Off the Beaten PathTravel

Planning Your Way to Great Britain

Does travel planning leave you in a cold sweat, unable to catch a breath and wondering just how you’re going to untangle this web of money, time, and logistical nightmares?  Personally, I find it a very creative experience and one you shouldn’t be afraid of in the least!  In fact, there are ways to engage yourself creative ways you may not have explored yet.  Below are some tools you can use to help devise your travel itinerary.  You can use them not only to stimulate your own creative juices but to involve the family in this creative experience as well!  It will give the kids, the spouse, and everyone involved a sense of ownership of the experience.

Create an Inspiration Board

1.     Start a Pinterest account.

2.     Create a board called Inspiration Board.

3.     Collect pictures from the web to paste there.

Create a Destination Board

Based on your favorite inspirations, create a destination board.  When you’ve visited places, move them from the left side of the table to the middle column.  If there are places you want to spend more time exploring, move those to the far right.
Places I want to go
Places I’ve been
Places I want to explore further
Devon
London
London
The Lake District
Stratford Upon Avon
 
The Pembrokeshire coast
Stonehenge
 
Whitby
Dover
 

Create an Events Board

Based on places you want to go that you haven’t been yet, determine things you want to do there.  As you do them, move them to the right column.

Things I want to do
Things I’ve done
Tour by canal boat
Churchill’s War Rooms
Tour Windsor Castle
Buckingham Palace
Tour Hampton Court
Tower of London
Have tea at Claridges
Climb a Wainwright peak
Tour Parliament
Merlin’s cave

Create an Itinerary

Pull all your previous research into an itinerary.  Use the web to gauge your estimates.

 

Trip Item

Description

Theme, Goal, or Destination

Type at least three things you want to see. Include a theme, goals you’d like to achieve, or destinations to visit.

Budget

Decide on a budget for your trip.  For instance, $5,000.

Determine how you’ll travel

Plane, train, car rental, bus, foot, etc.

Estimate cost

Determine lodging

B&B, camping, 4-Star hotel, Air BnB, etc.

Estimate cost.

Events

Determine events, castles, sights, and other places that might incur a cost.  For instance, an Elizabethan banquet or seeing Windsor castle.
Estimate cost.

Food

Pick an amount per day to allocate for food.  Multiply it by the number of days of your trip for the estimated cost.

Spending

Pick an amount per day to allocate for spending.  Multiply it by the number of days of your trip for the estimated cost.

Other fees

Kennel costs, trip insurance, gas, passport, etc.

The Finale

One your creative efforts are complete, total up the expenses.  If you’re over budget, rework the plan until your budget and goals reflect what you want out of the trip. 

See! Told you it was fun. 🙂

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