INTRODUCTION

Itineraries are defined as the journey taken by a passenger from the point of departure to the
final destination, including all stops in between. When working in a travel agency, you will be
responsible for planning itineraries for your customers and providing information to help them
make their decision.

WHAT IS ITINERARY?
Itinerary is a specific route that includes a tour/travel and its detailed description. An itinerary
includes additional information such as distance, destination, photo stop, rest stop, mode of
transportation, and restaurant, among other things.
An itinerary can be created for a guide or tour manager with all necessary technical information,
or for a passenger as an outline of their daily schedule.

IMPORTANCE or FOCUS OF PLANNING AN ITINERARY

A good itinerary allows clients to make the most of their vacation time. There will be no time
wasted traveling between places, activities, or accommodations if every small detail is included
in the document. This will provide a realistic view of how much can be squeezed into each day
and help to manage expectations.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages of having an Itinerary during your vacation

1. The Itinerary is time-saving. As it leads directly to the spot without wasting time.
Instead of wondering what to do, you are wandering in a fantastic destination. 
2. Having an itinerary means having a road map of how the next few days will be
during your vacation.
3. Physically and mentally relaxed while on your vacation. We realized how helpful the
Itinerary has been since we began creating one for ourselves. When we'll rest and when
we'll be ready to go out. Also, we write the days and times when we will meet someone
or how we will spend our evening.
4. Itinerary makes you pack limited. Unless you like to have extra clothes or a pair of
shoes just in case. When travelling with an itinerary, you know exactly what to do. That
leads you to load the suitable clothes, shoes, and even different dinner and activity
items.
5. Help make a budget trip successful. One can prepare themselves by calculating an
approximate budget. That is what we do. We sometimes keep track of how much each
excursion costs. And you can add more, subtract extra, or let the super cool activity
triumph over the cool things.
6. The itinerary contains travel details- keep one’s travel papers ready at the airport.
When you check the Itinerary, you double-check if you have the visa, passport, hotel
reservation, covid vaccine certificate or any other essential documents ready. And kept
together to show at the time of check-in at the airport or at the immigration.
 7. The Itinerary has all the emergency contact info right in front of you, saving you
from panicking at the time of emergency or delay in the tour. 
8. Keeps the backup plans ready at the time of need. So here’s what I do most of the
time. I keep the backup tour or activity we can do if the previous one’s cancelled or
anything uncertain.  
9. The itinerary contains a list of shopping and touring places preventing you from
missing anything. Applies mainly for small things like checking for particular jacket in
some shop or checking for that hidden gem by asking the taxi driver. Just make a little
note on your itinerary.
10. At last, a planned Itinerary is a well-organised trip, and an organised trip is always
better. 

Disadvantages of having an Itinerary during your vacation

1. Preparing an itinerary, researching could become a time taking. But take your time
and do it to not miss anything you like to do or could do on that trip.
2. Sometimes going off guard of the desired place, you might find something called
hidden gems. If you walk like a robot, then you might have to change your itinerary
while on holiday. A flexible itinerary comes in handy if you don't want to miss out on
some of the sights or activities that you would have otherwise missed out on by following
the Itinerary.
3. It can get exhausting to go from point A to B and B to C. But to avoid that
exhausting part, you need to be either mentally ready or, again, use the flexibility of the
Itinerary. 
4. It can be stressful thinking about the upcoming event one after the other. 
5. The Itinerary depends on the capacity and strength of family members. Non-
consideration may cause miss some spots.
6. Lack of research and a non-efficient itinerary may cause problems on vacation.
7. Lack of flexibility.
GUIDE FOR PLANNING AN ITINERARY

STEP 1:  Research other tours in the marketplace

A helpful exercise is to take a tour which will be similar to the tour you wish to develop and
obtain copies of other tour brochures for comparison. This will help you develop ideas for your
tour, give you an idea of what is already in the marketplace, give you detailed information on
terms and conditions and provide possible ideas for brochure design and content.
STEP 2: Name your tour
STEP 3: Map out the duration, frequency and departure details
 When will your tour depart?   
 When will your tour return?    
 How often will the tour operate?    
 Where will the central departure point be?    
 Will you offer accommodation pick up?
STEP 4: List the major locations and tour highlights
Where will your tour travel to? What are the main locations and highlights that visitors are going
to experience?
STEP 5: Research tour content and draft commentary
List the main topics you wish to include in your commentary, such as flora, fauna, history,
culture, as well as the main points to consider with each of these topics and the resources you
will use to find the information.
STEP 6: List any 3rd party activities, attractions, entrance fees and inclusions
List any activities offered by other companies or entrance fees and determine if they will be
included in your tour price or offered as extras. 
Step 7: Organise suppliers for meals
What meals will you provide during your tour - morning and afternoon tea, lunch or dinner? You
may wish to provide meals yourself or make arrangements for a restaurant, roadhouse, hotel or
farm to provide them for you. Should you choose to prepare your own meals, you will need to
ensure you have adequate food handling knowledge.
STEP 8: Organise accommodation approvals (if required) 
Whether you are passing through, stopping for meals or visiting attractions, it is imperative you
obtain permission in writing from the property owner prior to accessing any private property. If
travelling through property managed by the Parks and Wildlife you will need to apply for
a Commercial Operator’s Licence.
If your itinerary includes entering Aboriginal Land, you will be required to apply for Entry Permits
from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA). 
Step 9: Perfect your timing
It is crucially important to map out your tour itinerary accurately to ensure that you arrive on time
for activity and meal stops and return to your original destination at a reasonable time. Prepare
a table that shows start, stop and duration times for each location, attraction or activity. 
Step 10: Test drive your itinerary
It is very important to several 'dry runs' of your itinerary to ensure you get the timing right. It is
also a very good idea to invite people who have some knowledge of the industry and are
prepared to give you constructive comments, to do a tour.

EXAMPLE: (IF NEED MAGBIGAY)

CONCLUSION

1. Always keep your family and your capacity of following the Itinerary while creating it. I
always keep our baby’s nap times and meal times in mind while creating Itinerary.
Otherwise, you may have to cancel a few spots, which may lead you to miss something
that you really had in your mind.
2. Always make the Itinerary after proper research and not only listen to advice or stories
from some people. 
3. Check on google maps for point to point distance and plan accordingly. 
4. Back up plans on the Itinerary. 
5. If you don’t make any itinerary, you better keep a helping hand like travel agents and
their contact numbers. Otherwise, you won’t have contact information at the time of any
emergency, making things worse. 
6. And lastly, it’s not that bad not having an itinerary. You can simply start from one point to
the other in one city. Looking for things to do on the way. Or just make your own by
going to the places one after the other. Or simply explore the local markets, any antique
shops and vintage shops around.