Free Travel Itinerary Template for Advisors
The travel itinerary templates around the block are typically extremely barebones, with no frills or fun, or the ability to update it to your travel agency. We set out to resolve this issue by creating a travel itinerary template that you can copy for your own personal use or to use as a template to share with your clients.
Our travel itinerary template is for travelers or travel advisors who don't yet need or want to shell out the cash for a travel itinerary builder.
I'll walk you through a quick comparison of itinerary templates vs. itinerary builders, chat about what model works best for whom, and how to use travel itinerary template.
Travel Itinerary Templates vs. Itinerary Builders
Sure. There are a lot of fancy pants itinerary builders out there. What the heck is that you ask? How is it different than a template? Here's the short version: a travel itinerary template is a static travel planning document where you plug in all your wondrous travel details. An Itinerary builder is a dynamic travel planning (and quoting) app where it can auto-populate supplier info & images, has mobile capacities (usually), branding & co-branding, domain masking, sync with CRMs, and other fun doodads that a travel itinerary template does not have.
If you want the long version, you can read all about those differences (and get details on itinerary builders here with a glorious comparison chart to help you evaluate your options).
7 Reasons to Use a Travel Itinerary Template:
So why a travel itinerary template? Why wouldn't gravitate toward the shiniest of itinerary-building programs? There are a few reasons why you might use a travel itinerary template (as opposed to an itinerary builder):
1. Travel itinerary templates are free
It's hard to argue with a $0 price tag . . . especially when you're just starting. So it might be that you're not ready to take on yet another monthly expense at this point. (Oh hey, what startup costs am I referring to? These.) Who can blame you?
2. There's little to no learning curve
If you can do basic cut and pasting, you can use a template without having to learn a program, relearn product updates, or wonder how to import your itinerary data into your CRM. Sometimes our brains are tired, okay?
3. They're great if you're only making a few one-off itineraries
If your itinerary planning volume is low (whatever that means to you), a template can get the job done just fine for free and you don't need to invest $30/mo. for a tool you'll barely use.
4. You can delegate it
Do you have an intern you're working with from a local university? Do you have a bright but bored teen in the summer who needs to stay busy? If so, maybe creating travel itineraries is something you can delegate and you'd rather not pay for a program if you don't need to.
5. Your TrIP-PLANNING-LOVING client CAN USE IT
Okay, so you planned every flight and transfer and hotel. You booked it. You invoiced them. You sent them the documents they need. Maybe your services end there and that's okay. If that's the case, you can always offer your clients a travel itinerary template that is branded to your agency, so they can fill it out to their heart's content and include things such as restaurant reservations and day trip ideas themselves.
6. Your client hates technology
Are you working for a Luddite who believes cordless phones qualify among the ranks of "smartphones?" Someone who insists on a paper copy only of all their travel plans? I know some of these people. I am, at times, one of these people. And if you're planning a trip for them, a template might be just the thing for you to use. Because Luddites love to print off PDFs and pack them in their carry-on.
7. You hate technology
I know travel agents whose CRM consists of manilla file folders, literal pieces of printed paper with client info (with which to fill said file folders). And you know what, it works great. If you don't want any extra tech, a travel itinerary template may be just the thing.
8. You often book the same/ or similar itinerary
If you package trips, you find that you're often booking similar trips or FITs, you can create a template for each type of your most common trips. The all you need to do is update the dates & flight info and viola, you're done.
Limits of Travel Itinerary Templates
Okay, allow me to play devil's advocate with myself. Here are a few limitations of travel itinerary templates:
1. Time (IS IT ON YOUR SIDE?)
They take a long time. How do I know this? Because I made one. Maybe something like entering detailed info on excel documents relaxes you. If that's the case, you're gold. But at the end of the day, using a template is going to take a heckuva lot more time to create than it would if you're using an itinerary builder.
2. They're static
No bells. No whistles. No flight updates. No push notifications. No group collaborations or products that suppliers automatically import into your itinerary. It can be a little clunky. You're Gen Z children or friends may chide you for it. What you see is what you get.
That's a summary. But let me lift your spirits with (at long last) our customizable, downloadable, logo-able, travel itinerary template. It's pretty snazzy if I may say so myself. Without further ado:
HAR's Free Travel Itinerary Template
For this free itinerary template, you'll need to have a Google Account (also free.) Here's a brief video on how it works, below.
Want to get a copy for yourself? Easy, just subscribe and download your very own travel itinerary template to customize for your very own!
If you want more instruction, keep reading. I break down the steps and dig deeper into the nitty gritty of getting your template rebranded and redesigned!
PSSST! Don't see a place to download the editable travel agency business plan template? Please refresh the page.
Tips on Downloading & Customizing HAR's Travel Itinerary Template
When you access the link to the travel itinerary template, you should see this (below):
Just select "make a copy" and you'll be ready to update the template and make it your own.
Once you have HAR's fancy pants travel itinerary template, the first page looks like this:
The tutorial video above offered you a quick look at updating your template. After you copy the template, you will customize it to your own brand. In the document. But here's a summary of how to brand it to your agency (or trip!) If you want to keep the template in a similar style, it will be relatively simple.
- Delete the first, "sharing is caring" row
- Replace the header logo
- Change the color scheme to your own agency brand colors (the dark navy and the orange, for example)
- Be sure to go through each spreadsheet page to update the logo & branding colors.
- Rename the document and save it as a template in Google Docs.
To do any of the steps below, you will need to be signed in to your Google account. You're in? Great. Here are a few tips on creating your template:
1. Insert your customized Logo & IMages
On each page of the worksheet, you'll want to insert your own logo. Doing this is simple, but there are two ways to do it:
- Inserting image "in cell:" Image must be sized before uploading into the cell. (This is what I did to insert the company logo).
- Inserting image "over cell" You can resize the image after you insert it, but it will have approximately the same ratio as the cell. This the method I used for inserting the soccer image in the video since the ratio wasn't quite right for the template.
You can see this in the video clip below!
2. Use hex color codes from your brand to update the template
If you want your template to be 10,000% on brand, make sure that you get the color right from your branding. To do this, you'll want to use your hex color code. I know that may sound scary (at least it does to me . . . hex?! code?!) but it's easy. Here's how to change the background and text color to your brand:
3. export the template as a pdf to send to your clients
Once you finish your template, you can enter in all your client's trip details and ship it off to their anxiously-awaiting inbox! Here's how to download the template:
4. Update: Fit Each Itinerary Day on One page
Gosh darn, I forgot to add instructions on how to fit each day/sheet of your travel itinerary onto one page! This will make it look a lot nicer when you download it into a PDF for your travelers. Here's a quick gif on how to do that!
Your travel itinerary will truly be a sight to behold!
Questions? We've Got You Covered.
If you find these steps a little cumbersome, check out the travel itinerary builder comparison chart to see if that's more your jam.
If you give the template a test drive and/or a facelift, give me a holler! I'd love to see how your itinerary turns out or how you like to tweak yours a little differently. Drop me a line a hello@hostagencyreviews.com or submit a comment below!
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in Aug. 2019. It was updated and republished on date listed above!
About the Author
Mary Stein
Mary Stein has been working as a writer and editor for Host Agency Reviews since 2016. She loves supporting travel advisors on their entrepreneurial journey and is inspired by their passion, tenacity, and creativity. Mary is also a mom, dog lover, fiction writer, hiker, and a Great British Bake Off superfan.
