Hi, I work on a travel planning app that has been around for quite some time. We found out that a lot of our users use the app to make the itinerary for other people. They can be travel guides, or they just like travel planning. Usually, they build the itinerary, then export it as a pdf and send it to the people actually going.
Our app is not really tailored for that and I'd like to change it. If you've ever been the one who plans trips for others, could you share:
How you shared the final plan? What information did you included? What was the most difficult thing to plan? Is there anything you've found that actually works well? Did you use any travel planning apps?
That's awesome. I plan a lot of trips for friends, and I'll set the plan up in my app and add them as users. I think the most important thing is access information for the lodging, and an up to date itinerary of when and where people need to be. I wrote an web admin panel to make this part easier if I'm just on my laptop.
The lodging piece can create a lot of stress for everyone if the information isn't clear and people show up later. I pretty much wrote this app to solve a lot of these frustrations. I would love to see your PDF building, I'm sure they must be beautiful if users are using the app like this. Will you be at the event on Thursday?
Thanks a lot for your reply and your insights. The lodging piece is interesting, we do not include that one specifically (apart from the general information such as address), but it's a great point that it is very important and we should integrate it better.
We have recently rebuilt the app from scratch and were surprised how many different ways there were to use the PDF - some people wrote nearly a new travel book there :)
I design journeys for international travellers in India, so I often build itineraries for clients.
How I share it: Usually as a clean PDF that travellers can easily download and refer to during the trip. I try to maintain a balance of striking visuals (from my personal collection) and text, with a consistent colour tone so the document remains engaging.
What I include: A short context about each place, a day-by-day flow, detailed information on local experiences (as I focus on experiential travel), hotel details, transfers, inclusions, exclusions, and booking information.
Most difficult part: Balancing structure with flexibility. Travellers want clarity but don’t want the trip to feel overly scheduled.
What works well: When the itinerary reads like a journey rather than just a checklist of places.
Tools: I personally prefer Canva because it allows creative flexibility and produces a professional-looking output without needing design expertise.
Thank you Sayali, that is very interesting. If I understand it correctly, you do not share any maps with the customers, is it right? It seems to me that we are obsessed with maps, but obviously not all the people are :-)
You're right, Barbara. None of my clients have ever asked for a map, and I’ve actually never included one in my tour decks. I tend to focus more on storytelling and presenting the journey as honestly as possible.
A few things I usually follow:
-Portrait format over landscape -Original images from my personal collection (never stock or Google images) -Casual, natural language instead of adjective-heavy marketing text -Clear highlights of the accommodation with strong focus on the local experiences -Minimal text, except for the itinerary and inclusions/exclusions
I’ve noticed travellers respond much better to this format than lengthy brochures. Strong visuals do half the work of selling the journey, and with less text people tend to immerse themselves more in the experience.
Honestly, I feel maps are really only useful for things like trekking routes.
That is really interesting. How do your customers navigate from one place to another? Are they on their own at any time of their trip?
I totally agree about including minimal text. But I was surprised when some of our customers complained that there was a limit for amount of text you can add to one place (I never came close to the limit myself).
It depends on the client really. I do most of the contact by video chat, then go back to them with a summary in email and then back and forward like that, sometimes plenty of emails, but more often video—find that more effective in general, easier to get to know them and them me.
Maps rarely come up, I think I’ve only ever supplied an online map once—certainly not a frequently requested feature. That said, I sometimes send them a pic of a hand sketch for multi-country trips as that’s the easiest way to do really broad strokes start of call stuff—online maps=too much noise and junk piled in.
In most cases would be an day-by-day itinerary with links for further reading, suggested hotels etcetera (I don’t book anything). Trips are typically two to three weeks, though occasionally far longer, it varies. I typically work with a fold-out map, pen and paper then type it into an email client, occasionally in word, never in PDF.
Most difficult aspect I think is getting people to be honest about what they really want. Once you start to break through that barrier (why I find the calls so important) the rest is pretty easy—food invariably either a nightmare or a breeze, the hotels typically very easy.
Three things I guess that has been surprisingly helpful:
1. If they send me an excel spreadsheet (always a bad sign!) and if it is military expedition-style I send it back ask them to delete half of it and send it back to me. It’s a good way of prompting them to prioritise a bit in their own mind—and hopefully learn a bit of geography in the process!
2. Knowing when to simply say “No I can’t help you” has been a huge time saver for me—and them no doubt! Not interested in doing this with someone where every day of the itinerary is a battle/argument.
3. A lot of people don’t really need a trip planner—they just want to show their plan to someone who knows their way around and who can say with confidence “that’s a good trip, there’s little I’d change”. I get a lot of these, I don’t charge in cases like this, and they mostly come back when they really do need help, and that’s nice.
Thank you, this has been incredibly helpful. You approach the planning process in a very different way than we do and it is very interesting to see that. I found the part about maps especially interesting - that has been one of our blind spots, as our app is very map-based and it would be probably good for our users, if we work without the map in some cases.
Why is food either a nightmare or a breeze? Do you recommend your customers what restaurants to visit or do you suggest food to try?
Again depends on the client, but I think food in particular is an area where it helps to get people to be honest with themselves about what they really want—people sometimes say “we want to eat local” but have a warped idea of what that really entails—and what they really may mean is “we want local fare that’s been modulated to fit with a foreign palate”.
Also with food they often come in with very specific recommendations that I frequently don’t agree with—it’s an extremely subjective area, and just because Aunt Nancy ate there two years ago and loved it doesn’t make it a great place to eat in the greater scheme of things—though this is rarely a hill I choose to die on!
If an area is known for some local speciality, then I’d probably mention it if it’s in tune with what they’re after, but as for specific places to stuff face, not so much—it varies.
Thanks a lot! We can see this in the data as well - some customers are extremely particular about restaurants, others just let it flow. But food in general is something that I would love to focus on and offer better experience, as it is a big part of exploring new places.
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What tools do you use to plan the travel itinerary for other people?
What tools do you use to plan the travel itinerary for other people?
was posted by Barbora Nevosadova
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Featured on Mar 3, 2026 (7 days ago).
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Hi, I work on a travel planning app that has been around for quite some time. We found out that a lot of our users use the app to make the itinerary for other people. They can be travel guides, or they just like travel planning. Usually, they build the itinerary, then export it as a pdf and send it to the people actually going.
Our app is not really tailored for that and I'd like to change it. If you've ever been the one who plans trips for others, could you share:
How you shared the final plan?
What information did you included?
What was the most difficult thing to plan?
Is there anything you've found that actually works well?
Did you use any travel planning apps?
That's awesome. I plan a lot of trips for friends, and I'll set the plan up in my app and add them as users. I think the most important thing is access information for the lodging, and an up to date itinerary of when and where people need to be. I wrote an web admin panel to make this part easier if I'm just on my laptop.
The lodging piece can create a lot of stress for everyone if the information isn't clear and people show up later. I pretty much wrote this app to solve a lot of these frustrations. I would love to see your PDF building, I'm sure they must be beautiful if users are using the app like this. Will you be at the event on Thursday?
Thanks a lot for your reply and your insights. The lodging piece is interesting, we do not include that one specifically (apart from the general information such as address), but it's a great point that it is very important and we should integrate it better.
We have recently rebuilt the app from scratch and were surprised how many different ways there were to use the PDF - some people wrote nearly a new travel book there :)
Hi Barbara,
I design journeys for international travellers in India, so I often build itineraries for clients.
How I share it: Usually as a clean PDF that travellers can easily download and refer to during the trip. I try to maintain a balance of striking visuals (from my personal collection) and text, with a consistent colour tone so the document remains engaging.
What I include:
A short context about each place, a day-by-day flow, detailed information on local experiences (as I focus on experiential travel), hotel details, transfers, inclusions, exclusions, and booking information.
Most difficult part:
Balancing structure with flexibility. Travellers want clarity but don’t want the trip to feel overly scheduled.
What works well:
When the itinerary reads like a journey rather than just a checklist of places.
Tools:
I personally prefer Canva because it allows creative flexibility and produces a professional-looking output without needing design expertise.
Thank you Sayali, that is very interesting. If I understand it correctly, you do not share any maps with the customers, is it right? It seems to me that we are obsessed with maps, but obviously not all the people are :-)
You're right, Barbara. None of my clients have ever asked for a map, and I’ve actually never included one in my tour decks. I tend to focus more on storytelling and presenting the journey as honestly as possible.
A few things I usually follow:
-Portrait format over landscape
-Original images from my personal collection (never stock or Google images)
-Casual, natural language instead of adjective-heavy marketing text
-Clear highlights of the accommodation with strong focus on the local experiences
-Minimal text, except for the itinerary and inclusions/exclusions
I’ve noticed travellers respond much better to this format than lengthy brochures. Strong visuals do half the work of selling the journey, and with less text people tend to immerse themselves more in the experience.
Honestly, I feel maps are really only useful for things like trekking routes.
That is really interesting. How do your customers navigate from one place to another? Are they on their own at any time of their trip?
I totally agree about including minimal text. But I was surprised when some of our customers complained that there was a limit for amount of text you can add to one place (I never came close to the limit myself).
It depends on the client really. I do most of the contact by video chat, then go back to them with a summary in email and then back and forward like that, sometimes plenty of emails, but more often video—find that more effective in general, easier to get to know them and them me.
Maps rarely come up, I think I’ve only ever supplied an online map once—certainly not a frequently requested feature. That said, I sometimes send them a pic of a hand sketch for multi-country trips as that’s the easiest way to do really broad strokes start of call stuff—online maps=too much noise and junk piled in.
In most cases would be an day-by-day itinerary with links for further reading, suggested hotels etcetera (I don’t book anything). Trips are typically two to three weeks, though occasionally far longer, it varies. I typically work with a fold-out map, pen and paper then type it into an email client, occasionally in word, never in PDF.
Most difficult aspect I think is getting people to be honest about what they really want. Once you start to break through that barrier (why I find the calls so important) the rest is pretty easy—food invariably either a nightmare or a breeze, the hotels typically very easy.
Three things I guess that has been surprisingly helpful:
1. If they send me an excel spreadsheet (always a bad sign!) and if it is military expedition-style I send it back ask them to delete half of it and send it back to me. It’s a good way of prompting them to prioritise a bit in their own mind—and hopefully learn a bit of geography in the process!
2. Knowing when to simply say “No I can’t help you” has been a huge time saver for me—and them no doubt! Not interested in doing this with someone where every day of the itinerary is a battle/argument.
3. A lot of people don’t really need a trip planner—they just want to show their plan to someone who knows their way around and who can say with confidence “that’s a good trip, there’s little I’d change”. I get a lot of these, I don’t charge in cases like this, and they mostly come back when they really do need help, and that’s nice.
Cheers
Thank you, this has been incredibly helpful. You approach the planning process in a very different way than we do and it is very interesting to see that. I found the part about maps especially interesting - that has been one of our blind spots, as our app is very map-based and it would be probably good for our users, if we work without the map in some cases.
Why is food either a nightmare or a breeze? Do you recommend your customers what restaurants to visit or do you suggest food to try?
Again depends on the client, but I think food in particular is an area where it helps to get people to be honest with themselves about what they really want—people sometimes say “we want to eat local” but have a warped idea of what that really entails—and what they really may mean is “we want local fare that’s been modulated to fit with a foreign palate”.
Also with food they often come in with very specific recommendations that I frequently don’t agree with—it’s an extremely subjective area, and just because Aunt Nancy ate there two years ago and loved it doesn’t make it a great place to eat in the greater scheme of things—though this is rarely a hill I choose to die on!
If an area is known for some local speciality, then I’d probably mention it if it’s in tune with what they’re after, but as for specific places to stuff face, not so much—it varies.
Thanks a lot! We can see this in the data as well - some customers are extremely particular about restaurants, others just let it flow. But food in general is something that I would love to focus on and offer better experience, as it is a big part of exploring new places.