Planning Motion does not impose a single way of planning your trips. Planning Motion does not have automations, too many "default" values or "mandatory" fields either.  


Using Planning Motion gives you access to tools, like stages, stops or activities that can be used in different ways depending on what each person wants to do or prefers for planning their trips.


To help you choose, here is a description and features for each of these planning tools:

Stages with accommodation and activities

A stage is a place where you stop for a night or more and plan to take lodging and do activities there.


Characteristics:

  • Arrival and departure date cannot be the same.
  • The stage or the accommodation can be displayed on the Google Maps itinerary
  • No "Planning status" for the stage itself. But planning statuses are available for the accommodations and activities of the stage.

Why choose a Stage?

Because you want to stop at this place to sleep and do activities. 

  • To have the total of your accommodation and activities expenses collected in the expenses page.
  • To have the possibility to get warnings if there are inconsistencies in the planning. e.g.: the dates for the accommodation are before or after those of the stage.
  • So that it can be included in the Google Maps itinerary.

Stops

A place where you stop or where you want to pass through between 2 stages.


Characteristics:

  • Arrival and departure date can be the same
  • The stop can be displayed on the Google Maps route
  • Planning statuses are available for a stop

Why choose the stop:

  • To plan a stop between 2 stages to do an activity or take a break.
  • To indicate a waypoint to make a detour and force a path that is not the one suggested by Google Maps
  • For the days of travel where we only make a pose for the night.
  • The disadvantage is that these nights expenses will not be included in the "accommodations" total in the expenses page. 

Activities

An activity that you do at a place you stay to visit.


Characteristics:

  • The start and end date can be the same
  • The activity cannot be displayed on the Google Maps itinerary but is accessible for the Rome2Rio itinerary.
  • Planning statuses are available for an activity.

Why choose an activity:

  • To not see all the activities on Google Maps since we will do them staying in the same location.
  • To have the total of your activity expenses in the expenses page.
  • For the possibility to get warnings if there are inconsistencies in the planning. e.g.: the dates for the activity are before or after those of the stage.