Trip Fixed Starting Dates Countdown
Show a live countdown timer on your trip pages so travelers know exactly when the next departure is coming up.
Trip Fixed Starting Dates Countdown adds a countdown timer to trips that use fixed starting dates.
If you run a weekly 3-day trek that leaves every Friday, this countdown shows travelers how many days are left until the next group leaves. That can build excitement and help undecided travelers book sooner.
Trip Fixed Starting Dates Countdown requires the WP Travel Engine plugin and the Trip Fixed Starting Dates add-on installed.
Installing the Trip Fixed Starting Dates Countdown add-on
See how to activate a Pro add-on license key for the full installation and activation walkthrough.
How does it work?
The add-on gives you two places to work with the countdown.
The first is a widget. A widget is a small block of content that sits in specific areas of your site, like a sidebar or footer. In WordPress, you can find widgets from Appearance on the left sidebar of your dashboard.
The second is a Trip Countdown Configuration settings box inside the trip editor. WordPress calls these settings boxes meta boxes. You use this box to control the countdown for one specific trip.
The countdown works with the Trip Fixed Starting Dates add-on. That means it only appears on trips where you have already set fixed starting dates.
By default, the countdown moves to the next upcoming fixed starting date on its own. If your trek has departures on March 15, April 20, and May 18, the countdown shows the days left until March 15 first. Once March 15 has passed, it switches to April 20 automatically.
You can also choose a specific fixed starting date from the dropdown on an individual trip. That gives you more control when you want one trip page to focus on a certain departure. Now you are ready to set it up.
Configuration
What you'll need before you start: the Trip Fixed Starting Dates add-on must be active, and you need at least one trip with fixed departure dates already set up.
Open Widgets
This is where you place the countdown on your site.
Go to Appearance → Widgets in the left sidebar of your WordPress dashboard.
Add the countdown widget
This step makes the countdown visible on your trip pages.
Add Trip Starting Countdown to the WP Travel Engine Sidebar or Footer. This shows the countdown on single trip pages.
Once you have placed it, the countdown has a home on your site. Next, choose which departure date it should use.
Choose the trip's starting date
This step tells the countdown which trip date to follow.
Open an individual trip post. Then choose a Fixed Starting Trip date from the dropdown in the Trip Countdown Configuration settings box.
If you offer a multi-day package with several departure dates, this helps you point the countdown to the one you want travelers to notice. Once the date is selected, you are almost done.
Optionally hide the countdown
Use this when a countdown would not make sense for that trip.
Check Hide if you want to disable the countdown on certain trip posts.
Maybe you run a year-round day tour with flexible dates. Or maybe you sell a private trip without set departures. In those cases, hiding the countdown keeps the page clear and avoids confusing travelers.
Save your changes
This saves everything you set up.
Click Update in the top right of the trip page to save your changes.
After you save, your countdown settings are live. You can now check the trip page on the front end of your site.
If the countdown does not appear, check that the trip has fixed starting dates set up and that the countdown has been added to a sidebar or footer area that shows on single trip pages.
Trip Fixed Starting Dates Countdown begins automatically from the next upcoming Fixed Starting Trip Date, or from the Fixed Starting Trip date chosen from the dropdown on the individual trip post.
If you're still stuck or have a question we didn't cover, our support team is happy to help. Reach out at our support page and we'll get you sorted.