There are already many unknowns in life, especially when traveling. Most of us have had the thought that the next time we travel, we will do a better job of planning the trip. But it doesn't always work out because we don't know where to begin the planning process.
Planiversity has decided to help put together a travel management plan template. To make the process easier for travelers. The important thing is to pull together critical information that travelers need to focus on. Other areas can be noted and stored for later reference.
Here is what we came up with for a format and checklist:
Consolidate your itineraries or build an itinerary.
Not all services will provide you with an exportable travel itinerary. Meaning you can only view it on their site or in their app. If they do, download a copy of each itinerary and store them together. If not, a traveler can build an itinerary through a few different web or smartphone applications. Either way, you will want to keep these must-have pieces of information together.
Make notes about the trip to keep yourself reminded.
Notes may or may not be a person's thing, but when we travel to a location we have never traveled to before, we might have a few things to remember. You can use an app on your phone or a piece of scratch paper to list questions and reminders of critical things you need to remember. For example, "Do not forget to ask for a room with a safe," or "Tom collects coffee cups from abroad, don't forget to look for his birthday." Simple notes can be a stress reliever when something has slipped your mind.
Build a schedule.
It cannot be said enough how important it is to keep a schedule. It's the best time planning tool you can use. We admit there is an excitement that comes with spontaneity, but keeping a schedule keeps a person on point for the times it matters. Realize a schedule does not have to dictate a person's every minute of their trip. However, if you plan to see a museum, line up a time with tickets purchased in advance and use the calendar available on your phone to make things easier.
Locate facilities of importance.
We always hope for the best, but sometimes things go sideways. It is always good to know where important locations are ahead of time. Places like hospitals, pharmacies, covid test locations, parking, and even the embassy if traveling abroad. Map out these locations in advance so that if a problem or crisis ever arrives, you are prepared. Keep in mind these do not always have to be critical facilities. They can be locations like parks, ATMs, museums, and more.
Grab your map copies in advance.
Don't find yourself trying to navigate around a new location without a map on hand. We know this can be exciting from time to time, but mainly when exploring a city on foot. When it comes to driving, you will want to know the shortest and most reliable routes around your destination. If you have no cell service, there are several options for offline viewable maps. There are even PDF maps of most cities available online as well.
Find out what your COVID requirements are, based on destination.
This is a bit trickier to come by. The government or state you're traveling to should have the most up-to-date information on COVID requirements, quarantine (if any), vaccine documentation, etc. Many airline sites now have pages dedicated to answering such questions as well. At Planiversity, we offer users the use of our Smart Travel function for free. Here you will find requirements for any location you are traveling to.
Collect copies of documentation before you go.
It can be a pain to carry copies of all your documentation when you travel. We advise that you always keep digital copies with you. Be it driver's license, itinerary copies, or passport. Having digital copies can keep you out of a bind if you lose yours during your trip. Gather your documents together and scan them onto your phone or a cloud where you will be able to access them. Make sure to keep them as secure as possible.
Consolidate, Consolidate, Consolidate.
Once you have all the information collected, you want to pull it together and keep it in the same location. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of having an organized journey management plan on hand when you travel. This should be something that you can easily access, which has the key points to your trip. Having this information in one location saves time and reduces the stress of searching through emails and documents.
We know that this is a lot to digest, but certain planning areas are critical to focus on in the planning stage. Of course, a traveler can always wing certain areas and make decisions as they go. But the vital point to remember is that you want to have answers to your problems when you need them.
You will want access to information when you decide, not when fate drops it on you at the most hectic time of your trip. Planiversity.com is a travel site designed to do this for travelers. No two packets are alike because travelers can customize theirs with specific information. You can choose to include or leave out as much as necessary.
For more information, check us out at Planiversity.com, or follow our blog for more helpful tips.
As always, safe travels!