Itinerary Travel-Day Checker
See how many of your days are real sightseeing days.
The travel-day checker shows how many of your days are real sightseeing days once arrival, departure and moves between bases are taken out. If you have only a few days of leave, it is the fastest way to see whether one more base is worth it.
What does this tool help you decide?
It helps you decide how many bases to include. Each time you pack up and move, part of a day goes to the move. For short leave, elders or young children, that lost time is what makes a trip feel rushed.
The tool does not suggest places. It checks the shape of a plan you already have.
How do I use it, step by step?
- Enter the total days, counting the day you arrive and the day you fly home.
- Choose your arrival time on day one: morning, afternoon or evening.
- Choose your flight home time on the last day.
- Enter the number of long transfers between bases, meaning four hours or more door to door.
- Enter the number of short transfers, meaning under four hours.
- Press the button.
How are the days counted?
The rule is simple and visible, so you can disagree with it.
- A morning arrival costs half a day. An afternoon or evening arrival costs a whole day.
- An evening flight home costs half a day. A morning or afternoon flight costs a whole day.
- Each long transfer costs one day. Each short transfer costs half a day.
The days left over are your full sightseeing days. The days taken away are the days mostly spent travelling.
How do I read the result?
You get two numbers and a verdict. The first is your full sightseeing days. The second is the days mostly spent travelling.
The verdict compares them. If sightseeing days are at least one and a half times the travel days, the plan looks comfortable. If they are at least equal, it is tight and the tool suggests dropping one base. If travel days win, the plan has more travel than sightseeing, so drop a base or add days.
A worked example: five days, an afternoon arrival, an afternoon flight home and one long transfer. That is one day, one day and one day taken away, leaving two sightseeing days. The tool calls that more travel than sightseeing.
What if I do not know my transfer times yet?
Start with the number of bases minus one. Treat any transfer that needs a flight or most of a day by road as long. The route chooser helps you pick one region first, and the arrival city guide shows which airport saves a transfer. Check flight times with the airline, since schedules change.
What are the limits?
The tool counts days, not hours, and it does not know your flights, traffic or how much you like slow mornings. A traveller with seniors or toddlers may want a lower travel share than the tool treats as comfortable.
Use it alongside the budget builder once the shape of the plan is settled. The planning tools hub lists the other tools.
Common questions
Why does an afternoon arrival cost a whole day?
By the time you clear the airport, reach the hotel and rest, most of the day is gone. A morning arrival leaves the afternoon usable, so it costs half a day. You can change your arrival or flight-home time in the tool and see how much a better flight slot buys you.
What counts as a long transfer?
Anything of four hours or more door to door, such as a long road leg or a domestic flight including airport time. Shorter moves between nearby bases count as short transfers. If you are not sure, count the move as long. A cautious plan is easier to enjoy.
My plan says tight. Is that bad?
Tight means your sightseeing days only just match your travel days. Plenty of first-time travellers are happy with that, but seniors and young children usually do better with more room. Dropping one base is the quickest fix, and the tool suggests it.
Can I use it for a trip of only a few days?
Yes, and that is where it helps most. With a short stay, arrival and departure alone can use most of your leave. Try a single base and compare it with a two-base plan to see how many sightseeing days the second base costs you.
Keep planning
If your plan comes out tight, send us your leave dates and who is travelling and we will suggest which base to drop or how to reshape the days.