How do you keep track of your travel ideas?

[mabartel]

Hey guys - my family and I have been making plans to visit a few cities in the UK and Ireland. We've created a handful of whatsapp groups to keep track of restaurants to visit, tourist sites to see, etc, but are looking for a tool to be a bit more organized. I've looked at a few tools like TripAdvisor (not bad, but it's less designed to compile ideas and moreso designed to save and eventually buy tours), Wanderlist (half-assed at best), and TripIt (also not bad, but moreso for creating solid itineraries than any kind of idea storage).

What do you guys use? Are there any niche apps out there that could store location-specific notes on restaurants and sites and tours and hyperlinks and all that fun stuff? Or is the best tool just an old fashioned word document?

 

[Ian Sutton]

Word for me, though I did transfer the Torino version to google maps to try that out. In the end I'd lean towards word, but sectioned by quarter (or similar) to make it a little easier to scan.

FWIW I'm not a smartphone user, but suspect for those that are, there's more potential for apps (or even prepared google maps)

My experience with word, is that it takes more time with it to start to orientate / get bearings, but the end result is better embedding of the layout / recognition of key streets

 

[joe]

There was a similar thread recently, you might want to have a look for tips. I'd only write here what I posted there : Google Maps is very useful, and if you need something more meticulous, then a custom Google "My Map" is a really good option - this latter is accessed from Google Maps itself. The range of customization is quite nice - different symbols and colors, note-making if necessary - you could make a personalized map for each day of your trip, or put the whole trip into one map. Another bonus is that everything can be accessed offline, after proper preparation.

 

[GailS]

I've used OneNote for more than 10 years (Evernote is a similar product) since it is easy to organize with different notebooks, sections within notebooks, pages within sections. I have an Italy section, for example, with pages for different cities with things to potentially do/see/where to eat on a future trip. I create a page for each trip where I track my flight information, lodging, potential rental car/train information. I add a checklist of things to do before each trip (like stop the mail) and notes of potential things to do for that trip as well as add any scheduled things like tours. During the trip I may add notes about places we ate or things we did. After the trip the page gets moved to my Previous Trips section for future reference. I can access it all from my laptop, tablet or phone.

 

[Pauline]

I've used OneNote for more than 10 years

That’s what I use too and I use it exactly like you do. I love having easy access to all the information. My entire life is in my OneNote. The search is good too if you have trouble finding something.

I also write up a detailed itinerary before a trip and I have a copy and Steve has one, so we both have all booking details at hand.

 

[Tbk]

I do a spreadsheet like Excel and sort by neighborhood or category (restaurants, things to see, bakeries). Big city I sort by neighborhood, smaller city by category.

 

[rakeshjha]

Here are a few of my favorites:

Use a travel planning app. There are many great travel planning apps available, such as Google Maps, TripIt, and Wanderlog. These apps allow you to save places you want to visit, create itineraries, and track your spending.

Keep a travel journal. A travel journal is a great way to document your travel experiences and keep track of your ideas. You can write about your favorite places, activities, and people you meet. You can also add photos, ticket stubs, and other souvenirs to your journal.

Create a Pinterest board. Pinterest is a great way to collect travel inspiration. You can create boards for different destinations, activities, or types of travel. You can also save pins from other people's boards.

Use a spreadsheet. If you're a bit of a nerd like me, you might enjoy using a spreadsheet to track your travel ideas. You can create a spreadsheet with columns for the destination, dates, activities, budget, and other information.

Talk to your friends and family. Your friends and family are a great source of travel ideas. They may have been to places you're interested in, or they may know of hidden gems that you haven't heard of.

No matter which method you choose, the most important thing is to find a way that works for you and that you'll stick with. That way, you can keep track of all your travel ideas and make sure you never forget a great destination. Enjoy holidays and learning

 

[AbideTraveller]

Well I do same as you. Make WhatsApp group with the people, I'm planning a trip. Although it's basic, But works perfectly for me. Well, would love to check out if there's any app available only for these types of things.

 

[Lance]

I guess it depends upon what stage your ideas are in.

for general like, "we want to go to these countries." We just have a physical map with pins in it

Once we start planning a trip, I'm one of those hyper-organized people that builds day-by-day itineraries, so I need to keep track of things like hours of operation, nearby transit stations, etc. For this I use Airtable, which is free, but is basically like a spreadsheet on steroids.

It is cloud based and you can add more people, both of which are very helpful.

 

[KathyH]

I do a spreadsheet like Excel and sort by neighborhood or category (restaurants, things to see, bakeries). Big city I sort by neighborhood, smaller city by category.

I do this, too. I like the spreadsheet so I can sort/filter as needed. I list dates that include the day of the week, neighborhoods or areas, entry fees, priority, etc. I always have a comment section to remind me of closure dates and any specific things (like artworks) that are there.

 

[georgemiller]

I mainly use Viber for communications and I love the “My Notes” feature to save just about anything from links, pictures, lists, etc. I would have to admit, it is not a very organized way to do it, and I am also looking for other convenient and secure ways of doing it.

 

[milgreen2]

I have to revisit OneNote, to see if it will suit our needs. We just returned from 2.5 weeks in Andalucia and I did a trial of TripIt Pro to organize everything for the trip and use while we were away, however they limit the number of documents/files that can be uploaded to 25 per trip and that wasn't enough to cover all of our accommodation information, train tickets, tour and activity tickets, car rental, etc. Too bad, because it is otherwise very easy and convenient to use.

 

[Jo B]

Hey guys - my family and I have been making plans to visit a few cities in the UK and Ireland. We've created a handful of whatsapp groups to keep track of restaurants to visit, tourist sites to see, etc, but are looking for a tool to be a bit more organized. I've looked at a few tools like TripAdvisor (not bad, but it's less designed to compile ideas and moreso designed to save and eventually buy tours), Wanderlist (half-assed at best), and TripIt (also not bad, but moreso for creating solid itineraries than any kind of idea storage).

What do you guys use? Are there any niche apps out there that could store location-specific notes on restaurants and sites and tours and hyperlinks and all that fun stuff? Or is the best tool just an old fashioned word document?

We use an old school excel spreadsheet with hyperlinks to accomodation and transport. Lots of columns - a couple take us to ideas for activites.