My travel planning note template

To be completely honest with you I way overcomplicated this in the past. I’m a systems person, I love building them, and thankfully, it keeps me earning good money from my clients.

But something I learned way later than I should have is, I am terrible at creating systems for my own life! It’s the AuDHD… I build a beautiful thorough system, and then I’m bored of it and never use it.

I finally figured out a couple years into my journey that I needed to keep my own things stupid simple. And this note was born.

If you sort out these simple things before your trip, you’re golden.

A few notes

• I keep this in the notes on my phone. I’ll just duplicate a new note, fill it out, and it gives me peace of mind knowing that I’ve completed my important checks before a trip.

• You’ll see some stuff I put in here that you may think, why bother? E.g. Accomomdation booking reservation, Priority pass details on a lounge. True, that stuff is often readily available in the app or in an email but I’ve been without wifi loads of times in my travels. Hideous reception in an airport. The local sim not connecting, whatever it is. I’ve found I like to always have the most important notes on my trip available offline. Better safe than sorry.

• Sometimes kind people on the internet drop in photos of things that are hard to find – e.g. “In XYZ airport it’s kinda hard to find the rental car booth, go here, you’ll see this, etc.” " Photos can easily be dropped into this note (on iPhone) and tips like that are invaluable for finding your way through a foreign airport while tired and groggy just off a 10 hour flight.

• Don’t worry about prettifying… I used to think my notes needed to be neat and tidy and was constantly beating myself up for not accomplishing IG levels of neat travel planning perfection. It’s not me though… so now I just drop things in the right places in this note and jobs a good ‘un.

✈️ [TEMPLATE] Travel Planning Note ✈️

(Copy and paste this into the notes on your phone, fill it out, and off you go.)

[Section 1] Important pre-check

• Is travel visa needed to enter the country?
• Is my passport still valid with 6+ months and at least 4 blank pages?
• Am I authorized to enter country? (e.g. Schengen validity)

[Section 2] Getting from home to the airport

[Insert notes here on how to do that: Uber? Train? Friend? Driving & parking]

[Section 3] Departing flight details

Additional notes:

• Do I have speedy boarding?
• Speedy security?
• (Can this be purchased in advance?)

Additional flight details

• Stops:
• Layover time:
• Amex Travel Trip ID: N/A
• Record Locator:
• Airline:
• Airport:
• Terminal:
• Luggage Allowance:

[Section 4] Airport lounges (if applicable)

(NOTE: Many airport lounges now require pre-booking a reservation)

Option 1: [Lounge Name] Lounge details: [Copy details from Priority Pass]

Option 2: [Lounge Name] Lounge details: [Copy details from Priority Pass]

[Section 5] Transport to accommodation

[Insert notes here on how to do that: Uber? Train? Friend? Renting a car?]

[Section 6] Accommodation

• Booking confirmation #:
• Address & contact information:
• Check-in / Check-out time:

[Section 7] Transport to airport on return

[Insert notes here on how to do that: Uber? Train? Friend? Driving & parking?]

[Section 8] Return flight details

Additional notes:

• Do I have speedy boarding?
• Speedy security?
• (Can this be purchased in advance?)

Additional flight details

• Stops:
• Layover time:
• Amex Travel Trip ID: N/A
• Record Locator:
• Airline:
• Airport:
• Terminal:
• Luggage Allowance:

[Section 9] Airport lounges (if applicable)

Option 1: [Lounge Name].
Lounge details: [Copy details from Priority Pass]

Option 2: [Lounge Name]
Lounge details: [Copy details from Priority Pass]

[Section 10] Additional trip details

Wifi/SIM card

• SOLIS: Always verify that I have a topped up Solis Hotspot Plan before leaving
• Check the Saily eSim data for the country – what’s the pricing like?

Transportation details

Getting around locally

[Insert details about any specific rideshare options.]

• Uber?
• Other?

[Insert details about train/metro/bus options.]

Weather

[Insert details about the weather this time of year.]

Currency

[Insert details about the currency & exchange rate.]

Attractions

[Insert details about anything I specifically want to see.]

Activities

[Insert details about anything I specifically want to do.]

Food & Drink

[Insert details about anything I specifically want to try/anything to note about local cuisine.]

Local events

[Insert details about anything happening in this time period e.g. festivals, community events.]

Any important local customs/etiquette?

[Insert details about any local customs/ettiquete to be aware of.]

20 basic words in the language (if not English/Spanish)

*** Archived sections go here as they are completed ***

I keep this section at the bottom of my note so that as I get done with sections I can move them down here. For example. I complete the pre-check, I move it down here. Or I take a train from my house to the airport, I move it down here. It retains the info if for some reason I needed it again but it moves it out of my way so there’s less scrolling. Totally optional - I forget to do it half the time.