A Guide To Choose Your Next Travel Destination

So you have your travel inspiration and are excited to plan your travel – now you have to decide where you should go? As simple as that may sound, if you want to get the best value for your money and make sure that your trip will not come with unexpected but avoidable pitfalls, here are some tips on things you should research and consider when choosing your destination:

Tip #1: Determine Your Purpose

If your dream is to go walk the slopes of an active volcano or visit a World Heritage monument, obviously that is not possible everywhere. What you want to do, especially if it is something specific or extraordinary, dictates where you should travel to for that activity.

Think about and decide what the overall theme of your travel is supposed to be. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
Are you going on a family vacation, are you planning a couple's retreat, do you want to relax on the world's nicest beaches, or are you yearning for an adventure?

Do you have the desire to couple your travel with some volunteering to make a difference while you travel? In that case, take a look at this article: 7 Opportunities to make a Difference in this World while traveling.
Will you be traveling with other people?

If you plan to have travel companions, you need to take them into consideration as well. Traveling with only your partner can be a much different experience than traveling as a family with young children, for example.

Tip #2: Consider Timing Of Your Travels

Once you have a list of potential destinations, take your time and research whether there are any festivals, religious ceremonies, or holidays that may cross your plans. During those times, public transportation may be limited or unavailable and attractions and shops may be closed.

So if these are things that you will be relying on, it is a good idea to pre-plan accordingly.

On our way to Tanzania via Turkey with @turkishairlines, we had a 13-hour layover in Istanbul. We had planned to explore the city on our own. We left the airport and it took us an hour just to figure out how public transportation works in Turkey. After receiving some help from locals, we were finally on our way into the Old City and after one transfer, we got off at the Sultanahmet station.

We wanted to visit the Hagia Sophia and a few other spots, but at the top of our list was to go into the Blue Mosque. We did a lot of research in the days prior, looked up the prayer times, and thought we had everything planned out perfectly.

When we finally arrived, we found out that Friday was what they consider the Holy Day and thus the prayer time had been extended all the way to 1 pm and the Mosque would be closed to non-worshipers until then. Not only were we not dressed appropriately for the weather and were uncomfortably cold, we also ended up not being able to check this off our bucket list. Live and learn.

That is why it's so important to do your research thoroughly before you pick a destination for a specific time.

Tip #3: Research The Weather

Weather can be a big factor and deal breaker.
Let's say you decide you want to take your whole family on a beach getaway with an option to explore a little and get to know a new part of the world.

During your research, you find an amazing deal at an all-inclusive hotel in one of your dream destinations, Myanmar. It’s in July, which also perfectly aligns with your kid’s summer break. You get so excited and book it.

July comes: You spend half a day traveling and are excited to spend the next two weeks here, except, it ends up raining constantly. Torrential rainfall. So you end up spending the majority of your time inside the hotel room.

Before you stick to a destination choice, check out the weather to assure your travel plans won't be ruined due to weather. Our personal favorite is WorldWeatherOnline.com where you can simply enter a city and country and access the annual average temperatures and precipitation for each month.

Tip #4: Consider The Cost

If you are travelling on a budget, like most of us, you should take costs into consideration when choosing your next trip destination. $1,000 will afford you a vastly different accommodation in Southeast Asia than it will in Hawaii. The choice depends on what your priorities are and the other factors we shared during the past three posts.

BudgetYourTrip.com has a breakdown of average costs in thousands of destinations compiled from real travelers' data and expenses. This is a great resource to get a general idea of the costs you can expect in a certain country or city.
For example, the average daily cost per person in Sydney, Australia in the mid-range traveling style is $111.15, whereas the average reported cost of travel in Pokhara, Nepal is only $13.15.

Regardless whether these figures are 100% accurate, you can notice a significant difference and can use this site as a starting reference point for your cost research.

Bonus Tip: If you have a reward credit card or are part of a travel reward program, check what your current points/rewards level is - you never know, you may surprisingly find that you have collected enough points or miles to redeem them for a free flight or hotel stay. We have been able to use travel hacking to take free trips to Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and New York City, just to name a few.

Tip #5: Pay Attention To The Language

I personally love learning new languages and being immersed in a new country, a new culture, and don’t mind not understanding much of what is being sad. However, I have met many people through the years who are very bothered by that.
If you are going to an all-inclusive resort and you do not plan to leave the premises, this will probably not be a factor in your decision, as most employees at such resorts speak English.

However, if you want to go on a multi-city adventure tour, where you will have to rely on being able to read the food menu, understand the staff at your accommodation, use public transportation, etc., language differences play a big role and is important to include that in your planning.

Tip #6: Take advantage of Connections

If you have family or friends in another country, why not consider traveling there and staying with them? This will save you a lot of money on accommodation that you can then spend on some great food or an unforgettable excursion. Furthermore, they may be able to show you some hidden treasures that you would otherwise never know about.

What is your process of choosing where to travel to? Do you consider additional factors than the ones outlined above?