How to Create the Perfect Travel Chart (and Why You Need It)
Organization can make or break any travel experience. Of course, I want to romanticize the life of a harsh tourist, but this backpack will surely have a place for a laptop or phone. And if you have a laptop or phone, then you can and should make yourself the perfect travel chart to help you manage your next adventure.
My own travel experience covered the entire organizational gamut. I have worked on the planning and organization of study programs in colleges abroad. I also caught myself looking for lunch during Ramadan in Egypt, or in the middle of a six-hour bus ride in the wrong direction in Vietnam—you get the picture. In terms of time, money and peace of mind, I can assure you that an organized traveler is a happier traveler.
From painfully detailed journals to extremely complex to-do lists , I love spreading the gospel of using spreadsheets to hack every corner of your life. Even if you don’t have any upcoming trips, you can save this template for now and experiment with planning your dream vacation in the future. So let’s dive into how and why to store all your important travel information in one nifty spreadsheet.
Why You Need the Perfect Travel Chart
There’s no shortage of reasons to create a spreadsheet every time you need to travel.
- Availability. If you choose an online option like Google Sheets, you will always have access to your itinerary through your phone.
- Cooperation and exchange. If you are traveling with a group, you can view and work on the spreadsheet together.
- Built-in templates. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel! Below we list some easy-to-use templates.
- Personalization. It’s easy to format an itinerary for each individual trip (and make each one visually appealing). I am a fan of color coding.
- Adaptability. As plans change, you can edit your spreadsheet on the go. Even before you book anything, you can calculate and compare the cost of different travel and accommodation options line by line to make your decision easier.
Why You Don’t Need the Perfect Travel Chart
By doing such detailed planning and doing it all in one place, you are sacrificing your self-image as a spontaneous child of the wind who cannot be tied to any one destination. I’m sorry.
How to create the perfect travel chart
Now that you’re all set, here’s how to get started creating your own comprehensive travel spreadsheet.
Choose your preferred platform. I’ve made it clear that I’m most used to Google Sheets, but these tips will work with whatever spreadsheet software you’re comfortable with.
Create tabs. Every journey is different, but the following tabs are safe bets:
- General overview of the route: basic information about where you will be on what days.
- Detailed main route: all information in one place, links to different tabs (all information in one place, can you link to different tabs if necessary?)
- List of things: Do not end up at the airport with a lot of socks, but without a passport.
- Transportation: flights, trains, car rentals, etc.
- Accommodation: hotel location and cost, Airbnb contact information, etc.
- Budget: Use simple forms to add up all your expenses in tabs.
- Daily itineraries: make sure you don’t miss anything when you have conferences, excursions, dinner reservations, etc.
- Fun Stuff: Keep track of links to different restaurants, nightlife ideas, and all the other miscellaneous fun stuff you don’t want to risk getting out of your head.
Fill in the information column by column. Now that you’ve broken down the different categories of your travels, it’s time to fill in the finer details. For example, it’s useful to enter all of your airline ticket information into separate boxes so you can easily double-check your terminal location or copy/paste flight numbers during check-in.
Adjust as needed. For me it primarily comes down to color coding. In addition to entering all the information about my trip, I like to highlight highlighted items on my to-do list, such as a designated place where I should check in once I’ve actually checked in for my flight, checked out of the hotel, and so on.
Online templates to get started
There is no need to create a travel table from scratch. Here are some resources to help you get started:
- Johnny Africa , which includes a fantastic explainer and itinerary template for Google Sheets.
- Travel Itch , similar to the one above and includes tips for working with Excel.
- Travel Mapper, a Google add-on that includes a customizable template ready to use.
And if you’re still not into spreadsheets, you can stay organized with apps like TripIt , Tripify , Wanderlog , and more.