Family Vacation Planner Printable

Are you planning a vacation? You need this 54-page printable family vacation planner! It includes EVERYTHING you need to have a successful, organized, and ENJOYABLE vacation.

Vacations are exciting and magical, but having fun on the trip is the end result of a lot of hard work, am I right? It's stressful researching and planning all the things, from hotels to flights to attractions, and then having to pack (and hope you haven't forgotten anything!), and also making sure that your home and pets are taken care of while you're gone. It can be a huge headache!

Enter the Family Vacation Planner – and it doesn't have to be a headache anymore!

This printable travel planner is exactly what I used to plan my family's recent 3-week European vacation. 

You read that right: 21 days of non-stop travel, in 3 destinations with 3 different vrbo rentals, and 5 flights, and 2 train passages. And day after day after day after day of activities and attractions and meals. 

I designed this planner because it was what I needed to stay sane in the days leading up to that trip – and it worked! The trip went off without a hitch. (Well, except that my daughter's luggage got lost on the way home from London, but no planner could have prevented THAT snafu.) We had an awesome vacation, and we only went over budget a teeny smidge, and we knew every night what we would do the next day, thanks to my meticulous planning and having written and recorded every detail of our trip in the months leading up to the vacation.

You can do this, too! The Family Vacation Planner makes it SO EASY!

Here's what's in the printable planner:

• Planner cover
• Accommodation research
• Accommodation details
• Trip snapshot
• Transportation details
• Budget overview
• Expense logs
• Activities to try
• Souvenirs & shopping plans
• Restaurants to try
• Photos to take
• Countdown calendars
• Packing lists
• Packing cheat sheets
• Travel checklist
• Vacation at a glance
• Daily itineraries
• Pet sitter notes
• Outfit planners
• Kids' journal pages
• Adult journal pages

As you can see, I have forgotten NOTHING that you will need when planning family travel. It's all here, waiting for you. 

Want more details? Read on.

Travel planner cover

This is a fun and pretty cover for your travel binder.

Accommodation research

When you're in the early stages of planning, you might be trying to decide between several hotels/vrbos/airbnbs, and you need a place to keep those details straight. This page has spaces to list out 6 different options, with ratings, addresses, pros and cons, and more.

Accommodation details

This page gives you a place to record all the details of the hotel, house, or apartment that you've selected. You can write down the amenities offered, what attractions are nearby, the address, check in and check out times, and more.

Trip snapshot

This page has it all: arrival and departure information, budget, total number of meals in and out, a small calendar, notes, transportation, and more. 

Transportation details

This page is designed to be printed twice - once to keep with you and once to leave with your emergency contact at home. It has spaces for all your flights, hotels, rental cars, ground transportation, and other notes and will be essential if family needs to reach you and can't get you on your cell.

Budget overview

When you're traveling, the budget is one of your most important benchmarks as to how the trip is going. Planning ahead to ensure you have enough to cover transportation, accommodations, activities, and more is essential.

Expense log

These pages give you a place to write down everything you've spent. If you don't keep track while you're spending, how will you know if you have enough to cover the trip?

Activities to try

This is one of my favorite pages because I love to think about what we're going to do while we're away. When I'm planning a trip, I research on TripAdvisor to find the highest rated attractions and activities, and then I record them on this page prior to weeding out and selecting the ones we'll actually do.

Restaurants to try

You are bound to come across restaurants you want to try while you're researching on TripAdvisor and on blogs. This is the place where you can write them all down and be sure not to forget anything while you're actually on vacation.

Photos to take

You'd be surprised how many times I've heard "Oh no! I wanted to take a picture of..." and we've gotten home without the photo. This page allows you to think about all those photo ops ahead of time so that you're sure not to miss them while you're away.

Shopping & souvenirs

This is the place to plan ahead and decide what you're going to buy in each place you visit. Maybe you don't know the exact item, and that's perfectly fine, but you can plan ahead to have an idea of how much you're going to spend so you can stick to your budget.

Countdown calendar

There are several of these pages so that you can plan ahead. What are you going to do the month before the trip? When are you going to purchase the airfare? When are you going to book the room or apartment? How far in advance do you need to order packing cubes and electricity converters? There are so many things to do in the weeks leading up to your vacation; you need a place to write down what's going to happen and when.

Packing cheat sheet

This exhaustive list reminds you of all the things you're going to want to put on your packing list. Take this and transfer it to the next page, customized to your specific trip and situation.

Packing list

This is a blank list with checkboxes where you can take the stuff from the cheat sheet above and make it your own. There are separate lists for each member of the family, plus each list is nice and long for all the things you need to bring along.

Travel checklist

This is a bonus blank list that's just for you! You can use it in any way you like, because I KNOW there are going to be things you need to do and remember that I haven't even thought about. Maybe you need a space to record all the attraction tickets you've purchased or the dining reservations you've made or the group activities you've signed up for or the menu you'll be preparing at the destination or the spots you want to hike to at a national park or the toys you want to bring on the airplane or in the car. This is your space to add your own thing to your travel binder. Prepare to print more than one!

Vacation at a glance

Think of this as your weekly itinerary, or your preview of what's coming up. This is a high level page with spaces for what you're going to do and where you're going to eat each day of the trip. I like to print one of these out and leave it with my sister at home, so that she'll know what's going on and how accessible we should be each day, should she need to reach me for some reason.

Daily itinerary

There's one of these for every day of your trip. It has spaces for the destination and weather, plus an hour by hour schedule (if you want to get that detailed, but it's totally fine if you don't!), a big space for notes, and spaces for each meal of the day and what you really want to do that day.

Pet sitter notes

Whomever is taking care of your pets needs all the relevant information: vet details, emergency vet contact info, microchip numbers, who to call if you're not reachable, what and when to feed, and even whether they're allowed on the furniture. Everything your pet sitter needs to take care of your fur-babies is included on these pages.

Outfit planners

There's one of these for every member of the family. Write down what the weather is going to be like (because you know you're going to need different clothes on a rainy day than on a sunny one!), write what you're going to be doing that day, and then assign shirt, pants, shoes, and accessories. This will ensure that you don't over or under pack. You'll have exactly what you need for each member of the family!

Travel journal

If there is one thing I have consistently done for every vacation for the last ten years, it's keep a travel journal. It's simple: a running description of everything we've done for the day, along with what we've spent, and the highlights of the day. These journal pages also have a spot for a 3x5 photo.

Kids' journal

I LOVE these kids' travel journal pages! Each one has a nice big space for a drawing or photo, plus a section for their favorite part of the day, new experiences they've tried, the weather, and a fun emoji section where they can circle how they felt about the day. 

These are the best travel planner printables you'll find!

I promise that this vacation planner printables are going to help you to plan and organize any vacation, from the beach to Disney to a cruise to your own adventure abroad. Print them out, put them in a binder, and use them. You'll be so glad you did.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's included with the Family Vacation Planner?

The Family Vacation Planner is a 54-page printable planner with templates for planning every aspect of your family vacation.

This product is a digital download, which means you can download and print it instantly. No waiting, yay! No physical product will be shipped to you.

What size are the pages in the Family Vacation Planner?

The Family Vacation Planner comes with 4 different page sizes:

• US Letter (8.5x11)
• Half-letter (5.5x8.5)
• A4
• A5

What will I learn?

In the Family Vacation Planner, you will:

• Prepare a budget and track your expenses to stick to it without resorting to credit cards
• Pack just what you need without overpacking or forgetting a bunch of stuff at home
• Research lodgings and get the best deal on the perfect accommodations for your family
• Keep track of all the cool things there are to see and do at your destination
• Escape FOMO because everything you wanted to do will get a place on the schedule
• Have a fun and relaxing vacation each and every time you travel

How do I know whether the Family Vacation Planner is right for me?

If you take your family on vacation, the Family Vacation Planner is right for you.

• Whether you are a family of one or two or four or seven, this planner will be useful to you.
• Whether your vacation is a weekend away or a month-long adventure, this planner will be useful to you.
• If you like to plan a careful itinerary with outings for every day of the trip, this planner will be useful to you.
• If you like to go with the flow and lay on the beach all day, this planner will be useful to you.

How does a travel binder work?

A travel binder is a simple system that you can print out and put into a 3-ring binder (or have bound at any printer or office supply store).

The binder contains all the pages you'll need to plan every aspect of a fun family trip. As designed, it is appropriate for a family of 4 on an 8 day vacation. If you have more than 4 people in your family or are traveling for more than 8 days, simply print extras of the pages you need (like the outfit planner, packing lists, and journaling pages).

When will I receive my planner?

The Family Vacation Planner is a digital download, which means you can download and print it instantly! No waiting, yay! No physical products will be shipped to you.

Is this a real book?

This is not a book, it is a comprehensive system for planning family vacations. Please keep in mind that all materials are delivered digitally in PDF format. 

Can I get a physical copy?

At this time the Family Vacation Planner is only available in digital PDF format. You can print the entire bundle and have it bound or keep it in a 3-ring binder, or you can print just the pages that you need.

How soon after purchasing will I receive my planner?

The Family Vacation Planner will be delivered digitally, via the email address you provide at checkout. It should arrive within 5-10 minutes of your purchase.

I don't have a printer. Can I use these PDFs digitally?

Absolutely! All of the printables can be used as digital files as well. Many of my customers like to use these on the Good Notes or Notability app, so they can write right on the "page," just as if it had been printed out.

How do I print these files?

These printables are digital PDF files that are meant to be downloaded to your computer and printed at home. You'll get instant access and can start printing immediately! If you'd rather send them out to be printed, you can send them to your local office supply store or my favorite, the Homeschool Printing Company (you can Google them).

Can I print these for my friend or sister?

When you purchase access to The Family Vacation Planner, you are entitled to the printables for your personal use only. You can print as many as you want, as many times as you want for yourself and those in your immediate household. If you have a friend or extended family member who would like to use these printables, she will need to purchase her own access to the planner, just like you did. Please respect my copyright and hard work and don't share the files or the printables outside your own home.

Can I get a refund if I change my mind?

Because of the nature of digital content, this resource cannot be returned once viewed or accessed. I will NOT issue refunds for The Family Vacation Planner.