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Okay, so you’ve read Part I: The Research and Part II: the Route! and now you’re ready to dive into reading about the organization strategy that I personally use–which isn’t for everyone, but could give you some ideas nonetheless. For new readers: I’ve been to all 50 States and 37 countries, the majority by road, so people occasionally ask how I plan my road trips, which is why I’m (finally) sharing.

(I will say, if you’re not a paper-wasting journal lover, there’s an app that I like, TripIt, which does a decent job of pulling all of your travel details together. It’s actually pretty impressive. But I need something physical to hold–and to preserve the memories.)

Over the years, I’ve had many ways of organizing trips–in some kind of binder, within a calendar/datebook, in a travel journal or a combination travel photo album/journal, etc. But for the past several years, I have been using a specific type of leather journal-binder-thing that I absolutely love.

Okay, but why?

• It really does help me organize the trip--lodging, route, activities, etc.
• I enjoy creating the planner because it gets me excited about the trip
• I can access it without internet connection (I’ve been in enough deserts, mountains, and foreign countries to know not to rely purely on the internet)
• It serves as a travelogue/journal/scrapbook when the trip is over!

So…what do I put in it?

I’ll break it down into Pre-trip and During-trip, as well as how I arrange sections. I’ll try to keep the more informative examples in the beginning before this just devolves into pages just because I like pages. (Not Pinterest-worthy lol)

PRE-TRIP

Sometimes, the calendar isn’t the very first thing you see because I’ll come across a scrap that I want to see every time I open the journal–one that looks great paired with the leather cover. Or something related to the purpose of the trip. Purely aesthetic!

CALENDAR OF ENTIRE TRIP

In Part II, I touched on the calendar pages I make when planning the route. I always print a customized calendar from TimeAndDate.com, using their advanced calendar creator.

I sometimes have multiple calendars going during the planning stages and am working out different routes. Rarely, if there’s a lot going on in a day, I have one calendar for the day’s activities and a separate calendar for lodging. This is always one of the first pages so that it’s super easy to glance at it.

THE SECTIONS

There are typically three sections in the journal:

• Overview (with multiple tabs)
• Day-by-day
• Appendix (records/resources/extras)

OVERVIEW

Important pre-trip arrangements

Travel tickets

Pretty straightforward: I have plane tickets (or car rental info) up front. For an upcoming trip, I have the plane tix up front but the car rental info within the day that I pick up the car.

Lodging

Lodging can be found in multiple places: up front, it’ll be across calendar days and then I might have lists helping me visualize the different types of lodging. Lodging is also seen throughout the daily pages, on days when we check into a new hotel.

Packing List

Sometimes I get goofy and put the packing list inside/alongside a little sketch of the piece of luggage I plan to pack it in (which is as much for the scrapbook aspect as the planning aspect). But it does help me remember what I want in my carry-on, and if it’s a heavy-packing or multi-checked-bag trip, I like to visualize space. It’s especially helpful if I’ll be packing something mid-trip, i.e. will need to pull stuff from a suitcase to put it in a fanny pack for a specific activity.

Daily MORNING/EVENING reminders

This is one of the most important pages for me personally. There are certain things I just don’t want to forget to do. In the morning, I need to remember to take my medication; if I’ve brought my own pillow to a hotel (which I do whenever possible), I need to remember to take it with me when I check out; I don’t want to forget my phone charger; etc. Likewise, in the evening, I need to take my medication, charge my phone, check the next day’s plans, etc.

Maps

Up front, there’s usually a map of the full trip. Then there are regional, or daily, maps throughout the day-to-day pages.

Mileage planning/tracking

I estimate pre-trip, and sometimes track during the trip.

Fun summaries

Sometimes when I look at the journal in the evening, I record little memories.

Important clothing choices

I don’t plan outfits in detail (though I do pack in semi-order), but I do like to know if, for example, a day is going to involve layers, or something classier than jeans, or hiking shoes, or a bathing suit. It’s especially important when activities are varied, or when traveling across many terrains through various weather situations (like, don’t be caught unprepared in a freak snowstorm in Croatia wearing sandals). This could be in a full summary at the beginning of the trip, or throughout the day-to-day (or both).

Meal Plans-ish

I like to have post-its that say B- L- and D-, with any meal plans that I know ahead of time. Maybe breakfast is at the hotel, maybe for dinner we have a reservation, maybe I plan for lunch to be in a certain town…

Coloring maps

This is just fun for me. I print out a country map and then color in the states visited along the way.

Checklists

DAILY

Each day has its own tab. I put diary pages in for each day–sometimes just one lined page, sometimes multiple pages if I think it’ll be a full/eventful day. I insert reservations and confirmations, plans for the day, maybe the meal plan, clothes I might need to wear, etc.

Attraction Information

Hours especially; also costs, directions, etc.

Reading Material

I like to add info about the region or activity when something is interesting. I have something to read aloud to Paul when he’s driving (this is great on long car rides), and I can refer back to the info when I look back on the trip.

Reminders

IN THE BACK

Scraps (and paperclips!)

The back of the journal is where I keep extras. I keep scraps to use during the trip, and paperclips so I can clip stuff (brochures, postcards, etc. ) to specific days.

Storage

I have pouches and envelopes to hold brochures and such. Later, I insert “pages” ad hoc (I travel with a hole punch, much to my friend’s amusement). I’ll often use things I pick up along the way, like teeny paper bags, shoe mitts, whatnot.

Postcards

Whom am I sending postcards to during the trip? Sometimes I put the addresses with the names.

Shopping

Sometimes I have a shopping list. Maybe it’s short (“Talavera pottery out west”), maybe longer. Maybe I’m picking up Christmas gifts. Maybe we’re picking up lots of German stuff to bring home.

Hashtags

There was a time when I thought I’d get heavily into social media. I’m terrible at it, so that time has passed. But since some folks do post regularly and effectively, I’ll show you a calendar I made pre-trip, for the Germany trip, that listed some of the hashtags I could use that day for instagram–before, during, and after the trip. I based it on activities, types of photos I planned to take, the day of the week, etc. It also helped me remember to take a pic with the dogs in it on a Wednesday, remember to have a picture of my outfit on Monday, remember to have a beer on National Beer Day, etc. (It’s no doubt easier to just have this stuff on your phone so you can copy and paste, but I’m a paper person, clearly.)

SCRAPPING during and after the trip

I will use all kinds of scraps from the day as pages.

As I mentioned in a caption above, I like to use a mini Polaroid printer with sticker photo paper so that I can print out pics during the trip and put them on the corresponding day’s page. When I get home, I sometimes print out social media posts that I made during the trip, and put them with the corresponding days, and/or print photos on regular paper

So yeah…I’m just going to add more pics here–pages for the sake of pages. Enjoy!

About Post Author

Kari Martindale

Kari Martindale likes words, so she uses them a lot. Kari sits on the Board of Maryland Writers' Association and is involved with various nonprofits. She writes spoken word poetry, children's books, and other stuff, like whatever blog post you just read. Kari has visited over 35 countries and all 50 States, and is always planning her next road trip. She likes her family a lot; they tolerate her just fine.

kariann.marti@gmail.com

https://karilogue.com

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