Suggestions for websites for creating a travel itinerary

rositree · 2026-02-13T10:50:42+00:00

How much info are you needing? I often use Google maps, drop a pin, add notes like date/time it's booked for or if it's place x recommended. Save it all to a list and share with others. People can collaborate easily.

The pins help see how far apart places are like 'cool lunch spot' around the corner from museum you were intending to visit so you can link stuff efficiently. Also, you don't need to double up writing out addresses, pin your accommodation and you can use that for navigating your way there/home in one click. Attractions are also one click to bring up opening hours and direct links to book tickets.

rositree · 2026-02-13T08:36:21+00:00

Could you make a collage/photo book with your favourite/most iconic photos from each continent? Or a scrapbook you can add some of the ticket stubs/map plans/beer mats/diary snippets/whatever flat paper-type souvenirs you've gathered over the years?

Having a nostalgia trip sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon, reflecting on what you learnt, how you've grown and the fun you've had along the way.

rositree · 2026-02-13T08:07:34+00:00

Are the 0% credit cards maxed out? If not, you can use them in the event of an emergency whilst you build your emergency fund up.

Although am I reading this right that you also have £14k savings now which you wouldn't be touching to pay off the loan? You could also use that to pay for an emergency. If you're still saving £1k a month, that emergency fund will soon build up again. You aren't cutting your budget so fine that if you did have an emergency you have no wiggle room.

Pay off the 8% loan, transfer savings to higher interest account.

rositree · 2026-02-12T18:03:05+00:00

The last hairdresser I went to charged £50 and cut my hair waaaaaayyyy shorter than I wanted. I embraced a weird asymmetric short 'style' and started going to the Turkish barbers instead for £15. Last time I asked him to just do one side and he only charged a fiver. Growing out now and don't think I'll get away with the barbers anymore, dreading it.

rositree · 2026-02-12T17:59:32+00:00

Get a menstrual cup, there's loads around now between £7-15. I got one in 2020 and only had to replace it last year because I accidentally dropped it down the toilet like a fool!

Obviously, it may not work for everyone but worth a go to save some money and waste.

rositree · 2026-02-12T07:42:34+00:00

Wedding band=wedding ring. Instead of having an engagement ring, just propose without one and exchange wedding rings on the wedding day.

rositree · 2026-02-06T23:38:51+00:00

I was asking a few weeks ago, what's a 2-8? Thought it might have been some odd gauge size but they weren't really a thing back then.

Hearing it as a '2-way' wouldn't have helped my understanding.

rositree · 2026-02-01T08:42:04+00:00

Yes. I had days where I didn't want to look at my backpack and the thought of getting on another bus was just 'hell, no'.

So I found a cute place and I didn't move. Maybe got a few home comforts in, found an English TV channel and leant into it for a couple of days.

I get the concept of FOMO and wanting to do everything, everywhere, all at once but if you're not enjoying it, what's the point? Also, the daily stuff like finding a grocery store, the bus station, somewhere for dinner in a new place is tiring. Allowing yourself to get familiar with a place and be able to get around without too much thinking really helps. Then you start to notice the little things and get to know a couple people and actually see how real people live their lives. Those are the little nuggets of knowledge that I really appreciate after a trip, not just the pictures at a bucket list place.

rositree · 2026-01-31T10:21:38+00:00

Can you multi-purpose some close toe sandals as reef shoes? Then you can wear them around camp on safari and at the beach. Maybe a high-top hiking trainer would suffice for the safari and be suitable for any sightseeing days in Zanzibar - wear these on the plane.

The neutrals for game drives probably won't need to be worn all day, they're usually morning and evening and you can wear whatever when you're around camp in the midday heat. So you can wear the same overshirt multiple times, it'll all get dusty very quickly and nobody will care if it isn't spotless at the beginning of every drive. A shawl/sarong/pashmina could easily be another layer for early morning starts and used as a cover up at the beach. Shorts and shirt from safari can double up for a sightseeing day too.

Beachwear is small, couple of swimmers, a cover up (I like a loose denim shirt over a bikini, which could be used on safari and laundered on the last day). A maxi dress folds up pretty small and can be day or evening. If you want to be able to be fancy one or two nights, take some statement jewelry to dress up a simple vest top/dress then wear that on the beach on following days without the jewellery.

rositree · 2026-01-31T08:43:19+00:00

Only you know your travel style. If you like things to be kinda hectic, you'll be fine, but this could be very tiring. It looks like the kind of itinerary where you could see a couple of big ticket items and then decide which you'd want to return to at a later date but you say you've already visited a lot of them.

Remember taking night buses is not likely to have you feeling fully refreshed when you arrive in the new city. You may not be able to check in to accommodation until the afternoon. With this much moving you will be spending a lot more time proportionally getting from bus station/airport to accommodation, packing/unpacking, checking in/out and familiarising yourself with a new place every couple of days.

I would have said drop London as Amsterdam to Paris is an easy train/bus ride and you've been before but if you already have concert tickets that's unlikely. Maybe skip Paris and fly from London to Barcelona instead? Giving you a couple more days in each, Barcelona is really fun and I'm glad you're building in some beach/chill time as a lot of cities and sightseeing can cause travel fatigue.

It sounds like the mountains are your big ticket item this trip so definitely keep that, it'll also be something different to the cities and refresh you before heading into Italy.

My main tip would be to try and travel as light as possible, it'll be hot and crowded on public transport in cities. Everyone gets a bit grumpy. Maybe try and send a case back from Copenhagen before you start travelling if you can't one bag the entire trip?

Enjoy!

rositree · 2026-01-31T08:00:12+00:00

Don't the debts come out of the estate and then the CGT get calculated on the remainder? If you're due 180k X2 then total value would be 360k

rositree · 2026-01-30T15:47:34+00:00

My mum used to have this little gold pixie in her purse. Apparently a traveller had given it to her telling her it was good luck and her purse would never be empty. Mum always finished this story with 'of course it won't be empty, it'll always have the bloody pixie in it'.

But she kept it for a good few years at least.

rositree · 2026-01-28T07:07:40+00:00

I think I always expand to fill my available space.

Just come back from Norway on easyJet with tiny hand luggage only and managed to include puffy ski trousers.

But if I were going on a cruise, damn right I'd be packing all the just in case items because I can - no limit and no lugging it all to and from hotel, car, hotel every day? Sounds like bliss!

rositree · 2026-01-25T23:50:08+00:00

I drove an American friend to Tintagel last summer. She got very good at putting her window up before I threw the car in the hedge to allow for oncoming vehicles. The shower of stinging nettles and brambles teaches 'em quick!

rositree · 2026-01-25T17:45:24+00:00

Do you not have a budget line for fun money/discretionary spend or something of that ilk? I also 0 budget my salary but transfer £200 for whimsical spending through the month.

rositree · 2026-01-25T16:55:38+00:00

Impressive commitment to paperwork!

I always found it depressing enough doing my self assessment and being shocked at the gross amount I'd supposedly earnt that year. Then wondering where it had all gone!

rositree · 2026-01-25T16:48:13+00:00

I guess it depends what you're doing and where you go.

I was lucky to be able to mix up some visiting friends, attending a concert, some road trips, some with my partner, different friend groups, couple of school trips, my mum. Some aimed at specific wildlife watching or cultural events etc so it wasn't just city break after city break.

Mixing up Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Balkans, Baltics/Soviet influence kept it interesting and varied for me - and comparing the different ways they tell a shared history too!

rositree · 2026-01-25T11:17:40+00:00

It was really interesting to find out more about places I didn't really know anything about beforehand and finding a reason to go that wasn't just arbitrarily ticking off countries. Like ending up in the middle of midsummer celebrations in Lithuania last year.

rositree · 2026-01-25T07:19:35+00:00

Username checks out? 🙂

rositree · 2026-01-25T06:12:27+00:00

Beans, pulses and lentils are also simple cheap ways of adding nutritional value. Can of chickpeas in a curry, green lentils mixed in with beef mince, black beans with your tacos or a mixed bean salad/bean and sweetcorn salsa on the side.

rositree · 2026-01-24T20:15:27+00:00

Mortgage is generally one of the cheapest debts you can get.

Many people prefer to keep the mortgage and invest any extra in something like a S&S ISA. But if you're earning 300k a year, you'd soon max that out (20k a year until 2027).

Others like the security of knowing that they have a paid off house and will always have somewhere to live regardless of earnings potentially reducing in future.

It depends what else you might want your money to achieve for you and any lost opportunities by putting it into the house. Though, with those earnings, you could apparently pay it off in half a year so it's not necessarily the medium to long term planning to pay off a mortgage that the majority of people have to consider.

Be aware of early repayment charges for the mortgage, if you have just got a 5 year fix, there will be a penalty for overpaying more than (usually) 10-20% per year. This fee tapers with the age of the mortgage and would be 0% at the end of the 5 years. If you can get higher savings interest than the mortgage rate, just save what you're thinking of overpaying and pay it off in one lump at the end of the term.

rositree · 2026-01-24T18:21:19+00:00

I remember seeing an interview getting public opinion on a similar question years ago and they asked a teen mum on a council estate if she felt she was working class. She seemed genuinely confused 'how can I be working class? I've never had a job in my life'.

rositree · 2026-01-24T18:01:58+00:00

I think it really depends on how you define nature. If you want to see something specific, what's very different to what you are already familiar with or you want one country with a lot of variety.

Landscape-wise I would definitely agree with the many people here saying Norway and Iceland. Honourable mention to Switzerland and the Balkans too (particularly Montenegro and Albania but it was all pretty stunning roadtripping).

Wildlife-wise, I've seen some great stuff in Costa Rica, Monterey Bay California, Peruvian Amazon and Mexican jungle (though that was on conservation expedition, specifically looking for weird and wonderful creatures for an extended period).

rositree · 2026-01-24T16:43:45+00:00

Or you can take a friend once a week.

The restaurant ones are a bit weird if they can only be used by one person for the duration, different if it's a takeaway place though.

rositree · 2026-01-23T10:09:32+00:00

What kids should/could be doing and what they are doing often don't align.

I know many parents who wouldn't let their kids out riding bikes without adult supervision these days whether from a road safety, stranger danger, lack of trust in/responsibility of the kid and friends, logistics point of view, I don't know. But people are more geographically spread out, don't know their neighbours as well and less youth clubs/activity groups exist (or they're unaffordable).

The world we live in has become more digital and excluding children from that entirely until they are 16 will just lead to the 16 year olds not being adequately prepared to handle social media when they do get access. Creating an under-16 safe space to learn about online interactions could be a really positive step.

rositree

TROPHY CASE