Travel Tips: Building an Itinerary

Cosmovitral Jardin Botanico - Toluca, Mexico

I have a few rules of thumb when building an itinerary.

1. Three night minimum in any locale.

2. Do a resort or luxe stay at both ends of the trip.

3. Build in rest time.

4. Research restaurants and attractions in advance, star on Google maps or make a list so you can choose from a curated list on the fly.

5. Make sure the travel time does not outweigh the destination time.

I learned the three night minimum rule on my first trip to Italy. Wanting to pack in a lot of places, I booked my sister and I for two nights in each location. While it was exciting to be able to see lots of sights, we were exhausted from the constant motion. Plus you are just getting to know a place and then you have to leave! This rule expands out with the length of the trip. If you are travelling for long periods of time, build in stays of a week or a month to rest and really get to know a certain place. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, exemplified by the photo of the Cosmovitral Jardin Botanico. Dennis and I knew we wanted to go there, so we sandwiched a one-night stay in Toluca in between Patzcuaro and Taxco.

A resort or luxe stay at the ends of your itinerary will really make your vacation worthwhile, especially if you are doing some adventure travel. The pampering and ease of a resort right as you arrive gets you in the right frame of mind and gives an extra sense of delight before you go home. Additionally if you have early arrival or late departure flight times, you can utilize the amenities of the resort all day while you wait to check in or fly out. Most resorts have shower/changing rooms to facilitate this giving you an extra day at the pool.

Rest time is key, especially if travelling with a group or family. Remember, this is supposed to be relaxing and fun! I try to limit excursions to no more than one a day.

I am a big Google map user, so I make lists of the restaurants and attractions I find interesting in advance. You can even invite and collaborate with friends/family to create the lists. When you are out and about and need to find a restaurant, you already have a curated list of choices! You can even save these lists/maps for offline use in the Google map app if you don't anticipate having cell service.

The ratio of travel time to destination time varies, but make sure it is a reasonable ratio. For example, if you have a full travel day on either side of your destination, a week or 10 days is minimum. I also like to say if I have to change planes, I need to stay at least a week! Perhaps extreme, but for the most part I like to stick to it and it has served me well.

Happy travels! xoxo Rebekah