Travel Planner Spreadsheet: Day-by-Day Itinerary, Bookings, Documents and Packing List
Plan a trip in one spreadsheet: a day-by-day itinerary, a bookings log with confirmation numbers and free-cancellation deadlines, travel documents with expiry checks, a packing list and a countdown dashboard, in Excel or Google Sheets.
A travel planner spreadsheet puts in one place what usually lives across emails, screenshots and notes: the itinerary for each day, every booking with its confirmation number, the documents each traveler needs and the packing list. A few formulas flag nights without a place to stay, bookings whose free cancellation is about to end, passports that expire too soon and how many days are left before you leave. Here is how to set it up for a family or group trip.
The tabs
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Overview | Destination, dates, travelers, countdown and open tasks |
| Itinerary | One row per day: where you sleep, how you travel, morning, afternoon and evening plans |
| Bookings | Flights, trains, rental cars, lodging, tours, with confirmation numbers and payment status |
| Documents | Passports or IDs, visas or travel authorizations, insurance, with expiry dates |
| Packing | Checklist by category |
Keep the money side separate or on its own tab; saving for the trip works well as a goal in the savings goal tracker.
Itinerary tab
Enter the departure date in the first row and use =A2+1 below. Add the weekday with =TEXT(A2,"dddd"), then columns for city, lodging, transport, morning, afternoon, evening and notes such as opening hours or closing days. To flag a night without lodging:
=IF(COUNTIFS(Bookings[Type],"Lodging",Bookings[Check-in],"<="&[@Date],Bookings[Check-out],">"&[@Date])=0,"No lodging","")
Ignore the flag on the final day, when you fly home.
Bookings tab
One row per booking: type, provider, start and end date and time, confirmation number, travelers covered, amount, paid (yes, no, deposit), free-cancellation deadline and a link to the confirmation email or PDF.
- Days left to cancel free:
=IF([@[Cancel by]]="","",[@[Cancel by]]-TODAY()), orange under 7 days. - Still to pay:
=SUMIFS(Bookings[Amount],Bookings[Paid],"<>Yes")
Documents tab
For each traveler: document type, expiry date, visa or electronic travel authorization if the destination requires one, and travel insurance. Many countries require a passport to remain valid for a period after you arrive or leave. Calculate the months left after your return date:
=DATEDIF(ReturnDate,[@Expiry],"m")
and compare with the destination’s rule on the U.S. State Department’s travel website (travel.state.gov) or the embassy’s site, since requirements change. For domestic flights within the U.S., check that each adult has an ID accepted at airport security, such as a REAL ID-compliant license or a passport.
Packing tab
Group items by category (documents and money, clothes, toiletries, health, electronics, kids), add a checkbox column (Insert > Checkbox in Microsoft 365 and Google Sheets), a “who packs it” column for groups and a “only if…” column for destination-specific items like adapters. Progress: =COUNTIF(Packing[Done],TRUE)/COUNTA(Packing[Item]). Save the tab as a template and reuse it next time.
Overview tab
- Days to go:
=MAX(0,DepartureDate-TODAY()) - Nights without lodging:
=COUNTIF(Itinerary[Flag],"No lodging") - Unpaid bookings and documents with short validity, pulled from the other tabs.
Pre-trip tasks such as renewing a passport or arranging pet care fit in the to-do list template.
Example: eight days in Lisbon and Porto for two
| Check | Status five weeks out |
|---|---|
| Nights with lodging | 6 of 7 (missing the night in Coimbra) |
| Bookings | Flights, two hotels, train Lisbon–Porto, food tour; 1 unpaid |
| Free cancellation ending this week | Porto hotel |
| Passports | Both valid well beyond the return date |
| Packing | 0% (starts the week before) |
The overview makes the week’s two jobs obvious: book Coimbra and decide on the Porto hotel before its free cancellation ends.
Sharing and going offline
Google Sheets makes it easy to share the planner with fellow travelers and open it offline on a phone. If you store document details, share only with the people traveling and avoid full document numbers. Before you leave, download a PDF of the itinerary and bookings in case you have no signal. For the next big household project, the moving planner uses the same deadline logic. More organizers are in Home & Family Organizers.
Frequently asked questions
What should a travel planner include?
A day-by-day itinerary, every booking with its confirmation number and cancellation terms, each traveler’s documents with expiry dates, and a packing list.
Spreadsheet or travel app?
Apps import bookings from email automatically; a spreadsheet is more flexible, works with any provider and is easy to share with family.
How do I avoid missing a free-cancellation deadline?
Record the deadline for each booking and let conditional formatting turn it orange when fewer than 7 days remain.
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. All formulas have equivalents and checkboxes work on mobile.
