If you’re like us you have an extra long bucket list and some decision paralysis. We always want to go somewhere, but we don’t always know where to go next. Here I’ll walk you through what we do when trying to decide where to travel next. We consider cost, destinations, our bucket list, and the amount of time off. Each trip decision is highly personal, hopefully, this can help you plan the trip of your dreams!
Strategies for picking where to travel next
Cost Saving Strategies
Check your points! See where they can take you
If you’re like us you’re probably collecting some very useful and powerful card points that can get you places! Taking a look at your points and then seeing where they can take you can be a powerful way to travel while spending very little money. Plus it can take you to new places you haven’t thought of visiting.
Tap into Google Flights
Go on Google Flights, type in the start location, and what you can afford, and search for all possible locations. You can do this about once a week and search for flights that fit your schedule. Every week you’ll find new inspirations for future trips.
Look at flight deals first. Get the deal and that’ll give you the destination.
This one can feel counter-intuitive. Instead of selecting a destination and then struggling to find affordable flights, flip the script and search for flights first. Look for airline sales and book cheap flights to new places!
Strategies for finding Unique Locations
Pick an event to attend (not a destination)
This is one of my favorite ways to select destinations. With some quick googling, you can find some pretty awesome festivals, traditions, or even sporting events that are well worth visiting. Then you have the added bonus of having something to do already built in! Some of the events we’ve considered are the Olympics, World Cup, winter festivals, and hot air balloon festivals.
Poll your friends
Reach out to your friends, especially the well-traveled ones, and ask them where they dream of going. Ask them where their favorite destinations were or what is a must-do trip. You’ll get plenty of inspiration dreaming up travel with family and friends.
Try to escape the weather
This one is perfect when the weather at home starts to feel extreme. Additionally, places in the same country have milder or more extreme weather. Remember the northern and southern hemispheres have opposite weather which gives you many ways to escape. You can hit up skiing in the middle of your summer or head to the beach in the middle of your winter
Keep a running bucket list
This is probably my favorite way to pick a new place to visit. Whenever I see a photo of a cool place or a blog article or something that just peaks my fancy I jot it down on my notes to keep a running list. Then when we are trying to decide where to go next, I pull up my bucket list and select a place.
You can also make this more time-sensitive by making a list with goals such as “We want to visit all US National parks in 15 years”. So when you don’t know where to go next you have a goal you’re working towards.
Follow the Food
Finally, the best thing about traveling is tasting all the new, local foods of a new place. Knowing what you want to eat and then visiting the birthplace of that food can be the perfect way to select your new destination and also get to taste test a lot of that food! Plus they usually offer some pretty incredible food tours!
Final Thoughts about where to travel next
Wherever you decide to go next, you can’t go wrong! Every trip is a new and fantastic experience to learn new things, meet new people, and experience life. There has never been a trip we have regretted. In some cases when we’ve gone out of the box we end up enjoying ourselves more than expected.
If you need some inspiration, consider looking through our Travel Guides which include a list of things to do in the city, along with lots of great logistical information to speed up the trip planning process.
So wherever life takes you, enjoy the journey!
