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Choosing the right destination can make or break your vacation. There is no right or wrong and everybody is looking for something different when going on an adventure. So here are some tips on how to choose your next travel destination!
There are so many countries to discover and you will most likely have your preferences but sometimes it just isn’t the right timing. To help you make your decision of where to go next a little easier, here are a few things that I personally take into account when trying to choose a new location.
If it is just a short trip I don’t really do a lot of research, i like to go on Skyscanner type in flexible as the location and see what the cheapest destinations is. If it fits with my time frame then I would just book it and start with the research after.
That is how I ended up in Milano, flexibility is key and it can actually save you a lot of money. A longer trip, however, will require a lot more research. You don’t want to be spending a month in a city that has nothing to offer that you like just because of poor planning.
1. Expectations
What do you expect from this trip?
While I was trying to figure out my summer plans I just couldn’t stick to anything. I would chance destinations daily and I could not decide where to go, there were just too many options! I noticed that the main problem was that I did not really know what I wanted. Did I want beaches and surfing? Discover a new city? Learn a new language? Get to know a specific culture?
Knowing the purpose of your trip can already narrow down your choices enormously and make your life a little easier. Like, do you want to learn Italian? Then off to Italy and it’s sorted. Want to do a city trip to a capital in Europe? Now there you will need to do a bit more research, but at least you got it narrowed down a little.
2. Price
Next up: How expensive is it to stay in a specific country and what is your budget? Do you want to get the most value for your money then I would recommend going to a country that is known as being cheap compared to where you live.
If your budget isn’t the biggest I wouldn’t recommend going to countries known as being really expensive such as Australia or the UK. Maybe South East Asia or Latin America would be good choices as living costs are a lot cheaper and you will be able to stay a lot longer as you spend less money on your daily expenses such as rent or food.
3. Transportation
How easy is it to get around? Something that I pay a lot of attention to is the transportation inside the country. How to people travel? By car, ships, buses? The less traveled the country the harder it will be to make your way around. Some countries do not have the best roads or will not let you drive a car with the license you have if you are planning on renting or buying one.
These are all points to keep in mind, if a country is difficult to travel then I would probably choose a different option unless you are looking for the challenge. How backpacker friendly is the country and how expensive are local buses etc. ? The answers to these questions should all be part of your research when planning your next travel destination.
4. Safety
There are a lot of countries that I would like to see one day but I just don’t think I will because of safety reasons. Now make sure to check the travel advises from your government before booking anything, there are some countries that they advise you to not enter under any circumstances.
Political instability, wars, corruption or high murder rates will make a country not safe to travel. So when booking your next getaway I would advise you to do some proper research before and figure out for yourself if you think it is save enough. While some countries might be okay to travel to there can still be parts that should be avoided.
But in general, even if a country is considered safe make sure to follow some normal safety precautions such as not to carry any expensive jewellery, always watch your bag and be careful when getting out cash at the ATM and so on.
5. Activities
What to you want to do while traveling? Want to go scuba diving? Then get yourself to the ocean unless you are into lake diving. Want to go hiking? Then maybe a country with mountains would be good. Maybe Nepal or Chile? What else can you do in this country and do you like these activities? Also does it fit with your overall budget?
Usually doing activities will be taking up a lot of your budget but you can sometimes save money when you organise trips yourself instead of booking it with a local agency. But depending on what your plans are, don’t forget to calculate these expenses in your budget.
Now these are all factors that I will consider when choosing a new destination but most of the times I will start by seeing what my budget is and then looking at my timeframe. If I have more time I will start looking at locations that are a bit more far away, however, they can not be too expensive as the transportation costs to get there in the first place will be a lot higher.
Let me know if you found these tips useful and how you usually choose your travel destinations.
Talk to you soon x
