How I Plan My Travel Content Before a Trip

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Benjamin Franklin said it centuries ago, but it applies to travel content creation just as much as it does to business. When I’m heading out on a trip, I don’t just pack a suitcase, I pack a plan for my content. Without it, I’d waste time scrambling for ideas, miss the best shots, and end up with gaps in my blog and social channels. With a plan? I create intentional, valuable, and easy-to-publish stories that flow naturally from my itinerary. In this article, I’ll share my step-by-step process, the exact tools I use, and the checklist I run through before every trip. Let’s dive in!

Why Travel Content Planning Matters

Travel is unpredictable. Flights get delayed. Weather flips on you. Attractions close without warning. A solid content plan doesn’t remove the chaos but it makes sure you still come home with the stories, photos, and videos you actually need.

I learned this the slightly annoying way. On one trip, I came back with great memories and a camera roll full of random shots that didn’t connect to anything. No clear story. No usable video sequence. And way too many photos of the same street from different angles. I enjoyed the trip but when it was time to publish, everything felt scattered. That’s when it clicked: enjoying the trip and creating usable content are two different things unless you plan for both.

Planning travel content helps you:

• Stay aligned with your blog or brand goals instead of shooting “just in case”
• Capture a mix of content formats (photos, videos, notes, details you’ll forget later)
• Balance being present on the trip while still creating intentionally
• Make publishing smoother once you’re back home

Because the work doesn’t end when the trip does. After you return, you still have to sort footage, label folders, match visuals to ideas, and actually turn memories into content. When you plan ahead, that post-trip chaos drops dramatically and your content ends up feeling more cohesive, more intentional, and way less stressful to publish.

Planning mindfully before the trip isn’t about over-structuring the experience. It’s about giving the future you something solid to work with.

Step 1: Define Your Content Goals

Before booking tours or writing captions, I ask myself: what’s the point of this trip’s content?

• Am I creating SEO-focused blog posts?
• Am I building a YouTube series?
• Am I testing short-form content like Instagram Reels or TikToks?

Clear goals shape your checklist. If I’m aiming for evergreen blog posts, I research keyword clusters ahead of time. If I want viral shorts, I map out quick visual hooks.

Step 2: Build a Travel Content Planning Template

I use a travel content planning template that covers:

• Destination research – trending topics, seasonal events, hidden gems.
• Content pillars – blog posts, photo series, short-form videos.
• Logistics – how the itinerary supports capturing content (best time for sunrise photos, quiet hours at museums, etc.).
• Deadlines – what I’ll draft before leaving, what I’ll publish during the trip, and what waits until I return.

Step 3: Align Itinerary with Content Ideas

This is where travel content planning meets travel planning. For every stop on my itinerary, I map travel blog content ideas. Example:

• Morning in Paris at the Louvre → Blog: “Best Tips for Visiting the Louvre.” Reel: “3 Secrets You Missed at the Louvre.”
• Evening in Montmartre → Photo essay: “Paris at Night.”

The alignment ensures I never leave a site without capturing its story.

Step 4: Prepare Tools for Easy Access

Content planning is nothing without the right tools. My essentials:

• Notes app (Evernote/Notion) → jot blog ideas on the go.
• Camera + smartphone gimbal → for both professional and spontaneous content.
• Scheduling apps (Buffer/Later) → pre-load posts so you’re not glued to your phone while traveling.
• Offline access tools → download maps, translation apps, and templates so you can plan even without Wi-Fi.

Step 5: Create a Travel Content Checklist

Here’s a condensed version of my travel content creation tips:

• Research keywords and trending hashtags.
• Draft outlines for 2–3 anchor blog posts.
• Plan 5–7 short-form video ideas.
• Pre-write captions for common posts (sunset shots, local food).
• Pack portable chargers and backup storage.
• Assign “must-capture” shots for each location.
• Create a file naming convention (saves time in editing).

Step 6: Balance Content Creation With Enjoyment

The danger of over-planning? Forgetting to enjoy the trip. I block time in my itinerary where my camera stays in the bag. Often, these breaks still give me spontaneous content—like an unplanned café stop turning into a blog paragraph on hidden local culture.

Step 7: Post-Trip Workflow

Planning doesn’t stop when the plane lands. After the trip:

• Sort content into folders (photos, raw video, notes).
• Update the planning template to check off what was captured.
• Fill in content gaps with research or stock visuals.
• Draft, edit, and publish in sequence.

Tools I Recommend for Travel Content Planning

• Notion/ClickUp – structured content boards.
• Trello – drag-and-drop checklists.
• Google Sheets – simple, shareable planning templates.
• Canva – quick graphics and layouts.
• Buffer/Later – automate posting.