Travel Planning Tools

[braumeister]

I noticed that Bear seems to be written for Apple products.

Have you tried Apple's Note app? If so, how does Bear compare to it?

Thanks.

I've used Apple's Notes extensively for years. I switched to Bear because it beats Notes hands down for features. Even though Notes has improved a lot in the last couple of years, Bear is a wonderful improvement IMHO.

Strictly an Apple user here, so really not interested in other platforms.

 

[redshift]

I've been using Tripit for years, and it works for us. Also take a printed copy of our itinerary of course.

 

[a60dan]

DW uses pencil and paper calendar pages to verify everything is good to go on our long multicountry, multiplane trips. Haven't seen anything that looks like it handles multi-month hopping around with stays at places that are pretty much off the grid.

Looking forward to other responses.

_____
E.T.A., we actually print off itineraries and receipts and put them in binders when going places that have unreliable internet. If using an online tool, you'd be in trouble. Favorite was getting "e-ticket" from intra-Solomons (or new guinea or Vanuatu?) airline, with instructions to print off before getting to airport. When we got there, we understood!

TripIt worked well on our 2015 trip to Europe. It’s great at importing your email confirmations as they roll in.

It also stores the data on device and syncs to cloud, but paper backup is always a good idea.

 

[a60dan]

Numbers. I am a Mac person. One column per day. Rows are lodging, food, museums, transportation, etc.

I enter costs every day whilst traveling.

Everything at a glance.



But, planning uses TripAdvisor, AirBnB, Rome2Rio, Planapple.



I tend to over plan. Blame it on the engineering degrees and the MBA.

This engineer is often accused of over planning [emoji3]

Seems like most of the apps are for aggregation after you make reservations. Spreadsheets are good for what-if. I’m considering giving that a try and letting TripIt do what it does best.

 

[a60dan]

We primarily use a Google Sheets spreadsheet with multiple tabs for trip planning and re-use the format for different trips. In Google Sheets, our main worksheets are: a main summary&planning tab, travel tab, and accommidations tab with secondary tabs like budget/spend, climate/sunrise/sunset, time zones, cell phone, key URL's, etc. We generally only link date and city info across the sheets.



We still use TripIt superficially for flights but it's not our main tracker because it doesn't have a summarized view in the format we want, it can't handle the confirmation emails of many of the accommodations we book directly with (so we would end up having to manually enter anyways), and there's certain info it doesn't track that we want a view of.



Beyond the spreadsheet, we keep a Google docs doc to gather key info for the city and a folder in gmail to store all of our confirmation emails/correspondances for the trip.

Thanks! Good input.

 

[Lsbcal]

For some years now I have used Excel. Here is a partial listing of our Italy trip:

I will print out a few pages of this file but also have Excel on my iPhone and iPad. The tabs show that I even have my packing list (purple) on this so to prep for another trip I start with a cut/paste. The Excel file is good documentation too for looking back at past trips.

When we use the Rick Steves guidebook I found that the format works well on an iPhone which is great because the Italy book is a monster and cutting it up is possible but a hassle. So I can basically carry my docs and packing list in my pocket on the iPhone. So phone security is important.

An app that is great for Europe is Rome2rio. Good for showing ground transportation options.

Maybe we'll get back to this kind of travel in 2022?

 

[Finance Dave]

DW uses pencil and paper calendar pages to verify everything is good to go on our long multicountry, multiplane trips. Haven't seen anything that looks like it handles multi-month hopping around with stays at places that are pretty much off the grid.

We do the same. One tool I use that I really like is Google's "MyMaps". You sign into Google and then find it. You can create your own map of your itinerary with driving directions and all that. You can put "pins" on the map where hotels and restaurants are, etc...makes it easier to determine whether you should do lunch before or after the museum based on where things are located. It won't help with the dates at all...and it won't help on "guided" tours too much. But if you drive yourself a lot, it's great.

Note: There is a learning curve...so you'll have to spend some time with it. For example, once you place a "pin" on the map, you can name it and then reorder them...and attach photos and so on...takes awhile to get it right.

 

[NoiseBoy]

Another Google Docs user here. I have a Google Pixel connected to Google Fi, so using the Google suite of tools just makes sense. FWIW I use Google Fi because of the ease of use for traveling and I stay on a reasonably current Pixel to get free, unlimited full resolution photo storage in the cloud. Google docs are always kept in sync with the cloud but available on all of your devices when offline. I carry an iPad when I travel and use it to update my itinerary which also turns into a travel journal as I make notes about how the day went.

While working, my international trips have been limited to single city tours to minimize travel headaches and maximize the relaxation factor, although I look forward to planning some longer, multi-city trips in the future. My process is pretty simple. For each destination I start a Google Word doc and make notes on things to see and do. My main source of information is Rick Steves, but I supplement his guides with other online sources too.

I can be flexible for travel dates, so I will search around to find the best Premium Economy airfare for my chosen destination. Once I have the dates locked in, I book an Airbnb and then create an itinerary for each day of the trip in the Google doc. Fleshing out my itinerary is one of the things I enjoy the most about planning my trips.

I keep a handwritten list of my CC numbers in my passport which I leave in the apartment along with some spare cash and a spare CC. I wish Airbnbs would install travel safes, but on the other hand, I understand that they are super easy to break into, so I just accept the risk. At least this way I have split my financial resources up into two locations. What I carry with me in my travel wallet, and what I leave in the room.

 

[Bamaman]

I've been traveling to Europe for 50 years, and I've developed a bunch of tricks over the years. First of all, we're budget travelers--staying in off the beaten path places and lower cost accommodations. We do rent cars when traveling outside of big cities as they allow us to move around much quicker and efficiently.

When looking for rooms, I will often go to Booking.com and filter the search for lowest cost to highest cost. Then I look for the cheaper places with the highest customer satisfaction ratings. Never have I been disappointed booking rooms this way.

I too investigate rooms on TripAdvisor and Hotels.com. I also look to Rick Steve's Travel Forum on the Q&A for specific countries. Often places to stay will be discussed.

The last year has been difficult to those of us that go to Europe 1 or 2 times per year. I've stayed off the internet as getting our hopes up when travel again begins is just too disappointing. After all, planning and taking the trips in our heads is half the enjoyment of actually going. And this is the time of the year we'd be taking off.

 

[flyingaway]

I just use a Word file and list every day by day from the first day, leaving home, airliner, tickets, time, hotel, etc. I also print out a hardcopy to go with me.