🤶 Travel tip #141: 3 Ways to improve your itinerary planning

Hi Reader,

I just returned from a travel conference in Madrid I will tell you all about next week.

It was amazing to be surrounded by people who work in travel and are as passionate as we are about the industry.

I had not been to a proper travel conference since the pandemic, and had forgotten how much inspiration and ideas can come form being among your kind of people.

This week's email is about itinerary planning, one of the most talked about topics in our Facebook group.

---

3 Ways to improve your itinerary planning

"Can anybody share their Sri Lanka itinerary?"

This kind of questions are some of the most asked in the group, so this week I wanted to give some tips on how to plan an itinerary and suggestions on where to find good ideas.

1. Ask friends / family / online communities

Indeed, asking in groups like ours or alike is a great way to get started planning.

These kinds of itinerary suggestions will be helpful because you can ask the person why they chose to organize their trip this way and get additional insights. They can also give you ideas on budgeting, or practicalities such as how to get around, and nothing bears first person recommendations.

You also know that their itineraries are realistic, and can ask them the pros / cons of their choice.

Pro tip: When you are for such recommendations, try to be as specific as possible. Rather than say "Share your itinerary suggestions for X country", add details about your length of time, your budget, your preferences, so you get more tailored suggestions. Instead of getting month-long itineraries if you only have 1 week, you'll get more useful comments.

2. Check tour companies itineraries

When we started Solo Female Travelers Tours we knew that not everyone would be able to afford the type of luxury travel that we wanted to focus on, so we made our itineraries super detailed and specific so you can replicate them on a budget.

Not all companies provide detailed itineraries, in fact, most do not, but they are still a great reference when planning your own.

Find the companies whose style better aligns with yours and then check out their itineraries for the destinations you are interested in.

For example, if you are more of an active person, find the 5 tour companies that tend to add activities in their programs, or who focus on active trips, and check out their itineraries.

3. Ask ChatGPT

I don't like using ChatGPT unless I really have to because of its impact on the environment and resources, but I know many of you use it to plan a trip and it has certainly been suggested as a game-changing tool.

Just bear in mind what I discussed a few weeks ago about the major risk and potential flops that come from using an AI tool to plan a trip (read my email here) and make sure to be as specific as possible.

It also pays to make it re-check and validate its own suggestions, that is, tell it to go check that the itinerary is feasible, that places are indeed open, and why it suggested the places it did. Make sure to give it:

• A length of time, and when you plan to travel so it considers seasonal things and the weather
• Travel style and pacing (do you like it packed, loose, relaxed, etc.)
• Budget
• Things that matter to you and your interests (eg if you love museums, if you like food, if you want to walk, etc.)
• And refine the results, this is super important as it will also help you find flaws or "hallucinations" as is used to refer to when CHatGPT makes things up

---

2026 / 2027 Full calendar of tours More trips have been confirmed in the last week. Full list below: ✅ = Trip is confirmed ☑️ = SOLD OUT 💃 = I or Meg will co-host these trips ​ 🏔️ Kilimanjaro climb on Intl Women's Day: ✅ 1 to 10 Mar or 1 to 15 Mar with safari extension >> Book here. 🚗 Cuba: ✅ 14 to 22 Mar || 12 to 20 Dec || New Year's Eve >> Book here​ 🧘‍♀️ Bali: 20 to 28 Jun || 29 Aug to 6 Sep [Photographer onboard] || 3 to 11 Oct >> Book here​ 🌮 Oaxaca: 11 to 17 Oct || 8 – 14 Nov || 29 Dec 2026 to 4 Jan 2027 >> Book here​ ⛩️ Japan: 💃 ☑️ 28 Mar to 7 Apr [Photographer onboard] || ✅ 13 to 23 Jun || 13 to 23 Oct (Fall colors) >> Book here​ 🐑 Iceland: ✅ 11 to 18 Oct || 25 Oct to 1 Nov >> Book here​ 🍝 Tuscany: ✅ 13 to 20 Jun [2 SPOTS LEFT] || ✅ 5 to 12 Sep >> Book here​ 🎄 Xmas markets: ✅ 21 to 29 Nov || ✅ 5 to 13 Dec >> Book here​ 🍷 Georgia: ✅ 5 to 13 Sep >> Book here​ 🇦🇲 Armenia: 💃 ✅ 13 to 19 Sep >> Book here (200 EUR off if you book Georgia + Armenia) 🦪 Croatia & Montenegro: ✅ 31 May to 6 Jun >> Book here​ 🏰 Scotland: ✅ 10 to 18 Oct >> Book here​ 🦘 Australia: 💃 ✅ 11 to 22 Oct >> Book here [Meg will host this trip] 🥘 Barcelona & Beyond: ✅ 20 to 28 Jun >> Book here​ ⛵ Greek islands sailing trip: 💃 ☑️ 29 May to 5 Jun >> Book here [Meg will host this trip, Photographer onboard]​ 🌴 Caribbean island hopping: 💃 💃 ✅ 13 to 20 Feb, 2027 [Photographers onboard, both Meg and I will host this trip] >> Book here​ 🐪 Morocco: ✅ 2 to 12 Oct [Photographer onboard] || ✅ 6 to 16 Nov [1 SPOT LEFT] >> Book here​ 🇦🇶 Antarctica: 💃 ✅ 13 to 27 Dec [5 SPOTS LEFT] >> Book here 🦁 Tanzania Value safari + Zanzibar: 28 Aug to 7 Sep (Great Migration) || ☑️ 11 to 21 Sep (Great Migration) || 23 Dec to 2 Jan, 2027 (Xmas + NYE) >> Book here​ 🇹🇿 Tanzania Luxe safari + Zanzibar: ☑️ 25 Sep to 5 Oct, 2026 (Great Migration) || ✅ 1 to 10 Nov, 2026 >> Book here​ 🦭 Galapagos sailing: ✅ 5 to 12 Dec >> Book here [Photographer onboard, 1 SPOT LEFT] 🇪🇬 Egypt: ☑️ 3 to 12 Apr || ☑️ 30 Oct to 8 Nov || 4 to 13 Dec >> Book here​ ❄️ Swedish Arctic: ☑️ 28 Mar to 3 Apr >> Book here​ 🐬 Ecuador & The Galapagos: 💃 ☑️ 5 to 17 May >> Join the waitlist​

I hope you have an amazing weekend ahead!

​

Solo Female Travelers Co-Founders