2026 Travel Itinerary Planning Examples & Tool Recommendations: Excel Templates + Apps All in One
Travel itinerary planning is a hassle for many people.
How to arrange attractions? What's the best route? How to set a budget? And traveling with kids triples the considerations — does this attraction have a nursing room? Can a stroller get in? Are there kid-friendly restaurants nearby?
But with the right tools, planning an itinerary can be simple. This guide covers free Excel templates (ready to use), 5 excellent itinerary planning apps, and a complete family 3-day-2-night sample itinerary you can follow.
For the complete family travel itinerary planning guide → 2026 Family Travel Itinerary Planning Guide
TL;DR: The simplest planning method is Excel (free, intuitive, works offline). The most convenient is Funliday app (Taiwan-developed, Chinese interface, auto-calculates travel time). For trips with kids, add "backup plan" and "age suitability" columns — fill your itinerary only 70%.
👉 綠舞國際觀光飯店 hotel info → View hotel
What Should a Travel Itinerary Include?
A complete travel itinerary needs at minimum: date/time, attractions, transportation, dining, and accommodation. 80% of Taiwanese respondents said they use travel apps to plan their trips (Tromni Media, 2024), but Excel and handwritten lists work equally well. In 2025, domestic travel reached 247.61 million trips, averaging 11.65 trips per person per year (Tourism Administration, MOTC — 2025 Survey of Travel by R.O.C. Citizens, 2026). 34% of travelers plan to travel with family in 2025 (Tromni Media, 2024) — advance planning effectively controls budgets.
Essential Itinerary Columns
We've tried notebook journaling, Google Sheets, Notion, Funliday — every method. Regardless of tool, itineraries need at least these columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Date/Day | Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 |
| Time | Morning/Afternoon/Evening (rough estimates) |
| Attraction Name | Specific name |
| Address | Or Google Maps link |
| Transportation | Driving/MRT/Bus |
| Estimated Time | Including travel + visit time |
| Cost | Tickets + dining + transport |
| Backup Plan | Alternative if rain or closure |
| Notes | Reservations needed, nursing room, stroller-friendly |
For trips with kids, we especially recommend adding "Backup Plan" and "Notes" columns. Backups prevent panic from sudden weather changes; notes avoid discovering a spot isn't kid-friendly only after arriving.
4 Steps to Plan an Itinerary
- Decide duration and budget — these two factors determine everything. Figure out spending first, then where to stay.
- Collect attraction info — list everything you want to visit, regardless of order.
- Route by geography — pin attractions on Google Maps and find the most efficient route. Avoid backtracking.
- Arrange accommodation and transport — book after confirming your route to avoid discovering misaligned logistics afterward.
For trips with kids, "leave blank space." Reserve 1-2 hours of flexible time per day. This isn't waste — it's insurance.
What Free Excel Templates Are Available?
Template 1: Day Trip Itinerary
Simple single-page format with four columns: time, attractions, transportation, costs. Perfect for weekend getaways without complex planning. Bottom has cost-summing formulas for automatic daily expense calculation.
Template 2: 3-Day-2-Night Planning Sheet
Three tabs corresponding to three days, each with a complete timeline. Added accommodation and transportation summary columns for quick reference. Includes a budget summary with lodging, transport, dining, and ticket categories.
This template is best for family travel. Column design considers traveling with kids — "backup plan," "age suitability," and "nursing room/stroller" columns included.
Template 3: International Free Travel Itinerary
Adds flight info, hotel addresses, and emergency contact fields. Currency conversion column for easy local-to-NT$ comparisons. Document checklist on page one for pre-departure verification.
Which Itinerary Planning Apps Are Best? 5 Recommendations
1. Google Maps Itinerary Features
Free, already on everyone's phone, no extra installation needed.
Save attractions to lists, automatically displayed on the map — super intuitive for route planning. Shareable with travel companions so everyone can see.
Downside: Can't add times and costs — better for simple route planning, not complete itineraries.
2. TripAdvisor
Bills itself as the world's largest travel guidance platform. Check attraction ratings and rankings to know what's worth visiting.
Restaurant recommendations are very practical. Finding restaurants with kids — checking reviews first reduces the chance of bad picks.
Downside: Fewer Chinese reviews, skews international — limited value for domestic travel.
3. Funliday
Taiwan-developed itinerary planning app with Chinese interface — easy to use.
Best feature: drag-and-drop attractions on the map with automatic travel time calculation. Supports multi-user collaboration — couples can edit itineraries together.
This is our most-used tool. For domestic family travel, Funliday's features are sufficient. Compared to Excel requiring manual formulas, Funliday's "intuitive map operation" is the biggest advantage — drag to arrange routes with auto-calculated travel times.
Downside: Offline viewing doesn't include the map view, so functionality is limited when offline.
4. TripHugger
TripHugger (TripHugger Inc, free) has Google Maps place search built in, collaborative itinerary editing, and a chat room so you can discuss while you plan.
It supports offline viewing and editing of itineraries — useful in eastern Taiwan and the mountains where signal drops out.
Updated to v1.13.2 on 25 Sept 2026; about 4.6 stars from 337 ratings on the Taiwan App Store (checked 1 Oct 2026).
Downside: it doubles as a travel social platform, so if you only want a plain itinerary table it can feel cluttered.
5. Notion Travel Templates
Notion is a versatile note tool. Many free travel templates available online for download.
Maximum freedom — add images, links, lists, tables, customize however you want. Perfect for parents who like making their itineraries look polished.
Downside: Higher learning curve. If you're not familiar with Notion, just figuring it out takes time.
宜蘭悅川酒店
簡愛家庭房｜平日專案
What Does a Real Family 3-Day-2-Night Itinerary Look Like?
Example: Yilan Family 3-Day-2-Night
| Day | Time | Attraction | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 10:00-12:00 | Yilan National Center for Traditional Arts | Regular ticket NT$150; students aged 6+ NT$120 (with ID) | DIY workshops available |
| Day 1 | 12:30-13:30 | Luodong Forestry Park food | Own expense | Forestry pork stew is a must |
| Day 1 | 14:30-17:00 | Green Dance Hotel check-in + grounds | Included in stay | Yukata wearing, seeing the cute animals |
| Day 1 | 18:00 | Hotel dinner | Included in stay | One-night, three-meal plan (the one-night, two-meal plan doesn't include dinner) |
| Day 2 | 09:00-10:30 | Jiaoxi Hot Spring Park | Free entry (Forest Hot Spring bath ticketed separately) | Free foot-soaking pool |
| Day 2 | 11:00-12:00 | Jimmy Square | — | Photo spot |
| Day 2 | 12:30-13:30 | Yilan city lunch | Own expense | |
| Day 2 | 14:00-16:00 | Lanyang Museum | Permanent exhibition NT$100/person | Top rainy-day backup; closed Wednesdays |
| Day 2 | 18:00 | Luodong Night Market | Own expense | Scallion pancake is a must |
| Day 3 | 09:30-11:00 | Toucheng Old Street | — | Old street strolling |
| Day 3 | 11:30-12:30 | Waiao Beach | — | Sand and ocean |
| Day 3 | 13:00 | Lunch then return | Own expense |
Budget Summary
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Accommodation (using e-voucher) | Depends on the plan |
| Transportation (gas roundtrip) | Depends on departure point and vehicle |
| Dining (5 meals) | Depends on group size and restaurants |
| Tickets/Activities | Depends on group size (see the table above for Center for Traditional Arts and Lanyang Museum prices) |
| Total | Add up your actual spending on the items above |
Packing list → 3-Day-2-Night Packing Checklist
Itinerary done — now pick accommodation. Yilan Jiaoxi family hotels → Check Evergreen Resort Jiaoxi deals
More 3-day-2-night routes → 4 Three-Day-Two-Night Routes Across Taiwan
How to Make a PPT Itinerary Presentation?
Some parents like making PowerPoint presentations to "pitch" itineraries to the family. (Don't laugh — we're serious. Especially necessary when traveling with grandparents.)
Suggested PPT structure:
- Cover: Destination + dates + trip theme
- Itinerary overview: One-page brief summary per day
- Daily details: Attraction photos + maps + times
- Budget table: Clear expense categories
- Accommodation intro: Hotel photos + facilities + prices
PPT templates can also become travel memory books. Just add photos for the best keepsake.
No need to make it fancy. The point is keeping the whole family informed to reduce "where are we going?" arguments.
FAQ
Q: What's the most convenient itinerary planning tool?
A: Depends on your habits. Excel is simplest — no learning curve, open and go. If you prefer mobile, Funliday is Taiwan-developed with Chinese interface — drag attractions on the map with auto travel time calculation, great for domestic travel.
Q: Does the itinerary need to be detailed?
A: Just get the big picture right. With kids, leaving flexibility matters more than filling every slot. Time estimates at the "morning/afternoon/evening" level are sufficient — minute-by-minute precision just creates pressure. Fill itinerary to 70%, leave 30% for surprises and flexibility.
Q: Are there free itinerary planning templates?
A: Plenty of options. The Excel templates in this article can be self-created (structure outlined above), and Google Sheets works too. Notion communities have tons of free travel templates. Funliday app itself is a free planning tool.
Itinerary Done! Now Book Accommodation at the Best Price
Cool Price Travel family hotel vouchers from 20% of original price, usable at your own pace.
花蓮潔西艾美渡假酒店 stay packages → View plan
More itinerary inspiration → 2026 Family Travel Itinerary Planning Guide
Still deciding? Take a look at this 礁溪長榮鳳凰酒店 voucher
View This DealFurther Reading
- 2026 Family Travel Itinerary Planning Guide
- 4 Three-Day-Two-Night Routes Across Taiwan
- 3-Day-2-Night Packing Checklist
- Travel with Kids Preparation Guide
- 6 Family Two-Day-One-Night Routes