Review Your Trip To Help Make Better Travel Plans In The Future

Without over formalising anything, it can be very valuable to review your holiday in terms of how it went and whether it lived up to your expectations. Maybe this is the HR Manager engrained in me but the feedback loop (plan – do – review) doesn’t just need to exist it the office world, it can help your travel plans as well. But how can you this in a quick and easy way?

Here are some suggestions to help you review your travel plans

Whilst you are away:

Make a note – make a mental note, or quick note in your phone, of anything which worked particularly well whilst you were away, and which you would hope to repeat on a future trip. On the flip side, note anything which didn’t go according to plan when you were away, and work out why it didn’t work – aim not to repeat these!

Use the Journi App – I use the Journi App as a travel diary whilst I’m away, adding photographs and notes about what happens each day. This serves as a good memory aid for the detail of the trip afterwards and has the benefit that you can turn your diary into a printed photo album after the trip. Note – the printed Journi photograph albums are really good quality. They are not the cheapest, but they regularly have offers if you wait until one comes through.

Create a family feedback grid – originally done as a bit of fun, it has become a family tradition to review our holiday on the last evening meal of our trip. One of the kids will draw a grid for the categories (best meal, favourite activity, worse accommodation, funniest moment etc) and then collect each of our answers. This is often quite illuminating to see what has resonated with everyone – you don’t always get the answers that you expect…

When you’re back from your trip:

Write TripAdvisor reviews and reviews for tour operators – I will invest a couple of nights in front of the TV, completing reviews for the places we have visited and any tours we have been on through operators such as Get Your Guide, or Viatour. This helps your fellow travellers to plan their holidays and means that you are putting something back into the on-line travel community.

Write a list of what to do next time – whilst the trip is fresh in my mind, I will make a quick list of things I’d want to do or see next time in the destination, if I were ever to return. We always seem to pick up new ideas when we are away, from locals or from fellow travellers. You might not be able to squeeze these into your itinerary this time but can consider them next time around.

Review the family grid – have another look at the family grid to see what everyone really enjoyed about the holiday, as this can change over time. Just because someone enjoyed ziplining when they were 12 doesn’t mean they still want to do it when they’re 17.

Clarify your thoughts about the trip – what would you recommend about it to others? Would you make any caveats?

That’s it, nice and simple. It doesn’t need to be complicated, but iInformally reviewing your trips will help to shape future travel planning for the better.

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Enjoy your travels!