What Makes a Good Itinerary Theme, and How Long Should It Be?

Best practice for planning an itinerary before you start building it

Why does an itinerary need a theme?

Because a themed itinerary tells a story, and a story is what actually inspires someone to visit — a plain list of things to do doesn't.

The strongest itineraries have a clear angle rather than trying to be everything to everyone. Think "if you love X, here's a day built around X," rather than a generic tour of the destination.

For example:

"A Foodie's Day in the Peak District" — built entirely around cafés, farm shops, and a standout restaurant for dinner

"48 Hours of History in York" — museums, walking tours, and heritage sites, in a sensible order

"A Slow Weekend in Norfolk" — for visitors who want to switch off, not tick off a list

A themed itinerary also tends to attract a more motivated visitor — someone who's already decided this trip is "for them" before they've finished reading.

How do I decide on a theme?

Start from what already sets your destination apart, or what you know a specific type of visitor is looking for. Ask yourself:

What's the one thing this itinerary is for? (Food? History? Families? A relaxing weekend?)

Who is the ideal reader — and would they recognise themselves in the title?

Could I genuinely fit everything in this itinerary into a trip that makes sense, given the theme?

If you're struggling to sum up the theme in a short sentence, it's worth revisiting before you move on to building the schedule.

Why does duration matter, and where do I set it?

Visitors need to know how much time to set aside before they can picture themselves doing it. "24 Hours in Newcastle," "3 Days in Suffolk," or "A Half-Day in the Cotswolds" instantly tells someone whether this itinerary fits their trip.

Set this using the Duration field on the Itinerary Listing. As well as being shown to visitors, this feeds into duration-based filtering on the front end of the website — so visitors browsing for, say, a weekend break can filter straight to itineraries built for that.

Note: each itinerary can only be assigned a single duration. If your itinerary genuinely spans two different lengths of trip — say a shorter and a longer version of the same theme — it's worth considering whether that should actually be two separate itineraries rather than one.

Should I include pricing information?

Where you can, yes. The Average Spend field lets you give visitors a sense of what to budget for — even an approximate range is more useful than nothing at all, and it builds trust with a visitor who's trying to plan realistically.

💡 Top Tip: Keep your title, theme, and category aligned from the outset. If you set the theme as food and drink but later file it under a different category, or the duration doesn't match what the title promises, visitors filtering the site may never find it — even if it's exactly what they were looking for.