How to Decide Where to Travel

I am always constantly looking and deciding where to travel to next. Sometimes I have a place in mind because I’ve seen really cool videos online. Maybe there is a particular activity that I am just dying to try. Whatever the reasons, deciding where to travel to next, isn’t as simple as you might think.

I’ve planned dozens of trips and have even more trips planned lying dormant waiting to become a reality. So, I think I am very qualified to show and help you to choose your next travel destination.

Example of how to choose where to travel:

• What’s my budget: I just want to be honest, the thing that matters most in terms of travel is money. The more disposable income you have, the more money you can put aside for a vacation or a trip. I also realized really early on that this determines where I stay, the things I do and the food I eat. These are all important things that affect the quality of the vacation.
• What type of Travel Do I want: I sometimes feel for a nice relaxing vacation to unwind. Like a sunny beach or a bungalow in the forest. Sometimes I just want to do adventurous things and get amazingly cool videos. We all know every country offers something very different. If you want luxury resorts with white sand, amazing food and blue water. You are probably thinking about the Caribbean. If you want more nature, outdoors and physical activity you will look more at places such as Peru, Costa Rica or Iceland.
• Safety: I don’t often seek out the safest countries to visit. because, let’s be real, the dangerous countries always have the best stories. But, if safety is a real priority for you, you might lean towards the really touristy places like Greece, Japan, The Caribbean.

What’s My Budget?

After deciding how much money I want to spend on my next trip, everything sort of falls in line.

For example: If my budget is $5000 USD, which is a lot, I can virtually go anywhere I want, stay in a decent accommodation and live in luxury for a while. I might think, Swiss Alps and a ski resort or a fancy all inclusive resort in the Caribbean.

But, if my budget is $1000 USD, then that really narrows down the countries, accommodation and type of trip I’ll have. That’s why I honestly think that starting with your budget is the best way to help you decide on your next destination.

From now on, after some research, I would have a couples in mind that will be a great fit based on my budget. I can then take those dozen or so countries into my next question.

What Type of Travel do I want to do?

So, out of the dozen countries that fit my budget earlier, what type of trip do I want it to be. Am I picturing myself hiking, climbing, being in the forest? Am I sitting on a beach? Am I sleeping in hostels, backpacking and just surfing on a beach?

Out of the countries that you narrowed down earlier, choose the few that can give you the type of trip you want. Of course there will be many different places to choose from. You just have to sometimes look at the beaches, or look at the nature or the food and make a decision.

You’ll have countries within your budget that should fully give you the type of trip you want.

How Long Can I Travel for?

There are always countries you can consider visiting for 3 days compared to visiting for 2 weeks. For instance, I visited Dominica for 3 days and that was great. On the other hand, I visited Norway for 9 days and I still think it wasn’t enough. The size of the country, the amount of fun things to do and places to go will help you decide how long you need to stay in that destination.

If I know I could only travel for 1 week this trip, I’m definitely not going to visit a large expansive place that I’d need 2 weeks to experience.

Who am I Traveling With?

Who you travel with can greatly impact the vibe of a trip. Going on a vacation with a group of friends will be very different to going with your parents. Which is also different than going with just your significant other. Everyone will have preferences and interests, so they should all voice it and come to an agreement. Really think about these questions deeply because it matters a lot.

Do I want to be walking around the streets of El Salvador as a bunch of women? No, probably somewhere safer like Costa Rica. Will I be safe? Is it a larger group with guy friends? Am I traveling solo? In my opinion doing adventurous activities with a group of friends is a good combination. While staying in an all-inclusive resort relaxing and having a fun time is good to do with your family and kids. Going to a romantic food and luxury location like Italy or France with your significant other would be ideal.

After thinking about all these questions in detail, you should have it narrowed down to just a handful of places. Now, I try to decide where to travel out of these places.

How Safe is the Destination for Tourists?

How safe is the destination for tourists? Am I traveling with children? Will my family be safe. Is there any civil unrest or wars going on? Any places that you research about that you feel uncomfortable visiting, you probably shouldn’t go. Like I wouldn’t go Haiti right now, or Venezuela. So, these places might have been accommodating to all your desires in terms of experiences. But, might not be smart to visit.

What Type of Accommodations do I want to Stay in?

Not many countries has a huge variety of accommodations. In the Caribbean, most islands are very touristy and have a good number of all-inclusive resorts and high end hotels. But, some countries in The Caribbean like Trinidad and Tobago doesn’t have resorts like that.

Find out what accommodations are available near the things you want to do. When I visited Guatemala, the first place I went was in the mountains of Coban. This was because we really wanted to visit Semuc Champey. Only to find out from the staff at the hotel that we needed to take another three buses from there to Semuc Champey and it would take literally the whole day. Which meant we would have to find somewhere to stay near Semuc Champey. So, think about this and decide.

After doing all this inner reflection and thinking about how to decide where to travel, you can now come to a decision on the pinpoint destination you’re going to visit. Reading all this might make you feel it’s a very long process. Sometimes, it’s not even a conscious decision. A lot of times I catch myself subconsciously having thoughts of what I want to do for my next trip and it’s automatically planning out in my head. Thinking about how to decide where to travel and making a smart decision can make your trips ten times better.