Travel

Sometimes Nothing Beats a Good Ol Fashioned Piece of Paper!

Technology, especially mobile devices, have really helped travelers stay organized while on the road.  In fact, one of our favorite travel apps that we use is called TripIt.

The TripIt app helps us consolidate a lot of our travel information and confirmation numbers into one place.  This allows us to access it online or save it for viewing offline on our mobile devices. However, I have learned from my previous travel experience that using technology doesn t always make things easier or quicker.

This is especially true when traveling overseas.  I don t always have my mobile devices powered on, and often they are not connected to a data network.  Other times I may not want to draw attention to myself and my fancy technology while I m walking down the street.  In these cases I ve discovered that it s easier to go old school, with an actual piece of paper!

Unfortunately, all those confirmation emails and travel planning documents tend be long and include a lot of information that you may not need.  In fact, if you were to print all of that information out, you would probably be walking around with a small book in your pocket!

This defeats the whole point of a cheat sheet because you would be fumbling around trying to find what you need.  My cheat sheet is only 1 page!

A travel cheat sheet should be concise. Mine is only one page. The text looks small, but when it s printed it can be read fine.  Just fold it into quarters and stuff it in your pocket!

Items to Include on Your Travel Cheat Sheet

There are all kinds of things you may find useful to put on your travel Cheat Sheet.  But the most critical pieces of information to include are only those that you may need to reference quickly while you are on the go.  So don t overdo it by putting too much information.  Keep it concise and easy to read.  Some of the items I include in my cheat sheet include:

• Rough Itinerary Don t plan each minute!  But it s helpful to plan out major activities on each day, especially days when you are traveling.
• Hotel Information confirmation numbers, addresses, contact information, prices deposits paid (so you know what you owe on arrival), and possibly directions.
• Transportation Information flight numbers, train / bus schedules, how to use local transportation and buy tickets, etc.
• Attractions if there are certain sights that you absolutely want to see, make a note of their operating hours and days (because that might impact your itinerary), addresses, and prices (which will help with budgeting).
• Activities anything that you have pre-booked, along with the confirmation numbers.
• Language Phrases include a few simple phrases or notes about the language or even local customs.

Bring a Hard Copy of Your Cheat Sheet Keep It Handy

My cheat sheet template is only one page.  It is grouped into 4 sections so that I can easily fold it into quarters and stuff it in my pocket.  Within the document itself, I group the information within each quarter section.  This way when it is folded, each side has a table of similar information.

For example, one side of the page might have my overall itinerary for each day, while another side contains all my hotel information.  I also color code the header of each page for each section.  This makes it easy for me to find the page I need for whatever it is that I m looking for.

Be sure to print out a few copies, and it is good to send an electronic copy to your email.  Lastly, this cheat sheet document is perfect for sharing with family and friends, in case they need to contact you while you are away!

Download This Travel Itinerary Template to Create Your Own Cheat Sheet!

Perhaps this travel itinerary template will help you get started so that you can make your own cheat sheet for your next vacation.  I assure you that you will feel so much more organized during your trip, and not fumbling around with smartphones or trying to open emails while on the road.