European Travel Skills: Planning Your Itinerary
Ever noticed how some folks make the toughest trips seem like a leisurely walk in the park? We’ll wager that nine out of 10 times, those travelers created a near-perfect itinerary before they even started packing.
Modern itinerary-making tools, from Web sites to mobile apps, allow travelers to build colorful trip timelines and share their travel plans with loved ones. But the ability to engineer an effective, seamless itinerary requires more than just bells and whistles — and well-laid travel plans are an integral component of any successful trip.
Web Sites and Apps
Various Web sites and apps have facilitated the creation of itineraries, and the ability to share those itineraries, for thousands of tech-savvy travelers. Here are a few of our favorites:
TripIt.com allows users to create complex online itineraries and e-mail them to friends and family. The site will automatically insert tons of useful information into your itinerary, including maps, directions and weather. TripIt is free, but you can buy extra perks, like a mobile service that alerts you if your flight is changed or canceled, for an annual fee.
NileGuide.com is a valuable resource for travelers. Pick your place from the Web site’s list and you’ll get an impressive inventory of hotels, activities, travel guides and more, which you can use to build a personal itinerary.
Outer Level offers Knapsack, an itinerary program for Macs. The program’s features, from interactive maps and to-do lists to printed itineraries that appear professionally designed, make trip planning more fun than an in-flight movie.
The Itinerary app for iPhone helps you organize your trip by plotting each day’s stops on a map and letting you add notes.
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