to share before heading back to the hotel to pack for another Ryanair flight the next morning.

Maggie’s Malta Packing List …

This brilliant little backpack is my go-to travel companion on trips where I’ll be hiking, but the trails aren’t the main event. It has a 15-liter capacity, multiple organizational pockets, and adjustable shoulder straps with padding. It also folds into its own pocket and takes up almost no space in my carry-on. On this trip, I used it for day hikes and also as my in-flight personal item.

A cross-body bag is my new nonnegotiable for travel — I’ve had too many close calls stuffing my wallet and phone into pockets. I used this handy little bag for my phone, room key, and wallet, and even tucked a long-sleeve layer into the main compartment during dinner outings without overstuffing it.

These leggings are so soft and stretchy that I would forget I was wearing them, and because they come from a technical clothing company, they feel acceptable to wear multiple days in a row. The light, breathable fabric; high, soft waistband; and classic neutral colors made them indispensable on this trip. Plus, they pack down really small.

This ultracomfortable, wide-leg jumpsuit is my go-to travel item. I love the lightly compressive top, which eliminates the need for a bra, and it tucks at the waist for a flattering fit. The ribbed fabric is stretchy, swishy, and airy but still has enough weight to show the quality of the material. I wore this on its own and paired it with a light sweater depending on the weather, and it always felt comfortable and flattering.

… And Wish List

I brought a bulky, hip-length denim button-down shirt that took up too much space in my bag and didn’t get worn enough. It got the job done when I wanted to look somewhat presentable, but next time, I’ll take the more versatile Carry-On button-down, which packs down smaller, is meant for travel, and feels more comfortable to walk around in.

I used Cotopaxi’s AllPa 42-liter Travel Pack for our four-country tour, which meant long travel days and lugging this pack around for miles. While it’s phenomenal for organizing, it wasn’t a comfortable carry. Next time, I’ll take a backpacking-style travel pack like REI’s Ruckpack. This pack has a similar capacity, and while the AllPa is easier to organize, I would have rather had the backpacking support through the hip belt and shoulder straps, as well as a more balanced carry.

I completely misjudged the weather for this trip and brought Sitka’s Traverse hoodie for a mid-layer. While this zip-up is great for Montana winters, it was total overkill, and I never wore it in Malta. If I had planned better, I would have brought Outdoor Research’s looser, versatile, town-ready fleece. This piece would have been more packable, breathed better, and looked nicer with my dinner and touring outfit.

The Strategist  is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about  here . We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

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Japan itineraries: 5 of the best routes to explore the country

Sep 9, 2024 • 13 min read

From the temples of Kyoto to the city of Sapporo, explore Japan with these itineraries. Getty Images

Modern cities buzzing with energy, richly historic architecture, and an incredible food scene that will keep you full every step of the way – Japan  truly has it all. Whether you want to road trip across its islands or jump on its famed fast trains , with a little planning, traveling around the country is a dream. 

That’s why we’ve put together five itineraries that show off the best Japan has to offer . These 10-day and two-week itineraries will show off the highlights, but if you have more time, linger at the stops or combine two to build your perfect trip. Whatever you choose, plenty of adventure awaits.

The Golden Route

Allow at least 10 days  Distance: 900km (559 miles) 

This classic route for first-time visitors hits many of Japan's star attractions , can be done year-round and takes advantage of the excellent value and seamless travel offered by a Japan Rail (JR) Pass . With some time up your sleeve, purchase a longer rail pass and combine this with one of our other itineraries.

Tokyo: 3 days

Start with a few days in the capital to get over any jet lag, find your bearings and get a taste for big-city Japan. It doesn't getting any bigger than Tokyo , with skyscrapers, plenty of hustle and bustle and all those lights in one of the world's busiest cities. More than any one sight, it's Tokyo itself that enchants visitors.

Next stop: Take a shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto (2.5 hours). 

Kyoto: 2 days

Activate your seven-day rail pass on the morning of day four and ride the fabulous shinkansen west to the old capital, Kyoto. You'll want a couple of days here to explore one of the world's most culturally rich cities . Consider staying in Kyoto for four nights and visiting Nara and Osaka as day trips using your JR Pass.

Next stop: Take a JR Train from Kyoto to Nara (1 hour). 

Nara: 1 day

Just a short hop from Kyoto, you could either visit Nara as a day trip or spend a night here, home of the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) and gorgeous Nara Park, with its roving semi-wild deer. History in Nara goes back even further than in Kyoto. It was Japan's first permanent capital and is one of the country's most rewarding destinations.

Next stop: Take a shinkansen from Nara to Osaka (30 minutes).

Osaka: 1 day 

Only 20 minutes on the shinkansen from Kyoto, Osaka can also be visited on a day trip from Kyoto or as an overnight stop. This vibrant, spirited city was home of the merchant class and takes pride in shedding the conservatism found elsewhere in Japan. It's a bit brasher, interactions are peppered with playful jabs, and it's known for its exciting street food.

Next stop: Take the shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima.

Hiroshima: 2 days 

It's an easy shinkansen ride through to Hiroshima, a name never to be forgotten in world history. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and its surrounding park attract visitors from all over the planet, commemorating the world's first atomic-bomb attack of August 6, 1945. Present-day Hiroshima is a thriving, vibrant cosmopolitan community. Consider visiting Miyajima on a day trip from here.

Next stop: Take a JR train and a JR ferry from Hiroshima to Miyajima (1 hour). 

Miyajima: 1 day

An excellent day trip or overnight trip from Hiroshima, Miyajima , with its photogenic floating shrine, is easily reached by JR Pass and JR ferry. If trying to maximize use of your rail pass, on day 10 (day seven of the rail pass), you could head back to Tokyo. On the way, consider stopping in Himeji to visit Japan's best-preserved feudal-era castle.

Nagano and the Alps

Allow at least 10 days  Distance: 750km (466 miles)

Link your visits to Tokyo and Kyoto inland through the mountains and via Kanazawa , one of Japan's most historic and appealing cities. It can be done in either direction and while the freedom of rental wheels is likely to enhance enjoyment levels, this itinerary can be followed using public transport.

Nagano: 2 days

Find your way to the city of Nagano, either by shinkansen or rental car from Tokyo. The mountain-ringed capital of Nagano Prefecture is centered on its magnificent Zenkō-ji temple , a National Treasure founded in the 7th century. The city was home base for the 1998 Winter Olympics, and is within easy reach of the "snow monkeys" .

Next stop: Take a 50-minute train ride or drive to Matsumoto (1.25 hours).

Matsumoto: 2 days

It's a short hop to vibrant Matsumoto , sitting in a fertile valley to the east of the impressive northern Japan Alps. Matsumoto-jō is Japan's oldest wooden castle and not to be missed. The city is an attractive, cosmopolitan place, worth lingering in.

Next stop: Take a train and bus or drive (both 2 hours). 

Detour: If you're driving, consider going via the outdoor resort of Hakuba.

Kamikōchi: 1 day

The eyes of Japanese outdoor enthusiasts light up when Kamikōchi is mentioned. This is where it's at for hikers , and you may want to consider spending days here, up this remote valley at the base of the North Alps. The road is closed in winter, open from late April to early November; you'll have to bus in as private cars are not allowed.

Next stop: Take the bus (1.5 hours) or drive and bus (2 hours).

Takayama: 2 days

Carry on through the mountains to Takayama , a charming old post town with one of Japan's most atmospheric townscapes, boasting well-preserved wooden buildings and narrow streets, now home to galleries, sake breweries and craft shops. It's also known for its temple district and morning market. Book ahead as Takayama is not as off the beaten track as it once was.

Next stop: Take the bus or drive (both 1.5 hours). 

Shirakawa-gō: 1 day 

The remote mountain villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama, between Takayama and Kanazawa, are famed for their farmhouses with dramatically angled thatched roofs. They hold a special place in the Japanese heart, whatever the season, and you'll have seen them in the country's tourism literature. These World Heritage–listed villages are popular; you're unlikely to get lonely.

Next stop: Take a bus (1.5 hours) or drive (1.25 hours). 

Kanazawa: 2 days

Enjoy Kanazawa, a city that, in its heyday, rivaled Kyoto in its contributions to the arts. Near the Sea of Japan, Kanazawa is known for its seafood, a lasting artisan tradition and its strolling garden, Kenroku-en. This is an excellent place to shop for traditional crafts. When you're ready, take the train or drive through to Kyoto.

Drive through Shikoku

Allow at least 10 days  Distance: 350km (217 miles) 

The country's fourth-largest island, Shikoku is still well off the radar of most international visitors. It's used to hosting, though, as pilgrims have been walking the 88 Sacred Temples of Shikoku pilgrimage for 1200 years. This low-key island, best explored by car, may well be the highlight of your visit to Japan.

Naoshima: 1 day

Part of Shikoku's Kagawa Prefecture, in the Inland Sea between Shikoku and Western Honshū, the art island of Naoshima is for many a stepping stone between Okayama and the Shikoku mainland. See some of Japan's best art and architecture, with museums and outdoor sculptures; Yellow Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama has become a symbol of the island.

Next stop: Take a ferry from Naoshima to Takamatsu (1 hour).

Takamatsu: 2 days

Kagawa Prefecture is nicknamed nationwide udon-ken (udon prefecture), and you'll find an udon noodle place, with the local version, known as sanuki-udon, on almost every corner. Stroll in the immaculate gardens at Ritsurin-kōen, and browse the wares in Takamatsu's covered shopping arcades and evening entertainment areas.

Next stop: Drive from Takamatsu to Konpira-san (1 hour).

Konpira-san: 2 days

Konpira-san is Shikoku's best-known Shintō shrine. Enjoy a walk in the township at the mountain's base, and if inclined, climb the steps. Close by are Zentsu-ji, Temple 75 of the 88 Sacred Temples, and if you have time, take the ropeway up to Unpen-ji, with its enthralling 500 rakan statues.

Next stop: Drive from Konpira-san to Iya Valley (2 hours). 

Iya Valley: 1 day

Head over or around the mountains and into the Iya Valley, considered one of Japan's great "hidden regions". Its staggeringly steep gorges and thick mountain forests were the refuge of fleeing samurai in centuries past. Narrow, winding valley roads limit access, particularly towards the head of the valley, where you'll find Oku Iya's lovely twin kazura-bashi (vine bridges) .

Next stop: Drive from Iya Valley to Kōchi City (1.5 hours).

Kōchi City: 2 days

The capital of the island's Pacific Ocean–facing prefecture is the city of Kōchi, a smart, compact place with a reputation for enjoying a good time. The people here are known for being independent and proud, survivors cut off from the rest of Japan throughout history. Visit the lovely castle, Kōchi-jō , walk the covered shopping arcades and enjoy local delicacies at Hirome Market.

Next stop: Drive 2.5 hours from Kochi city to Matsuyama.

Matsuyama: 2 days

Shikoku's largest city, Matsuyama is handsome and refined, with a hint of mainland hustle. Its magnificent castle , one of 12 "originals" in Japan, lords it over the city, with the central city and covered shopping arcades to its south. In the east is the legendary hot springs area of Dōgo Onsen. You can fly out or ferry to Hiroshima or Kyūshū from here.

Explore Kyūshū and Yakushima

Allow at least 10 days   Distance: 700km (435 miles) 

Off the beaten track for most international visitors, Kyūshū really delivers: it’s got vibrant cities, layers of history, excellent onsen and smoking volcanoes. If you’ve been to Japan before, or want to see something totally different, this is for you. There's a JR Pass for Kyūshū, but having a car is the way to go.

Fukuoka: 2 days

Find your way to Fukuoka , the gateway to Kyūshū and its biggest city (population 1.4 million). It's easy to fly, or take the shinkansen to Hakata, Fukuoka's bullet-train hub, from the major cities on Honshū. This hip, exciting place is the "bright lights, big city" of Kyūshū, famous for its Hakata ramen, best from a streetside yatai (food cart).

Next stop: Take a train (1.5 hours) or drive (2 hours) from Fukuoka to Nagasaki. 

Nagasaki: 2 days

History weighs heavily on Nagasaki , the second Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb. But as Japan’s only truly open port during the 200-year period of isolation from the 17th to 19th centuries, Nagasaki has a mercantile and cosmopolitan legacy that predates its historic tragedy, living on today in its festivals, food and architecture.

Next stop: Take a train and bus (4 hours) or drive (3 hours) from Nagasaki to Kurokawa Onsen. 

Kurokawa Onsen: 1 day

Make a sojourn into the Kyūshū heartland at Kurokawa Onsen, one of Japan’s prettiest onsen villages, nestled on either side of a steep gorge. This is a perfect place to experience what an onsen-ryokan getaway is all about. It's not far from Mt Aso, the world's third-largest volcanic caldera, with its smoking Naka-dake crater and enthralling landscapes.

Next stop: Take a bus (3.5 hours) or drive (1.5 hours) from Kurokawa Onsen to Kumamoto.

Kumamoto: 1 day

Carry on southwest to Kumamoto , the main hub for central Kyūshū. It's deeply proud of its greatest landmark, the castle Kumamoto-jō , built in the early 1600s. Still recovering from 2016 earthquakes that killed many and destroyed thousands of homes, this is a lively city with a tempting collection of restaurants, bars and shops in the busy arcades east of the castle.

Next stop: Take a train (2 hours) or drive (2.5 hours) from Kumamoto to Kagoshima.

Kagoshima: 2 days

Head south to Kagoshima and marvel at the stunning backdrop of Sakurajima, the often-smoking volcano across the bay. This place has a personality to match its climate and has been voted Japan's friendliest city. It's known for tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets) and shōchū (liquor). The hot sand baths at Ibusuki are close by.

Next stop: Take a fast ferry (2.5 hours) from Kagoshima to Yakushima. 

Yakushima: 2 days

Magical Yakushima is 70km (43 miles) south of the Kyūshū mainland. This World Heritage–listed island has primeval, moss-strewn forests, seaside onsen and a mountainous interior that towers up to 1936m (6440ft). It has great hiking options too; the best known is to Jōmon Sugi, an ancient tree said to be thousands of years old.

The wilds of Hokkaidō

Allow at least 2 weeks Distance: 950km (590 miles)

Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaidō , has much of what you want out of Japan: steaming onsen and rugged, volcanic peaks, city lights and foodie credibility , as well as something you may not expect – the opportunity for an epic road trip. Snow falls early in Hokkaidō, so this is a June to October trip.

Hakodate: 2 days

Start here in Hokkaidō's southernmost port, reached by shinkansen from Tokyo in four hours through the underwater Seikan Tunnel, though unless you're on a rail pass, it's probably cheaper to fly. Hakodate is a charming city with a famous morning market, historic buildings – due to being one of the first ports opened to foreign shipping in the 1850s – and renowned night views.

Next stop: Pick up a rental car and drive to Tōya-ko and Noboribetsu Onsen (4 hours). 

Shikotsu-Tōya National Park: 2 days

In Tōya-ko, cycle 36km (22 miles) around the caldera lake. Carry on to Hokkaidō's most famous hot-springs town, Noboribetsu Onsen. For a day trip, visit nearby Upopoy: National Ainu Museum and Park, opened in 2020, after the Ainu were finally legally recognized as an Indigenous people of Japan.

Next stop: Drive from Noboribetsu Onsen to Sapporo (2–3 hours).

Sapporo: 2 days

Get your city fix in the prefectural capital, Sapporo ; with a population of two million, it's Japan's fifth-largest city. The central city has plenty of buzz, especially around the entertainment district of Susukino and Ōdori-kōen. Don't leave town without going to the Sapporo Beer Museum or trying some Sapporo ramen and jingisukan , the legendary grilled-mutton dish.

Next stop: Drive from Sapporo to Furano (2 hours). 

Furano: 2 days

Furano is nicknamed heso-no-machi (Belly-Button Town) as it's at the center of Hokkaidō. Here you'll find wine and cheese tasting, fabulous flower fields and great cycling opportunities in nearby Biei. Fukiage Roten-no-yu, one of Hokkaidō's best onsen in the wild, is also close at hand. Views east of the Daisetsuzan National Park mountains make a stunning backdrop.

Next stop: Drive from Furano to Asahidake Onsen (2 hours). 

Daisetsuzan National Park: 2 days

Daisetsuzan means "big snowy mountain" and Asahi-dake (2290m/7513ft) is the highest point on Hokkaidō. Climb it from the top of the ropeway (1600m/5249ft) at Asahidake Onsen in the northwest of the national park. You can stay here and also at Sōunkyō Onsen in the park's northeast. To stay at a very remote mountain lodge, head to Daisetsu Kōgen Sansō.

Next stop: Drive from Onsen to Utoro (5 hours). 

Shiretoko National Park: 2 days

Continue east to World Heritage–listed Shiretoko National Park and base yourself in Utoro. The Shiretoko Peninsula is a volcanic spit of land that the Ainu referred to as "the end of the world". There are some excellent short walks and hiking, plus nature cruises that head out up the coast. Gaze out on Russian islands from Shiretoko Pass.

Next stop: Drive from Utoro to Akanko Onsen (3 hours). 

Akan Mashū National Park: 2 days

It's a short drive southwest to Akan Mashū National Park, where there's plenty to check out. In the east, you'll find fascinating Iō-zan (Sulphur Mountain), the clear caldera lakes of Kussharo-ko and Mashū-ko, and a number of onsen in the wild. In the east is Akanko Onsen, where you can check out a modern-day Ainu community at the Ainu kotan (village).

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This Beloved Luxury Cruise Ship Is Back on the Water — With a Nobu at Sea, a Gorgeous Pool Deck, and a Slate of Epic Itineraries

Beloved brand Crystal Cruises came to an ignominious end during the pandemic. Now, new leadership has revived the line and aims to make it better than ever.

Bars and Restaurants

Where serenity sails, shore excursions, amenities and entertainment, family-friendly offerings, accessibility.

Spending a week on Crystal Serenity feels like staying at a resort that families have been visiting for 20 years. On a July cruise in the Mediterranean Sea, most of the passengers I met had sailed on Serenity many times before. Veteran Crystal cruiser Keith Steiner regaled me with stories of the paddle tennis tournament he plays in every year, alongside the crew, on the line’s world cruises. Linda Glenn, who has been on 130 Crystal cruises, promised to show me the beautiful ring her husband, Stanley, commissioned from the jeweler who supplies Serenity ’s boutique. And the Glenns' grandson, Tate, has been sailing on Crystal Serenity since he was two. He’s 19 now.

What’s strange about all this is I met these folks on Crystal Serenity ’s inaugural journey. 

Crystal Serenity

• Crystal Cruises has the only Nobu restaurants at sea. On Serenity, Umi Uma, a Japanese-Peruvian spot by chef Nobu Matsuhisa is one of the best restaurants on board.
• The 740-passenger ship has all ocean-view rooms — and most have balconies — plus 24/7 butler service.
• Crystal Cruises is known for its exceptional world cruises, and Serenity embarks on its first around-the-world tour in 2024.

Here’s what happened: Crystal Serenity first launched in 2003. To put a time stamp on that, Julie Andrews was named the godmother of Serenity , and “The Princess Diaries” had come out two years before. Fast forward 19 years and Crystal went bankrupt in fairly spectacular fashion in early 2022. Seventeen months later, the brand is known simply as Crystal and is a part of A&K Travel Group, the holding company backed by travel luminaries Geoffrey Kent, of Abercrombie & Kent, and Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, the onetime chairman of Silversea. Since taking the helm, A&K has invested $150 million in Crystal, giving Serenity and sibling ship Crystal Symphony stem-to-stern overhauls. Both ships returned to service in the summer of 2023.

Courtesy of Crystal Cruises

“It’s Crystal enhanced,” Steiner told me, as we sailed from Corsica to Barcelona on a particularly rocky day on the Mediterranean. The retired telecom executive has been on 120 Crystal cruises with his wife, Anne Marie. “Every person we've spoken to would say, from the moment they came on, it feels, it looks, it smells like Crystal. It is Crystal.”

That’s largely because 80 percent of the Crystal Serenity ’s crew is back on board. My butler, Jijo, who had been with Crystal for 17 years before the bankruptcy, knew every one of his guests on that first sailing — I was his only newcomer. Jijo unpacked my suitcase, handled my laundry and my airport transfer, routinely surprised me with an afternoon iced tea, and accompanied me to the IT office when my Wi-Fi went out. When I wasn’t feeling well, he brought me several rounds of chicken consumé, toast, and mint tea as I watched “Top Gun: Maverick” while hiding under Jesurum 1870 bedding. It was, due respect to my husband, even better care than I would’ve gotten back home. 

Here, everything you need to know about the new and improved Crystal Serenity — and what it was like to be one of the first on board.

My 430-square-foot Sapphire Veranda Suite — where I enjoyed my daily iced teas on the balcony, slept phenomenally well on the custom Jesurum 1870 bedding, and reveled in the spaciousness of the shower — was gutted in 2023 and completely redone by cruise ship designer GEM. But A&K, committed to keeping the returning guests happy, left some Sapphire Veranda Suites as they were — including the room Linda Glenn has booked since 2009.

There are no inside accommodations on the 545-room Crystal Serenity — even the entry-level offering has an ocean view. The smallest rooms, at 215 square feet, are the doubles with an ocean view, singles with an ocean view, and doubles with a veranda. Every accommodation comes with 24/7 butler service.

The most luxurious of Serenity' s 377 suites is the 1,275-square-foot Crystal Penthouse. The bathroom — with a full peachflower marble tub — is exquisite, as is the plentiful balcony space. And while most guests get only one reservation at each of the specialty restaurants, Umi Uma and Osteria d’Ovidio, reservations for the penthouse guests are unlimited, and they can order from both directly to their room.

Linda, like most Crystal die-hards, still accidentally calls the Italian restaurant, Osteria D’Ovidio, by its old name, but says the space, overhauled by Tillberg of Sweden, feels completely different. "I think the food's even better," Stanley adds. Umi Uma — one of two Nobus at sea, the other on Crystal Symphony — has brand-new interiors, too. The Umi Uma menu hasn’t changed, which is a relief, because it turns out nothing bonds two people on a ship quite like a shared affinity for Nobu’s black-miso cod and decadent sashimi.

Maya Kachroo-Levine/Travel + Leisure 

With one coveted culinary name already, Cristina Levis, A&K and Crystal Cruises CEO, told me she’s working to “bring home another celebrity chef” for Osteria. (Though, even without a Michelin-touted chef at the helm of Osteria, I loved the lobster acquasale and gnocchi blanketed in porcini mushroom ragout.) The best Italian export on board, however, is served six decks above Osteria at the gelato bar, Scoops. Levis is from a family of gelato makers, and it shows; the stracciatella and coffee gelato I savored on a poolside couch as we sailed from Portofino, Italy, was better than the cone I had in port. 

I also grew very attached to the buffet at Marketplace — it is truly next-level, with a carving station, a great salad bar, some excellent Indian food (who knew you could find phenomenal butter chicken on an Italian-owned ship?), and fresh seafood. I had terrific moules-frites one afternoon, with Rotterdam-sourced mussels in a delicate, garlicky cream sauce, seated outside in the sun, with a beautiful view of Cannes. This is not your average buffet. There’s also the main dining room, Waterside, open for three meals a day; Tastes Kitchen & Bar, with a lovely indoor-outdoor terrace that makes you feel like you’re on the corner of a charming European street; and a grill that does burgers and sandwiches for lunch — and excellent pancakes in the morning.

As for bars, I was partial to the Avenue Saloon — where Joel Spire plays piano every night and there’s a great Manhattan menu. Worth noting, there’s also an extensive non-alcoholic and low-ABV cocktail menu at Avenue Saloon, for those looking for booze-free nightlife.

In 2023, Serenity will sail in North America, along the New England coast in the fall and into Canada, exploring Quebec’s Saint Lawrence River. In the winter, the ship will cruise the Caribbean, stopping in ports like St. Thomas, Grand Cayman, and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Looking ahead to 2024, the ship will begin a five-continent world cruise — the first since A&K bought Crystal — cruising French Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa, South America, and in Europe, winding up in the Mediterranean Sea again next summer. The 2025 lineup was just announced, too; learn more about the sailings here .

As Crystal becomes more ingrained in the A&K family, “we will bring to Crystal what A&K does best, which is the excursions,” Levis said. Starting in 2025, the cruise line intends to roll out packages that let travelers leave the ship for a few days, knock out a once-in-a-lifetime tour, and then hop back on board.

While I had slight FOMO just hearing about travelers slipping off to Machu Picchu for an A&K adventure before rejoining the cruise in Lima, my travel envy dissipated as soon as I went on my first excursion. When we docked in Livorno, Italy, I joined a small group on a truffle-hunting excursion, following a sweet pup, Bianca, through a cluster of oak trees at Vialto Farms, a 1,000-year-old farmhouse in Tuscany. After glasses of cold vermentino, we dug into pasta in a light cream sauce topped with freshly grated truffles, followed by a truffle-covered fried egg. A few days later, on Corsica, a bus whisked a group of us to Domaine Orsini, for a wine tasting and a relaxing stint on the covered patio overlooking the island. And before I disembarked the ship in Barcelona, I crashed an evening excursion to the trendy El Born neighborhood, where our 10-person group shared a barrage of Spanish tortilla, patatas bravas , and croquetas at Tapeo.

The pool deck — in close proximity to the gelato bar – on deck 12 feels like a relaxed, exclusive Mediterranean beach club. One deck up, there’s a fitness center with Technogym equipment and workout classes, plus pickle ball and paddle tennis courts close by. The spa has a gorgeous, light-wood sauna with a picture window — perhaps my favorite place to watch the world go by — and an extensive treatment menu. I was extremely impressed with my dynamic biotech resurfacing facial and noticed the effects of the healing LED blue-light mask, which dissolves dead skin, for a full week after the treatment.

As for the entertainment, while I didn’t stray much from Pete’s piano in the Avenue Saloon, there are standup comedy and musical theater shows at the Stardust Club, Galaxy Lounge, and the Hollywood Theater. Crystal Cove bar is a great spot to catch live music (classical, jazz, piano, and even the occasional rock moment).

Also of note are the educational seminars, held daily, with guest speakers who lecture on upcoming destinations and give in-depth talks into their industries — whether that’s sports, media, or “even the occasional astronaut,” per Crystal’s website.

There is certainly a kids’ club on Serenity and children are welcome. In fact, children grow up on this ship, coming on the holiday cruise every year, and making lifelong friends — as I learned from my friend Tate. Waves and Fantasia are the kids’- and teens’-only spaces on board. Personally, though, I would come on Crystal with a spouse, longterm travel partner, grown-up family members, close friends, or even solo. 

There are eight ADA rooms on Crystal Serenity — some aquamarine veranda suites and some aquamarine ocean-view suites. According to a Crystal spokesperson, the ADA suites "are designed to accommodate guests with additional needs or who are wheelchair bound. The furniture can accommodate a wheelchair or scooter, there is extra space between beds, more room in the living area for easy movement, and the bathroom is larger with a roll-in shower, fold-down shower bench, and easy-to-reach shower head and sink faucet. Additional equipment is available upon request, such as rubber shower mats, shower stools, and a shower bench."

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Carnival cruise devolves into mayhem as angry passengers demand refunds over last-second itinerary change.

Mayhem broke out aboard a Carnival cruise when enraged vacationers were told they wouldn’t be voyaging to the expected Caribbean getaway because of an engine problem — while they shouted for their money back and pleaded to get off the ship.

Guests aboard Carnival’s Vista had booked the 8-night Southern Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral, Florida on Aug. 10 intending to stop in Aruba, Curacao and Turks and Cacaos.

As the boarding process was ongoing and some passengers were already on board, the cruise line sent a notification detailing the change in plans.

Carnival crew members had discovered a “technical issue affecting the ship’s cruising speed” which forced the cruise line to alter the itinerary, the cruise line told The Post.

The Vista would instead travel to the Bahamas, making stops at Nassau, Princess Cays, Freeport, and Half Moon Cay, according to Inside Edition.

Some passengers were not thrilled with the last-minute change and began chanting for refunds as cruise staff attempted to explain the situation.

“Give us our money,” several guests aboard the ship shouted, according to Instagram user Only In Florida on Aug. 28 .

One man claimed he spent $6,000 just to get on the cruise.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the way you’re going about this with the noise and chaos isn’t going to solve any issues,” one cruise employee explained to the passengers, according to video obtained by Inside Edition.

An 8-day cruise aboard the Vista averages $779 per person.

The passengers were given several choices once the cruise line determined the need for an itinerary change.

“We communicated directly with guests on board regarding their options for the sailing,” Carnival said.

“Those that sailed were given an onboard credit as well as a future cruise credit toward another cruise to make up for the unexpected change, and those who preferred not to sail were offered a 100 percent refund.”

Even with the choice of not cruising to the Bahamas, passengers were still frustrated with Carnival for the last-minute announcement.

“They knew about the problem prior to us getting onto the ship,” Ashley Ball told the outlet. “They just didn’t say that until we were already on the ship, and, you know, went through customs and the lines and securities and all that, and then decided to display that information.”

The Vista which has since been on several voyages since the Aug. 10 departure has reportedly had its Sept. 7 departure from Port Canaveral canceled, Inside Edition reported.

In June, a Brooklyn family was left watching their cruise sail off as they stood on the docks of Port Canaveral because of a delayed flight out of John F. Kennedy Airport.

Tisha LaSaine says she had been working hard at her post office job to save up the $8,500 needed to take her mother, twins and oldest son on an eight-day cruise on June 30.

The trip was meant to serve as a celebration for LaSaine’s 50th birthday and for her son who would be starting his junior year in college, but after a “crew issue” caused their Delta flight to be delayed for nearly two hours, they missed boarding their cruise.

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