How I Break Down the Travel Itinerary

Going on a trip can be overwhelming. You want to get the best out of your time on your travels but want to return feeling relaxed, not like you need another vacation. 

After years of traveling regularly, here is how I break down our travel.

Considering Travel

Driving

The first step is deciding how you will travel- by plane, train, or vehicle. When the girls were younger, we always chose to drive. We drove around a lot anyway, so the girls were used to riding, and it didn’t bother them as much. The fun part was that we stopped at many incredible locations along our route. 

Right now, we have several trips planned in the next several months. Breanna and I will drive because it’s cheaper, and we will have more experiences. In addition, when we get to our location, we don’t have to worry about getting a car rental. 

If you are driving, I pull up the route and look at everything I want to do on that route. For example, I am considering a trip from our home in Texas to Seattle. Zion National Park is only an hour off route, but it IS on my bucket list, and we do have the time, so we’re venturing off the beaten path to walk and have this experience. 

Flying & Train

Since she is working, Nevaeh will fly and meet up with us. I am taking two trips this year that I will fly, but it’s because I am going alone. Also, I’m going to places that are either too far away or are foot traffic friendly. 

Last but not least, I am taking one train ride this year and have taken one in the past. This is helpful when you’re not going as far and, again, are going to a place where you won’t require a car once you get there.

Where to Stay

I am currently booking a lot of our travel through hotels.com. Brandon used it for work and our trips, allowing him to get a log cabin with a hot tub for FREE during our anniversary trip. That’s something you should know—you can get a hotel with the website/app and a home similar to Airbnb. I have found I like artsy hotels and cute little condos.

I have also used Airbnb several times in the last few months and am grateful to have a home when I want to cook and do laundry.

So, you need to decide where you want to stay and what you want to do. Getting a house or apartment would be ideal if you want to go to farmers’ markets and cook at home. If there is only a few of you and going out to eat, being in the middle of it all is what you want, then check out the hotels nearby. 

What To Do

At your location

Again, you need to consider your vacation goals. Maybe you just want to spend time on the beach, or maybe you want to do everything in a major city. It’s up to you. 

I tend to write down all the things I want to do. For example, I knew I wanted to go to Central Park, my mom wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, and we both wanted to see Rockafeller Center. 

I could track all of these things on a map to see where they are located to one another and then map out our three days. We are doing Rockafeller Center on day one, Central Park on day two, and see the Statue of Liberty on Day three.

One thing I learned about going to NYC in 2015 is that you should also go with food in mind. This time around, I’ve done a lot more research about the best food in the area. 

On Route

If you are driving, I recommend stopping every few hours and finding something fun. You can research each location along the route but we’ve found that Atlas Obscura is a great way to find things as well. A few things that we’ve found include:

• Near Albuquerque, there used to be (sad, sad, I know) a place on the road that played America the Beautiful when you ran over the rumbles going 45 MPH and 
• A 1929 Philips 66 Station in Mclean, Texas 

A big thing when you’re on your route is not to be afraid to stop when you see something unique. For example, in 2018, we were headed to Las Vegas and happened to see a sign that said Two Guns exit. Brandon had me research it, and we visited it on our way home. It is one of my favorite places in the entire United States.

Final Thoughts

You need to do what feels suitable for your family. I hope this gave you some different tips and ideas for how we do our trips. Do you have any suggestions? Add them to the comments!