Are you planning a trip? Do you feel a lot of troubles and bother? If you are suffering from such a headache thing, the following tips will be the timely good news for you.

Part 1

1

Web Sites and Apps

Various Web sites and apps have facilitated the creation of itineraries, and the ability to share those itineraries, for thousands of tech-savvy travelers. Here are a few of our favorites:

TripIt.com allows users to create complex online itineraries and e-mail them to friends and family. The site will automatically insert tons of useful information into your itinerary, including maps, directions and weather. TripIt is free, but you can buy extra perks, like a mobile service that alerts you if your flight is changed or canceled, for an annual fee.

NileGuide.com is a valuable resource for travelers. Pick your place from the Web site's list and you'll get an impressive inventory of hotels, activities, travel guides and more, which you can use to build a personal itinerary.

Outer Level offers Knapsack, an itinerary program for Macs. The program's features, from interactive maps and to-do lists to printed itineraries that appear professionally designed, make trip planning more fun than an in-flight movie.

2

Be Realistic

Sure, you'd like to milk your trip for all it's worth by booking a red-eye flight and then scheduling a full day's worth of activities on day one, despite an eight-hour time difference. But by the end of the trip, you're likely to look and feel as if you've spent the week in correctional boot camp. If you really want to squeeze in every tour, meal and excursion you've typed into your itinerary, but as it currently stands you're getting six hours of sleep a night with no room for a time adjustment, you need to add a day -- or cut an activity.

Choreographing all you want to get done into a seamless schedule, especially if you're visiting multiple cities or countries, can be a massive challenge. Make it easier by creating a list of everything you want to see or do in your locale. Then put the list in priority order. To help estimate how long an activity will take, or how long it will take to get there, consult a guidebook or check out online message boards for perspectives from other travelers who've been there and done that. This will make it easier for you to feel out what you can and cannot accomplish during, say, three nights in Montreal.

Research events happening in your destination while you'll be there (tourist board Web sites are good for this -- they usually have events calendars), and plan accordingly. There may be a nifty festival that you want to slot into your schedule, or, at the opposite extreme, you may want to avoid a certain part of town if it's going to be crowded or blocked off.

Also note local holidays coinciding with your trip, which can affect transportation schedules, business opening hours, etc.

3

Get It Right, from Door to Door

Is it me, or are economy parking lots are getting farther and farther away? It's important to reckon the drive to the airport to account for time spent schlepping from the economy parking lot a few towns over. Allow yourself plenty of time to make it through the security checkpoint's snaking line.

Ask yourself a few questions: How far from the airport do I live or work? Will I have an opportunity to eat before driving to the airport? If I miss the parking or rental car shuttle by seconds, will I have enough time to wait for the next one, or am I going to be sprinting across the lot trying to hail down the driver?

The same thing goes for your arrival. Although travelers may sometimes save by booking flights to smaller, more out-of-the-way airports (especially in when flying on discount airlines in many European countries), it's important to weigh thrift against travel time. One of our editors saved some money by booking a Ryanair ticket to Barcelona's secondary airport in Girona (instead of Aeroport de Barcelona, the city's main hub). But she ended up taking an hour-long bus ride to get from the Girona airport to Barcelona's city center -- an inconvenience that eclipsed what she saved on the ticket.

4

Connections Are Key

Add a connection to your itinerary and plenty could go wrong that wouldn't have happened had you booked a nonstop flight. Connections mean additional planes and additional opportunities for delays. Connections also mean that your bags are being moved and mauled, which creates more occasions for your property to be lost or damaged. God forbid you make a connection and your bags don't -- or vice versa.

A connection will disrupt your sleep, too. If you're the type to take a sleep aid in transit, you know that there's nothing more miserable than surfacing from the depths of a Dramamine-induced slumber to slouch off the plane, lumber through the airport to a new gate and endure another complete boarding process.

5

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Your itinerary is not a legally binding contract. It's more like a rough draft ... written in sand. Things will go wrong. Restaurants will be closed. Buses will be late. Animals will attack.

Consider scheduling a free day into your itinerary. During your trip, it's likely you'll discover some worthwhile attractions you didn't know about prior to your departure. This will also give you some wiggle room in case you don't see everything you had originally planned.

All in all, the most flexible itinerary is often the best. Our final advice? Opt out of the hour-by-hour detailed timeline that factors in bathroom breaks and photo ops. Instead, expect the unexpected, and leave plenty of room for upsets. If you know where the bumps in the road might be, you can steer around them. And if you're really lucky, you can put it all together for the perfect itinerary.

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