How do you choose your next destination for travel?

Kamachatka sounds fantastic, would definitely be interested in hearing how that goes .

I'm always disappointed when people shun or cut out older travellers in hostels or other shared accommodation, as oftentimes they can give some really great ideas on where to go and have some wicked stories. Obviously it depends on the person, and I must admit I wasn't as impressed when I once went to wash my face in the dorm sink and found somebody's dentures there instead. Yes, I do mean in the sink, not beside it. hah.

In regards to the tours or packages, it's important to pick one that fits your needs. I ended up on a cruise through the Caribbean targeted at a much older crowd (I think I was younger than most by about 30 years, possibly more), and although I loved it as it meant I wasn't up until 3 am and then back at it every day, for anyone interested in a party and less open to going exploring on each island - hiking to the top of a volcano on one, parasailing on another, snorkelling in the reefs, etc. It worked out fine for me and a friend. I think it's a balancing act. I wouldn't have ever chosen something like that for an overland bus tour or other tour groups but it was a great way to get a taste for several different islands without spending as much money as we would have otherwise and we were able to see and do what we wanted to. Obviously, there are other cruise lines that target different age groups, but it was a combination of where it went, what it cost, and what we wanted to do. There's no perfect combination that works for everyone.

berner256 - one of the reasons younger people tend to go to more well known destinations is, in my experience, accessibility and cost. It can be extremely expensive and difficult to get to some areas that are a bit more off the beaten path. They also don't always have the travel experience that would make them comfortable going further afield. Central or western Africa would be fantastic, but the combined cost of flights and visas are a bit steep when you're tight on cash. It also depends on what you would consider off-the-beaten path. Although I wouldn't class Slovakia or Greece off the beaten path, I certainly haven't met many other travellers that have been to the top of Mount Krivàn or hiked through the Vikos Gorge. It's easy to class countries that are difficult or challenging as off the beaten path while ignoring often overlooked sites in the backyard.

Tiff, you're right. I once was a gap-year traveler; and funds were limited.

Quoting aussirose

Hubby and I constantly save for holidays. Where we go is dictated by our budget. Our first big overseas holiday was to Europe and Morocco in 2011. We both like countryside off the beaten path and having a beer with the locals. We both choose places then I work out an itinerary.

Aussie Rose... your love of travel is infectious... All the best to you...

I have a back-log of wish-list destinations that has been fuelled by friends' pages on Virtual Tourist (e.g. North Korea), TV programmes (e.g. Mongolia) and my own reading (I subscribe to Wanderlust magazine, for instance, while the choice of Chile was inspired by reading "Between Extremes"). Every time I tick one off, at least two more have been added. Plus my husband has his own wish-list and we sort-of take it in turns to choose (Japan was his (excellent) choice, as was Jamaica and others)

As I mentioned, VT has inspired several choices, including New Mexico (one of our best road-trips ever) and Uzbekistan. Plus the regular Euromeets have taken me to places I hadn't previously considered, such as Riga, Tallinn, Lviv and Sibiu - all lovely cities.

Thanks T

My husband and I both love history and love to read so we usually chose a place from something we've recently read. We did one trip based on Ina Caro's "The Road from the Past: Traveling through History in France" only we flew into Nice and did her tour backwards. We've done both of her books just for fun.

My husband loves English history and that's created a few trips to Scotland, Ireland and a tiny bit of the UK. We've been all over France looking at various castles and abbeys we've read about.

Occasionally we'll see something on tv that makes us curious about a place and that will be the inspiration for a trip. Sometimes someone on Virtual Tourist would suggest a place and that's always fun. We like to rent farmhouses and spend a week to a month in one place taking area day trips and really get to know the place. Italy has the agriturismo and France its Gites de France. We used B&Bs in Ireland but rented cottages in Scotland. In Belgium, Switzerland and Germany we stayed in sports resorts, cottages, rooms and plain old hotels.

Looking through the travel blogs here might give you some good ideas or you can watch travel videos, read the National Geographic magazine or web site or just Google photos of places. We also love to look through the local Tourist Office web sites of places that interest us. That's a good way to see if there is enough to keep you busy for the amount of time you have there.

Beausoleil, It is an original way to choose

Thanks for sharing

[ Edit: Edited on 03-Feb-2017, at 01:04 by Globvel ]

I get inspirations from different ways as when i have traveled to Bari and visited Alberobello and Matera i got the first inspiration for Alberobello from the in-flight magazine while i'm was travelling to Morocco and Matera it was from a TV documentary which i have combined both on a same trip. Last year i have visited Vigo in Southern Spain with a side trip to Cies Islands and that it was again an inspiration from the top 50 destinations to visit in 2016 which it was featured in the Sunday Telegraph, which i have read in the morning and by afternoon we had flights booked.

Other factors i take into consideration is if i do find a cheap flight to a destination i never traveled before then i book it and i search for things to do afterwards which it was the case with Marseilles, Bruge and Vence.

As we both love culture and food we have that as a priority on our travels.

I also love travelling on the Greek islands and mainland Greece and every year i travel there to spend some time with friends but also to see more of this amazing country with thousands of years of history.

A guide to the best beaches, towns, rivers and mountain areas for lovers of wine, gardens, history, food, sunshine or simply doing nothing much, me and my friends often rely on travel sites. -snip-

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