Travel Planner and Packing Checklist

Who this is for

The whole trip on two pages. Where you are going and when, each leg of the journey with its booking reference, a budget that compares what you planned to spend with what you did, and packing lists you can add your own items to.

Anyone planning a trip with more than one booking — a holiday, a work trip, a family visit, a festival — who wants the references, the money and the packing in one place instead of five emails.

What this helps you track

• Every leg of the trip with its date, time, booking reference and whether it is confirmed
• What the trip was budgeted at, what it cost and the difference, line by line
• Documents, clothes, toiletries and tech to pack, ticked as they go in
• The things that are easy to forget, like chargers and travel adaptors

How to use it

1. Fill in the trip details at the top — destination, dates and who is going.
2. Add each leg of the itinerary as you book it: flights, trains, hire cars, hotels, tours. Write the reference and tick confirmed when it is.
3. Enter the planned cost for each budget line before you go, and the actual cost as you spend. The difference and the totals are worked out in the browser and the workbook.
4. Work through the packing lists in the days before you leave, adding anything the trip needs that is not printed.
5. Take the sheet with you, or save the browser version and download the completed PDF to your phone.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does the budget include exchange rates?

No. Enter every amount in one currency of your choice and do any conversion before you write the figure. There is no rate on the sheet because rates change daily.

Can I use it for a trip with several destinations?

Yes. The itinerary takes one row per leg, so a trip with three stops is three rows of travel and three of accommodation. Use two sheets for a very long trip.

What if my packing list is different from the printed one?

It will be — the printed items are the ones almost everyone needs. In the browser version, add your own with the add button under each list; on paper, write them in the margin or on the back.

Does it tell me what documents I need to travel?

No. Entry requirements, visas, insurance and health rules depend on where you are going and where you are from. Check them with the official source for your destination and tick the documents off here once you have them.