It Starts with the Travel Itinerary
At the heart of any exciting and memorable trip, are the people (you meet and are with you) and the string of travel experiences which happen en route.
When we have a plan for an ordered list of exciting things to see and do at a far away place, everyone is happy, knowing sort of what to expect and waiting in eager anticipation. When this travel plan starts to have details and timings, we call it a travel itinerary.
Tour companies publish travel itineraries all the time, for folks to pick the tour that they like. With independent travel (i.e. not going with a tour company), you can do your own "tour" without the need to adhere to the strict timings of a tour group, and cover similar places (or not!) at your own pace.
Having a good travel itinerary is a real stress saver when away. You have a general guide for where to go and when to do what - but there is really is no need to stick fully to it. It frees you up to simply be present and enjoy the moments there with your loved ones. If others prefer to be in their hotel rooms or wifi-cafes busy beavering away on their web browsers / phone looking up the next place to visit (when they should be out and about, during their "expensive" limited time away in an exciting new place) that is fine for them too. With a travel itinerary, there is also no need for regret later on when back home you realise that you have missed a number of key places which you really should have visited whist you were there .. LoL!
