How to Create a Trip Itinerary

When I plan a trip, I plan a trip. I do an inordinate amount of research, create dedicated Pinterest boards, book dinner reservations, and build a spreadsheet. Type-A much? You betcha. I've always been a planner and trips are like a Superbowl of planning for me. In fact, planning the trip is one of my favorite parts about it! 

Knowing that we wanted to eat our way through Charleston, I wanted to make sure that we were hitting the very best food options while seeing a lot of what the city had to offer. We've been here before, so there wasn't a huge need to stop at all of the tourist destinations, but I definitely wanted to get the most out of our trip. Enter: the spreadsheet itinerary. 

Using my Pinterest board as a guide, I built this table in Google docs for easy access while on our trip. Here are a few necessities when creating your own travel itinerary:

1. Consider your must-see places. For us, that was restaurants and bars. We knew we wanted a true foodie experience, so I planned our itinerary around meals. For you, that may mean activities. But starting there will help you plan out the rest of your day. 

2. Break your itinerary into manageable pieces. Building around breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I was able to consider other things we might want to do while in Charleston. Since we wanted to try a restaurant on one of the neighboring islands, I planned for us to spend the morning exploring what it had to offer. Same with the grab and go sandwich shop - what a perfect excuse for a plantation picnic.

3.  Use Google Docs and link away! I added live links to our itinerary so that we could easily navigate websites, directions, and menus. This was a huge help especially when using Uber. 

4. Be flexible. This is something that I'm still working on. While I love a good plan, I have to also consider that things happen: weather, traffic, and hangovers can all put a wrench in the best laid plans. However, rearranging never hurt anyone! Go with the flow. It's vacation! 

I'm including a link to my itinerary below so you can build your own. Simply open the Google Doc and choose "make a copy" under file. Then, you can edit this document to your heart's content! And if you're planning a trip to Charleston, I recommend our VRBO very much! The link is in the doc. 

Are you a vacation planner like me? Tell me I'm not alone!