Where to? – Tips for Choosing Your Next Travel Destination

June 15, 2010 by ThriveOnTravel
Filed under Destinations

So you’ve decided to take a vacation – great! You’ve got the time off from work and money in the bank. Now what? Where are you going to go? Good question…

Sometimes the most difficult part about taking a vacation is deciding where to go. The “where” of course is often dictated by time and money but once those things are figured out, the question of where to go can be challenging. One year, my husband and I saved up money and requested time off for a three day weekend trip. We had everything ready except for one thing – we had NO idea where we wanted to go. We started off considering San Francisco, then changed to New York, then Colorado, then Montana, then San Diego until finally we gave up, stayed home, and took our travel money and bought a new flat screen TV. (Which decision, by the way, my husband completely supported.)

The point is, choosing a destination is not always as easy as one might think. In our case, we just needed a little inspiration with a few fresh and new ideas. That’s when it’s helpful to start doing a little research. This can be done by asking friends, searching the Internet, or turning to helpful books. The problem with the Internet is there’s so much information available that without a clear travel destination in mind, the search results can be overwhelming.

Asking friends for recommendations is an excellent way to generate ideas for your next vacation and is usually my first resort. Friends can tell you not only where to travel but also give you personal experiences on places to visit while you’re there, food to eat, and hotels to stay in. The best part is that these recommendations come from a trusted source.

In my opinion, the second best means for determining a potential travel destination is a trusted travel guide or a good travel book. I own quite a few travel books and I’ve gotten some wonderful travel ideas from them. A couple of books I’ve recently encountered are entitled Where To Go When (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by Joseph Rosendo. What I love about this series is that the books not only describe where to travel with gorgeous illustrations but also “when” to go, which can be just as important as the “where.” They offer month by month recommendations and details on what to expect during that month for any given place. These are not typical guide books but if you’re struggling with where and when to plan your next vacation, take a look at one of these books. Perhaps they’ll help you find some inspiration for your next trip so you don’t end up sitting on the couch when you could be out exploring!