---
type: note
alexandria_core: true
tags: [travel, reference]
author: alexandria
---

# Standard Travel Notation (STN)

The canonical format for the travel schedule the engine parses to place the owner. Full reference: https://wch.io/writing/standard-travel-notation

## Entries (where the owner is)
`- <Date Range>: <City>, <State/Country>`
- e.g. `- June 7–10: San Francisco, CA`
- Date ranges use an en-dash (`–`); a single day is just the date.
- A same-day side trip is marked inline: `(Day Trip)`.

## Stays
`- Stay: <Accommodation Name> (<Booking Ref>)` — the booking ref is optional.

## Events
`- <Date>: <Event description>` — e.g. `- June 9: Meetings in Palo Alto`.

## Transport
`<MODE> <Date> <hh:mm> <Origin> → <hh:mm> <Destination> (<Number> - <Booking Ref>)`
- e.g. `FLIGHT June 7 11:15 JFK → 15:45 SFO (UA1234 - 5HBG89)`
- MODE ∈ FLIGHT, TRAIN, CAR, HELICOPTER, …
- Codes: IATA three-letter where they exist (JFK, SFO).
- Times: **24-hour** (`13:45`, not `1:45 PM`), local to each endpoint. A next-day arrival / UTC offset is noted like `05:00+1 LHR`.
- Layovers: separate transport lines on the same day.

## Conventions
- Start minimal, add detail later — `FLIGHT June 10 SFO → LAX` is a valid line.
- Every city must resolve to a timezone via a note in `Areas/Travel/Cities/` (its `timezone:` frontmatter), so the engine can compute the owner's local time.
